Daily Herald the Brown

vol. cxliv, no. 34 | Thursday, March 12, 2009 | Serving the community daily since 1891

Harambee survives
recruitment scare
By Mitra Anoushiravani
Senior Staff Writer
Despite briefly being in danger of
losing its program house status,
Harambee House, which offers hous-
ing to those interested in African
culture, has managed to increase
its membership for the next school
year to 39 people — 17 more than
the 22-person minimum it needs to
survive.
Over the past year Harambee’s
membership dwindled and the con-
Courtesy of Leann Barnes dition of its space in Chapin House
Zeta Delta Xi will open its Spagfest event to the public again this Spring Weekend, but it hopes the event this year deteriorated to the extent that days
will resemble 2000’s more sedate affair — seen here — and not the raucus food fight that broke out in 2007.
before the March 3 deadline for pro-
recruitment efforts.
“Once they started counting heads
and understood that they would be at a
low number, Marc and Lindsay really
took it upon themselves to put on an
aggressive marketing campaign,” Ad-
dison said. “I give them all the credit in
terms of getting the word out.”
By the deadline, Harambee had
recruited 28 freshmen for next year,
Howland said, adding that the first-
years were instrumental in “getting
the word out” and networking on
Facebook.
“It’s great for Harambee because
we need young leaders,” he said.
There is currently a waiting list

Spagfest: Come one, come all

By Kelly Mallahan
Staff Writer
This year’s Spagfest, hosted by
Zeta Delta Xi, will be open to the
public, which may be good news
for students who were disappointed
when the annual Spring Weekend
spaghetti party was restricted last
year to members and friends of the
co-ed fraternity.
But Zete members hope this
year’s Spagfest will not devolve
into an alcohol-fueled food fight like
2007’s party, said Zete President
Katie Lamb ’10.
Two years ago, Lamb said, Spag-
fest “kind of exploded a little bit,” as
intoxicated students threw spaghetti
at one another and spilled out of the
party’s outdoor tent. Things got so
out of hand that “people kept com-
paring it to Sex Power God when
Bill O’Reilly came,” Lamb added.
Though Lamb said Zete didn’t
get into any trouble with the Uni-
versity for the incident, it decided
independently to tone down Spag-
fest last year.
“Safety is our first priority,” she
said. “When you are using spaghetti
and garlic bread and alcohol as an
arsenal, it can become unsafe.”
This year’s party co-coordinator
Sara David ’11 said Spagfest two
years ago was “a disaster,” and that
last year’s party, which was limited
to Zete brothers, alumni and guests,
was “solely for ourselves” and didn’t
help promote Zete’s presence on
campus.
“We basically want to find a
middle road between the two,”
continued on page 2
gram house applications, Harambee
did not have enough people planning
to live their next year. At one point,
the program house definitively had
only four returning members, and 11
members in total, said Terry Addison,
Harambee House faculty liaison and
associate dean of Student Life.
But a large recruitment and refur-
bishment effort has saved the house
from probation or disbandment.
A program house needs 22 mem-
bers, of which at least five must be
returning. If it does not, it is put on
probation, which includes loss of some
lounge and kitchen privileges.
In order to save Harambee,
House Heads Marc Howland ’11 and
Lindsay Priam ’11 intensified their
of students wanting to live in the
house.
A situation of complacency
According to Nikkisha Smith ’10
and Fedna Jacquet ’10, both former
Harambee House heads, one of the
reasons the house struggled to sur-
vive was the ebb and flow of member-
ship. “I think it really depends on the
personality of the freshman class,”
Jacquet said.
Smith said she noticed a decrease
in first-years at club meetings that use
Harambee’s lounge and at Harambee
sponsored parties.
“With Harambee, we have so many
continued on page 2

In tune with Providence Cicilline ’83 to seek third term

Alum reaches youth musicians came together through By George Miller
Community MusicWorks, a non- Metro Editor
with musical education profit organization started in 1997
By Caroline Sedano by Sebastian Ruth ’97 as a way to Providence Mayor David Cicilline ’83
Senior Staff Writer transform an urban community announced Tuesday that he will seek
through musical education. Ruth re-election to a third term in 2010,
Sitting on the very edge of her seat, and the other members of the ending speculation that he might
back straight and violin tucked Providence String Quartet played run for governor.
snugly under her chin, 17-year-old and taught music in Providence,
Sydney Argueta plays the sharp laying the foundation for an organi- METRO
opening notes of Mozart’s Quartet zation that would later expand into
in G Major, K. 156. She messes up much more than Ruth’s initial vi- Announcing his decision in a
a little bit, slumps her sion. CMW now enrolls YouTube video, Cicilline said he had
back and frowns. The FEATURE so many students that brought $3 billion in new investments
other three members it required the forma- to the city, attracted new businesses
of her quartet tease her some, and tion of a more advanced ensemble and reduced crime. But he acknowl-
their teacher, Chloe Kline, rolls her of players — the quartet Argueta edged tough economic times and
chair over to help. now plays in. other challenges ahead.
“Guys, we have to be serious,” The quartet’s young members “I know that continuing our work
Argueta says, jokingly reprimand- were forced to find a new outlet for is the key to putting Providence in the
ing the other teenagers, who chat their musical interests after bud- strongest position possible, poised
and laugh while she works on the get cuts left their schools without for exciting new opportunities when
sheet music. music programs about eight years the recession ends,” he said.
Despite the giggles, jokes and ago. Cicilline, a Democrat, said im-
the occasional car honk outside, For them, CMW does not just proving schools, redeveloping land
the members of the group takesthe provide after-school music les- along the planned I-way corridor and
music seriously. They discuss the sons — it gives them a network improving public transit were on his
notes, sing their parts’ melodies of support they would not have agenda for a third term.
and play the same bars over and otherwise. “I started this job to clean up Eunice Hong / Herald File Photo
over. Providence Mayor David Cicilline ’83, seen here speaking to students in
This quartet of dedicated young continued on page 4 Petteruti Lounge, will not run for governor of Rhode Island.
continued on page 6
inside

News.....1-4
Inside Metro, 5 Opinions, 11

post-
Metro....5-6
Spor ts...7-9 reviews student activism Rice wars spring forward
Editorial..10 at Brown and goes to Providence Place food Jeanne Jeong ’12 prepares
Opinion...11 Downcity on a Monday court restaurants spar over for Spring Weekend with
Today........12 night. the right to sell rice the help of Wikipedia

www.browndailyherald.com 195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island herald@browndailyherald.com

