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Volume CXL, No. 7 An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891

State of theUnion not apriority forstudents

Elections,campus regionplan on UCSagenda

BY JANE PORTERSENIOR STAFF WRITER

Because Brown has no school-widegrading criteria, faculty and adminis-trators are continually looking for waysto increase awareness of the process ofassigning grades, a process that manystudents find to be ambiguous andinconsistent.

Serika Gooden ’05, a modern cultureand media and American civilizationconcentrator, said she often goes into acourse not knowing how her grades willbe calculated and leaves at the end ofthe semester with a similar lack ofunderstanding as to how she received aparticular grade.

To combat this sentiment, theCollege Curriculum Council has rec-ommended that Course PerformanceReports be available to students in anycourse with the faculty member’s con-sent, said Jonathan Waage, who is exec-utive associate dean of the College, amember of the CCC and a professor ofbiology. Under current provisions,CPRs are available to students takingan S/NC course — with the agreementof the professor — but are not offeredin courses being taken for a grade.

The CPR provides space for both thestudent and instructor to comment onthe student’s performance in a course.“The Course Performance Report is themost valuable and underutilizedmeans of assessment of thisUniversity,” Waage said.

The CCC, which decided in Spring2003 to once again reject the use ofpluses and minuses in grading, hasrecently recommended that a Web-based set of resources on grading beavailable for faculty members to helpincrease discussion on the topic ofgrading.

The Harriet W. Sheridan Center forTeaching and Learning is also workingtoward increasing communication onthe issue of grading. Nearly 70 graduatestudents and professors from acrossthe curriculum gathered to learn moreabout grading and assessment at aMonday evening workshop sponsoredby the Sheridan Center.

The workshop, run by LawrenceWakeford, senior lecturer and clinicalprofessor of biology and science edu-cation, and Luther Spoehr, lecturer ineducation, provided instructors withvarious methods of assessment that

could be used when grading students.“The deepest flaw is the attempt to

try and put into a single letter or a sin-gle number what somebody haslearned,” Wakeford said.

It is not only the ambiguity of what aparticular grade means that troublesfaculty and students, but also the largevariance between how students aregraded, both across the curriculum andeven within departments themselves.

“It varies way too much, I think,”Gooden said.

“I find that in English courses or inmodern culture and media courses, it’sa point system that will somehowtranslate into a grade which you won’teven know until you get your tran-script,” she said.

But deans and professors agree thata school-wide grading standard is notthe solution to avoiding discrepanciesbetween the grades students expectand those instructors dole out.

“We want to make sure faculty havea lot of autonomy. They have to be asinvested in the course as the studentsare,” said David Targan, associate dean

Chris Bennett / Herald

Students gather around a television in Keeney to watch President Bush’s State of theUnion speech.

Small departments reach out for concentratorsBY SHAWN BANCONTRIBUTING WRITER

Some popular concentrations at Browntypically attract more than 200 studentsin a year, while other lesser-knownstudies may have as few as 15 concen-trators. As a result, many of the leanerdepartments are taking steps to raisestudent awareness and attract morepotential concentrators.

The Center for EnvironmentalStudies, which supports the A.B. inEnvironmental Studies and the Sc.B. inEnvironmental Science, activelyrecruits concentrators. Typically, about15 people concentrate in each degree

every year, said Louella Hill ’04, foodsystem coordinator at the CES.

A staff member at the CES works as aconcentration coordinator each year.Hill held the position last year. “As arecruiter for the center, I met with peo-ple individually, spoke to them andencouraged them to consider applyingfor the concentrations,” she said.

Each year, organizers compile a listof students who identified themselvesas interested in either environmentalstudies or environmental science priorto coming to Brown. Students who

see RECRUITMENT, page 4

CCC, Sheridan Center working to improve grading methods

see GRADES, page 6

BY STU WOO AND BEN LEUBSDORFSENIOR STAFF WRITERS

President Bush delivered his fourth State ofthe Union address Wednesday night, butBrown University wasn’t watching.

At the Gate and Jo’s, the televisions wereturned to ESPN’s coverage of the WakeForest-Duke men’s basketball game. In aMead House lounge in Keeney Quad, onlyone first-year sat watching the speech asMeiklejohns met in the space around him.

Many students said they weren’t aware ofthe speech, and others didn’t care.

“I didn’t know about the speech,” saidJosé Ramirez ’06 as he watched the basket-ball game at the Gate. “I’m not interested,honestly.”

“I get frustrated when I watch Bushspeak, and there’s not a lot that I can doabout it right now, so why get angry?” saidLena Groeger ’08, who was also at the Gate.

Several students said they tuned intoABC to watch “Alias” at 9 p.m., but turnedoff their televisions when they saw thePresident’s annual address to Congress wasbeing carried instead.

A few people in Andrews Hall, however,did watch the speech. Four first-years gath-ered in a room to watch the address, treat-ing it as a source of entertainment. They beton the number of times Congress wouldapplaud him — 66 times, according to theircount — and mocked Bush throughout thespeech.

“Bush makes me giggle,” Aaron Mandle’08 said.

At least one student in the room, howev-er, listened to Bush’s words.

“I thought Bush was trying to restoretrust in the American people that he didn’t

see UNION, page 6

BY LAURA SUPKOFFCONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Undergraduate Council of Studentsheld internal elections for 10 positions lastnight at the first general body meeting ofthe spring semester, after which PresidentJoel Payne ’05 outlined the campus regionplan he first revealed during his campaignlast spring.

Six members of UCS had resigned, open-ing up voting positions to be filled by asso-ciate members or non-UCS students. MikeThomson ’06, Jess Maddox ’08, MattNewcomb ’08, Deanna Chaikhos ’08, HalleyWuertz ’08 and Hannah Melton ’06, whohad all been associate members and activeparticipants on committees, were electedfull voting members of the council.

The newly elected representatives werethen able to vote in internal executiveboard elections. Brian Bidadi ’06 was elect-ed chair of the Admission and StudentServices Committee, leaving his post as sec-retary to Cash McCracken ’08.

Bidadi, a member for two-and-a-halfyears, talked about hosting a WebCT surveyto find out student opinion. “All the com-mittees are making decisions that affect thestudents,” he said.

McCracken, a member of the both theUndergraduate Finance Board and UCS,dismissed concerns that he would be over-stretched, saying, “I love the University, Ilove the student body — this is what I’mpassionate about.”

McCracken said as a member of theExecutive Board he “could serve as anotherconnection and make them (UCS and UFB)closer together.”

Dave Bronfman ’07 was elected the newliaison between UCS and the Corporation.“I think that Corporation liaison arguablycan have the most influence,” he said. “Byreally utilizing that position it can augmentwhat we (UCS) are trying to do.”

Herald Copy Editor Zachary Townsend’08 was elected new coordinator of com-munications. “I went to a high school calledthe Communications High School,” saidTownsend, who stressed the need for apublic relations representative along withmore exposure in the form of media releas-es.

Payne also addressed the Council abouthis goals for the semester, saying that the“No. 1 thing that we can do this semester isthe implementation of the campus regionplan.”

The plan would involve the addition ofsix new council positions, five of whichwould be chosen based on campus regionby a general election. The remaining posi-tion of campus region coordinator, whowould have a place on the executive board,would be chosen in spring during the gen-eral election.

