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Opinions, 11

inside

DailyHeraldthe Brown

vol. cxliv, no. 49 | Friday, April 10, 2009 | Serving the community daily since 1891

ISD b by brian Mastroianni

SeniorStaffWriter

During the rst week o April,

930 hopeul students opened their

mailboxes to nd they were admit-

ted to the Rhode Island School

o Designs class o 2013. That

represented an acceptance rate o

33 percent, and an increase o 70

admitted students over last year.

More students were admitted

this year because admissions

oicers were concerned that

ewer people would choose to

matriculate given the economy,

said Edward Newhall, director o

admissions at RISD.

We were thinking mostly

about the economy, Newhall

said. You see stories everywhere

about the wide variety o decisions

amilies are making in terms o

how to spend their money. College

is a big part o that.

The school received 2,814 ap-

plications this year.

Though RISD has increased

its nancial aid budget or stu-

dents, Newhall said, the school

anticipates applicants will be more

concerned about nancing college

than in past years. The admissions

L by ellen cusHing

SeniorStaffWriter

Browns admitted Class o 2013

refects both national patterns and

previous years demographics,

according to Dean o Admissions

Jim Miller 73 and admissions

proessionals.

Just 2,708 or 10.8 percent

o the 24,988 total applicants were

admitted this year. That gure is

Browns lowest acceptance rate

ever, consistent with a national

admissions environment that has

seen more applicants and lower

admission rates than ever at many

o the countrys elite schools.

Browns acceptance rate ap-

pears to be very much in keep-

ing with the progressively more

selective admissions processes at

our already more selective insti-

tutions, said Barmak Nassirian,

associate executive director or

the American Association o Col-

legiate Registrars and Admissions

Ocers.

According to Miller, this years

growth in the application pool was

generally consistent across all

regions, all groups and all con-

centrations, and there were no

signicant demographic dier-

ences between the pool o admit-

ted students this year and in the

past.

High school seniors and col-

lege advisers underscored how

competitive admissions were

this year, at Brown and across

the country.

Lily Waters, a senior at Phil-

lips Exeter Academy in Exeter,

N.H. who was waitlisted at Brown,

said she and her classmates were

aware o how competitive admis-

sions were this year.

People were getting rejected

by their saety schools. I have

heard o a couple people who didnt

get in anywhere, she said.

Business, art run together

with RISD President Maedaby Dan alexanDer

StaffWriter

Just beore 6 a.m., Providence

is still sleeping, and its lamp-lit

streets are silent.

But eight joggers are stretch-

ing outside o a downtown Star-

bucks beore their monthly run

with Rhode Island School o De-

sign President John Maeda.

The group sets o, with Mae-

da leading the pack. They run

a two-mile loop up College Hill

and back down to the Starbucksunder the Hilton Hotel.

The pace is slow, and the

runners chat as they weave

through RISDs campus.

Lets be technical I dont

really run, Maeda said. We

just jog.

The idea or the jog emerged

ater the newly hired Maeda had

just nished giving a meet-and-

greet lecture last June to busi-

ness leaders in Providence.

Is this the last time were

going to see you? Maeda re-

calls someone asking during

the question-and-answer session

that ollowed. Because every

time we see a college president,

they disappear.

Steve Cronin was sitting in

the ront row when the question

was posed. Cronin, president

and CEO o Mercury Print and

Mail, came up to the new presi-

dent and said, Lets start a run a jog in the morn ing to stay

connected, Maeda recalled.

So once or twice a month,

Maeda rises with the sun and

jogs with Cronin and anyone

else who wants to join.

Most o the joggers are local

entrepreneurs, businesspeople

by setH Motel

StaffWriter

Many Brown students are worried

about their uture job prospects, but

more than 15 percent do not plan to

enter the workorce immediately a-

ter graduation, according to a recent

Herald poll.

About 45 percent o students sur-

veyed said they were worried about

getting the job they wanted atergraduation, while ewer, about 35

percent, said they were condent

in doing so.

Most o the students who said

they planned to get a job immedi-

ately ater graduation answered that

their condence was at neither e-

treme. In regard to getting the job

they wanted, 31.2 percent said they

were somewhat worried and 23.5

percent said they were somewhat

condent.

Just 10.5 percent said they were

very condent about getting the

job they wanted.

Nationwide, many graduating se-

niors are choosing either to take time

o ater college or to enter graduate

school directly, said Andrea Koncz,

employment inormation manager

or the National Association o Col-

leges and Employers. A study by the

organization showed that 23 percent

o last years graduates anticipated

going straight to graduate school

and 4 percent planned to take time

o, Koncz said.

For some students, getting a job

and making money immediately

might be especially important duringthe current recession, which started

in December 2007, according to the

National Bureau o Economic Re-

search. Others see graduate school

as a way to stay out o the turbulent

job market or the time being.

The number o college graduates

heading straight to graduate school

is increasing, but only slightly, Kon-

cz said.

Barbara Peoples, the interim di-

rector o the Career Development

Center, advised students not to rush

o to graduate school or the wrong

reasons. Students should apply to

graduate school when they are sure

why they are going, she wrote in

an e-mail. You will be obtaining a

proessional degree, oten at consid-

erable expense, so its not something

to leap into hastily.

Job marketis scaring

studentsout o it

bw uvc f 2013

Dmph

52% fma

40% minority studnts

15% first nration

co-studnts

10% intrnationa

studnts

M-pd

Nw York and Caifornia

idd

29% physica scincs

26% socia scincs

21% if scincs

16% humanitis

HOPe SPRINgS eTeRNAl

Quinn Savit / HradTh Sustainab Food Initiativ cbratd th first day of th 2009 rowinsason Thursday in th ardn on Hop Strt.

Quinn Savit / Hrad

RISD worrid fwr accptd studnts woud matricuat nxt yar.

continued onpage 2

continued onpage 3 continued onpage 3

continued onpage 2

tHe HeralD Poll

SPOTlIgHT

8/14/2019 April 10, 2009 Issue

2/12

sudoku

Stephen DeLucia, President

Michael Bechek, Vice President

Jonathan Spector, Treasurer

Aleander Hughes, Secretary

The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is an independent newspaper serv-ing the Brown University community daily since 1891. It is published Mondaythrough Friday during the academic year, ecluding vacations, once duringCommencement, once during Orientation and once in July by The Brown DailyHerald, Inc. Single copy ree or members o the community.POSTMASTERplease send corrections to P.O. Bo 2538, Providence, RI02906. Periodicals postage paid at Providence, R.I. Oces are located at 195

Angell St., Providence, R.I. E-mail herald@browndailyherald.com.World Wide Web: http://www.browndailyherald.com.Subscription prices: $319 one year daily, $139 one semester daily.Copyright 2009 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.

ed Ph: 401.351.3372 | b Ph: 401.351.3260

DailyHeraldthe Brown

FRIDAY, APRIl 10, 2009THe BROWN DAIlY HeRAlDPAge 2

CS wS Th Ivis tnd to captur th first bit of th app. Barmak Nassirian, associat xcutiv dirctor of ACRAO

and RISD students, but anyone is

welcome to join i they can getup early enough.

The ocus is not the jogging, but

the communication that takes place

between the joggers themselves.

Steve Cronin calls it a runversa-

tion.

John Cronin, a ellow jogger and

executive director o the Rhode Is-

land Small Business Development

Center, said the jog gives him an

opportunity to meet leaders in the

Providence community in an inor-

mal setting.

Its great just to be able to

network in running shorts and a

T-shirt, he said.Steve Cronin agreed. My avor-

ite part is people coming together

and everybody exchanging ideas,

he said between short breaths as

he descended College Hill.

He has exchanged marketing

tips and consumer relationship sug-

gestions with Maeda and others on

the jog, he said.

Maeda always has some an-

ecdotal inormation that gives us

perspective, Steve Cronin said,

adding that he also gives us some

technological ideas or how to make

it work.

Maeda has plenty o anecdotes to

draw upon rom his eclectic academicand proessional background.

He isnt just a designer. He has

two degrees rom the Massachu-

setts Institute o Technology: a

bachelors in computer science and

a masters in electrical engineering.

He also has an M.B.A. rom Arizona

State University and a Ph.D. in de-

sign science rom Tsukuba Institute

o Art and Design in Japan.

Maeda said he sees overlaps be-

tween all o his interests, including

business and art art and design,

he said, are oundational to Provi-

dences economy.

Much o the runversationdidnt go on during the jog but

instead happened at Starbucks a-

terward. The joggers stopped and

had something to drink while they

talked.

For nearly 45 minutes, they

talked about everything rom Twit-

ter to tutoring. Steve Cronin told

Maeda that he was having some

trouble with his tutoring program

at Hope High School.

