Daily Herald the Brown
vol. cxlv, no. 116 | Friday, November 19, 2010 | Serving the community daily since 1891
Library
security
changed
By Qian Yin
Staff Writer
In an effort to simultaneously in-
crease safety in University buildings
and streamline security operations,
a number of changes are being
instituted to restrict access to the
Rockefeller and Sciences libraries.
Starting this year, students are
required to swipe their ID cards to
enter the Rockefeller Library after 10
p.m., when the library closes to the
public, according to David Banush,
associate university librarian for ac-
cess services.
Card readers were installed last
year on the doors of the library and
a number of other campus buildings,
including J. Walter Wilson, in an ef-
fort to enhance security on campus,
said Mark Porter, executive director
and chief of public safety. Readers
were also put in place on the Stephen
Robert ’62 Campus Center doors
when it opened this year. The card
readers prevent anyone who is not
a member of the Brown community
from entering these buildings to help
ensure the safety of those inside,
Porter said. He said the changes
were not prompted by a change in
crime patterns at the libraries.
Banush said that over winter
break, a card-operated turnstile
system will be installed in the Rock-
continued on page 2
Brown pioneering contemplative studies initiative
By Natalie Villacorta
Staff Writer
North of Pembroke campus sits a
house that looks — from the outside
— much like neighboring houses. But
inside is a different story. The house
has a laboratory in the basement and
a prayer hall on the second floor.
The Cheetah House, located at
185 Brown Street, was founded in
2008 for Brown students seeking
a supportive environment for their
contemplative practices. The house’s
name comes from “citta,” the San-
skrit word for both heart and mind.
“Meditation is mind training, but also
the cultivation of heart qualities”
like compassion and empathy, said
founder Willoughby Britton.
Studies show that meditation
improves attention and emotional
regulation, said Britton, a research
associate in psychiatry and human
behavior at the Warren Alpert School
of Medicine. For that reason, stu-
inside
News.......1–3
Arts............4
Sports........5
Editorial......6
Opinion.......7
Today..........8
www.browndailyherald.com
Men’s Soccer beats bc
Jon Okafor ’11 (left), Sean Rosa ’12 and the rest of the men’s soccer
team will head to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Film Festival hosts whirlwind competition
By Jake Comer
Staff Writer
Brown’s more adventurous film-
makers won’t get much opportu-
nity for rest this weekend.
The Ivy Film Festival’s annual
48 Hour Film Competition begins
this evening at 8 p.m., when the
teams of Brown students partici-
pating in the competition will be
given their prompts. Then they’ll
have until 8:00 p.m. on Sunday to
put together what will hopefully
be an award-winning short film.
dents practicing meditation should
have better focus and control over
their emotions than other students.
Britton and Professor of Religious
Studies Harold Roth are leading the
Brown Contemplative Studies Initia-
tive. Brown is considered a pioneer in
the newly developing field of Contem-
plative Studies, which is committed to
the study of contemplative practices
and their potential, Roth said. The
goal of the initiative is to establish
a center for contemplative studies
where students and researchers can
study and develop objective and sub-
jective approaches to contemplative
practice through a variety of disci-
plines including science, humanities
and the creative arts.
Britton is the leader of the scien-
tific side of Brown’s initiative. Her
research focuses on the effects of
meditation on attention and emotion
regulation.
continued on page 3
Lead threat
Children in Rhode
Island affected by
lead in old houses
News, 2
195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island
Jonathan Bateman / Herald
See sports, page 5.
“The ideal film would have
a compelling story, good shots,
clean audio and still follow the
prompts,” wrote Travis Bogosian
’13, one of the Festival’s program-
ming directors, in an e-mail to The
ARTS & CULTURE
Herald. He added that they antici-
pate six teams to enter this year.
In previous years most teams have
had five or six members.
The competition is put together
by a group of Brown students that
Max Grey ’12 meditates during a lab session of a popular course in
contemplative studies. Meditation improves focus and emotional control.
Football star
WR Alex Tounkara
’11 emerges as a
deep threat
SPORTS, 5
Corp. fellow faces new
suit on day of GM IPO
By Claire Peracchio
Senior Staff Writer
Thursday should have been a good
day for Steven Rattner ’74 P’10 P’13.
But on the day that General
Motors’ initial public offering dra-
matically reduced the government’s
stake in the company he helped to
restructure, the former “car czar”
faced a $26 million fine and a lifetime
ban from the New York securities in-
dustry for his alleged involvement in
a pay-to-play scandal, multiple news
sources reported Thursday.
New York Attorney General
Andrew Cuomo filed two lawsuits
against Rattner, accusing him of trad-
ing kickbacks to New York public
pension fund leadership for a $150
million investment in Quadrangle
Group LLC, the private equity firm
helps organize the Ivy Film Fes-
tival each year. Festival Director
Debbie Lai ’12 told The Herald that
the 48-hour competition and movie
screenings — this year, Danny
Boyle’s “127 Hours” — hosted by
the Ivy Film Festival each fall, are
intended to generate excitement
for the week-long Festival in the
spring.
A team of programming direc-
tors from the Ivy Film Festival de-
vises prompts for the filmmakers
continued on page 4
Courtesy of Willoughby Britton
that he founded. Rattner, a fellow on
Brown’s Corporation and a former
Herald editor-in-chief, left Quadran-
gle in February 2009 to head the
president’s auto industry task force.
In a separate matter Thursday,
Rattner agreed to a $6.2 million
settlement on earlier pay-to-play
charges levelled by the Securities
and Exchange Commission. The
deal bans Rattner for two years from
investment advising and securities
trading.
Both Cuomo, also New York’s
governor-elect, and the SEC ac-
cused Rattner of employing favors
— including agreeing to distribute
a movie produced by the pension
fund’s chief investment officer, do-
nating to the campaign of former
continued on page 2
BUGS gets
campy in
‘Ruddigore’
By Ben Kutner
Staff Writer
“I’m modesty personified!” quips Sir
Ruthven Murgatroyd (Phil Arevalo
’11 ) in the Brown University Gilbert
and Sullivan production of “Ruddi-
gore, or The Witch’s Curse” opening
Friday night in Alumnae Hall. “Rud-
digore” features great singing and
a strong orchestra — accompanied
by the soundtrack of the audience’s
ARTS & CULTURE
persistent laughter.
“Ruddigore” is “a parody on
melodrama,” explained Director
Kris Bergman ’11, campily listed as
“Gilbert” in the program.
“The real message is not to take
oneself seriously,” Arevalo said.
The cast of “Ruddigore” certainly
does not seem to take themselves
seriously, apparent in the overly dra-
matic facial expressions and the wide
range of hilarious accents — some
of which are apparently confused
as to whether or not they should
be British.
“Ruddigore” is far more over-the-
top than any other Gilbert and Sul-
livan show, explained pit orchestra
conductor Matthew Jaroszewicz ’12,
adding that Ruddigore has “more
songs in a minor key,” giving a dark
continued on page 4
Open books
Chris Norris-LeBlanc
‘13 suggests Brown
share its resources
Opinions, 7
herald@browndailyherald.com
Page 2 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Friday, November 19, 2010

C ampus N EWS “This is the very definition of hubris.”

