wednesday, february 5, 2003

THE BROWN DAILY HERALDAn independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891

F E B R U A R Y 5 , 2 0 0 3

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I N S I D E W E D N E S D AY, F E B RUA RY 5 , 2 0 0 3 TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T

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BY JULIETTE WALLACKThe University’s growth will not be halted by space orfinancial concerns, President Ruth Simmons told facul-ty members at Tuesday’s faculty meeting.

“If we remain the size we are, we die,” Simmons toldmore than 100 members of the faculty who filled LowerSalomon. And, she said, though the near-term budget“is tight,” her long-term plan for the University stillincludes decreasing class sizes and increasing the sizeof the faculty beyond the 100 new professors allotted inthe one-year-old Initiatives for Academic Enrichment.

Simmons said she expects to receive Brown’s budgetthis week from the University Resources Committee intime for the Corporation meeting. The budget will bebalanced, which will require savings in many areas, shesaid.

Simmons also spoke about the Life Sciences build-ing, University planning and an amicus brief theUniversity will sign in support of affirmative action.

Simmons said the University will sign the amicusbrief sponsored by Harvard University in support ofaffirmative action. An upcoming Supreme Court casequestioning the University of Michigan’s affirmativeaction policy in admission spurred the authoring of the

brief.Though the brief is not a full endorsement of

Michigan’s policy, it does argue the importance of affir-mative action in higher education, Simmons said. Shetold the faculty the policy is “essential in a pluralistdemocracy.”

Simmons also spent much time presenting a generalplan for the University’s expansion, including the LifeSciences building and other unspecified areas of possi-ble growth. The building “will get built,” but “even withthat building, we are still very much short of space,” shesaid. Beyond that, though, she is not sure how Brownwill expand. Instead, Frances Halsband, a consultantfrom R.M. Kliment & Frances Halsband Architects whoworks on the University’s master plan, is studying theoptions open to the University with a focus on expan-sion on College Hill.

Simmons told the faculty Halsband estimates theUniversity can get 1 to 2 million square feet of newspace on College Hill alone with the use of in-fills, ordigging below ground level.

After Simmons’ presentation, Provost Robert Zimmerdetailed plans for the coming months, including anAcademic Priorities Committee report considering the

next round of faculty expansion that he expects will beready after the February Corporation meeting.

Zimmer also spoke briefly about the creation of ahumanities research center and an environmentalchange initiative, which will be two centers focused onpromoting interdisciplinary research in those areas. Hesaid he expects the University will soon start searchingfor a “leading senior scholar in humanities” and a “lead-ing research scientist” to run the research incubators.

Brown is already a “major presence” in the environ-mental arena, Zimmer said, and the environmentalchange initiative will build on the University’s strengths.Part of the initiative includes a collaboration with theMarine Biological Lab in Woods Hole, Mass., andZimmer said he hopes to promote this type of coopera-tive effort.

The faculty also observed a moment of silence inmemory of John McIntyre ’39, a long-time Universityemployee whose duties included assisting severalUniversity presidents and working with theCorporation.

Juliette Wallack ’05 covers the faculty and administration.She can be reached at [email protected].

BY ZACH BARTERA University Food Services plan to purchase food directlyfrom area farmers might mean tastier food for students andbetter fortunes for farmers, according to students and UFSstaff working on the project.

The plan, currently entitled “Community Harvest,”would also seek to strengthen ties between farmers and theUniversity community by bringing farmers, students andadministrators together for meetings and conferences onthe local agricultural economy.

“This is about having the direct relationship,” said IrenaFoygel ’05, who is involved in the project. “These farmersmight be living very close to us, but we might otherwise notget to meet them.”

The direct business makes a significant difference forfarmers facing the growing power of agribusiness and thedown economy, said Eric Noble ’05, president of Oxfam atBrown. Oxfam is a worldwide non-profit organization thatfocuses on issues associated with hunger and food produc-tion.

Associate Director of UFS Virginia Dunleavy, who initiat-ed the project, expressed a similar sentiment.

“It’s always great to support your community and we’realways looking for ways to do that,” she said.

Though the students and UFS have yet to work out thespecifics of the plan, direct purchase programs have beensuccessfully implemented at other colleges, includingBates College and Bowdoin College, Dunleavy said. YaleUniversity is attempting to create an all-organic cafeteria aspart of its Sustainable Food Project.

“Brown has very much been saying, ‘Yes, we’re in. Wewant to help,’” Dunleavy said. “We’re just now in the initialstages of planning.”

Dunleavy approached members of Oxfam for feedback,input and support after attending a regional trade confer-ence last spring where she heard about the programs atBates and Bowdoin. Dunleavy assembled a small group ofstudents and held meetings last fall to brainstorm and dis-cuss the plan.

The group recently drafted a letter to local farmers intro-ducing the plan and is currently working to identify farm-ers who might be interested, she said. Dunleavy said she

UFS floats planto buy locallygrown food

Alex Palmer / Herald

Associate Professor of Anthropology William Beeman lectured in Metcalf on Tuesday night. His lecture,“The History,Politics and Culture of Iraq and the Region” was organized by Faculty, Alumni, Students and Staff Against the War.

Beeman opposes Saddam and warBY ELLEN WERNECKEAssociate Professor of Anthropology William Beemancondemned Saddam Hussein but cautioned against mili-tary action in Iraq during a lecture Tuesday night.

More than 100 people attended Beeman’s lecture, “TheHistory, Politics and Culture of Iraq and the Region,” inMetcalf Auditorium. The event was organized by Faculty,Alumni, Students and Staff Against the War.