These kids all aspire to go to

college, but their writing skills are

just terrible, Steve Cronin said.Maeda told him that might not

be as big a problem today as it

once was. Im not saying writing

or reading or the written language

is gone, Maeda told him. But, he

added, imagine i you could turn

in an essay on video.

Some o the conversations di-

rectly tied business together with

design. One o the joggers men-

tioned the environmentally con-

scious design o his business. The

business is almost entirely paper-

ree and has only gone through a

ream-and-a-hal o paper in the last

si years.Maeda was so enthralled with

the idea o a paper-ree company

that he pulled out his iPhone,

turned on the voice recorder and

started interviewing the jogger

about how his company phased

out paper.

Its those chance encounters

that are so important in lie, i you

let them in. Thats kind o what I

like about these jogs, Maeda said.

Were all connected, and thats

why I love communication.

The jogs are not the only way

Maeda tries to stay connected with

the community. He eats lunch at

RISDs caeterias and exchanges

inormation on his blog.

It gets awkward having this

blog sometimes, Maeda said. Its

like Im ully vulnerable. Ive got

nowhere to hide.

But or all o the business talk

and exchange o complex ideas,

Maeda had a quick response when

asked about his avorite part o the

jog.

Umm, r unning.

Maeda is constantly trying to

get more people to come on thejog. He created a Web site or it, he

blogs about it, he talks about it on

television and he never misses it.

Its kind o a nice way to wake

up, Maeda said. I went to sleep

at like 1 a.m., and I was like, Oh,

I gotta go on this run. But Im

glad I did it.

continued frompage 1

j

Brendan Barry 13, a senior at

Classical High School in Provi-dence who was admitted early

decision to Brown, said that

while the magnet school usually

sends seven or eight students

to Brown each year, this year only

three will be attending.

It was a really, really tough

year, he said.

According to Nassirian, the

Ivies, in particular, are experienc-

ing a bumper crop this year.

For our most selective

schools, this was generally a re-

cord-setter, he said, adding that

this trend doesnt seem to hold

true at the second- and third-tierprivate institutions.

Six o the eight Ivy League

schools reported record-low ac-

ceptance rates this year, accord-

ing to their respective school

newspapers. Harvards accep-

tance rate was the lowest in the

Ivy League this year, with just

7 percent o applicants earning

admission. Browns admission

rate decreased the most among

Ivy League schools, ueled by a

21 percent jump in applications

this year.

Nassirian said the increased

competition or slots at Ivies

among applicants resulted rom

the critical intersection o su-

perlative reputation and very high

prestige and the act that despite

the setbacks and the losses to

their endowments, these schools

still have very deep pockets.

Rick Rizoli, director o college

counseling at The Rivers School

in Weston, Mass., said this prin-

ciple held true or his students.

The generalization is that

the higher up you go in the ood

chain in terms o prestige, the

more money you have, so not only

will you get the golden ring oIvy League admission, youll get

a good nancial aid package as

well, he said.

Miller also said Browns -

nancial aid program may have

contributed to the large number

o applicants this year.

It does appear anecdotally

that the nancial aid initiative

that we announced last year had

a positive infuence on our appli-

cant pool, he wrote in an e-mail

to The Herald.

Brown also allowed students to

apply through the popular Com-

mon Application service or therst time this year.

According to Miller, Brown

did not place more students on

the waitlist this year than in the

past.

But Rachel Petrella, co-director

o college counseling at Brooks

School in Nor th Andover, Mass.,

said many schools her students

applied to appeared to be using

wait lists.

There is this idea that every-

one has a longer waitlist than

usual, she said.

Nassirian echoed these senti-

ments, saying that in an uncertain

year, many schools were usingwaitlists to better control their

numbers.

In general it appears to be

the case that a lot o schools have

opted or a longer wait list as a

way o hedging their bets, he

said.

But Nassirian said this was

less true in the Ivy League.

The Ivies tend to capture the

rst bite o the apple, he said.

I continued frompage 1

Hrad Fi Photo

RISD Prsidnt John Mada carris out a runvrsation with ocantrprnurs onc a month.

8/14/2019 April 10, 2009 Issue

3/12

CS wSFRIDAY, APRIl 10, 2009 THe BROWN DAIlY HeRAlD PAge 3

Bin ay is a hardship, but in many ways its a privi.

Braydn McCarthy, associat at Barcays Capita

S b by eMily rosen

Contributing Writer

Though scientists have long un-

derstood that smoking has detri-

mental eects on the body, many o

nicotines biological eects remain

uneplored.

But research being conducted

by Brown scientists under the guid-

ance o Proessor o Medical Sci-

ence Edward Hawrot could provide

a clearer picture o the chemicals

interactions with human tissue,

giving additional insight into the

bodys workings.

Hawrots team has been work-

ing since 2006 to identiy proteinsnormally ound in the alpha-7

nicotinic acetylcholine receptor

i nicotine is not present, in hopes

o discovering dierences in the

proteins when nicotine is intro-

duced.

Hawrot and his team, which

includes William Brucker 04 GS

and Joao Paulo PhD08, published

the results o their experiments in

the April 3 issue o the Journal o

Proteome Research.

The research could provide

insight into epilepsy, schizophre-nia and Alzheimers disease, said

Hawrot, the associate dean or

the Program in Biology. Brucker

added that the research might

also help develop methods to help

people quit smoking.

We came up with 55 proteins

that we elt very condent were

associated directly or indirectly

with alpha-7, said Hawrot, who

has been studying nicotinic re-

ceptors or much o his scientic

career.

In order to identiy these pro-

teins, Hawrots team conducted

research on mice, which have asimilar alpha-7 receptor to that

o humans. The eperiment used

two sets o mice: one that had

normal alpha-7 receptors, and a

second, genetically engineered

set o knock-out mice that had

no alpha-7 receptors.

A neurotoin which alpha-7 is

known to bind was used to isolate

the alpha-7 receptor in the normal

b b

Quinn Savit / Hrad

Rprsntativs from thr businss firms discussd issus facin ay individuas in th workpac.

ch p

Reina Saiki 10 said she had

planned to work or a ew years ater

college and then enroll in graduate

school. But due to the uncertain job

market, going straight to graduate

school is becoming a big, big pos-

sibility, she said.

Its not really about the educa-

tion, Saiki said. Its about what I

should do as an alternative to a

job.

Gabriela Camargo 11 said she

had envisioned taking a similar route,

working or a ew years to urther

determine her interests and then get-

ting a graduate degree. But that was

beore the recession hit.

Now, it just changes the order,

she said.

Andrew Evans 09, who said he is

looking or a job in the roller coaster

industry, anticipates that he will take

time o beore committing to a job in

that eld. But he said he might have

avoided going straight into a career

even in a better economy.

Im kind o holding out or the

dream job, Evans said.

First-years and sophomores were

more likely than juniors and seniors

to choose somewhat condent or

somewhat worried. O rst-years

and sophomores, 62.6 percent put

themselves in the middle two cate-

gories, compared to 43.8 percent o

juniors and seniors who did so.

Additionally, 15.1 percent o stu-

dents said they did not intend to get a

job immediately ater graduation, and

5.3 percent selected the Dont know/

No answer option on the poll.

Despite the str uggling economy,

salary oers to this years graduates

are commensurate to those oered

to last years graduating seniors,

according to a February NACE re-

port. Graduates who anticipate that

they will earn degrees in business

administration or management ared

among the best o the class, seeing

their oers rise by 4.7 percent since

last year. But the average salary that

companies are oering to graduat-

ing seniors with potential computer

science degrees ell by 1.4 percent.

Salary oers to uture liberal arts

graduates ell by 0.9 percent.

Though internship positions are

down 21 percent rom last year, sala-

ries or those jobs are on the rise,

according to NACE research. These

internships are becoming more com-

petitive, but it remains important or

undergraduates to apply to ones in

their anticipated career area, Koncz

said.

I would denitely say to an under-

graduate to get some kind o related

work eperience, she said.

Working as a paid or unpaid intern

is a way to get a oot in the door

or a permanent job ater graduation,

Koncz said.

Though some students are a ew

years away rom exploring the market,

the CDC encourages undergraduates

to begin crating a plan, identiying

resources and making connections,

Peoples wrote in her e-mail.

The poll, conducted rom March16 through 18, had a 3.6 percent

margin o error with 95 percent con-

dence. The inormation specically

about rst-year and sophomore re-

spondents had a 4.6 percent margin

o error and the inormation about

junior and senior respondents had a

5.7 percent margin o error, both with

95 percent condence. A total o 676

Brown undergraduates completed

the poll, which The Herald admin-

istered as a written questionnaire to

students in the University Mail Room

at J. Walter Wilson, outside the Blue

Room in Faunce House and in the

Sciences Library.

continued frompage 1

b jb

oces goal is to keep the size

o the incoming reshman class

remain the same about 420

students he added.