— Stephen Walt, Harvard professor, on the U.S. presence in Afghanistan

ID-operated turnstiles Janus Forum debates nation building

to be installed at Rock
continued from page 1
efeller Library. Those who do not
have Brown card access will be
asked show identification to be ad-
mitted by the staff at the circulation
desk, he said. Banush said turnstile
systems have been used at a num-
ber of other institutions including
the University of Rhode Island,
Harvard and New York University.
Since the summer, building at-
tendants no longer sit at the front
desk at the Rockefeller Library,
Banush said. The elimination of
the building attendants was part
of an organizational review process
to lower University costs that took
place last year, he said. The build-
ing attendants were primarily hired
to ensure that materials from the
library were not removed in any
unauthorized way, Banush said.
Other ways of preventing unau-
and regulate access to the library.
He added there are also security
cameras in the lobby. In addition,
a Sterling security guard now pa-
trols the building during all hours
of operation, Banush said.
Joseph Sarno, director of labor
and employee relations, said the
University eliminated the attendant
positions without any involuntary
layoffs. Among the former build-
ing attendants at the Rockefeller
Library, one part-time attendant
accepted voluntary retirement,
one full-time attendant decided
to pursue her education and two
part-time evening attendants were
transferred to the SciLi to work the
same hours.
The SciLi is keeping the build-
ing attendant at the front desk and
will not use a turnstile system, due
to the different setup of the library,
Banush said. He said a turnstile
By Joseph Rosales
Contributing Writer
Both speakers introduced them-
selves as the “underdog,” but neither
stepped back from his stance regard-
ing nation building in Afghanistan
during Thursday’s lecture at Salomon
Hall.
Harvard Professor of International
Affairs Stephen Walt began his lec-
ture by quoting the Marxist maxim
— Groucho Marx, that is — that “poli-
tics is the art of looking for trouble,
finding it everywhere, diagnosing it
incorrectly and applying the wrong
remedies.” Walt used this theme
throughout much of the night. He
referenced historical cases of nation
building, including failed attempts by
the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom
and France, saying that “no matter
who’s doing it, nation building fails
more often than they succeed.”
Walt went on to say that he under-
stands the U.S. is very keen to help
suffering countries, but was quick to
warn that “the costs often outweigh
the benefits.”
Walt argued that the U.S. govern-
ment is engaged in “a massive social
engineering project” with a nation
completely different from America.
U.S. troops go into Afghanistan with
very little knowledge of the people’s
culture and beliefs and expect to be
able to change their political system,
Walt said.
“This is the very definition of hu-
bris,” he added.
James Dobbins, former United
States ambassador to the European
Union, emphasized the good that has
come from the United States’ nine-
year stay in Afghanistan. The country
has seen economic growth, a higher
life expectancy, a lower infant mortal-
ity rate and an increase in education,
Dobbins said.
But while these signs show the
country is stepping in the right direc-
tion, the initial goals have not been
reached, Dobbins argued. Accord-
ing to Dobbins, the U.S. doesn’t try
to intervene to make poor countries
rich, but rather to try to make violent
countries more peaceful.
“In the end, the only way it will
end is through some negotiated ac-
commodation,” he said.
Walt mentioned that though he
is not against trying to help nations
succeed, the lack of manpower, the
incompetence of Afghan President
Hamid Karzai and the weak security
force make the U.S. government’s
goals regarding Afghanistan difficult
to reach. Walt finished by quoting a
Chinese official who said, “You’ve
spent the last 10 years spending a
trillion dollars on Iraq and Afghani-
stan. We’ve spent the last 10 years
building our future.” Walt added on
to this reference, saying, “I think we
ought to be mindful of that.”
The lecture, titled “Nine Years Lat-
er: Nation Building in Afghanistan,”
was sponsored by the Janus Forum.

Lead poisoning affects R.I. youth, study finds

thorized removal of library materi-
als, including installing alarms on
the gates, have made the building
attendant positions less critical to
the operation of the library than
they had previously been, he
added.
Hernan Cumplido, a Sterling
security guard working at the
Sciences Library, said he is con-
cerned that without an attendant
at the front desk, anybody is able
to enter the library, which might
make staff and students might feel
less secure.
But Banush said that people
entering the library are required
to either swipe in or sign in at the
front desk, and the staff working at
the circulation desk help monitor
sudoku
system needs a person to monitor
it, but in the SciLi no staff works on
the first floor except for the build-
ing attendant.
Banush said the University has
informed neighborhood users of
the libraries that the doors are
locked after 10 p.m. and has not re-
ceived any questions or concerns.
According to Allison Spooner,
president of the College Hill Neigh-
borhood Association, the organiza-
tion has not received complaints
about the libraries’ locking the
doors at 10 p.m.
“Building security remains a
priority across the University,”
said Marisa Quinn, vice president
for public affairs and university
relations.
By Caroline Flanagan
Contributing Writer
Instances of lead poisoning are con-
centrated among children under six
living in Rhode Island’s lower-income
neighborhoods and neighborhoods
with older houses, according to a
study conducted by members of the
Department of Community Health.
Patrick Vivier, associate professor of
community health and pediatrics, led
the study in collaboration with other
members of the department.
The researchers used data from a
Rhode Island Department of Health
database to create a map of lead poi-
soning cases among children under
the age of six between 1993 and
2005. They then formed a commis-
sion with Attorney General Patrick
Lynch to study the problem. The
study focused on children because
— although lead poisoning can af-
fect anyone — it can cause serious
damage to a child’s developing brain,
even at low concentrations.
When examining the data, the re-
searchers paid particular attention to
neighborhoods with higher poverty
levels and higher concentrations of
houses built before 1950. Before the
1950s, homeowners were unaware
of the dangers of lead poisoning and
often used lead paint on interior walls.
The study found disparities be-
tween rates of lead poisoning in chil-
dren living in houses built before the
1950s and those living in houses built
within the last 50 years. “The most
important finding of the study is really
the extent to just how concentrated
health problems can be. In certain
cases no kids had poisoning, while in
others, half of the kids were poisoned.
There were unbelievable disparities,”
said Vivier.
Families living in old houses can
reduce the risk of lead poisoning by
making sure that dust does not col-
lect and there is no peeling paint. But
many lower-income families cannot
afford to take extra measures to en-
sure paint upkeep and safety. “It’s not
just a question of poverty,” said Vivier,
“Where you live really determines
whether you’re at risk. If you’re living
in a house built in 1920, and there’s
been peeling paint, your kids are still
at risk.”
The study has helped the com-
mission target neighborhoods to try
to eliminate problems with lead. A
group called ClearCorps is overseeing
the cleanup process in Rhode Island,
and millions of dollars have already
been allocated to reduce lead poison-
ing, Vivier said. He said he hopes
the tactics used in this study can be
used in other studies to examine the
distribution of other health problems
and possibly help combat them.
He was particularly impressed
with how well ever yone on the
commission worked together. John
Logan, professor of sociology, and
Scott Bell, professor of geography at
the University of Saskatchewan, also
contributed to the study.
“The study was a nice collabora-
tive effort,” said Vivier, “It’s terrific to
have students, faculty from the public
health department, faculty from the
sociology department and members
of the state government working to-
gether to solve a problem.”