Page 2 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
C ampus N EWS “The minute someone throws food, they’re done.”
— Zete President Katie Lamb ’10 on this year’s Spagfest
Less throwing, more 1,870 opt out of housing lottery
eating at ’09 Spagfest By Talia Kagan
Contributing Writer
continued from page 1 place where people joked, danced, As most students prepare for the
drank “and stuffed themselves housing lottery in early April, 1,870
she said. on spaghetti and garlic bread.” It undergraduates will not participate
This year’s Spagfest will be held was a “dinner party … not a food in the lottery altogether, according
in Zete’s Marcy House lounge rath- fight.” to Associate Director of Residential
er than in an outdoor tent, though “I was expecting it to be more Life Natalie Basil.
the fraternity’s patio will also be of an eating situation than a food Students wishing to opt out of
used to increase the party’s capac- fight situation,” said Rachel Weiler the lottery — mostly for program,
ity. David estimated that this year’s ’10.5 of her experience at 2007’s Greek or off-campus housing —
party will hold about 130 people. party. Though she wasn’t wearing had to submit a form to ResLife by
Zete will sell tickets in advance and appropriate clothes for a food fight March 3, this year’s Super Deadline
have a limited number of tickets and did not stay long, “it looked Day.
available at the door. Lamb said like people were having fun,” she Just over 1,000 of these students
the outdoor tent rented for 2007’s said. will live off-campus this year, Basil
Spagfest accomodated about 500 Opening the party back up to said.
people. the public was important for Zete 575 students, 24 fewer than last
Lamb said she hopes Spagfest because “a wider group of people year, will live in Greek or program
can return to its pre-2007 roots as gets to experience the vibe of our houses next year, the majority of
“a raucous spaghetti party” and house,” Lamb said. whom are new members, according
not a food fight. She said she hopes this year’s to Basil. This means that next year,
Students said they had enjoyed Spagfest will promote “the univer- roughly 12 percent of all students
Spagfest in the past and look for- sal joy of spaghetti and love.” living on campus will reside in a
ward to it this year. But Lamb warned that food Greek or program house.
Zete member Leann Barnes ’09 fighting will not be tolerated. “The About 35 students requested
wrote in an e-mail to The Herald minute someone throws food,” she special interest housing, just over
that Spagfest in years past was a said, “they’re done.” half of whom requested quiet
housing, Basil said, adding that
substance-free housing was the
second most popular request. An-
Harambee fixes up house, adds members
continued from page 1
doubles so you really have to fill it in
with new sophomores, and part of the
problem this year was that not enough
freshmen were interested,” Jacquet
said. “If you don’t have freshmen fill-
ing up the doubles, juniors are in a
position where they might get doubles
and that’s not convenient for them,”
Jacquet said.
“I think every once in a while this
sudoku happens,” she said. “You kind of need
to reinvigorate the population of color
here at Brown, because people get
complacent. You always have to light
a fire under people because its as-
sumed that everything will always
be there.”
Addison agreed that the freshman
class this year did not seem as enthusi-
astic about Harambee as past classes,
but also pointed to the large number
of seniors leaving and sophomores
and juniors going abroad or living off
campus as other reasons why mem-
bership was low this semester.
Miles Craigwell ’09 and Jonathan
Edwards ’09, the house heads before
Jacquet and Smith, said many mem-
bers of the black community at Brown
were choosing to become Minority
Peer Counselors instead of living at
Harambee.
Daily Herald
Ana Almeida ’12, a future member
the Brown
of Harambee, wrote in an e-mail to The
Herald that she considered being an
Editorial Phone: 401.351.3372 | Business Phone: 401.351.3260 MPC before ultimately choosing to
live in Harambee.
Stephen DeLucia, President Jonathan Spector, Treasurer
Michael Bechek, Vice President Alexander Hughes, Secretary
Spring cleaning
The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is an independent newspaper serv- The physical condition of the
ing the Brown University community daily since 1891. It is published Monday house also needed to be improved
through Friday during the academic year, excluding vacations, once during
to make Harambee a more inviting
Commencement, once during Orientation and once in July by The Brown Daily
Herald, Inc. POSTMASTER please send corrections to P.O. Box 2538, Provi- place to live.
dence, RI 02906. Periodicals postage paid at Providence, R.I. Offices are located “Our goal was to get the house in
at 195 Angell St., Providence, R.I. E-mail herald@browndailyherald.com. order and for everything to be set at a
World Wide Web: http://www.browndailyherald.com.
high standard,” Howland said.
Subscription prices: $319 one year daily, $139 one semester daily.
Copyright 2009 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved. With the help of the Department
of Facilities Management, curtains
other 130 students opting out of the
housing lottery will be Residential
Peer Leaders and Minority Peer
Counselors, and some additional
students applied through Disability
Support Services.
Basil, who has worked for
ResLife since October 2007, said
these Super Deadline Day num-
bers are “standard” in comparison
to recent years, adding that there is
always some minor fluctuation. “We
had a large first-year class this year,
which may change the numbers
slightly,” she said.
According to Greek Council
Chair Adam Kroll ’09, the number of
new Greek members, 187, is similar
to recent years’ numbers.
About 57 percent of students
who will be living in Greek or pro-
gram housing next term are new
members, according to Basil. The
high percentage is due to returning
members’ option to live off-campus
or in other dorms. The majority of
new members to these houses are
rising sophomores, she said.
For example, roughly half of
Kappa Alpha Theta’s members live
in house, said its president Ellen
Loudermilk ’10, and three quar-
A late recruitment drive has kept Harambee House off probation.
were installed, the hardwood floors
were stripped and waxed, the carpets
were professionally cleaned, the fire-
place was repaired and the library and
kitchen were thoroughly cleaned and
reorganized.
“It certainly is refurbished. As a
matter of fact, I was impressed,” Ad-
dison said.
“The house definitely has a differ-
ent feel and look to it,” said Howland.
“I’m excited about what we’ve done
so far and I’m excited about the fu-
ture.”
Howland said he and Priam plan
to keep the house clean and well
maintained by creating new leader-
ship positions within the Harambee
community. “Having elected positions
will make people feel like they have a
stake in the house and it gives them a
sense of responsibility,” he said.
Recruiting push
But without an intensive recruiting
push, refurbishments might not have
been enough.
Howland and Priam’s most suc-
cessful event was the Harambee Open
House, which “put some students over
the edge and made them want to live
there,” Howland said.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
ters of those in-house members
are new.
St. Anthony Hall, which has the
biggest pledge class they’ve had
“since the mid-90s,” has nearly
twice as many new members as re-
turning members House President
Alice Rha ’09 wrote in an e-mail to
The Herald.
According to Buxton House
President Claire Vergerio ’10,
nearly half of next year’s 60 Buxton
members are new, in part due to the
large outgoing Buxton senior class.
It is the largest program house,
and with around 130 applicants, it
was also one of the more selective
houses. “We spent like 20 hours
deliberating,” said Vergerio, who
said she enjoyed the application
process because it allowed her to
meet “almost one-tenth of the fresh-
man class.”
Julie Sophonpanich ’12, who was
accepted to Buxton, said that even
though some found the process
stressful, “it was just fun for me.”
Students who participated gave
good reviews to the Greek recruit-
ment process.
continued on page 4
Kim Perley / Herald
A slideshow of memorable mo-
ments from life in Harambee was
shown in the lounge, which was “set
up to resemble a home-like living
room,” Priam and Howland said in
a statement to The Herald. Addison
and past members of Harambee gave
speeches talking about the benefits of
living within the Harambee commu-
nity. Howland and Priam were aided
by on-campus organizations such as
the Brotherhood, a society of African-
American men, and ASHE, a group
involved in social activism through
the creative arts.
“ASHE’s involvement included
helping to design and distribute fly-
ers at various events and tableslipping
for the Harambee Open House,” wrote
Kristin Jordan ’10, a past member of
Harambee House and a member of
ASHE, in an e-mail to The Herald.
Besides planning the Open House
and other events, including the Black
Diamond party, Howland and Priam
created a Facebook group, sent out
e-mails and tableslipped about Haram-
bee. Howland said many freshmen
changed their Facebook statuses or
sent out Facebook messages to their
friends to encourage them to join
Harambee.
Thursday, March 12, 2009 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Page 3

