tuesday, december 4, 2012dailythe Brown

since 1891vol. cxxii, no. 115herald

INsIde

Renovate RattyThe Ratty will undergo renovations in spring 2014

Sword strifeU. persists in lawsuit over an allegedly stolen sword

Page 5

Brown identity Gianotti ’13 laments Brown’s lack of communal identity.

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tomorrow

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today

By Mathias hellerSenior Staff Writer

national college enrollment numbers dipped in 2011 for the first time in 15 years, but higher education experts do not believe lower total matriculation will have an immediate effect on Brown’s admission process.

enrollment decreased by only one percentage point, but this is its first de-cline since 1996, according to the na-tional Center for education Statistics.

“The plateau, at least among students transitioning to four-year colleges, is something we’ve expected,” and is likely due to a smaller number of high school seniors, said David hawkins, director of public policy and research at the na-tional Association for College Admission Counseling.

But hawkins cautioned against draw-ing too many conclusions about the ap-plication process itself from the slight

decrease in college enrollment. he said the growing popularity of the Common Application could continue to facilitate larger application pools, especially at elite universities.

“The number of applications that in-stitutions like Brown receive is ultimately going to continue to grow,” hawkins said, adding that policy decisions could also have a substantial effect on future admis-sion trends.

other admission experts echoed hawkins’ assessment. Steven Good-man, head of top Colleges admission consulting, said the 2011 decrease in col-lege enrollment does not mean the Ivy League admissions game will become less competitive.

“Brown University is not the average school,” Goodman said. “There are two Americas.”

eric hoover, senior writer for admis-sion at the Chronicle of higher educa-tion, said elite

college enrollment dips, but u. apps remain high

By sophie flynnStaff Writer

As the food truck scene’s prominence on Thayer Street continues to grow, so does the dialogue among truck owners and Thayer restauranteurs as they seek to find their niche.

Frustration among food truck owners has cropped up as some owners have ac-cused other trucks of parking illegally or in a manner that is discourteous to Thayer restaurants — specifically, parking near or north of waterman Street, according to tweets reported in BlogDailyherald. Some managers of restaurants near the inter-section of Thayer and waterman streets voiced concerns that trucks sometimes park illegally, in addition to siphoning off business while paying no rent. But other restaurant owners said trucks have not posed a problem.

According to some food truck own-ers, reminders about where to park are aimed at strengthening the food truck community.

“we’re a community — bad behav-ior reflects on all of us,” Plouf Plouf Gas-tronomie tweeted nov. 15. Plouf Plouf owner Mario Molliere said the newer food trucks “park illegally everywhere,” even in places where private vehicles cannot park. Molliere added that his concerns stem from complaints received from nearby restaurants as well as situations in which Providence Police Department officers have told trucks to park elsewhere.

rocket Fine Street Food employees have voiced their concerns on twitter as well. The food truck tweeted at fellow truck, radish, nov. 11: “respect the res-taurants, keep your distance.” Co-owner of rocket Patricia natter said tweets be-tween the trucks are the owners “watching out for each other.”

natter added that rocket supports other trucks through twitter as well. “we retweet a lot of the other trucks’ tweets. we always say, when we’re in a location, the other trucks that are with us,” she said.

But some truck owners said they have experienced no

tensions arise as food truck community grows

By alexa pughSenior Staff Writer

After lagging behind peers with digi-tized pre-registration systems for years, the University went live with Banner, its current online registration system, in the winter of 2007.

Almost five years later, improve-ments to the system have created a versatile tool that has outpaced regis-tration tools at institutions that use the same basic software. Still, students and faculty deal with pre-registration and shopping period woes, and the Univer-sity continues to seek ways to improve the system, according to University registrar robert Fitzgerald.

Kickin’ it old schoolBefore Banner went live, the Uni-

versity relied on an in-person registra-

tion system that predated the adoption of the open Curriculum in 1969. Stu-dents were required to submit paper forms to the office of the registrar, which was then located in University hall. Lines of students could stretch down the corridor and even wind down the stairs, Fitzgerald said.

“when you look at the entire spectrum of higher ed, we were re-ally late,” Fitzgerald said. “we never went through telephone registration or anything — we just went cold turkey in 2007.”

no course enrollment caps were in place in the old system, and students could register for classes that met at the same time or for multiple sections of the same class.

“In limited enrollment courses, it was a major frustration point for a lot students,” Fitzgerald said. “even

though the course could have been limited to 20 students, you could have 500 students actually signed up for that course.”

The old system did not enforce enrollment restrictions such as con-centrations or pre-requisites, which meant students often did not find out they were ineligible to take a course until the first day of the semester, Fitzgerald said.

“even though they had theoreti-cally pre-registered on a piece of pa-per … the chances of them getting into that actual course were kind of a crapshoot,” he said.

a banner yearThe number of students who drop

limited enrollment courses during shopping period has decreased in the five years since Banner was im-

plemented, Fitzgerald said. Banner’s automatic restrictions on enrollment have given professors more control over the amount of students from dif-ferent grade levels and concentrations they want in their courses, he added.

At the time of the switch, students feared the practice would interfere with the freedom of the open Cur-riculum, but Fitzgerald said professors’ ability to issue override codes kept the curriculum’s spirit in place.

“If you want to get into any class, you can,” said Isaac MacDonald ’15. “Pre-registration is the way you can feel confident and not worry about getting into the class.”

Pre-registration figures are helpful for deans and advisors to determine a student’s academic standing, or to ensure to third parties that a student plans to enroll

as banner streamlines registration, kinks persist

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pax S o n p r e ac h e S

sam kase / herald

president Christina paxson addressed audience members at Monday’s invitational lecture in the humanities about health inequality.

By alexander BluMStaff Writer

Frank D. Spaziano elementary School recently became the only school in the Providence Public School Dis-trict to vote in favor of becoming a district charter school. on Friday

afternoon, the elemen-tary school formally filed its application with the rhode Island Depart-ment of education, one

day before the deadline, said Christina o’reilly, communications director for the Providence School Department.

this September, Providence Schools Superintendent Susan Lusi wrote a letter urging Providence schools to consider transitioning to district charters beginning in the 2013-14 academic year. Several schools showed interest in the plan, but Spaziano was the only school able to make the Dec. 1 deadline to apply.

District charters are communi-ty-based programs worth pursuing because they serve as “beacons of excellence” that “transform educa-tion in the state,” said elliot Krieger, spokesperson for the rhode Island Department of education. three of the 16 current charter schools in the PPSD system are currently district-operated, he added.

