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KicK it!The football team came up one kick short in its season opener

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deDaily Heraldthe Brown

vol. cxliv, no. 70 | Wednesday, September 23, 2009 | Serving the community daily since 1891

Musharraf reflects on Pakistan’s pastBy alExandra UlmEr and

sUzannah wEiss

Senior Staff WriterS

Former president of Pakistan Per-vez Musharraf said India poses an “existential threat” to Pakistan to a packed Salomon 101 Tuesday night. His wide-ranging speech touched on nuclear proliferation, the Talibaniza-tion of Afghanistan and the challenges of leadership.

The crowd of students and faculty who came to see the political leader speak overflowed into Sayles Hall, where a simulcast of the speech was screened.

Musharraf, who took office after a coup in 1999 and led Pakistan until he resigned in August 2008, spoke for about 45 minutes. A question-and-an-swer session moderated by Associate Professor of International Relations Nina Tannenwald followed.

Flanked by the Pakistani and American flags, Musharraf greeted the crowd — which included a re-porter from Pakistan’s 24-hour news channel, News One — with a military salute.

He then delved into an overview of Pakistan’s recent history and its relations with bordering countries and with the West. He also discussed threats posed by the region’s extrem-ist groups.

The epicenter of terrorism —

which Musharraf called one of the world’s prime challenges — is located in Pakistan and its neighboring coun-tries, he said. Regionwide extremism requires a systemic, durable and mul-tifaceted solution, he added.

“Don’t be stuck in the short-term solution,” he said. “Go for the root.”

Poverty and disparity drive extrem-ism, he said, citing the alienation of Muslim youth in India and illiteracy in rural Afghanistan. “Pakistan is a victim of terrorism and extremism,” he added.

These issues require a broader

approach than military action can provide, the former general said. “Military will not provide peace alone,” Musharraf said.

But Musharraf maintained that military force along the border with India remains crucial for Pakistan, which Musharraf said faces an “exis-tential threat” from its neighbor.

Pakistan’s current forces — and nuclear arsenal — on the border are purely defensive, he said. Musharraf acknowledged the countries’ frayed

Coolidge ’01 named new Muslim chaplainBy lUisa roBlEdo

Staff Writer

During his sophomore year, David Coolidge ’01 converted to Islam. A decade later, he has come back to his alma mater prepared to offer guidance to students as the new Muslim chaplain.

“I see myself as someone who wants to be a resource for all mem-bers of the community,” Coolidge said. “Faculty, staff and students — I’m here to respond to their needs.”

Rumee Ahmed, the University’s first Muslim chaplain, left in the spring of 2008 to pursue a tenure-track position at Colgate University. The search committee immediately thought of Coolidge, said the Rev. Janet Cooper Nelson, University chaplain. But Coolidge had just ac-cepted a position as Muslim adviser at Dartmouth and originally turned down the job.

“Dartmouth was one of the best jobs I ever had,” Coolidge said. “I was able to do all the things I was passionate about,” he added, in-

cluding practicing religion “in the context of an actual job.”

But the Dartmouth position was only short-term. After a year’s wait, the search committee ap-proached him again, and this time he accepted.

“For me, a big part of coming back to Brown was the remem-

U. to offer new Ph.D. in biology By alicia dang

Staff Writer

Beginning next year, graduate students studying computational molecular biology will be able to officially work toward a Ph.D. in the field. The new program, created by the Center for Computational Molecular Biology, draws from four disciplines: ecology and evolution-ary biology, applied mathematics, computer science and biology.

Since its founding in 2003, the CCMB has been working to make the program a reality. The Corpo-ration approved the initiative last May, according to a press release, and its first participants will start next fall.

The program’s curriculum will be “integrated across (the four) departments,” said Sorin Istrail, professor of computer science and director of the CCMB.

Students will focus on genomics, Istrail said, “using biology (and) computational methods to create models, understand life sciences, transform knowledge and validate conjectures.”

Forming the program was no easy task given the number of de-partments involved, Istrail said. Getting them to agree took some work, he said, adding, “We had to fight intellectually with them.”

But the work was worth it, he said, and it brings to Brown a “true hybrid world-class program in the new era.” The interdisciplinary approach — which students will experience from the start — will “create scientists and professors in the future that are world experts in this area,” he said.

The program will star t out small, with just three or four stu-dents each year, Istrail said. These students are expected to “be strong in both biological and computer sciences,” he said, but program par-ticipants will still have the chance to improve in the areas in which they might not be as strong.

“We will look at their under-graduate background as a model of how they need to be prepared,” he said.

Besides conducting research projects on genomics, the program will also strengthen undergradu-ate education, with Ph.D. students working as TAs in undergraduate classes, Istrail said.

Undergraduates will have the chance to participate in the pro-

Max Monn / HeraldDavid Coolidge ’01 is the Univer-sity’s new Muslim chaplain.

A square of voices, shape-note group growsBy alicia chEn

Staff Writer

About 30 students, faculty mem-bers and Providence residents gathered in the Steinert Choral Room last Thursday.

The singers sat in a square — one voice part on each side — fac-ing each other, with the song lead-er standing in the middle. They had no audience but themselves as they filled the room with hearty a cappella renditions of traditional Christian spirituals.