Rattner ’74 accused of

trading favors for kickbacks
Daily Herald
continued from page 1 Rattner from the state’s securities
the Brown
industry stemmed from Rattner’s
New York Comptroller Alan Hevesi repeated refusal to answer pros-
Editorial Phone: 401.351.3372 | Business Phone: 401.351.3260 and hiring a fundraiser associated ecutors’ questions during a Sept.
George Miller, President Katie Koh, Treasurer with Hevesi — to gain the fund’s 16 deposition, according to the Wall
Claire Kiely, Vice President Chaz Kelsh, Secretary business. Street Journal. Rattner invoked his
The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is an independent newspaper serv- Responding to Cuomo’s charges Fifth Amendment rights 68 times
ing the Brown University community daily since 1891. It is published Monday on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Thurs- during the testimony, the Journal
through Friday during the academic year, excluding vacations, once during day, Rattner called the corruption reported.
Commencement, once during Orientation and once in July by The Brown Daily
Herald, Inc. Single copy free for each member of the community.
investigation “the most painful epi- While Rattner’s case is still ongo-
POSTMASTER please send corrections to P.O. Box 2538, Providence, RI sode I’ve ever been through in my ing, Quadrangle reached a $7 million
02906. Periodicals postage paid at Providence, R.I. Offices are located at 195 professional life.” settlement in April on charges that it
Angell St., Providence, R.I. E-mail herald@browndailyherald.com. “I have indicated that I am open gained millions of dollars in invest-
World Wide Web: http://www.browndailyherald.com.
Subscription prices: $319 one year daily, $139 one semester daily.
to a reasonable settlement in order ments from New York’s Common
Copyright 2010 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved. to move on with my life,” he said. Retirement Fund through illegal
Cuomo’s insistence on excluding fees.
Friday, November 19, 2010
C ampus N EWS
Study compares effects of meditation, dance and music
continued from page 1
Recipe for focus
Britton wondered whether oth-
er high-focus practices — such as
music, dance, theater and writing
— would yield the same benefits as
meditation.
Having spent over 7,000 hours
of her life meditating, she wanted
to know if this time could have been
spent playing the guitar instead of
sitting quietly, cultivating breath
awareness.
Practices like meditation, music
and dance require sensory motor in-
tegration, a focus on body sensations.
Such activities tune the prefrontal
cortex of the brain.
The prefrontal cortex modulates
attention and controls the amygdala,
a structure related to emotion. When
the prefrontal cortex is properly func-
tioning, the amygdala is inhibited.
If not properly functioning, the dis-
inhibited amygdala can cause emo-
tional overreactions and — over time
— emotional disorders like anxiety
and depression.
Thus, people who have strength-
ened their prefrontal cortex through
body-based attention training should
have better focus and control over
their emotions.
Britton wondered if all body-
based attention training has the same
effects on attention and emotional
regulation. If so, musicians, danc-
ers and meditators should all reap
similar benefits.
Brains in the basement
To answer this question, Britton
embarked on a years-long study.
Over the past three years, Brit-
ton’s lab has studied students of
music, dance and contemplative
studies at Brown. Students of con-
templative studies had participated
in a minimum of three weekly hour-
long meditation labs.
Study participants completed two
hours’ worth of questionnaires that
asked about their moods, family psy-
chological history, how much music
they listen to and much more. They
then underwent two hours of neu-
ropsychological testing in the base-
ment lab. The tests were designed to
assess the functioning of three areas
of the brain involved in attention and
emotion regulation — the prefrontal
and anterior cingulate cortex, the
hippocampus and the amygdala.
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Page 3
“You start to see your thoughts as more external.”
— Kyle Brine ’13, on meditation
To assess the prefrontal cor- head examiners in the lab, helping Victoria Smith, senior lecturer of His- Kyle Brine ’13 began meditating two
tex and cingulate cortex, students run the neuropsychological testing. panic studies to her basic Spanish years ago. He said meditation is a
completed what Britton called the Brown said the lab, besides conduct- students. part of his day separate from his busy
“tedious” sustained attention to re- ing “phenomenal” research, is also For a few minutes during class, life. When he returns from it, his
sponse test. To test the hippocam- a great community. “Because of our students sit motionless with their problems don’t seem like such a big
pus and amygdala, students were practice … we are approaching sci- eyes open or closed, hands relaxed deal, he said. “You start to see your
exposed to emotionally loaded photo- ence contemplatively, and we are in their laps, just simply breathing. thoughts as more external, and with
graphs and words, which they rated creating an intentional community Some of these students are subjects that, all of your problems.”
according to valence — pleasant to of people who not only care about in Britton’s study. For students not involved in the
unpleasant — and physiological re- their work, but also care about each Smith is also part of the contem- Britton study or in classes that in-
sponse — such as a cringe of disgust other,” she said. plative studies faculty. She said she corporate contemplative practices,
in response to a picture of a dead Britton found that the three incorporates contemplative practices there are other opportunities to reap
body or a burst of happiness in re- groups — meditators, musicians and in her class because she finds many the benefits of meditation. They
sponse to a picture of a smiling child dancers — all demonstrated similar students are too anxious and agi- can practice on their own, as sug-
eating ice cream. improvements in attention, but expe- tated. Smith says breath awareness gested by Smith, or join the Brown
Before coming to the lab for test- rienced different changes in emotion practices slow the mind and allow Meditation Community, which meets
ing, students recorded their sleep regulation, anxiety and depression. students to “develop a witnessing throughout the week in Manning
for two consecutive nights using a Britton has not yet published find- state to (their) mental weather,” help- Chapel.
cell phone-sized recorder. With two ings from this study, as she continues ing them to reach their learning and Tyler Keith ’10.5, who leads the
electrodes attached to the back of to collect data from students. creative potential. group on Tuesdays, said meditation