C ampus N EWS
Cuts jeopardize data overhaul
By Luisa Robledo
Staff Writer

The University’s main data center,

which houses crucial information
ranging from course syllabi to payroll
information, is slated for an array of
infrastructure improvements, but
some are now in doubt after Univer-
sity officials announced last month
that the financial crisis had left funds
scarce for the project.
University computing officials
have identified more than half a
dozen projects that could bolster
the data center and reduce the risk
of service disruptions.
But in its February meeting, the
Corporation identified postponing
improvements to the data center as a
way to save money on capital projects
with the University facing millions in
Frederic Lu / Herald
budget cuts over the next five years,
The economy will delay an overhaul of the University’s data center.
The Herald reported last month.
Shoring up the aging data cen- operations, among other functions. Information Services, in an e-mail to
ter is a priority University officials The center is located in the basement The Herald.
identified in recent years, Executive of the Computing and Information Some features of the data center
Vice President for Finance and Ad- Technology building. also leave it vulnerable to the pos-
ministration Beppie Huidekoper told But though the data center has sibility of service disruptions.
The Herald after the Corporation’s filled the University’s needs so far, “It’s a risk point,” said Director
February meeting. But the current some of its components are outdated, of Infrastructure Services Linnea
financial crisis means that other capi- and Brown’s storage demands are Wolfe. “There’s weak links there.”
tal projects deemed more essential growing, officials said. The center itself takes up 7,250
will need to proceed first. “These pressures are driving the square feet in a windowless room
The data center’s more than 750 need to increase the reliability and full of consoles, cables and air con-
computers are used to run and store capacity of our data center space,” ditioning units and is monitored Change your life. Take a survey!
information for Brown’s computing
network, the Banner Web site, My-
wrote Terri-Lynn Thayer, assistant
vice president and deputy chief in-
24 hours a day. According to Paul
browndailyherald.com/survey
Courses, e-mail services and payroll formation officer for Computing and continued on page 9
Page 4
C ampus N EWS
First-years Community MusicWorks inspires students
fill program
houses
continued from page 2
“Greek Council has been trying
to push for a better rush season,”
Kroll said, adding that it “went very
well” this year. Greek Council dis-
tributed a newly comprehensive
rush calendar and also held a
“Greek-wide” open house on Wris-
ton, a new event according to Kroll.
But he added that most recruiting
is done by the houses, who did “a
great job.”
Greek Council also ran a one-
day “New Member Education”
event to “orient students to Greek
life,” Kroll said. The new program
included party manager training,
sexual assault prevention training
and discussions on diversity, ac-
cording to Kroll.
Many students emphasized the
importance of community when
picking a program house, as well
as the draw of shared interests. Rha
said she thinks people “are drawn to
St. Anthony Hall because of the en-
vironment — it’s a very energetic,
creative atmosphere.”
Some students had their own
reasons. Ted Orf ’12, a new Delta
Tau member, said he has not visited
the fraternity or attended any re-
cruiting events, though he has met
some of the current members. He
said joining the fraternity is “just a
way to avoid the housing lottery.”
As for what draws applicants to
Buxton, Vergerio said the reason
was twofold. Firstly, “the sense of
community,” she said, and secondly,
“the parties.”
Have a minute? Take a survey!
browndailyherald.com/survey
continued from page 1
“Community MusicWorks has
shaped who I am today,” said Kirby
Vasquez, the quartet’s cellist.
The opening notes
Ruth founded CMW after he
graduated as a way to “explore how
a string quartet could play a role in
community life.”
“From the beginning I didn’t
want Community MusicWorks to
seem like a missionary effort where
music is the answer to everything,”
Ruth said. “I really wanted to embed
ourselves into the community and
grow with the community.”
Ruth, who played in a string
quartet at Brown, spent his senior
year teaching at schools in the
South Side of Providence. The idea
for CMW came from a desire to
combine his two loves: music and
community service.
“Right from the start he had a
passion for education and the arts,”
said Lois Finkel, teaching associate
in music and Ruth’s instructor dur-
ing his time at Brown.
Ruth decided early on that he
wanted to create a program to pro-
vide arts education to youth who
might not have had it otherwise,
she said.
With the help of a $15,000 public
service fellowship grant from the
Swearer Center, Ruth was able to
begin CMW in 1997. In the begin-
ning, he taught 15 students in the
West End Community Center.
Ruth was somewhat nervous
about jumping into the Providence
community, he said, but he found
that collaborating with the commu-
nity center was the organization’s
first step to integration.
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
“Community MusicWorks has shaped who I am today.”
“With (the community center’s)
validation, the larger community
accepted us as a valuable program
right from the start,” Ruth said.
“Families saw this as a genuine
offering and that we really cared
about their kids. They accepted
us, not just for our mission, but as
sincere people.”
Ruth and the other teachers’ de-
cision to become part of the neigh-
borhood helped them take their
work beyond their day jobs.
“What’s the significance of a
student running into their violin
teacher at the grocery store? Or
being able to call their cello teacher
when times are tough at home?”
Ruth said. “If we are in tune with
the community then we will have
more authentic performances and
community events that are more
tailored to the community.”
Over the next decade, CMW
evolved into much more than
Ruth’s initial vision. With a budget
of $591,000, it now has 115 enrolled
students and a variety of programs,
including lessons, mentoring pro-
grams and performances.
“We sometimes joke,” Ruth said,
that “I’d written out a weekly sched-
ule the first week, and it took seven
years to get to Saturday.”
Finding a forte
Two years ago, four of CMW’s
most committed students — Ar-
gueta, Vasquez, violist Josh Rodri-
guez and violinist Luis Ortiz — cre-
ated the ensemble that still plays
together today.
For the foursome, the new proj-
ect is a culmination of many years of
learning and self-discovery through
CMW.
“Being involved in this program
is tons better than anything else,”
Rodriguez said. “I’ve improved mu-
sically, and as a person.”
Rodriguez said his time at CMW
has made him more confident, so-
cial and considerate of others —
traits relevant to his life outside
of music.
Ruth said cultivating this culture
of respect, learning and improve-
ment is what sustains the CMW
community.
“New students join with habits
of peer groups in school — sarcasm
is the norm, clowning around is
the best way to win approval,” he
said. “But they quickly see, not
through reprimands from teach-
ers, but through (the) behaviors
of the other kids, that that’s not the
best way to succeed.”
As much as the students help
one another, the relationships they
have formed with their music teach-
ers are just as fundamental to their
growth.
Vasquez’s instructors are “more
like a family than a school,” she
said.
Many of the instructors at the
school attribute this close-knit com-
munity to the respectful and per-
sonal way they interact with their
students.
“I think just having someone tak-
ing the time to sit down and make
you a priority is a really powerful
thing,” said Sara Stalnaker, a resi-
dent musician and mentor program
coordinator.
A few years ago, one young mu-
sician confided in an instructor and
brought up a desire to join a local
gang, Ruth recalled. The teenager
was searching for a sense of be-
longing somewhere, Ruth said. But
ultimately, the student chose not to
join the gang — the young musician
recognized the supportive family
that CMW already offered.
Another way to play
CMW’s supportive family still
extends to the campus that Ruth
left in 1997, though the Swearer
Center has no official relationship
with the organization.
Over 15 Brown students mentor
CMW’s young musicians, giving
them additional weekly lessons.
The younger students benefit
from practicing with people closer
to their age, Ruth said.
But for both groups of students,
the program has grown into more
than just mentoring.
The student Bonni Brodsky ’09
has mentored for three years often
hangs out with Brodsky and her
roommates.
“Half the time I feel like she
mentors me,” Brodsky said. “She’s
so insightful, considerate and I’ve
learned so much.”
Some students, like Tyler Lu-
Thursday, March 12, 2009
— Kirby Vasquez, cellist
cero ’10, have come across unex-
pected challenges in mentoring the
younger musicians.
Lucero, who plans to continue
teaching after graduation, said he
realized the mentoring program
helped him realize that “passion
isn’t enough.”
“You have to make it digest-
ible and meaningful, which takes
a whole other dimension of your
knowledge,” he said.
Lucero’s experience as a mentor
has transformed his perspective on
his own education, he said.
“I think it’s invaluable for Brown
students to see a Brown graduate
... come back after going out suc-
cessfully into the community and
discuss that transition,” said Roger
Nozaki, director of the Swearer
Center for Public Service.
One of Ruth’s goals is to foster
collaboration between College Hill’s
temporary residents and the larger
Providence community, he said.
“Providence, like most cities,
tends to be a divided city where peo-
ple don’t necessarily feel comfort-
able leaving their neighborhoods,”
he said. “One of our ongoing goals
is to give students access to new
ideas and bigger possibilities that
they may have imagined.”
Striking a chord
At the end of the day, the mu-
sic itself challenges, invigorates
and inspires the lives of those it
touches.
Sarah Schuster ’11, who men-
tors a student from CMW, said the
program gives the student’s chil-
dren an experience that wouldn’t
be possible otherwise.
“It adds something to her life
and gives her a minute to breathe,”
Shuster said. “It’s something she
really wants for her kids.”
Argueta and the rest of the quar-
tet spend an hour piecing together
Mozart’s music, note by note, mea-
sure by measure. They pay close
attention to each note’s pitch, to
every shift in melody. Completely
engrossed in the opening bars of
music, they all pause for a moment
when they are finally satisfied.
“That was cool,” Rodriguez says,
resting his viola on his lap. “It gave
me goosepimples.”
Metro
The Brown Daily Herald
An Indian restaurant without rice would belike a “hamburger without a
hamburger bun.” — Yogi Sood, Gourmet India owner

