Daily
the Brown
vol. cxlvi, no. 49
Vandal
defaces
campaign
posters
By David Chung
Senior Staff Writer
An unidentified Caucasian male stu-
dent has been vandalizing the cam-
paign posters of candidates running
for positions on the Undergraduate
Council of Students, Undergraduate
Finance Board and Class Coordinat-
ing Boards, according to Ben Farber
’12, UCS vice president and a presi-
dential hopeful. The word “poly-slut”
appeared on campaign posters across
campus over the past few days, as
students began voting Tuesday for
next year’s leaders. It is unclear what,
if anything, the word means.
Elections Board Chair Anthony
White ’13 said he first came across a
defaced poster at 2 p.m. Tuesday and
sent an email to candidates that eve-
ning asking them to remain alert for
such “disrespectful and completely
unacceptable” behavior. White also
notified the Department of Public
Safety of the developments.
Farber witnessed the vandal
scribbling the phrase across post-
ers Tuesday. Though Farber con-
fronted the vandal, he did not ask
for his name. The vandal appeared
continued on page 3
RISK! conquers campus with first college show
Comedian Michael Ian Black headlined RISK!’s first college show last night.
news...................2-5
inside
editorial...............6
Opinions..............7
City & State..........8
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Despite Spring Weekend’s reputation for debauchery, many students skip the partying for quieter activities.
Hold the foam: passing on Spring Weekend
By claire schlessinger
Contributing Writer
For many, Spring Weekend heralds
a suspension of normal rules and
responsibilities before students
start to get serious about finals.
The weekend often stretches into
more of a week, starting with earlier
events like Wednesday’s Mr. and
Ms. Brown pageant and continuing
until the traditional Sunday after-
noon performance by Dave Binder
on Wriston Quadrangle. Students’
desire to drag out the festivities is
well-summarized by the popular
“bender till Binder” t-shirts.
But this bacchanal is not for ev-
eryone. The season brings many
other commitments, from competi-
tions to conferences to contempla-
tion to coursework — and some
students just choose not to go.
Hilary Rosenthal / Herald
Bad eggs
Contaminated baked goods
cause salmonella outbreak
Campus News, 3
Herald
Hell-raising on the Hill
“I don’t like the whole culture of
(Spring Weekend),” Brian Lin ’12
said. It “rubs me the wrong way that
there’s a week to waste yourself,”
he said.
Many students approach the
event with the attitude that they
are so stressed they “need a whole
feature
week to be shitfaced,” he said. Lin
recalled seeing a student during
Spring Weekend stumbling around
with her pants down, clearly a
“huge mess,” he said, adding that
it is hard to imagine how anyone
would not be “sickened” by the
sight.
Even the Encyclopedia Bruno-
niana politely refers to drinking
as “always a traditional part of
By Phoebe nir
Arts & Culture Staff Writer
“The story I’m about to tell is filled
with so many levels of shame, it’s
almost unbelievable,” said profes-
sional comedian Michael Ian Black
Wednesday night in MacMillan 117
before launching into a description
of a drug deal that took place at a
Buffalo Wild Wings. “I’m not even
sure why I’d want to divulge this.”
arts & culture
Black was a part of RISK!, a
live show and podcast that allows
people to share personal anecdotes.
The show, which was staging its first
college gig, was created by actor and
writer Kevin Allison. After sensing a
lack of honesty in his stand-up act,
Allison decided to make a forum for
people to connect by telling their
own true stories. RISK! is usually
performed in Los Angeles and New
York City, according to the show’s
website, and has featured many co-
Likely story
Admission letters ease
pre-frosh stress
campus news, 5
Herald file photo
Spring Weekend.” But students’ ex-
perimentation can take on a bolder
dimension. Students for Sensible
Drug Policy at Brown offers a test-
ing service to check the purity of ec-
stasy. The student group’s Facebook
event page reads “Spring Weekend’s
coming up. Crazy times often come
with some colorful pills.”
Lin said he feels as though this
“week of insanity is a tradition” that
encourages many people to partake
because they feel it is permissible.
Ivayla Ivanova ’11 did not go
to Spring Weekend her first two
years at Brown. When she went
for the first time last year, she said
she got a headache from the smoke
around her, though the concerts
were outdoors. In general, the smell
of pot “hits me in the head,” she
continued on page 2
medians such as Sarah Silverman.
“RISK! is about throwing your-
self into the water — going out on
a limb,” Allison said.
Hosted by the comedy club Out
of Bounds, the show featured first-
person tales deftly delivered by
professors and students, as well as
Allison and Black.
The only requirement for the
stories was that they relate, how-
ever loosely, to this show’s theme
of education. What emerged was an
eclectic mix of stories that were both
playful and poignant, such as one
about the wisdom Adam Weinrib
’12 gleaned from a bean-dip-loving
Texan cabbie and one about mis-
haps with a stubborn frog in biology
class recounted by Connie Crawford,
adjunct lecturer in theater arts and
performance studies.
All of the stories were charming
and provocative individually, but
the real fun of the show was seeing
where they all intersected. Craw-
continued on page 4
weather
No ROTC
A socialist’s take on
the ROTC debate
opinions, 7
Since 1891
Bill would
limit access
to abortions
in R.I.
By Morgan Johnson
Staff Writer
A bill passed in the state Senate
last Tuesday would make Rhode
Island’s health care exchange one
of the most restrictive in terms of
abortion access.
Called for under federal health
care reform, health care exchanges
are intended to provide an easy
framework to compare and pur-
chase private health care plans.
Ideally, the exchange would im-
prove health care coverage, expand
access, promote competition and
city & state
reduce costs.
But Tuesday’s last-minute
amendment, added to the state bill
by Senate President Teresa Paiva
Weed, D-Jamestown and Newport,
would prevent women from pur-
chasing insurance plans that cover
abortions through Rhode Island’s
exchange. Women would instead
have to buy separate coverage for
abortion.