Tentative plans call for Region 1 to con-sist of Pembroke, Machado, and Minden;Region 2 to include Hope, Littlefield, Slater,Hegeman, and Keeney; Region 3 to repre-sent the students who live off campus;Region 4 to include Wriston Quadrangleand New Dorm; and Region 5 to consist ofPerkins, Barbour, Young Orchard and Grad

see UCS, page 7

POST- RETURNSpost- explores its virgin/whorecomplex and gets a date with DebraMessing

I N S I D E

post- UNION RAGES, UNION FROWNSSeth Magaziner ’06 and MichalZapendowski ’07 react to theState of the Union address

O P I N I O N S E X T R A 9

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C R O S S W O R D

THIS MORNINGTHE BROWN DAILY HERALD

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2005 · PAGE 2

ACROSS1 Most protected7 Sonoma Valley

neighbor11 Salon job14 Venezia’s locale15 “__ it!”16 Unified17 Super Bowl XXI

anthem singer19 Mormon gp.20 Des Moines hrs.21 Fly catcher22 Get all hopped-

up24 Obsolete suffix25 Super Bowl

XXXVI anthemsinger

27 Phone, slangily29 Places to make

scenes?30 More than

sprinkles32 Make do34 Mind38 First name in

scat39 Super Bowl

XXXII anthemsinger

40 It’s fit for a queen41 Like old tires42 Utopia43 Alibi problems44 “__ baby!”46 Window ledge47 Super Bowl

XXVII anthemsinger

52 Sumac of Peru55 Get better again56 Compete57 Fix58 Iron source59 Super Bowl

XXVIII anthemsinger

63 Comic64 Sierra Club

concern: Abbr.65 Innies and outies66 Court call67 “The __ the

limit!”68 Fence pieces

DOWN 1 From that day

forward

2 Big blast3 Super Bowl

XXXIV anthemsinger

4 Room extension5 Imogene’s

partner6 Its official

language isMandarinChinese

7 Auras8 Big bother9 Revolving

firework10 Nut11 Sportscast

tidbits,collectively

12 Inappropriate13 Peevish18 Fizzy prefix23 Hybrid fuel25 Doubtfire’s title26 Vail alternative28 Courting,

perhaps30 Soldier in gray31 Like32 Chest-maker’s

wood33 Have obligations

35 Super Bowl XXIIIanthem singer

36 “Not a creaturewas stirring” time

37 Toady’s word39 Very dark43 __ nibs: authority

figure45 Macbeth et al.46 Yarn units47 Boxer’s warning48 Hill dwelling

49 He madeScarlett blush

50 Racetracks51 Monet medium53 “Atlantic City”

director Louis54 Make __ of:

bungle60 Christmas

purchase61 Have something62 LIII doubled

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

14 15 16

17 18 19

20 21 22 23

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P L A T A C A R I B C P AD E P O T R E E S E R A NS A I N T P E T E R S B U R G

A Y N R A N D T R I K EO A R A M A S S U S E RP R I S S Y U T T E R SS I S A L P A U L O

A T L A S S H R U G G E DP E T A L A I M E D

O B T U S E H E L P E RR E O S P A L E O A R EA N N A L R E D P A W NT H E F O U N T A I N H E A DO U R I L I U M D E L L AR R S S T E P S Y E S E S

By David J. Kahn(c)2005 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

02/03/05

02/03/05

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W O R L D I N B R I E FPresident details plan for Social Security

T O D A Y ’ S E V E N T SGLOBAL MEDIA & THE POWER OF IMAGES, OR WHAT ‘THEY’ THINK OFUS AND WHY IT MATTERS4:00 p.m. (Joukowsky Forum, Watson Institute, 111 Thayer Street) —Presented by Ralph J. Begleiter, Rosenberg Professor of Communicationand Distinguished Journalist in Residence at the University of Delaware.

WASHINGTON — President BushWednesday night called for a historicrestructuring of Social Security thatwould allow younger workers for thefirst time to invest some of their payrolltaxes in the stock market, declaring inhis annual State of the Union addressthat without change the venerable pro-gram is headed toward bankruptcy.

Speaking to a joint session ofCongress and a national television audi-ence, Bush sketched out in more detailthan before the top domestic goal ofhis second term but stopped short ofproviding a complete blueprint to leavehimself negotiating room with skeptical

lawmakers. Under his plan, workersyounger than 55 could divert up to 4percent of income subject to SocialSecurity taxation into private invest-ment accounts beginning in 2009.

With Social Security as its center-piece, the address laid out an excep-tionally ambitious agenda as Bushgears up for another four years, onethat will challenge powerful constituen-cies and test the capacity of a presidentreelected with a bare majority to simul-taneously wage war abroad and trans-form government at home.

read more, page 5

Brown digitizing its collectionindependently so farBY STU WOOSENIOR STAFF WRITER

Search engine giant Google made headlines inDecember when it announced it would form apartnership with four universities, includingHarvard University, and the New York City PublicLibrary to digitize substantial portions of theirbook collections.

The announcement was a signal that a growingnumber of libraries, including Brown’s, are lookingpast the bookshelves and reference desk and intocyberspace.

“There’s a lot of digital technology changinghow libraries work,” said Paul Jones, clinical asso-ciate professor at the School of Information andLibrary Sciences at the University of NorthCarolina at Chapel Hill. One of the biggestchanges is how people search for books and refer-ences, he added.

Google’s beta digitization project will beginwith Harvard, Stanford University, the Universityof Michigan, Oxford University and the NYPL. Thecompany plans to digitize the libraries of the fiveinstitutions and make them searchable through itsown database. Only Stanford and Michigan arecontributing their entire libraries.

Jean Rainwater, leader of the Web services

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2005 · PAGE 3

CAMPUS WATCHTHE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Google partnerswith four universitylibraries, NYPL

Roger Williams establishes u. in VietnamBY GABRIELLA DOOB STAFF WRITER

The American Pacific University in Ho Chi Minh City,established by Roger Williams University in partnershipwith a Vietnamese-American entrepreneur, became thefirst private university in Vietnam when it opened Jan.15.

The majority of Vietnam’s population of 80 million isunder the age of 25, and the educational system that canno longer keep up with demand. As a result, the commu-nist government has begun to encourage the establish-ment of private educational institutions in order to “openup alternative paths to education,” said Roy Nirschel,president of Roger Williams.

APU was established with the goal of helping “acquaintpeople (in Vietnam) with American values and theAmerican educational system” in hopes of providing an“antidote” to some negative perceptions about Americansabroad, Nirschel said. “The best export we have is educa-tion,” he said.

Nirschel described the opening as an effort to make theuniversity “more global, international and diverse.”

APU, which welcomed an inaugural class of 500 stu-dents, will contribute to meeting Vietnam’s educationalneeds while allowing students to receive an “American-style and quality education in their own country,” he said.By providing scholarships to “those who are needy as wellas deserving,” Nirschel anticipates that the university willalso help narrow the divide between those who haveaccess to educational opportunities and those who do not.

Some students who attend the university in Vietnamwill later be given the chance to continue their educationat the Roger Williams campus in Bristol. Students will beencouraged to come to the United States to completetheir bachelor’s or master’s degrees and then to return totheir own countries to help meet the large demand foreducated, trained professionals and the need for a skilled

workforce there, Nirschel said. “My hope is that with our Vietnam initiative we con-

tribute to economic prosperity and even liberty ratherthan to a brain drain,” he added.

Twenty-four Vietnamese students have already appliedto Roger Williams’ master’s program in public administra-tion. Four have been accepted and are arriving in theUnited States as early as this summer, Nirschel said.

Other graduate students will pursue programs inhealth administration and business management whilesome undergraduates will be part of an “articulation pro-gram” through which they will spend their first two yearsat APU and their last two at Roger Williams. “We are bring-ing students here and bringing education there,” Nirschelsaid.

APU will maintain the liberal arts core of RogerWilliams University, but it will also provide the opportu-nity for students to study business, technology and mar-keting. “Our goal is to make our students technically com-petent and intellectually capable,” Nirschel said.

Marc Spiegel, a member of the President’s AdvisoryCouncil at Roger Williams, first brought up the plan forestablishing a university in Vietnam in 2003. He toldNirschel about a friend of his who had been involved inhelping Binh Thy Nguyen Tran, a successful entrepreneurand property developer, to create a U.S.-style universityand provide scholarships for Vietnamese students for thelast 10 years, Nirschel said.