“Sweet is the day of sacred rest/ No mortal cares shall seize my breast/ O may my heart in tune be found/ Like David’s harp of solemn sound,” the group sang, as Assistant Professor of Music Kiri Miller led the warm-up.

During the school year, a group congregates every Thursday eve-ning for Sacred Harp singings, which are also known as shape-note singings. The music uses a special notation with notes of dif ferent shapes. Miller leads

Brown’s chapter, which she cre-ated when she arrived at Brown three years ago.

Miller first learned about Sa-cred Harp while at a “hippie” high school in Vermont, she said. She later went on to make it the topic of her graduate thesis and of her book “Traveling Home,” which was published last year.

Shape-note singing started in the United States in 1798 as a way to help people read

music, Miller said. Instead of fol-lowing the shape of traditional mu-sical notes, the head of each note is a different shape depending on its pitch — making it easier for singers to sight-read the music.

Sacred Harp refers to both the human voice and the main tune-book used by groups today. “The texts are really beautiful, archaic Christian poetry,” Miller said, re-ferring to the songs’ lyrics.

Unlike traditional music groups, Sacred Harp does not have

Kim Perley / HeraldStudents lined up to hear former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf speak. Brown IDs and a security check were required for entry.

Sydney Ember / HeraldMusharraf spoke and answered questions for over an hour.

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FEatUrE

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sudoku

Stephen DeLucia, PresidentMichael Bechek, Vice President

Jonathan Spector, TreasurerAlexander Hughes, Secretary

The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is an independent newspaper serv-ing the Brown University community daily since 1891. It is published 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 members 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 2009 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.

Editorial Phone: 401.351.3372 | Business Phone: 401.351.3260Daily Heraldthe Brown

WEDNESDAy, SEPTEMBER 23, 2009THE BROWN DAILy HERALDPAgE 2

CAMPUS newS “Becoming a Muslim made sense with what I wanted in life.”— David Coolidge ’01, Muslim chaplain

any rehearsals or concerts. Every singing is a unique event. Some singers attend every event, but oth-ers only come once. Sacred Harp has shaped its music and its format around the idea of being accessible and welcoming to anyone.

Though students participating in Sacred Harp can earn half a course credit, Miller estimates that only around five people actually register each semester.

While the unusual musical group is not yet well-known, “I definitely see it growing,” Miller said, adding that she has observed more college students participating across the nation.

The unique American tradition has resurfaced in more mainstream ways, compelling some to pick up Sacred Harp tunebooks.

“I first heard of Sacred Harp when I saw the movie ‘Cold Moun-tain,’” said Marianna Faircloth ’10, a returning singer.

The powerful sound that just a few Sacred Harp singers can create may come as a surprise to other

vocalists.“People are encouraged to sing

with their full voice,” Miller said.The atmosphere at singings is

laid back and relaxed, Miller said. “No one is there saying, ‘You’re not singing the right note,’” Miller said. The singers themselves take turns leading songs.

“The music itself is wonderful,” Faircloth said. “It’s unlike anything else.”

“We sing for each other,” said Lynne deBenedette, a senior lec-turer in Slavic languages and a long-time Sacred Harp enthusiast.

The strong sense of commu-nity is also one of Sacred Harp’s main appeals. “I think I got really hooked when I went to one of the conventions last semester,” Fair-cloth said.

After an hour, the singers took a brief break to eat cookies and chat with each other.

“It’s like no singing that I’ve ever done before,” said newcomer Emily Walsh ’13 as she enjoyed a snack. “There’s no practicing. There’s no thinking. You just come and do it.”

gram, too, researching with gradu-ate students and faculty, he said.

Along with the seven faculty members who are already working with the center, five new profes-sors will join specifically for the new program.

So far, four of the five positions have been filled. Istrail is joined by Professor of Applied Math-ematics Charles Lawrence, Pro-fessor of Computer Science Ben Raphael and Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Daniel Weinreich.

“The University gives high priority to the program,” said Is-

trail, citing the research and study space given to the program on the second floor of the Thomas J. Watson, Sr., Center for Informa-tion Technology.

Funding policies for the pro-gram’s Ph.D. candidates will be similar to other University’s grad-uate programs, with fellowships funded by the Graduate School in the first year and grants earned by professors in subsequent years, he said.

Istrail’s enthusiasm for the ini-tiative is shared by the program’s other professors.

“The promise of this program is one of the reasons I came to this school,” Raphael said. “For

graduate education, a dedicated Ph.D. program is very important.” Raphael will teach some of the specialized computational biology courses in the program.

Until now, there has been no formal program on computational biology within ecology and evolu-tionary biology, Weinreich said. Knowledge gained by studying computational biology will give “an important intellectual frame-work” to ecology and evolutionary biology and “put the problems in evolutionary context” — exploring “how different genomes or organ-isms are historically related,” he said.

“This is an exciting opportu-nity (for Ph.D. students) to gain exposure to diverse disciplines,” Weinreich added.

“It’s great. I’m interested from an environmental standpoint,” said Sarah Rosengard ’11, an en-vironmental sciences concentra-tor, adding that the research in computational biology plays an important role in determining the “future distribution of species and understanding natural changes.”

“I’m interested in knowing where (the program) goes,” Rosengard said.

Program unites departments for new Ph.D.continued from page 1

Casual choral group gains momentum, voices

continued from page 1

relationship, adding that he has the “dubious distinction” of fighting two of the three wars between them.