Yesterday, state legislators in the
House took up a version of the bill
without the controversial amend-
ment.
“I signed on when it was a clean
version of the bill,” said Sen. Rhoda
Perry, D-Providence. Perry chairs
the Senate Health and Human Ser-
vices Committee, which approved
the bill before it went to the Sen-
ate floor. After learning that the
bill’s language places more severe
restrictions on abortion access than
the federal law does, Perry voted
against it.
Perry said she feels the legis-
lation will particularly affect the
state’s poorest women.
Other government officials
have also come out against the
amendment, including Gov. Lin-
coln Chafee ’75 P’14 and Lt. Gov.
Elizabeth Roberts ’78. Roberts
leads the Rhode Island Health Care
Reform Commission, which aids
the state in implementing health
care reform. “She felt the language
was unacceptable,” said Roberts’
spokeswoman Maria Tocco.
Under an eleventh-hour com-
promise that paved the way for pas-
sage of the federal legislation, pri-
vate plans offered on the exchanges
may cover abortion, but no federal
funds can pay for the procedure.
Pro-life interest groups that
continued on page 8
t o d ay tomorrow
61 / 39 53 / 36
2 Campus News The Brown Daily Herald
Thursday, April 14, 2011

calendar Students opt out of Spring Weekend

Today April 14 ToMORROW April 15
continued from page 1 was not particularly enthusiastic Technology),” said Rakesh Patel ’13,
5 P.m. 3:30 P.M. about some of the other artists. who will not be attending any of the
SPEC Day Carnival, “Thoughtfulness,” said. Though she said she still en- “TV whatever,” she said, referring weekend’s events. “Sunlab dude?
Main Green Gerard House 119 joyed the weekend, she wished the to Friday night headliner TV on Yeah, dude,” he said. “It’s gonna
administration would better regu- the Radio. be wild.”
7 p.m. 7:30 p.m.
late marijuana use at the concerts Almost 40 students from Brown He said he “never even gave
ROTC Then ROTC Now: Opposing “TV on the Radio” Concert, to make the experience tolerable will attend Power Shift, a national (Spring Weekend) a thought” be-
Militarism on Campus, Wilson 105 Meehan Auditorium for students sensitive to drug use. climate change conference in cause he would “rather be in the
The Contemplative Studies Ini- Washington, D.C., this weekend. CIT programming shit.”

menu tiative is offering meditation re-

SHARPE REFECTORY
LUNCH
Vegan Nuggets with Dipping Sauce,
Vegan Tacos, Chicken Milanese,
Apple Turnovers
DINNER
Tortellini Angellica, Grilled Boneless
Marinated Pork Chop, Sunny
Sprouts, Carrot Cake
Sudoku
VERNEy-WOOLLEY DINING HALL
Ginger Chicken Pasta, Eggplant
Parmesan Sandwich, Gingered
Sugar Snap Peas and Carrots
Meatloaf with Mushroom Sauce,
Artichoke and Red Pepper Frittata,
Asparagus with Pecorino, Carrot Cake
treats Saturday and Sunday called
“Staying Grounded on Spring
Weekend.” The workshop is part
of a regular series of events, but
this year it happened to coincide
with Spring Weekend, said Harold
Roth, professor of religious studies
and East Asian studies and direc-
tor of the initiative. The event is
for students who do not want to
participate in Spring Weekend or
for students who want to attend
Spring Weekend with the “tools
to participate in an intentional”
and “more grounded way,” he said.
The workshop — which is filled to
capacity with 60 registered partici-
pants, 44 of whom are students —
should enable attendees to enjoy
the weekend without having to “al-
ter consciousness” with “excesses
and chemicals,” he added.
‘Bigger than Spring Weekend’
Other students would have
liked to attend the concerts and
surrounding activities but had con-
flicting commitments.
Jamison Kinnane ’12 will not
be able to attend the festivities be-
cause she is on the Brown Mock
Trial team, which is participating in
this weekend’s national tournament
in Iowa. She said she would have
The four-day conference is only
held once every two years, whereas
students “can technically party ev-
ery weekend,” said Gina Roberti
’14, one of the students who is help-
ing to organize Brown attendees.
The conference “is going to be
just as fun” as Spring Weekend with
speakers, concerts and workshops,
said Jacqueline Ho ’14, the other
organizer.
The chance to recharge the en-
vironmental movement on campus
is “bigger than Spring Weekend,”
she said.
Kevin Deemer ’11 is going to the
annual music festival Coachella in
California this weekend instead of
staying on campus.
In a message to the Herald,
Deemer wrote he has “mixed feel-
ings” about missing “one of the
most fun weekends of the year.” But
he said he felt there is “no compari-
son” between Spring Weekend and
Coachella, which attracted many of
the performers students were hop-
ing to see. The California event will
have hundreds of thousands of at-
tendees and upwards of a hundred
performers, including Kanye West,
Arcade Fire and the Strokes.
All the hype
“Everyone knows the real par-
Graduate students may also
choose not to participate because
they are not as connected to cam-
pus life as undergraduates. Dave
Fossum GS, a first-year doctoral
student in ethnomusicology, said
he had not heard of the events. “I’m
sure after this weekend I’ll know
what Spring Weekend is,” he said,
adding he might be interested in
going — especially as someone who
studies music — after checking out
who is playing.
During his freshman year, Mi-
chael Tackeff ’12 did not know any
of the bands performing and felt
tickets were expensive, so he de-
cided to forego the concert. Instead,
he “just chilled in Keeney” where
he was “alone in the dorm,” he said.
After the first night’s concert,
Tackeff said he decided not going
“was a huge mistake” and unsuc-
cessfully tried to get tickets for the
second night. When friends came
back to the dorm raving about the
experience, Tackeff said he realized
Spring Weekend was “more a social
experience.”