“A semi-permanent military occupation is what Iraq,Iran and everyone in the region is afraid of,” said Beeman,who is also director of Middle East Studies at the WatsonInstitute for International Studies. “It would poison rela-tions with the Middle East for a very, very long time.”

Beeman said he is “fairly convinced” that militaryaction in Iraq is going to happen.

“I would love to turn back the clock” to when the

United States had better relationships with Arab coun-tries in the Middle East, he said.

“As terrible and debilitating as it was, (the terroristattacks) have given militarists in our government a win-dow they might never have had,” Beeman said.

Beeman said there is no conclusive proof that SaddamHussein had anything to do with the attacks of Sept. 11,2001.

Beeman opened the lecture by reading from a 1998petition signed by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld,among others, that called for the United States to “estab-lish and maintain a military presence” in Iraq.

“It should be clear that these individuals were commit-ted to military invasion in Iraq long before” the Sept. 11

Simmons says University must expand, or it will “die”

see OXFAM, page 4 see BEEMAN, page 4

Brown professorexamines less intuitivetheories about obesityand weight losspage 3

University will edu-cate students aboutfile sharing beforerestricting usepage 5

Profs and doctors sayR.I. could face similarissues with malprac-tice insurancepage 5

Adam Stern ’06answers fake fan mailto feel like a realcolumnistcolumn, page 11

Three members ofthe women’s trackteam throw their wayto personal bestssports, page 12

THIS MORNINGTHE BROWN DAILY HERALD

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2003 · PAGE 2

Coup de Grace Grace Farris

A Story Of Eddie Ahn

My Best Effort Will Newman and Grace Farris

M E N U S

Pornucopia Eli Swiney

Hopeless Edwin Chang

STUDY ABROAD FAIR— to gather information about the study abroadprogram, Office of International Programs. Andrews Dining Hall, 3 p.m.

LECTURE—“Kyiv’s Non-Traditional Immigrants,” Blair Ruble, KennanInstitute, Watson institute. McKinney Conference Room, Watson Institute, 4p.m.

LECTURE—“Ethics in the Academy,” Edward Beiser, Sheridan Center forTeaching. Sheridan Center, 96 Waterman St., noon

PANEL DISCUSSION—“Brown Graduates Doing Social Change inProvidence,”Part of Black History Month. Room 001, Salomon Center, 6 p.m.

THEATRE— “Revelations:The Outtakes,” by Christina Anderson, CreativeWriting Program. McCormack Family Theater, 70 Brown Street., 8 p.m.

AUDITION—for “Dido”, by Production Workshop. Arnold Lounge, 3-6 p.m.and Lyman, Room 002, 7-10 p.m.

C A L E N D A R

G R A P H I C S B Y T E D W U

W E A T H E R

High 30Low 12

light snow

High 32Low 21

partly cloudy

TODAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

High 33Low 14

mostly sunny

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partly cloudy/wind

ACROSS1 Only fair5 “Star Wars”

character knownas “the Hutt”

10 Strike callers14 Letter abbr.15 Ancient Greek

theater16 One-handed

captain17 Salacious look18 Streaker with a

tail19 Chichi20 “I don’t think so!”23 Like vows24 Academy

trainee27 Interface device32 Mustard, e.g.:

Abbr.33 Attacking each

other37 “I don’t think so!”39 Withdraw, as

from adependency

40 Belief41 “My Life as __”:

1985 film42 “I don’t think so!”44 University head,

slangily45 Golden State

sch.46 Political

understanding48 “The Merry

Widow”composer

50 Take on, asresponsibility

55 “I don’t think so!”60 Ban target62 Paragon63 Phnom __64 Marker, maybe65 Film noir, say66 Switch ending67 Designer

Schiaparelli68 First appearance69 “The Wiz” star,

1978

DOWN 1 Hacienda rooms2 Alamogordo’s

county

3 Fencing material4 How ham may be

ordered5 Mirthful6 Fusses7 “Let It __”: Everly

Brothers hit8 Certain Afrikaner9 Against10 Ryder

competitor11 Ham language12 It’s built with

bets13 Heavens21 Poet __

Khayyám22 Where

TennesseeErnie debuted,with “the”

25 Fenway team,familiarly

26 Poem ofmourning

28 In regard to29 __ de León30 Many a

preadolescent31 Absorb, as a

loss33 Very bad

34 Pick on35 Timepiece

accessories36 Mandela’s org.38 Shock40 Shade for a

lifeguard?43 Mainz mister44 Mexican dough47 Pad49 Main artery51 Fabulous

52 In __: incubating53 King who

ordered theLabyrinth built

54 Spirit of a people56 Data entry

acronym57 Garden site58 Perfect scores59 Bern’s river60 “__ to Joy”61 NJ neighbor

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ACADEMIC WATCHTHE BROWN DAILY HERALD


BY MATTHEW SHOPSINProfessor of Geological Sciences James Head recent-ly spent five weeks studying rocks and 15-million-year-old ice to learn more about the geology of Mars.

Head, along with Boston University ProfessorDavid Marchant, traveled to the Dry Valleys ofAntarctica last November to explore glaciers androck formations that are believed to resemble thoseon Mars.

Antarctica’s “cold glaciers,” which do not have alayer of melt water, are most likely similar to glacierson Mars, Head said.

Most glaciers on Earth are “wet glaciers.” The fric-tion created by their movement causes a layer ofwater to form underneath them, which lubricatesthe glaciers’ movement.

Cold glaciers, such as those found in the DryValleys, exist in environments where it is not possi-ble for water to melt due to extreme temperatures.