Though the two countries came close to settling their disputes dur-ing his presidency, the relationship remains tense, he said.

“I am a man of war, but I am a man for peace,” Musharraf said, adding that he understands the “ravages” of war.

“That’s why I am for peace,” he said.

In addition to instability, devel-opmental problems abound in the region, said Musharraf, who drew laughter with his remarks about eco-nomics jargon.

“There is a tendency to compli-cate our economies,” he said, adding that he often reacts to economists with the question, “Why are you

confusing me?” Reflecting on his time as president,

Musharraf addressed the qualities a leader embodies and the ways stu-dents can integrate these qualities into their careers.

Musharraf said the primary role of a Third World political leader is “to ensure the security, progress and development of the state for the well-being of the people.”

A leader can gain a following through fear, but it is better to be relatable to subordinates, he said, adding that “your people must love and respect you and never be scared of you.”

The lesson which he has drawn from years in power during the conflict between India and Paki-stan, he said, is that “a compromise for the bigger has all the positive connotations.”

“Boldness to give,” Musharraf

said, is the most important quality of a leader. “An agreement implies give and take. It cannot be take and take.”

Musharraf, whose speech ranged broadly, also drew laughter when he discussed the key components of good leadership near the end of his remarks. Glancing at his watch, Musharraf said, “I’ll skip the part about justice.”

As Tannenwald laid out the rules for the session — “If you feel the need to make a speech, please go afterward and blog later” — the screen in Sayles Hall focused in on Musharraf fanning himself with his folded notes, provok-ing laughter from students.

“I expect very frank questions and you should expect equally frank answers,” Musharraf said.

Sriram Subramanian ’10 asked Musharraf about the 1999 Kargil War in Kashmir, in which Musharraf com-

manded Pakistani forces. Musharraf acknowledged his role in that conflict but placed it in a wider context, listing India’s offensives against Pakistan.

“I didn’t expect to hear a complete admission of guilt,” Subramanian said afterward. “But he is the one who spearheaded the campaign … which turned out to be a diplomatic embar-rassment for Pakistan.”

Sajjad Hasan ’10, a Herald busi-ness staffer, asked Musharraf how he would advise an aspiring but politi-cally unconnected politician on how to navigate Pakistan’s political arena, which he said has been dominated by the Bhutto and Sharif families for decades.

“The environment is certainly trib-al and feudal,” Musharraf responded. “But the politics of Pakistan needs fresh blood.”

After the lecture, Asad Hassan ’13, a student from Pakistan, said Mushar-

raf successfully covered “the back-ground of the problems we face at the moment.”

Still, Musharraf evaded a question about the Pakistani army’s involve-ment with the Taliban, Hassan said.

Before Musharraf spoke, Gulfam Khan, a cameraman for Pakistan’s News One, interviewed students wait-ing in line on the Main Green.

In addition to News One, Pakistan-based channels Geo and ARY may air the footage, Khan said.

“It’s nice to see just the people here to listen to Musharraf,” Gulfam said. “All the people lining up — he must be something.”

“It’s reassuring,” Melissa Dzenis ’11 said of the packed crowd, “that, in spite of all the chaos that is now in the international realm, there is an outpour of interest at Brown.”

— With additional reporting by Sydney Ember

Musharraf speaks about leadership, Pakistan-India relationscontinued from page 1

CAMPUS newSWEDNESDAy, SEPTEMBER 23, 2009 THE BROWN DAILy HERALD PAgE 3

brance of what it was like to be a student,” he said.

Though he was raised as a Prot-estant, Coolidge said he had been interested in studying different re-ligions since high school. As an un-dergraduate, Coolidge was grappling with existential questions of life and meaning — trying to “make sense of what I wanted from life and who I wanted to be,” he said — when he started talking to two acquaintances who had recently converted to Islam. After he had dinner with them, they gave him several books to read on the religion. Coolidge describes it as his “first real introduction to Islam.”

“I started reading more and think-ing more,” he added. “Becoming a Muslim made sense with what I wanted from life.”

Coolidge concentrated in religious studies at Brown and went on to get a master’s degree in religion from Princeton. “My career has been a long independent study on the mean-ing of life, and I want to help people who are going through a similar pro-cess,” he said.

Cooper-Nelson witnessed Coolidge’s process of conversion. “Dave found his religious identity here,” she said.

Brown’s campus is “like sacred geography,” she added. To Coolidge, the Graduate Center “is a very sa-

cred place” because he remembers discovering his faith there.

One of Coolidge’s first projects will be an eight-week seminar spon-sored by the Office of the Chaplains and Religious Life called “Thinking Theologically,” about contemporary Islamic thought.

“It’s an intellectually rigorous en-vironment for people to articulate cer-tain perspectives that aren’t covered by their regular coursework,” he said. “It’s a real human interaction.”

Coolidge said his new responsibili-ties will expand beyond religious and ethical issues. “I’m here to respond to people’s needs and concerns,” he said. “Whether they’re religious or non-religious issues, anything that’s central to the process of making meaning for oneself.”

University chaplains advise on “marriage, death, religious ques-tions, anything,” Cooper-Nelson said. “Our purpose is much broader than providing instruction of a particular religion,” she added.

