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deDaily Heraldthe Brown

vol. cxlv, no. 74 | Tuesday, September 21, 2010 | Serving the community daily since 1891

Community rallies for the DreAM ActBy Emma Wohl

Contributing Writer

With repeated cries of “Educa-tion, not deportation,” students gathered on the Main Green Monday at noon to voice their support of the DREAM Act, which is headed for a congres-sional vote this week as a part of a defense reauthorization bill.

The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act would give undocumented im-migrants who came to the United States with their families before the age of 16 a chance to obtain “conditional permanent resident

status” with an opportunity to be-come permanent legal residents, according to the bill.

Monday’s rally was orga-nized by the Brown Immigrant Rights Coalition and coincided with events all over the coun-try. “This is national. We are not just a small group of students,” Crystal Vance-Guerra ’11, one of BIRC’s members and a Her-ald reporter, announced to the crowd that gathered around the group’s small table. “This is ev-erywhere.”

In addition to repeated shouts of “Call your senator!”, organiz-ers asked students to join the two

carloads of people who are going to lobby Congress on Wednesday and walked around asking stu-dents to make video testimonials.

To qualify under the act, stu-dents must have earned a high school diploma or its equivalent, according to the bill. Additionally, they must acquire a college de-gree, complete two years of col-lege education or serve two years in the Armed Services within six years of obtaining residence in the U.S. The act will make it pos-sible for undocumented students to qualify for some financial aid

Ambassador talks past and present Korea-U.S. relationsBy FEi Cai

Senior Staff Writer

Both the history and current state of trade relations between the U.S. and South Korea point toward a strong friendship, Ambassador Han Duk-Soo told a full Pembroke Hall on Monday.

With the G20 meeting to be held in Seoul in November and the Korean-US Free Trade Agreement on the verge of approval, Han’s talk came at an important time.

Part of the Chong Wook Lee and Vartan Gregorian Distinguished Lecture series, Han’s lecture began with introductions by Director of the Watson Institute for Interna-tional Studies Michael Kennedy and Professor-at-Large William Rhodes.

“We have no better friend in Asia than Korea, and it has been proved again and again and again,”

Rhodes said, stressing the impor-tance of the U.S.-South Korea re-lationship.

Han, who has served as both South Korea’s minister of finance and its prime minister during his career, began his lecture with a bit of merriment. “As this is Brown,” he said, “I want to assure everyone here that my speech was printed on recycled paper and that no animals were harmed in the writing of it.”

The first part of his lecture was devoted to the history between the United States and Korea. Commu-nication first began between North Americans and Koreans 250 years ago in the ginseng trade. Ginseng was thought to have medicinal properties in East Asia and grew in abundance in North America. By 1860, Americans had invited ginseng growers from Korea to

City hosts competition for bridge designsBy Corina ChasE

Contributing Writer

The city of Providence is holding a design competition to choose the designer of the future pedes-trian bridge across the Providence River.

As a final part of the Rhode Island Department of Transpor-tation’s Iway project, the bridge

will connect the Fox Point and College Hill neighborhoods to the Jewelry District and downtown Providence.

State and city planners were unable to come to a consensus

on a design for the bridge and as a result decided to stage the competition, said Lambri Zerva, design project manager for the Iway relocation effort.

Interested firms and designers submitted their qualifications to the Department of Planning and Development on Sept. 17. The city will select ten finalists by Friday. The finalists will submit their bridge designs by Oct. 29, and the city plans to announce the design award by Dec. 3. Though the dates for the beginning and end of construction have yet to be decided, Zerva said he hopes the bridge will be completed by

Alum wins navajo pageant By aparna Bansal

Contributing Writer

Winifred Jumbo ’10 was crowned Miss Navajo Nation last week, a position she will hold for the next year. The competition was part of the Navajo Nation Fair, which was held Sept. 9–12 in Arizona.

As the new Miss Navajo Nation, Jumbo will work out of an office based in Window Rock, Ariz., and will travel around the world as a goodwill ambassador. She will also be involved in the upcoming presi-dential elections of the Navajo Na-tion by encouraging people to vote.

“I’m really honored and really excited to win,” Jumbo said.

Jumbo competed in a series of rounds over the week, including presentations of traditional and con-temporary skills and talents, eve-ning gown wear and an interview in which she was quizzed about the Navajo Nation by past winners and asked what she thinks it means to be a Navajo woman.

“In the Navajo Nation, it is gener-ally established that women can’t be leaders,” she said. “I think we can change that and show that is possible to have new views while also holding on to tradition.”

Jumbo grew up in the Navajo Nation, the largest Indian reserve in the United States. She said she is humbled to be able to represent her

nEWs, 2

Food Initiative

mEtro, 5 opinions, 7

Burger 2.0 Invest in UsHigh schoolers advocate healthier food in local stores

Better Burger brings new fast-food option to Thayer Street

Terrence George ’13 critiques Brown’s humanitarian efforts

Community supports flood victimsBy shanoor sEErvai

Contributing Writer

The devastating floods that struck Pakistan in late July and early August have spurred campus-wide efforts to fundraise for the flood victims and simultaneously increase awareness about Pakistan.Several student groups have come together to form the Pakistan Flood Relief Committee, including Paki-stani Students at Brown, the Mus-lim Students’ Association, the South Asian Students Associations from Brown and Rhode Island School of Design and the Brown International Organization.

