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1/12

www.browndaiherad.com 195 Ane Street, Providence, Rhode Isand herad@browndaiherad.com

News.....1-3Metro.....5-6Sports...7-9Editorial..10Opinion...11Today........12

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New bi wi aow 16 and

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Jeremy Feigenbaum 11

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Opinions, 11

inside

DailyHeraldthe Brown

vol. cxliv, no. 43 | Thursday, April 2, 2009 | Serving the community daily since 1891

S Cb DBy Sydney emBer

SeniorStaffWriter

More than two-thirds o Brown

students approve o changing

the name but keeping the date

o Columbus Day, according to a

Herald poll conducted last month.

A group o students began advo-cating last all that the University

stop observing Columbus Day

to protest historical inaccura-

cies they believe the holiday

celebrates.

The poll ound that 67.2 per-

cent o students support chang-

ing the name o the holiday, and

45.6 percent o undergraduates

said they specically avor chang-

ing the name to Fall Weekend.

About 27 percent o students

avored keeping the name and

date o the holiday the way it is,

though a larger percentage o

male students supported main-

taining the current label.

The gender divide was statisti-

cally signicant slightly more

than two-thirds o men avored

changing the name or did not in-

dicate a preerence, as opposed to

a greater percentage o women,78.2 percent, who said they did

not want to keep the current clas-

F C , k, j

Cbk, By katerina dalavurak

Contributing Writer

With the rst round o housing lot-

tery taking place tonight, changes

this year may make certain resi-

dence halls more or less de-

sirable.

Students should note that resi-

dents o Graduate Center will have

to clean their own bathrooms next

year, and Caswell and Slater Hallswill be renovated this summer,

said Residential Council Housing

Lottery Committee Chair Ben

Lowell 10.

In addition, two singles in Vartan

Gregorian Quadrangle A will be

converted to doubles next year,

and ve doubles in Barbour Hall

will become triples.

The new bathroom policy in

Grad Center is a result o budget-

ary and stang cuts, said Senior

Associate Dean o Residential and

Dining Services Richard Bova.

There are currently ve custodians

responsible or maintaining Grad

Center, but two o those positionswill be cut, he said.

I am happy to say this was the

only direct impact on students

that resulted rom custodial sta-

ing cuts, Bova said, adding that the

practice o having custodians clean

Grad Center bathrooms was aber-

rant and inecient. Bathrooms in

Grad Center were the only in-suite

bathrooms on campus not main-

tained by students, he said, and the

personal belongings that students

kept in the bathrooms made cus-

todians jobs dicult.

Brown is no stranger to the

broader inancial crisis, saidResCouncil Chairman James Reed

09, but so ar the Oce o Residen-

tial Lie has remained relatively

unscathed.

The designation o rooms or

higher occupancy in New Dorm A

and the conversion o three kitch-

ens into housing in Caswell refect

the need to add more capacity, Low-

ell said.

The all semester this year

began with an unusually severe

housing crunch, The Herald re-

ported last September, with some

rst-years living in upperclassman

residence halls and many older stu-

dents housed temporarily in kitch-

ens and lounges.

Caswell is one o the most popu-

lar dorms or sophomores on cam-

pus and its great that the building

By anne speyer

StaffWriter

When Jiacui Li 12 arrived on Col-

lege Hill, it wasnt just the size othe campus that surprised him.

I thought everything Ameri-

can is 1.5 times the size o what

it is in China, he said. The cars,

the ood, the people.

Despite the lan-

guage dierence and

the ever-increasing

portion sizes o American ood,

many o the 26 rst-year students

rom China said they are adjust-

ing well to lie at Brown.

Webber Xu 12 rst came to

the United States in 2005 to at-

tend the Hotchkiss School in

Lakeville, Conn. When I rst got

here, it was like a culture shock,

he said.

Xu said the language dier-

ence proved especially challeng-

ing. I already spoke English

well, he said, but I wasnt fuent,

especially with slang.

Many students agreed that the

transition to a new language was

the hardest part o their adjust-

ment to Brown.

The language barrier is thebiggest problem, said Nancy Li

12. For example, I cant say the

names o streets correctly when

asking or directions. Ordering

ood is kind o a problem and (so

is) understanding

peoples conversa-

tions.

Ben Zhang 10 said he had

trouble adjusting to the ormat

o humanities classes. American

students are really good at mak-

ing arguments, he said. They

can think and talk at the same

time. I think rst. Its hard to

keep up with the pace o discus-

sion.

Nancy Li said going to an

American university was a little

dream she has had ever since

she was young and she read a

Feature

Herad Fie Photo

A rop of stdents started a movement protestin the observance of Combs Da ast fa.

continued onpage 3 continued onpage 2

continued onpage 2

M C,B bkBy melissa shuBe

SeniorStaffWriter

Though many Brown students

have strong opinions on every-thing rom bottled water to Co-

lumbus Day, a recent poll sug-

gests they might not have much to

say about Providence politics.

Results o a recent Herald

poll indicate that most students

are not ollowing the actions o

Providence Mayor David Cicil-

line 83, with an overwhelming

71 percent o students choosing

Dont know/No answer when

asked i they approved or disap-

proved o the way the mayor is

handling his job.

Only 7.5 percent o students

indicated they had a strong opin-

ion about Cicillines job peror-

mance.

O the students who answered,

15.1 percent said they somewhat

approved, 6.4 percent somewhat

disapproved, 4.7 percent strongly

approved and 2.8 percent strongly

disapproved.

Cicilline, a Democrat who has

served as mayor since 2003, re-

metro

Do you approve or disap-prove of the way David

Cicilline 83 is handling

his job as mayor of Provi-

dence?

s :

4.7%

sowhat aov:

15.1%

sowhat aov:

6.4%

stogly aov:

2.8%

dot kow/no awer:

71.0%

s Cc

continued onpage 3

the herald poll

2 bkBy Ben sChreCkinger

SeniorStaffWriter

Two Brown undergraduates trav-

eling together over Spring Break

have not yet returned to campus,

according to an e-mail message

sent to students late Wednesday

night.

According to the e-mail, rom

Dean o the College Katherine

Bergeron and Vice President or

Campus Lie and Student Services

Margaret Klawunn, University o-cials are working with amily,

riends, law enorcement ocials

and other agencies to locate the

students.

The e-mail provided no de-

tails o the students identities or

where they were travelling, and

Klawunn, contacted by The Herald

late Wednesday night, declined

to elaborate on the e-mails con-

tents.

In order to assist eorts to

locate the students, administra-

tors wrote in the e-mail, law en-

orcement has requested that we

not provide urther inormation at

this time.We will send more inormation

as soon as we can, they wrote. In

the meantime, we are all hoping or

their sae return.

post-

8/14/2019 April 2, 2009 Issue

2/12

sudoku

Stephen DeLucia, President

Michael Bechek, Vice President

Jonathan Spector, Treasurer

Alexander 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, excluding vacations, once duringCommencement, once during Orientation and once in July by The Brown DailyHerald, Inc. POSTMASTERplease send corrections to P.O. Box 2538, Provi-dence, RI 02906. Periodicals postage paid at Providence, R.I. Oces are locatedat 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.

e p: 401.351.3372 | B p: 401.351.3260

DailyHeraldthe Brown

THuRSDAy, APRIl 2, 2009THE BROWN DAIly HERAlDPAgE 2

CMS wS Isses that are compete smboic tend to brin otstron feeins. James Drier, FEC Chair

tf c 40 c

news inbrief

Over 1,400 stdents sbmitted transfer appications

this ear, an increase of abot 40 percent from ast ear,

accordin to Director of Admission Annie Cappccino.