Each year, the school typi-

cally places between 250 and 300

applicants on a waitlist, a gure

that has remained about the same

this year. It is dicult to predict

how many students will be taken

o the waitlist this year, Newhall

said.

Admission to RISD was even

harder to come by or graduate

students. The school accepted

just 404 o 2,148 applicants to its

graduate programs this year, an

acceptance rate o under 19 per-

cent, Newhall said.

continued frompage 1

ISD

by brigitta greene

SeniorStaffWriter

Representatives rom three top busi-

ness rms spoke Thursday to a small

crowd in Smith-Buonanno 106 about

being openly gay in the workplace,

as part o a month-long collaboration

between the Career Development

Center and the Queer Alliance.

At the orum, representatives

spoke o positive and challeng-

ing experiences working in the

business world.

Being gay is a hardship, but

in many ways its a privilege, saidBrayden McCarthy, an associate at

Barclays Capital, a major investment

bank. You are a minority, and you get

to understand how other minorities

are being treated.

The event was designed to t

with the theme o Pride Month, dur-

ing which the QA has attempted to

advance dialogue beyond same-sex

marriage and address queer issues

in the 21st centur y.

Its easy to be out at Brown, Kyle

Poyar 10, the organizer o the event

told The Herald. But in the work-

place, you worry to what etent that

is proessional.

Much o ones workplace eperi-

ence has to do with the climate, the

specic people that you work around,

said Richard Clark, senior managing

director or investor relations at Ac-

centure, Ltd., a consulting rm.

Studies have shown, Clark said,

that when an employee does not bring

his or her whole sel to work, pro-

ductivity goes down.

Jens Audenaert, a consultant at

Bain and Company, said individuals

can choose the etent to which they

bring their personal lives into the o-

ce. Its about what kind o image

you set, he said.

All three rms Bain, Accen-

ture and Barclays received per-

ect scores on the Corporate Equality

Index, a ranking compiled by the Hu-

man Rights Campaign. All three give

medical coverage benets to domestic

partners a program even Brown

does not currently implement, Poyar

said.

Poyar worked closely with Laura

Joshi, an employer relations manager

at the CDC, to organize the event, he

said. Firms expressed high interest in

the orum, Joshi said, but many were

unable to send a representative due to

scheduling conficts. The event ell on

both Holy Thursday and Passover.

Poyar said he was disappointed

with the turnout, which was ewer

than 20 students. He said it is di-

cult to reach out to LGBTQ students

at Brown because there is no singlenetwork. The QA acts as an umbrella

organization, but there is no direct

outreach mechanism, he said.

The event represents current e-

orts by the CDC to work closely with

students on campus, said Barbara Peo-

ples, the centers interim director.

We really want to increase our

engagement with student groups,

she said. We want to look or what

the students are looking or.

continued onpage 4

8/14/2019 April 10, 2009 Issue

4/12

FRIDAY, APRIl 10, 2009THe BROWN DAIlY HeRAlDPAge 4

CS wS Th apha-7 rcptor can b dscribd as an xtrmymystrious rcptor. Wiiam Bruckr 04 gS, rsarchr

mice, and a similar procedure was

perormed on the mice without al-

pha-7 receptors to serve as a com-

parison group. Researchers then

used mass spectrometry to analyze

pieces o proteins extracted rom the

receptor and identied the proteins

using a computer database.

The team concluded that pro-

teins present in the normal mice but

not present in the receptor-decient

mice were the proteins normally as-

sociated with the alpha-7 receptor.

One o the next steps in continu-

ing this research is to study howthe introduction o nicotine to the

alpha-7 receptor will aect the pro-

teins associated with it, according

to the researchers. They hypoth-

esize that once nicotine binds to

the alpha-7 receptor, the identity

and quantity o proteins that interact

with the receptor will change.

This three-year project was

unded by a grant rom the Na-

tional Institute on Drug Abuse, a

part o the National Institutes o

Health. Brucker also received his

own ellowship unding rom the

drug abuse institute to work on the

project.

Hawrot noted that he and hiscolleagues were surprised that a

protein known as G-alpha was one

o the proteins ound to interact with

the alpha-7 receptor. The G-alpha

protein is associated with another

amily o receptors, known as G-

protein-coupled receptors, which are

crucial or the normal unctioning

o the body, he said.

The G-alpha protein thus pro-

vides a link between the alpha-7 re-

ceptor and G-protein-coupled recep-

tors, which interact with 40 percent

o drugs in use today, Hawrot said.

This could mean there is cross-

talk between alpha-7 receptors and(the G-protein-coupled receptors),

he said, which could provide more

insight into the many roles alpha-7

plays in the body.

The alpha-7 receptor can be de-

scribed as an extremely mysterious

receptor, Brucker said. He added

that knowledge about the nervous

system is murky since it is highly

comple, and it is oten dicult to

predict how certain drugs and other

substances will aect it.

We want to get more inorma-

tion about what nicotine is doing at

the molecular and cellular level,

Hawrot said.

b

continued frompage 3

DOg DAYS OF SPR INg

Quinn Savit / Hrad

Studnts njoyd th nic wathr ystrday aftrnoon and cam to th Main grn to pay with facuty

mmbrs dos for th Havy Pttin d-strssin vnt oranizd by Hath education.

F, by annys sHin

anD renae Merle

the WaShington PoSt

WASHINGTON The ailing nan-

cial and retail sectors showed tenta-

tive signs o strength Thursday, an

encouraging shit or an economy

whose prospects are tied to their

recovery.A resurgence among consumers

and banks is a necessary precursor

to a turnaround in an economy that

has been battered on nearly every

ront housing,

exports, employ-

ment in recent

months. New data Thursday oered

at least some hope that the darkest

days o the recession could be end-

ing, even i the economy remains

ragile.

Ahead o its ocial earnings re-

port, Wells Fargo, one o the nations

largest banks, said it has earned re-

cord prots rom January to March

and that its mortgage business was

exceptionally strong. The San Fran-

cisco-based bank, which beneted

rom having acquired Wachovia late

last year and writing down losses

then, easily surpassed analysts e-

pectations.

Financial markets surged on

the news, partly because they have

been braced or a dismal rst-quarter

earnings season. The S&P 500-share

index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq

were up nearly 4 percent ater steep

losses earlier in the week.

This is the th week in a row

that stocks have ended the week in

positive territory. In the month since

the market reached a low point in

March, stocks have climbed more

than 20 percent.

The recession remains severe,

and economists stress the worst or

U.S. workers is still to come. Ameri-

cans are still claiming jobless benets

at record levels, with the number o

people continuing to receive unem-

ployment insurance now approach-ing 6 million. The unemployment

rate in March was 8.5 percent, and

earlier this week, the head o the

Federal Reserve Bank o Dallas

said he thought

it could surpass

10 percent by

years end.

Mounting job losses have kept

consumers out o retail stores, which

have reported huge losses since the

all. The International Council o

Shopping Centers said Thursday that

national retail sales at established

stores a key measure o health

in retailing were down again in

March, or the sixth consecutive

month year over year.

The decline in sales have been

stabilizing, though, in part because

low energy costs have let people

with more money to spend. Many

retailers Thursday reported better-

than-epected results and sounded

more positive about the uture than

they have in months. Wholesale

clubs such as Costco and BJs turned

in particularly strong perormances,

with sales rising 5 percent in March

excluding the impact o uel. Even

sales at those rms that missed ana-

continued onpage 9

WorlD & nation

8/14/2019 April 10, 2009 Issue

5/12

rts & CultureTh Brown Daiy Hrad

FRIDAY, APRIl 10, 2009 | PAge 5

w by ben HyMan

artS & Culture editor

The artist Frank Stella once said o

his minimalist paintings, What you

see is what you see. But in Yasmina

Rezas 1994 play Art to be staged

at Production Workshop this week-

end this statement is as untrue o

paintings as it is o people.

Nothing is what it seems in Rezas

etremely dark comedy, which sati-

rizes the ragile veneer o civility that

hides the monster in every human

being.

The catalyst or all o this is, in act,

a Stella-esque painting an all-white,

our-by-ve oot canvas marked only

by aint diagonal stripes in a slightly

dierent shade o white. Serge (Jon-athan Gordon 11), a middle-aged

dermatologist with art connoisseur

pretensions, has purchased the work

or an exorbitant amount o money,

much to the dismay o his longtime

riend Marc (Boaz Munro 09), who

can hardly contain his utter hatred

or the painting.