Head said the same kind of glacier is believed toexist on Mars because there is very little water in theplanet’s atmosphere. If the glaciers on Mars were wetglaciers, they would introduce water into the atmos-phere, he added.

As the ice in cold glaciers, rocks are deposited in aparabolic line. A similar formation has beenobserved on Mars by satellites, Head said.

Rock formations in Antarctica also offer newinformation about the geology of Mars.

Rocks on Mars contain pits in their surfaces thatscientists once believed were caused by gas fromvolcanic formation. But in the Dry Valleys ofAntarctica, rocks with similar pitting can be foundthat is due to salt weathering, not volcanic activity,Head said.

Head said studying an environment on Earth thatparallels that of Mars allows us to understand moreabout the Martian environment.

Herald staff writer Matthew Shopsin ’06 can bereached at [email protected].

Photos courtesy of James Head

By studying rock formations in Antarctica (top),scientistshope to better understand the Martian environment.

Prof. examineshow food varietyaffects eating

Brown geo prof.studies glaciersfor Mars insightBY STEPHANIE HARRIS

People who eat the same foods every day may be less like-ly to be overweight than those who vary their diets, saidRena Wing, a professor of psychiatry and human behaviorwho is currently studying the issue.

A current study examines whether eating a variety offoods causes food intake to increase. Wing said shebelieves that those who eat several types of food at one sit-ting will eat more than someone who has just one type offood.

“If you have some meat, a salad, vegetables and pasta,you’ll eat more than someone who just has macaroni andcheese, for example,” she said.

Wing is also looking at food variety over days —whether people who eat the same thing every day eat lessthan those who have different foods each day.

The study examines the snacking habits of male collegestudents. “We want to see whether variety in snacks hasany impact on your preference for the snack, your con-sumption of the snack (and) your rating of how palatableit is,” she said. Wing is also looking at how hunger influ-ences the amount of food students eat as a snack, whichfoods they choose and how much they like the snack.

The percentage of overweight Americans has jumpedsharply in the past decade, according to the latest resultsof the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey,published in October. Sixty-four and a half percent ofadults were considered overweight in the 2000 survey,compared to only 56 percent in 1994.

“Obesity is on the rise in the United States and world-wide,” Wing said. “The speed with which obesity isincreasing suggests that it’s got to be due to environmen-tal changes, not genetic changes. Genes wouldn’t be ableto change this quickly,” she said.

Wing said two major factors are contributing to theweight gain: intake size, how much people are eating; andexpenditure, what people are doing to burn calories.Population-wide, intake has been increasing as portionsizes — both in restaurants and at home — get larger.Expenditure, on the other hand, has been decreasing.

“More time is spent watching TV, sitting in front of the

see FOOD INTAKE, page 4

terrorist attacks, he said, describ-ing the current administration asa “decade-old military machine.

“They have all the offices ofpower now,” Beeman added, “cou-pled with a rather formidablepropaganda machinery.”

Beeman said Hussein came topower in 1979 under the aegis ofthe “ruthlessly secular” Ba’ath

party, which had overthrown themonarchy in 1958. Beeman reiter-ated that the United States sup-plied Iraq with arms in the 1980s,fearing a Communist takeover inIran.

“Ironically, Iran was on theverge of winning the war and tak-ing out Saddam” before theUnited States intervened, he said.

A dispute with Kuwait in 1990over diagonal drilling — a tech-nique, Beeman noted, developedby the American-based

Halliburton Company once runby Vice President Dick Cheney —led to an Iraqi invasion of theprincipality and to U.S. militaryinvolvement in the region.

“No one was more shockedthan Saddam,” Beeman said,when the United States retaliated.“Saddam was our best friend —we gave him much of the arsenalwhich we now claim is a gravedanger to us.”

“The people now in powerwere furious in 1991 that we did-n’t ‘finish the job,’” Beeman said.Fear of regional fragmentation, headded, prevented the UnitedStates from taking Hussein out ofpower.

“Saddam is not a nice man,”Beeman said. “He is a dissolute,very cruel ruler. If he wants tomaintain power as a minoritywithin a minority, the only way todo it is through terror and ruth-lessness. And he has literally got-ten rid of all the competition.”

Beeman first outlined a gener-al history of Iraq before com-menting on the current state ofaffairs in the region. He describedthe Middle East as “a place that

we all have, whether we like it ornot, an important tie to,” beforediscussing the formation of Iraqfollowing World War I from theremains of the Ottoman Empire.

Iraq’s ethnic divisions, Beemansaid, are a prime source of volatil-ity for the country. Present-dayIraq, he said, is “inhabited by avariety of peoples — many ofwhom would have wanted anindependent state or a state dif-ferent from the one Great Britaincreated.”

He pointed out that the ethnicgroup to which Hussein belongs,the Sunni Muslims, forms only 20percent of the general popula-tion, and that most of the coun-try’s oil reserves lie in territorycontrolled by the Kurds and theShiite Muslims, who form theremaining 80 percent.

Iraq has a history of exploita-tion dating back to the OttomanEmpire’s policy of allowingEuropean countries to develop itsterritory, Beeman said. These eco-nomic agreements, or “conces-sions,” allowed the empire tomodernize beyond its means, butat the expense of its subjects, he

said. Iraq itself was formed as aconcession to the head mufti, orstate official, of Mecca, who hadsanctioned resistance against theTurks during World War I; the ter-ritory now comprising Iraq andJordan was divided for the mufti’stwo sons.