Transfer enroment wi aso ike be siht hiher next

ear than it has been in recent ears, Cappccino said. The

Office of Admission expects to enro 80 transfers in the fa

and 40 transfers in the sprin.

The universit received 24,988 appications for the cass

of 2013, the hihest nmber in the universits histor.

Rear admission decisions, which were reeased March 31,

set a record ow acceptance rate for the universit at 10.8

percent.

The universit received 955 transfer appications ast ear

and 1,050 appications the previos ear.

Transfer appicants were abe to app onine for the

first time this ear, Cappccino said. That chane ma hep

accont for the spike, she said, bt she is nsre exact

what factors are responsibe.

Wed ike to think (the rise) is de to the poparit of

Brown, she said.

Transfer appicants wi ike receive their decisions in

mid-Ma, Cappccino said.

Anish Gonchigar

sication.I think maybe women can tend

to be more sympathetic and in tune

with the weight o language, said

Reiko Koyama 11, who spear-

headed the movement cosponsored

by Native Americans at Brown to

change the name o the holiday.

We as emales realize the power

o words.

Only 5.3 percent o undergradu-

ates said they avored changing

the name to Tomato Day, while

1.8 percent said they wanted to

remove the name and not have a

day o at all.

Koyama said she was glad that

a majority o students said they

supported changing the current

name.

It really is symbolically de-

nouncing the name in the way that

I hoped it would, she said about

the preerence or a neutral name

such as Fall Weekend.

But she said she was surprised

that some still said they wanted to

keep the name and date.

I didnt really see what the

reasoning could be or keeping

the name, she said. It denitely

exposes the need or increased

awareness.

The initial movement includeda provision to end observance o

the holiday at Brown, establish an

indigenous week in October and

increase educational awareness

surrounding the historical context

o the holiday. But it now includes

only a name-change ater months

o dialogue with the administration

and aculty.But even with the revisions,

approval or the motion has taken

longer than anticipated, Koyama

said.

I really didnt expect the re-

gional backlash and the dissent,

Koyama said. But she acknowl-

edged that any meaningul social

change will cause divisiveness, or it

would have already happened.

Though the Faculty Executive

Committee said it avored chang-

ing the name o the holiday to one

honoring Native American heritage

instead o a neutral name, aculty

members at a aculty meeting ear-

ly last month ultimately approvedchanging the name to Fall Week-

end.

But the vote did not ocially

pass because the meeting lacked

a quorum. One hundred members

must be present or a motion to

pass, but only 43 aculty attended

the March meeting. The vote is set

to come up again next Tuesday, said

FEC Chair Jamie Dreier, a proes-

sor o philosophy.

Drier said the avorable student

response would probably not a-

ect the aculty vote next week. He

thinks many aculty members are in

avor o the proposal, he said, andthe motions passage will depend on

whether a quorum is established.

I think some people are worried

about the public relations angle, and

theyre worried that some groups

might be upset, Dreier said, add-

ing that he said he thought many

aculty members kind o wish it

didnt come up at all because othe controversial nature o the

proposal.

Its a symbolic issue and or

some reason, issues that are com-

pletely symbolic tend to bring out

strong eelings, he said.

Many students said they sup-

ported the name change even

i they did not necessarily think

changing the date o the holiday

was as important.

I think that we should actually

have a day o, said Brielle Fried-

man 12. But I also dont think it

should be called Columbus Day or

Indigenous Peoples Day.

From an administrative per-

spective, I understand why they

want to keep the date, said Osman

Ghani 11. But I also think there

needs to be a recognition o the

atrocities that were committed.

The poll, conducted rom March

16 through 18, has a 3.6 percent

margin o error with 95 percent

condence. The inormation speci-

cally about male respondents has a

5.1 percent margin o error and the

inormation about emale respon-

dents has a 5.0 margin o error,

both with 95 percent condence.

A total o 676 Brown undergradu-

ates completed the poll, which TheHerald administered 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.

F

will accommodate more people,

Lowell said. The three new doubles

will probably be lled through the

summer assignment process, which

was previously known as the wait-

list, he said.

Another change to Caswell will

be renovations in the basement to

create a larger and centrally lo-

cated common area and kitchen,

Reed said. The plan sounds like

it will more than compensate

or the loss o the three current

small kitchens in the building,

he added.

The designation o preexisting

rooms or higher occupancy ol-

lowed a yearly review and adjust-

ment carried out by ResLie, Lowell

said.

The doubles designated as tri-

ples in Barbour are more than 300

square eet way beyond what

normal doubles are on campus,

Reed said. Similarly, the singles

becoming doubles are more than

200 square eet.

The changes are just one more

thing to discuss with your group

when prioritizing and planning or

the lottery, Lowell said, adding that

the housing lottery Web site has in-

ormation students should consider

beore making their selections.

C

continued frompage 1

continued frompage 1

Cortes of Brown

8/14/2019 April 2, 2009 Issue

3/12

CMS wSTHuRSDAy, APRIl 2, 2009 THE BROWN DAIly HERAlD PAgE 3

Its a ver comfortin ctre. Jaici li 12, on makin the transition to ife in the u.S.

book about a girl who goes to

Harvard.To a little girl, thats very in-

spiring, she said.

Xu said he was attracted to

college in the United States be-

cause o the opportunities it would

provide.

You get more resources or

research. You get a lot o resourc-

es or study abroad, which there

arent in China, he said. The

acilities here are excellent.

The people here are pretty

riendly, and its a very comorting

culture, Jaicui Li said.

Nancy Li said the resources

Brown provided helped ease thetransition.

My academic advisor was very

helpul, very nice and patient, will-

ing to answer every question,

she said. People here are very

nice.

Xu agreed.

Everythings normal now, he

said. Im making riends.

Some students ound Browns

International Mentoring Program

helpul in making the transition

smoother.

Started in 1999 by international

student Maithili Parekh 02, the

program matches each incoming

international reshman with an

older international student.

The (program) oers social,

academic and educational pro-

gramming to assist with students

transition to Brown and the United

States, Kisa Takesue 88, associ-

ate dean o student lie, wrote in

an e-mail to The Herald.

IMP hosted a meet and greet

in February specically or stu-

dents rom China to welcome

them to Brown. I think most

o us can gradually adapt to the

school by making some riendswith other United States students

or getting some help rom the ad-

visors, said Qidong Chen 12, a

Herald photographer, adding that

the mentoring program denitely

helped.

Brown also has a chapter o

the Chinese Student and Scholar

Association, which serves Chi-

nese-American students nation-

wide. Jaicui Li said members o

the organization helped him with

logistical problems when he rst

arrived in the United States. A

bunch o Chinese graduate stu-

dents came and picked me up at

the airport, he said.

But Zhang said he thinks

Browns support programs are

not quite adequate.