Over the course o an hour and a

hal, the artwork becomes the site or

a battle o wills between the two men,

while their younger riend Yvan (Dan-

iel Gonon 12) nds himsel caught

painully in the middle.

Essentially, thats all there is to this

tight drama. The rst thing viewerssee as they enter PWs downstairs

space is the canvas itsel, acing

backwards on a triangular stand. Its

the perect starting image or a play

whose stark geometry is based on the

constantly shiting triangle its three

characters compose. But lurking be-

hind this classical balance is a erce,

primal energy.

This nely tuned production o

Art, directed by Gordon Sayre 12

and eaturing three antastic peror-mances, is a slow-building crescendo

o subtle intensity.

The play begins with the men

mostly conned to their separate

spheres, nicely delineated by the bal-

anced, three-part set. In the opening

scene, Marc an aeronautical en-

gineer who prides himsel on his un-

ashionable tastes scorns Serges

painting, initiating a rit between the

two riends. Yvan, preoccupied by his

upcoming wedding, acts as a media-

tor, shuttling back and orth between

Serge and Marc, trying to appease

them both but only heightening the

confict.

When all three men nally end upin a room together with the painting,

what ensues is a simmering war o

words that questions whether or not

the bonds o riendship, in the end,

amount to anything at all.

Ever since its premiere, Rezas

play has been a hit not only with audi-

ences, but also with actors, who relish

its three meaty roles. Rezas language

is more o a blunt instrument than

a precision weapon she tends to

overwrite and give away develop-

ments the audience could probably

gure out or itsel but the play

nevertheless provides remarkable

opportunities or perormers whoknow how to mete out their energy

in small doses.

Gordon plays Serge as the con-

summate smooth-talker, but he injects

something deeply threatening into his

characters glassy, almost uninfected

voice, as though hes keeping the lid

o a pressure cooker rmly locked

down. When Gordon nally does raise

his voice, the result is gripping.

Gonon is wonderul as Yvan, ca-

reening rom a hyperventilating de-livery o a monologue about wedding

invitations to an aecting speech that

brings to lie the sense o betrayal

he eels when his two best riends

eventually turn on him.

While Marc and Serge have

cushy, high-status careers, Yvan is

lucky even to have a job as a statio-

nery salesman at his brides uncles

store. The class issues inherent in

this dynamic are always bubbling

under the surace. Ater Yvan tells

Serge he likes the painting, Marc eels

compelled to dissect his declaration,

eectively denying Yvans right as

a younger, less skilled inerior to

have an opinion about something ascomplicated as art.

Munro portrays this condescen-

sion skillully. Marc becomes a com-

pelling character who cant look at

himsel objectively enough to under-

stand his own faws until Serge orces

him to see himsel or what he is.

This leaves out the silent ourth

character o the play: the painting.

Its blankness becomes a constantly

shiting mirror or the characters,

the context or their agonism. As

the men become more and more

animalistic, the whole atmosphere

o the play turns stifing. Unolding at

a stately pace, the inevitable climax isso tension-lled that, or the audience,

breathing almost begins to seem like

a distraction.

Art really is that good its styl-

ish intellectual catnip. For anyone

who has ever used the word prob-

lematize and anyone who has ever

been annoyed by the word problema-

tize its not to be missed.

The first Brown University Folk Festival kicks off Saturday.If weather permits, the festival will be held outdoors onLincoln Field. In case of rain, events will take place in Say-les Hall and Wilson Hall.

11 11:45 .m. Shapnot Sin

11:30 .m. 12 p.m. Dyan Nsons Burass Band

11:45 .m. 12:30 p.m. Yiddish Danc with Yarmukazi

12:15 12:45 p.m. Sa Music

12:45 2:15 p.m. Contra danc/Hambo workshop with

th Rhoboth Jammrs

1 1:30 p.m. Throat Collctiv A studnt trio that

xplors th intrsction of th human voic and

architctura spac

1:45 2:30 p.m. R.I. sinr-sonwritr Hannah Dvin

2:15 3:15 p.m. Bakan Danc with Zdravts, Bostons

frindy nihborhood Buarian band.2:45 3:30 p.m. Taahass A Providnc trio purvyin

catchy, fok- and country-inspird indi pop.

3:30 4:30 p.m. Fishin with Finnan Ths four

siblin prformrs ar a stapl of th Rhod Island

Ctic music scn.

4:30 5:30 p.m. Ida Rd

5:30 6:30 p.m. Th Touhcats Faturd on Nationa

Pubic Radios A Sons Considrd, this trio provids

cassic Amrican roots music with a saty Nw enandish

twist.

6:30 7 p.m. Brak

7 8 p.m. Fstiva hadinr lissa Schncknburr, Nw

enand fiddr and fok sinr.

8:30 11:30 p.m. Contra danc, cad by Rbcca lay

Artist information supplid by Folk Fstival Wb sit and artists

prsona sits.

brown universiy Fok Fesiva:the linep

Kathrin Raado / Hrad

Production Workshops nw show cntrs around a four-by-fiv foot minimaist canvas.

8/14/2019 April 10, 2009 Issue

6/12

world & ationTh Brown Daiy Hrad

FRIDAY, APRIl 10, 2009 | PAge 6

qby anna gorMan

loS angeleS timeS

LOS ANGELES First Jason Farber

lost his job. Then his new wie, Julie,

lost hers. Their combined $160,000

income vanished, and soon their sav-

ings did too.

The unemployment checks

werent enough to pay the rent,

so they turned to Jasons mother

or help. Suzi Farber, 62, willingly

opened her doors because she was

having trouble making her own

house payments. The couple moved

into her San Fernando Valley home

in late February.

Its not where I would choose tobe, said Jason Farber, 39. But its

where we ended up.

As the nations economic crisis

deepens, amilies hit hard by layos

and oreclosures are turning to rela-

tives or help. They are trying to ride

out the recession together by sharing

homes, bills and groceries.

The pooling o resources harks

back to the Great Depression, when

amilies were doing whatever they

could to make ends meet, said Zsu-

zsa Berend, a sociology proessor

at the University o Caliornia, Los

Angeles. She said the practice is

probably happening more in areas

like Los Angeles, where rents and

property values are high, than in less

urban areas.

Living with amily members can

benet everyone, Berend said, be-

cause o the economies o scale its

less expensive to heat one house

than two, less epensive per person

to cook or si people than our. But

living together can also strain amily

relationships and lead to arguments

over privacy, money and household

duties.

There is this myth that hard

times bring people together and they

discover the true value o amily,

Berend said. I dont think thats true.

... Financial diculties dont bring

out the best in people.

Adult children moving back in

with parents is the most common

combined amily living situation. No

gures eist on how many amilies

have begun doubling up as result o

the recession, but even beore the

sharp downturn in the economy,

about 19.9 million adults ages 18

to 34 were living in their parents

homes in 2008, up rom 17.8 million

just ve years earlier, according to

U.S. Census data.

People are also renting rooms

to siblings, cousins and aunts and

uncles. In 2007, nearly 3.5 million

people were living in the home o a

FBI j .S.

by stePHanie MccruMMen

anD ann scott tyson

the WaShington PoSt

NAIROBI The FBI and U.S.

Navy were in delicate negotiations

Thursday with Somali pirates hold-

ing an American captain in a lie-

boat driting in the Indian Ocean,

as one U.S. destroyer hulked

nearby and additional naval ships

were speeding to the scene, U.S.

oicials said.

The USS Bainbridge, which ar-

rived Thursday morning, launcheda surveillance drone that ed live

color video o the lieboat back to

the ship, though it was unable to

provide a clear view o Capt. Rich-

ard Phillips o Underhill, Vt.

But as ar as we know, the cap-

tain is okay, a Deense Depart-

ment oicial said on the condition

o anonymity.

Phillips, stuck in a hot lieboat

with no uel and no toilet and bob-

bing in a rolling sea, had been pro-

vided with batteries and other

provisions, according to a state-

ment rom his company, Maersk

Line o Norolk, Va., which said he

remained unharmed. At the same time, Somali

sources said other pirates were

motoring toward the scene o the

Horn o Arica country, where their

colleagues were thwarted Wednes-

day by the American crew o the

17,000-ton Maersk Alabama con-

tainer ship. The second pirate boat

was loaded with guns, and possibly

European hostages seized in an

earlier attack, to deter the U.S. mil-

itary rom any action, the sources

said, speaking on the condition o

anonymity or their saety.

The aim o pirates in the sec-

ond boat was to rescue their com-rades and probably also secure a

cut o any ransom eventually paid,

said the sources, who include a

pirates brother, a ormer pirate

negotiator and a resident o the

coastal pirate town o Harardhere,

who said the boat let there late

Thursday aternoon.