Beeman told his audience toquestion the Bush administra-tion’s statements and its commit-ment to military action.

“If it looks like the presidentwill lose the next election becauseof the war, the war will stop,” hesaid. “A war is not worth losing thepresidency. In the end, that’s theprimary objective.”

Co-sponsors of the lectureincluded Not Another VictimAnywhere, the Campus Greens,the Office of the Chaplain, theCenter for the Study of Race andEthnicity and the Departments ofAfricana Studies, AmericanCivilization, Community Health,Comparative Literature, Englishand Modern Culture and Media.

Herald staff writer Ellen Wernecke’06 can be reached at [email protected].

PAGE 4 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2003

and Peter Rossi, assistant direc-tor of UFS, would spend thesummer formalizing the plan fornext fall.

Though the plan does notchange where the food is comingfrom, it aims to change how theUniversity obtains the food —namely, without a middleman.The planning group is alsoresearching ways to bring newproducts to the dining hall,Dunleavy said.

Yale introduced pickled car-rots to its dining halls for the firsttime under the program, andUFS is looking at ways to bringfresh cranberries to Brown din-ing halls, Dunleavy said.

“It’s just going to be small scaleat first and we’ll see where itgoes,” Foygel said.

The fresh local apples in theRatty last fall were one exampleof what the plan would support,Dunleavy said.

Another possibility would befor the University to guarantee to

purchase a certain amount of afarmer’s crop before the growingseason — something that wouldprovide security to farmers andgive them the flexibility to exper-iment with new crops, Foygelsaid.

“Giving that guarantee tosmall farmers is what allowsthem to branch out. It takes outall the instability they have,” shesaid.

Both Foygel and Noble saidthey were confident the planwould be received favorably bythe student body.

Displaying a label on locallygrown food might make studentsmore conscious of the issue,Foygel said.

“If students knew more aboutthe farming process, they mightfeel better about the food theyate,” Noble said. “I don’t thinkmost students are happy with thestate of the food right now. I thinkany progress would be good.”

Herald staff writer Zach Barter ’06covers campus life and studentlife. He can be reached [email protected].

continued from page 1

Oxfam

computer and using a remotecontrol for everything,” Wingsaid.

That this combination — eat-ing more and exercising less —contributes to weight gain is notsurprising. Wing is working ontheories that are a little less intu-itive.

The change in numbers ofoverweight adults may alsoreflect the adoption of a newdefinition of overweight. TheWorld Health Organizationrecently set the definition ofoverweight as a person who hasa body mass index of 25 or high-er. Obesity is defined as a BMI of30 or above, and extremelyobese at 40. This standard ismore accurate than the previousmethod of “percent overweight,”

which looked at how a person’sweight differed from the stan-dard weight at his or her heightand age.

The new definitions are basedon data sets showing the healthconsequences that arise as BMIincreases, Wing said.

Herald staff writer StephanieHarris ’04 edits the AcademicWatch section. She can be reachedat [email protected].


Food intake


Beeman

CAMPUS NEWSTHE BROWN DAILY HERALD


BY JULIAN LEICHTYIn an attempt to fight high malpractice insurancecosts, doctors in New Jersey are withholding non-emergency care. The New York Times estimated thatthousands of New Jersey’s 22,000 doctors are takingpart in the strike.

Deemed a crisis situation by doctors, rising insur-ance costs have forced many physicians to retire,move or give up procedures.

Robert Hackey, Ph.D. ’92, an associate professorof political science at Brown and a health policy andmanagement professor at Providence College, saidthe doctors’ actions reflect a national problem.

“I think that the physicians have a very legitimateconcern,” he said. “You’re seeing a dramaticincrease in premiums,” he said, for surgical subspe-cialties in particular.

While the situation is not at the point of strikes inRhode Island, Dr. Donald Coustan, chair of theobstetrics and gynecology department of the BrownMedical School, said they could be.

“We’re beginning to see premiums go up,” hesaid. “If nothing is done, I think we could get there.”

The strike “ought to send a signal that things arevery, very wrong,” said Steven DeToy, director ofpublic and government affairs for the Rhode IslandMedical Society.

DeToy said the problems facing doctors are com-plicated in the state. “In Rhode Island, you’ve got thecost of practicing medicine skyrocketing,” making itdifficult for many doctors to cover costs, he said.“The solution would be to have an environmentwhere physicians can get adequately reimbursedand where costs were under control,” he said.

“People that get injured in a medical interactiondeserve compensation,” DeToy said. “The questionis whether that compensation is affordable to thesystem.”

Insurers say patients treat bringing medical mal-practice to the court as if they were entering the lot-tery, with the hope of receiving high-profile largejudgments. Consumer groups defend the right ofpatients to sue, arguing that capping awards ignoresmedical negligence problems. Trial lawyers believethe problem is being overstated — payouts are oftennegligible for victims of malpractice and insurancecompanies make bad business decisions.

Hackey’s approach to reform would include capson the amount of money awarded in malpracticesuits but otherwise provide for as much support forcorrective procedures and compensation for timeand income lost.

“The use of liability lawsuits to deal with medicalquality problems is a lousy tool,” he said. Some

Brown doctorsand professorssay malpracticeinsurance issueaffects R.I.

see DOCTORS, page 6

BY LOTEM ALMOGEvery day Brown students are breaking the law — andmost don’t even think twice about it. The law in questionis the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, accordingto entertainment attorney Daphne Clarke ’97, presidentof DC Entertainment Law.

Every time students download music or movies usingprograms like Kazaa or iMesh, they are likely in violationof this act.