the head, the electroencephalogram- “College courses are not equal Most students in Smith’s class helps him maintain “basic sanity”
based recorder measured and re- when it comes to emotional well- enjoy the opportunity to press the because he has learned not to be
corded the electrical activity in the being,” she wrote in an e-mail to pause button on life. “It’s nice that a overtaken by his mind and emotions.
brain. The Herald, referring to the varying professor takes time out of a class to Zach Schlosser ’10.5 also spoke of
Britton said she is curious about benefits of dance, music and contem- realize that we’re all really stressed, how contemplative practices have
the effects of attention training on plative classes. “Some may help with especially in one that moves as quick- helped him overcome anxiety, un-
sleep. In a previously published depression and stress, and some may ly as Spanish,” said Nuni Montaigne happiness and confusion. Both Keith
study, she found that multi-practice make (them) worse!” ’12. Contemplative practices in Span- and Schlosser live in the Cheetah
meditation resulted in decreased ish class have sparked Montaigne to House and have been on contempla-
sleep propensity — a lower tendency Respiren, respirez, breathe finally pursue meditation, which she tive retreats.
to sleep. This year, Britton added a fourth said kept coming up in her life and But as the final results of Brit-
Two hundred and eighty-eight group to the study — students in lan- conversations at Brown. ton’s study may tell, students may
students have volunteered their time, guage acquisition classes. Language Several other students have act- not even have to practice meditation
around 100 of whom are meditators. acquisition — like music, dance and ed upon Smith’s encouragement to to reap its benefits, but instead can
Ninety participants are students from meditation — requires sensory mo- continue practicing outside of class, spend their time dancing, learning
meditation lab courses, and about 15 tor integration training. promising that even five minutes of a new language or playing a musical
are advanced meditation practitio- “Simplemente respiren,” instructs sitting quietly daily helps with stress. instrument.
ners who serve as a reference group.
Because Britton’s lab receives no
funding from the University, Britton
rewarded participants with home-
cooked cupcakes and soup.
Many undergraduate students
who work in the Britton lab do so
as volunteers. Britton says a lack of
opportunities for clinical research in
Psychology on campus has led to a
lot of interest in her lab.
Annie Brown ’12 started working
in the lab after attending a summer
program in India where she taught
neuroscience to Buddhist nuns
and monks. In return, they taught
her the Buddhist philosophy of the
mind. She said she was amazed by
the amount of overlap between sci-
entific and Buddhist understandings
of the mind, and decided to switch
from a concentration in neuroscience
to one in “contemplative cognition.”
Because contemplative studies
is not an official University depart-
ment, Brown created an independent
concentration. She is one of three
Arts & Culture
The Brown Daily Herald
Prompts to projects, 48 ‘Rude Mechanicals’ take the stage
hours to make a film
continued from page 1
participating in the competition.
These prompts designate locations,
lines of dialogue or other aspects of
the film that must be incorporated
by the team.
“It’s important to have good
prompts, since they ultimately
structure what the filmmakers
will be creating,” Bogosian wrote.
But from there, the rest of the
creative process is up to the teams.
Everything that goes into the mak-
ing of a film, including scripting,
shooting, set design and editing,
must be done within the 48-hour
competition period. Films can be no
longer than five minutes, with up
to another 30 seconds for credits.
The programming staff will
watch and discuss the entries and
award one film the Jury’s Choice
Award. Its makers will receive $250
and VIP passes to the next Ivy Film
Festival, which will take place April
18-24. The winning film will also
be screened at the Avon Cinema
as part of the spring Festival. The
Ivy Film Festival will also feature
other films by student filmmakers
in a number of categories, such as
international, documentary and
feature-length, to be judged by the
programming directors. There will
also be screenings of professional
films — “Waiting for Superman”
was shown at last year’s festival
and “No Country for Old Men” was
featured in 2007.
Each year, the programming
directors also give more specific
awards where they find special
recognition is due, for such cat-
egories as “Best Cinematography”
and “Most Original.” This year they
hope to present an award to a film
that best displays or articulates a
socially conscious theme, wrote Le-
lia Ledain ’11, one of the Festival’s
directors, in an e-mail to The Her-
ald. There is also an “Audience’s
Choice” award, which goes to the
film that receives the most votes
from viewers once the entries are
posted on YouTube.
The Ivy Film Festival’s first
48 Hour Film Competition was in
2007. Forty-eight-hour film compe-
titions have been conducted since
2001, when a handful of film aficio-
nados in Washington came up with
the 48 Hour Film Project, which
organizes competitions like this
weekend’s. Last year the organiz-
ers of the Project facilitated such
competitions in 76 cities around
the world.
“48-hour competitions have be-
come increasingly popular events,
what with the availability of cheaper
cameras and simpler editing tools,
so it’s only fitting that our festival
would have one,” Bogosian wrote.
Bogosian’s team’s entry, “Blue
State Romance,” won the “Jury’s
Choice” award last year. “I Play for
Laina,” directed by Gabriel Doss
’10 and Jovan Julien ’10, won the
“Audience’s Choice.” These and
all the award-winning films from
previous competitions are available
on YouTube.
Ledain wrote that the Festival
can be a valuable experience for
student filmmakers. “We offer op-
portunities for filmmakers to learn
from each other,” she wrote.
By Kristina Fazzalaro
Senior Staff Writer
From shrews to gentlemen, tyrants
to jesters, all of Shakespeare’s fa-
vorite characters — and a few new
additions — make an appearance
in Shakespeare on the Green’s in-
door production, “The Rude Me-
chanicals,” which opens tonight at
the Underground. Featuring eight
Shakespeare-inspired scenes, “The
Rude Mechanicals” showcases both
the hilarious and the dramatic, weav-
ing together a near-flawless produc-
tion of laughs and laments.
The show opens with a scene
from “The Taming of the Shrew,”
in which the marriage of Kate
(Christina Sauer ’14), the shrew,
is announced by her joyful suitor,
Petruchio (Danny Garfield ’13). If
looks could kill, he would surely
be six feet under by the force of
Sauer’s glare. “Kiss me Kate!” he
says, pulling her to him quickly. No
sooner does he release her than she
wipes his kiss away.
Next up is the hilarious comedic