But Spaziano’s future as a charter school is far from certain — its appli-cation is currently pending approval from rIDe. Professor of education Kenneth wong said he hopes that the district “(uses) rigorous criteria to consider the proposal,” and does not neglect

Providence elementary school files for charter

/ / apps page 4

/ / Charter page 4

herald File Photo

students line up outside Mama Kim’s, a member of thayer street’s vibrant food truck community. the truck is one of several regulars on the block. / / trucks page 5

city & state

campus news2 the Brown DAILy herALDtUeSDAy, DeCeMBer 4, 2012

7 P.m.

A Night of A Thousand Readings

McCormack Family Theater

8 P.m.

Jazz Combos Concert

Grant Recital Hall

5 P.m.

Fall 2012 (G)ISP Talks

Petteruti Lounge

8 P.m.

Ghanaian Drumming and Dancing

Grant Recital Hall

SHARPE REFECTORY VERNEY-WOOLLEY DINING HALL

lunCh

dinner

Vegan Ratatouille, Italian Beef Noodle Casserole, Antipasto Bar, Washington Apple Cake

Roast Beef au Jus, Vegan Vegetable Couscous, Fresh Vegetable Menage, General Tso Chicken Stir Fry

Grilled Turkey Burgers, Nacho Bar with Toppings, French Bread Pizza, Broccoli with Mushrooms and Onions

Honey Mustard Chicken Sandwich, Vegetarian Pot Pie with Biscuits, Butterscotch Cookies

TODAY DEC. 4 TOmORROW DEC. 5

c r o S S W o r d

S u d o K u

m e n u

c a l e n d a r

Claire Peracchio, Presidentrebecca Ballhaus, Vice President

Danielle Marshak, treasurerSiena DeLisser, Secretary

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in a certain number of classes that qualifies them for financial aid, loans or insurance, Fitzgerald said.

Banner also helps to give the of-fice of the registrar a “semi-accurate snapshot of what the demand will be for the course,” Fitzgerald said. That information, along with records of past enrollment levels, helps the office choose appropriately-sized classrooms for each course.

Unlike other schools with general education requirements, Brown can’t as easily predict the number of stu-dents who will be enrolled in a given course based on that year’s matricu-lation.

Though over-crowding is often an issue during the first several class meetings, it usually dissipates after shopping period, Fitzgerald said. oth-er institutions assign course caps based on the size of the classroom available, a practice Fitzgerald said would in effect eliminate shopping period.

ShopaholicsBut the pre-registration system has

far from erased the unpredictability that professors and students face dur-ing the first two weeks of classes.

“In practice, students are pretty much doing the same thing” they did before Banner was implemented, said elizabeth taylor, senior lecturer in english and co-director of the non-fiction writing Program. Students pre-register for the five limited en-rollment courses they would like to shop, knowing they will still be able to enroll in unlimited enrollment courses at the start of the following semester, she said.

“we’ve had to kind of give up a chunk of the syllabus just to cope with shopping period,” she said. “That said, everybody adjusts, and you just try to make those (first three) classes teach-able moments no matter who’s there.”

Ben Aronow ’13, Dan Meropol ’13 and Inaki Arbeloa ’12 completed a project analyzing the University’s registration system for eCon 1465: Market Design: Theory and Applica-tion last fall. The main problem facing the system is that “Students do not have an incentive to state their true preferences until the end of the add/drop period,” they wrote.

Students registered for classes they want to keep as backups for shopping period can be an issue for those who are more enthusiastic about taking a certain course.

though MacDonald, a likely urban studies and political science concentrator, had not pre-registered for PoLS 1420: Money and Power in the International Political economy last semester, he became interested

in taking the course after attending the first several lectures. But due to a large number of students who had registered, MacDonald said he was unsure he would be permitted to enroll until the last day of shopping period.

In response to the high level of demand, Mark Blyth, professor of political science, requested written permission status from the registrar in order to allow more students to enroll, Fitzgerald said. Though the class was originally capped at 100, 193 students are currently enrolled.

For classes on the opposite end of the spectrum, low pre-registration numbers do not cause the registrar to cancel a class, Fitzgerald said. An-nie wiart, senior lecturer of French Studies, was forced to cancel her class Fren 1510: “Advanced oral and writ-ten French” due to “last-minute chang-es in staffing,” but students who had already pre-registered were notified early and able to enroll in other classes, she wrote in an email to The herald.

The practice of students “hoarding” limited enrollment courses has been a problem for the economics depart-ment in particular, said roberto Ser-rano, chair of the department. In order to combat climbing student-teacher ratios in recent years, the department instituted caps on certain upper-level classes at the beginning of last year. The registrar’s office notifies the de-partment when students attempt to enroll in more than two upper-level capped classes.

The system encourages students to give more thought to their projected courses of study and has worked ef-fectively overall, Serrano said.

But the policy was unpopular among many students at first. Some mistakenly thought that the pre-reg-istration barriers were a limit on the number of upper-level classes a stu-dent could take each semester or that they would be unable to take certain classes they required to graduate on time, he said.

Some entrepreneurial students were even caught attempting to sell their seats to those desperate for a spot.

“Some students perhaps took their economics educations too far,” Ser-rano said. “Usually in markets, excess demand is eliminated by prices … but that’s not what’s going to happen here at a university where everyone pays their tuition.”

pre-reg panicUnderclassmen often find that

classes they wanted to take are full by the time they are allowed to register.

oliver Pucker ’15 was shut out of next semester’s PoLS0220: “City Politics”.

“I think that it’s unfortunate,” he

said. “But on the other hand, upper-classmen who are never going to have the chance again probably deserve those spots.”

There have been other bumps in the road following the implementation of Banner — the community had to get used to an online system.

Though it proved fairly intuitive for students, the previous lack of a course scheduling feature made find-ing classes complicated. Information on a certain course was not central-ized on one screen, and “you had to do a lot of pointing and clicking to find what exactly you’re looking for,” Fitzgerald said.

Mocha — the unofficial schedul-ing system created by four computer science concentrators during the 2005-2006 academic year — was a popular alternative among students at the time, Fitzgerald said.

Students were also frustrated be-cause the system only notified them when they were ineligible to take a class after pressing the submit button to register. The faculty also faced a learning curve with the new course override system.

But the system has come a long way since it was first implemented, Fitzgerald said.

Banner’s current course schedul-ing feature was implemented in 2010, and notices about registration restric-tions are now listed in each course description. Faculty members now have the option of issuing an override code directly to students as opposed to inputting the override themselves.

Students’ internal academic re-cords were also added to Banner, and the registrar’s office has recently addressed problems with the system crashing during heavy enrollment times, Fitzgerald said.