Brown Concert Agency Booking
Chair Abby Schreiber ’11 said the
event is a “celebration of Brown
and of each other.” She added that
because Brown is not a huge sports
school, it is hard to generate real

across to bear liked to see Diddy Dirty Money but ty’s in the (Center for Information school spirit any other way.
This year though, the weather

Daily Herald
ACROSS resourcery by eshan mitra ‘12 the Brown may interfere with some students’
1 Pot, for one plans.
5 Still up in the air
8 Safe___ Residents of dorms on the
(nighttime www.browndailyherald.com Main Green receive free tickets to
transportation
convenience) 195 Angell St., Providence, R.I. the concerts when they are held
12 Breakfast
purchase on Ben Schreckinger, President Matthew Burrows, Treasurer outdoors, so many chose not to
Thayer Sydney Ember, Vice President Isha Gulati, Secretary buy tickets online. Hope College
13 Some Keats
works The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is an independent newspaper serving the resident Ben Laur ’14 said he had
15 Memorable
experience Brown University community daily since 1891. It is published Monday through Fri- been planning to attend at least the
16 Wood-shaping day during the academic year, excluding vacations, once during Commencement, once Friday concert with the free access,
tool during Orientation and once in July by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Single copy free
17 Ingredient in a for each member of the community.
but because of the BCA’s rain call,
healthy muffin Laur is now without tickets.
recipe POSTMASTER please send corrections to P.O. Box 2538, Providence, RI 02906.
19 Land unit Periodicals postage paid at Providence, R.I. The decision to hold the con-
20 When Brown Subscription prices: $280 one year daily, $140 one semester daily.
Puzzle Club certs indoors is “kind of annoying”
meets Copyright 2011 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.
because it might not even rain, he
21 Home to a well- editorial Business
respected dining said, adding that outdoor concerts
establishment (401) 351-3372 (401) 351-3360
26 Allot herald@browndailyherald.com gm@browndailyherald.com
provide a “much more fun envi-
27 Oodles ronment.”
31 Pause words
34 Shakespeare king
35 Frodo’s home, 65 One of over 24 Quarter of 48 Dole out
with “the” 700,000 on a CD a Brown 49 Problem
36 Game where you DOWN education 50 Give a
can find the starts 1 Slytherin 25 “No ___ sideways looks
to 17, 21, 47, and member who around!” 51 Start of “The
56-Across shares his name 27 “Eureka!” Night Before
40 Attachment to with a snake 28 Word on some Christmas”
21-Across constellation free apps 52 General who
41 Newport is on 2 Like N64 29 Like some fought on
one games and text language Endor
42 Golfer Ernie adventures exams 53 Sherwood
43 Prefix with 3 Enforced, as the 30 What the 4 in Forest resident
semiquaver law 42 represents Robin
44 Have a farm, say 4 “___ that’s too 31 Cheap way to 54 Brainstorm
47 Game where you bad.” buy textbooks output
party members 5 What Mater from 32 Lolcats, for one 57 Animation
can die of cholera “Cars” does 33 Science- frame
51 Free handouts at 6 News source oriented 58 Fish in a fish
some events since 1866 ADOCH pond
55 Java keyword 7 Party site on component 59 Awesome
that can follow an Wriston 35 Odor
if clause 8 WoW and DnD, 37 Pod prefix
56 Subject of a e.g. 38 Scandinavian
question in a 9 In a rage capital
children’s rhyme 10 Latin-American 39 Spanish
59 Boolean variable explorer? dessert
option 11 TV award 44 Benzene
60 Plant that soothes 12 Green aliens’ substitution
burns master in “Toy that’s not meta
61 Certain chocolate Story” or para
cookie 14 ___ Ste. Marie 45 “___ will!” (“You
62 Sexy caller 18 ___ Aviv can count on Solutions and
63 Drink contianing 22 Candy Land us!”) archive online at
carbonic acid princess 46 Wonderfully acrosstobear.
64 Quarterback 23 General Robert handsome wordpress.com
Manning ___ 47 Soldier of Email: brownpuzzles
Sauron @gmail.com
The Brown Daily Herald
Thursday, April 14, 2011
UCS hears update on Salmonella breaks out in R.I.
MyCourses evaluation
continued from page 1
slightly “embarrassed,” Farber said,
but remained firm about his actions
and expressed frustration about the
posters’ placement across campus.
“Everyone has a voice. I do too,” the
perpetrator told Farber.
UCS Student Activities Chair Ra-
landa Nelson ’12, who is also run-
ning for president, said a friend saw
the individual vandalizing posters in
Metcalf Hall yesterday afternoon.
“I’m going to beat his ass,” Nelson
said at the UCS general body meet-
ing last night, eliciting laughter from
the council’s members.
Catherine Zabriskie, director of
academic technology services, and
Gillian Bell, Computing and Infor-
mation Services project manager,
also spoke at the meeting about the
Learning Management System Proj-
ect. The project, which began in the
fall, aims to evaluate MyCourses,
gather community feedback and
recommend a new online platform.
The team received 767 student
responses, 234 faculty responses
and about 15 staff responses to an
online survey, Zabriskie said, and
concluded MyCourses is “ineffec-
tive on student communication and
group projects.”
The project team is seeking a
learning management system with
a “straight-forward navigation ap-
proach” capable of supporting on-
line chatting, multiple platforms
and foreign languages, Zabriskie
said. The team is also interested in
incorporating Google and Banner
capabilities into the new system to
provide a “one-stop shopping” site.
Four system vendors have been
invited to campus, Bell said, and un-
dergraduate and graduate students
have been involved in listening to
and reviewing their presentations.
The team is evaluating potential
learning management systems based
on price and flexibility, among other
factors.
Zabriskie said the team will test
potential systems in the Sharpe Re-
fectory April 20 during lunch. The
team hopes to make a recommenda-
tion to the University by early May,
reach a decision by early June and
implement a pilot program next year.