President Ruth Simmons sent out a campus-wide e-mail on Sept. 8, informing students that responding to the floods in Pakistan would be on the agenda at the Brown Univer-sity Community Council meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 14. At the meeting, Matthew Gutmann, vice president of international affairs, addressed the council, drawing attention to “the context of tremendous inequality” in which the floods are taking place.

Areebah Ajani ’11 and Farrukh Malik ’11, co-presidents of Pakistani Students at Brown, addressed the council about the upcoming fundrais-ing and educational events.

Flood relief efforts include a fun-draiser on Oct. 1, featuring student talent and the screening of a Brown student’s documentary footage of

Glenn Lutzky / HeraldThe Ambassador of South Korea spoke to Brown students about the importance of trade relations with the U.S. on Monday night.

Stephanie London / HeraldThe design of the future pedestrian bridge linking College Hill to the Jewelry District and downtown will be announced by Dec. 3.

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George Miller, PresidentClaire Kiely, Vice President

Katie Koh, TreasurerChaz Kelsh, Secretary

The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is an independent newspaper serv-ing the Brown University community daily since 1891. It is published Monday through Friday during the academic year, excluding vacations, once during Commencement, once during Orientation and once in July by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Single copy free for each member of the community. POSTMASTER please send corrections to P.O. Box 2538, Providence, RI 02906. Periodicals postage paid at Providence, R.I. Offices are located at 195 Angell St., Providence, R.I. E-mail herald@browndailyherald.com. World Wide Web: http://www.browndailyherald.com. Subscription prices: $319 one year daily, $139 one semester daily. Copyright 2010 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.

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TUESDAy, SEPTEMBER 21, 2010THE BROWN DAILy HERALDPAGE 2

CAMpUS newS “Everyone in Providence should be able to … find healthy options.” — High school student Heaven Medina

profs. present ‘the immigrant paradox’By nataliE villaCorta

Contributing Writer

New research shows that immi-grant children are performing well both in school and in the commu-nity — a phenomenon coined the “Immigrant Paradox” by Professor of Education Cynthia Garcia Coll.

Garcia Coll teamed up with Pro-fessor of History Evelyn Hu-De-Hart from the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America to report these findings in “The Immigrant Paradox in Children’s Education and Behavior: Evidence from New Research.” Garcia Coll and Hu-DeHart also presented their findings at the Rhode Island Foundation on Sept. 16.

In their report, the professors stated that their goal is to change how immigrant children are viewed. They said they hope that these new data will incite policy-makers and educators to provide these children with the support they need to successfully integrate into American society.

The findings of this report were compiled from several studies at a conference held at Brown last spring. The conference looked at first-, second- and third-generation immigrants, focusing on Hispanic and Asian children.

The researchers found that first-generation immigrant chil-dren are outperforming the more acculturated second- and third-generation children academically and behaviorally. The study shows that although first-generation im-migrant children are often behind American-born peers in school, they catch up or even surpass them by the late-elementary years. First-generation children also have better attitudes toward school than second- and third-generation children, which has manifested in higher standardized test scores and GPAs for some groups. They also demonstrated lower levels of delinquency and involvement in risk behaviors.

Both Garcia Coll and Hu-De-Hart attribute this drop-off in per-formance of later generations to Americanization. By the second im-migrant generation, children have often lost their family’s language and culture. Garcia Coll said she believes that these language and cultural ties are important because they “maintain connections with family, which serves as a buffer to influences of American culture.”

Garcia Coll said that immigrant children are pressured to assimi-late quickly, which requires them to learn English, thereby creating

both a generation and language gap between the children and their parents, who do not acculturate as quickly. Garcia Coll said she has observed that Asian and Hispanic parents value education above all else and often have high moral standards. She sees a major need for ESL programs to teach these parents English so that they can communicate these values to their children.

Garcia Coll is currently working with President Ruth Simmons to start a program in an existing pre-school that serves both immigrant children and their mothers.

Brown students, who made up the majority of the audience at the presentation on Thursday, can help to foster the love of learning found in immigrant children by volunteer-ing in schools and teaching English as a second language, the profes-sors said.

Hu-DeHart said she hopes this research will give the Providence community “a newfound under-standing and respect for Brown” because it demonstrates that Brown cares about community is-sues such as education. She said she also hopes the research will incite educators and policymakers to change their attitudes toward immigrant children.

project puts healthy food in prov. storesBy JosEph rosalEs

Contributing Writer

An environmental group has spear-headed an initiative to make health-ier foods available at neighborhood grocery stores, in cooperation with a Brown summer program for high school students.

The Environmental Justice League of Rhode Island is putting the finishing touches on the Provi-dence Healthy Corner Store Initia-tive, which added a healthier variety of food to markets in Providence neighborhoods.

Together with the University’s Community Environmental College summer program, the environmen-tal league has worked since January to provide families with healthier foods.