“Those ... got worked out as re-cently as last year for freshman reg-istration,” Fitzgerald said. The system crashed in fall 2010 and again in fall 2011 when the incoming freshman classes attempted to pre-register the day before classes began. Fitzgerald said he worked with Computing and Information Services to ensure the problem did not occur last semester.

The peak time for pre-enrollment occurs between 8:00 and 8:02 a.m., by which time about half of students are registered, he said.

In the days before the course scheduler was implemented, stu-dents couldn’t just push a button and go back to sleep, Fitzgerald noted, a feature that still has drawbacks for some students. “you have to get up at 8 a.m., and then it’s kind of to chance whether your class schedule will work out,” MacDonald said.

top of the classSeveral peer institutions that use

Banner covet the course scheduling feature the University currently uses, Fitzgerald said.

“The course scheduler is a definite enhancement over what’s delivered and what anyone else in the Banner world is using,” Fitzgerald said.

“In fact, we’ve had constant inqui-ries from other institutions to take some of our code,” he said. “In the time frame that we’ve had Banner up and running to now, we are light-years ahead of where those other institu-tions are in terms of enhancements we’ve made.”

Students at other institutions like the Georgia Institute of technology and George-

/ / Banner page 1

/ / Banner page 3

campus news 3the Brown DAILy herALDtUeSDAy, DeCeMBer 4, 2012

town University, which do not have course scheduler features, are still using the “hunt and peck” method to choose classes, Fitzgerald said, and Dartmouth and yale have been to Brown’s campus for site visits to learn more about how the University’s version of Banner operates.

“yale has three systems, but none of them work like they want them to,” Fitzgerald said, adding that their shop-ping period is “absolute chaos.”

Despite the progress already made, there remain areas that require im-provement, he said.

The office of the registrar hopes to shift the late registration process online for next semester, Fitzgerald

said. As of now, students are required to pick up a paper registration form from the office of the registrar, obtain a professor’s signature and then return it to the office, which creates lag time for gaining access to course pages on MyCourses and Canvas.

Finding a way to effectively use Banner’s optional wait list function, currently used by schools like Bucknell

University, is also on the to-do list, along with making it easier for profes-sors to issue override codes.

But many of these changes will have to occur after the system un-dergoes a software update, which is slated for this summer, Fitzgerald said. At that time, the look and feel of Ban-ner will be updated.

Students have said they would like the course scheduler to have filter op-tions, Fitzgerald said. These would, for example, stop showing courses the students have previously taken and highlight those most viewed by other students or those the student auto-matically qualifies for, Fitzgerald said.

The current version of the course scheduler was designed with student input in mind, but “the way students told us to design it doesn’t make any sense to students now,” Fitzgerald

said. Some of the features they rec-ommended would have unintended consequences, like making it difficult to find independent studies. Many students are also unaware that it is possible to create and save multiple shopping carts using the cart “sharing/switching” tab, he said.

Changes are projected to take effect January 2014, after which the system will have to be tested. It would be at least fall of 2014 before students see any of those feature enhancements, Fitzgerald said.

The upcoming changes, as those that have come before them, are un-likely to change the freedoms the pre-registration system provides to University students.

“you kind of come to love Brown for its quirky encouragement of inde-pendence,” taylor said.

/ / Banner page 2

By JasMine Balacontributing Writer

Upgrades and renovations of the Sharpe refectory’s heating and washing equip-ment will begin in the spring semester of the 2013-14 academic year, said Margaret Klawunn, vice president for campus life and student services. The Univer-sity hopes to install the new equipment to improve students’ experience, said richard Bova, senior associate dean of residential and dining services.

The renovations constitute the first of two projects related to the ratty, Bova said.

“The first is to have critical infra-structure renewal clubbing the heating and the electrical,” he said.

This phase will cost $10 million, ac-cording to Klawunn.

The second phase of the project, which will cost approximately $40 million if approved, pertains more to structural changes within the ratty itself, Klawunn said. These changes would occur after the larger infrastructure re-

placements are completed. The infrastructure upgrades, which

will occur in the first part of the project, will include replacing the high tempera-ture water lines, air handling systems and the dishwashing systems, Bova said. These system replacements will improve the experience of providing food, he added.

“The changes will consist of things students cannot see,” Klawunn said. The project would take approximately 14 months with the majority of renovations taking place in the summer of 2014.

“I noticed that the dishwashing sys-tem at the ratty is quite old and needs replacement,” said edwin Silva ’16, a dining services worker. “I’m glad the deans are thinking of ways to improve the equipment in the kitchens and make work easier.”

Though these changes will be largely made out of the sight of students, the proposed second phase of the project would include more tangible changes to the eating area of the ratty.

“If funding can be obtained, we

would like to segment the first-floor structure to feed around 900 students,” Klawunn said. “That would include hav-ing food stalls, creating rooms outside the dining hall proper and maybe having a coffee section.”

The second phase of the renovation would include closing the ratty for a year and a half, she added. But the sec-ond part of the project, unlike the first, does not have an estimated time frame or start date, according to both Bova

and Klawunn. “we will have to wait, since the proj-

ect has not yet been made a funding priority,” Klawunn said. “It has to get to a point where somebody says, ‘This is what we need.’”

ratty renovations scheduled to start in spring 2014

Caroline GranoFF / herald

the ratty will see the first of two renovation projects begin in the spring of 2014. the first phase is scheduled for completion that summer.

campus news4 the Brown DAILy herALDtUeSDAy, DeCeMBer 4, 2012

universities’ global outreach to more international students could also make up for any decrease in college enrollment that may be attributable to fewer U.S. high school students.

“I don’t think we’re on the verge of a big slowdown from the increases we’ve seen in the past decade,” hoover said, who linked the dip in college enroll-ment to increasing awareness among high school students about what type of institution fits their needs.

“Consumers, for better or worse, have become more conscious,” hoover said.

while the total number of students enrolling in college declined last year, the total number of applications received by universities across the United States continues to increase. A majority of col-leges have received a higher number of applications each year since 1997 than they did in the year prior, according to the national Association for College Admission Counseling’s “2012 State of

College Admission” report released last Thursday.

nACAC’s report found that high school students are applying to an in-creasing number of schools, with 79 per-cent of seniors applying to at least three schools in 2011, a 12 percent increase from the previous year. About 30 percent of high school students applied to seven or more colleges last year, marking a 4 percent increase from the previous year.

The rise in college applications re-ceived across the nation mirrors the Uni-versity’s admission trends in recent years.

early decision applications to the University increased to 3,009 this fall, a record-high number more than 3 per-cent above last year’s total, according to the Admission office. The University received about 50 applications later than the original deadline following delays related to hurricane Sandy, forcing an extension of the application deadline to nov. 7.

other Ivy League institutions also saw growth in their early application pools.