The council, in cooperation with
the Brown Democrats, also intro-
duced a resolution supporting the
passage of the “Opportunity RI”
legislation in the Rhode Island
General Assembly. The bill aims to
keep college graduates in the state
by providing tax credits to pay back
student loans.
The bill has received bipartisan
support in the legislature and on
campuses statewide, said Jeremy
Feigenbaum ’11, president of the
College Democrats of Rhode Island.
Campus News 3
By Elizabeth Carr
Staff Writer
Johnston bakery voluntarily closed
March 25, according to a Depart-
ment of Health press release. Calls
found when DeFusco’s Bakery was
last inspected April 23, 2010.
“Foodborne outbreaks are rela-
As of Wednesday morning, 75 cas- to both of the bakery’s locations tively common,” Beardsworth said.
es of salmonella had been reported revealed that the numbers are out “What’s unique about this outbreak
as part of an outbreak centered at of service. is the number of people who are
DeFusco’s Bakery in Johnston and According to the Food Es- ill, the percentage of young people
Cranston, according to Annemarie tablishment Inspection Report, who are ill and the percentage of
Beardsworth, spokeswoman for ready-to-eat pastry shells used for people that are being hospitalized.”
the Rhode Island Department of zeppole, eclairs and cream puffs Twenty-nine victims — about
Health. Of the 75 people who con- were stored in egg cartons, which 40 percent of those infected —
tracted salmonella, two have died, could potentially contain salmo- were hospitalized due to the ill-
and two are still in the hospital, nella bacteria from the eggs. Other ness.
Beardsworth added. violations included sinks that were Beardsworth also noted that
The outbreak came to the atten- not easily accessible and properly the deaths of the two individu-
tion of the Department of Health supplied to ensure that employees als cannot be officially traced to
March 25, when 15 patients at the washed their hands, equipment salmonella. Though they had eat-
West Shore Health Center, a nurs- and utensils that had not been en baked goods from DeFusco’s
ing home in Warwick, fell sick and properly sanitized, food that was Bakery and tested positive for
tested positive for salmonella. The stored on the floor and accumula- salmonella, there was no physical
Department of Health searched the tions of dirt and debris. Many of evidence linking their deaths to
kitchen at the nursing home but the same violations had also been the bakery, she said.
did not find anything that would
cause the illness and began to look
at what food had been brought into
the nursing home.
The nursing home had ordered
zeppole, an Italian pastry, from
DeFusco’s Bakery as a part of a St.
Joseph’s Day celebration. Investiga-
tors “found significant violations of
the food code” at the bakery upon
inspection, Beardsworth said, and
DeFusco’s was closed that day. All
food products from the bakery
were recalled.
Several victims are currently in
the process of filing suit against the
bakery for medical expenses, neg-
ligence and pain and suffering. The
4 Campus News
RISK! explains meaning of life
continued from page 1
ford and Will Ruehle ’13— who
co-organized the event along with
Jamie Brew ’12, a Herald contribut-
ing writer — told stories about how
they were both forced to perform
euthanasia on small animals. Nina
Mozes ’08, Weinrib and Black all told
Dr. Bear | Mat Becker
Dot Comic | Eshan Mitra & Brendan Hainline
stories featuring prepared meats.
Allison, Crawford and Black all ref-
erenced hallucinogenic mushrooms.
RISK! packages storytelling, the
oldest art form in the world, for the
Internet age — it is snappy, funny
and tongue-in-cheek without sac-
rificing the sincerity that has always
been the key to capturing imagina-
comics
The Brown Daily Herald
Thursday, April 14, 2011
tions. It is the hybrid you might get
if you bred a Lolcat with a lion.
Members of the audience might
have come for some laughs, or may-
be a sighting of Black, but they left
with much more — by the end of
the evening, they had witnessed a
Frankensteinian construction about
the meaning of life.
The Brown Daily Herald
Thursday, April 14, 2011 Campus News 5
‘Likely’ letters preempt admission cycle
By Nick Lourie show an early interest in students early October, a week and a half
Contributing Writer of high academic potential, Miller after mailing in her application. She
said. These letters normally are sent said the letter allowed her to contact
While most Brown applicants suffer in February and March. other schools that were recruiting
through months of anxiety before Recruited athletes Alexa her, freeing up spots for other stu-
finding out if they have been admit- Caldwell ’11, who plays women’s dent athletes.
ted, approximately 300 students lacrosse, and football player Kyle “The recruiting process brought
each year — about one-fifth of an Newhall-Caballero ’11 both re- about a lot of uncertainty, so when I
admitted class — learn of their ceived likely letters. received a likely letter I felt a sense
pending acceptances in advance Caldwell received her letter in of relief,” Newhall-Caballero said.
through “likely” letters, according
to Jim Miller ’73, dean of admission.
Like many other schools, Brown
sends letters informing prospective
students they are “likely” candidates
for admission before official accep-
tance decisions are released. “You
can assume your likely status means
you will be admitted to Brown if
you maintain your current record
of achievement,” one such letter in-
formed an applicant in 2010.
About half of all likely letters
mailed by the Office of Admission
are for athletes.
Schools initially began sending
likely letters in response to pressures
to recruit student athletes earlier
in their high school careers, said
Michael Goldberger, director of
athletics. The athletic recruiting
schedule has never matched the
regular admissions schedule and
athletes are often asked to commit
to schools before regular applica-
tions are due.
Likely letters for student athletes
are typically sent out beginning
Oct. 1 — the earliest allowed by
Ivy League recruiting agreements.
Student athletes need to weigh
scholarship and other admission
options earlier than most students,
and likely letters to athletes are
“driven by external forces to Brown’s
calendar,” Miller said.