Its good, but I do think they

could be better, he said. In some

schools, they match incoming

international students with lo-

cal amilies. That would be very

helpul, just to know what its like

to live in an American amily. It

would be a real opportunity to ex-

plore amily lie, the traditions.

Zhang is currently in the pro-

cess o starting a student groupcalled Undergraduate Students

rom China. He said the group

might be a way or students rom

China to work together on proj-

ects such as hosting lecture series

or organizing workshops open to

the entire Brown community.

We were all scattered, he

said. I thought it would be cool

to bring people together and work

together.

C j .S.continued frompage 1

cently announced that he will run

or a third term in 2010.

Harrison Kreisberg 10, presi-

dent o the Brown Democrats, said

the mayors ocus has generally

been away rom College Hill and

on the less prosperous areas o

Providence. So in that sense, there

just hasnt been that much on the

mayors agenda that has brought

him to the attention o Brown stu-

dents, he said.

Youve got a lot o people who

are in rom out o state and it

makes sense, I think, that people

arent quite sure whats happening

locally, Kreisberg said.

But students may become more

aware o local politics the longer

they spend on College Hill. While

81.1 percent o reshmen selectedthe Dont Know/No Answer option,

only 57.7 percent o seniors chose

that option.

The more time you spend in

a place, the more you begin to

care about it, said Sean Quigley

10, president o the College Re-

publicans and a Herald Opinions

Columnist.

Arielle Balbus 11 said she

hoped the results o the poll would

encourage students to get involved

locally. I have a certain amount

o enthusiasm or any eort that

would encourage students, mysel

included, to engage a bit more in

Providence politics, she said.

Students see College Hill as

being separate rom Providence,

said Meghan Short 12.

Short knows students who do

volunteer work in the Pr ovidence

community, she said, adding that

trekking o campus eels like a

trip away.

It just goes to show that theres

a lot o work to be done to tie the

Brown community to the Provi-

dence area, Kreisberg said.

Some students, however, elt

that students separation rom

Providence politics might not be

such a bad thing.

Its probably a good thing that

we dont get too heavily involved in

city politics, because our stake in

the community isnt as permanent

as people who live here and pay

property taxes, Quigley said.

Most Brown students dont live

here, said Adrik McIlroy 10. Its

probably not too bad that they dontkeep up with the local politics.

The poll, conducted rom March

16 through 18, has a 3.6 percent

margin o error with 95 percent

condence. The inormation speci-

ically about rst-year r espondents

has a 6.6 percent margin o error

and the inormation about senior

respondents has a 7.6 percent mar-

gin o error, both with 95 percent

condence.

A total o 676 Brown undergrad-

uates completed the poll, which

The Herald administered as a writ-

ten 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

S C,

Herad Fie Photo

In a Herad po, 71 percent of Brown nderradate stdents sa thehave no opinion of Providence Maor David Cici ine 83, seen here.

read | | remember

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The Brown Dai Herad

MetroTHuRSDAy, APRIl 2, 2009 | PAgE 5

Its ood pbic poic to et on peope invoved as ear as possibe.

Matt Sede 08, Fair Vote Rhode Isand

L

By monique vernonContributingWriter

The Rhode Island General As-

sembly has voted to allow 16-

and 17-year-olds to pre-register

to vote.

Bills to change registration law

have passed in both the Senate

and House, and, once both bodies

sign o on reconciled legislation,

the measure will go to Gov. Donald

Carcieri 65 or his signature.

In 2007 and 2008, Carcieri ve-

toed bills similar to the one cur-

rently on the table, but his ocecould not be reached or com-

ment. In the past, the governor

has said the law would prevent the

state rom keeping accurate voter

registration rolls and preventing

voter raud.

Currently, citizens must be 18

years old by the next election in

order to register.

Inormation or pre-registered

teens would be entered into state

voter rolls with the designation

pending, and they would auto-

matically achieve voting status

on their 18th birthday, said Fair

Vote Rhode Island Director Matt

Sledge 08.They go through the same

controls as anyone else who reg-

isters, Sledge said.

Founded in 1992, Fair Vote RI

is a volunteer organization con-

cerned with improving the elec-

tion process. Sledge said it has

been advocating or this legisla-

tion or the past two years.

Its good public policy to get

young people involved as early as

possible in the democratic pro-

cess, Sledge said.

A benet o the bill, he said, is

that it will close the registry gap

between young voters and the rest

o the population.

In the 2004 election, less than

60 percent o 18- to 25-year-olds

registered to vote, but 81 percent

o those young people who regis-

tered turned out to vote, accord-

ing to Fair Vote RI.

There is no universal regis-

tration in this country, so many

young people all through the

cracks, Sledge said.

Secretary o State A. Ralph

Mollis has also endorsed the bill.

His platorm promotes voter rights

with the inclusion o an aggres-sive high school registration pro-

gram, said spokesperson Chris

Barnett. We are capitalizing on

(high school voters) interest to

make it easier or them to make

their voices heard in the voting

booth.

State Senator Rhoda Perry

P91, who sponsored the Senate

bill, said the change would get

more people involved in the civic

process.

The problem with our bill is

that the governor vetoes it, Perry

said. But with greater support in

the General Assembly, she said,

the legislature will be able to over-

ride a veto. She said legislators

are planning early or a veto and

want the leadership to agree to

an override.

Sledge said the assembly may

be able to override a veto this year,

since the margin just keeps grow-

ing and growing.

A vote o three-ths o the

legislature would be required

to override a possible veto. The

House passed its version o the

bill by a vote o 56 to 10, and the

Senate voted 32 to 2 in avor o

its version.

C By lauren Fedor

SeniorStaffWriter

Hope High School will undergo sig-

nicant restructuring in the coming

months, a representative rom the

Providence Public Schools Depart-

ment said this week.

Since 2005, Hope has been divid-

ed into three learning communities

Arts, Leadership and Inormation

Technology. But at the end o this

school year, the Leadership wing will

close, and its students and aculty will

merge into the other two communi-

ties, said Christina OReilly, a spokes-

woman or the department. The division, and other 2005

changes, resulted rom a state-

mandated Consolidated Corrective

Action Plan aimed at ending Hopes

history o unusually poor test scores.

Test scores have improved since,

and OReilly said the impending clos-

ing o the Leadership community

would not hinder the schools overall

progress.

The size o the student body in

total isnt going to increase, she

said, adding that the plan primar-

ily involves the consolidation o top

level administration.

The current model calls or three

principals, one or each learning com-

munity. Next year, just two principals

will lead the school. Scott Sutherland

will continue as principal o Hope Arts

and Arthur Petrosinelli will remain at

the helm o Hope Ino Tech.

OReilly said the plan to close

Hope Leadership was crated by

Sutherland and Petrosinelli ater

Leadership Principal Wayne Mon-

tague retired earlier this year.

Since then, Sutherland and Pet-

rosinelli have been running the

Leadership community together,

OReilly said.

Neither Sutherland nor Petrosinel-

li could be reached or comment.Though Arts and Ino Tech have

very specic course tracks associ-

ated with them, the principals recog-

nized that the Leadership program

teaches skills that the school depart-

ment would hope to impart to all o

Hopes students, OReilly said.

The skills could be absorbed or

incorporated across the board, she

said, adding that one o Leaderships

main programs, the junior ROTC,

will continue in the two remaining

communities.