Columbia saw a 1.3 percent increase, Penn reported a 5.6 percent increase, Princeton applications jumped 10 per-cent, and yale witnessed a 4.4 percent increase.

harvard’s total number of early ap-plications increased by the largest rate among the Ivies, spiking up 15 percent from last fall, while Dartmouth saw a 12.5 percent decrease in the number of early applications received. Cornell has not yet reported its early application total.

Jim Miller ’73, dean of admission, wrote in an email to The herald that he could not draw any conclusions about the size of this year’s regular decision pool based on early applications.

Accurately forecasting the regular admission pool based on early numbers can be a tricky business.

Last year, the University received what was then a record number of early applications for the class of 2016, but it then saw its regular decision pool shrink by about 2,000. The admission cycle for the class of 2015 was similarly hard to

predict — early applications in the fall of 2010 dropped from the previous year, but the Admission office received the highest number of regular decision applications ever with 30,948 total applicants.

Michelle hernandez, a college ad-mission consultant who specializes in helping high school seniors secure ac-ceptance to elite universities, said she was not surprised by the increases in early applications received by Ivy League institutions this fall.

“My feeling is there’s nothing earth-shattering,” hernandez said, noting that most elite universities have seen gradual increases in both their early and regular decision application pools over the past few years. “I think this is going to be kind of a boring, typical, normal year, but it wouldn’t surprise me if there are slight increases in applications,” she said.

hernandez said Dartmouth’s decrease may be linked to the school’s hazing scandal that broke earlier this year. The school’s fraternity system received na-tional media exposure after a Dartmouth

student wrote about his experiences with excessive hazing as a member of a fra-ternity. But hernandez said even a 12.5 percent dip was not too large for the early decision pool, given how few students apply in the early process overall.

College enrollment rates may also be affected by national education reform measures.

Discussions over education reform in the last few years have focused on pre-paring students at the elementary and secondary education levels for college. next year, Congress will vote on the reau-thorization of the no Child Left Behind Act of 2001, a debate that will to a large degree be based on how to improve col-lege and career readiness, hawkins said.

“you’re going to see much more effort thrown at preparing students to transition to post-secondary education,” hawkins said, adding that these mea-sures, if successful, could mitigate the demographic effect of lower numbers of students graduating from high school.

“There’s room for growth,” he said.

/ / apps page 1

the fine details that will ultimately determine the charter school’s future success.

Krieger said he could not specu-late about the application’s timeline or chances for approval.

the main difference between district-operated charter schools and other charter schools is how they are managed, wong said. In some cases, the charter schools are authorized and managed by the state governments, while in others, charter schools become part of the district governance system and are referred to as district-operated char-ter schools, wong said.

But wong said he would refer to them as “district-governed” instead of “district-operated,”because the district is responsible for monitor-ing the financial auditing and aca-demic performance of these charter schools. “District-operated charter schools are a relatively new develop-ment,” wong said, adding that the management system appears to be “a promising strategy.”

“Control is the key ingredient in developing a successful school envi-ronment,” wrote Brian Fong, visiting director and lecturer for the Social Studies/history MAt Program, in a email to the herald. If a school is able to maintain a certain degree of autonomy “over the curriculum, the pedagogical methods, the hiring and evaluation process and the budget, then the school can be successful,” he added.

Because charter schools can “pri-oritize their resources,” they may be able to “exercise autonomy” in select-ing their staff, wong said.

But Fong noted Spaziano would not have total autonomy as a district charter.

“the degree to which the district charter school is successful also de-pends on the role the Providence teacher’s Union will play,” Fong wrote. “we’re still waiting to see how the teacher’s union will work with

the district and the district charter school.”

Because Spaziano is a smaller school, “it has a lot of potential to benefit from the charter manage-ment” that the district may utilize, wong said. Charter management organizations help district and state governments launch and operate charter schools. But the reconcilia-tion of standardized models with lo-cal knowledge and culture is a serious challenge for charter management organizations, he added.

Currently, “teachers must follow a prescribed curriculum plan named ‘Guaranteed and Viable,’” Fong wrote. “Many teachers find it difficult to follow this curriculum plan because some students may need remedial help” or other sorts of special atten-tion.

wong said that if the charter management organizations are not well-integrated into the new school, the same issue of inadequate stan-dardization in a local environment may persist.

If Spaziano’s application is ap-proved, wong said the school is “bet-ter prepared because they already have an infrastructure” and therefore do not have to construct a facility that satisfies the stringent building codes for schools.

But even if Spaziano is cleared to begin the transition, the school will still face a long road.

“the process of developing a charter school is one of the hardest tasks to undertake” because it neces-sitates the input and resources of a diverse group of stakeholders, Fong wrote. “the district charter school staff members need to develop a clear vision of their school and to establish an academically rigorous environ-ment where learning is facilitated by a teacher and students are engaged in learning and inquiry.”

the transformation of a regular school into a charter school requires a lot of “really hard work that has to be done at the front end,” wong said. “Launching is particularly critical.”

/ / Charter page 1

@the_herald

campus news 5the Brown DAILy herALDtUeSDAy, DeCeMBer 4, 2012

Class notes | Philip trammell

co m i c

By isoBel heCKcontributing Writer

hasbro, Inc. is expected to move into a newly-renovated building on LaSalle Street in downtown Providence Jan. 2, bringing 284 new full-time jobs and $24 million in investments to the city in

the process. Famous for brands such as Furby, Playskool and Monopo-ly, the Pawtucket-based

company was started in rhode Island in 1923.

The company announced its expan-sion shortly after the second quarter of 2011, in which it reported a net growth of 23 percent to a net worth of $908.5 million.

“As we continue to grow, we were in need of additional space to house some of our divisions. This (new build-ing) will be the home of the US Sales and marketing team and our Global operations,” wrote wayne Charness, senior vice president of corporate com-munications at hasbro, in an email to The herald. Charness noted that the company was drawn to Providence by the prospect of close proximity to the city’s hotels for events.

“expansion plans are part of the company’s continued emergence as a branded play company,” wrote Melissa Chambers, communications marketing manager for the rhode Island economic Development Corporation, in an email to The herald. “no longer just a toy

and game company, hasbro is creating global experiences for its consumers …in a wide range of areas including film, digital gaming, licensing and television,” she noted.

Before hasbro’s 2011 announcement of the move, Gov. Lincoln Chafee ’75 P’14, who also serves on the board of directors for rIeDC, granted hasbro “Project Status.” This “makes the com-pany eligible for a sales tax exemption — to be capped at $1.628 million — on purchase of construction materials and equipment, furniture, fixtures, machin-ery, computers and facility equipment related to its expected expansion to Providence,” Chambers wrote in an email to The herald.