In the project’s first phase, the environmental league discussed po-tential markets and surveyed cus-tomers about the changes they most wanted in their stores, according to the league’s website. The Commu-nity Environmental College became involved during the project’s more hands-on second phase.

The college was an eight-week summer program for Providence

high school students that was dedi-cated to teaching about environmen-tal issues and what can be done to solve them, said Allison Waters ’11, one of the program’s instructors.

“Our hope with this program was to not only give them knowledge, but get them engaged in these issues,” Waters said.

Together with four other Brown students and Amelia Rose, the en-vironmental league’s director and lead organizer, Waters helped teach 30 high school students about the issues that organizations like the league are trying to combat.

In classes like “Environmental Justice 101” and “Food Justice,” the students were taught the basics of environmental issues during a four-week period, Waters said. For the second half of the program, the students brainstormed ways to get involved in their community, even-tually settling on helping with the Corner Store Initiative.

Together with members from the environmental league and other vol-unteers, students and faculty from the environmental college traveled to two different markets in South Providence — Mi Quisqueya and New Battambang — and reorga-

nized the market layout, putting the more healthy options near the front of the store and leaving the junk food toward the back, according to a Providence Journal article.

“Everyone in Providence should be able to walk into a corner store in their neighborhood and find healthy options,” high school student and program participant Heaven Medina told Rhode Island Environmental News.

The initiative is currently in its third and final stage, an analysis and evaluation of the program, accord-ing to the environmental league’s website.

People involved with the pro-gram are proud of the results, not only with the boost in local grocer business, but also with the environ-mentally-friendly mindset that the students involved with the program gained, said Phil Brown, professor of sociology and environmental studies. Brown is also the outreach leader for the Superfund Research Program, the organization that funds programs like the environmental college.

“Once you’ve been involved in helping your environment, you begin to see other problems,” Brown said.

affected regions, Ajani said. The committee hopes to set up an art installation on the Main Green in early October, which will also sell Pakistani crafts and T-shirts to raise money for the victims.

“People always talk about cri-sis fatigue, but we are trying to make this an opportunity for them to learn and give back in a creative way,” Ajani said.

Ajani said that the Flood Relief Committee “wants to get as many students aware of the magnitude of the floods, and also give people and idea of what the country is in its full breadth.”

Malik added that door-to-door collections have been launched in residence halls.

The committee is currently screening relief organizations to determine whom they will give the funds to. They are looking for organizations with a long his-tory of working in Pakistan, Ajani said. They are also reaching out to several other departments and groups, collaborating with Paki-stani doctors in the New England area, as well as the Brown women’s basketball team.

Their first event is a teach-in on Sept. 24, spearheaded by Vazira Zamindar, associate professor of history. The two main goals of the teach-in are to educate people about Pakistan and to encourage students to think about global citizenship within the context of climate change, according to Zamindar. “There have been two types of reporting on Pakistan in U.S. media — the War on Terror

and violence against women. Peo-ple are not aware of its linguistic and cultural diversity. The teach-in is an opportunity to raise aware-ness about the millions of people in rural Pakistan who have been affected by the floods,” Zamindar said.

Furthermore, the floods are another indication that climate change takes the biggest toll on poor people in countries with au-thoritarian regimes, which are least equipped to deal with natural disasters, she added.

Faculty from a diverse range of departments have come forward to help with the teach-in, initiating a cross-disciplinary conversation which tests the challenges of glob-al citizenship and the concept of a shared humanity, Zamindar said.

The Flood Relief Committee hopes to organize another teach-in later this semester and to sustain efforts to raise awareness about Pakistan, Zamindar said. She is also working with the Choices Program, a Watson Institute for International Studies initiative, which provides teaching resources to schools nationwide to empower students to engage with interna-tional issues.

Along with the opportunity for education, the flood relief efforts are an opportunity for South Asian students to work together, learn from each other and build civil society leadership in the region, Zamindar added

“The goal is to depoliticize these floods,” Malik said. “Ultimately, a lot of poor people are dying, starv-ing and homeless and they are the ones we are trying to help.”

teach-in, other events to educate U. about pakistan

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CAMpUS newSTUESDAy, SEPTEMBER 21, 2010 THE BROWN DAILy HERALD PAGE 3

“The more things change, the more they stay the same.”— South Korean Ambassador Han Duk-Soo

cultivate it. Han also addressed U.S. aid

during the Korean War and sub-sequent economic growth in post-war South Korea.

“Today, Korea is a prosper-ous, developed democracy with the world’s 15th largest economy and a per capita income close to $20,000,” he said with pride. South Korea had a per capita in-come of less than $100 at the end of the Korean War in 1953.

Ultimately, Han steered his lecture toward the modern alli-ance between the U.S. and Ko-rea and North-South Korean relations. He informed listeners about the 2009 joint vision that Presidents Barack Obama and Lee Myung-bak signed, reaffirm-ing South Korea’s security against its northern neighbor.