The principals suggestions were

well received by the school depart-

ment, OReilly said, because the two

know the dynamics o Hope. They

know what works in the building,

she said, adding that they will not

compromise the schools culture o

individualized attention.

Its sae to say that the interactionthat a student gets day-to-day with

teachers in the building will be very

much the same, she said.

Since learning about next years

changes, Leadership students have

begun a choice process through

which they can matriculate to either

the Arts or Ino Tech communities,

OReilly said. I neither o the pro-

grams appeals to them, students can

bid into another high school.

But students are generally more

attached to the building than their

individual community, OReilly said,

and most are choosing to stay at

Hope.

All Leadership teachers will like-

wise be given the opportunity to re-

main at Hope.

John Day, president o Hopes

Parent Teacher Organization and

the parent o a Hope Arts student,said he is glad that ew changes will

take place at Hope Arts.

It doesnt sound like courses are

going to be stopped, he said. All

the programs and the classes are

still going to be oered.

They just wont have the iden-

tity o being Hope Leadership, he

added.

Herad Fie Photo

The three earnin commnities that make p Hope Hih Schoo wimere into two.

8/14/2019 April 2, 2009 Issue

6/12

world & ationThe Brown Dai Herad

THuRSDAy, APRIl 2, 2009 | PAgE 6

By don lee

LoS angeLeS timeS

SHANGHAI, China At a time

when the United States and other

traditional economic powers are

weakening, China is lexing its

muscle, signaling it will seek a

more assertive role in shaping the

world inancial order.

The apparent shit in Beijings

approach is likely to be displayed

at Thursdays meeting o the Group

o Twenty Finance Ministers andCentral Bank Governors, as China

presses or changes in a global

inance system long dominated

by the United States and Western

Europe.

Leading up to the London gath-

ering o the heads o 20 major de-

veloped and emerging economies,

Chinese leaders have publicly criti-

cized the U.S. economic system,

raised concerns about the saety

o Chinas massive holdings o U.S.

debt and, most recently, proposed

the creation o a new international

reserve currency to replace the

dollar.

At the same time, China is

snapping up oreign oil ields and

mines, ensuring that its raw-mate-

rials cupboard will be well stocked

when the economy rebounds.

China has signed deals with Iran,

Russia and Venezuela or oil and

gas deals worth tens o billions o

dollars this year, and it has made

moves or stakes or outright pur-

chases o at least seven mining

companies.

Chinese companies also are

looking to buy high-proile West-

ern brands on the cheap, while re-

cruiting oreign talent to upgrade

Chinas technology. Chinas GeelyAutomobile Holdings reportedly

has talked with Ford Motor Co.

about purchasing its distressed

Volvo unit.

And analysts on both sides o

the Paciic have loated the pros-

pect o a Chinese automaker ac-

quiring General Motors Corp.s

venerable Buick line, i not the en-

tire company something once

considered unthinkable.

China sees the global downturn

as a once-in-a-century opportuni-

ty and it has the wherewithal

to seize the moment. Although

Chinese leaders are struggling

with shrinking trade and rising

joblessness, their economy is still

growing aster than those o other

major nations. Chinese banks are

more stable. And the Beijing gov-

ernment is sitting on the largest

stockpile o oreign reserves in

the world, some $2 trillion.

They have airly clear objec-

tives o where they see their place

in the new world order, said Oded

Shenkar, a management proessor

at Ohio State University and author

o The Chinese Centur y. They

see its time to position themselves

more asser tively.

Chinas clout has increased as

it has surged to become the third-

biggest economy ater the United

States and Japan. But even as re-

cently as Novembers G-20 meeting

in Washington, Chinese leaders

kept a low proile and stated that

the best way or them to help the

world would be to ocus on domes-

tic aairs.

As global inancial problems

deepened, and Chinas export

industries were pummeled by

slumping demand, Chinese oi-

cials recognized their economysvulnerability.

The capitalist system dominat-

ed by the West is stuck in serious

and deep crisis and is bringing

disaster to the entire world, said

Huang Jisu, a sociologist at the

Chinese Academy o Social Sci-

ences and co-author o a best-sell-

ing book, Unhappy China, that

lashes out at U.S. hegemony and

calls or China to take a stronger

hand in world aairs.

Other scholars worry about

such nationalist ervor and its in-

luence on government policymak-

ing. Still, there appears to be broad

recognition and public support or

Chinas rising voice.

To everyones surprise, China

made a break rom its old way o

only emphasizing general prin-

ciples and instead raised lots o

detailed measures this time,

said Shi Yinhong, a proessor o

international relations at Beijing-

based Renmin University o China.

Although it may be too early to

describe it as a shit in policy, he

said, I will call it a remarkable

increase in Chinas sense o the

international role it can play.

Shi and other analysts reckon

Chinas bid to wield more clout inglobal economic aairs will be met

with resistance rom the United

States and other leading developed

nations.

Even so, U.S. and European

leaders are looking to cash-rich

China to bolster the International

Monetary Funds resources, and

in that they appear to be moving

toward giving China and other

emerging economies an expanded

role.

Beijing has indicated a will-

ingness to inject money into the

IMF, but it has long been unhappy

with the Washington-based orga-

nization, particularly with the way

voting rights are assigned. China

wants a greater say in the und

beore adding to its coers.

Last week the head o Chinas

central bank, Zhou Xiaochuan,

raised the idea o creating a new

global reserve currency to replace

the dominant dollar a kind o

super-currency made up o a bas-

ket o national currencies and con-

trolled by the IMF.

Experts agree it would take

years, i not decades, to design

and manage a truly global reserve

currency that could supplant the

greenback.

C

By Christi parsons and

megan k. staCk

LoS angeLeS timeS

LONDON President Barack

Obama and Russian President

Dmitry Medvedev agreed Wednes-

day to open negotiations on a treaty

that could slash their nuclear ar-

senals by one-third, part o what

they described as a step to move

beyond Cold War mentalities in

relations between the two coun-

tries.

The agreement to undertake

the most signicant arms con-

trol talks in more than a decade

emerged rom the rst ace-to-acemeeting between the two leaders,

and included a promise by Obama

to visit Moscow this summer to

pursue the talks.

Over the last several years, the

relationship between our two coun-

tries has been allowed to drit,

Obama said. What I believe weve

begun today is a very constructive

dialogue that will allow us to work

on issues o mutual interest.

The schism has developed over

issues such as NATO expansion

into countries once part o the So-

viet Union and soured even urther

last summer when Russian troops

ought a war with Georgia, a U.S.

ally.Wednesdays consensus on the

need or new nuclear weapons talks

was the most concrete expression

yet o the Obama administrations

decision to opt or improved re-

lations with Russia rather than

greater conrontation.

In turn, Medvedev said he was

prepared to cooperate on non- pro-

lieration, among other issues.

It is important to note that

there are many points on which

we can work, he said. And indeed

there are ar more points where

we can come closer, where we can

work, rather than those points onwhich we have dierences.

For Russia, the push or a new

nuclear treaty has as much to do

with diplomatic clout as with stra-

tegic necessity, said Nikolai Zlobin,

director o the Russia program at

the Center or Deense Inorma-

tion in Washington.