Thursday, March 12, 2009 | Page 5

Proposed FY2010 Budget (in millions) A food fight at Providence Place

Total Spending by Function By Melissa Shube
Senior Staf f Writer
Public Natural
safety resources Diners at Providence Place Mall’s
$446.6 $96.6 food court may wonder why Gour-
met India’s basmati rice is dyed yel-
Transportation
low. The answer: a four-year legal
$483.3
battle with neighboring Chinese eat-
ery Cathay Cathay, whose contract
Human grants guarantees it a monopoly on
services white rice in the food court.
General
The conflict began when Gour-
government $2,773.2
met India moved into the mall in
$1,744.2 2005. Cathay Cathay, which opened
at the mall in 2001, has a lease giv-
Education ing the chain the “exclusive right”
to ser ve certain listed items in-
$2,071.3 cluding “white rice — boiled or
steamed,” according to a Rhode
Island Supreme Cour t decision
Julien Ouellet / Herald filed Jan. 9. Cathay Cathay’s owner
Kim Perley / Herald
Source: Governor's 2010 Budget briefing told the Boston Globe that he pays
Gourmet India in Providence Place Mall is in a legal battle — over rice.
$35,000 a month ­in rent — more

Carcieri ’65 announces than twice what Gourmet India

pays — for the right.
When Gourmet India arrived,
hamburger bun,” he said.
Soon after Gourmet India
opened, Cathay Cathay took legal
The case was brought to a su-
perior court again in January, and
the court ruled that Gourmet India

new budget proposal the mall gave owner Yogi Sood

a list of items he was prohibited
action against it, seeking damages
for its use of rice. In court, Cathay
was within its rights to sell basmati
rice. On the question of whether
from selling, including “white rice Cathay offered the testimony of Gourmet India’s contract violates
By Sophia Li the corporate income tax. It would or fried rice” as well as any other Irving Lemack, a “qualified expert Cathay Cathay’s lease, the court
Features Editor raise the state’s cigarette tax by $1 “oriental style food,” according to in food analysis,” who, “upon exam- ordered another trial. Cathay Ca-
and slash funding for RIteCare, the the decision. But, a clause in the ining Gourmet India’s rice organo- thay intends to pursue this retrial
Facing one of the largest budget state’s subsidized health insurance. contract stated, the “sale or use leptically” ­— that is, eating it and and also sue the mall, according
deficits in Rhode Island history, Those cuts would leave 38,000 par- of Basmati rice as a side dish or looking at it under magnification to the Globe.
Gov. Donald Carcieri ’65 unveiled ents without dental coverage, ac- ingredient shall not be deemed a — declared that it was white rice The legal conflict has had one
his plan for a balanced state budget cording to the Providence Journal. violation of the prohibition of the colored yellow, according to the visible change in the food — the
Tuesday. But Carcieri — whose approval sale of rice.” court decision. Noting that basmati distinctive yellow color of Gourmet
Carcieri’s budget recommenda- rating among Rhode Islanders re- Basmati rice “is a special type of rice could be both white and brown, India’s rice, which contains saf-
tions for the next fiscal year rely on cently hit a low of 34 percent, ac- rice which is grown in the foothills the food expert offered no opinion fron and yellow food coloring. Sood
funds from taxes and the federal cording to a poll by the Taubman of the Himalayas,” Sood said. He on whether the rice in question owns several other restaurants, but
stimulus package to fill the antici- Center for Public Policy — will have said it differs from white rice in was basmati. the Gourmet India in the food court
pated gap — more than $860 million to get his budget through the state’s texture and flavor, noting that an But the 2006 decision deter- is the only one to feature yellow
over the next two years. He has also Democrat-dominated General As- “Indian restaurant cannot operate mined that Gourmet India was rice, he said.
proposed to increase state spending sembly. The legislature will debate without rice.” within its rights to sell basmati rice. “We’re just doing it because I
by about 10 percent in 2010. the Republican governor’s proposal “It’s an integral part of our cui- The court ruled that “traditional don’t want any hassle,” he said,
Under Carcieri’s proposals, the over the next few months before sine,” Sood said. An Indian restau- Indian cuisine could not reasonably adding that he would love to be
state would spend a total of $7.62 creating its own revised budget for rant that did not serve rice would be construed as a subcategory of
billion in the next fiscal year. The his approval. be like a “hamburger without a ‘oriental style food.’ ” continued on page 6
governor’s plan for the next two
years also relies on more than $300
million from the federal government
to cover the state deficit.
While the stimulus money in-
cludes $110 million from a “state
fiscal stabilization fund” to be spent
on education and aid to local com-
munities over the next two years,
the governor’s proposed budget
also eliminates a revenue-sharing
program that gave $31 million in
state aid to cities and towns in his
revised 2009 budget.
The revenue sharing program,
which started in the 1990s, sets aside
a portion of state tax revenue for aid
to cities and towns.
The governor’s budget recom-
mendations also alter the state’s in-
come tax structure, increasing the
earned-income tax credit for low-
income households while raising
taxes for some Rhode Island couples
and individuals making less than
$75,000 annually.
Carcieri’s proposed budget also
includes a five-year phase-out of