To emphasize the urgency of the situation, Han also spoke about the March 2010 North Ko-rean attack on a South Korean naval vessel, which ultimately killed 46. He reminded the crowd of the Six-Party Talks initiative, which aimed to peacefully re-solve the North Korean nuclear weapon situation, that Kim Jong Il abandoned last year. Han said a resumption of the talks is still

a goal of Seoul. The end of Han’s lecture

highlighted the importance of the upcoming G20 meeting and the pending FTA approval by the U.S. The bilateral free trade agreement was negotiated during former President Bush’s second term and signed in 2007.

The KORUS FTA, as Han called it, was about three things: “jobs,” “economic growth” and “security and shared values.”

He said the Department of Commerce estimated the creation of 70,000 new jobs if the FTA is implemented. But if the agree-ment is not approved, the U.S. will lose more than 345,000 jobs to the European Union and Canada.

The U.S. International Trade Commission has estimated that the passage of the FTA will in-crease U.S. manufactured good exports by $11 billion, reduce the trade deficit by $4 billion and add $12 billion to U.S. GDP.

Han urged the U.S. to approve the agreement.

“The more things change, the more they stay the same,” he said in conclusion. “It was trade that brought our two countries to-gether some 250 years ago and it is trade that we are counting on to help keep us together for another 250 years.”

Modern U.S., South Korea relations reflect history

continued from page 1

and student loans. The organization of the rally

was a hectic process, said My Dang ’13, another member of BIRC. “We found out the bill was going to be introduced Thursday, and we start-ed organizing Friday.”

“So many people, even if they’ve heard of the DREAM Act, don’t know it’s going to be voted on this week,” said Madisen Obiedo ’12, who is a member of BIRC.

BIRC organizers asked pass-ersby to make phone calls to a long list of senators either opposed to or on the fence about the act. “People don’t realize that phone calls to your senator really make a differ-

ence,” said Vyvy Trinh ’11, another BIRC member who helped coordi-nate the rally.

At the rally, organizers also told the story of Tam Tran GS, who helped start BIRC in spring 2008. Tram, who was killed in a car accident last May, was herself an undocumented immigrant and an advocate for immigrant reform. She was an “amazing organizer,” Trinh said. Tran’s death inspired members of BIRC to continue her work to honor her memory, Trinh added.

“Tomorrow is a very impor-tant day for 2.2 million youth in America,” called out Antonio Albi-zures-Lopez, a Rhode Island native and recent high school graduate

who came to the U.S. at age one. Albizures-Lopez began working with a youth coalition affiliated with BIRC after meeting Tran last year, he said.

The rally ended with a famil-iar song, specially tailored for the occasion. “We are the dreamers, the mighty, mighty dreamers,” the crowd called out. “Fighting for jus-tice and the DREAM Act!”

BIRC’s efforts will continue re-gardless of how the vote turns out, said the rally’s organizers. Accord-ing to Trinh, there will be a teach-in on Oct. 3 to discuss immigration history and policy.

“BIRC knows that even after-wards, there’s so much more we hope to get done,” Dang said.

Students advocate immigrant billcontinued from page 1

people and her land. As Miss Navajo Nation, she said that she aims to en-courage more Native American stu-dents to pursue higher education, as well as prevent global indigenous language loss by working toward preserving, documenting and revi-talizing the Navajo language. Jumbo will visit local high schools around the Navajo nation and said she also hopes to visit China later this year, though no travel arrangements out-side the United States have so far been set.

At Brown, Jumbo was a double concentrator in ethnic studies and anthropology. She was also head of Native Americans of Brown last year.

“Being part of NAB gave me a new perspective on what it means to be Native American,” she said. Jumbo also said she is grateful for the strong support system that the group provided.

Jumbo ’10 to represent Navajos

continued from page 1

Courtesy of Lorraine Gould Last week Winifred Jumbo ’10 was crowned Miss Navajo Nation.

Why can’t we be friends?facebook.com/browndailyherald

Emma Wohl / HeraldStudents gathered to express support for the DREAM act, which is going to congressional vote this week.

MetroThe Brown Daily Herald

TUESDAy, SEPTEMBER 21, 2010 | PAGE 5

“It’s not just some hippie thing. This is real.”— Erin Smithers, Warwick resident

Burger restaurant brings ‘Better’ quality to Thayer St.By lEonardo moauro

Staff Writer

After much anticipation, Better Burger Co. finally opened its doors for business on Sept. 11.

The fast-food restaurant is the second burger joint to come to Thayer Street, following Johnny Rockets, which opened in 2000.

Better Burger Co. aims to com-bine quality ingredients and low prices, said George Panagos, the store’s manager. “If you look at our product list, it’s all the best we could use, without any com-promises for the taste.”

All meat served is free of hor-mones, antibiotics and gluten, he said.

He added that the company is environmentally conscious. “All our paperwork is biodegradable and compostable,” he said.

Plans to open the Better Burger Co. go back several years, Pana-gos said. “This (storefront) is two stores made in one — we got the first one and then had to wait 15 months for the other to empty out,” he added. The managers were only able to start working on the res-taurant after the second store was vacated, Panagos said.

Construction “didn’t really start” until January of this year, when the wall dividing the two stores was torn down, Panagos said.