Nirschel was immediately interested. The project coin-cided with his interest in expanding the global presenceof Roger Williams and was similar to other projects under-taken during Nirschel’s three years at the university.

In 2002, Roger Williams became the first university tobring women from Afghanistan to the United Statesthrough its Initiative to Educate Afghan Women, a pro-

see VIETNAM, page 7see GOOGLE, page 6

signed up at the CES’s booth atthe activities fair at the begin-ning of the school year are alsoincluded, Hill said.

In addition to individuallyencouraging students to consid-er concentrating, Hill also per-formed more traditional dutiesas concentration coordinator.She spoke with prospective stu-dents at A Day on College Hill,placed advertisements, hungposters and hosted open houses,she said.

Hill noted that the CES is tak-ing steps to raise awareness of itsundergraduate programsbecause it has the potential toaccept many more concentra-tors. “I’m always surprised thatthere aren’t any more students

concentrating here. All concen-trators are required to write athesis and do a service-basedlearning project. They have toapply their theoretical knowl-edge to actual situations. It’s aninvaluable educational experi-ence,” she said.

The Department of Classics isalso actively trying to attractmore students for its undergrad-uate concentration. JosephPucci, associate professor ofclassics, serves as the depart-ment’s concentration advisor.

The department takes severalmeasures to recruit students forits concentration, beginningbefore students are even admit-ted. It typically hosts about 50visits a year from prospectiveapplicants.

With the help of theAdmission Office, the depart-ment identifies students whohave indicated they are interest-

ed in the classics concentrationon their application forms. Puccisends letters to these students“urging them to come to Brown”and concentrate in classics. “Thedepartment is in touch withadmitted students before theymatriculate,” Pucci said.

The department then followsup this recruitment effort bycontacting potential concentra-tors early in their fourth semes-ter, Pucci said.

Deborah Boedeker, depart-ment chair and professor of clas-sics, said more intense measuresare necessary to attract interest-ed students to classics becausethe department requires concen-trators to learn an ancient lan-guage.

“What Professor Pucci does isvery important in encouragingstudents to come here and thencontinuing to cultivate thatinterest,” said Boedeker.

Pucci said the measures takenhave been fairly successful —more students have concentrat-ed in classics since the effortswere adopted in 1997.

While the measures to attractmore concentrators are largely aresult of the efforts of the classicsdepartment itself, Pucci notedthe Admission Office plays a sig-nificant role in allowing access tothe database of potential con-centrators. “It’s thanks to themthat we are able to get in touchwith potential concentrators anddo this. They don’t have to allowit, but everyone there has beenvery supportive,” said Pucci.

Some students rememberreceiving a letter from the clas-sics department before matricu-lation. “The letter was encourag-ing, but getting to knowProfessor Pucci and taking his‘Idea of Self’ course really solidi-fied my choice to concentrate inthe classics,” said PeterCatsimpiris ’08.

Other concentrations, such asSexuality and Society, encounterdifficulty in attracting studentsbecause they are poorly under-stood or complex.

“We have one graduating sen-ior this year, and the numberusually varies from about one tofour every year,” said GretchenSchultz, associate professor ofFrench studies, who serves as theSexuality and Society concentra-tion advisor.

Schultz pointed to the con-centration’s interdisciplinarynature and the lack of a depart-ment to oversee it as some of theobstacles faced in attractingmore students.

“We don’t have the resourcesthat a center or a departmenthas. What would be really won-derful is if there were fundingfor a professor or a visiting pro-fessor to teach classes inSexuality and Society. But wehaven’t been able to get thatkind of institutional support, sothere are limits to what we cando,” Schultz said.

Despite this, Schultz saidthere has been student interestin the area of study and thatresources have been made avail-able to potential concentrators.

“Quite a few students areinterested in taking courses,even if they don’t want to con-centrate. I keep in touch withstudents who have expressedinterest in the past, but the bestresource for us is the LGBTQCenter in Faunce (House),because it’s a place that attractsstudents who have interest inthis area and where they can getmore information on the con-centration,” she said.

PAGE 4 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2005

Recruitmentcontinued from page 1

BY MICHAEL A. FLETCHER AND PETERBAKER THE WASHINGTON POST

WASHINGTON — President BushWednesday night called for a his-toric restructuring of SocialSecurity that would allow youngerworkers for the first time to investsome of their payroll taxes in thestock market, declaring in hisannual State of the Union addressthat without change the venerableprogram is headed toward bank-ruptcy.

Speaking to a joint session ofCongress and a national televisionaudience, Bush sketched out inmore detail than before the topdomestic goal of his second termbut stopped short of providing acomplete blueprint to leave him-self negotiating room with skepti-cal lawmakers. Under his plan,workers younger than 55 coulddivert up to 4 percent of incomesubject to Social Security taxationinto private investment accountsbeginning in 2009.

With Social Security as its cen-terpiece, the address laid out anexceptionally ambitious agenda asBush gears up for another fouryears, one that will challenge pow-erful constituencies and test thecapacity of a president reelectedwith a bare majority to simultane-ously wage war abroad and trans-form government at home.Celebrating the success of elec-tions in Iraq and vowing a neweffort to make peace betweenIsraelis and Palestinians, Bush alsopromised to rewrite the U.S. taxcode, liberalize the nation’s immi-gration laws and rein in a litigiouslegal system.

Bush used his speech to rein-force his inauguration theme ofspreading democracy abroad, lit-erally repeating much of the samelanguage about “ending tyranny inour world.” He offered no new pro-grams or initiatives intended toachieve such a goal, but after criti-cism that his administration had

been selective in promoting free-dom, he directly if politely chal-lenged two close allies with auto-cratic governments, Saudi Arabiaand Egypt, to reform their systems.

He had sterner words for twoother nations in the Middle East,demanding that Syria stop harbor-ing terrorists and that Iran give upits nuclear development pro-grams, all but encouragingIranians to rise up against the reli-gious government in Tehran. Yethe said little about North Korea,which has been building its ownnuclear weapons program andwas part of Bush’s original “axis ofevil” that he mentioned in hisState of the Union address threeyears ago.

Bush reiterated his support for aconstitutional amendment ban-ning same-sex marriage, an issuethat he had wavered on, citingSenate opposition since his re-election. “For the good of families,children and society, I support aconstitutional amendment to pro-tect the institution of marriage,”he said.

In their response, Democraticleaders drew a careful line, prom-ising not to let partisanship get inthe way of progress while vowingto stand up to Bush on matters ofprinciple. “We will be first in line towork with him,” said SenateMinority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. “But when he gets off track,we will be there to hold himaccountable.”

Reid signaled that SocialSecurity was one area where theDemocrats would fight.“Democrats are all for givingAmericans more of a say and morechoices when it comes to theirretirement savings. But that does-n’t mean taking Social Security’sguarantee and gambling with it.And that’s coming from a senatorwho represents Las Vegas,” he said.

Bush’s plan to restructure SocialSecurity faces near unanimousopposition from congressionalDemocrats, who see the programas one of their party’s most endur-ing legislative legacies. Republicanlawmakers, meanwhile, haveapproached the issue cautiously.

Sunni clerics call Iraqi elections invalidBY DOUG STRUCKTHE WASHINGTON POST

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Leading SunniMuslim clerics who had boycottedthe Iraqi election said Wednesdaythey would “respect the choice ofthose who voted” and work with anew government, even thoughthey considered the electioninvalid.

The statement, while accompa-nied by renewed criticisms of theelection, signaled that the majorSunni group wants to be includedin the formation of a new govern-ment. Sunni turnout in Sunday’selection was expected to be light,possibly leaving them with rela-tively few seats in the new parlia-ment.