sketch “Shakespeare’s Who’s On
First.” Starring Nicola Ryan ’13 and
Will Ruehle ’13, the scene’s playful
adaptation fuses an old joke with
older English to the delight of audi-
ence members. Commissioned to
find athletes “fit to play this raucous
‘Ruddigore’ embraces melodrama
continued from page 1
and somber effect to the music.
The audience follows Rose
Maybud (Herald opinions colum-
nist Sarah Rosenthal ’11), the town
beauty of a village in Cornwall, who
is waiting for a man to come along
and sweep her off her feet. Enter Sir
Ruthven Murgatroyd, the Baronet of
Ruddigore. Due to a curse placed on
all of the Baronets of Ruddigore —
which forces them to each commit
one daily crime until the day they die
— Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd assumes
the identity of Robin Oakapple after
faking his own death in order to be
rid of the curse.
When “Robin” enters, he is al-
ready love-stricken with Rose, but
he is far too timid to make a move.
Rose, who also loves Robin, can-
not act first because she lives by a
book which prescribes all social for-
malities — preventing woman from
showing their feelings first. “Here I
find it doesn’t do to speak until you’re
spoken to,” Rose declares as she
points dramatically to her book. The
awkward tension in their duet early
in the show, “I know a youth,” first
elicited laughter from the audience.
The dominance of love over the
constraints of social norms is a ma-
jor theme in “Ruddigore.” As one
character says, “For where true
love is, there is little need for prim
formality.”
Robin turns to his foster broth-
er, the charismatic Richard Daunt-
less (Rob Volgman ’14), who falls
in love with Rose rather than help
Friday, November 19, 2010 | Page 4
sport before the king,” the two char-
acters go about setting the primary,
secondar y and tertiar y positions
— first, second and third base —
amid cresting comedic frustration.
Audience members must laughingly
agree to “give thee bloody teeth” if a
verily true answer is withheld. Who
hath the primary position?
In the next scene, from “Mea-
sure for Measure,” the fate of pious
Isabella’s (Siri Olson ’14) brother
lies in the philandering hands of
Angelo (Emma Johnson ’14). If
Isabella renounces her vows and
sleeps with him, Angelo will release
her brother. Johnson’s Angelo is
superb — unexpected from a female
in an overtly masculine role. Her
strut is slow, deliberate and menac-
ing toward the conflicted Isabella.
A romantic scene from “Henry
V” follows in which Henry (Gordon
Sayre ’12) is determined to woo the
beautiful Katherine (Emily Oliveira,
a RISD sophomore), princess of
France. Henry paints himself as the
humble suitor whose ability to woo
is sorely lacking, but his sincerity
and sweet words ensnare both Kath-
erine and the audience nonetheless.
Rooting for the underdog has never
been such fun as Sayre presents
a charming, comedic — though
undoubtedly determined — suitor.
Continuing the pattern of sur-
his brother. The plot becomes even
more convoluted with the introduc-
tion of the hilariously wicked Sir
Despard Murgatroyd (Nate Stetson
’11). “Avoid an existence of crime,
or you’ll be as ugly as I,” sings Sir
Despard to a group of frightened
townspeople. As the current baronet
of Ruddigore, Sir Despard is subject
to the curse — when it is revealed
that “Robin” is truly Sir Ruthven the
Baronet, the curse reverts to him
and Despard runs off to live a life
free of crime. Once it is revealed
to Rose that “Robin” is actually Sir
Ruthven, she quickly leaves him.
The most notable feature of the
production is its eccentric and fun-
ny characters, from Mad Margaret
(Maya Stroshane ’11) to a group of
ghosts who play Robin’s disgruntled
ancestors.
The singing is generally in tune.
Rosenthal’s soaring soprano is well-
embellished by her extremely quick,
operatic vibrato. Arevalo strongly
incorporates emotion into his sing-
ing, although a few of his lower notes
become muddy when the orches-
tra is in full-blare. Several numbers,
such as “When the night wind howls”
and “There grew a little flower,” are
stolen by Sir Roderic (Bryan Tyler
Parker ’11), a ghost with an extreme-
ly powerful baritone and a positively
wicked laugh.
Stroshane also stands out as Mad
Margaret, with a strong voice and
fantastic command of body language.
At certain moments, the singers
fall out of sync with the orchestra but
quickly recover. The sparse choreog-
prising the audience with emotional
twists and turns, “The Rude Me-
chanicals” continues with a tragic
scene from “Richard III” in which
Richard (Harry Aspinwall ’11) at-
tempts to seduce the grieving Lady
Anne (Sophie Netanel ’11.5) at the
funeral of her husband — whom
he has had murdered. Aspinwall’s
Richard is appropriately sinister to
Netanel’s blind fury. It is a battle
of words and wills between these
two hard-headed characters with
an outcome sitting grimly on the
horizon.
The concluding sketches are
equal in their hilarity. In “Shake-
speare’s Editor” the audience learns
that Hamlet’s famous line “To be or
not to be?” was a shortened solilo-
quy “Bill” (Andrew Favaloro GS)
only agreed to on the condition
that his two “Cockney gravedig-
gers” made the final cut. And in an
excerpt from “The Tempest,” the
audience is treated to a drunkenly
brilliant scene between a jester, a
butler and a son of a witch. The
production also features a scene
from “A Winter’s Tale.”
Together, the scenes featured
in “The Rude Mechanicals” are
delightfully diverse, amusing and
riveting. Fine acting and classic text
— with the occasional twist — make
for a splendid evening.
raphy, often exaggerated, adds to the
parody-esque feel of the production.
“The integration of music and
acting was much tighter than it had
been before,” said Arevalo, acting in
his third BUGS production.
The characters seem to become
more comfortable in their roles as
the production goes on. They be-
gin the first act somewhat unsure
of themselves but the laughter of
the audience helps to alleviate any
stiffness by the second act.
Bergman and music director
Meghan Kelleher ’12 explained that
they attempted to make the show
as funny and appealing as possible.
According to Bergman, Gilbert and
Sullivan productions are often associ-
ated with an old, stuffy air — “Rud-
digore” premiered in 1887 — but
they wanted to modernize the show.
“(We would) search through lines
and make every line as relevant as
possible, given when it was written,”
said Kelleher. Audience members
couldn’t help but laugh when a char-
acter continuously refered to himself
as “Dick.”
Audience members will find the
experience to be very welcoming
and user-friendly, beginning with
the “Glossary of Recondite Terms”
in the program.
“Melodrama is silly,” explained
Kelleher. Whether you go to Rud-
digore for the silliness, the singing
or the great set-design, it’s all there.
“Ruddigore” will run Nov. 19-21
in Alumnae Hall at 8 p.m. on Friday
and Saturday, 2 p.m. on Saturday and
3 p.m. Sunday.
SportsWeekend
The Brown Daily Herald