A significant portion of incom-
ing recruits — about 40 to 50 per-
cent every year — receive these
letters, Goldberger said. But the
University also sends likely letters
to promising applicants in order to
6 Editorial & Letter The Brown Daily Herald
Thursday, April 14, 2011

Editorial Editorial comic b y a l e x y u ly

Do not target legal
immigrants
A committee in the Rhode Island State Senate heard a bill late last
month that would require businesses with at least three employees to
use E-Verify, an online database that checks a job applicants’ eligibility
to work in the United States. The bill is meant to discourage businesses
from hiring unauthorized workers — in other words, it is an effort
to crack down on the hiring of illegal immigrants. In light of Rhode
Island’s current economic difficulties, the state should ensure that legal
residents and authorized workers receive the jobs that are available,
said state Sen. Marc Cote, D-Woonsocket and North Smithfield, the
legislator who proposed the bill, in an April 7 Herald article.
But the system’s ability to correctly identify unauthorized workers
is highly suspect. Overall, the system is about 96 percent accurate,
according to a 2010 report by an outside firm contracted by U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services to study E-Verify’s accuracy.
But it is only successful half the time at doing what it is supposed to
do — identify potential hires who are not allowed to work in the U.S.
About 54 percent of the unauthorized workers checked by E-Verify were
given the green light to be hired, possibly due to the use of fraudulent
documents by unauthorized workers.
In this light, Gov. Lincoln Chafee’s ’75 P’14 decision to do away
with former Gov. Donald Carcieri’s ’65 policy of using E-Verify for
all state job applicants is commendable and highly sensible, and we
agree with Chafee’s spokesman’s characterization in last week’s Herald
article of E-Verify as a “divisive tool.” Why roll out a system that has the
potential to alienate Rhode Island’s legal immigrant population when
it fails to consistently accomplish its ostensible purpose?
letter to the editor
The proposed legislation comes at a time when the topic of how the
state handles illegal immigration is especially sensitive. The Providence More can be done to prevent pedestrian accidents
Journal reported last week that Attorney General Peter Kilmartin
brought Secure Communities — a controversial program that checks To the Editor: For a small and relatively closed campus, the number
the information of all people who are arrested and booked by law- of pedestrian-car, car-car and car-bicycle accidents is
enforcement agencies against a federal database to see if they should Last year, I was crossing Charlesfield Street and saw unbelievably high. The student that I saw hit was lucky
be deported — into effect in Rhode Island at the end of March without that there was a car far down the road. When I reached that the driver had been safe and responsible and going
any public announcement. Providence asked to opt out of Secure the sidewalk, another student passed me, about to cross. below the speed limit, knowing that there were students
Communities, but according to an assistant director of the program, Without thinking, I turned knowing that this car was around. But we have all seen the cars racing down Thayer
all local law-enforcement jurisdictions must share their information approaching, just in time to watch the student be struck Street while students are walking around at night. Also,
with the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. by the right front side of the vehicle. Having been the on College Hill there are not enough crossing lights, and
Secure Communities in particular carries with it a high risk of racial only witness, I was asked for a report from Brown and the crosswalks are often faded, which makes them less
profiling and producing fear and distrust of the local police. Along Providence police. After speaking to the Brown Depart- conducive to use and harder for drivers to see.
with E-Verify, another attempt to more seriously enforce federal im- ment of Public Safety officer, he explained that a huge Students should feel safe not only in their dorms, but
migration law, this program contributes to a climate of hostility toward part of the problem with pedestrian accidents is that anywhere on campus. Although drivers being reckless
people who are not perceived as Rhode Island’s own. The reality is that Brown police have no jurisdiction over traffic laws and is not preventable, there are obvious changes that the
nearly 12 percent of the state’s population is Hispanic or Latino, and are therefore not able to protect students and drivers to University needs to make so that this chain of accidents
almost 13 percent was born in another country, according to last year’s the best of their ability. He believes in the Brown police, is cut. Unfortunately, too many accidents have happened
census. Out of those that are foreign-born, nearly half are now U.S. who are always on campus and have the sole interest and and the changes will be retroactive, but something must
citizens. As Rhode Island and the rest of the country attempt to find purpose of maintaining the safety of Brown students. be done so that students can maintain confidence that
ways to enforce immigration law, let us aim to do so effectively and At George Washington University, where I went before the school is doing its best to keep them safe.
fairly, without promoting the discrimination or exclusion of people transferring to Brown, campus police liberally gave out Beyond what Brown can change, we all have to be
who are, in fact, our own. large tickets to students for jaywalking. Students were as careful as we can. I implore that everyone look away
obviously outraged but proceeded to stop jaywalking. from your phone, your iPod or your friend when you
Even in a large city where there are far more cars driving are crossing the road. The students hit on Friday night
Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board. Send comments far faster, students on campus were much safer because were being careful and were hit by a reckless driver. If
to editorials@browndailyherald.com. they were more aware of their surroundings since they you have a car on campus, learn from these events and
did not want to pay $100 for not crossing at the crosswalk. be wary that students are not always checking both ways
Campus police were also able to stop drivers not obey- and may not be in the right mind when walking around.
ing traffic rules, which enabled students to walk around
t h e b r ow n da i ly h e r a l d campus and feel safe. Molly Chambers ’11.5

Editors-in-Chief Deputy Managing Editors Senior Editors

Sydney Ember
Ben Schreckinger
Brigitta Greene
Anne Speyer
Dan Alexander
Nicole Friedman
quote of the day
“Everyone knows the real party’s in the CIT.”
Julien Ouellet
editorial Business
Kristina Fazzalaro Arts & Culture Editor General Managers Office Manager
Luisa Robledo Arts & Culture Editor Matthew Burrows Shawn Reilly
Rebecca Ballhaus City & State Editor Isha Gulati
Claire Peracchio City & State Editor
Talia Kagan
Hannah Moser
Features Editor
Features Editor
Aditi Bhatia
Directors
Sales — Rakesh Patel ‘13, on his Spring Weekend plans
Danielle Marshak Finance
Alex Bell News Editor
Nicole Boucher News Editor
Margot Grinberg
Lisa Berlin
Alumni Relations
Special Projects See spring weekend on page 1.