Cooper-Nelson said the University had to hire “someone who is very able to make connections with every-body and who is accessible to people regardless of their age.”

“Dave Coolidge is a marvelous resource for all of us, and the Office of the Chaplains and Religious Life is honored to have him as a colleague,” she said. “It’s lovely for Brown to have such talented leadership back.”

continued from page 1

Converted religious studies concentrator pursues passion

Down to earth: Alum’s green web site honoredBy amy chEn

Contributing Writer

Chip Giller ’93, founder and president of the online magazine Grist.org, was honored with a $100,000 grant this month by the non-profit Heinz Fam-ily Foundation for his work promot-ing awareness of environmental issues.

Giller, who founded Grist in 1999 to cover environmental topics in a positive, sometimes humorous way, was praised by Teresa Heinz, chairwoman of the foundation, for having taken “traditional environ-mental journalism and turned it on its head,” according to a press release from the organization.

Giller, who now lives in Seattle, said he was “pretty surprised” by the honor, calling it “incredibly humbling.” Some people he admires have previously been honored by the foundation, he said, adding that the award was “motivating.”

The site, with a self-described mission of “making lemonade out of looming climate apocalypse,” bills itself as “a beacon in the smog.” It reports having about 800,000 read-ers a month.

“Of the many things this planet is running out of, sanctimonious tree-huggers ain’t one of them,” the Web site reads.

Society is moving toward rec-

ognizing that these issues are part of our lives, that we have to build sustainable buildings, Giller said.

Giller graduated Brown with an honors degree in environmental studies and attributed his passion for environmentalism to his under-graduate experience.

“The environmental program at Brown is an incredible program,” he said. “My Brown experience was a tremendous help. It really helped me to align my passion with what I wanted to do professionally.”

While at Brown, he served as a teaching assistant for introductory environmental classes and helped sponsor weekly discussions and talks on different environmental topics.

“Chip has always been pas-sionate about the environment and journalism,” said Lisa Hymas, a senior editor at Grist who has worked with Giller for more than a decade. “He is interested in cov-ering the environment in a new, compelling way.”

Caroline Karp, Giller’s senior thesis advisor and a current senior lecturer at the Center for Environ-mental Studies, remembered Giller for his remarkable writing skills. “Chip continues to be among the 10 best writers I have ever worked with at Brown,” she wrote in an e-mail to The Herald.

Giller had a “gentle and curious way of talking to people many years older and much different than him-self that is perfect for a journalist,” she added.

Karp also wrote that she has used Grist as a source for her re-search and has also suggested it to her students as a research aide and news source.

Grist’s content employs humor while retaining critical views and accurate facts. It attempts to strike a contrast with other environmental magazines, which are sometimes dreary or depressing.

Giller “has injected environmen-tal reporting with irreverence and wit, yet without compromising depth and accuracy,” Heinz said in the statement.

While there are some readers who complain that humor does not belong in discussion of what they feel are very serious issues, most readers find the light-hearted approach more engaging, Hymas said.

Giller said he knows the serious-ness of the issues at stake, joking aside. He said he hopes Grist will help “set a green agenda for the country.”

Giller said he plans to direct some of the award to Grist and will also put a portion of the money toward a college fund for his two children.

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SportswednesdayWEDNESDAy, SEPTEMBER 23, 2009 | Page 4

The Brown Daily Herald

Missed kick dooms Bears in openerBy dan alExandEr

Senior Staff Writer

After the football team fell to Stony Brook Saturday night, kicker Drew Plichta ’10 “was bearing the loss on his

shoulders,” said Head Coach Phil Estes.

In a game that Brown lost 21-20, Plichta missed an extra point.

Making the extra point “needs to be automatic,” Estes said.

Plichta had a chance to redeem himself and win the game with just sec-onds left when he lined up for his first career field goal attempt. He missed that, too.

“If you were to look at the stats, you’d think that we won with a run-away,” Estes said. “We out-rushed them. We out-passed them. We pretty much beat them in every category but one. And that one was our kick-ing game.”

Plichta wasn’t the only player in a prominent position who debuted for the Bears on Saturday. Quarterback Kyle Newhall-Caballero ’11, who had never thrown a varsity pass, started under center.

Newhall-Caballero didn’t show any signs of inexperience early in the game, despite facing complex defen-sive schemes.

“We certainly tried to change up our coverages and looks to try to confuse him,” said Stony Brook Head Coach Chuck Priore. “I think he did a good job with that, though.”

In the first quarter, Newhall-Cabal-lero led his team to a 14-7 lead, passing a perfect 10 for 10 with 102 yards and two touchdowns.

Newhall-Caballero’s second touch-down, a 23-yard pass to Buddy Farn-ham ’10, was one of Farnham’s 12 catches for 121 yards on the night.

Newhall-Caballero’s honeymoon ended in the second quarter, when he threw 4 for 12 with two interceptions and no touchdowns. By halftime, Stony Brook had evened the score, 14-14.

Both of Newhall-Caballero’s sec-ond-quarter interceptions ended red-zone opportunities, of which the Bears had only four during the game.

“We need to score when we’re in the red zone,” said receiver Bobby Sewall ’10.

To start the second half, the Sea-wolves once again began a posses-sion with a short field in front of them, thanks to a 53-yard kick return from wide receiver Matt Brevi. Brevi av-eraged 46.7 yards on his three kick returns of the night.