Ballots still are being counted,but interim Prime Minister AyadAllawi gathered the heads of 16parties in his office Wednesday tobegin work on compromises toguarantee a delicate balance ofSunnis, Shiites and Kurds in thenext government. The major polit-ical groups have said they wouldput aside their competition andwork to achieve a balance for thesake of national stability.

“All parts and all sectors of Iraqisociety should be involved,” said astatement from Allawi’s officeafter the meeting. “All agreed thatevery effort would be made tobroaden the national dialogueand build national unity.”

Allawi himself may no longer

be prime minister. As expected,the head of the major Shiite-backed list, Abdul Aziz Hakim,told the Associated Press that thenext prime minister should comefrom the parties on his list. TheShiite grouping of parties is wide-ly expected to have the largestbloc in the next parliament.

Allawi is a Shiite but ran with asecular list that is likely to be thesecond or third largest party in thenext parliament.

Shiites, long oppressed underformer Iraqi president SaddamHussein, comprise an estimated60 percent of the population. Theminority Sunni Muslims, an esti-mated 20 percent of the popula-tion, held much of the powerunder Hussein, and their clericalleaders urged them to boycott theelection.

But in its first statement sincethe balloting, the SunniAssociation of Muslim Scholarssaid it would “consider the newgovernment … as a transitionalgovernment with limited powers.”The parliament that is to beformed has already been desig-nated as transitional, chargedwith writing a constitution andholding another election inDecember.

The clerics’ withdrawal fromthe election last fall had threat-ened to undermine the poll’s legit-imacy. Their decision, and threatsaimed at Sunnis from insurgents

opposed to the election, sharplydampened turnout in some SunniMuslim areas.

A Western diplomat who close-ly monitored the election estimat-ed “anecdotally” that turnout wasless than 50 percent overall inSunni areas. Shiites and Kurds, bycomparison, voted enthusiastical-ly and in large numbers. The Iraqielection commission, tabulatingthe ballots from 29,000 electionstations, has said it will take aweek or longer before completeresults and the turnout figures areannounced.

The clerics said the expectedlow Sunni turnout confirms theirposition that the vote, taken whileAmerican and other foreigntroops are in Iraq, is illegitimate.

“We make it clear to the UnitedNations and the internationalcommunity that they should notget involved in granting this elec-tion legitimacy because such amove will open the gates of evil,”the statement said.

But the Western diplomat,speaking on condition ofanonymity, said the Sunni politi-cians apparently realize theyshould not stay out of the nextgovernment.

“I think there is a recognitionup and down the Sunni commu-nity … that there is a politicalprocess going forward includingthe drafting of the constitution,”he said.

President details plan for Social Security

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2005 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 5

department at Brown UniversityLibrary, attended a librarians’conference in which Googlepresented its plan. She said it’sunclear precisely what roleGoogle will play.

“The libraries are still digitiz-ing according to the standardsthey set,” Rainwater said.“Google was helping it gofaster.” She speculated Googlewould help the digitizationprocess financially. Severalnewspapers reported Googlewill contribute book scanningtechnology.

Jones said the Google part-

nership would transform theway people search for refer-ences.

“Having references instantlyat your fingertips for everyone isthe big thing,” Jones said. “Nomatter how niche-y and obscureyour search is, the materials willbe there.”

Rainwater said that whileBrown’s library is not includedin the Google project, it could bein the future. If the beta projectsucceeds and other librarieswere invited to join, Brown“would certainly be interested,”she said.

The term “digital library” isstill being defined, Jones said.

Rainwater said that in thecase of Brown’s digital libraries,books and manuscripts are

scanned and the exact images ofeach page are put into the data-base. The texts are also runthrough an optical characterrecognition program so thatusers can run searches throughthe texts.

Formed in 2001, BrownUniversity Library’s Center forDigital Initiatives is in charge ofdigitizing Brown’s library. Itsdigital library consists of rarecollections, including African-American sheet music from1820 to 1920, Napoleonic satiresand “Perry Visits Japan: A VisualHistory,” among other collec-tions.

“What we’re focusing now onis our more unique materials,”Rainwater said. “There’s nopoint in digitizing a trade bookthat is held in 300 differentlibraries.”

But optimists who envisionhuge digital libraries with copiesof every single published workwill have to wait. There arerestrictions to what can be putinto a digital library, Rainwatersaid.

Copyrighted books cannot bedigitized without permission,although clips from them oftenappear in digital libraries. Bookspublished before 1923 are con-sidered to be in the publicdomain and can be thereforedigitized, but beyond that,Rainwater said, “there are a lim-ited amount of things you cando.”

On a broader scale, digitallibraries may revolutionize con-ventional libraries.

“They would replace somefunctions that librarians do,”Jones said. For example, “thereference desk may not be thesame as before,” he said.

Both Jones and Rainwatersaid conventional libraries willstill serve their purposes, espe-cially as quiet, comfortableplaces to study.

“Less and less may come tothe library to find information,but people will still come forunique materials and other pur-poses, such as studying,”Rainwater said.

have in his first term,” EytanKurshan ’08 said. “I was thinking,if he wants to cut his budget andhave all his great programs, howis he going to do that? He was alittle bit too idealistic for mylikes.”

In a change from earlier years,

the Brown Republicans andDemocrats did not hold publicviewings of the president’s speech.Seth Magaziner ’06, president ofthe Brown Democrats, said therewas little interest because thespeech came so soon after Bush’ssecond Inaugural Address and thebeginning of the semester.

But, he said, the Dems madesure their general body meetingended early so anyone who want-ed to watch the speech could.

PAGE 6 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2005

of the college and dean forscience programs. A school-wide grading policy outliningwhat an A, a B or a C grademeans would be antitheticalto Brown’s New Curriculum,he said.

On the other hand,Wakeford said such rubricscan be very useful when cre-ated individually by instruc-tors for their courses.Identifying the criteria thatmakes up an A, B or C assign-ment, paper or exam within aparticular course providesstudents with a better under-standing of what is expectedof them, he said.

Gooden, now in her lastsemester at Brown, said shehas never received such arubric in any of her classes.

“It’s more than just simplysaying the midterm is worth20 percent … it’s what will bean A on a project and whatwill be a B,” Wakeford said.

Often the issue in mathand science courses is notonly inconsistency in grad-ing, but also the lack of indi-vidual assessment.

“Unfortunately, if a math

problem is simply graded by anumber at the bottom, that isalmost useless feedback to astudent,” Wakeford said.

Instead, Wakeford sug-gests instructors providemore detailed feedback onwork so students are moti-vated to obtain not simplythe right answer, but a deep-er understanding of thematerial. He suggests thiscan be achieved across thecurriculum by reservinggrades for larger projects,papers and final exams andproviding students withmore comments on theirsmaller assignments.

“Good assessment is thesame when it is done well inall fields,” Wakeford said.

Wakeford also suggestsinstructors provide studentswith opportunities for self-assessment, a way to inte-grate the aspect of assess-ment into larger courseswhere it is more difficult todevote personal attention toeach student.

“This is a complicatedissue,” Wakeford said. “Therearen’t easy answers, but weneed to talk more about it sothat we can change the waywe do assessment, so that wecan make it more valuable forteachers and students.”

Gradescontinued from page 1

Googlecontinued from page 3

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noting that four players from lastyear’s team made the jump. “Thereare a lot of different leagues, buthopefully the NHL will be back upnext year,” he said.

Meech talked about how thisyear’s Brown team is different fromlast season’s squad.

“We’re a little more offense-

minded than last year, but prettymuch the same,” Meech said.“(Last year) everyone said Brownwas just a goalie, just a team car-ried by the Hobey Baker candidate(Yann Danis ’04), and now we’vebeen doing nearly as well defen-sively,” he said, crediting thestrong play of freshman goalieAdam D’Alba ’08 and the soliddefense in front of him.