In return for the tax break, the ex-pansion will create 284 new full-time jobs over the next three years, with wages averaging about $80,290 per year, largely in marketing and product support, Chambers wrote.

rhode Island currently faces the second-highest unemployment rate in the country, at 10.4 percent as of octo-ber, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

hasbro is not the first company to be attracted to Providence by tax breaks. Former red Sox player Curt Schilling’s video game company 38 Stu-dios expanded to Providence after being granted a $75 million loan by rIeDC. The company declared bankruptcy in June and owes $120 million on its loan to the state.

toy company to relocate to downtown Providence

By sora parKcontributing Writer

A lawsuit filed by the University in early 2011 for the 1970s theft of a tiffany & Co. silver presentation sword from the Annmary Brown Memorial Collection has faced a number of delays. Donald and toni Tharpe, the couple accused of stealing the missing sword, changed defense attorneys and requested sev-eral continuances over the past year, postponing the trial to February 2013. The trial was originally scheduled for September 2011.

The sword in question was present-ed to Colonel rush hawkins at the end of the Civil war by new york citizens in recognition of his war feats, includ-ing the formation of the 9th new york City Volunteers regiment that served in the Union Army. hawkins donated the sword to the collection in 1907. The sword was noted to have vanished from the collection in the mid-1970s, before turning up on display at the municipal Lee hall Mansion in newport news, Va. in December 2010 on loan from the Tharpes’ personal collection.

The University filed a lawsuit in January 2011 against newport news as a legal tactic to uncover the names of the persons who loaned the sword to the museum. once the names were revealed, the city was dismissed from the case.

The University subsequently sued the Tharpes, noted Civil war collectors, in the U.S. District for the eastern Dis-trict of Virginia, claiming true owner-ship of the sword and its accompanying scabbard. The University still has the sword’s matching presentation box, which is stored in the John hay Library.

Unti l the tr ial date, the

$750,000-valued blade rests in a high-security vault with other art and arti-facts in new york City. Meanwhile, the original counsel for the defendants has withdrawn, and a new counsel has been requested.

Alan Silber, the Tharpes’ former attorney, left counsel in october 2012 due to “a communication breakdown between him and his clients,” accord-ing to a memorandum order from the court. he said he is not willing to provide comment beyond what is said in public records. David Fudala, a civil lawyer based in Fairfax, Va., is the Tharpes’ new and current attorney.

“The change in defense attorneys hasn’t affected Brown’s legal strategy at all,” said Beverly Ledbetter, the Univer-sity vice president and general counsel. “our legal strategy is simple — we own it, they stole it and we want it back.”

The Tharpes claim they acquired the sword in good faith and that the University is too late in recognizing ownership of the sword. But Ledbet-ter said the defendants’ claim is not legitimate, especially because they have been changing their legal argument for months. The University, on the other hand, has remained true to its word, she said.

Colonel hawkins’ sword is unique — not only is it one of the only swords commissioned by a regiment, but it is also one of the few made by tiffany & Co. Since it was personally gifted to the Annmary Brown family collection, the sword also plays an important role in the University’s history.

“we intend to win the case,” Led-better said. “The University does not want to give away a part of its history nor set a precedent of doing so.”

u. up in arms over alleged sword theft

Courtesy oF university arChives

the university is continuing to pursue ownership of a Civil War-era sword, which was allegedly stolen from its collections in the 1970s.

a i d S aWa r e

Brittany Comunale / herald

students pitched a table on the Main green yesterday to raise awareness for World aids day, handing out flyers to passersby.

difficulties with rival trucks. “I don’t know of any competition

between food trucks. And it would be great to see every entrepreneur succeed,” wrote hyun Kim ’01, co-owner of the Mama Kim’s food truck, in an email to The herald.

Food trucks, or “peddlers,” as labeled by the code of ordinances set by city of-ficials, have certain location regulations. Food trucks can only remain in the same place on public property for 60 minutes at a time. They may not park in areas labeled as “no parking,” metered parking spaces or “parking space defined by painted lines,” according to Article IX of the Providence Code of ordinances. Food trucks also cannot park within 300 feet of entertain-ment venues — specifically defined as the Providence Performing Arts Center and the Dunkin’ Donuts Center — when an event is being held.

Though keeping distance between food trucks and restaurants is not men-tioned in the ordinances, to some, this is an unwritten rule. “to me, it’s common sense. you don’t park your truck right in front of a restaurant,” natter said.

regardless of how close the trucks park to Thayer restaurants, “I’m sure some restaurant owners aren’t happy about it,” said owner of food truck ClamJammers Brant Santos, adding that restaurants likely lose business to trucks. “They pay really big rent on Thayer Street,” he added.

restaurant managers near the area on Thayer where food trucks tend to park offered varied opinions on trucks park-ing in the area.

Better Burger Company manager nat-alie Sussikis said that food truck parking has been an ongoing issue for the business. She said she has observed trucks parking in metered spaces — a violation of city ordinance — and has complained to both the trucks and the board of licenses, which licenses the trucks.

Sussikis said she has also called the police about illegally parked food trucks, but “they don’t do anything about it.”

“There will be a line (at the food trucks who are) paying cents to a meter, and people are paying thousands and thousands in rent,” she said, referring to Thayer businesses. Sussikis said that BBC is most affected because they are the clos-est restaurant to where the trucks park.

Food truck owners noted the positive aspects of parking their businesses on Thayer Street.

“we have provided advice and shared information to other food truck owners in the interest of supporting small lo-cal businesses like us and our belief that Brown students should have access to good food at affordable prices,” Kim wrote in an email to the herald.

radish owner timothy Silva said food trucks in the area help restaurants thrive. “I know that food trucks bring people to Thayer Street, so it actually helps the other businesses,” he said.

having more food trucks makes Thayer “a lot livelier, and people have more options,” Silva said. he also sup-ports restaurants in the area by eating there, he added.

Santos said the community of food trucks happens naturally. “A lot of times it’s not even planned” that food trucks

tend to cluster in one area, he said. natter highlighted the positive atmo-

sphere that food trucks bring to Provi-dence, especially in locations like Kennedy Plaza. “The food trucks are helping to revitalize that area,” she said.

The trucks will hopefully continue to work together, natter said. Several owners of the trucks met in the spring to discuss their businesses, she said, adding that she hopes the owners of the trucks will “formalize things a little more, set our own guidelines and rules of the road.”