He said the restaurant was ready to open during the summer, but managers chose to wait until the fall for business reasons. “Since we lost a season in June we decided to open in September — summers are pretty slow usually,” he said.

The interior of the restaurant is decorated by a series of murals portraying landmarks of College Hill and Providence’s East Side.

Andreas Mitrelis, owner of the restaurant, is not new to the busi-

ness. He opened his first burger restaurant in 1962, he said, and already owns other Thayer Street establishments, such as Spats and Andreas, a Greek restaurant.

Like Panagos, Mitrelis stressed the quality of the product served at Better Burger Co. “Everybody gets Black Angus, but ours is certified,” he said. “We fry our french fries in olive oil — it costs an extra seven cents to make, but it’s worth it,” he added.

The bustle of Thayer Street is not something to be ignored, Panagos said. “Thayer Street is very competitive, it isn’t like 20 years ago.” But he said he believes the Better Burger Co. fits a pre-viously-unoccupied niche in the neighborhood. “This has to be the most unique fast food restaurant in Rhode Island, maybe in New England,” he said.

Better Burger Co. and Johnny

Rockets are the only two restau-rants on Thayer Street known for their burgers. But Jason Suger-man, owner of Johnny Rockets, is not afraid of competition. “If there is more than one pizza place on Thayer, there can be more than one burger place,” he said.

Johnny Rockets is a family-owned franchise established in 1986 by Sugerman’s father. “People know who we are, I think we’re doing well and will continue to do well,” Sugerman said. He also re-marked that Johnny Rockets has more than burgers to offer. “Ev-erybody loves our milkshakes,” he said.

Though the Thayer Street location is the first to carry the Better Burger Co. name, manag-ers already have long-term plans to expand in New England, even in sub-optimal economic times. “We think that this is recession-

proof — because of the prices. We don’t target the high-end restau-rant crowd,” Panagos said, adding that Massachusetts is their next “target.”

For now, though, the main source of business for the restau-rant is college students, Panagos said. “There will be student promo-tions very soon,” he added.

Students who have already started frequenting the new res-taurant have had mostly positive experiences.

“The food was good,” said Max Lewin ’12. “The prices were rea-sonable, definitely not out of line for Thayer Street.”

But Nareg Aslanian ’11 said he was disappointed by his meal. “It was highly priced and I made a better burger at home,” he said. Aslanian said he enjoyed the in-terior, which “was nice — a good atmosphere.”

Day of peace comes to providenceBy annE artlEy

Staff Writer

Last Sunday, Kennedy Plaza wel-comed a host of international dance groups and humanitarian organiza-tions for the seventh annual Cele-bration of the United Nations Inter-national Day of Peace. The festival commemorates the opening session of the United Nations General As-sembly, though the U.N. passed a resolution in 2001 to name Sept. 21 the official day of peace.

Attendees also had the opportu-nity to visit with representatives from Habitat for Humanity, the American Friends Services Committee and the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence. Guests also tie-dyed T-shirts and created peace flags and peace pinwheels. At 5:00 p.m., par-ticipants took part in a silent walking meditation around Burnside Park, and the event ended with prayers from clergy of many faiths.

Ginny Fox, the event coordina-tor, said the event was established to promote an environment of peace in people’s lives and work, as opposed to protest war.

Through Fox’s dedication, the International Day of Peace grew from a small gathering at Providence Friends Meeting, a Quaker meeting house, to a month-long celebration across the city. Fox collaborated in the Peace Art Project, an exhibit at the University of Rhode Island run-ning until Sept. 30, and the peace-themed exhibition at Providence Art Windows, a community project that displays art year-round in empty re-tail areas. She also helped organize the youth show for Rhode Island for Community and Justice to honor Sept. 11.

Fox said she has found that Rhode Island residents are responsive to her work in creating a positive en-vironment.

“I’ve been here (to the festival) three times now,” said Erin Smithers, who lives in Warwick. “I’m a Quaker, and this is what we do. We all live in one world. It’s not just some hippie thing. This is real.”

“These days there is so much ven-omous rhetoric,” said Jan Seymour-Ford, a representative of Standing on the Side of Love, a Unitarian Uni-versalist group that works against identity-based violence. “And it’s important to have these events that stand for peace and dignity, and to be around people who feel the same way.”

Glenn Lutsky / HeraldBetter Burger Co. opened its doors Sept. 11, becoming the second burger joint on Thayer Street.

the end of 2013.Zerva said the project planners

hope the design competition will allow them to explore as many ideas as possible. After the highway is pulled down, “we want the area that remains to be something,” he said.

While project planners were considering the demolition of the old I-195 river crossing, they real-ized completely demolishing the bridge would cost about as much as constructing a new pedestrian bridge atop the five existing gran-ite supports, Zerva said. In its re-quest for design services, the city of Providence named a number of restrictions and suggestions for bridge designers. For example, the 450-foot bridge must include the five existing granite support piers as a central design element, provide adequate seating and gather-ing areas, and be wide enough for pedestrians, bicyclists, runners and

strollers to use at the same time. Designers are also encouraged to consider environmentally-friendly design elements in their planning.