“Matt had one of those games that you would hope for,” Priore said.

Despite starting its drive on the Brown 43, Stony Brook couldn’t score

on Brown’s defense. The Bears held Stony Brook’s of-

fense to 100 yards less than Brown’s managed. But thanks to great field posi-tion and a few big plays, the Seawolves found the end zone three times.

Brown’s defense was anchored by its line, which got into the backfield at opportune times.

One such time came on a Stony Brook 4th and 2 with 9:11 left in the game and Brown ahead 20-14. The Seawolves handed off to running back Edwin Gowins. The 5-foot, 11-inch, 222-pound Gowins ran up the gut, but was stopped for no gain by Peter Hughes ‘10, ending Stony Brook’s drive.

But Stony Brook got another chance after a six-play, four-second long possession by Brown. After the Bears punted, the Seawolves stood at their own 27 with 9:07 left to make up a six-point deficit.

With a more balanced attack than their usual run-focused offense, Stony Brook quarterback Michael Coulter led the Seawolves to the Brown 7 be-fore running into much resistance.

But Brown’s defensive line stepped up once again. On 1st and goal at the 7, defensive tackle David Howard ’09.5 burst into the backfield and dragged down Gowins, three yards behind the line of scrimmage.

The Bears caught a break on the

next down, when Coulter threw the ball at his receiver’s feet for an in-completion with 51.7 seconds left on the clock.

With Coulter’s pocket collapsing as he dropped back on 3rd and goal, it looked like the defensive line might step up again. But seconds before the line could get to him, Coulter lasered a pass, cross-field, to Donald Porter

for a touchdown. “I got hit as I threw it, but I knew

(Porter) would be where he was sup-posed to be,” Coulter said. “I threw it up and he made a great play in the end zone.”

The extra point put Stony Brook ahead, 21-20, and sent the crowd of

Justin Coleman / Herald File PhotoThe Bears lost narrowly to Stony Brook on Saturday, 21-20.

continued on page 5

Brownstony Brook

2021

with road shutout, women’s soccer scores first win

sports in brief

The women’s soccer team earned its first victory of the season on a road trip to Mary-land, shutting out Towson Uni-versity, 2-0, on Sunday after falling to the No. 18 Maryland Terrapins, 3-1, on Friday. gina Walker ’11, Kate Scott ’11 and Melissa Kim ’10 scored for the Bears, who improved to 1-4-0 on the young season.

In the opener, the Bears traveled to College Park to face an undefeated Maryland squad. Molly Dreska put the Terps on the board in the 29th minute, and then doubled the lead early in the second half

with an assist from Jasmyne Spencer.

Brown sliced the deficit in half in the 52nd minute on a free kick. Sylvia Stone ’11 booted the ball to Diana Ohrt ’13, who found Walker for the latter’s first career goal.

Spencer scored in the 85th minute to produce the 3-1 fi-nal score. Brenna Hogue ’10 made seven saves for Brown.

Two days later, the Bears matched their season output — achieved over four games — with two goals in the blanking of Towson. After the Tigers could not take advantage of

a 10-6 first-half lead in shots, Scott headed in Stone’s cor-ner kick in the 52nd minute to give Bruno all the offense it would need.

Kim tacked on an insur-ance goal in the 76th minute, as Ohrt picked up her second assist of the weekend. Steffi yellin ’10 made four saves to earn her eighth career shut-out.

The Bears will shoot for their second win Thursday against Army at 7:00 p.m. on Stevenson Field.

— Sports Staff Reports

WEDNESDAy, SEPTEMBER 23, 2009THE BROWN DAILy HERALDPAgE 5

SPortSweDneSDAy

5,709 into hysterics.But with 47 seconds and three

timeouts left, the Bears still had a chance.

After Farnham’s return to the 31, Brown began its last drive with 40 seconds left. Newhall-Caballero drove down to the Stony Brook 23 by completing short passes to Farnham and Sewall and a 23-yard long-ball to Trevan Samp ’10.

With five seconds left on the clock, it all came down to the final kick. With a slight left-to-right breeze, Plichta lined up for the 40-yarder in the center of the hash marks.

“I was just hoping that the wind would blow our way,” Coulter said.

Plichta kicked a low line drive that flew right.

With the scoreboard showing 0:00, students painted from head-to-toe in Stony Brook red rushed the field.

“You get a taste of that loss and you don’t like it,” Sewall said. “You want to … make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

The Bears will have a chance to cleanse their palettes on Friday night, when they head to Cambridge to take on Harvard, the No. 1 team in the Ivy League Football Preseason Media Poll.

If the meeting between last year’s

Ivy co-champions is as close as their 24-22 encounter last season, the game might come down to a kick at the end. Estes said he’ll turn to Plichta again.

“He’s a tough kid,” he said. “And he’s going to come back and win some football games for us.”

After 1-pt loss, football looks to Ivy openercontinued from page 4

editorial & LettersPage 6 | WEDNESDAy, SEPTEMBER 23, 2009

The Brown Daily Herald

A L E x Y U L Y

A better Banner

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letter to the editor

editorial

Banner’s critics usually moan about its appear-ance and its restrictions on course sign-ups. It’s a tribute to Banner’s effectiveness, or perhaps its unsightliness, that the most common complaints are aesthetic. These grievances are a little misdirected: Students have usually been able to find courses through Mocha and, as awful as Banner may look, we suspect that most Brunonians are capable of using it to pick classes, even though the process can be tedious.