Friday, November 19, 2010 | Page 5

m. soccer athlete of the week

Bears victorious in Tounkara ’11 tearing it up on gridiron

By Ethan McCoy missed out on a couple things, but it ing from Belgium and having never

NCAA homestand Sports Staff Writer

One of the biggest concerns for the

was good for me. I needed something
like that, and it sprung my life into
this whole crazy thing where I ended
played the game before, I wasn’t
used to that. It took me some time
to adjust.
By Zack Bahr again,” Kelly said of Bekker. “Now football team going into this season up at Brown, which is the best thing
Sports Staff Writer he has to sit out and I don’t know was at the wide receiver position — that’s ever happened to me. Here’s the situation. You’re
how he thought that was going to who would step up to fill the shoes of in the NFL and there are
The temperature was cold, but emo- help us.” the prolific duo of Buddy Farnham What sports did you play as a no penalties for excessive
tions were hot Thursday night at The head referee, Erich Sim- ’10 and Bobby Sewall ’10? In his first kid in Belgium? celebrations. You score a
Stevenson Field, as No.22 Brown mons, was the same official who varsity season, Alex Tounkara ’11 has (Laughs) I played nothing but touchdown. What’s your best
(12-3-3) defeated No.25 Boston Col- gave out a record number of yellow answered that question, exploding soccer until I came to the states. touchdown dance?
lege (10-5-5) in the opening round of cards during Brown’s game against onto the scene as one of the most Never tried anything else. (Laughs) Oh my goodness. It’d
the NCAA Division I men’s soccer Harvard earlier this year. dangerous deep threats in the Ivy probably be a combination of about
tournament. Midfielder Jon Okafor Head Coach Pat Laughlin, who is League. The senior ranks second Do you still follow soccer today 10 celebrations. The first would be
’11 and forward Austin Mandel ’12 normally reserved on the sidelines, in the Ivy League in receptions (56) a lot? the Paul Raymond (’07) “put the team
led the way for the Bears, notching gave the assistant ref an earful on a and receiving yards (773). For his Oh yes, I love it. The World Cup on my back” because my freshman
a goal apiece in the 2-1 victory. couple of no-calls. strong play and accomplishments all — I filled out a bracket on ESPN. year after Paul scored a touchdown,
The Bears, who finished their “You know, it’s tough out there.” season, and for his remarkable foot- com and was in the 99th percentile he would point at his jersey number
home season undefeated, came out Laughlin said. “It’s a very physical ball journey, the Herald has named (laughs). I love soccer. I always keep on the back. That’s how I would start.
with tenacity and found the back of game and it’s a tough job for the ref. I Tounkara athlete of the week. in touch. And then I’d probably continue on to
the net early on against the Eagles. just thought that some things should the “Dougie,” and somehow Jonah
Starting at the midfield line, Okafor have been called.” Herald: Before this season You didn’t start playing football Fay (’12) would be there and we’d
weaved past a number of BC defend- “To go up against an (Atlantic you hadn’t had much varsity until your junior year of high do some ridiculous dance together.
ers before whipping a shot past goal- Coast Conference) team after be- experience. What was it like to school. Could you tell me about
keeper Justin Luthy into the lower ing knocked out by one last year is step right into a starting role your first experiences with the What are you going to
right corner of the goal 11 minutes very exciting,” Laughlin said, refer- and contribute since the very sport? remember most about Brown
into the game. ring to Brown’s second-round loss first snap? It was kind of funny how I fell when you graduate?
The defense held strong for to the University of North Carolina Tounkara: That’s the thing about into it, because I walked into my My teammates. I’ve met so many
Brown with its foursome of Ryan last year. “It’s an NCAA game. It’s college football. Everyone that’s here high school and they encouraged different guys that I’ll never forget,
McDuff ’13, David Walls ’11, Eric win or go home.” at these schools was the best in high students to have extracurriculars, from Paul Raymond freshman year
Robertson ’13 and Dylan Remick “Win or go home” is a message school, was a great athlete, so they so they asked me if I wanted to play doing the craziest things to Bobby
’13. The defenders were able to take that rings loud and clear for the se- prepare you as soon as you are a a sport. Sewall and Buddy Farnham going to
away several shot opportunities for niors on the Brown sideline. In the freshman. Practice is as intense as it Being naive, I said sure, I’ll play the NFL, and then Jonah Fay, Emory
BC. Remick also had several close single-elimination tournament, every can be and you learn from the best. I whatever ... so the guidance coun- Polley (’14) ... . The guys that I’ve met
headers and shots on the offensive game could be their last. had Buddy and Bobby in front of me, selor I had at the time took me to — I think that’s the biggest thing that
side that just couldn’t find the net. “This team has been together for who showed me a lot of good things, the football office. At first, it was I’ll always remember from Brown.
“We are very confident in our de- a long time,” said defender David and going up against the first team kind of nerve-racking. It’s football,
fense. We are a very solid unit and we Walls ’11. “We don’t know where this defense two straight years, that made so everybody thinks they’re the best To read more of the interview, go to
will try and build,” Walls said before journey is going to take us, but we me play a lot harder. and everybody talks trash, and com- browndailyherald.com.
poking fun at his First Team All-Ivy are excited.”
teammate. “We have a fairly decent Defender Ian Smith ’11 echoed You grew up in Belgium and
goalkeeper as well.” the feeling. moved to the United States
Perhaps a little better than de- “We play for a national champi- with just your brother when
cent, goalkeeper Paul Grandstrand onship,” Smith said. “We are here you were 14. What was this
’11 recorded four saves for Bruno in playing for each other.” transition like?
a game that became physical for him Brown will head to the University It was kind of a trip because even
in the second half. Eagle midfielder of Connecticut to take on the Huskies though he was my older brother, I
Colin Murphy came sliding cleats in second-round play. Kickoff is set was taking care of him all the time so
high at Grandstrand, who was on for Sunday at 1 p.m. I feel like I grew up a little early and
the ground with ball in arms. Mur-
phy, who lay on the ground after the
collision, received a yellow card on
the play.
Mandel was in fine form for the
Bears. Despite wearing a concussion
cap, Mandel touched in a pass from
midfielder Thomas McNamara ’12 to
give Bruno the lead just two minutes
after a game-tying goal by midfielder
Kyle Bekker.
Midfielder Jay Hayward ’12 rat-
tled the left goalpost when he rico-
cheted a blazing free kick restart in
the 76th minute.
“We tried to get our feet on the
ground early,” said BC Head Coach
Ed Kelly. “We knew that they were
a team that comes out strong. They
were just better athletes than us.”
With less than five minutes re-
maining, Bekker rocketed a shot
from 25 yards out across the goal
into the right side of the net.
Bekker then made a celebratory
lap past the Brown bench, circling
his arm through the air and receiving
a yellow card from the referee and
boos from the nearly 1,000 Bruno-
nians in the stands. Bekker later got
in a heated debate with the head
referee in the final minutes of the
game over a handball and was given
a second yellow card, knocking the
goal-scorer out of the game.
“He had to go and mouth off
Editorial & Letters
The Brown Daily Herald