Most students interviewed who fre-quent the food trucks on Thayer Street had no opinion on where they parked or how they affected local business. Sean Curran, MD/PhD said he has not witnessed any problem with the trucks except for parking enforcers asking them to move.

Dong Qing GS commented on the convenience of the food trucks. “After they showed up here, I came here quite often,” he said.

city & state

/ / trucks page 1

editorial & letter6 the Brown DAILy herALDtUeSDAy, DeCeMBer 4, 2012

C o r r e C t I o n S P o L I C yThe Brown Daily herald is committed to providing the Brown University community with the most accurate information possible. Corrections may be submitted up to seven calendar days after publication.

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e d i to r i a l c a r to o n b y a n g e l i a w a n g

“our legal strategy is simple — we own it, they stole

it, and we want it back.”— Beverly ledbetter, u. vice president and general counsel

See sword on page 5.

e d i to r i a l

one day, affirmative action will cease to be necessary. For now, it remains a tool that gives preference to certain groups in order to foster diversity in competitive environments. In this way, it serves as an attempt to reconcile our nation’s history of racism and bigotry with the inequities of the present. we cannot deny that racism, structural and otherwise, is still prevalent in contemporary society, even in deliberately diverse institutions such as Brown. however, we question whether affirmative action helps or hurts the quest for egalitarianism.

though affirmative action policies still exist at Brown and our peer institutions, there is growing discontent with policies that grant people of color admission to competitive schools notwithstanding possibly lower quantitative qualifications. In the context of college admissions, affirmative action, like athletic recruiting, inherently gives preference to students not based on their academic merit. Affirmative action addresses the fact that minority students are more often marginalized and face severe structural inequalities. An unintended consequence of affirmative action, however, is that it fosters unwarranted guilt. Students who are beneficiaries of race preferential treatment may feel that achieved success by means other than solely their own merits. the institution of affirmative action, while noble in intent, is precarious and ultimately unsustainable.

however, while we believe that affirmative action should eventually be phased out, it is still absolutely necessary in the present. why? Let’s face it — discrimination and racism are alive and well in the American system. we are still a long way from a society with equal opportunity for all.

At Brown, we pride ourselves on the ideal of “seeing past color.” As well as being a problematic assertion in and of itself — in that it supports the false notion that we now live in a post-racial society — is it really the best choice never to account for race? take, for instance, the student groups on campus whose foundation lies in the solidarity of identity, often through race. the continued existence of groups such as the Black Student Union or the Latin American Students Association reflects the correlation between racial solidarity and racial injustice. these groups, which are integral to fostering racial awareness at Brown, are also support systems. they help their members navigate racial identity in the face of historical and existing discrimination.

In a recent herald poll, over 58 percent of students who were polled opposed using race in Brown student admissions, though more than half of those who opposed consideration of race supported consideration of socioeconomic status. In a perfectly progressive world where race is no longer a factor, we would agree with these students. however, we are not yet at the point where we can disregard racial factors as relics of the past. Structural inequities are still clearly in place for people of color. Unchecked ignorance does not serve as an excuse for the existence of racism, nor is it an excuse for conveniently ignoring inequality.

Until we are all at peace with our heterogeneous society, affirmative action is a necessary institution. It serves as a reminder that racism has not been left behind in the 20th century — in fact, it has evolved into an even more complex beast. we are all complicit in a system that disadvan-tages minorities at a structural level. It’s time to reconsider if the idea of “seeing past race” actually does anyone any good at all.

Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board: its editors, Daniel Jeon and Annika Lichtenbaum, and its members, Georgia Angell, Sam Choi and Rachel Occhiogrosso. Send comments to editorials@brown-dailyherald.com.

q u ot e o f t h e d ay

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clay aldernJenny carr

Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief

A headline and caption in Monday’s herald (“Bears crusade to victory over holy Cross, fall to Unh,” Dec. 3) incorrectly stated that the men’s basketball team beat holy Cross last week. In fact, they played Sacred heart University. The herald regrets the error.

co r r e c t i o n

l e t t e r to t h e e d i to ru. needs to look out for our futuresto the editor:

we all know that a Brown education is an investment in our futures. we study hard and pay steep tuition costs to create opportunities down the road. however, our university is failing to invest in our futures in a vital way. So far, the administration has declined to issue a public statement divesting Brown’s endowment from the 15 worst coal mining and burning companies. As young people, we should be furious about this. what is at stake is the future security of our economy, our infrastructure, our health and our quality of life.

Anyone who saw Bill McKibben’s talk nov. 26 will tell you that things aren’t looking too good for our planet,

or for us. we are already well above the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that scientists consider safe, and adding more every year. If we don’t get serious about cutting emissions, we can expect to see catastrophic global change within our lifetimes. Brown, as a prominent intel-lectual institution, should be a leader in finding solutions to this urgent problem. It should not be complicit in continuing to alter the composition of earth’s atmosphere.

we need to tell Brown that we want a livable planet to grow up on. A Brown education can give us a bright future, but only if we have a safe planet on which to live. we should all make it a priority to pressure Brown to divest from coal now.

hannah poor ’13

opinions 7the Brown DAILy herALDtUeSDAy, DeCeMBer 4, 2012

the Brunonian ethos is grounded in a sense of individuality. our education both in and out of the classroom is very much our own prerogative. we choose our courses from a plethora of options, restricted by nothing except the occa-sional capped course. the same goes for the student activities and organiza-tions we join while we are here. each of our Brown experiences will differ greatly from all others. herein lies the conun-drum. where is the commonality? what makes a Brown student?

to an extent, it is the embrace of this freedom and great variety that defines the Brown student. we live and let live, and we appreciate each other for our uniqueness. It is the kind of environment that attracts independence and self-suffi-ciency. But a college community cannot be built simply around a sense of indi-viduality. yes, we all live and learn on the same campus — at least for now — but physical proximity does not suffice for a thriving social atmosphere.

there are two times when the Brown community gets together for a common, collective experience: to walk through the Van wickle Gates as matriculating students, and to exit their auspices at Commencement. this is a tradition that

we share with every other student who has ever completed a degree at Brown.

But apart from freshmen orienta-tion, Spring weekend and Senior week, Brown social life has relatively few com-ponents that bring the whole communi-ty together. when it comes down to it, after freshman year, social life becomes rather disconnected. As we grow into our college selves, there is less and less com-munal spirit that unites us in our leisure hours. this is a natural development. As

we join social organizations and develop a defined group of friends, the places we go and whom we go with become more set in place. Stability is comfortable, and many of us settle gladly.