Banner’s effect on class registration is, in our opinion, a much more reasonable basis for criticism, and Computing and Information Services deserves credit for focusing its efforts on functional issues first. This fall, CIS implemented an override system that made it much easier for professors to admit students into their classes, and over 5,400 overrides were performed.

The override system is a step forward and a fine example of how Banner can support the New Curriculum. But course registration is still far from ideal, and CIS should continue to improve registra-tion by adapting Banner and investing in other online resources to meet students’ needs.

Banner currently prevents students from register-ing for two or more courses that meet at the same time. Given the difficulty of switching into a fully enrolled course, this restriction forces many students to make a final decision between two capped courses before shopping period even begins. The University could avoid this problem by letting students sign up for classes that meet simultaneously, with early deadlines for dropping all but one of the courses.

Strict course caps have had other unfortunate re-sults. Some writing instructors have given spaces to students simply because they were the first to enroll. We feel that non-introductory writing courses should primarily be filled on the basis of a writing sample;

pre-registration on Banner should not be a control-ling factor. The University could make the writing sample process easier, for students and professors alike, by having professors upload the prompts for their courses’ writing samples one month before the start of the semester. Students could then compose their essays during academic breaks, when they are less busy with other classes and applications. Professors who set a writing sample deadline on (or before) the first day of classes would have time to carefully read essays, and students would have a better sense of their schedules during the early stages of shopping period.

The most significant measure Brown could take to improve class registration is also the simplest: Brown should upload and publicly display syllabi for every course offered. Uploaded syllabi, even those that are somewhat outdated, would give students a much better feel for the lessons and goals of a course than the 50-word descriptions that abound in the Course Announcement Bulletin. With those as a guide, students could get a head start on assigned reading and have more time to figure out whether the material for a given course is something that truly interests them. Publicly available syllabi would also enhance Brown’s image by giving prospective students and curious alumni a closer look at the depth and diversity of Brown’s course offerings.

Over the past few years, students and recent alumni have seen paperless pre-registration, and Banner especially, as a threat to the New Curricu-lum. These concerns will be addressed if and when Brown uses its online resources to support course selections that are flexible and informed.

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

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Brown Republicans’ tableslips in poor taste to the Editor:

I write to the Brown Republicans in the hopes that they will more carefully consider how they repre-sent themselves to the campus and greater community. Tableslips are one of the most direct ways to reach the student body. I was appalled this week when I saw a tableslip with a picture of President Barack Obama with flames rising into his face, ad-vertising a meeting for the group.

The symbol of burning a black leader is powerful and disturbing. For the third-generation-or-more American students reading this, your grandparents and parents were alive when lynching — the hang-ing, torturing and burning alive of African-Americans — was featured in newspapers, sent as postcards through the mail and even attended by crowds of spectators. These race-based murders continued into the 1960s and were often perpetrated by mobs of whites taking the law into their own hands and charging blacks with trumped up or non-ex-istent crimes.

Recently, a member of the GOP disgraced the party by breaking de-corum and interrupting the President when he was addressing Congress. The political parties exist in order to work within the system outlined in the Constitution and established through 222 years of precedents.

Such a break with established proce-dure is more than a funny YouTube video — it is evidence of a deep dis-respect for the new president.

Criticism and poking fun at the commander-in-chief is no new phenomenon; the last eight years provided easy material for Jon Stew-art. However, no one from Comedy Central ever hollered insults at Bush during his State of the Union addresses. Those representing their political party, especially in a public context, will only alienate potential members if they disrespect both the system of which they are a part and the historical context of American civil rights.

Jimmy Carter, Bill Cosby and oth-ers cited South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson’s outburst as racially based. Said Carter, “I think people who are guilty of that kind of personal attack against Obama have been influenced to a major degree by a belief that he should not be president because he happens to be African-American.”

The Brown Republicans’ tableslip, which appeared to burn Obama in effigy, was in poor taste. The Brown Republicans will only attract positive attention if they are more creative and more thoughtful in how they poke fun at political figures from across the aisle.

meredith curtis ’10 Sept. 22

I doubt that many administrators here at Brown would think of me as some sort of student collaborateur, working to shore up support among the serfs for our benevolent overlords. I’ve been known to have more than my fair share of grievances, many aired publicly on this very page.

Like everyone else, there are some things I would do differently if I were in charge. But I don’t believe that the administration here is full of heartless, diabolically scheming bureau-crats who think of nothing but themselves, and therefore I take issue with Simon Liebling’s column in last week’s Herald (“Take your self-sacrifice and shove it,” Sept. 18).

Liebling’s column seems to imply that Brown’s administration is bent on expanding the campus, come hell or high water — as if renovating Faunce or erecting the Mind Brain Behavior Building were more important to them than maintaining the quality and afford-ability of undergraduate education.

The first, and most obvious, response to this nonsense is that administrators’ hands are tied. That’s how bequests work. Yes, some do-nations to the University come with no strings attached. But from my experience on the Un-dergraduate Council of Students, I know that most donors specifically condition their gift on its being used for a specific purpose.