Earlier, U.S. Navy oicials in-

structed the Maersk Alabamas

crew to steer their ship to the Ke-

nyan port o Mombasa, about 50

hours away.

The deense oicial said no

other vessels had been seen in

the area and dismissed the idea

that the second group o pirates

would get near the scene. Thats

not going to happen, the oicial

said.

Somali pirates are holding

more than a dozen other vessels

ranging rom massive container

ships to luxury yachts and ishing

trawlers, along with more than 200

hostages rom France, Turkey and

other nations part o a thriving

business that pumps tens o mil-

lions o dollars into the economy

o northeastern Somalia.

Few, i any, hostages have been

harmed, which analysts say helps

uel piracy. The incoming money

has made relatively thriving pirate

towns out o ishing villages such

as Harardhere, which now have ca-

terers that bring ood to hostages

and new construction.

Ken Menkhaus, an expert on

Somalia and the piracy epidemic

o its coast, said that despite the

U.S. show o orce, military action

was improbable.

Maersk Line was probably ne-gotiating a ransom with the pirates,

as most companies do, he said.

Menkhaus also said it was unlikely

the pirates would ree Phillips until

they reached Somalia.

I the pirates release him, then

what happens to them? said Men-

khaus, a political science proes-

sor at Davidson College in North

Carolina. Hes their only leverage

to get back to shore.

Private shipping companies

have generally preerred to pay

ransom rather than to arm their

ships and engage in gunights with

pirates on the high seas. Doing so,

the logic goes, would create a more

violent situation.

The companies are also moti-

vated to keep their ships unarmed

by a concern the pirates seem to

understand: money.

Putting armed guards on ships

could trigger an array o legal

and inancial trouble or shipping

companies. They might not be

granted access to certain ports,

or instance, and arms on a ship

sharply escalate the cost o insur-

ance. Paying ransom a total o

about $150 million or shipping

companies last year is still

cheaper than insuring a heavilyarmed ship.

For now, this is a sustainable

business or the pirates, Men-

khaus said. Everyones doing a

cost-beneit analysis.

The pirate business model usu-

ally involves hauling the crew or

passengers o a seized ship back

to Somalia.

The pirates current predica-

ment stranded in a lieboat

and staring at the hull o a U.S.

destroyer is unusual.

According to a Somali business-

man who has been involved in ran-

som negotiations with pirates in

the past, the pirates in the lieboathave asked the U.S. warship to

move away and allow them to take

the captain ashore.

They are araid i they release

him, the warship will reach them,

said the businessman, who spoke

on the condition o anonymity be-

cause o security concerns.

Tyson reported from Washington.

Special correspondent Mohamed

Ibrahim in Nairobi contributed to

this report.

Francin Orr / los Ans Tims

Suzi Farbr, cntr, and hr son Jason and dauhtr-in-aw Jui shar ama of chickn and saad. Th thr ar tryin to mak savin mony

and ivin tothr fun.

continued onpage 9

th f d!

8/14/2019 April 10, 2009 Issue

7/12

by anDreW braca

SPortS editor

The mens crew teams varsity

eight passed a sti test at the

San Diego Crew Classic this past

weekend, nishing th in a eldloaded with many o the top crews

in the countr y.

Though the Bears werent

completely satisied with the re-

sults, said three-seat Matt Wheel-

er 09, it was crucial to gain the

eperience.

Its always our goal to go out

and win races, he said. But it was

a good opportunity to go out and

see the countrys best. It really

gives us a lot o ocus now heading

into a tough (race) with Harvard

this weekend.

In Sundays grand nal, Brown

covered the two kilometer course

in 6:03.77, beating Princeton by

3.30 seconds. Cal took the title

with a time o 5:51.8, ollowed by

Washington at 5:52.61. Harvard

crossed the line at 5:53.95 to take

third place in the six-team race,

ollowed by Stanord at 5:56.34.

The Bears qualied or the

grand nal on Saturday by tak-

ing third in a competitive heat.

Ater Washington cruised home

with the victory, Bruno crossed

the nish line at 5:55.28, just 44

hundredths o a second behind

Harvard. Syracuse nished 3.24

seconds back, and Ohio State and

Purdue lagged ar behind.

For Brown, Christian Crynes

10 was in the bow, ollowed by

Gavin Crynes 10 in the second

seat, Matt Wheeler 09 in third,

Cole Bonner 10 in ourth, Ben

Duggan 10 in th, Scott Mor-

gan 10 in sixth, Nick Ritter 10 inthe seventh seat, Sean Medcal

09 at stroke and coxswain Rob

OLeary 09.

Wheeler said the Bears enjoyed

their trip across the countr y.

San Diego was beautiul, he

said. It was nice to get a break

rom the weather here.

But the trip was not a vacation

or the crew. Although the San

Diego Crew Classic is one o the

largest regattas in the world, ea-

turing 90 races over the two days

this year, Wheeler said ull ocuson their own races pr ecluded the

Bears rom seeing many others.

Back on the East Coast, the

ull crew will take on Harvard

tomorrow on the Charles River

in Boston, looking to deend the

Stein Cup ater a stirring victory

over the Crimson last season.

Wheeler said the Bears are

not concerned that they lost to

Harvard by nearly 10 seconds on

Sunday.

We raced them down to the

line and we were within hal-a-second o them on Saturday, so

were sure that thats more what

our actual speed is, he said.

There are a lot o things were

going to do this week, but were

denitely going to be ready or

them out there.

SPortS StaffrePortS

Among the Bears in action this weekend, the nationally-ranked

mens lacrosse team will look to

keep its success going in a crucial

home match, while the womens

water polo team will play its nal

home game o the season nearly

20 miles o campus. Womens tennis

also aces a pair o home matches

against Ivy oes this weekend.

M

The No. 8 mens lacrosse team,

currently enjoying an eight-game

winning streak, will try to extend

it to nine against Penn (2-7, 1-4)

tomorrow at 1 p.m. at StevensonField.

Last Saturday, the Bears rallied

rom a 9-6 decit to pull out a 13-9

win over Yale, running their record

to 9-1 overall and 2-0 in Ivy League

play.

Bruno has elded a potent o-

ense this season, ranking eighth

in the country with an average o

11.8 goals per game.

Andrew Feinberg 11 has led the

way with 28 goals and 12 assists,

good or an average o 4.0 points

per game that ranks ourth nation-

ally, while Thomas Muldoon 10 has

come on strong with our goals in

each o his last three games, ex-tending a 29-game point-scoring

streak that places him sith in the

nation.

Kyle Hollingsworth 09 ranks

th in the nation in assists, dishing

out 2.1 per game.

Wm w p

The womens water polo team

will play a rematch with Harvard

tomorrow at 1 p.m. It will be Brunos

nal home game o the season

at Balour Natatorium on the cam-

pus o Wheaton College in Norton,

Mass.

Last Saturday, the Bears (17-12)

capped a 4-0 weekend with an 11-10

win over the Crimson in Cambridge,

as Rory Stanton 09, the teams lone

senior, scored the game-winning

goal.

A powerul pair o juniors pace

the oense. Lauren Presant 10

leads the way with 89 goals, while

Sarah Glick 10 has accumulated 123

points on 65 goals and 58 assists.

Wm

The No. 60 womens tennis team

will look to improve on its 16-3 over-

all record and 2-1 mark in the Ivy

League when it hosts Columbia (4-11, 0-3) today at 2 p.m. and Cornell

(6-10, 2-1) tomorrow at noon.

Last weekend, the Bears split

a pair o road matches, trouncing

Penn, 5-2, beore dropping a 6-1

contest to No. 47 Princeton to end

a 12-match winning streak.

Bruno is powered by Bianca

Aboubakare 11 and Cassandra

Herzberg 12, who team up to orm

the 69th-ranked doubles tandem

in the nation and also anchor the

teams top two singles slots. The

third doubles duo o Emily Ellis

10 and Kathrin Sorokko 10 has a

12-7 record on the season with ourmatches let, giving them a good

chance to break the school record

o 14 doubles wins in a season by a

single team.

SportsweekendFRIDAY, APRIl 10, 2009 | Page 7

Th Brown Daiy Hrad

Ff- S D .

, SWith the NCAA mens basketball

tournament now behind us, we

plunge into a dark abyss with nothing

to entertain us but the never-ending

NBA playos

and the three-

hour snooze-

ests that we still

inexplicably call

our national

pastime.

We enter, inshort, the deso-

late purgatory

that is the NFL

oseason. So in an eort to stave

o or as long as possible having to

dive into the numbingly dull Kobe vs.