Page 6 | Friday, November 19, 2010

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

Student interests aligned

with library workers’
To the Editor: But any casual observer of Univer-
sity goings-on could begin to list off
Reading The Herald’s article cov- the many other expenditures that
ering the library workers’ contract the University deems worthwhile,
settlement last week (“Libraries and that, unlike workers’ wages
union approves four-year contract,” and livelihoods, are never accused
Nov. 10), we can’t help but be struck of directly trading off with crucial
by Executive Vice President for Fi- components of the student experi-
nance and Administration Beppie ence at Brown. Huidekoper insults
Huidekoper’s closing comment: “I the student body’s intelligence by
want to add that Brown is so for- implying that we would be fooled
tunate to have such a dedicated into thinking that the University’s
community. These are extremely anti-worker contract proposals were
challenging times and Brown’s em- somehow put forward with students’
ployees have been terrific at work- best interests at heart. Curtailing
ing together to ensure that Brown’s workers’ control over their hours,
students get the best experience increasing their healthcare costs
possible.” and trying to undermine their bar-
This statement concludes two gaining unit have nothing to do with
months of contract negotiations, “ensur(ing) that Brown’s students erik stayton and evan donahue
during which the University has get the best experience possible.”
conjured up an imagined zero-sum Indeed, to the contrary, the inter-
formulation, pitting students and ests of students and the interests
workers against each other in a of workers are now and have always d i a m o n d s a n d c oa l
competition for resources. Ludi- been aligned.
crously, Huidekoper and fellow
administrators publicly imply that
there are only two line items in the Kate Hadley ’12.5 A diamond to the Admission Office for finally switch- Diamond to the student who had his “virgin Word!
University’s budget — compensa- Haley Kossek ’13 ing from paper applications to online material. It’s experience” at the Friendship Cafe. You should check
tion for workers and student ser- Julian Park ’12 about time you caught up with the technological out the Friendship-With-Benefits Cafe.
vices — and whatever benefits one Lenora Knowles ’11 advancements made by the porn industry.
group necessarily hurts the other. Alex Dean ’14 Cubic zirconium to the researcher who spent over
A diamond to Cosa Nostra. Though it replaced 7,000 hours of her life meditating and wondered if that
Meeting Street pizzeria Via Via IV, insiders tell us time could have been better spent on other pursuits.
that it will be “the same type of business.” As long Having spent similar hours at The Herald, we can tell
t h e b r o w n d a i ly h e r a l d as it’s all in the family! you nothing is worth it. Nothing.
Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Deputy Managing Editors Senior Editors
George Miller Chaz Kelsh Emmy Liss Ben Hyman Coal to Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron’s Coal to Loko-hating officials for insinuating we can’t
Joanna Wohlmuth Seth Motel “fireside chat” with UCS. Great — now we can’t stop handle four beers plus caffeine. You’ve obviously
editorial Business picturing FDR with big hoop earrings. never spent time in a newsroom. And on that note,
Anne Speyer Arts & Culture Editor General Managers Office Manager a diamond to tonight’s Herald Banquet.
Suzannah Weiss Arts & Culture Editor
Claire Kiely Shawn Reilly
Sara Luxenberg Features Editor Diamond to the taekwondo team for taking home
Katie Koh
Brian Mastroianni Features Editor top honors at a regional competition last month. But “Diamonds and Coal” is written by Herald staff. Write
Brigitta Greene Metro Editor Directors
Ben Schreckinger Metro Editor Kelly Wess Sales coal to the student who said joining the team was your own at diamondsandcoal.com.
Matthew Burrows Finance
Sydney Ember News Editor
Danielle Marshak Asst. Finance
“definitely the best decision I’ve made freshman year.”
Tony Bakshi Sports Editor
Ashley McDonnell Asst. Sports Editor Margaret Watson Client Relations Talk about damning with faint praise.
Christiana Stephenson Alumni Relations
Graphics & Photos Managers
Stephen Lichenstein Graphics Editor Cubic zirconium to the alum who helped rescue
Isha Gulati Local Sales
Alex Yuly Graphics Editor the trapped Chilean miners. We thought it was too
Arjun Vaidya Local Sales
Stephanie London Photo Editor
Rajiv Iyengar National Sales soon for diamonds or coal.
Max Monn Photo Editor
Aditi Bhatia University Sales
Hilary Rosenthal Photo Editor
Jared Davis University Sales
Jonathan Bateman Sports Photo Editor
Trenten Nelson-Rivers Recruiter Sales
Jesse Morgan Asst. Sports Photo Editor
Lauren Bosso Business Operations
Production Jilyn Chao Business Analytics
Kelly Mallahan Copy Desk Chief Margot Grinberg Credit and Collections
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Opinions
The Brown Daily Herald
Hunter fast
Opinions Columnist
Nov. 9 marked the end of pre-registration
for spring courses, in which many students
scrambled for places in limited-enrollment
classes. However, a number of students
were unable to sign up because of Brown’s
reinstatement of a policy barring those
with significant unpaid balances from pre-
registering. This policy, suspended during
the recent recession, needlessly endangers
students’ academic futures and leaves stu-
dents’ families more vulnerable to the lin-
gering effects of the economic downturn.
The lapse of the moratorium on registra-
tion holds is motivated by the belief that the
financial crisis is generally over and that all
is now well in the economic universe. This
is demonstrably false. Unemployment is
still high and many families are still strug-
gling to pay down old consumer debt. The
recession has ended by technical definition,
but a period of joblessness can affect per-
sonal balance sheets for years.
But Brown too is under budgetary
stress, and therefore has to find another
way of enforcing tuition payments. As Mi-
chelle Uhrick ’11 points out (“When is a uni-
versity just a university?” Nov. 15), Brown
already uses its power over students’ diplo-
mas and transcripts to influence their eco-
nomic decisions in many ways. If the Uni-
versity can withhold a degree in order to
compel students to live in the dorms, then it
BY Chris norris-leblanc
Opinions Columnist
As Brown University is an international-
ly acclaimed institution, we the students
graduate with a number of opportunities
and privileges not afforded to the major-
ity of the world’s population. The diploma,
possibly the most ponderous of these privi-
leges, is not easy to conceptualize sharing
with a large group of people for obvious
reasons. Although realistically we cannot
hope to share a lot of our privilege with
the world without a great deal of high-lev-
el systematic change, we can work to con-
cretely and practically “spread the wealth”
to the Providence community.
If we think about our education in the
way it was originally conceived — a way
to better understand the world around us
and subsequently enter it as agents of posi-
tive change — we can much more easily
envision the various paths to sharing this
privilege. In theor y, the accumulation and
analysis of different bodies of knowledge
leads to this understanding. If we cannot
open up our school and classrooms to the
community right away, I would argue that
an easy first step would be to share some
basic resources that we have in abundance
— namely, our books.
The sharing of our libraries could be
useful for community members in many
ways, first of which is the access it would
afford to materials not easily found oth-
er wise. Second, it would give community
Brown’s safety net
can just as easily use such tactics to discour-
age late payments.
After all, a student who has already paid
for several semesters’ tuition has made a
significant financial commitment to the Uni-