A July 29 Providence Journal opinions column named three groups interested in submitting designs for the bridge: William D. Warner Architects and Planners, the Maguire Group and architects Jay Litman and Michael van Hamel.

Litman said that his firm, Litman Architecture, submitted a letter of interest to the competition.

Though he said the firm will not fully begin work on a design unless selected as one of the 10 finalists, he said he imagined creating an urban streetscape that would “be-come a destination” to residents of Providence and beyond. He sees the pedestrian bridge as “an amazing op-portunity” to create an extraordinary new architectural feature in Provi-dence. He named the Ponte Vecchio — a bridge over the Arno River in Florence — as a possible inspira-

tion. The Ponte Vecchio consists of an entire city street built over the water, and the 450-foot span of the Providence River Pedestrian Bridge might give designers enough room to construct a similar area, he said.

Litman described the city of Providence’s competition as less of a bridge design than an urban design competition.

RIDOT decided that the old interchange between I-95 and I-195 should be relocated south of Providence, following research and studies conducted between the mid-’80s and late ’90s. Zerva described a number of problems with the old interstate: traffic congestion, weav-ing, numerous and closely spaced on- and off-ramps, and deficiencies with existing bridge structures. The old interstate, Zerva said, was “well past its service life and design life.”

RIDOT then conceived of the Iway project, a series of 16 projects that would move the interchange of I-95 and I-195 to the south. Ac-

cording to the RIDOT website, all of the completed ramps in the I-95 and I-195 interchange will enter road-ways from the right hand side, in accordance with modern highway standards.

In 1999, designs were finalized and work on the Iway project be-gan. After almost a decade of con-struction, Zerva said all the major milestones of the project have been reached.

“The benefits are already being realized and have been realized for some time,” he said.

Iway project more than a bridge: ‘urban design’continued from page 1

editorial & LettersPAGE 6 | TUESDAy, SEPTEMBER 21, 2010

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letter to the editor

editorial

your parents may have warned you about bedbugs before wishing you sweet dreams as a child, but it turns out that recently, the threat of bedbugs has become a veritable nightmare. At Brown, no case of bedbugs has been reported on campus this year, ac-cording to Senior Associate Dean of Residential and Dining Services Richard Bova. But members of the editorial page board have heard stories of bedbugs in off-campus housing. And since most victims of bed-bug bites describe the ordeal as torturous, it’s worth discussing what we can do to keep our residence halls and apartments free from those terrible pests.

Bedbugs are tiny insects that feed on the blood of humans and tend to strike at night. During the day, they hide out in “cracks and crevices in mattresses, cushions, bed frames, in the folds of curtains, behind loose wallpaper or baseboards, and in clothing or other items on the floor,” Director of Health Services Edward Wheeler wrote in an e-mail to the editorial page board. The bite is painless at the time but a reaction — usually a series of swollen, red, itchy bumps — occurs the following day, he wrote.

Bedbugs are receiving a great deal of public-ity these days, as reports of infestations have risen sharply in several cities, including New york and Chicago. Inside Higher Ed reported bedbugs on the campuses of the University of Colorado at Boulder, Wake Forest University, Pennsylvania State University and New york University. Concerned about a large influx of students who tend to share and reuse old furniture, the city of Boston moved to action. During student move-in days in September, city workers stuck warning tags that cautioned of bedbugs to furniture

left in the streets, the New york Times reported. So what can we do here? To prevent bedbugs, we

recommend that students exercise extreme caution when buying used clothing, mattresses and furniture. While bedbugs can remain unseen, it is possible to check for signs of the insects by scanning items for tiny, dark bloodstains. Moreover, students who travel to major cities or other college campuses should make an effort to do laundry as soon as possible upon returning. This might seem like a hassle, but trust us when we say it’s a relatively minor precaution compared to the potential risks. Once they invade, bedbugs are notoriously difficult to exterminate.

According to Wheeler, one sign of bedbugs is that the bites tend to occur in rows. If you think you have bedbugs, Health Services advises that you wash and dry clothing and bedding on high heat. This will help kill the bugs, but you’ll likely need an exterminator to get rid of them entirely, Wheeler wrote. Students living in residence halls should contact the Office of Residential Life immediately if they think their rooms might be infested.

Even though the classic nighttime phrase seems innocuous, don’t be fooled — bedbugs are a very serious problem. As one traumatized victim told the Chicago Tribune about her experience, “It’s horrible. I haven’t slept in weeks.” The anecdotal reports we’ve heard indicate that this is probably an understatement. Let’s all do our part to keep this campus and this city bedbug-free.

Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.

editorial mischaracterized Banner oppositionto the Editor:

The Herald’s editorial celebrating Banner (“How we learned to stop worrying and love Banner,” Sept. 20) seriously misconstrues the aims of student activists like myself who invested time and energy to protect Brown’s unique curriculum from the threat of accidental trampling by what should have been a simple administra-tive update. I can only hope that future students will not be discouraged by the editorial’s uninformed account.