Tony Bakshi Sports Editor
Ashley McDonnell Sports Editor Managers
Ethan McCoy Asst. Sports Editor Hao Tran National Sales
Tyler Rosenbaum Editorial Page Editor Alec Kacew University Department Sales
Hunter Fast Opinions Editor Siena deLisser University Student Group Sales
Michael Fitzpatrick Opinions Editor Valery Scholem Recruiter Sales
C O R R E C T I O N S P olicy
Jared Davis Sales and Communications
Graphics & Photos Lauren Bosso Business Operations The Brown Daily Herald is committed to providing the Brown University community with the most accurate information possible. Corrections may be
Abe Pressman Graphics Editor Emily Zheng Business Analytics submitted up to seven calendar days after publication.
Alex Yuly Graphics Editor Nikita Khadloya Alumni Engagement C ommentary P O L I C Y
Stephanie London Photo Editor James Eng Special Projects
Hilary Rosenthal Photo Editor The editorial is the majority opinion of the editorial page board of The Brown Daily Herald. The editorial viewpoint does not necessarily reflect the views of
Arjun Vaidya Special Projects
Nick Sinnott-Armstrong Photo Editor The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Columns, letters and comics reflect the opinions of their authors only.
Webber Xu Special Projects
Jonathan Bateman Sports Photo Editor L etters to the E ditor P olicy
Post- magazine Send letters to letters@browndailyherald.com. Include a telephone number with all letters. The Herald reserves the right to edit all letters for length and clarity
Production
Kate Doyle Editor-in-Chief
Dan Towne Copy Desk Chief and cannot assure the publication of any letter. Please limit letters to 250 words. Under special circumstances writers may request anonymity, but no letter will
Gili Kliger Design Editor BLOG DAILY HERALD be printed if the author’s identity is unknown to the editors. Announcements of events will not be printed.
Anna Migliaccio Design Editor David Winer Editor-in-Chief
advertising P olicy
Katie Wilson Design Editor Matt Klimerman Managing Editor
The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. reserves the right to accept or decline any advertisement at its discretion.
The Brown Daily Herald
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Changing the debate on ROTC: a socialist’s perspective
By Luke
Lattanzi-Silveus
Guest Columnist
In the debate over whether the Reserve Of-
ficers’ Training Corps should return to cam-
pus, the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
policy is usually given as an answer to the
question “why now?” This is not the real rea-
son, as ROTC’s history shows.
ROTC came into existence in 1916, part
of the United States mobilization for World
War I. It was designed to be an officer-pro-
ducing institution for the U.S. Army, which
it remains to this day. Between the wars, it
gained its place on many college campuses
to put the resources of universities at the dis-
posal of the military training program.
In 1964, the ROTC Vitalization Act was
passed. This act required that military in-
structors be given the status of professor,
without the instructors or course material
being subject to review by the faculty or any
other university body. And indeed, many
ROTC courses would not survive such scru-
tiny, then or now. One need only look at the
subjects of some offerings, such as “Army
Values” or “Warrior Ethos” to realize that
they are more focused on indoctrination
than education.
It is also important to note that American
ground troops were deployed in Vietnam
the year after the ROTC Vitalization Act was
passed. The increase in the resources given
to ROTC — the act also provided financial
aid to enrollees — was part of the buildup to
the Vietnam War.
The Brown faculty voted to take away
ROTC’s academic status in 1969, at the
height of the protests against the Vietnam
War. Officially this was because of the ab-
sence of accountability concerning military
course content, but the timing is no coinci-
dence. Students and faculty were fed up with
this unjust war, and as a part of their protest,
they demanded the military organization of
ROTC be removed from campus. Students
and faculty across the country opposed the
war and, in many cases, burned down the
Let us make this a referendum on American imperial
wars and our intervention in the Middle East, which most
Americans today oppose.
buildings that housed the ROTC programs
on their campuses — including the ROTC
building at Kent State, which was burned
down during the protests that led to the
shooting of unarmed students by the Na-
tional Guard in May 1970. ROTC was finally
fully expelled from Brown’s campus in 1972.
What does this brief history show us?
First, that ROTC was expelled from cam-
pus because of its lack of accountability and
role in the prosecution of the Vietnam War
— not because of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Its
repeal does not therefore address the rea-
sons for which ROTC was expelled in the
first place. The U.S. military is still engaged
in unjust wars around the world, and the
ROTC curriculum still answers only to the
Opinions 7
higher ranks of the armed forces.
Second, it shows that ROTC’s expansion
is directly connected to the expansion of
American intervention abroad. For the past
decade, the United States has pretty steadily
increased its involvement in foreign coun-
tries — notably by invading them. This is the
real reason there has been such a push for its
reinstatement now. President Obama needs
a military that is perceived as legitimate to
help justify the continued occupations in
Iraq and Afghanistan and the many other
acts of American intervention around the
world. This also helps justify the president’s
request for $881 billion for the 2012 defense
department budget while public sector jobs
and wages are being cut everywhere due to
a budget deficit. Giving legitimacy to ROTC
by bringing it back to campuses is part of
this effort.
Having ROTC on campuses also grants
the military concrete access to the intellectu-
al and scientific resources of academic insti-
tutions. The University would be providing
its facilities to the vocational training that is
ROTC, as the only use of ROTC courses is to
join the military. You will notice that no oth-
er organization gets to have its own cours-
es and access to University institutions and
It’s your right —
use it now.
Write opinions for The Herald.
students. And quite rightly so — the idea of
having courses run by Bank of America or
Shell frankly appalls me. In bringing ROTC
to our campus, the powers that be are trying
to make us and our University complicit in
the wars by giving the military special privi-
leges and resources to which it has no right.
By opposing ROTC, we send a clear and
powerful message that we are against the
wars and against militarism in general. To
keep it off campus, we need to show the ad-
ministration and ROTC itself that we do not
want it back. We need to do more than just
debate this in The Herald or the Sharpe Re-
fectory — we need to take collective action
and make our opposition visible. I ask ev-
eryone who opposes ROTC, for any reason,
to rally against it!