The Bears will need theirdefense this weekend when theyhost Vermont on Friday and

Dartmouth on Saturday atMeehan Auditorium. TheCatamounts and the Big Green arethe two teams directly in front ofthe Bears in the ECACHL stand-ings. The puck drops at 7 p.m. forboth games.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2005 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 7

gram led by Nirschel’s wife,Paula. Through this program,15 young women arrived tostudy on scholarship at RogerWilliams and other universi-ties in the United States.

Roger Williams has alsocreated partnerships with twouniversities in Hong Kong andhas conducted faculty andstudent exchanges with them,Nirschel said. Recently, RogerWilliams has begun collabo-ration with Basra Universityin Iraq. It provides the univer-sity with books and computerequipment and supports aFulbright scholarship there.

Establishing a university inVietnam posed some uniqueproblems. One of the mostformidable was that inVietnam’s communist society,expression isn’t encouraged,Nirschel said. The Vietnameseeducational system empha-sizes a “reverence for educa-tors” that often limits dia-logue, he said. Students aretaught to listen to a profes-sor’s lectures, to take notesand to respond. Rarely arethey prompted to questiontheir instructors or to initiatea discussion.

“The greatest culturaladaptation we have had tomake is to encourage expres-sion,” Nirschel said.

Students seem enthusiasticabout learning about U.S. cul-ture, he said. “There is atremendous curiosity inthings American in Vietnam,”said Nirschel. “Even just sit-ting in a park reading a news-paper, little kids would sitnext to me and tell me theywanted to practice theirEnglish.”

Vietnamcontinued from page 3

Big Green, 5-4 and 6-3, respective-ly.

The women faced a greaterchallenge in the second and thirdrounds against MIT and BostonCollege. Without Olivia Partyka’06, who is studying abroad thissemester, the Bears fell short intwo close 13-14 matches.

Despite the two losses, thewomen remained optimisticabout the results.

“When you are fencing some-one that you know is better thanyou, then the challenge is to tryand outsmart them,” Edson said.“That’s always the challenge, to getthem to do what you want andthen go around their blade and hitthem. But making the plan is thebiggest part, and when you make aplan that works and you get one ortwo good touches, it feels so goodno matter whether you win ornot.”

On the other side of the strip,

the men’s squads remainedunfazed and improved upon lastseason’s record against these twopowerhouses, defeating both MITand BC in overtime, 14-13. Bothmatches were tied going into thelast bout, but foilist Ivan Goodman’08 prevailed in both matches,sending the Bears into their finalmatch against Brandeis Universitywith a chance to finish the dayundefeated.

Both teams finished with all-around victories. The womenrebounded from their two lossesto defeat Smith College andBrandeis by scores of 15-12 and14-13, respectively. The men fin-ished the tournament undefeatedwith a 16-11 victory againstBrandeis.

With four meets down, theteam now gears up for the lasttournament of the regular seasonSunday at MIT.

“The focus will be to try to ele-vate their level on the technicaland tactical aspects of the sport,which is what we’re emphasizingthis week to prepare for this com-ing tournament,” Tass said.

Fencingcontinued from page 12

Meechcontinued from page 12

Center.“We still have some internal

debate about this plan,” Paynesaid. He went on to explain thatthe next step will be the creation ofa steering committee for the proj-ect that will serve as a focus groupand whose eight to 10 membersPayne will appoint from UCSmembers and other students.

Payne said he believes the planwon’t be put into effect thissemester, but when all thespecifics of the plan are workedout, the council will take a vote.

The plan does not require achange in code, and therefore will

not need to be approved by thestudent body through a referen-dum process. Instead, the plancan be enacted with a two-thirdsvote of the council.

Payne highlighted other goalsin his speech. These included thecreation of a UCS CommunityResponsibility Initiative that willform a committee to “look intothe status of student behavior andcampus climate as a whole,”Payne said.

Payne also said he wanted tolook at “how our communities offaith ... are involved in the cam-pus,” push for RIPTA passes to bemade 100 percent free for stu-dents and support interactionwith Hope High School.

“We need to see results,” Paynesaid.

UCScontinued from page 1

OPINIONS EXTRATHE BROWN DAILY HERALD

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2005 · PAGE 9

SETH MAGAZINERGUEST COLUMN

Rhode Island CongressmanJames Langevin has begun togain some clout in Congress as oflate, and was allowed to bring aguest to the President’s State ofthe Union Address. He chose tobring Dana Reeve, the wife ofactor Christopher Reeve, whorecently passed away from com-plications to a spinal cord injurysimilar to the one that paralyzedLangevin years ago. Langevin andDana Reeve looked on in silencelast night as President Bush calledthe technology that could cureLangevin, and could have savedChristopher Reeve’s life, an attackon “children, families and socie-ty.”

Right around the same time,Brown University students —Republicans and Democrats —watched as President Bush vowedto enact a system that would putour life savings in the stock mar-ket. He made a point of tellingpeople over fifty-five that theirsavings would not be subject tothis Wall Street roulette, but uskids tend to vote in lower num-bers, so he had no qualmsinforming us that our retirementswould be tethered to the depend-ability of corporate Enron-America.

A few minutes later, soldiersstationed in Iraq watched asPresident Bush addressed foreignpolicy. He boasted about hisrecord of “providing servicemenand women with the tools for vic-tory.” After the speech, many ofthese servicemen and womenreturned to duty in armored vehi-cles without the armor.

But the true flaws in the Bushideology were evident not just inwhat the President said last night,but in what he did not say.

He failed to mention the factthat the weight of his tax cuts hassent the federal budget deficitspiraling out of control — a prob-lem that is leading to a decliningdollar and higher mortgage rates— and that it will rise by at least

$2 trillion if the President’s LasVegas-style social security plan ispassed.

He failed to mention the factthat while he can find forty mil-lion dollars to throw inaugurationparties for himself, he can’t seemto find funding for HomelandSecurity, as cargo is still notscreened in airports and dozensof nuclear power plants areguarded with minimal resources.

He failed to mention the factthat social security benefits willremain stable for at least the nexttwo generations, and simplemodifications like raising contri-bution caps will ensure the stabil-ity of benefits for the next centurywithout subjecting our savings tothe whims of the stock market.

The selling-out of our socialsecurity to the financial lobby isindicative of much of PresidentBush’s agenda. To the carefulviewer, between the smug one-liners and the staged photo ops,the true nature of the Bush ideol-ogy was apparent last night. TheBush Administration cares moreabout the wants of corporateAmerica than the needs of theAmerican people.

They would sell our retirementsavings to the captains of financewhile taking away our right to suecompanies that purposely harmus and try to keep it secret. Theywould give tax breaks to million-aires while denying funding tofirst responders. They would talkabout preserving freedom whileproposing a constitutionalamendment to deny it to millionsof decent Americans.

President Bush’s State of theUnion offered few surprises.From his plan to dismantle socialsecurity — which he was tooscared to talk about during theelection season — to his neglectof American servicemen, the truecolors of the Bush Administrationwere in full force.

Seth Magaziner ’06 is thePresident of the Brown CollegeDemocrats.

MICHAL ZAPENDOWSKIGUEST COLUMN

Last night we heard George W. Bushdeliver the Annual State of theUnion Address. Notice I didn’t say“his” State of the Union Address.And man, let me tell you, you couldtell this was the most popularPresident of the new millennium bythe way he was received. By myown calculations the Presidentspoke for 40 minutes and was inter-rupted by applause 61 times, out ofwhich the longest continuous seg-ment of speech was 51 seconds andthe longest segment of applausewas three minutes.