LeBron vs. yes D-Wade debate,

why not milk March Madness or all

its worth?

This years tourney was widely

panned as chalk-ull o powerhouse

conerences and blowouts by domi-

nant higher seeds and as the nal

stroke o midnight or wannabe

Cinderellas. Every single No. 1, 2

and 3 seed advanced to the Sweet

Sixteen, and only one team seededlower than ith 12th-seeded

Arizona, not eactly a Cinderella

made it to the third round o play. In

the early rounds, upsets were ew

and as ar between as Jon Scheyers

top and bottom teeth when he lets

loose the Scheyerace. Only three

true midmajor teams survived their

rst game Siena, Cleveland State

and Western Kentucky.

Granted, there were some near-

upsets Pitt had some trouble with

East Tennessee State in the rst

round and American University gave

Villanova a scare and plenty o

exciting games, but there was alsoa slew o ugly blowouts: UNC over

16th-seeded Radord by 43, UConn

over 16th- seeded Chattanooga by 56,

Oklahoma over 15th-seeded Morgan

State by 28.

And though the controversy over

bubble teams has been somewhat

muted in recent seasons there

were ew qualms about this years se-

lections o Maryland, Wisconsin and

Arizona over Creighton, St. Marys

and San Diego State its still been

a steady source o seasonal employ-

ment or ESPN college basketball

analyst Joe Lunardi.

Though Im o the view that the

chalky results o the last two tourna-

ments all our number-one seeds

made the Final Four in 2008 are

more an anomaly than anything else,

theyve stoked admittedly well-ound-

ed ears among college basketball

ans that the increasing parity weve

seen in recent years is being inexora-

bly reversed. The days o the George

Masons o the sport advancing deep

into the tournament, the pessimists

ear, will soon be as distant a memory

as Dukes last mens basketball cham-

pionship (sorry Dukies, I just cant

pass up a chance to rub it in).

Justin Coman / Hrad

Th mns across tam hops to add a ninth am to its winnin strak this wknd aainst Pnn.

continued onpage 8

a MzvMazs Minut

8/14/2019 April 10, 2009 Issue

8/12

FRIDAY, APRIl 10, 2009THe BROWN DAIlY HeRAlDPAge 8

SSwD

So how can we cure what ails the

Madness? Beore the tournament

began this year, there were repeatedcalls to add two days on the ront

end o the tournament and expand

the eld to 128 teams. Including so

many more teams in the Big Dance

would certainly make the selection

committees tendency to avor the

major conerence bubble teams over

smaller bubble schools this years

bracket was no eception a moot

point, since almost every team with

a semblance o talent in Division I

would make it in. But can you imag-

ine what those rst-round games be-

tween the 1st and 32nd seeds would

be like?

And to borrow a tired gripe romBowl Championship Series commis-

sioners, having such a large eld

would severely diminish the impor-

tance o the regular season, at least

in the power conerences, since all

but the cellar dwellers would be o-

ered spots. With 97 at-large bids to

ll, its not hard to see a team like

2009s St. Johns squad, which went

6-12 in the Big East with zero wins

over ranked opponents, playing in

late March. The point is, we dontwant the tournament to become a

haven or mediocre teams and early-

round blowouts.

So heres what I propose: Add

what are essentially two play-in

games to each o the our regions

o the bracket we could include

more than two, but lets use two or

simplicitys sake to increase the

tournament eld by eight teams over-

all. The teams in each region would

then be seeded rst through 18th,

with the top 14 seeds getting byes

into the round o 64. In this case, the

top seed would play the winner o the

16-vs.-17 game, and the No. 2 seedwould take on the 15-vs.-18 victor.

This system would push the very

lowest seeds generally the measly

automatic bids youve never heard o

rom obscure conerences like the

Ohio Valley Conerence out o

rst-round match-ups with the pow-

erhouse teams that they were never

going to win anyway and give them

a chance to nd their ooting against

a more comparable squad.

It would also turn possible at-largemidmajor teams that would be among

the Last Four Out in the current

system St. Marys is a good ex-

ample this year into 15th- or 16th-

seeded teams. Theres a reason no

16-seed has ever knocked o a num-

ber one, but in this new system wed

at least be giving 16 seeds a ghting

chance (assuming they win the play-

in), hopeully keeping blowout dreck

to a minimum.

No matter how much the eld

is expanded, there will always be a

bubble, but with this system wed

be letting in the top-tier midmajors

without automatic bids as well asmost o the big-conerence teams

with conerence records above

.500 and a ew quality wins against

ranked opponents the general

consensus standards or being on

the bubble.

And Joe Lunardi can keep his

job.

continued frompage 7

z 0: F

Onin vry day bfor brakfastbrowndaiyhrad.com

8/14/2019 April 10, 2009 Issue

9/12

FRIDAY, APRIl 10, 2009THe BROWN DAIlY HeRAlDPAge 9

world & ation Wr sin mor surpriss to th upsid. Bth Ann Bovino, S&P snior conomist

sister or brother and 6.8 million lived

with other relatives. Seven years ear-

lier, 3 million were living with siblingsand 4.9 million were living with other

relatives.

Suzi Farber bought her house or

$711,000 two years ago, using in part

money she had recently inherited rom

her own parents. She put 15 percent

down and was able to aord the $3,759

mortgage each month primarily using

interest rom her investments.

But in the last year, the invest-

ments have lost two-thirds o their

value and will run out soon i the re-

cession continues. Her house also has

plummeted in value and now is worth

less than the loan. She deaulted or

the rst time on March 1. Farber, whorecently ran a git-wrapping company,

hasnt been able to nd work. Its not

just people in Lancaster, she said. Its

hitting everyone right now.

Farber, who was already helping

Jason and Julie pay their bills, said

having them move in made sense or

everyone. She said she is trying to go

out o her way to make sure they eel

welcome. She gave up her bedroom

and moved into the guest room so

they would have more space. She

moved her car to the street so they

could use the garage or storage.

Suzi said she is anxious about her

own nances but more worried about

her son.I think its harder on Jason and on

his sel-esteem, being with his mom

and not being able to support his wie,

she said. That makes me sad.

Jason said the move has been

a little blow to the ego but that he

is also getting spoiled. On a recent

morning, Farber made an egg salad

sandwich or Jason as he watched the

news. The Dow is dropping rapidly,

he said.

Jason, a University o Southern

Caliornia graduate, was working as

a project manager in commercial de-

velopment when the bottom ell out

about a year and a hal ago and severalhotel projects canceled and he ound

himsel unemployed. In February

2008, Julie was laid o rom her job

as a brand manager ater 17 years in

the ashion industry.

They moved to a cheaper place,

but even with $21,000 a year in unem-

ployment checks, they couldnt aord

to pay rent and they used up their sav-

ings. Both have applied or numerous

jobs. Jason has submitted applications

everywhere rom property manage-

ment companies to a 99-cent store. Id

rather not work at Jack in the Box, but

Ill take anything, he said.

He is taking classes to be certied

as a welder, hoping that ederal stimu-

lus money will lead to jobs. Julie plans

to study medical coding and billing.

She said she has changed her lie-

style, shopping at the 99-cent store,

clipping coupons, eating at home

and washing her car by hand. She

wishes she didnt have to rely on her

mother-in-law.

I hate it, she said. But thankully

we have his moms house to move

into.

For some amilies, the honeymoon

already has ended.

Maria Garnica, her husband and

their two children are sharing their

two-bedroom apartment in East Los

Angeles with ve members o her

husbands amily. The relatives moved

in over the last year because o risingrents and lost jobs. There are bunk

beds in Garnicas living room and

makeshit beds on the couch and

the foor.

There is no privacy anymore, said

Garnica, 29, who works at a day-care.

Beore I had my living room. Now

everyone is in my living room.

Beore, Garnica said, she used to

rela on her couch in the aternoons

beore cooking dinner. Now, she goes

straight to her room ater work and

rarely cooks because she said prepar-

ing meals or nine people is too much

like working in a restaurant. There

are two rerigerators and they dont

share ood. They try to give each otherspace, she said, but too many people

are crammed into a small apartment.

You can eel the tension, she said.

But Garnica said living on their

own isnt an option. Her husband, who

worked at a printing company, was laid

o last month. The relatives pay hal

o the $1,600 rent.

I have no choice, she said. We

do need them or the income.

She knows that isnt likely to

change or a while.

Adrea Bellenbaums time living

with amily, however, soon may be

over.

Ater graduating rom the Univer-sity o Caliornia, Riverside in 2008

with a degree in political science, Bel-

lenbaum moved in with her ather in

a senior citizen complex in Hemet,

thinking she would nd a job and be

back on her own within a month. She

hid in the apartment so her ather

wouldnt get evicted.