Thanks for
reading.
Page 6
M etro
Tensions high in mall food court
continued from page 5
finished with the legal proceed-
ings.
“It interferes with my ability
to conduct my business properly,
and it’s a big distraction. I would
rather spend my time on other
things,” he said.
The mall has paid his legal fees
so far, he said.
Four years and two court rul-
ings after the dispute first arose,
little has changed, with Cathay Ca-
thay selling white rice and Gour-
met India selling yellow-tinted
basmati rice next door.
Food court patrons told The
Herald they were surprised to
learn about the legal struggles
behind their lunches.
Maria Cebollero, who came to
the mall from Boston, said she
didn’t normally eat Chinese food
but had a craving for it that day.
She said she didn’t see the
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
“I think we would have picked the restaurant based on the food,
not the rice.”— Sarah Hartman, a Gourmet India patron
need for Cathay Cathay to “mo-
nopolize” rice.
Sarah Hartman, also a resident
of Massachusetts, bought food
from Gourmet India for lunch.
“I think we would have picked
the restaurant based on the food,
not the rice,” she said.
Chris Hartman, her husband,
who had a helping of Gourmet
India rice in front of him, said it
was “fine” but added that he found
the yellow color “odd.”
Chafee ’75 considering
run for governorship
continued from page 1
our city government and grow our
economy, and I intend to complete
it,” he said in the video.
The announcement makes Ci-
cilline’s name the latest to drop off
the list of potential candidates to
replace Gov. Donald Carcieri ’65 in
2010. Former Republican mayor of
Cranston Steve Laffey recently an-
nounced that he would not seek the
governorship.
Among those still potentially in
the gubernatorial ring are General
Treasurer Frank Caprio, Attorney
General Patrick Lynch ’87 and Lt.
Gov. Elizabeth Roberts ’78, all Demo-
crats. Former Sen. Lincoln Chafee
’75, a visiting fellow at the Watson
Institute for International Studies,
told the Providence Journal last week
that he is “very, very seriously” con-
sidering a run.
Those potential candidates, un-
like Cicilline, have all held statewide
office and so would have an edge in
the governor’s race, said Marion Orr,
director of the Taubman Center for
Public Policy.
Thirty-eight percent of voters
statewide rated Cicilline’s perfor-
mance as “good” or “excellent” in
a recent Taubman Center poll. The
Thursday, March 12, 2009
center has not conducted any polls
of city voters only, but observers
may look at Cicilline’s statewide
numbers and wonder whether his
popularity within the city is any bet-
ter, Orr said.
A successful gubernatorial bid
would have been “a difficult climb”
for Cicilline, he added.
Mayors of central cities seldom
advance to statewide office, Orr
said, partly because of the different
demographics of cities, which tend
to have more minorities, and states.
Problems mayors deal with may also
put them at odds with the rest of the
state, Orr said.
“It’s a long haul from city hall to
the governor’s mansion,” he said.
It’s unclear whether a fellow Dem-
ocrat might challenge Cicilline in the
mayoral primary, Orr said.
David Talan, chairman of the
Providence Republican Party and a
former mayoral candidate, said Cicil-
line will definitely face a Republican
opponent in 2010, though “whether
that will be me, I can’t say.”
Cicilline, he said, “needs an op-
ponent.”
Talan said any Republican can-
didate would run on a platform of
holding down spending, not raising
taxes and improving schools.
SportsThursday
The Brown Daily Herald

Thursday, March 12, 2009 | Page 7

A glove of Big victories for w.

fool’s gold tennis, equestrian
Defense matters. Or at least that’s Sports Staff Reports four-hit game, but Brown came
how the theory goes. But how do up just short with a 10-9 loss in
you tell what teams and players Baseball 11 innings.
are actually good or bad at defense The baseball team was swept by
other than the Auburn in a four-game series over Women’s tennis
Jonathan Hahn
s h i n y ( a n d Sports Columnist the weekend, dropping Brown’s The women’s tennis team
hor rendously record to 1-5. earned a pair of victories over the
biased) Gold Gloves or the often- In the first game of the series weekend, with a dominant 6-1 win
used “they didn’t make errors” side on Friday afternoon, pitcher Will over West Virginia on Saturday,
commentary? Just because Manny Weidig ’10 gave up seven runs from followed by a hard-fought 4-3 win
Ramirez makes a great catch, high four homers in the first inning to against Maryland.
fives a fan, throws out the runner put the Bears in the hole. Though Against Mar yland, Bianca
and makes ESPN’s Top 10 Plays Weidig, a co-captain, settled down Aboubakare ’11 and Cassandra
doesn’t mean that he’s a good or and allowed just one run over the Herzberg ’12 rolled to straight-set
bad fielder (he’s terrible). You can’t next four innings he pitched, the wins at No.1 and No. 2 singles,
find good measures on a box score damage had been done. Brown respectively. Catherine Stewart ’12
that adequately capture the true took an 11-2 loss. pulled out a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4) win at
defensive ability of a player. The following day, the Tigers No. 6 singles to secure the win
Sabermetricians like to use held a 7-0 lead at the end of the for Brown after the Bears won the
different statistics that are based fifth inning. Though the Bears doubles point.
on the theory that each fielder on made a dent in the lead with This Saturday, the Bears will
a team has a “zone” which they three runs in the eighth inning, return to the court to take on St.
cover. The statistics theoretically the comeback bid fell short and John’s and the University of Albany
measure the ability of a fielder to Auburn pulled out a 9-4 victory. at home.
convert balls hit to this “zone” into Third baseman Rob Papenhause
outs, ultimately collecting a sea- ’09 led the way with three hits in Equestrian
son’s worth of data to figure out the loss, while shortstop and co- The equestrian team had a
how good a player is on defense. A captain Matt Nuzzo ’09 and center- strong performance at UConn on
Justin Coleman / Herald
widely accepted metric that’s easily fielder Steve Daniels ’09 followed Saturday, compiling 39 team points
Cassandra Herzberg ’12 had a straight set win at No. 2 singles in the
available is the Ultimate Zone Rat- with two hits each. to tie for first with Johnson and women’s tennis team’s 4-3 win over Maryland last weekend.
ing, which essentially measures Later on Saturday, an RBI single Wales. The team edged out host
a fielder’s comparative ability to by right fielder Nick Punal ’10 gave UConn (36) and URI (23). Two
prevent runs. Brown a 4-1 lead in the top of the freshmen rode to wins for Brown,
Does the theor y that defense third, but the lead was erased by with Rebecca McGoldrick ’12 win- Top performers
breeds success hold? More and three runs in the bottom of the ning the Novice Flat and Kelsey
more teams are realizing the impor- inning for the Tigers. They rallied MacMillan ’12 taking first place Baseball Women’s Lacrosse
tance of defensive ability as both a for a 6-4 win over the Bears. Punal in the Walk Trot. The Bears were • Nick Punal ’10, baseball: • Jesse Nunn ’09: 6 G, 1 A, 7
contributor to success and a quick led the team with three hits, while also strong in the fences division. .400 batting average (8-20) ground balls
fix to their problems (see: Seattle’s Nuzzo, Daniels and designated hit- Liz Giliberti ’10 clinched a spot • Matt Nuzzo ’09, baseball: • Katelyn Caro ’12: 4 G, 1 A
2009 outfield, with Ichiro Suzuki, ter Mike DiBiase ’12 all had two at the IHSA National Champion- .333 (8-24), 6 RBI, .625 • Lauren Vitkus ’09: 4 G, 1 A,
Endy Chavez and Franklin Gutier- hits. ships with a win in Open Fences, slugging percentage 10 GB
rez). Both of the 2008 World Series In a slugfest to close out the and Emma Bogdonoff ’10 got the • Steve Daniels ’09, baseball: • Isabel Harvey ’12: 9.67 GAA,
teams, the Philadelphia Phillies and series on Sunday, shortstop Gra- win in Intermediate Fences. This .308 (8-26), 4 RBI, 4 runs, .463 save percentage
the Tampa Bay Rays, tied for the ham Tyler ’12 had three hits — in- Saturday, the team will compete in 3 stolen bases
Major League Baseball lead in team cluding a home run — and drove
UZR (aggregate individual fielders’ in three runs. Punal registered a continued on page 8
UZR) with 74.3 runs above average.
Looking at the other 2008 playoff
teams, we find that the Boston Red
Sox finished 4th overall with a 36.8
UZR, and that the Milwaukee Brew-
ers (14.7 UZR), Chicago Cubs (9
UZR) and Los Angeles Angels (1.7
UZR) all finished above average
when it came to converting outs.
Six out of eight playoff teams
with a positive team UZR (16 teams
in 2008 had a positive UZR) would
seem to suggest that defense defi-
nitely plays an important part in
reaching the postseason. For those
wondering, the Chicago White Sox
finished 19th with a -14.1 UZR
(blame your outfield) and the Los
Angeles Dodgers finished 27th
with a -42.7 UZR (blame everyone).
Even going back three years, when
front offices began to shift empha-
sis toward defense in constructing
their teams, we see that 17 out of
24 of playoff teams finished with a
positive team UZR.
But what about measuring
individual defense? Does Derek
Jeter truly play superb defense
and rightly deserve his three Gold
Gloves? He doesn’t, and his season
average UZR of -5.7 (-39.8 over the
past seven seasons) means he was
actually a below-average shortstop