It’s moments like this when youcan really see why AmericanDemocracy triumphed in the ColdWar. I mean, whenever GeneralSecretary Stalin used to give aspeech, he would talk non-stop foran hour, followed by an hour ofnon-stop applause. Communismreally doesn’t take human natureinto account. By dividing thespeech and mandatory applaud-ing into alternating segments ofvarying length, the United Stateshas proven yet again the superiori-ty of Capitalism and Democracy incatering to people’s short attentionspans.

After the speech and a commer-cial segment that was obviouslygeared toward Republicans(investment insurance), we got tohear the Democratic rebuttal.

I zoned out for most of HarryReid, the new Democratic SenateLeader. I remember the phrase “Weare all children of god,” though,and a lot of talk about how he wasfrom a god-fearing, family-friendlypart of Nevada. Basically, the mes-sage was: “We Democrats areuncomfortable in our own skins,and therefore always on the defen-sive. Please don’t think that we’rejust big-city liberals who don’tshare Middle America’s fundamen-talist values.” At that point, thecamera moved over to NancyPelosi, who had been sitting therethe entire time staring intently atthe camera, grinding her teeth.

It was difficult to understandher half-criticisms of the Iraq War

because she spoke through adetermined, clenched smile, facingthe camera with the expression of aperson who really wants to let youknow there’s a piece of arugulastuck in your teeth, but can’t sayanything for fear of attractingattention to it.

The whole time, I was making amental list of all the things theDemocrats should have been say-ing in response to the RepublicanState of the Union.

They could have mentioned thefact that while the president madespreading freedom across theworld the centerpiece of hisspeech, his administration hasstrengthened its alliances withdespotic regimes in Saudi Arabiaand Pakistan. With GeneralMusharraf barely holding ontopower in Islamabad and the Saudisbenefiting so greatly from theirspecial relationship with theUnited States, American pressurecould very possibly hasten demo-cratic reform in both of thesenations, and not a single Americanfamily would be forced to sacrificetheir son in the process.

They could have poked a holein the President’s “defense of mar-riage” rhetoric. A previousRepublican president, then a rela-tively unknown politician fromIllinois, once said that the ques-tion of slavery really didn’t have todo with state and federal authori-ty or the admission of western ter-ritories but boiled down to“respecting the Negro as a humanbeing.” Pelosi and Reid could havebusted through Bush’s blustersimilarly — either gay Americansare human beings, in which casethey are unjustly denied the rightto marry, or they are somehow lessthan human, a state which woulddenigrate the legal institution ofmarriage. Unfortunately, the onlyprominent Republican fromIllinois these days is DennisHastert, and the only thing I’veever heard him say is, “Bud. Weis.Er.”

They could have pointed out thefact that while the President hasbegun to talk a lot about respecting

other nations, his Administrationbegan its term by walking out oninternational talks, his Secretary ofDefense has publicly ridiculed thenations of Europe, and his strategyfor rushing to war in Iraq did moredamage to America’s internationalstanding than any action by anyprevious government in U.S. histo-ry. If the president is serious aboutgetting other nations to help us inIraq, why doesn’t he give themsomething that they want, like asignature on the Kyoto Protocols?One difference between usDemocrats and the Republicans,they could have said, is that we donot believe that America ought toremain “above” using diplomacy toachieve its goals.

And they could have pointedout the fact that while thePresident constantly invoked free-dom during his speech, his admin-istration has flouted Americanfreedom by monitoring people’slibrary records and holding terror-ist suspects in prolonged detentionwithout a shred of evidence. Mr.Bush has been eager to bring free-dom to other nations, but freedomat home, the very foundation ofour society, has been supplantedby “getting the bad guys” and“defending marriage.”

But maybe the Democrats wereright. Calling the Republicans outon their hypocrisy could have beenseen as negative, “divisive politics.”That’s why they were right therewith the Republicans, clappingobediently every time “Two-term”Bush waited for applause, and thenpronouncing their fealty to familyvalues, national security and thepolitical submission in the face ofthe terrorist threat.

The State of the Union is appar-ent. But there’s always the recourseof the royalist, the fleeing slave, thedraft dodger. Oh teeming masses,huddled upon the Northeasternand Pacific shores! I have heardsongs of a land, a land which theycall: “The true north strong andfree…”

Michal Zapendowski ’07 doeseverything in moderation.

What the Democrats should have saidWhat Bush believes

EDITORIAL/LETTERSTHE BROWN DAILY HERALD

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2005 · PAGE 10

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Give grades CPROnce upon a time, so they say, the grade C stood for averageperformance. Today at Brown, C grades seem to be an increas-ing minority. According to the Sheridan Center, the percentageof A grades awarded at Brown increased from 35.5 percent in1990-91 to 43.6 percent in 2000-01.

But it is not the growing number of A’s that is our primaryconcern. As Brown becomes a more selective school, it is notunreasonable to suggest that the University is attracting stu-dents who perform better in the classroom. What concerns us isthe ambiguous meaning behind the letters.

Among departments and even within them, there is no consis-tency as to the significance of the grades assigned. Depending onthe course, an A may denote anything from excellence to medioc-rity — in one biology class, the top 50 percent of studentsreceived A’s, while the others were given B’s. The policy of anothercourse reserved A’s for the top 10 percent. Many courses assigngrades on an absolute scale. Some courses standardize gradesamong sections; others do not, leading students to search for thesection led by the professor who is considered the easiest grader.

Students are partially to blame for this phenomenon. Withour eyes on post-college opportunities, or perhaps habituatedto getting A’s in high school, we are disappointed when wereceive something else and put pressure on professors to vali-date our views of ourselves. This doesn’t just lead to grade infla-tion — it leads to an environment of exceptions that blur thelines between letter grades.

We agree with Associate Dean of the College David Targanthat instituting a college-wide grading policy conflicts withBrown’s philosophy. Last April, Princeton introduced a systemlimiting the number of A’s that could be given in any depart-ment in an effort to reduce grade inflation. This policy super-sedes professors’ individual philosophies and is unequivocallynot appropriate for Brown.

But there is a relatively simple change that could lend cre-dence to Brown’s grading system while upholding professors’judgments. By making course performance reports available tostudents taking classes for grades, professors could continuegrading according to individual standards while providing stu-dents with feedback more useful than a single letter. The facultyshould adopt the College Curriculum Council’s recommenda-tion at its next meeting, just in time to allow CPRs to be request-ed in graded courses this semester.

L E T T E R S @B R O W N

D A I L Y

H E R A L D

. C O M

To the Editor:

Last fall in The Herald (“Goldwater revisited,”Nov. 4, 2004), I voiced my post-election hopes forthe Democratic party. I challenged the left to usethe loss as a jumping-off point to discuss on everylevel what we are doing wrong and how we can dobetter instead of directing bitterness against theother side.

I want to thank Michal Zapendowski and Joel

Silberman (“Sit down, you rabid hatemongers” and“The rhetoric gap,” Feb. 1) for doing just that.

I am proud that Brown University is a liberalinstitution approaching the left’s present difficul-ties with a forward-looking and constructive eye.

Maha Atal ‘08Feb. 2

Zapendowski and Silberman get it right

OPINIONSTHE BROWN DAILY HERALD

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2005 · PAGE 11

Affordable housing in Providence

Students’ autumn efforts towards theattempted defeat of George Bush werelaudable: the semesters in Wisconsin andOhio, the weekend trips to NewHampshire, the donations and the phonebanking — all were valiant. But as we areall too aware, they failed. In light of this, itis in some sense heartening that there ismuch work to be done locally. For werethose very students who worked so hardfor John Kerry to apply their passion toProvidence politics, they could achievereal change.

Despite its renaissance of sorts,Providence remains one of the poorest bigcities in the country. Throughout the ’90s,White-Hispanic segregation increasedmore here than anywhere in the nation.Housing is unaffordable for 45 percent ofthe population. A quarter of families andmore than 40 percent of children live inpoverty.