I couldnt nd a job to save my lie

or three months, she said. It was

denitely a reality check. ... I kind o

thought I would have my act together

by the age o 25.

She ound a minimum-wage job

stocking shelves at a crat store 40

minutes away. The paycheck didnt go

ar, so she contributed by cleaning andbuying some ood. Last month, she

and her ather moved in with his girl-

riend, who worked in real estate and

couldnt aord her own mortgage.

Finally, Bellenbaums resume, de-

gree and determination paid o; she

got an entry-level oer or a govern-

ment job in Washington, D.C., and

is waiting or a background check.

Now she is trying to save money or

moving costs. Bellenbaum said she is

thankul that her ather, a truck driver,

has been able to help.

continued onpage 9

Francin Orr / los Ans Tims

Jui Farbr, ft, and mothr-in-aw Suzi shop with coupons.

C .S.

lyst epectations could have beenworse, according to analysts.

The overall tone or March

was actually stronger than the re-

ported sales perormance, ISCS

chie economist Michael P. Niemira

said.

Exports, another undamen-

tal driver o the economy, are

also rebounding marginally. The

Commerce Department Thursday

reported that eports r ose in Feb-

ruary or the rst time since July.

That, along with plummeting im-

ports, helped shrink the U.S. trade

decit to a nine-year low.

Demand or U.S. goods re-mains below what it was beore

the downturn. Companies have

been slashing production to catch

up with alling sales at home and

overseas, and they appear to be

making progress, with wholesale

inventories declining. Many com-

panies have more to cut, though.

Boeing, or instance, said Thursday

that it would reduce production o

some planes net year.

Government ocials have been

counseling patience on the econo-

my, even as they argue that actions

they have taken are beginning to

pay dividends. Thursday, President

Obama gathered Washington-areahomeowners at the White House

to spotlight his administrations

eorts to bring down mortgagerates.

Ocials have also said they

have reason or optimism. Lawrence

Summers, Obamas top economic

adviser, told a packed luncheon in

Washington Thursday that while

he could not predict when the re-

cession would end, this sense o

reeall ... will be arrested within

the net ew months.

Some o that cautious optimism

has begun ltering through to Main

Street, according to the Discover

U.S. Spending Monitor, a monthly

inde. Compared with the Febru-

ary survey, twice as many consum-ers last month reported eeling the

economy is getting better, though

a majority still eel tough times lie

ahead.

Analysts, too, say are increasing-

ly condent that the breathtaking

pace o the economys decline over

the past si months is easing.

Were seeing more surprises

to the upside, Standard & Poors

senior economist Beth Ann Bovino

said. Less weakness is the new

strength.

Staff writers Lori Montgomery

and Ylan Q. Mui contributed to this

report.

continued onpage 9

8/14/2019 April 10, 2009 Issue

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ditorial & LettersPage 10 | FRIDAY, APRIl 10, 2009

Th Brown Daiy Hrad

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opinion

Lettertothe editor

I have a conession to make: I actually had two weeks

o Spring Break this year! But dont hate me too much;

I wasnt just tanning on a beach somewhere in the

Caribbean. A week beore spring break, I was lucky

enough to be in Milan, Italy, representing the United

States as Secretary o Deense at the annual Model G8

Youth Summit.

Around Christmas, when the international relations

program sent out its periodic newsletter, the entry or

the Model G8 Youth Summit caught my eye and Illed out the application. From there everything went

very quickly, and, ater a brie phone interview and a

couple o meetings with Brown proessors to brush up

on issues o deense, I was on my way to Milan!

At the summit, there were delegations o 15 or more

students, graduate and undergraduate, rom the G8+5

countries. Students rom the University o Oxord, La

Sorbonne, the Free University o Berlin, Moscow State

University and many other leading schools around the

world passionately argued their countries positions

over the course o si days.

From start to nish, the summit was one o the most

exciting, educational and un experiences o my lie. In

terms o my negotiations with the other Ministers o

Deense, it was amazing to see how much our positions

diered in the beginning, and how, through a week

o intense discussion, we reached a consensus on all

the dierent points on the agenda. While issues such

as the ght against piracy or strategic missile control

and disarmament were rather easy to agree on, when

it came to the problem o Iran or the Missile Deense

System, much lengthier negotiations were needed.

While I learned a lot rom the process o negotiation

itsel, it was the discussions that took place outside

the negotiation room that I enjoyed the most. I believe

that such a summit is a rare opportunity to meet bril-

liant and passionate students rom around the world

and learn rst-hand about their perspectives on the

dierent global issues we ace today.

Ater the daily negotiations were over, many o my

nights were spent sitting around drinking wine with the

dierent ministers, just learning about their personal

views on many global issues. In this way, I ormed a

real riendship with the Russian Minister o Deense.

I discovered the perspective o an educated Russian

citizen on issues such as the Russia-Georgia confict,the Putin-Medvedev dynamic and on dierences be-

tween Russian and American society. The knowledge

I gained through these discussions and the others I

had at this summit have given me valuable eposure

to perspectives not represented on our campus.

The reason I am writing this column is not to say

how great my spring break was, but rather to e ncour-

age other students to apply or this type o summit as

well. Indeed, I was shocked to nd out I was the only

Brown student to apply or this conerence. As I have

hopeully conveyed here, I think these types o sum-

mits are rare and enlightening learning eperiences,

and I truly hope more students take advantage o

them in the uture.

Anthony Stahin 10 is a poitica scinc con-

cntrator from gnva, Switzrand. H can b

rachd at Anthony_Stahin@brown.du.

BY ANTHONY STAeHelIN

opinions CoLumnist

s sff W Mitra Anoushiravani, en Cushin, Sydny embr, laurn Fdor,

Nico Fridman, Britta grn, Sarah Husk, Brian Mastroianni, Hannah Mosr, Bn

Schrckinr, Caroin Sdano, Missa Shub, Ann Simons, Sara Sunshin

stff Wt Zunaira Choudhary, Chris Duffy, Nico Dunca, Juiana Frind, Camron

l, Ky Maahan, Christian Mart , Hyoun Min, Sth Mot, Jyotsna Muur, laurn

Pisch, lsi Primack, Ann Spyr, Axandra Umr, Kya Wiks

sp sff W Nico Stock

s b a Max Barrows, Jacki godman, Marart Watson,Bn Xion

b a Diahndra Burman, Stassia Chyzhykova, Caroin Dan, Marco

dlon, Kathrin gavin, Bonni Kim, Maura lynch, Cathy li, An Mcgonai, liana

Nisimova, Thanass Pstis, Aath Roncy, Cory Schwartz, Wiiam Schwitzr, Knnth

So, evan Sumor tin, Haydar Tayun, Anshu Vaish, Wbbr Xu, lynds Yss

D sff Katrina Daavurak, gii Kir, Jssica Kirschnr, Joanna l, Maxw

Rosro, John Wash, Kat Wison, Qian Yin

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cp ed Sara Chimn-Wiss, Sydny embr, laurn Fdor, Miranda Forman, Casygaham, Anna Jouravva, goffry Kyi, Frdric lu, Jordan Mainzr, Ky Maahan,

Madin Rosnbr

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Marlee Bruning, Anna Migliaccio Dsns

Kathryn Delaney, Sydney Ember, Adam Rodriquez Cpy eds

Nicole Friedman, Brigitta Greene, Ben Hyman, Sophia Li, Hannah Moser Nh eds

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t h ed:

The Heralds Tuesday editorial (The Transer Tradeo, April 7) was

at once incoherent, misinormed and oensive. It laments the act that

Browns acceptance o transer students requires it to admit ewer reshmen,

ignoring the act that transer students ar e generally lling spots vacated

by students not returning to campus.

More troubling, however, is the apparent perception on which this

statement is based. I the Herald editorial page board is troubled by what i t

thinks are transers lling spots that might otherwise add to the number o

incoming reshmen, it is suggesting that transer admits are less desirable

than those who enter Brown directly rom high school. Indeed, the board

seems to say this over tly in its nal sentence, which claims the Oce o

Admission needs to ensure that transers are as deserving as members o

the incoming class. Combined with the editorials recommendation that

the number o transers be reduced and the headline o the piece The

Transer Tradeo this statement gives the impression that the boardneeds to be disabused o several other misconceptions.

First, transers are neither o a lower quality nor less deserving. In

act, transers are disproportionately represented in leadership positions

and in activity partic ipation at Brown. Most are not transers because they

had hoped to be admitted rom high school and been rejected, but because

they went to schools they thought theyd like and ound themselves unhappy

there. In act, many transers did not apply to Brown rom high school, and

some o those that did were admitted and chose not to matriculate.