continued on page 8
Page 8 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
S ports T hursday
Hahn ’10: Gold Glove needs polishing
continued from page 7
in the field. Blame the media and
large market bias, blame the igno-
rance of the voters, blame sports
highlights or blame “I’ve seen it
with my eyes.” Whatever the ex-
cuse is, Gold Gloves are a joke.
When 2008 Gold Glove outfielder
Nate McLouth (-13.7 UZR) of the
Pittsburgh Pirates dives to make
a close play because he’s too slow
on a play that Cleveland’s (now Se-
attle’s) Franklin Gutierrez (21.7
Skiing takes 10th at weekend tourney
continued from page 7
its last show of the regular season
at Johnson and Wales.
Women’s lacrosse
The women’s lacrosse team im-
proved its record to 2-1 with a 13-
12 home win over the University
of Albany.
After Albany cut Brown’s lead to
7-6 in the first minute after halftime,
the Bears scored three unanswered
goals to gain a 10-6 advantage. Kate-
lyn Caro ’12 scored two goals and
assisted another during that stretch.
The Great Danes came back to tie
UZR) would have lazily made as a
routine fly, it doesn’t take a genius
to see that something is wrong with
how managers and coaches are
haanding out Gold Gloves.
Who are some of the other ter-
rible or laughable 2008 Gold Glove
winners? Angels outfielder Torii
Hunter (-11.3 UZR), Texas short-
stop Michael Young (-2.6 UZR)
and McLouth should have been
replaced by Toronto outfielder Alex
Rios (23.1 UZR), White Sox short-
stop Orlando Cabrera (16.4 UZR)
the score at 12 with just under five
minutes remaining. But with 1:18 to
go Molly McCarthy ’10 sent a pass
to Lauren Vitkus ’09, who buried the
game-winning goal for Bruno.
Caro and Kelly Robinson ’09 each
scored three goals for Brown, while
goalie Isabel Harvey ’12 made ten
saves in the victory.
Skiing
At the U.S. Collegiate Skiing and
Snowboard Association National
Championships, the skiing team
finished in 10th place, with Krista
Consiglio ’11 and Kia Mosenthal
’12 earning All-America honors.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
and Philadelphia outfielder Jayson
Werth (20.6 UZR). So next time
you praise the defensive abilities
and superb play-making of your
favorite player, stop and think. They
might ultimately just be a scrub
who flashed a moment of brilliance.
Or a high five.
Jonathan Hahn ’10 is training
hard this spring to improve
his Ultimate Columnist Rating.
Consiglio’s two-run time of 2:12.67
placed her 12th in the giant slalom.
Emily Simmons ’12 wasn’t far be-
hind, earning 36th in giant slalom
with a time of 2:17.81. Blaine Mar-
tin ’11 finished 64th in the event in
2:35.94.
Mosenthal was Brown’s top fin-
isher in the slalom, placing fourth
in 1:25.65. Consiglio followed in 31st
with a time of 1:32.42 and Elisa Hand-
bury ’10 came in 42nd in 1:34.74.
Mosenthal was named a first-
team All-American in the slalom,
while Consiglio earned second-team
All-America honors in the giant sla-
lom and combined events.
Page 9
C ampus N EWS
Funding poses hurdle for effort to revamp U.’s aging data center
continued from page 3
Kelleher, director of the data center,
there are around 6,000 information-
storing tapes in the center, which
holds “terabytes and terabytes of
information.”
The data center is connected to
the University network by redundant
feeds, which means that if “one goes
down, there’s still another one,” he
said.
The center also runs on two pow-
er feeds, one of which is an “uninter-
ruptible power source” backed up
by a series of batteries, Thayer said.
But the other is simply the building’s
“house power.”
“In the future, we are looking to
build a facility where both power
feeds are (uninterruptable),” Thayer
said.
The CIT building was built 20
years ago, and some of the equip-
ment in the data center is original to
the building. The computing room
air conditioning units, for example,
are “way beyond their useful life,”
Wolfe said.
“They could, at any point, fail,”
Wolfe said.
To address concerns about the
data center’s vulnerability, the Uni-
versity has been contemplating a
range of projects. Two years ago,
the University “began intensive plan-
ning studies” to find a location for a
new data center, Thayer wrote in
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
“Community MusicWorks has shaped who I am today.”
her e-mail.
According to Wolfe, the Univer-
sity is currently planning eight or
nine projects to ease concerns about
the data center, some of which are
already under way. But others may
not begin soon, and with some still
unfunded the financial crisis may
prevent comprehensive upgrades
from proceeding quickly.
“It’s a question of getting fund-
ing and looking at different options.
We will be making some of those
(improvements) over the next few
years,” Wolfe said.
The project that will affect the
center soonest is an upgrade to a
generator that serves both the CIT
and the Sciences Library. Facilities
Management will complete that up-
grade in June, Thayer wrote.
“With this generator, the data
center will have additional power
backup,” Kelleher said.
In December, the University also
hired Marsh, a risk advisory com-
pany, to make recommendations
about a “business continuity plan”
to allow Brown to continue function-
ing should something go wrong at
the data center.
An engineering and design firm,
idGroup, is currently preparing rec-
ommendations about how to shore
up the facility over the next five or
ten years.
“The idGroup recommendations
will be available this spring and will
Thursday, March 12, 2009
— Kirby Vasquez, cellist
be integrated with the Marsh recom-
mendations serving as the basis for
a proposal to the University senior
administration and Corporation,”
Thayer wrote.
According to Thayer, the best
way to secure the information in the
data center would be to duplicate
servers and storage now in the CIT
and store them at another facility
off-campus.
But that option is unlikely, Thayer
said.
“Clearly this is a very expen-
sive proposition,” she wrote. “It is
unrealistic to assume that all data
processing conducted by CIS would
be ‘essential’ during a limited-time
disruption.”
Editorial & Letters
The Brown Daily Herald