In many respects, I led the “op-position” to Banner. Our activism had nothing to do with Ludditism or an obsession with the status quo as a “cherished rite of passage.” We want-ed online course registration as much as anyone else. However, it could have been implemented in a way that mim-icked the existing system, which had supported shopping period and other aspects of the New Curriculum for many years. Even a cursory exami-nation of the resolution unanimously passed by the Undergraduate Council of Students would make it clear that we were seeking exactly this sort of online-but-supportive system.

I take offense at the idea that our activism is an example of how “stu-

dents just like (you) can get it wrong sometimes” — especially since the editorial seems to hold the very same views that motivated us. It enumer-ates, as if they were original, some of the same changes that we suggested prior to Banner’s implementation: pre-registration syllabus distribution and steps to facilitate shopping of multiple courses meeting at the same time.

The editorial notes that course overrides are “frequently granted,” reducing concerns about enrollment caps and prerequisites, but we would have kept caps and prerequisites out altogether. They had never been im-plemented before (outside of some very specific contexts), and there was no reason to implement them under the guise of technological progress. How is shopping period better off with generous overrides than with no need for overrides at all?

Finally, the editorial asserts that “Banner has no doubt improved the broader shopping and course selection experience,” but offers no support for that claim. I expect better-reasoned and better-informed editorials from The Herald.

matt Gelfand ’08Sept. 20

corrections

An article in Monday’s Herald (“Alum recognized for creative nonfiction,” September 20) incorrectly stated that Elizabeth Taylor is a professor of English. In fact, Taylor is a senior lecturer.

An article in Friday’s Herald (“Kathryn Schulz ’96: wrong is the new right,” September 17) misquoted Kathryn Schulz ’96. In fact, she said, “There are lots of complexities and nuances in our lives.” The Herald regrets the errors.

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TUESDAy, SEPTEMBER 21, 2010 | PAGE 7

opinionsThe Brown Daily Herald

In 1764, a group of Baptists founded the Col-lege in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Two and a half centuries later, we’ve changed the name and have few remaining vestiges of our former religious affiliation. The location of com-mencement, our motto and our seal are among the benign relics from earlier, more pious times. This is for the better.

Of course, the college’s name had to change. Those of you who have taken HIST 0510: “American History to 1877” will be aware of the obscure falling out between England and its American colonies. This would have made the name a bit awkward by 1777. The eventual name of Brown Universi-ty just sounds much better than the College of Rhode Island (as the original name had been shortened). Of course, this is just cos-metic. The real improvement was the move toward secularism. It was not as required by circumstances, but it was necessary for Brown to reach its full potential.

Many of Brown’s peers have the same dubious distinction of being founded by reli-gious sects. Calvinists and Anglicans found-ed most of the other Ivy League schools. These colleges, like Brown, have since shrugged off their religious affiliations.

A religious university is conflicted on a fundamental level. On one hand, a university is an institution of learning. Its primary goal should always be to discover new, unknown things about the world. It also serves two

other major purposes by teaching others to become the next generation to continue the endeavor (i.e. graduate school) and educat-ing the public (i.e. undergraduates).

On the other hand, religions are inher-ently based on dogma. They already have their fundamental knowledge. Religions will adapt to new knowledge to various extents, but if some result should contradict a core element of the religion, it will be ignored or dismissed.

Religious institutions range widely in quality. The universities and colleges that al-low for greater academic freedom tend to be better, and the ones that do not tend to be worse.

Liberty University is one example of an institution where religion is paramount and allowed to color everything on campus. Founded by Jerry Falwell, Liberty is the largest evangelical university in the world. Unsurprisingly, it teaches creationism and had one of the world’s most prominent cli-mate-change deniers give last year’s com-mencement address. Reality is of no concern to them. The university wishes to promote evangelical Christianity; the rest is just inci-dental. An ad for open biology positions in

the Chronicle of Higher Education required a “Ph.D. and compatibility with a young-earth creationist philosophy” for candidates.

Other religious schools are far less comi-cal. Georgetown is a Jesuit university, which despite its religious affiliation, is a decent school. This is because the religious ad-ministration does not intrude into academic life as much as Liberty’s does. The Catholic Church has given up its position that the sun revolves around the earth and that God cre-ated Adam a few millennia after yet-to-exist humans had already domesticated sheep. It has yet to give all of its ground to scientific evidence (what would be left?), but it has re-linquished its most untenable beliefs.

Nevertheless, this does not mean that more academic institutions are free from religion’s oppressive policies. They may re-alize that alums would be openly mocked without the separation of their religion from the academic side of the university, but they continue to interfere in the rest. For Brown students who spend their first year with a ready supply of 15-cent condoms on every RC’s door, it might be a shock to learn that Georgetown gives no such consideration to students’ sexual health. Outside of sub-Sa-

haran brothels, there are few places more in need of condoms than large universities. Unfortunately for both, the Catholic Church prohibits condoms and other forms of con-traceptives and protection.