But there are initiatives before the CityCouncil that would address all of theseproblems, and students who supportedDemocrats this fall because of their party’s(good, but mostly far too timid) stands onsocioeconomic issues could help us dogreat work here.

During the 90s, in line with trendsacross the country, Providence’s govern-ment adopted policies that aimed todecrease poverty, reduce crime, and raisetest scores through the gentrification ofcity neighborhoods. The story is a familiarone: new businesses are attracted throughinfrastructure improvements and tax

breaks, upwardly mobile residents cometo town, seeking jobs at those businesses;empty nesters that fled to the suburbsdecades ago return for their retirementsand property values go up.

In many ways, these are all good things,but for a lot of people they mean higherrents and taxes.

And, if a city is not focused on improv-ing job opportunities for its current resi-dents, such residents face an increasedcost-of-living without jobs that payenough to meet it.

The result is that the neediest are effec-tively forced to leave town, because theycan’t afford to stay. And those who do stayface an even steeper struggle to make endsmeet.

As the poor leave, poverty rates godown, crime declines, and test scores rise.The city — or parts of it, at least — is leftartificially “improved.”

All without our having taken on thehard work of helping the poor grow out ofpoverty and educating children from dis-advantaged homes.

Meanwhile, those who suffer most fromgentrification are conveniently no longeraround to speak out against it — andtherefore cannot use their votes againstthe politicians whose policies led them tosuffer.

The city should reject this cycle, andpromote development that strengthens itsneighborhoods by improving the lives ofthose who live in them.

There are several policies up for consid-

eration before the city that would do justthat. The city should:

1) Implement the First Source HiringOrdinance, which was passed in 1985 buthas never been enforced. It would requirethat projects financed by the City, orreceiving tax breaks, hire Providence resi-dents. Residents would gain access tothousands of jobs and millions of dollars.

2) Address our affordable housing crisisby amending the zoning ordinance. An“inclusionary zoning” ordinance wouldrequire all new large developments toinclude affordable housing. In return, thecity would allow slightly higher or denserdevelopment to offset costs to developers.

3) Institute a “responsible contracting”ordinance, requiring that big projects thatget tax breaks use contractors that pay fairwages, provide health insurance and haveapprenticeship programs. This wouldensure that developments in Providenceproduce good jobs — good local jobs, if weabide by the First Source Ordinance.

Boston and other big cities with hotdevelopment markets have put these lawsin place. If we do too, new projects wouldstill mean higher property values andincreased local tax revenues, but theywould also yield good jobs and affordablehousing, improving the lives of all ofProvidence’s residents and making it easi-er for them to afford to live in the city theycall home.

In conjunction with the ProvidenceWORKS! campaign, and communityorganizations like DARE, Jobs With Justice,ACORN, and the Rhode Island HousingNetwork, I’ll be working towards the pas-sage of these initiatives through the springand summer. If you can help — even justas an extra body at a rally or two — pleasesend an email to dare@daretowin.org,with Providence WORKS! as the subject.

David Segal is Providence’s Ward 1 CityCouncilman.

The much-discussed “wake-up call”

GUEST COLUMN BY DAVID SEGAL

By now most of us have heard the re-election of George W. Bush likened to a“wake-up call” for American liberals. Wehave been waking up from a complacen-cy engendered by the historical presenceof many liberal values in mainstreampolitical discourse.

Since the New Deal, American liberalshave shaped domestic public policy withfederal power, causing the size of nation-al government to grow and animatingsome of the most important steps incombating domestic injustice: socialsecurity, welfare, civil rights and abor-tion rights. While the skeleton of big-government liberalism has remained inplace for the last 25 years, its purposehas slowly been inverted. In other words,we now have a powerful central govern-ment that mobilizes against liberalism.

In 2005, we find the most consolidat-ed, powerful conservative force yetheads a governing body shaped by 20th-century liberal thought. I finally under-stand what conservatives have been say-ing all along. Governing and lawmakinginvolves more than just keeping thecountry running; it is also the act of forc-ing others to comply with an officially-sanctioned moral structure.Unfortunately, I failed to realize this untilafter people with whose morals I dis-agreed came to power.

Many of us protest that President Bushshouldn’t make ideological appoint-ments or pass ideologically-motivatedlegislation. We argue that governmentshould represent all the people, even thesignificant numbers who vehementlydisagree with the President. We condemn“winner-take-all” approaches to politics,and complain that Bush is an “alienator”

and an “isolator.”But such argumentation is disingenu-

ous. A liberal Supreme Court used a looseinterpretation of the Constitution toguarantee previously undesignatedrights like privacy; generations of execu-tives and legislators took it upon theirrespective branches of government toameliorate social ills such as racism andpoverty. The aforementioned criticismsalso reflect an almost willful misunder-standing of conservative politicalthought. “Compromise” sounds all well

and good to someone who’s out of power,but not to people who regard abortionwith the same horror that liberals regardthe three-fifths compromise.

Over the past 50 years conservativeshave tried to create social change largelywithout the government’s help. We woulddo well to study their tactics.

I’m speaking here of spreading ourgospel. Of fully embracing and milkingthe fact that being liberal is taking amoral stance, and in fact a superior one.“Morals” is an ugly word to many pro-gressives; it conjures forth images of RickSantorum and the countless “publicinterest” groups with the word “family”in their names. This is probably because

“morality” has been traditionally definedin a one-dimensional, conservative fash-ion. But like it or not, American liberal-ism is every single bit as morality-basedas Mr. Santorum’s political views. Allpolitical thought asserts a morality; it’sonly the language in which it is couchedthat changes. We don’t have to use judg-mental, antagonistic, legal or Judeo-Christian rhetoric to voice our morality,but we do have to own it and express itfreely, or else it just sounds phony, andpeople don’t elect or support phonies.

A Supreme Court ruling or a new bill inCongress will result in social backlashunless its content is supported by thepopular morality. Every time a courtrules, for example, to uphold a woman’sright to an abortion, the right makespolitical gains. Recently the satiricalnewspaper “The Onion” ran an articlewith the apt title, “Anti-Racism LawsMutate Racism Into Newer, StrongerForm.” Not that using government toprotect liberal values is wrong, but weneed to mount an assault on more thanone front. Changing people’s hearts iswhat really matters here; once you dothat, there is much less need for a law inthe first place.

It has been to our great disadvantagethat we liberals, in part due to holier-than-thou myopia, have tried to con-vince others that we’re not trying toimpose our own values on anyone; thatwe are simply campaigning for freedomto choose (abortion, sexuality, what haveyou) and trying to ensure that “morality”stays out of it. This attitude is simple self-delusion.

To give just one example, the leftinvokes freedom of choice selectively. Itdoes not, for instance, support voucherprograms (which provide school choicefor low-income students), nor does itallow people to choose not to pay taxesthat provide abortions to low-incomewomen (while campaigning for pacifists’right to choose to not pay taxes that sup-port the military). Why do liberals trum-pet “choice” as a value that self-evidentlytrumps all others? Don’t we also valuefreedom, equality, opportunity, justice,protecting the weak, and preventingundue harm?

The extent to which conservativeshave succeeded in “converting” a nationto their moral thought will be evident inthe relatively near future, as public reac-tion to W.’s Supreme Court appointmentsand legislative agenda materializes. Butthe lesson to be learned from his victoryat the polls is already clear: sometimes,going straight to the people instead ofthe government is the most effective wayto ensure social change.

Especially when you don’t like the gov-ernment and it doesn’t like you.

Natalie Smolenski ’07 writes for theBrown Daily Squeal.

GUEST COLUMN BY NATALIE SMOLENSKI

Over the past 50 years conservatives havetried to create social change largely with-out the government’s help. We would dowell to study their tactics.