Furthermore, transer admission is already more dicult statistically

than admission as a reshman, so the boards suggestion that the admission

oce should keep the admit rate or transers below the rate or reshman

applicants betrays an ignorance concerning even the most basic acts o

the discussion. Freshmen arriving on campus this past all aced about a

14 percent acceptance rate. Transers arriving the same day aced a rate

o around 12.5 percent, and brought with them diverse eperiences rom

colleges all over the countr y.

Lots o people look at their lives and wish they were happier. Every

transer actually made the dicult choice to do something about it. Lets

not disparage that choice with failing elitism.

Php k 11 (tf F 08)

Apri 7

8/14/2019 April 10, 2009 Issue

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FRIDAY, APRIl 10, 2009 | PAge 11

pinionsTh Brown Daiy Hrad

I have a thirty-something relative, a work-

ing woman, married with kids. She has a

Facebook account, which I cant say I ever

thought about twice until I noticed, one

day, a note she had posted.

Remember that game where you put your

iPod on shufe, and every song that popped

up was the answer to some question about

your lie? That game all the annoying girlsin your high school played when you were

16? My thirty-something relative, a working

woman, married with kids, was playing that

game.

Its the sort o thing that invariably makes

me cringe, the kind o thing that makes me

realize, with dawning horror, just how good

a chance there is that well all still be help-

lessly tethered to this stupid thing 10 to 15

years down the line. Ill say it outright: Face-

book drives me crazy.

I have it, I sort o hate it, but I cant kick it,

because Im under that same delusion were

all under; without this handy dandy network-

ing tool making my lie oh-so-much easier, I

couldnt possibly keep up with old pals. Id

never get the memo about campus events,and Id probably have no riends whatsoever

at college, none.

Okay, but really. Somehow, some way,

once upon a time, humanity got by just ne

without Facebook, right? Yes, yes, I think I

can vaguely recall it. A time when riends

called each other on the phone i they want-

ed to get together instead o mass Facebook

messaging. A time when people took pic-

tures so theyd remember an event orever,

not so they could happily rub it in others ac-

es later on. A time when acquaintances said

hello on the street instead o ignoring each

other and caught up on each others lives by

conversing in person, not by creeping on

the computer.

To me, Facebook is scary because we all

want to be a part o it and yet it repr esents

an approach to lie with which I cant say Im

particularly comortable and an outlook on

human eistence I cant pretend to condone.

When we log on, we are living solely or the

approval o others, or the presentation o a

particular public ace, and eisting, withouteven realizing it, in isolation, in an alternate

cyber reality.

We hardly stop to think about the act

that writing on Jane Does wall does not

mean were talking to her no, were just

idly posting on a Web site she might happen

to visit later on! Were not even writing or

Janes benet were just hoping every-

one else checking out Janes page will think

were pretty cool. We dont have Facebooks

so we can keep up with other people our

Facebook eistences are, instead, all about

us. We think o our proles and ourselves,

Web site and person, as one and the same

and in that, Im araid, were treading on

dangerous ground.

Whats alarming isnt so much that were

carrying on in such a way, eecting such

shenanigans were just kids, ater all.

Were only in college, one might even argue,

right? So whats really got me worried is that

this thing might actually be here to stay. I

look at my elder cousins Facebook prole

and get a bit nervous. Whats in store or our generation in a

ew years time? Facebook albums instead

o amily photo albums? Engagements an-

nounced via relationship status? RSVPing to

meetings and work get-togethers via Face-

book event? Catching up with old riends on

Facebook chat, instead o getting together

or dinner? In 15 years or in 50 years

will we still be wasting our ree time sending

bumper stickers and pieces o fair, playing

iPod games and last-ten-people-to-write-on-

your-wall games, stalking recently updated

statuses and relationship statuses?

When is it time to grow up? We have our

un on Facebook, sure, but mightnt there

come a time when the decision to simply live

our lives will be the better one? And as the

boundary between lie and Facebook growsblurrier by the day, as our day-to-day eis-

tences get more deeply entangled in this

web o proles, groups, notications and

events, is it ever really going to be possible

to just let it go?

Hours spent on Facebook are, at the end

o the day, a bit o a waste. We live in a day

and age when theres much to be ed in

the world a large task, and one that is in

the hands o our generation. Maybe its time

to meet the challenge and not let a pro-

ciency at social networking prove our great-

est legacy.

Kat Doy 12 is from Wstport, Con-

ncticut. Sh can b rachd at

Kathrin_Doy@brown.du.

When it comes to sustainability, most Brownstudents think big attacking or propos-ing national policy or urging the Univer-sity administration to create a completelycarbon-neutral campus. These eorts willhopeully lead to big, positive impacts. Butunortunately, I think we big thinkers aregetting ahead o ourselves when it comes tosustainability.

Many Brown students, and many Amer-icans in general, ignore our deciencies

when it comes to very simple, basic sustain-ability eorts. Most people I know have noteven mastered how to recycle a bottle.

When I look into recycling binsaround Brown, even the one in my ownapartment, I see that most bottles havecaps on them. This makes them un-recyclable and probably destined orthe landll.

Our problem is not intent, but eecution.

Brown students make persistent eorts to

recycle. However, when people ail to ollow

some small piece o procedure, like remov-

ing caps rom bottles, their good intentions

are wasted.

As the Providence Recycling Oces

Web site makes clear: All bottle caps

should be thrown into the trash because

they cannot be recycled. The reason or

this policy is that plastic caps have a dier-

ent melting point than other recyclable plas-

tics and will contaminate the load. Time is

money when it comes to recycling, and no

recycling plant employee is going to takethe time to untwist and discard your caps.

Individual bottles, or even the whole load,

will be discarded.

Small eorts, like removing a bottle cap

or properly sorting paper, could add up

to huge dierences. These small actions,

however, are not the kind o problems that

Brown students seem to notice or get e-

cited about.

In a column rom the beginning o the

school year (Brown should orce students

to think green, Sept. 5) Joshua Kaplan 11

proposed a ew big, fashy, green ideas.

Among other initiatives, he advocat-

ed installing sensors and displays into the

Grad Center Dorms that would show that

rooms energy use and compare it with the

average use o each room in the dorm at

that moment. This idea strikes me as am-

bitious, but it is not certain that it would

have a substantial impact. How much ener-

gy would have to be saved to make up or

the manuacture and installation o thesesystems into the dorms, i there even is a

way to measure equivalents?

Kaplans sensor project demonstrates a

problem with sustainability today. Many

sustainability proponents insist on pur-

chasing more things, using more technol-

ogy and spending a ton o money, all in the

name o some airly uncertain payo. I wish

that more environmental advocates would

recognize that we have very easy, simple

and cost-ree ways to be more sustainable

right now.

One might say that I cant compare ap-

ples to oranges. Recycling bottles aims to

reuse materials, while installing sensors

aims to reduce power consumption.

Both o these activities, however, all un-

der the heading o eorts to create a more

sustainable liestyle and mode o consump-

tion. The true dierence between recycling

bottles and installing sensors, I believe, is

each concepts cache and ability to grab at-

tention. Sadly, the dierence is not the trueimpact that they could have in the uture.

I know that removing bottle caps is not

eciting. Its not a Leus hybrid. Its not

sensors and monitors rigged up to com-

pare individual power consumption. But

when it comes down to it, sustainability is

not eciting.

Truly meaningul sustainability is real-

ized through many mundane, everyday ac-

tions like choosing fuorescent bulbs, us-

ing a reusable water bottle, taking public

transportation and yes, properly recycling

a bottle.

No, you cannot recycle pizza boes. No,

those biodegradable containers rom Blue

State are not likely to degrade i sent to a

landll. While ailed eorts at recycling bottles

might seem insignicant, they are only

one eample, among many, o ways that we

have misunderstood and ailed to maimize

the benets o the eisting sustainability in-

rastructure.

I hope that Brown students will work to-

ward educating themselves about how to

properly recycle, in the name o true, last-

ing and simple sustainability.

Katharin Hrmann 09 is a COe and

Urban Studis concntrator from Port-

and, Oron. Sh can b rachd at

Katharin_Hrmann@brown.du.

F b

Truy maninfu sustainabiity is raizd

throuh many mundan, vryday actions

ik choosin fuorscnt bubs, takin pubic

transportation and ys, propry rcycin a

bott.

W hav our fun on Facbook, sur, but mihtnt

thr com a tim whn th dcision to simpyiv our ivs wi b th bttr on?

KATe DOYle

opinions CoLumnist

KATHARINe

HeRMANN

opinions CoLumnist

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