Such restricted donations account for most of the funding behind the construction that is

currently going on at Brown. Therefore, the choice is not between a fancy new building and more financial aid, but rather between a new or renovated building for students’ use and millions of dollars sitting tight in a would-be donor’s hedge fund.

Moreover, the administration has gone through pains to notify donors that gifts could be more profitably used to increase financial aid or going toward staff retention. But to some, a shiny new building bearing their name is sexier than the knowledge that the average

financial aid package is $500 larger. And since the millions are theirs to give, that decision is their prerogative.

Finally, it is unclear how exactly continu-ing on with previously scheduled and donor-funded construction projects is an example of administrators “protect(ing) themselves.” As one of my friends noted, “It’s not like they’re Louis xIV, building themselves a summer palace while the peasants starve.”

Indeed, I would say that the administra-tion’s response to the economic crisis has been exemplary. More than a quarter of the University’s resources disappeared essen-tially overnight, and neither I nor any of my friends have noticed any significant effects

upon the students. Remarkably, not only has the University committed to not cutting faculty, but also to maintaining the already generous levels of financial aid that pre-existed the stock market crash.

Almost all decisions about how to make the necessary budget cuts will be made by the Undergraduate Resource Committee. And though Liebling dismisses out of hand the importance of having two students on the 15-member committee, this is a level of official student input that would be inconceivable at

most other institutions.The administration’s solicitude for student

and community input on this issue is even more remarkable considering the resounding silence that it encounters when it explicitly seeks out such opinions. Those few students and community members who do respond rarely heed administrators’ (reasonable) re-quest not simply to complain about cuts, but rather to proactively suggest reductions that would be more acceptable.

Perhaps some students fail to comprehend that the economic crunch hits universities just as it hits families. Our insatiable expecta-tions of constantly increasing amenities and decreasing tuition rates (once financial aid is

factored in) were rooted in the years when endowments could grow by 10 or 20 percent per year.

Therefore, it might be popular to lament a year in which financial aid does not increase and tuition rises a whole three percent (nev-er mind that when the tuition increase was approved, the latest inflation rates were 3.8 percent).

And while I do sympathize with the 30 staff members the University had to let go, the fact that this only constituted two-thirds of one percent of Brown’s employeesshows that the administration is actually very cognizant of the difficulties that laid-off staff face and demonstrates a desire to mitigate the reces-sion’s effect on them. This is especially true when you consider that, over the last several years, Providence’s unemployment rate has increased from 4.3 to 12.1 percent.

Again, this column is not meant to imply that the administration is always in the right and protestors are always in the wrong. It is just meant to put some of the difficult deci-sions the school has to make in perspective. And though we’re not out of the woods yet, so far the management of the University’s resources in the face of such tremendous financial difficulties has been remarkable, to say the least.

Tyler Rosenbaum ’11 is a callous shill for the administration’s sinister plot to

balance the budget.

September 29th, 2009, will mark the first an-niversary of the largest single-day drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The ensuing year has been tempestuous: the shuttering and fire-sale of companies that composed the backbone of the U.S. financial system, partial nationalizations of former icons of American business and the largest economic stimulus package ever.

The economic crisis may be devastating, but it also provides us an opportunity to re-evaluate some of our decisions and change the way we operate at Brown, in Providence, as a state and as a nation. In the next year, Rhode Island will have to execute some tricky contor-tions to avoid a ballooning budget deficit. The actions we take now are critical to restoring confidence, jobs and a balanced budget. Brown students and professors, like all Rhode Island residents, have a unique opportunity to affect public policy, if we choose to get involved.

It is time we asked ourselves some deeper questions: why do Providence and the state of Rhode Island turn to Brown for funds when their budgets fall short? Why are corporate, income and property taxes not enough to cover expenditures?

Rhode Island is a beautiful state and has many natural assets. We have one of the only two deep-water ports in New England, lots of beautiful coast and are conveniently situated between Boston and New York. The state has

an abundance of excellent universities.But why does Rhode Island have the third-

highest unemployment rate in the nation? Why do most Brown students flee the area immediately upon graduation?

A significant part of the problem is the shortage of real job opportunities and the lack of critical services to retain intellectual capital workers. It seems clear that Rhode Island and Providence need to work overtime to attract new businesses and retain the “intelligentsia” that are too often only transient interlopers.

Business startups cluster around universi-

ties like Stanford and MIT; our universities, and the city, should work to make Providence competitive with Palo Alto and Cambridge. Only by attracting — and retaining — busi-nesses and knowledgable workers can we fix the budget deficit and secure a stable and robust economy in the future.

How? First, taxes are too high. In a rank-ing of business-friendly tax codes by the Tax Foundation, Rhode Island came in 44th. Be-cause our state is small enough to spit across, businesses can easily relocate to just outside

our borders. Lowering taxes may encourage more businesses to move to Rhode Island, which would provide jobs, widen the tax base and increase the state’s revenues.