This is an area where Russia

and the United States together can

orce the rest o the world to ac-

cept their view, he said. It makes

Russia a global power again. Russia

eels like its back to old times.

Although hailed by arms con-

trol experts, word o the agree-

ment was not seen as a surprising

development. Obama is on record

saying he avors beginning talks

,and Russian ocials have been

eager to orge a new treaty to

replace the Strategic Arms Re-

duction Treaty, which expires in

December.

The current treaty, which took

eect in 1994, limits the worlds

two largest nuclear arsenals to

between 1,700 and 2,200 nuclear

warheads. A new treaty conceiv-

ably could cut arsenals to 1,500

warheads.

This has been been on the

radar or quite some time, said

Daryl G. Kimball, executive direc-tor o the Arms Control Associa-

tion in Washington. The act that

theyve put it ront and center o

their bilateral agenda is impor-

tant.

The two men met with the me-

dia ater their meeting, laughing at

one anothers jokes Obama said

he preerred not to visit Russia in

the winter and smiling broadly

as they shook hands.But while the

two leaders struck a riendly tone

in the meeting, ocials acknowl-

edged a series o obstacles to an

agreement that could be ready

when START expires.

.S., k

8/14/2019 April 2, 2009 Issue

7/12

SportshursdayTHuRSDAy, APRIl 2, 2009 | Page 7

The Brown Dai Herad

0:

MLBWith the start o the 2009 MLB sea-

son approaching, its time or some

predictions. Everyone loves to be a

orecaster, and

though there

are many an-

cy projection

systems out on the Web, this Herald

sports columnist has a ew o his

own. These are my predictions or

division winners, end-o-year awards

and uture breakout teams.

ac l

West: Oakland Athletics. It will

be close, but Ill start o with a

surprise pick. Adding Matt Holliday

and other hitters, playing in the

spacious Coliseum with talented

rookie pitchers to throw at teams,

and getting to beat up on Texas

and Seattle? It adds up to a division

title. Sorry, Los Angeles Angels,

but your style o small ball, lack

o on-base percentage and power,

an aging outeld and last years

over-perorming pitching spell out

a year o disappointment.

Central: Cleveland Indians. Its

a our-way fip between the teamsnot named Kansas City Royals. This

is less a pick based on Clevelands

strengths and more a pick based on

lack o aith in the pitching stas o

the Chicago White Sox and Detroit

Tigers and the lack o a Minnesota

oense with an injured Joe Mauer.

When the dust settles, the midges

will be back with a vengeance.

East: New York Yankees. The

three best teams in the MLB (Yan-

kees, Red Sox and Rays) are in the

AL East. The race will be exciting,

disgusting and at the end well see

one 90-plus win team at home in

October. Even with the Alex Rodri-guez injury, the Yankees oense

and pitching sta are too much to

handle who cares i they cant

play deense? Cry or Toronto and

Baltimore.

Wild Card: Boston Red Sox. As

much as it pains me to not pick my

deending AL Champion Tampa

Bay Rays who improved their line-

up and rotation in the oseason,

the Red Sox have a much better

oense and under-perormed last

year. Ill be praying or luck.

MVP: Grady Sizemore, OF,

Indians. Finally recognized, does

everything.

Cy Young: CC Sabathia, Yan-

kees. Media darling, workhorse,

book it.

Rookie o the Year: Matt Wi-

eters, C, Baltimore Orioles. Best

catcher right o the bat and or

years to come.

2010 Team: Texas Rangers.

Pitching will nally catch up with

a great oense, thanks to the best

arm system. Young hitting pros-

pects and fame-throwing pitching

prospects make the Rangers legit in

a year, but look or signs now.

Sfb 6-0 MBy katie Wood

aSSiStantSportS editor

The sotball team wrapped up a

grueling stretch o 16 games in

two weeks with back-to-back wins

over the University o Rhode Is-

land Tuesday. The renetic nish

to March came ater the Bears rst

seven games o the month were all

cancelled due to rain.

The Bears opened up the

stretch with a win over Holy Cross

in their rst home contest o the

season beore heading to sunny

Florida or a week-long Spring

Break trip. Brown ared well in

the Rebel Spring Games in Kis-simmee, Fla., as the team came

away with two wins and two one-

run deeats.

The Bears then took on Stetson

and Jacksonville, beore acing a

North Florida team resh o a win

over nationally ranked Florida

State. Ater a day o, the team hit

the road again to take on their rst

Ivy League opponents o the sea-

son in Cornell and Pr inceton.

The Bears returned home

Tuesday to deeat in-state rival

URI twice, 4-3 and 3-1.

Bw 12, h C 3

On March 18, the Bears were

ready to play in ront o the home

crowd ater an 18-day lay-o rom

competition. Amanda Asay 10,

Trish Melvin 12 and Kate Stro-

bel 12 led the way or the Bears

as each hit one out o the park,

accounting or seven o the runs

on the day.

Pitcher Michelle Moses 09 put

together a solid all-around peror-

mance, allowing three runs whilestriking out three or the win. She

also knocked in two runs in the

third inning on a single to r ight.

To come out on the eld and

play strong, it was a really good

way to start our spring break, said

Kelsey Wilson 09.

q Browns teams were spread outduring Spring Break, some staying

on home tur, with others crossing

the country to compete or Bruno.

e

On Saturday, the equestrian team

competed at the Region 1 Champion-

ship, where Brown qualied three

riders or this weekends Zone 1

Championship.

Liz Giliberti 10 rode to a rst-

place inish in the Open Flat to

qualiy or Zones, and Allegra Aron

11 ollowed with a win in the Inter-

mediate Flat, also earning a quali-

cation or Zones. Rounding out the

selections or Brown was Kona Shen

10, who won the Walk Trot to qualiy.

The Zone 1 Championships will take

place at Mt. Holyoke on Saturday.

m f

The mens gol team travelled to

the West Coast to compete in two

tournaments over the past week.

The Bears opened their spring sea-

son at the Cal Poly Mens Intercol-

legiate tournament on March 26

and 27, where they placed 11th out

o 12 teams, then competed in the

Western Intercollegiate tournament,

where they nished last among the

18 teams.

John Gianuzzi 10 led Brown at

Cal Poly with a 33rd-place individual

nish on a three-round score o 230,

ollowed closely by co-captain Conor

Malloy 09, whose third-round score

o 75 gave him an overall score o

231, earning him 35th place. Joe

Rued 09 shot a 237, and rounding

out the lineup or the Bears were

co-captain Chris Homan 09 and

Michael Amato 11, who each shot

a 238.

continued onpage 8

continued onpage 9

continued onpage 8

Herad Fie Photo

The softba team had a bs two weeks, pain 16 ames, incdinsome far awa in Forida.

J hSports Comnist

8/14/2019 April 2, 2009 Issue

8/12

THuRSDAy, APRIl 2, 2009THE BROWN DAIly HERAlDPAgE 8

SSSD

n l

West: Los Angeles Dodgers.

Sure, the rotation scares me, but

the NL West is pathetic. The Arizo-

na Diamondbacks might challenge

with a good balance o pitching,

hitting and a avorable home park,

while the San Francisco Giants will

do well with their rotation but

both all short. Gas is up!