Other campuses have failed to block
ROTC’s return, in part because University
administrators, eager to please their political
patrons, have artificially limited the debate.
Let us make this a referendum on Ameri-
can imperial wars and our intervention in
the Middle East, which most Americans
today oppose, according to recent national
polls. If you stand against our occupations in
Iraq and Afghanistan, come out and oppose
ROTC. There will be a rally against ROTC in
the near future — keep an eye out for it. I’ll
be there. Will you?
Luke Lattanzi-Silveus ’14 is a proud mem-
ber of the International Socialist Organiza-
tion and would love to be contacted at
luke_lattanzi-silveus@brown.edu
for more information about ways to get
involved.
Daily Herald City & State
the Brown
Homelessness on the rise as R.I. economy lags
By Katherine Long
Staff Writer
Wilma Smith was only 17 years
old when she first became home-
less. She was no longer eligible
for the Massachusetts foster care
system and did not have an apart-
ment or a place to go.
“Even though I’d received a
scholarship to Duke University, I
had a child and so going to school
wasn’t an option,” she said.
Instead, Smith lived in shelters,
with friends and on the streets
for four years, until she received
public housing assistance from
the Boston Housing Authority.
Even then, her housing was
not secure. Seven years after she
moved in, her building was sold.
The new owners turned her out of
the apartment, and Smith moved
to a women’s interim shelter in
Pawtucket.
“The roughest part about
being homeless was giving up
early on my dreams,” she said.
“The roughest part about being
a homeless mother was knowing
what needed to be done to take
care of my children but not having
the services or the ability to get
to that point.”
Due to the recession, Smith’s
experience has become more
common, with more Rhode Is-
landers homeless this year than
last.
A steady increase
Experts say the number of
homeless children and families
has increased over the past five
years. But precise figures are dif-
ficult to obtain because of varia-
tions on how “homeless” is de-
fined and changes in reporting
methods.
Last week, Rhode Island Kids
Count released its annual fact-
book detailing the economic, psy-
chological and educational status
of the state’s youth. That data re-
veals high numbers of homeless
children and families, many of
whom are without a home for the
first time due to the economic
downturn.
“In 2010, we sheltered 109
women and children. In 2009, we
sheltered just under 80,” said Jen-
nifer Barrera, program manager
at Lucy’s Hearth, a transitional
shelter for homeless women and
their children in Middletown.
But the number of people in
shelters alone does not give a full
picture of the level of homeless-
ness.
Rhode Island public school
personnel, who are required by
law to identify homeless children
and provide them with transpor-
tation and other assistance, esti-
mate that 44 percent of home-
less children are in shelters while
42 percent stay with relatives or
friends, 10 percent stay in hotels
and 4 percent remain unsheltered.
Changes in the needs of the
state’s homeless are placing new
strains on shelters.
“Families have to stay longer
in shelters because there’s less
affordable housing on the other
end,” said Stephanie Geller, a pol-
icy analyst for Rhode Island Kids
Count. “This makes it difficult
for shelters to provide adequate
services.”
Barrera said more mothers rely
on the agency’s program for all
of their daily needs. In the past,
“moms pretty quickly learned to
budget money and pay off their
bills. Now moms aren’t able to
achieve some of the program
goals,” she said.
These state trends reflect na-
tional statistics. A March 6 “60
Minutes” report found that 16
million Americans were homeless
in 2010, up from 14 million in
2008. That report also noted the
increasingly long-term nature of
homelessness.
But experts believe homeless-
ness in Rhode Island may not be
as bad as in other states.
“There are some reports from
a couple years ago suggesting that
Rhode Island was above average,”
Geller said. Since then, the state’s
homeless problem has likely got-
ten worse, she added.
Connected causes
Unemployment, lack of afford-
able housing and reduced govern-
ment assistance — ­ brought on by
the economic downturn ­­— are
making it more difficult than ever
for homeless families.
State unemployment rates have
been declining for 11 months,
according to the Department of
Labor and Training, but Rhode
Island still struggles with double-
digit unemployment. In February,
the state’s unemployment rate was
11.2 percent, the highest in New
England.
“The high unemployment situ-
ation in Rhode Island definitely
has contributed to the increase of
homeless families and children,”
said Jim Ryczek, executive direc-
tor of the Rhode Island Coalition
for the Homeless. He added that
the availability of affordable hous-
ing in the state is below average.
The average cost of rent in
Rhode Island increased by 56
percent between 2000 and 2010
— from $748 to $1,165 — far out-
pacing national growth. Rhode
Island has the highest percent-
age of households spending more
than 30 percent of their income
on rent, according to Kids Count’s
factbook.
Rhode Island has the highest
foreclosure rate in New England.
Between January 2009 and De-
cember 2010, there were 4,738
foreclosures in the state, which
amounts to a loss of $5.6 billion
in wealth, according to a March 1
Providence Journal article.
In 2008, Rhode Island shel-
ters saw a 300 percent increase in
homelessness due to foreclosures.
Over one-third of Rhode Island
foreclosures are of multi-family
rental units, which, when closed,
can cause two to three families
to lose their homes, according
to Ryczek.
“Rhode Island had a non-
tenant friendly policy, where the
landlord didn’t have to notify
tenants by law that the property
was being closed on,” Ryczek said.
“You heard stories of landlords
collecting rents up until foreclo-
sures.”
But in 2009, the federal gov-
ernment passed the Protecting
Tenants at Foreclosure Act, which
specified landlords must give
tenants at least 90 days notice of
foreclosure.
Decreasing government aid
The Neighborhood Opportu-
nities Program, a state-funded
program for affordable housing
established in 2001, orginally sub-
sidized both development and op-
eration of affordable housing. But
since 2008, due to budget cuts, the
program only subsidizes rents for
families with very low incomes,
neglecting the development of
new affordable housing.