It seems to me that social communi-ty is an important part of any college ex-perience and that, at Brown, something is seriously lacking. Some schools rally around sporting events, others around Greek life and still others around resi-dential colleges. Students at Jesuit colleg-es bond over what is sometimes a tortur-ous core curriculum. At women’s colleges

it is the collective female experience. At small liberal arts colleges in the middle of the woods, students bond over having nothing to do but ward off the cold with each other in dank basements.

there are aspects of each of these types of experience at Brown, but nothing that unites them. Some may think Brown doesn’t need the kind of community that I am talking about — that it is in fact an-ti-Brunonian to suggest that commonal-ity is something we should strive for as a

part of this experience. But I think com-munity is a necessary thing, especially for college students. It gives us a way to reference our experience and mark it. It will also unite us once we leave campus as graduates.

Brown as an institution cannot thrive solely on each student’s individual sense of self. yet it is hard to imagine a Brown in which we don’t exist. we make this place what it is — for ourselves, for each other and for posterity. So I ask all of you to re-flect on your Brown experience. how can we reconcile the great variety at Brown,

the variety that we bring to it, with a strong sense of communal identity?

I’m not saying that we should have a community that instructs us on how to act — that would be much too restrictive for the Brown student and would never fit here. But neither should we experience college life in a vacuum. Did you go to more than one Brown sporting event this year? Did you attend President Christina Paxson’s inauguration? have you been to a Convocation address since you were a first-year? If you have, congratulations. you are an upstanding Brunonian. If you haven’t, shame. we are all busy people, but we are only going to get busier. while we are students of this great University we should take pride in this community and be active in its affairs.

the responsibility to build a sense of community lies with both the students and the institution. As students we come and go. our existence at Brown is brief, but the institution is enduring. yes, this institution exists for us, but it also tran-scends us. you’re only in college once, and we’ve all decided to go through it here. that is a special thing and a cause for celebration or at least some school spirit. what makes a Brown student? you do. But what makes you a part of Brown?

Claire Gianotti ’13 didn’t go to Presi-dent Paxson’s inauguration and re-

grets the error. she can be contacted at claire_gianotti@brown.edu.

What makes a brown student?

Four years ago, many of us watched in horror as Israel began a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. Fast forward to these past few weeks, and violence has once again flared up in Gaza. Though the cease-fire brokered after a week of rockets and airstrikes has held, we are once again left with the question: what’s next?

too many American politicians seem to have accepted the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a fact of life. In a leaked video, for example, former republican presiden-tial candidate Mitt romney told a group of wealthy donors that the United States’ role in the conflict should be to “kick the ball down the field.” he and many of our elected officials seem to have forgotten the people — both Palestinian and Israeli — whose lives are endangered every day by the status quo of occupation and violence.

These politicians also ignore the stat-ed aim of the Palestinian Authority — to achieve national self-determination through a two-state solution — and many Israelis who support a similar goal. A re-turn to the 1967 borders with reciprocal land swaps, including a shared, interna-tionally guaranteed capital in Jerusalem, is the only viable option if we care about pre-serving Israel’s Jewish character and dem-ocratic nature while granting Palestinians true political rights and sovereignty. Both parties know this — both sides believed

they were extremely close in 2008 when talks were last held. The peace process is short on leadership, not ideas.

Leadership is something that the U.S. government can provide. As Israel’s clos-est and most powerful ally, the United States is in a unique position of being able to actively influence the quality of peace negotiations between the two parties. But with great power comes great responsibil-ity: America must take a stand and vigor-ously advocate for a two-state solution, not just for the political interests of the current Israeli prime minister. A resolu-

tion to the conflict is also in the United States’ national security interests in the Middle east. Continued lack of traction in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict radical-izes public opinion throughout the Mid-dle east and makes it harder for moderate Arab regimes to take a pro-western line. A peaceful resolution would contribute to the security of American forces and aid American diplomacy.

yet the window for a viable two-state solution is closing. Support among Pales-tinians is waning and Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, has already begun to seek alternate routes to Palestinian statehood. The violence in the

Gaza Strip has put further strain on Isra-el’s relationship with the Palestinian Au-thority, and will make both sides less ame-nable to compromise. The escalation in Gaza has also served also a grim reminder of the dire conditions under which both Israelis and Palestinians live. The current situation, where Israelis lack recognized borders, Palestinians lack national sov-ereignty and both lack essential security guarantees, is not sustainable. It is of the utmost importance that the U.S. leader-ship take clear and definite steps to re-sume and progress peace negotiations.

But for that to happen, the conver-sation about Israel and Palestine has to transform into one about real challeng-es, real people and real solutions. Prog-ress toward peace is currently stalled be-cause the conversation is broken, and the conversation is broken mainly because it has been warped by special interests with right-wing political agendas that are far out of touch with the mainstream Ameri-can Jewish community. Sheldon Adelson, who provided massive funds to the cam-paigns of both Mitt romney and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin netanyahu, is a firm opponent of a two-state solution and encourages an uncompromising approach

to the conflict. yet the American Jews for whom he claims to speak for overwhelm-ingly support a two-state solution. If we want the voice of reason to be heard in washington, then we have to organize and advocate.

That is precisely what J Street is all about. J Street, an organization that was founded to lobby for strong U.S. diplomat-ic leadership in bringing about a two-state solution, is a national movement with a new student chapter here at Brown. we’re oriented toward action both on campus and on a national level. to that end, we’ve joined with J Street U chapters across the country to deliver more than 8,000 post-cards to our members of Congress, each signed by a student who supports strong American leadership toward a two-state solution. we presented these to rep. Da-vid Cicilline ’83, D-r.I., to show the 113th Congress that this issue matters to us — and that the status quo is simply not ac-ceptable.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has long been one of the world’s most intrac-table and hopeless. we have the power to change that. All across the country, we are making our voices heard. our allies in Congress are advocating for our beliefs. we are building a new student movement. This is our time. Join us.

eli rosenthal ’16 is a member of J street u Brown, a pro-israel, pro-peace student

group, working to achieve a two-state resolution to the

israeli-Palestinian conflict.

doing our part for two states

american Jews overwhelmingly support a two-state solution. if we want the voice of reason to be heard in Washington, then we have to organize and advocate.

how can we reconcile the great variety at Brown, the variety that we bring to it, with a strong sense of

communal identity?

By eli rosenthalGuest Columnist

Claire Gianottiopinions Columnist

daily heraldthe Brownsports tuesday

tUeSDAy, DeCeMBer 4, 2012

By JaMes BluMSportS Staff Writer

The men and women of indoor track and field opened their seasons Saturday at the Alden Invitational in the olney Margolies Athletic Center, hosting the University of rhode Island, worcester State University, Monroe College, Bry-ant University and Providence College. Though the meet was not scored, Bruno had a successful showing with the men earning seven titles and the women capturing six.