versity that can be viewed as a type of collat-
eral. In this case, if a student is late in mak-
ing payments, Brown could simply hold his
academic records — ergo all of the tuition
he has paid thus far — and cover the bal-
If the University can withhold a degree in order
to compel students to live in the dorms, then it
can just as easily use such tactics to discourage
late payments.
ance of his account while charging some
level of interest above that of conventional
student loans.
Obviously, there are a few complicat-
ed aspects of this arrangement that would
have to be taken into account. For instance,
Brown is a sufficiently large institution that
it can cover overdue payments, but doing
so would still make a dent in its operational
cash flow that would need to be recovered.
Fortunately, the aforementioned finan-
cial crisis has brought with it record low
interest rates of which Brown can easily
take advantage. From this, it becomes ap-
parent that Brown can borrow cash at very
low interest rates, charge overdue accounts
On sharing resources
members a quiet and comfortable space to
do work. Finally, on a less academic note,
it would offer a new way for the Providence
citizenr y to engage with an other wise in-
sular community. Now instead of walking
in and out of the Brown University bubble,
community members might actually feel
like our campus is a part of their city.
It is important to recognize that this
idea is not without precedent. At Cornell
University, public school teachers from
Ithaca are allowed full librar y access for
If we cannot open up our school and classrooms
to the community right away, I would argue that
an easy first step would be to share some
basic resources that we have in abundance;
namely, our books.
the lofty sum of $0.00. At Columbia Uni-
versity, there is a program in place where-
by books can be loaned if they cannot be
found at the public institutions in New
York City. Perhaps even more impressive-
ly, the “Open Collections Program” at Har-
vard University is a large-scale effort to
digitize selections from their libraries and
make them available to anyone with an In-
ternet connection. Additionally, New York
a relatively high interest rate and generate
a profit over the long run by pocketing the
difference.
There is also the problem of differing
levels of collateral among different class
levels. A junior has obviously paid much
more tuition than a second semester fresh-
man, meaning that the freshman faces less
of an incentive against default, and is there-
fore a greater financial risk to the Univer-
sity. Though it would be unfair to prevent
students of lower semester levels from bor-
rowing from the University in times of per-
sonal financial stress, Brown could charge
underclassmen higher interest rates to cor-
rect for this additional risk.
Generally speaking, any program that
involves lending out money is open to po-
tential losses, but most associated risks can
be controlled by adjusting interest rates ac-
cordingly. Furthermore, any student who
borrows from the University in this way fac-
es the threat of losing access to all of his
credits at Brown until he pays the balance,
which would serve to minimize even fur-
ther expected losses.
University has a whole librar y, “The Tami-
ment Librar y,” open to the public and com-
pletely free of charge.
Amidst all of these various attempts at
other universities, I have been unable to
unearth information about any programs
at Brown University to share our libraries
with the community. As it stands, Brown
will allow an individual with “special re-
search needs” to use our libraries for
$400.00 per year, but this is seemingly the
only program we have.
Rather than framing this as a critique
of Brown, I would like to pose it as an easy
and well-supported first step towards shar-
ing some of our privilege and connecting
with the community.
In this vein, I propose that this program
start by opening the libraries to middle
school students, high school students and
teachers in the city of Providence. In this
way, our vast academic resources could
Friday, November 19, 2010 | Page 7
In light of this, the policy of preventing
anyone with an outstanding account bal-
ance of $1,000 or more from taking part in
pre-registration is overly vindictive. When
students are unable to make payments, it
is not because they are attempting to game
the system somehow. People sometimes
have difficulty in securing student loans,
and unforeseen circumstances can often se-
riously affect families’ ability to pay tuition
bills on time. A bureaucracy exists to align
financial aid awards with ability to pay, but
it is often unable to react as quickly as the
situation requires.
When considering problems of tuition
in economic terms, it is important to be
cognizant of the structural advantages that
Brown has over its students. However, be-
cause Brown is perfectly capable of collect-
ing collateral from students with outstand-
ing balances, these advantages can some-
times work to the benefit of students in
need.
Instead of forcing students to wait in
limbo while unable to sign up for limited-
enrollment courses that are often needed
to graduate, Brown should use its power
to give students who have fallen behind on
payments the time to catch up. Not only
could the University potentially profit from
such an arrangement, but in the current
economic situation, it is the only compas-
sionate thing to do.
Hunter Fast ‘12 is a computer science-
economics concentrator from
Bloomington, Ill. He can be
reached at hunter_fast@brown.edu.
begin to be shared with the people in our
community who need them the most. An
increase in relations between Brown and
the Providence community could also open
the door for a lot of other great sharing to
occur. I envision homework help sessions,
talking groups and a general push to cre-
ate a system where students at Brown reg-
ularly plug into Providence in a variety of
ways.
Before moving for ward, it is important
to situate this proposal in a larger frame-
work and explain why this sort of thing is
even important. Quoth our mission state-
ment, “The mission of Brown University
is to ser ve the community, the nation, and
the world by discovering, communicat-
ing, and preser ving knowledge and un-
derstanding in a spirit of free inquir y ...”.
In order to fully ser ve our community,
we must not only discover and preser ve
knowledge, but also communicate it. I can
think of no better starting point to more
effectively work towards this goal than
opening up academic spaces to the com-
munity around us, and in turn hope that
this creates a better running dialogue and
open discourse between Brown and Provi-
dence. Who knows, maybe when all is said
and done, this could be the start of a much
bigger shift in the pursuit of symbiosis and
equality.
Chris Norris-LeBlanc ’13 is from
Rhode Island, and can be contacted
at chris.norris.leblanc@gmail.com.
 Today 5 Men’s soccer defeats Boston College to day to m o r r o w

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Book-sharing for a better community

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t h e n e w s i n i m ag e s

1
c a l e n da r
Today november 19 ToMORROW november 20

4:30 P.M. 4 P.M.

IFF Presents 127 Hours: A Free Classical Indian Music Concert,
Screening, Avon Cinema List Art Building, Room 120
8 P.m. 5 p.m.
2010 Fall Dance Concert, Studio Voice Recital,
Ashamu Dance Studio Grant Recital Hall

menu
SHARPE REFECTORY
LUNCH
Red Potato Frittata, Vegan Brown
Rice, Onion Rings, Vegan Roasted
Vegetable Burrito
VERNEy-WOOLLEY DINING HALL
Chicken Fingers, Vegan Nuggets,
Steamed Vegetable Melange,
M&M Cookies

5
DINNER
Stuffed Shells Florentine, Roasted Ginger Chicken Pasta, Grilled
Vegetable Pizza, Mussels in Chicken, Pound Cake with Peaches
Marinara Sauce and Whipped Cream

crossword comics

Dot Comic | Eshan Mitra and Brendan Hainline

The Misadventures of Blockhead | Adam Petchers and Co.

BB & Z | Cole Pruitt, Andrew Seiden and Valerie Hsiung