“An artist has two rights to his music. First, he has theright to the sound recording itself. Second, he holds therights to the lyrics and music notes,” Clarke said. Filesharing violates the first of these rights, she said.

Fortunately for students, record labels will probablynot target them in copyright infringement lawsuits, shesaid.

“Students do not have deep pockets, so (record labels)would go after file-sharing companies,” Clarke added.

University officials, however, do not want to put them-selves at risk for such a lawsuit.

“When copyright laws are violated, this kind of behav-ior exposes the entire university to liability issues. Theprice is too high — potentially hundreds of thousands ofdollars,” said Connie Sadler, director of information tech-nology security for Computing and Information Services.

In addition to the legal concerns, excessive file sharingon the Brown network leads to considerable technicalproblems.

“The line is crossed when someone pulls down a fileand provides for redistribution, like with Kazaa,” Sadlersaid. “Then it becomes serious — it affects the University’sInternet bandwidth and the Internet connection speed,as well as slowing down internal communication.”

In response to these issues, Brown and CIS plan to edu-cate students, faculty and staff about appropriate uses ofnetwork services. With the cooperation of Pam Vogel,associate director of CIS, the University is investigating allpossible avenues to reach members of the community,Sadler said.

In January of 2000, Brown attempted to block studentsfrom using the popular file-sharing program Napster dueto the bandwidth difficulties it was causing. There are notcurrently plans to take similar measures with new file-sharing programs that have developed, Sadler said.

Sadler hopes that educating the community will allowCIS to maintain all the programs available through theBrown network. “We prefer not to shut down any servicesbecause many of them are legitimate,” Sadler said.

At the rate that file sharing is done now on the Brownnetwork, the University would have to finance an upgradefor more bandwidth, she said.

Once the file-sharing education initiative begins, there

File sharing on network raises legaland technical concerns; CIS reacts

BY HANNAH BASCOMA trip along the Nile this winter break gave twins Zaharaand Shereen Kassam ’05 the chance to see 272 miles ofEgypt — while riding their bikes.

Christmas morning, while millions of families aroundthe world unwrapped presents, the twins landed inLondon, the first step on a biking trip that would takethem and 62 other participants 272 miles along the NileRiver and help raise over $250,000 for charity.

“What we saw in Egypt was totally different than whatnormal tourists would see. We didn’t just sit on a bus andgo from site to site. … We went in and really got to see howthey lived,” Shereen said.

Focus Humanitarian Assistance, an internationalemergency response agency that provides relief and sup-port following natural and man-made disasters abroad,conducted the trip and drew participants from the UnitedStates, Canada and the United Kingdom.

The day after Christmas, the sisters flew with other par-ticipants to Cairo and then to Luxor, where they met upwith the River Pioneer II. The boat followed them alongthe river for the duration of their trip, carrying theirbelongings and serving as sleeping quarters.

The River Pioneer “is definitely not like your RoyalCaribbean. It’s okay though; the view made up for it,”Zahara said.

After dropping their possessions off on the boat, thesisters began biking.

“The first day was really cute. We rode right through avillage. (The townspeople) were lined up along the road,cheering and saying ‘Hello, what’s your name?’” Zaharasaid.

Not all of their experiences with villagers were as pleas-ant. “We expected a scenic route, but we went right

through shanty towns. … Children would put sticks in ourspokes,” Shereen said.

Roads were often cracked, bumpy and covered withsand, which would cause bikers to lose control and fall.The wind was also especially strong.

“There were times when I thought it was going to blowme off the side of the cliff,” Shereen said. “It was hard. Wedidn’t train off-road as much as we should have, and wedidn’t train uphill.”

The bikers got up each day at about 5:30 a.m. and start-ed biking by 7 a.m. They biked until the sun set at about5:30 p.m., traveling up to 82 miles per day. The ten straighthours of biking were intense, but stopping at sunsetallowed the travelers time for relaxing and shopping afterdinner.

Twins bike across Egypt over break

Photo courtesy of Focus

Sisters Zahara and Shereen ’05 biked across Egypt.

see NETWORK, page 6

see BIKES, page 6

w w w .b r o w nd a i l yh e ra l d. c o m

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2003

states are known for having sys-tems where plaintiffs win bigjudgments, he said.

“Physicians are orderingextra tests and doing things theydon’t necessarily believe aremedically justifiable simply tohave resources to defend them-selves when the inevitable law-suit comes,” he said.

Kevin Esterling, a postdoctor-al fellow in health policy at theA. Alfred Taubman Center forPublic Policy and AmericanInstitutions, agreed. He saidthat in the big picture, jackpotawards “are very rare.”

“There are reasons why wehave malpractice,” he said.“Using the argument that theseawards and the lack of damagecaps and so on is sacrificing thehealthcare of citizens is essen-tially political rhetoric morethan accurate economics.”

Hackey also said overall stepsshould be taken to improve thequality of medical care.“Somewhere between 45,000and 98,000 Americans die frommedical errors of all sorts” eachyear, he said.

Exactly why premiums aregoing up is the subject ofdebate.

Lawrence Vernaglia, a healthcare lawyer and a teacher of

health law at ProvidenceCollege, said there is no clearagreement on why malpracticeinsurance premiums haveincreased so rapidly for certainspecialties. He does believe thatthe problem will have to beresolved.

“I don’t think the insurancecompanies will be able to raisetheir rates forever and make itimpossible to get insurance,”Vernaglia said.

“Certainly the governmentwill have to get involved in oneway or another,” Vernaglia said.He said he favors governmentassistance with malpracticeinsurance premiums.