Central: Chicago Cubs. An o-

ensive machine, solid pitching

it wont be close. Make these

precious chances count because

your window is closing ast with

aging hitters, terrible minors and

a payroll monster in two years.

Baaaaaa.East: New York Mets. Con-

gratulations, you nally have a

bullpen, just dont blow it, again,

times two. Third times the charm,

right? Sorry, Philadelphia Phillies,

no more September runs you

over-perormed like crazy last year,

so expect to regress, by a lot.

Wild Card: Atlanta Braves.

Thats right. Ater a three-year

hiatus, theyre back. Pitching ad-

ditions, solid hitting and elite pros-

pects who will be up this year. It

will be tight but Il l go out on a limb

and say the Braves will surprise

in the NL.

MVP: Hanley Ramirez, SS, Flor-

ida Marlins. Sorry Albert Pujols,

Hanley solidies himsel as the best

player or the next three years.

Cy Young: Tim Lincecum, San

Francisco Giants. He doesnt ice

his arm or cr ying out loud.

Rookie o the Year: Cameron

Maybin, OF, Florida Marlins. Fu-

ture stud, i only the Marlins had

more everything.

2010 Team: San Francisco Gi-

ants. Since I already picked the

Braves to break out a year early, Ill

pick the Giants instead. Premium

pitching prospects, solid young hit-

ting prospects and core, everyoneelse in the NL West better make

this year count.

Sure, some o these predictions

are a little extreme, but well just

blame whatever err ors I make on

luck, or the World Baseball Classic.

Go watch baseball! Enjoy the 2009

season! I know I will.

Jnhn Hhn 10 s rdy

hckd n hs Rys r.

At the Western Intercollegiate,

Gianuzzi once again led Brown, n-

ishing 61st with a 234. Amato was

second or the Bears with a 239,

while Homan shot 246, Malloy

shot 247, and Rued nished with a

score o 253.

The team will next compete at the

New England Divison I Champion-

ships on April 10 and 11 in Provi-

dence.

W f

The womens gol team competed

at the UNC-Wilmington Lady Sea-

hawk Classic on March 23 and 24,

where it placed 11th out o 12 teams

with a team score o 983. Julia Rob-

inson 11 led the Bears with a 240over three rounds o play, or a 38th-

place nish. Heather Arison 12 and

Carly Arison 12 each shot a 248, and

Megan Tuohy 12 was close behind

with a 250. Sarah Guarascio 11 was

th or the Bears, shooting a 259 or

the tournament.

The team will resume compe-

tition this weekend at the Brown

Invitational in Brockton, Mass.

W

The womens tennis team earned

wins in all three o its matches over

spring break, winning 6-1 over Da-

vidson on March 23 and 5-2 over

Furman on March 27, beore upset-

ting No. 45 Yale on Saturday with a

4-3 victory.

Against Davidson, Brown swept

the doubles matches and won ve

o six singles matches, all in straight

sets, or the 6-1 victory. Against Fur-

man, the Bears once again won all

three doubles matches, ollowed

by our singles wins, including a

dominant win at No. 2 singles or

Cassandra Herzberg 12, who upset

the 85th-ranked player in the nation

with scores o 6-0, 6-0.

Against Yale, Brown won two

doubles matches to secure the dou-

bles point, but dropped matches at

No. 3 and No. 4 singles to all behind.

Bianca Aboubakare 11 and Julie

Flanzer 12 picked up straight-set

wins or the Bears at No. 1 and No.

6 singles, respectively, and Herzberg

locked up the win or Bruno with a

4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory at No. 2 singles.

This weekend, Brown will travel

to Penn and Princeton.

continued frompage 7continued frompage 7

0: B bk w. S Bk

Thanks for readin, friend.

Jstin Coeman / Herad Fie Photo

Cassandra Herzber 12 pset the 85th-ranked paer in the nationwith scores of 6-0, 6-0.

8/14/2019 April 2, 2009 Issue

9/12

Bw 5, a 1

On March 20, Bruno played their

rst two games o the Rebel Spring

Games, starting o with a 5-1 win

over Army.

Army tallied one run on the

scoreboard in the rst beore Brown

added two o its own in the bottom

hal o the inning, when Melvin

knocked a two-run double to right

center. Moses shut down the Black

Knights oense or the rest o the

game and the oense added another

three runs to the board, as Kristie

Chin 12 added a two-run single.

But the win or Brown also in-

cluded misortune. Asay suered an

ankle injury in the rst inning thatwill likely sideline her or much o

the rest o the season.

i 1, Bw 0

The win over army was ollowed

later that day by a narrow loss to

Iona, 1-0.

Jessica Iwasaki 10 held Iona

scoreless or 6.2 innings, but ran into

trouble with two outs in the seventh,

leaving runners at the corners or

reliever Emily Chaddock 11. Iona

scored the winning run on an ille-

gal pitch to get the 1-0 win over the

Bears, who were unable to muster

any run production despite a strong

game rom Sandra Mastrangelo 12,

who led the way or the Bears with a

3-or-5 perormance at the plate.

W 5, Bw 4

The Seahawks jumped out to

a 4-0 lead over the Bears, but the

Bears ought back with a our-run

sixth inning. Strobel and Wilson

each came up with an RBI single to

cut the decit to 4-2, and Melvin hit a

two-run single to tie up the game.

But Wagner scored a run o o

Moses, who came on in relie, to

secure the 5-4 win over Brown.

Youre out there or seven in-

nings, you never give up and havecondence that you can rally back,

Wilson said. We just ell short.

Bw 2, F dc 1

Strobel tallied the only runs on

the day or Bruno with a two-run

homer, and Melvin and Moses com-

bined or seven innings o one-run

pitching.

s 8, Bw 0

Stetson built a commanding lead

with six runs in the rst inning and

held on or the 8-0 win.

Jc 11, Bw 1Paced by two our-run innings,

Jacksonville handled Brown in the

rst match-up, as the Bears could

not get their oense going, record-

ing only two hits.

Jc 3, Bw 2

The Bears bounced back in the

second game, rattling o seven hits

while holding a 2-0 advantage or

the majority o the contest. Strobel

continued to produce as she brought

Mastrangelo home with a single, to

put the Bears up 1-0 in the top o the

ourth, and Jackie Giovanniello 12

added to Brunos lead with an RBI

double in the seventh.But the Dolphins bats came alive

in the seventh as they tied it up to

send the game into extra innings,

and Jacksonville went on to score

the winning run on a bases-loaded

walk by Chaddock in the eighth in-

ning.

We played well leading up to

the nal inning, Wilson said. We

didnt close them out and could have

scored some more runs.

n F 2, Bw 0

North Florida jumped out to a 2-0

lead in the rst inning, and though

Melvin held North Florida scoreless

or the remainder o the game, Bruno

could not ght its way back.

It was positive that we were

hanging in with the teams, but on

the other side, its hard to lose the

close ones thinking we should have

won the game, Wilson said.

n F 12, Bw 10

Game two eatured two hot o-

enses, as the two teams combined

or 26 hits and 22 runs. The Bears

gained a 4-1 lead in the second be-

ore the Lady Ospreys answered

with six runs to take a 7-4 lead.