Page 10 | Thursday, March 12, 2009

e d i to r i a l

A scalpel, not a hatchet

Brown is facing a contraction of its staff, but for now the damage is likely
to be modest. By the end of the fiscal year in June, Brown will have eliminated
roughly 60 staff positions, part of an initiative to cut an estimated $80 to $90
million from the budget over the next five fiscal years. President Ruth Sim-
mons’ administration is asking for student input on the process and receiving
general guidance from the Organizational Review Committee, which represents
University employees.
Students and professors should be grateful for the way the University
has gone about this task so far. Current plans for expanding the faculty will
continue, though in years to come hiring will likely suffer some reductions.
While tuition is set to rise 3 percent, financial aid will be boosted by almost
11 percent, cushioning the students most vulnerable to the world’s dismal
economic conditions. Some staffers are taking on a considerable new load
to help finance that cushion. Others will lose their jobs entirely, and the
administration should follow through on existing offers of career counseling
to soften the blow.
As many as 35 of the slots slated for elimination are currently empty and
will have their associated responsibilities divvied up among the remaining staff.
But even the unfortunate cases in which employees will be laid off are unlikely
to have a major academic impact: The Department of Facilities Management’s
Planning, Design and Construction Office, one possible victim of the layoffs,
will most likely shrink along with the projects it oversees. Some offices may
even benefit from adapting to a smaller staff, helping them offer more tech-
savvy and streamlined operations to current and future students.
The flip side is that the proposed cuts won’t make much of a dent in the chris jesu lee
current budget shortfall. Eliminating positions that would not have been filled
will offer only nominal savings, and employees who take on new responsibili-
ties will have to receive higher salaries. Generous severance packages and
counseling costs to help laid-off workers navigate the rough job market are
l e t t e r to t h e e d i to r s
dictated by conscience, but they will also reduce the resultant savings.
The administration is wisely keeping its options open, and deeper cuts may
be coming down the line. Students should take every opportunity to let the
Spring Weekend ticket scales are no scam
University know their ideas for the budget process — not just the Undergraduate To the Editor: cannot afford tickets can apply for them from a financial
Council of Students, but anyone with an opinion on how to help Brown weather aid allotment (by emailing Julie_Schmidt@brown.edu
the economic storm. And they should keep an eye on the administration to We would like to thank Pete Gilligan ’09 for his before April 2).
ensure that it makes the most efficient adjustments possible. thoughts about the Spring Weekend ticket sales pro- Regarding the quality of the Web site, most program-
cess in his recent letter (“The Spring Weekend bait- mers would agree that a simple typographical error in
Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board. Send comments to and-switch,” March 11). However, some clarifications an image is not indicative of the quality of the code. Erik
editorials@browndailyherald.com. should be made. Nazerko’s ’11 Web site handled wonderfully and was
Gilligan’s suggestion that the package offer is a “bait- slowed only slightly by the servers hosting it. We are
and-switch fraud” is inaccurate. The Brown Concert excited that BCA is now able to offer tickets to students
Agency traditionally offers a limited number of tickets, so conveniently, and any suggestions for improving
t h e b r o w n d a i ly h e r a l d about 10 percent of the total, as packages in order to the system are welcome at brownconcertagency@
Editor-in-Chief Managing Editors Associate Editors Senior Editors promote the shows. After these go, students can buy gmail.com.
Steve DeLucia Michael Bechek Nandini Jayakrishna Rachel Arndt tickets at the discounted student price. We look forward to seeing you at the concerts!
Chaz Firestone Franklin Kanin Catherine Cullen
Michael Skocpol Scott Lowenstein We understand the frustration of students who woke
editorial Business up early, logged on to the Market Place by 8 a.m. and Daniel Ain ’09
Ben Hyman Arts & Culture Editor General Managers Office Manager still were unable to purchase tickets at the package Booking Chair, BCA
Hannah Levintova Arts & Culture Editor Alexander Hughes Shawn Reilly
Sophia Li Features Editor Jonathan Spector price. We did not expect tickets to go this fast, and Stephen Hazeltine ’09
Emmy Liss Features Editor Directors they never have before. For this reason and others, Administrative Chair, BCA
Gaurie Tilak Higher Ed Editor Ellen DaSilva Sales Director
Matthew Varley Higher Ed Editor Claire Kiely Sales Director
we will evaluate a uniform ticket price for all students
George Miller Metro Editor Phil Maynard Sales Director for future concerts. Matthew Garza ’11
Joanna Wohlmuth Metro Editor Katie Koh Finance Director In addition to the online sales, we made several VP for Marketing and Promotions,
Chaz Kelsh News Editor Jilyn Chao Asst. Finance Director
Jenna Stark News Editor changes to our ticketing procedure. For the first time, Brown Student Agencies
Benjy Asher Sports Editor Managers
we sold tickets exclusively to the Brown community Erik Nazarenko ’11
Andrew Braca Sports Editor Kelly Wess Local Sales
Alex Mazerov Asst. Sports Editor Kathy Bui National Sales and enforced a policy that limited purchasers to two Brown Student Agencies
Katie Wood Asst. Sports Editor Alex Carrere University Sales tickets per show. Also for the first time, students who March 11
Christiana Stephenson Recruiter Sales
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Opinions
The Brown Daily Herald
Spring Weekend, Wikipedia-style
JEANNE JEONG
Opinions Columnist
I think I was in the seventh grade when
I first heard “I Can” by Nas on the radio.
Other than that, I’m pretty sure I couldn’t
name another one of his songs. Of course,
this should mostly be attributed to the fact
that I am musically illiterate, something I
try to hide by making sure no one sees my
iPod playlists. Ever.
But my lack of familiarity with this year’s
Spring Weekend lineup may not be so un-
usual. The night the lineup was released,
numerous Facebook statuses reflected the
general ambivalence and even disappoint-
ment of Brown students who actually knew
something about music (or at least pre-
tended to). At this point, I still wasn’t exact-
ly sure if the artists were simply unpopular,
untalented, unhip or all of the above. So I
did the next logical thing. I Wikipedia-ed.
Of the three, Nas, not surprisingly, has
the most in-depth page. I won’t go into the
history of his albums because that’s kind
of boring, but I found that Nas has a “cam-
paign against (Bill) O’Reilly.” Apparently,
O’Reilly criticized Nas on Fox, calling his
lyrics and criminal record inappropriate
for a concert at Virginia Tech in 2007 with
John Mayer, Phil Vassar and Dave Mat-
thews Band. Since O’Reilly has already
once denounced Brown’s administration
as consisting of “pinheads” and the student
R.I. should invest in community supervision
DAN DAVIDSON
Opinions Columnist
As Gov. Donald Carcieri ’65 officially accept-
ed Rhode Island’s share of the stimulus mon-
ey last week, lawmakers and state officials
were still trying to figure out where it should
go. Rhode Island is facing a plethora of fiscal
challenges, including an unemployment rate
of over 10 percent.
The state’s primary focus should be cre-
ating jobs in a variety of sectors. Policymak-
ers should pay particular attention to crimi-
nal justice.
The connection between criminal justice
issues and the economy may not be obvious.
But I believe that the state can promote its
economic goals if it dedicates stimulus mon-
ey to hiring more probation and parole of-
ficers.
Doing so would provide more jobs for
Rhode Islanders. According to stimulus-
watch.org, of the eight public safety proj-
ects already planned in the stimulus pack-
age for Rhode Island, only one would actu-
ally bolster employment. Creating jobs is not
the sole purpose of the stimulus, and hiring
more officers is also a sound investment
strategy for the state.
A larger force of probation and parole
officers would help the state curtail spend-
ing on corrections, which is unnecessarily
draining Rhode Island’s limited resources.
The state already spent almost $200 million