“I was pleased with how well the team competed,” said tim Springfield, interim director of track and field. “I was happy with how well the first-year athletes did. A lot of new athletes came out of the gate at a very nice level.”

Among the new athletes, o’Sha williams ’16 and Josephine Darpolor ’16 stood out, not only winning their respective events — triple jump and shot put — but also setting personal records. williams soared 38 feet, lead-ing Bruno on a 1-2-3 sweep in the triple jump, and Darpolor launched the shot 46-9 ½.

Springfield said he was impressed with how well the jumpers and throw-ers did, considering the coaches in charge of their training had to be re-placed this fall.

“to see them come out in the first meet and perform so well, that was really encouraging,” Springfield said.

Lacey Craker ’13, co-captain of the women’s team, led her squad, winning the weight throw with a heave of 54-10. hannah wallace ’13 had a strong performance in the pole vault, captur-ing first place with a leap of 11-5 3/4.

on the men’s side, Kenneth Thomp-son ’13, co-captain of the men’s team, won the triple jump with 47-9. Sean Igelman ’14 won the pole vault, clearing a height of 14-5 1/4 and Peter rhodes ’15 captured first place in the long jump with a leap of 22-9.

“I think we ran really well,” said Sprints and hurdles Coach J.J. riese. “The purpose for veterans is to knock the rust off and get back into being competitive. And for the freshmen, to get the first meet under their belts.”

Both Springfield and riese praised hunter warwick ’15 for setting a per-sonal record of 8.48 seconds to win the 60-meter hurdles.

Springfield also said John Spooney ’14 “opened up really well.” Spooney, who holds the school record in the 60-meter dash at 6.79 seconds, won the same event on Saturday in 6.92.

tyler Benster ’13 won the title in the 800 with a time of 1:58.

Bruno continued to be strong on the track with tess Plant-Thomas ’13 putting forth an impressive perfor-mance to win the women’s 1000-meter run in 3 minutes, 2 seconds. The men’s and women’s 4x400 relay teams both won their events, in times of 3:25 and 4:07, respectively.

The Bears will next compete Jan. 12 at the Sorlien Invite hosted by UrI.

New indoor track opens with alden Invitational

By Bruno ZuCColoSportS Staff Writer

As a lifelong basketball player, Lauren Clarke ’14 doesn’t miss an opportunity to step onto the court. now in her third year with the Bears, Clarke, of Colts neck, n.J., has started in all but two games in her collegiate career. She won the team’s Coaches Award at the conclusion of last year and has continued her standout play in the early stages of this season.

Clarke has averaged an impressive 15 points per game through the sea-son’s first eight games. She scored 16 points in the second half against new hampshire Sunday to lead her team from behind to its third victory of the year. For her game-changing perfor-mance, Clarke is this week’s Athlete of the week.

Herald: When did you start play-

ing basketball?clarke: As long as I can remember.

I was always in gyms with my brother and my dad, and I started playing ac-tually on a team in kindergarten. In second grade, they didn’t have a girls’ team, so me and my friend both played on a boys’ travel team, and I think they were, like, a grade or two older than us. But that was my first team.

do you have any role models or

idols?I think my dad has helped me the

most. My whole family, but my dad pretty much was my coach. I would always play against my brother and with my sister on her team — she was older than me — and my mom had a huge part mentally. She taught me how to be mentally tough. My family has been my supporters.

What are you concentrating in?Beo (Business, entrepreneurship

and organizations). and what’s it like to balance bas-

ketball and schoolwork during final exams?

It’s tough, because it’s a very long season. But our team is very supportive. we help each other out

and figure out classes and work to-gether. we have some good advisors that we can talk to. one of our coaches went here, too, so she can relate to us. As long as you manage your time — you can’t wait until the last minute to do things.

How was this last game for you,

scoring 16 points in the second half?It was really good, just because it’s

our last game until after Christmas, when we come back from break. we came off of, I think, two or three losses before it, and it’s just really important for us to end on a good note, because now we have three weeks of practice before we go home, before the next game. we really needed to get that win, and leave on a positive note.

did you do anything different at

halftime?we were down by two, but we didn’t

score for the first ten minutes, and then we held them off to eight points after that, I think. we knew what we were capable of doing. we had 20 minutes to play and leave it all out there, and that’s it until after Christmas. That was our spark.

do you personally have any game

day superstitions or rituals?If it’s on a weekend, we’ll have a

shootaround — but we always have a pregame meal. And after pregame meal, I always take a nap and then go to the gym. I need my nap.

Is it true that your high school retired your jersey?

yeah, me and two other girls. and what’s it like to receive that

honor?It was just really cool for them to

recognize all our hard work and to have it be done with two girls that were my best friends was really cool.

What are you hoping for the rest

of the season?Just to keep this positive momen-

tum from this win and just staying positive and using these pre-season games to help us build and learn about ourselves. to get ready and prepare ourselves for the Ivy League, so hope-fully we can do really well.

Hoops star clarke ’14 naps, shoots, scores

By eMMaJean holleycontributing Writer

Sen. Paul Jabour, D-Providence, re-cently announced his intent to in-

troduce legislation that would increase the train-ing required to become an election poll worker.

The move comes after polling plac-es in Providence experienced long lines during november’s election, Ja-bour said. Some citizens in Jabour’s home district faced two hour waits before they could cast their votes, and the Juanita Sanchez polling place in Lower South Providence had waiting times of up to three hours.

Jabour said his legislation would require election workers to undergo more preparation to earn the neces-sary credentials. A more comprehen-sive training would allow workers to

handle many of the typical problems that crop up on election Day — such as long lines — allowing people to “vote in a timely manner,” Jabour said.

Because of the job’s importance, Jabour said he wants to ensure poll workers are handling it correctly.

“The (ballot) was essentially five pages long,” said Kathy Placencia, administrator of elections for the Providence Board of Canvassers. “ob-viously, it’s going to take some time for the voters to get through it.” Increased worker training might not have been helpful in this case, she said.

workers currently undergo a sin-gle poll training session before elec-tion Day. Jabour aims to expand this model to require two sessions each year, non-election years included. Af-ter two years, attendees would receive a certificate qualifying them to work the polls.

sen. looks to require more poll worker training

traCKathlete of the WeeK

Jonathan Bateman / herald

a standout guard from a basketball family, lauren Clarke ’14 led the Bears to a comeback victory over new hampshire on sunday.

sam kase / herald

sen. paul Jabour’s proposed legislation would increase poll worker training to address issues like the long lines seen at providence polls this year.

city & state