But lowering taxes alone would not solve the problem. Businesses avoid Rhode Island because of the poor quality of public education. Large businesses cannot afford to send every middle manager’s kids to The $25,000-a-year Wheeler School. Providence public schools are not a viable alternative. Of the 1500 best public high schools in the country, as ranked by Newsweek, only Classical, in Providence,

makes the cut at No. 1436. Montana, which has about the same population as and a much lower GDP per capita than Rhode Island, has two schools in the 600s. The rest of our schools fall much further behind, especially in Provi-dence. The Rhode Island education system has failed. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce State-by-State Educational Effectiveness score card gives Rhode Island failing grades, D or F, in seven of nine categories. We receive the only grade of F in “Flexibility in Management and Policy.” The only passing grades we receive

are for “Truth in Advertising about Student Proficiency” and “Data Quality.” At least we know that we are failing our students.

Gov. Donald Carcieri ’65 has proposed eliminating the 3 percent mandatory minimum increases to Rhode Island teachers’ pensions and instead making cost of living adjustments based on the Consumer Price Index. Rhode Island teachers are furious. But, we must ask, why are we paying so much for such poor performance?

Currently, Rhode Island has very strict re-quirements on teaching certification and train-ing that shrinks the potential pool of teachers. We should consider loosening some of these requirements, creating a Teach for Rhode Island program that encourages Brown and Johnson and Wales grads to stay and teach for a few years and pay teachers based on a combination of performance and tenure.

Lower taxes and higher quality education will bring more companies to Providence, help solve our unemployment problem and put us on the right track toward long-term growth. We have the natural resources, geo-graphical positioning and intellectual capital to become a hub for biotech and diversified intellectual capital industries. Or we could continue with tax and educational policies that drive businesses away, let our schools decline and expect student taxes to make up our debt. The choice is ours.

Jake Heimark ’10 is a human biology and economics concentrator from Palo Alto,

California. He can be reached at jacob_heimark@brown.edu.

WEDNESDAy, SEPTEMBER 23, 2009 | PAgE 7

opinionsThe Brown Daily Herald

Failing grades

Methinks he doth protest too much

The Administration’s response to the economic

crisis has been exemplary.

Lower taxes and higher quality education will

bring more companies to Providence, help solve

our unemployment problem and put us on the

right track toward long-term growth.

JAKE HEIMARKopinions coluMnist

TyLER ROSENBAUM

opinions coluMnist

wEdnEsday, sEPtEmBEr 23, 2009 PagE 8

Today 25

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4 Pm — Abe Lowenthal Lecture: “The

Obama Administration and the Ameri-

cas,” Watson Institute

7 Pm — Film Premiere of “Butte

America,” Smith-Buonanno 106

tomorrow, sEPtEmBEr 24

4 Pm — Krieger Lecture: An After-

noon with Mayor Cory Booker, Sa-

lomon 101

8 Pm — Sock and Buskin present

“Tartuffe,” Leeds Theatre

ACROSS1 Pea holders5 Get ready for

surgery9 Beethoven’s

“Für __”14 Geometry

product15 Victoria or

Geneva16 Zapped in the

microwave17 Hydration from

underground19 Prevailing

tendency20 Horseshoer’s

workshop21 “All set!”23 Excuse designed

to elicit sniffles26 Busy pro in Apr.29 Thunder on a

radio show, e.g.34 Test the weight

of36 To this day37 Bird on a dollar38 Minimally40 Undiversified, as

a farm42 Old French

money43 Uncover,

poetically44 Head of France?45 In a rage49 “The Waste

Land” poet’smonogram

50 Made a mess of52 Mouth the lyrics56 White Rabbit’s

cry60 Arm of the sea61 House majority

leader of theearly 1970s

64 “Uncle Tom’sCabin” author

65 Has regretsabout

66 Baseball Hall ofFamer Speaker

67 Cousins ofhamlets

68 Leave the stage69 Not tagged in time

DOWN1 Dog’s dogs?2 Utah city3 Sandwich seller4 Seasons, as fries

5 Hedonisticfellows

6 Maze scurrier7 Scratch (out), as

a living8 Sentence ender9 Payment from a

contestant10 Tackle box item11 It sells a lot of

build-it-yourselffurniture

12 E-mail command13 Swirling current18 “__ on first?”22 Desert Storm

ration, for short24 Mutton fat25 Explosive

compound26 Grain husks

separated inthreshing

27 Lab dishinventor

28 G sharp’sequivalent

30 It’s not fiction31 “Snowy” wader32 Stops bleeding33 Conical

residence35 Shelter for

roughing it39 Altar attendants

40 Aunt Bee’sgrandnephew

41 Most destitute43 Tie settlers, for

short46 “__ voyage!”47 Game often

played with a24-card deck

48 Make absurdlyeasy, with “down”

51 Novelists’creations

52 Letter-to-Santaitemization

53 Totally enjoying54 Clear the snow55 Attached with

thread57 Taj Mahal city58 “Woohoo, the

weekend!”59 Being, to Caesar62 “La Cage __

Folles”63 Wahine’s gift

By Bruce Venzke & Stella Daily(c)2009 Tribune Media Services, Inc. 09/23/09

09/23/09

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

RELEASE DATE– Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword PuzzleEdited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

xwordeditor@aol.com

cabernet Voltaire | Abe Pressman

dot comic | Eshan Mitra and Brendan Hainline

hippomaniac | Mat Becker

sharPE rEFEctory

lUnch — Polynesian Chicken Wings,

Vegan Stir Fry Vegetables with Tofu,

Stir Fried Rice

dinnEr — Local Dinner Special

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