According to a press release

by Public Citizen, a nationalnon-profit public interestorganization, the “medical mal-practice insurance premiumspikes in New Jersey are notcaused by the legal system butby cyclical economics of theinsurance industry.”

“Doctors who stage walkoutsare falsely demonizingAmerica’s legal system,” saidPublic Citizen President JoanClaybrook.

“Capping damages, whichdoctors are calling for, will onlyhurt those who have been mostseverely injured by doctorerrors. … The long-term prob-lem is a crisis of medical negli-gence.” Public Citizen’s pressrelease says that “repeat offend-ers” amount for the bulk of mal-practice insurance payouts inNew Jersey.

The Kaiser Family Foundation,a national health philanthropicorganization not associated withKaiser Permanente or KaiserIndustries, reported in March2002 that 87 percent of doctorsfelt that overall morale has gonedown, Hackey said. “This is a verytelling case to illustrate the cur-rent predicament of physiciansin society and the changing viewswithin the medical profession,”he said.

“You’re seeing some realgrowing concerns about boththe financial rewards of practic-ing medicine and the profes-sional autonomy,” he said.


Doctors

The sisters often went toEgyptian markets, which areopen until midnight.

They were surprised to seeonly male shop owners andshoppers at the markets andwere also startled at their atti-tudes toward bargaining withfemale tourists.

“One kiss and you could havethe whole store. If you used yourfemininity, you could get (theprice you want). If you had more(self-)respect than that, it washarder,” Zahara said.

Men on the trip pretended tobe their fellow bikers’ husbandsor brothers so the women wouldnot be harassed or hit-on, shesaid.

On New Year’s Eve the sistersreached the end of the bikeroute and had a celebration inLuxor, near the Valley of theKings. “We were exhausted butwe were really excited that wefinished the trip,” Shereen said.

Though the trip is over, theyintend to stay in touch withmany of the other participantsvia e-mail.

“Biking is usually an individ-ual sport, but this was a teamtrip,” Zahara said.

The sisters hope to do anoth-er trip next winter to aid focusby hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro orbiking though India or EasternAfrica.

Herald staff writer HannahBascom ’06 can be reached [email protected].

will likely be consequences forstudents and other network usersabusing Internet privileges.Disciplinary action will comefrom legal departments, humanresources, student life and/ordisciplinary councils, Sadler said.

Student reaction to the possi-bility of limited file-sharingoptions was mixed.

“I am a downloading musicjunkie. I don’t think it’s Brown’s

place to shut us off of anything.It’s something the record compa-nies and artists should be in con-trol of,” said Katharine Shuster’05.

Shuster said that Brownshould only control file sharing ifit truly is a bandwidth issue.

Others, however, were lessconcerned. “If they shut downKazaa, I would just listen to theradio and go to the moviesinstead,” said Helen Chow ’04.

“I used to download movies,but the software necessary toplay the movies corrupted mycomputer anyhow,” she added.


Network


Bikes

“You’re seeing some

real growing con-

cerns about both the

financial rewards of

practicing medicine

and the professional

autonomy.”

Robert Hackey, Ph.D. ’92 associate professor of politicalscience

The sisters often

went to Egyptian

markets, which are

open until midnight.

They were surprised

to see only male shop

owners and shoppers

at the markets and

were also startled at

their attitudes

toward bargaining

with female tourists.

“One kiss and you

could have the whole

store. If you used

your femininity, you

could get (the price

you want). If you had

more (self-)respect

than that, it was

harder,” Zahara said.

WORLD & NATIONTHE BROWN DAILY HERALD


HOUSTON (Washington Post) —The sky was a perfect blueover the quadrangle of theJohnson Space Center, as itwas on Saturday, when theColumbia disintegrated 40miles above Texas into amacabre shower of wreckage.Mission Control Center, recip-ient of Commander RickHusband’s garbled last trans-mission, was quiet Tuesday,the flag above the fortress-likebuilding flying at half-staff.

With that backdrop, NASAofficials, military chaplainsand President Bush assembledTuesday with a promise tohonor the memory of theColumbia astronauts —“seven lives of great purposeand achievement,” as thepresident described them —by pressing ahead with spacetravel.

Three days after theColumbia disaster, families ofthe dead and thousands ofspace agency workers gath-ered in grief Tuesday at NASA’snerve center. Sitting in thefront row with the first lady,newly widowed spouses andchildren and parents of thedead clutched each other’shands. In the “AstronautsOnly” section, those whosefate was not to be on missionSTS-107 hugged their hus-

bands and wives. “Their mission was almost

complete, and we lost them soclose to home,” the presidentsaid. Hearing Bush’s words,Evelyn Husband, wife of theColumbia commander, leanedon her daughter and quietlywept. When Bush finished,NASA T-38 jets roared over-head in their “Missing Man”formation of mourning.

The president, in his eulogy,remembered mission special-ist David Brown, who wasasked several weeks ago by hisbrother what would happen ifsomething went wrong withthe mission. “This programwill go on,” Brown told hisbrother. Tuesday, Doug Brownsat in the first row of thememorial with his mother,father, two cousins and 22other family members of thecrew.

“Captain Brown was cor-rect: America’s space programwill go on,” Bush said. “Thiscause of exploration and dis-covery is not an option wechoose; it is a desire written inthe human heart. We are thatpart of creation which seeks tounderstand all creation. Wefind the best among us, sendthem forth into unmappeddarkness, and pray they willreturn.”