Brigham young University is another re-ligious school, the flagship university of the Mormon Church. Over the summer, a stu-dent submitted a letter to the editor of the school’s newspaper. In it, the author pointed out the disconnect between what Mormons said to garner support for California’s Prop-osition 8 prior to the 2008 election and the evidence that proponents of the proposition gave during the trial. He called on Mormon supporters of “Prop 8 to be honest about their reasons for supporting the amend-ment.” It was at first rejected, then printed in an edited form, and finally withdrawn by the paper shortly after publication for being “offensive.” I can assure you that the content of the letter was far tamer and more reverent than this column.

This is the insidious nature of religious control over universities. The religious ad-ministration might allow for academic free-dom so long as it does not obviously conflict with its dogma, but if it does, you are in trou-ble. I am glad that Brown and its peer insti-tutions have, over time, decided to separate themselves from religions and become prop-er institutions of learning. 

David Sheffield ’11 is a math-physics concentrator who hopes that Brunonians

have thicker skin than BYU students. He can be contacted at

david_sheffield@brown.edu.

God and man at Brown

I started saving for college when I was three years old. Granted, I had no clue what col-lege was for, nor did I know where I wanted to matriculate, but I wanted to go to college. I was a toddler on a mission, and dollar by dollar, I knew I was drawing closer to my goal.

Sixteen years later, my goal-oriented thinking is helping me afford my educa-tion at Brown. I have found that only focus and dedication allow for the realization of dreams.

Brown turned out to be the realization of my dream, but of what does Brown dream? Moreover, have these dreams been real-ized? For guidance, I turn to the Charter of Brown University. The Charter clearly states that institutions of liberal education, such as Brown, are to benefit society by “preserving in the community a succession of men duly qualified for discharging the offices of life with usefulness and reputation.”

Given our many prestigious alums, I must conclude that the University has erst-while achieved its goal. But as the poorest and lowest ranked Ivy, I doubt it has been successful to the best of its ability.

Brown, like the rest of the country, has fallen on hard times. The recession caused the University’s endowment to lose $740 million in twelve months, which resulted in a $95 million dollar budget deficit. Predict-ably, the need to close the deficit has re-

sulted in wide ranging cuts. University pro-grams have suffered, a faculty and staff sal-ary freeze had to be implemented, cuts to varsity sports have been considered and the University was forced to terminate 90 em-ployees in the last 18 months.

Talk of cuts to athletics programs threat-ens to drive down prospective student inter-est in the University; cuts to programs and salary freezes make Brown less competitive with its peers and staff cuts leave students

with access to fewer and less effective ser-vices. This, coupled with a five percent hike to our already high tuition, means that Brun-onians are left paying the price for the down economy.

Amid complaints about aged, crumbling infrastructure, inadequate trash clean up, a lack of living space and a “critically under-resourced” international relations program, the University has chosen to deviate from the tenants of commonsense money man-agement by donating to and soliciting dona-tions to causes that have nothing to do with its students’ educations.

Following the unfortunate Rhode Island flooding this past spring, the University hast-ily cobbled together a “multifaceted relief ef-fort.” Included in this were the issuance of extra money to affected employees upon their request and the donation of $50,000 in University funds to the Rhode Island Flood Recovery Fund.

In the aftermath of the earthquake that struck Haiti this past January, a committee was created “to coordinate the University’s

ongoing response.” Why is this bad? Because despite the

good our dollars can do to relieve these dire situations, it comes at an even greater cost to the University. The tens of thousands of dol-lars spent on the Rhode Island flood clean-up could have been better spent on financial aid, paying a fired employee’s salary for a year, funding a fellowship or supplementing other initiatives germane to students’ educa-tion. In the case of our Haiti response, the money and time spent establishing a com-mittee and fundraising for the effort would have been better spent finding ways to re-

dress student complaints about campus life. Our donors are not bottomless piggy

banks and asking them to give money to Hai-ti in the name of Old Brown will not only di-vert their money from important educational initiatives but will sap their inclination to do-nate to Brown in the future. In short, the op-portunity cost of these humanitarian initia-tives greatly outweighs any benefit.

Though you may believe the University’s actions were just and even helped to teach students the importance of giving, you must admit that these actions came at no measur-able benefit to the University. Our efforts to be beneficent “global citizens” over the years have not been enough to stop the generation of anti-Brown measures, such as last year’s proposed student tax, nor will students not yet bitten by the charity bug be taught a les-son by the University’s magnanimity.

Mind you, my heart is not made of stone. I feel deeply for the victims of natural disas-ters and I hope that private individuals who can afford to donate do so. However, we must realize that the role of global humani-tarian is not the role a university should fill, especially at the expense of its students’ edu-cations.

As we prepare our response to the Paki-stani floods, it is time the University looks back at the Charter and refocuses on its goals. As I knew as a three-year old, pursuit of one’s goals is golden; perhaps Brown has forgotten with old age.

Terrence George ’13 knows a penny saved is a penny earned.

A lesson in responsibility

The opportunity cost of these humanitarian initiatives greatly outweighs any benefit.

A religious university is conflicted on a fundamental level.

By DAVID SHEFFIELDopinions coluMnist

By TERRENCE GEORGEopinions coluMnist

tuEsday, sEptEmBEr 21, 2010 PAGE 8

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