Brown added another three runsin the ourth inning, when Melvin

hit a two-run double, and eventually

scored on an illegal pitch to tie the

game, 7-7. Ater another three-run

th inning put the Bears up, 10-

8, North Florida cleared the bases

with a two-out three-run triple to

pull ahead or good.

Melvin went 4-or-5 rom the

plate with two RBI, while Wilson

nished 3-or-3 with two RBI and

Giovanniello went 3-or-4 with three

RBI in the losing eort.

C 11, Bw 0

Cornell began the day with an

oensive onslaught as the Big Redtallied all eleven o their runs in the

rst inning. Melvin gave up six o

the runs, while Iwasaki surrendered

the other ve, beore Chin came

in to pitch two shutout innings o

relie.

C 6, Bw 0

The second game did not turn

out better or Bruno, as the o ense

continued to struggle. Chaddock

led the Bears with an .800 average

over the two games, going 4-or-5

rom the plate.

pc 8, Bw 2

The Bears started o strong, tal-

lying two runs in the opening three

innings while holding the Tigers

scoreless. The Tigers battled back

with six runs in the ourth inningto take a lead they would never re-

linquish. Princeton tacked on two

more runs in the sixth to nish out

the game, 8-2.

Bw 2, pc 1

The Bears capitalized early again

in the second game, as they scored

two runs in the third inning. Iwa-

saki allowed one run in three and

two-thirds innings beore Chaddock

came in to pitch two and one-third

innings o shut-out sotball to earn

her rst win o the season and the

teams rst Ivy win o the season.

The win showed that we are ca-

pable o closing out a game, Wilson

said. We didnt have a lot o oen-

sive opportunities, but we were able

to capitalize on them.

Elaina Atherton 12 scored two

runs on the day while going 2-or-5rom the plate. Wilson added two

doubles and one RBI, while Strobel

contributed two hits and an RBI.

Bw 4, uri 3

Bruno scored three runs in the

rst inning, when Wilson hit a sac-

rice fy with the bases loaded to

tally the rst run and Giovanniello

singled to right eld to bring in two

more runs. In the third, Strobel dou-

bled to right eld and Giovaniello

brought Strobel home with an RBI

single to give Brown a 4-0 lead.

A three-run double in the top o

the seventh cut Browns lead to 4-3,but Moses closed out the game or

the win.

Bw 3, uri 1

The Bears took game two by a

score o 3-1 as Moses recorded her

rst complete game o the season,

moving her record to 4-3. Strobel led

the oensive attack or the Bears

with a 4-or-6 perormance, including

two doubles, while Giovaniello con-

tributed a team-high three RBI.

The Bears will host Penn and Co-

lumbia this weekend in Ivy League

action on Saturday at 12:30 p.m., ol-

lowed by a double header on Sunday

at 12:30 p.m.

THuRSDAy, APRIl 2, 2009THE BROWN DAIly HERAlDPAgE 9

SSSDB fb I - bk

continued frompage 7

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The Student Union o Brown University has eectively died. We are

sad, but we are not surprised. The group was ounded in the spring o 2006

with the intention o becoming an advocate or student interests and an

alternative to the Undergraduate Council o Students. However, the group

has not held a meeting which met quorum since the all o last year, and

seems to be deunct.

SUBUs mission to create a space where all students have an equal

voice and an equal vote is certainly a noble one. Undergraduate stu-

dents need a orum where they can voice their concerns and advocate or

their own interests. The traditional orums student councils and the

editorial pages o newspapers are typically controlled by a small group

o students who supposedly represent the whole. What SUBU tried to be

was a truly democratic group, one in which all students could participate

just by showing up.

Several actors have contributed to SUBUs unpopularity at Brown: To

begin with, the structure o UCS was changed this year to include any

student who wants to join, attends two UCS meetings and can collect 150

signatures. This is a much more open and inclusive system than in earlieryears, and it has successully worked to decrease student rustration with

the council.

Additionally, SUBUs emphasis on a non-hierarchical structure may

have worked towards its demise. Since its organizers did not want to

impose any constraints on the meetings without the consent o the whole

union, students who showed up to the rst meeting out o curiosity were

subjected to several hours o discussion and voting on organization orms

and rules, such as how many students would make up a quorum. While

the organizers had the groups best interests at heart, this may not have

been the most auspicious beginning.

However, we should not let this group ade into memory so easily.

The time may come, next month or in a ew years, when students need a

orum in which they can stand up and loudly voice their opinions, when

the power o UCS and o The Herald may not be enough to protect their

interests. A democratic orum is, sometimes, the only thing that works.

Though SUBU isnt the most popular group on campus, we hope its orga-

nizers will keep it alive, at least in name, so it can be used more widely ithe need should arise.

Editorials are written by The Heralds editorial page board. Send comments

to editorials@browndailyherald.com.

8/14/2019 April 2, 2009 Issue

11/12

Whenever I empty my garbage in Caswells

basement, there are plastic bags in the trash

bins. And most days, as I walk down Thayer

Street to Grad Center, I come across bags

lying on the sidewalk. I never used to pick

them up. I assumed that these light objects

could do little damage.

As part o a project or ENVS1410: En-

vironmental Law and Policy, our o my

classmates and I conducted research on

legislation that seeks to reduce plastic bag

litter. To write about the bill, I had to study

why it was necessary in the rst place. I

quickly learned that plastic waste causes ar

greater problems than I had r ecognized.

There is always the obvious issue: An

average plastic bag will ll up space in a

landll or thousands o years. Since Earth

has nite space and the human population

is growing rapidly, unnecessary waste is a

real concern.

The disposal o plastic bags not only

consumes more space in landlls, but also

spurs the production o more bags. This

has an immediate impact on human health

because plastic manuacturing releases car-

cinogenic benzene gas into the air. Just as

problematic, the creation and transporta-

tion o plastic bags requently rom Asia

usually employs ossil uels and thereby

contributes to global warming and makes

it dicult or the United States to becomeenergy independent.

Beyond carbon emissions and carcino-

gens, littered bags pose other serious prob-

lems. Plastic bags are oten blown great

distances, due to their light weight. They end

up in state parks, on lawns and in waterways

and oceans.

In the water, bags kill animals by suocat-

ing or immobilizing them, or by interering

with their digestion. According to the United

Nations, thousands o pieces o plastic coat

the surace o ever y square mile o ocean.

Plastic bags, which most people requent-

ly use but rarely think about, have a deadly

impact on the environment, animal popula-

tions and human welare. People should start

cutting back on their use o new plastic bags

immediately. Thankully, Rhode Island has

already made rapid change possible.

Last year, the state legislature passed the

Plastic Bag Recovery Act o 2008. This billmandates that large retail establishments

selling goods and ood in the state allow

customers to return any plastic bag to them

even i the store did not dispense that

bag. These stores must maintain collection

barrels or plastic and then send what they

receive to nearby recycling plants. Residents

only need to bring back their old bags the

next time they go shopping; the state has

taken care o the rest.

Some o the stores closest to Brown are

participating in this program. There are our

stores near campus that take back bags:

Carcieris Market, Eastside Marketplace,

Shaws and Stop & Shop. Brown students

especially those who are regular customers

should start bringing their plastic bags

with them.