Also, the program is a fund-
as-you-go initiative that requires
representatives to vote every year
on its existence. Rhode Island is
one of nine states without a dedi-
cated fund for affordable hous-
ing, according to the Kids Count
factbook.
In July 2008, the state changed
the name of the Family Indepen-
dence Program — which offered
up to five years of monetary,
housing, transportation and ed-
ucational assistance to pregnant
women and adults with children
— to the Rhode Island Works
Program. The change came with
eligibility restrictions and a two-
year time limit for cash aid.
In August 2010, shelters saw a
dramatic spike in the number of
families seeking assistance after
their final Family Independence
Program aid packages expired,
according to Ryczek. He said shel-
ters generally see an increase after
the holiday season, when families
lose their housing or feel they can
no longer rely on friends’ charity.
“Simply put, Rhode Island
Works doesn’t work,” Barrera
said. “The program now has
requirements that some parts
of the homeless population just
can’t meet.”
Some of the women in Lucy’s
Hearth can only read at a fourth-
grade level, according to Barrera.
“As a result of the state’s high un-
Abortion bill passes Senate
continued from page 1
were disappointed with the federal
law’s abortion provisions lobbied
Paiva Weed forcefully to include
the amendment, Perry said.
“It’s a back-door ban,” said Kate
Brock, executive director of the po-
litical advocacy group Ocean State
Action. Brock said the abortion
provision of the state bill appears
similar to the federal abortion
amendment, but actually forces
women to buy additional abortion
coverage. Little demand exists for
such coverage because women do
not generally plan for abortions,
employment, they’re forced to
compete for RI Works approval
and for jobs filling your coffee at
Dunkin’ Donuts with people who
have master’s degrees.”
Barrera also noted that home-
less families have practical con-
cerns that make it more difficult
for them to qualify for govern-
ment aid than low-income fami-
lies on the brink of losing their
housing.
“To apply for housing, you
need all sorts of documents,”
said Smith, the formerly home-
less mother. “When you’re home-
less, you tend to lose those sort of
things moving from one place to
another carrying your life on your
back. It creates this sort of vicious
cycle, where to escape homeless-
ness, you really need a reliable
place to store your possessions.”
The budget strikes a blow
Gov. Lincoln Chafee ’75 P’14
unveiled his proposed $7.66 bil-
lion budget March 8, which would
address the state’s $331 million
shortfall by cutting funding to
some departments and increas-
ing taxes.
Chafee proposed reducing the
sales tax from 7 percent to 6 per-
cent and imposing new taxes on
currently exempt items like over-
the-counter drugs, haircuts and
car repairs. He also proposed a 1
percent sales tax on other previ-
ously tax-exempt items including
clothing, heating fuel and water
for residential use.
Chafee emphasized that in-
stead of cutting services, his
budget focuses on restructur-
ing departments to make them
more efficient. But, he said in an
address to state legislators, “at
the end of the day, I urge you to
recognize that we simply cannot
continue to fund our current level
of services.”
Advocates for the homeless
are troubled by many aspects of
Chafee’s budget.
The budget would trim $60
million from the state Depart-
ment of Health and Human Ser-
vices, which is on track to grow
by $96 million between 2008
and 2012. The Department of
Children, Youth and Families, a
sub-department of Health and
Brock said.
Some believe the amendment
does not do enough to break ties
between abortion and govern-
ment. “I can assure you the pro-
life community does not consider
this as any sort of victory,” said
Barth Bracy, executive director of
Rhode Island Right to Life. “The
language merely prevents the abor-
tion industry from gaining the full
amount of the windfall they had
anticipated.”
But opponents argue the lan-
guage adds unnecessary specificity
to the bill, which is meant to be a
blueprint for a future exchange.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Human Services, would have its
budget cut by $13.6 million under
Chafee’s proposal.
More recently, Chafee pro-
posed cutting the Neighborhood
Opportunities Program from the
budget. Rhode Island Housing,
a quasi-public agency that relies
on federal funding, should pay
for the $1.5-million program in-
stead, he said at a March 20 press
conference.
Experts agree that cuts to pro-
grams and agencies that address
homelessness would be more of a
blow to the homeless community
than sales tax changes.
“Mental health services, sub-
stance abuse services, family
counseling, life skills courses,
parenting classes. … Not having
these services available is an open
invitation to repeat the cycle of
homelessness. You can’t just give
people housing, although that’s
unarguably the most important
step,” Smith said.
But Chafee has taken a positive
step by reviving the Interagency
Council on Homelessness, ac-
cording to Ryczek. The Council
is charged with figuring out how
state agencies can work together
most effectively to tackle home-
lessness.
Common ground
Smith is now pursuing a mas-
ter’s degree in case management
at Rhode Island College. She has
four children, the oldest of whom
is a student at Job Corps. It has
been 14 years since she was last
homeless, but she said the experi-
ence still feels recent.
Smith rejects the perception
that it was an entirely negative
stage in her life.
“Sure, there are people in the
homeless community who can
tear you down with things like
substance abuse,” she said. “But
there are also people who are re-
ally supportive. … I couldn’t have
escaped homelessness without my
friends.”
Homelessness should not be
treated as “an unfortunate stig-
ma,” Barrera said. “It’s the people
pouring your coffee at Dunkin’
Donuts. It’s the receptionist at
your doctor’s office. It’s the kid
on your school bus.”
Brock said the amendment dam-
ages Rhode Island’s reputation as
an innovator in health care.
Similar amendments to ex-
change bills concerning abortion
have already come up in Virginia,
Utah, Missouri, Mississippi and
Florida, Brock said. Should the bill
pass in its current form, Rhode Is-
land would be the first decidedly
blue state to approve language pre-
venting exchanges from offering
plans that cover abortion.
“We’ve taken strong steps. We
have tremendous leaders in health
care,” Brock said. “To take a step
backwards is a horrible precedent.”