Yarmulkes and militarydress caps topped grieving kinwho, like the crew, were a mix-ture of black, white andIndian. A Jewish and Christianchaplain read the Psalm ofDavid in Hebrew and English.From space, said Rabbi HaroldRobinson, “we learn the unityof all humanity here on Earth.”

This town has become sadlyproficient in memorials forfallen space travelers. Threedays after the Apollo 1 fire in1967 killed three astronauts onthe launch pad, Houston heldtheir memorial services. Fourdays after the Challengerexplosion in 1986, PresidentReagan bid farewell to “ourseven star voyagers” in amemorial here at the JohnsonSpace Center.

And here the mourners oflost astronauts assembledagain Tuesday, in what formany was a nightmarish rerunof the Challenger memorial,right down to the jet flyover.Bush’s nine-minute remarkswere strikingly similar toReagan’s 17 years and fourdays ago.

Like Reagan, Bush recalledthe astronauts’ early desires totravel in space, and their fer-vent wish that the space pro-gram would continue if theywere lost.

In Houston, President leadsmemorial service for fallen crew BAGHDAD, Iraq — (L.A. Times) He sat

at the head of a long table in animmaculate business suit andtie, calmly puffing on a cigar — aportrait of austere authority ashe called on his generals andcolonels, listened to their praiseand anger, and responded totheir remarks one by one.

For many people both insideand outside the country,President Saddam Hussein isIraq, and in the televised meet-ing with military unit command-ers last week, he betrayed nohint of emotion and no glimmerof panic about the gatheringstorm of a war to drive him frompower.

Instead, he projected an air ofdetermination to face whateverbattles lie ahead and a willing-ness to accept whatever hap-pens — a confidence that theodds will turn and he and hisrule will survive.

One Iraqi who has known noother president in his adult lifesaid it would be againstSaddam’s essence to leavepower. He characterized thepresident’s attitude as one of“victory or death.” Said aEuropean observer in Baghdad:“He thinks that he is an incarna-tion of Iraq. ... He is not able toleave.”

That mind-set, in the eyes ofdiplomats and government offi-cials here, is the reason thatefforts to force Saddam to stepdown and spare the world the

cost — in blood, resources andstability — of a U.S.-led attackare likely to fail.

Rather, Saddam looks set tomarshal his diplomatic and pub-lic relations resources in comingweeks to try to slow the march towar, by receiving internationalenvoys and making gesturesaimed at bolstering public skep-ticism in the United States andEurope. At the same time, he hasbeen working to bolster the loy-alty of Iraqis and the larger Arabworld by reminding them of per-ceived U.S. double standardsand turning the tables onPresident Bush — accusing theU.S. administration of aggres-sion and lying. While Saddam isflexible and pragmatic to apoint, those who have watchedhim for years cannot imaginehim simply going off to live outhis years in a foreign country.

Accustomed to being incharge of himself and all aroundhim, as he has been since 1978,he would never expose himself,these observers say, to the kindof humiliation now facing for-mer Yugoslav PresidentSlobodan Milosevic, who is ontrial at the international warcrimes tribunal in The Hague.

“This is rubbish — psycholog-ical warfare (and) wishful think-ing by our enemies,” Uday Taie, agovernment spokesman here,said of reports of Arab initiativesurging Hussein to leave volun-tarily.

Idea that Saddam wouldabdicate is “rubbish’

support the fresh air fund.

NEW YORK (L.A. Times) — Warningthat they see no relief is in sight,the nation’s state legislaturessaid Tuesday the budget gapfacing state governments grewby almost 50 percent betweenNovember and January.

“State budgets are undersiege. The faltering economy,declines in the stock market,contractions in the manufactur-ing and high tech sectors andsoaring health costs have com-bined to undermine the stabilityof state budgets,” said a reportprepared by the National

Conference of StateLegislatures.

Facing the mounting gulfbetween revenues and income,states have delayed capitalprojects, tapped reserves andcut spending to balance theirbudgets. Officials in 29 stateshave imposed across-the-boardbudget cuts.

Stringent measures areexpected to continue.

The report said the states’collective budget shortfall inthe current fiscal year hadclimbed to $25.7 billion

through January, up from $17.5billion just two months earlier.

The gap for the 2004 fiscalyear is currently pegged at $68.5billion, but the analysis warnedof even deeper red ink.

“The magnitude of nextyear’s budget gap is startling,”said Angela Monson, a statesenator from Oklahoma who isserving as the conference’spresident. Thirty-three statesestimate budget gaps in excessof 5 percent, with 18 of thosefacing gaps above 10 percent.

“There is great cause for con-cern since the deficit numberscontinue to grow at an alarmingrate,” she added.

The conference based itsreport on data from the first sixmonths of the fiscal year thatbegan on July 1.

Officials in 36 states saidbudget gaps existed midwaythrough the current fiscal year.In an attempt to reduce theshortfalls, Medicaid spendinghas been cut in 13 states, out-lays for education in 21 and lay-offs of state employees havetaken place in nine states.

Proposals to increase taxeshave been made either by thegovernor or legislators in atleast 24 states. Higher taxes oncigarettes are being consideredin 14 states while six states arelooking at increasing taxes onsales of alcohol.

Among states facing thebiggest shortfalls, Alaska has acurrent projected budget gap of30 percent. But some analystssay that since the state dependsheavily on revenues from oilproduction, the problem couldbe eased somewhat if the priceof oil remains above $30 a bar-rel.

PAGE 8 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2003

CARACAS, Venezuela (L.A. Times) —Dozens of demonstrators com-memorating Hugo Chavez’s 1992failed coup attempt seizedCaracas City Hall on Tuesday, fir-ing weapons, threateningemployees and injuring fivebefore being chased out bynational guard troops.