But there is an even more eective op-

tion: Bags can be reused. Ater I brought

my textbooks to Caswell at the beginningo this semester, I threw the bags out. ButI went back to the bookstore three times (I

had trouble choosing classes) and could have

used those bags again. Even though plastic

bags might not seem like a necessity, there

are oten opportunities or reuse.

Most important, however, is the need to

stop using disposable plastic bags altogether.

The Brown Bookstore sells reusable cloth

bags and even gave some away to students

who made large enough purchases. Cloth

bags are clearly the best option in environ-

mental terms.

Reduce, reuse, recycle is an underappreci-

ated mantra. Nearly everyone can recite it,

but ew tr uly practice it. Government initia-

tives are important and were lucky that

Rhode Island has taken the lead in this area

but individual changes are necessary too.

Reducing the use o plastic bags is easy and

benecial. Why not start now?

Jry Fnb 11 s pc scnccncnrr fr tnck, N.J. H cn b

rchd Jry_Fnb@brwn.d.

THuRSDAy, APRIl 2, 2009 | PAgE 11

pinionsThe Brown Dai Herad

, , Mk

Pastic bas, which most peope freqent se

bt rare think abot, have dead impacts on

the environment, anima popations and hman

wefare.

By JEREMy

FEIgENBAuM

opinions coluMnist

The kids nowadays are crazy about this thing

called e-mail. You see, its like mail, only you get

it through the Interweb. It makes you wonder

what the technophiles will think o next.

But e-mailing can be rustrating, especially

when the Webmail provider is obsolete and

dicult to use. Fortunately or us, Browns Web-

mail service is a shining exemplar o perection.

(That was a joke.)

A recent editorial (The Gmail Revolution,

5 years late, March 17) expounded the ben-ets o outsourcing the Brown e-mail server to

Gmail. I couldnt agree more, and in this column

I will elaborate on some o the points raised

by the editorial, and mention several details it

neglected.

Brown provides its own webmail service

through Microsot Outlook Exchange. The ser-

vice is a bit dierent depending on what Internet

browser you use; Saari, Mozilla Fireox and

Google Chrome users are condemned to the

Basic version, while Internet Explorer users

have the choice between Basic and Advanced,

the latter o which is somewhat more tolerable

than Basic. Nevertheless, since most people do

not use Internet Explorer (i you do, immediately

uninstall), I will just address the Basic version.

As the name suggests, the application is very

basic. Its sucient or composing and send-

ing e-mails, but inadequate or everything else.

Organizing and deleting e-mails is extremely

time consuming, you can only control a handul

o settings, when I look at the color scheme I

eel like vomiting I could go on, but Im sure

someone more tech-savvy could do a ar better

job. Simply put, this application is terrible.

And a number o students have taken the

hint. A 2007 article (U. considers outsourcing

student e-mail, Sept. 8, 2007) reported that, as

o mid-August o that year, 849 undergraduates

used a third-party application, 651 o whom used

Gmail. I assume the numbers havent changed

much since then.

On the other hand, i thats true, scores o

Brown students must still use Outlook. While I

wont pretend to know their real reasons, I can

only surmise its either or conveniences sake

or ignorance o ar better alternatives. However,

these reasons dont cut it. Brown Webmail is no

more convenient than any other Webmail ser-

vice, and its relatively laughable system should

have driven them away a long time ago.

O course, I cant completely blame the stu-

dents. Its Browns responsibility to ensure we

have satisactory University Webmail, and at

that it has completely ailed. But there is a wayor Brown to live up to its responsibility adopt

Googles Apps or Education Edition.

Several universities (such as the University

o Southern Caliornia, Vanderbilt University,

Arizona State University, George Washington

University, Northwestern University, etc.) have

already espoused Googles Apps or Education

Edition which, as per its Web site, is a ree suite

o hosted communication and collaboration ap-

plications designed or schools and universities.

The package o applications is rather expansive,

so I will just ocus on its Gmail component in this

column, but rest assured, its other applications

are just as remarkable.

Why adopt Gmail? Google lists 10 reasons

on its Web site, which are applicable to Browns

webmail in several important ways.

First, and perhaps most important, there is a

major nancial incentive. According to search-

storage.com, ASU apparently saved $350,000

per year in storage, maintenance and person-

nel costs. This change would be a very easy

way or Brown to save money during troubling

economic times.

Second, unlike Browns Webmail, Gmails

server is not centralized, so you are sae rom

the kind o unoreseeable accidents that a previ-

ous column envisioned (Backing up Brown,March 2).

Third, currently Brown students are only

allotted 50 MB o storage space on the server.

With Gmail, each student would get over 7 GB,

which means no more annoying messages rom

the administrator saying youve exceeded your

storage quota or e-mails bouncing back to the

sender because your mailbox is ull.

Fourth, you get to use a Webmail service

that is not only at the head o the pack, but lead-

ing the way in innovation. With organizational

eatures such as labels, lters, olders and con-

versations, a chat unction that has both text and

video capabilities and the power o the Google

search engine, once you go Gmail youll never

turn tail.

Fith, with Gmail you get the massive technol-

ogy support team o Google, which means easy

access to assistance. Knowing Google, however,

you wont need it oten anyway.

Sixth, you get the same security Google usesto protect google.com, which, no oense to CIS,

is probably ar more advanced than Browns

security. This coincides with Googles serious

emphasis on privacy protection, which you can

read about at its Privacy Center online.

Seventh, you get to keep the domain name

@brown.edu, so you can faunt your education

to all your riends.

The bottom line is that Gmail is vastly supe-

rior to Browns Webmail, and the opportunity to

reely implement the service across the student

body should be seized immediately. And accord-

ing to the aorementioned editorial, this may be

a reality soon enough. Until then, you can always

orward your Brown inbox to Gmail.

Jrd lfr 11 s phsphy cncnrrfr mnhn. H cn b rchd

jrd_fr@.c

T B wb

Its Browns responsibiit to ensre we havesatisfactor universit webmai, and at that it has

compete faied.

JARED lAFER

opinions coluMnist

8/14/2019 April 2, 2009 Issue

12/12

thursday, april 2, 2009 page 12

Today3

7

Transfer appications on the rise

Softba hits the road over break

The Brown Daily Herald

58 / 42

april 2, 2009

5 p.m.Romano Prodi, Ita Toda:

Priorities, Politics and Prospects, Wat-

son Institte

5:30 p.m. Donald Ton, Hon Kon

& the goba Economic Crisis, Sao-

mon 101

april 3, 2009

7 p.m. Civil Sex by Brian Free-

man, Chrchi Hose

8 p.m.Brown universit gibert

& Sivan Present Ioanthe, Am-

nae Ha

e tw |Dstin Foe

t o ab Zb | Kevin grbb

Cb v |Abe Pressman

sharpe reFeCtory

lunCh Cheese Tomato Strata, Zuc-

chini Pie, Hot Ham on Bulky Roll, garlic

and Btter Infsed Rice

dinner Spinach and Rice Bake,

Beef Saute with Cumin, Spice Rubbed

Pork Chops, Oven Browned Potatoes

verney-Woolley dining hall

lunCh Hot Sasae Sandwich,

French Bread Pizza, Cauliflower au

gratin

dinnerBaked Chicken, Shells

with Broccoi, garic Bread

7 75calendar

Menu

crossword

the news i n images

coMics

56 / 44

today toMorrow

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