body as a bunch of moral degenerates, I as-
sume O’Reilly will be less concerned with
Nas’s influence on Brown.
I guess I’m sold, as I may be brain-
washed to automatically dislike O’Reilly
by just being a Brown student. Not that I
needed more reason than a few minutes of
watching “The O’Reilly Factor.”
Further, according to the all-knowing
Wikipedia, indie-pop group Of Montre-
al derives its name from frontman Kevin
The night the Spring Weekend lineup was
released, numerous Facebook statuses
reflected the general ambivalence and even
disappointment of Brown students who actually
knew something about music.
Barnes’ past relationship with a woman
from Montreal. How sentimental. When I
first listened to their music, I realized all
of their songs sound strangely similar — at
least the two I made it through. Once again,
I reiterate, I know nothing about music, but
as the Wikipedia page describes the influ-
ence of “psychedelic music” on their mel-
odies, I feel their songs may speak to the
on corrections last year, and a Pew Center
on the States report projected that the prison
population will increase by 21 percent by 2017
and will cost upwards of $300 million.
When someone is on probation or parole,
he must meet periodically with an officer.
Not showing up to a meeting can result in
prison time. Sending people to prison for vio-
lating their probation or parole in this way
harms the state’s economy.
Incarceration is far more expensive for
the state than community supervision. In
Rhode Island it costs over $46,000 on aver-
age to lock someone up for a year, but the
Hiring more probation and parole officers would
help solve two of Rhode Islands largest problems,
unemployment and runaway corrections
spending.
average annual cost of probation barely ex-
ceeds $1,000.
Here’s how more probation and parole of-
ficers can save the state money. When pro-
bationers or parolees go missing, an officer
has two choices. He can inform a judge and
have a warrant issued, or he can attempt
to locate his charge. This could be as sim-
ple as calling a few relatives, neighbors and
friends, or it could involve something more
time-consuming, like actually searching the
Spring Weekend audience.
Spring Weekend act Santigold, I learned,
is one person, not a band. Her real name
is Santi White, formerly of the stage name
Santogold. Interestingly, Santi/Santogold/
Santigold went to what many may consider
to be our smaller, more liberal, more rural
counterpart, Wesleyan. We’re off to a good
start. Further, some anonymous Wikipedia
contributors claim she sounds like M.I.A.,
so perhaps those nostalgic for last year’s
lineup can simply enjoy Spring Weekend’s
non-music related festivities enough that it
all seems the same.
Those who are still unimpressed may
like to know that one of her singles placed
second to Beyonce’s “Single Ladies (Put a
Ring On It).” That’s a pure sign of artistic
talent if you ask me.
As for Sharon Jones, I was doubtful when
neighborhood.
Ideally, officers would be able to pursue
these options in an effort to address the
situation without issuing a warrant. But in
Rhode Island, a generic probation officer
handles an average of 236 probationers.
With so many people to keep tabs on, it is
impossible to give all individuals the level of
attention required to prevent their arrest if
they miss a meeting.
The state saves tens of thousands of dol-
lars every time it keeps a probationer out of
prison for a year. Over 20,000 Rhode Island-
ers are on probation or parole, and many
of them could stay out of prison if the state
hired more probation and parole officers.
Unfortunately, the federal government
has not taken the initiative on this issue
by encouraging states to hire more proba-
tion and parole officers. Only two projects
in the stimulus bill even deal with proba-
tion, and both focus exclusively on juvenile
offenders.
Some states, like our neighbor Connecti-
cut, have recognized the potential cost-sav-
Thursday, March 12, 2009 | Page 11
I read that, despite attempts at an early ca-
reer, she only gained fame in middle age.
That’s rarely a good sign. But at least her
soul/funk sound adds to the diverse mix of
styles for Spring Weekend. Fun fact: Jones
played a small role alongside Denzel Wash-
ington in The Great Debaters. I know that’s
not musically related, but its notable. It’s
Denzel Washington.
There’s also some local band called
Deer Tick. I didn’t think there would be a
Wikipedia article on it, but after 10 minutes
of discovering many interesting facts about
Lyme disease, I found their page. Since the
article was short, I gave it a glance, but un-
fortunately, there’s nothing too interesting
to note. Though I appreciate the attempt to
bring some Providence culture to Brown,
I would like to note that if I had a particu-
lar desire to see Deer Tick, they would be
right down the hill.
The artists may not be as well known as
MGMT and Justice or as notoriously laugh-
able as Limp Bizkit, but rumors aside, the
line-up is set. I suggest at least brushing
up on the lyrics — or in my case, learning
them from scratch — just in case, though
knowing every word to every Nas song may
damage your credibility in musical taste.
But then again, you can’t trust every-
thing on Wikipedia, and maybe the week-
end won’t be so bad.
Jeanne Jeong ’12 is a first-year from
Ashburn, Virginia. She can be reached
at Jeanne_Jeong@brown.edu
ings of investing in community supervision.
In 2004, Connecticut started a pilot program
aimed at lowering caseloads for probation of-
ficers that a 2005 analysis concluded would
“lower incarceration rates for probation vio-
lators” and save money if implemented state-
wide.
Carcieri has a poor record on reform of
the criminal justice system. But hiring more
probation and parole officers would help
solve two of Rhode Island’s largest prob-
lems, unemployment and runaway correc-
tions spending.
Mayor David Cicilline ’83 should press
the governor to commit stimulus money for
more probation and parole officers. It is en-
couraging to see the mayor not only creating
an advisory committee to help steer stimu-
lus money to where it’s most needed and
useful, but appointing the police chief as a
member. Hopefully, they will both recognize
the importance of hiring more probation and
parole officers in Providence, where roughly
a third of the state’s probationers and parol-
ees live.
In the current economic climate, Rhode
Islanders need jobs and a state government
that does everything it can to cut unneces-
sary spending. Using stimulus money to
help hire more probation and parole officers
can satisfy both these needs.
Dan Davidson ’11 is a political science
concentrator from Atlanta, Georgia. He
can be reached at
Daniel_Davidson@brown.edu.
 Today
The Brown Daily Herald
w h at l i e s b e n e at h
3 04 film and television
c a l e n da r
MARCH 12, 2009
12 P.M. — Howard Dean lecture free
ticket distribution, J. Walter Wilson
8 P.m. — Fusion Dance Company’s
Annual Show, Alumni Hall
menu
Sharpe Refectory
Lunch — Falafel in Pita, Hot Turkey
Sandwich with Sauce, Mashed Red
Potatoes with Garlic
Dinner — Pumpkin Ravioli with
Cream Sauce, Rice Pilaf with Zuc-
chini, Braised Beef Tips
crossword
MARCH 13, 2009
6 P.M. — Screening of The Troupe
by Rabeah Ghafarri, Lyman Hall,
Room 219
8 p.m. — Fusion Dance Company’s
Annual Show, Alumni Hall
Verney-Woolley Dining Hall
Lunch — Ginger Chicken and Pasta,
Shoepeg Corn Casserole, Mandarin
Blend Vegetables
Dinner — Roast Turkey with Sauce,
Vegan Roasted Vegetable Stew, Pasta
Veggie Chicken Stir Fry
5 Gov. Carcieri ’65 releases budget proposal to day to m o r r o w
Scurtinizing the Gold Glove awards
7
Thursday, March 12, 2009
35 / 17 35 /23
Page 12
post-
Inside...
03 feature
BACK TO THE FUTURE \\ sonia kim
WORTH WATCHING WATCHMEN \\ gabriel doss
STEREOTYPES AND HANDSPRINGS\\ tanmay misra
05 music
NEW WEIRD AMERICANA \\ eva kurtz-nelson
07 sexpertise
IT’S COMPLICATED \\ allie wollner
LISTENING TO THE DANCE \\ arthur matuszewski
08 from the hill
MONDAY NIGHT LIGHTS\\ audrey fox
FOOD IS SEXY \\ ted lamm & alex logan
A SHAMELESS PLUG FROM PW
comics
Enigma Twist| Dustin Foley
Inside...
03 feature
BACK TO THE FUTURE \\ sonia kim
The One About Zombies | Kevin Grubb
04 film and television
WORTH WATCHING WATCHMEN \\ gabriel doss
STEREOTYPES AND HANDSPRINGS\\ tanmay m
05 music
NEW WEIRD AMERICANA \\ eva kurtz-nelso
Socrates | Sephen Lichenstein and Adam Wagner
07 sexpertise
IT’S COMPLICATED \\ allie wollner
LISTENING TO THE DANCE \\ arthur matusze
08 from the hill
MONDAY NIGHT LIGHTS\\ audrey fox
FOOD IS SEXY \\ ted lamm & alex logan
A SHAMELESS PLUG FROM PW