In the wake of Kerry’s defeat, there is stillmuch work to be done locally. Were thosevery students who worked so hard forJohn Kerry to apply their passion toProvidence politics, they could achievereal change.

BY MATT HAYES THE SPORTING NEWS

At some point next week in acourtroom in Memphis, Tenn.,college football will take one giantleap backward when the gavelstrikes and a trial ends. From thenon, it’s only going to get worse.

It’s easy to turn apatheticbecause of the monotonousannual stories of rogue boostersinfiltrating college campuses.Now the same, slimy corruptionhas found its way into high schoolfootball, soiling the system beforeit ever takes root.

In the week that we celebratenational signing day and theanticipation of another season,we also finally must acknowledgethe seedy underside of recruiting.

“It’s enough to make the hairon the back of your neck standup,” says Grant Teaff, executivedirector of the American FootballCoaches Association. “We can’toverlook it anymore.”

Especially after a high schoolfootball coach in Memphis, LynnLang, went on the stand last weekand admitted to offering a player,Albert Means, to the highest bid-der. Seven schools offered moneyfor the big defensive tackle; thewinner, Alabama, paid $150,000to the coach, who auctioned off a17-year-old kid without a hint ofremorse.

We can’t overlook it anymore. Especially after Miami (Fla.)

Coach Larry Coker stood up atlast month’s AFCA annual meet-ing and demanded something bedone to curtail what many call“street agents.” That’s right; thesebrokers are so slippery, so sleazy,they’ve been tagged with their

own disparaging nickname thatsounds like something out of a Bmovie.

Here’s how it works: A highschool coach or a “longtimefriend” of the family — or wait,how about scumbag? — leechesonto a young kid in junior highschool. This child — because that’swhat he is at that age — usually isbeing raised by a single mother.Her son, who can run faster thananyone on the block and is 3 inch-es taller and 20 pounds heavierthan most high schoolers, is des-perate for a father figure.

So the scumbag, err, streetagent, forms a relationship withour junior high schooler. Buyshim a shirt or lunch here andthere, feeds his head withgrandiose dreams. By the timeour young star is a high schoolsenior, the scumbag – who nowmagically becomes our star’s“mentor” — is brokering dealswith colleges.

“It’s disgusting,” Coker says. And it’s not just in Memphis —

and it’s not just in college football.College basketball has similarproblems with AAU coaches whowrest control of players from theirparents and high school coaches.Street agents have been aroundfor years in college football, thatannoying noise rattling in thecloset that no one wants toacknowledge. After last week’strial slapped a price tag on it, it nolonger can be ignored.

The scumbag testified hebought cars and went to stripclubs with his loot. Meanwhile,our star left the school that paidfor his services after one year,returned home to Memphis andspent the next three years on theUniversity of Memphis’ footballteam. He now is a potential late-round pick in April’s NFL draft,and although he has the ideal sizefor a defensive tackle, scouts sayhe’s lazy, has weight issues andtakes plays off.

No wonder. When Coker brought up the

street agent issue at last month’sAFCA meeting, he said it coulddevelop into something thatcould seriously damage the sport.Coker won’t state publicly his rea-sons for initiating the discussionat the meeting, but sources say heis upset because he believesrecent high-profile recruits fromMiami were steered away fromthe Hurricanes by a street agentwho once coached high schoolfootball in south Florida.

South Florida or South Dakota,what’s the difference?

We can’t overlook it anymore.

SPORTS THURSDAYTHE BROWN DAILY HERALD

FEBRUARY 3, 2005 · PAGE 12

BY ZANETA BALANTACSPORTS STAFF WRITER

In its first home meet in threeseasons, the fencing team strug-gled early against New EnglandConference opponents, but boththe men’s and women’s teamscame out on top with a 4-0 victo-ry for the men and 3-2 for thewomen.

“We had a fantastic tourna-ment this weekend,” said HeadCoach Atilio Tass. “The results inthe men’s side are very promis-ing. … The home court advan-tage and especially the wonder-ful supporters that had showedup was a very important aspect.”

With six teams competingthroughout the day, the OMACwas full with excited fencerspreparing themselves for indi-vidual bouts. The Bears occupiedthe first four strips, waiting tochallenge their first opponent ofthe day.

Against Dartmouth, the Bearsproved why NCAA national polls

consider them one of the bestfencing teams in the country.They easily advanced past theBig Green with a 21-6 victory forthe women and 18-9 for the men.

There were several nice per-formances in the first round forthe women. All-American RuthSchneider ’06, who went unde-feated throughout the tourna-ment, led her epee squad to theonly 9-0 sweep of the day againstthe Big Green. In one particularlyexciting match, rookie LeahShabshelowitz ’08 came from afour-touch deficit to defeat heropponent.

“That was one of those thingswe don’t see very often,” saidteammate Shauna Edson ’05.

Meanwhile, on the men’s side,Dan Dorsky ’05 led his sabersquad to a 7-2 win with the aid ofa strong performance fromJeremy Adler ’06. The foil andepee squads also defeated the

BY MATT LIEBERSPORTS STAFF WRITER

Brown’s Mike Meech ’05 wasnamed ECACHL Player of theWeek Monday, after helpingBrown to a weekend sweep of Yaleand Princeton. The winsimproved Brown’s ECACHLrecord to 6-5-2 (11-6-3 overall),bumping the team up into a tiefor sixth place.

Friday against Yale, Meech ledthe Bears to a 5-3 win with his firstcareer hat trick. He tied the gameat 1 with his first goal, then brokea 3-3 tie with what proved to be

the game-winning goal.“Yale has not been having a

good season, but they’ve turned itaround the last few games,”Meech said. “They play an up-tempo style and jump their D-men up into the play. That createsa lot of chances for us, and wewere ready for them.”

Brown’s scoring opportunitiesthis weekend mainly came onpower plays. The team’s sevenpower play goals this weekendraised its percentage from 15 to20.2 percent. “We’ve had twofreshmen playing on the power

play. For freshmen to step in andcontribute in such a big way hasbeen great,” Meech said.

Head Coach Roger Grilloadjusted the personnel on thepower play unit, adding first-yearJeff Prough into the front line withMeech and captain Les Haggett’05.

“Prough knocked down aclearing attempt by the Yaledefender,” Meech said. “Therewas a loose puck and he got takenout (of the play), but he got methe puck and was able to walk infrom the wall and beat the goalieup high.”

The next night againstPrinceton, Meech scored on thepower play to give the Bears a 2-1lead late in the first period.

“Our team started off reallystrong at Princeton,” Meech said.“Chris Swon (’05) had a goodgame. He’s on my line. We hadsome good even-strengthchances. And freshman Chris Polijoined the line. Poli can shootwell, and hopefully I can get himsome passes and scoringchances.”

Meech’s scoring on the week-end made him the team leaderwith 18 points, including ninegoals.

“Coming in this year as a sen-ior, I was more confident,” Meechsaid. “And I’ve been getting moreice time, and playing on the firstunit on the power play.”

Meech says that after the sea-son is over, he’d like to continueplaying hockey professionally,

Weekly Awards

Gymnastics: Melissa Forziat ’05, ECACCoaches’ Choice Award

B R O W N S P O R T S S CO R E B OA R D

‘Street agents’ are slimingthe system in football

Fencing captures win in first home meet since 2001

Nick Neely / Herald

Mike Meech ’05 was named ECACHL Player of the Week after scoringfour goals this past weekend.

Hat trick for Meech ’05 netshim ECAC Player of the week

Club sports captains — Want to see your teamhere? Email us: sports@browndailyherald.com

Ashley Hess / Herald

Foilist Jeremy Zeitlin ’07 and the rest of the men’s fencing team wentundefeated in the team’s first home meet in three seasons.see FENCING, page 7

see MEECH, page 7