The occupation of the office ofMayor Alfredo Pena, an oppo-nent of President Chavez, was areminder that even as a generalstrike in Venezuela seems to becrumbling, national reconcilia-tion is a long way off.

An eleventh anniversaryobservance in Plaza Bolivar of theattempt that occurred whenChavez was still a soldier beganpeaceably, with Vice PresidentJose Vicente Rangel laying awreath before a statue of theLiberator Simon Bolivar in thecapital’s government and historiccore.

But the ceremony soon turnedviolent, a direction to whichVenezuelans have becomeincreasingly accustomed. About40 followers entered city hallwhich fronts the plaza, and firedoff pistols and fireworks, accord-ing to Pena spokesman RamonMuchacho.

Troops of the National Guard,which owes allegiance to Chavez,were called to remove thedemonstrators but took 30 min-utes to arrive, according to FireChief Rodolfo Briseno. Amongthe injured were three city police-man under Pena’s command whowere hurt as they tried to clearthe hall.

“We have reached a new levelsof violence and impunity whenarmed groups can enter city hall,create chaos, and threatenwomen and children all with theNational Guard standing bydoing nothing,” said Muchachoin an interview in a parking lotjust off the plaza.

Opponents called a generalstrike Dec. 2 hoping to bring thenational economy to a standstilland forcing Chavez to quit. Butthe 63-day strike continues todissolve as many stores, banksand restaurants reopened, usual-ly for abbreviated hours.

“If I don’t produce who isgoing to bring food to my house?No one,” said Cristobal Jimenz, awaiter at Tasca Tio Pepe, a cafete-ria inside the Tamanaco CityShopping Center. “I got a job dur-ing the strike at a catering com-pany but it didn’t work out. Noone in Venezuela wants to cele-brate anything.”

Meanwhile, proponents of anAugust referendum to shortenChavez’s term said they havegathered millions of signatures.Chavez, energized by the failureof the strike to force him out, dis-missed the effort.

“To cover up the great defeatthat we gave them, they claim tohave collected 4 million signa-tures in one day,” Chavez said at aceremony granting urban landtitles to the poor. “Let thembelieve their own stories and cre-ate their own lies.”

On Feb. 4, 1992, Chavez, thenan unknown lieutenantcolonel, and several othersplotted to overthrow the gov-ernment of President CarlosAndres Perez. About 80 civiliansand 17 soldiers died in pitchedbattles. Chavez was impris-oned, then freed and later ransuccessfully for president in1998, his stature enhanced by ahis role in the coup, as an ideal-ist willing to lay down his lifefor reform. He took office inearly 1999.

Chavez supporters would likeFeb. 4 to become a day of nation-al “jubilee” if not a formal holi-day. In a speech Tuesday, Chavezsaid that “Feb. 4 is a day whichdivides history.

Eleven years later this is justthe beginning of that revolution-ary process. Today, the spirit ofFeb. 4 is more alive than ever inthe heart of the people.”

But in the Plaza Altamira in theupscale residential area that isthe nerve center of Chavez oppo-sition and where dozens signedpetitions Tuesday for Chavez’recall, people disagreed.

“We aren’t celebrating any-thing, we are mourning the peo-ple who died in the 1992 coupattempt,” said political activistPic Ling Fung.

Chavez supportersfight Caracas City Hall WASHINGTON (L.A. Times) —

Leaders of major entertain-ment and technology tradegroups, often at odds overpiracy and copyright issues,have found something toagree on: Chances are slimthat Congress will jump intotheir controversies with signif-icant legislation this year.

The shared views,expressed at an investor con-ference here Tuesday, mark asurprising shift because advo-cates on both sides of thecopyright and piracy debatehave frequently turned to law-makers for help.

The conference was spon-sored by Washington-basedPrecursor Group, an invest-ment research firm. It includ-ed representatives of theMotion Picture Association ofAmerica, the ConsumerElectronics Association andthe Recording IndustryAssociation of America.

Several key players said fac-tors ranging from the distrac-tions of a possible war to thelack of consensus among vari-ous industries would keepCongress from acting on sig-nificant mandates. Initiativeslikely to stall include thoserequiring electronics compa-nies to install controversialcopy-protection devices,

restricting peer-to-peer filesharing or expanding therights of consumers to copytheir favorite movies andmusic, the speakers said.

“The prospects for legisla-tion are rather dim,” said FritzAttaway, general counsel forthe MPAA, which representsthe major film studios. “I don’tthink any bill will be enactedwithout a large degree of con-sensus among the variousaffected industries.”

Last year, the studio tradegroup — along with WaltDisney Co. — was behind theintroduction of one of themost divisive bills. That meas-ure, sponsored by Sen. ErnestF. Hollings, D-S.C., would haveput sweeping technologymandates on electronics mak-ers to protect the entertain-ment industry’s content. Thebill mobilized technology andelectronics companies, whichfired back with their own billsto relax copyright protectionsand expand consumer rights.

The slowing economy andgrowing anticipation of warwith Iraq also appear to bepushing copyright issues tothe back burner. Members ofCongress “are going to be dis-tracted,” said Gary Shapiro,president of the ConsumerElectronics Association.

Some of last year’s mostcontroversial bills have not yetbeen reintroduced, includingthe Hollings bill and one thatwould allow record companiesto use technology to block filesharing of copyrighted materi-als, sponsored by Rep. HowardL. Berman, D-Calif.

Rep. W.J. “Billy” Tauzin, R-La., also is working on a wide-ly anticipated bill to speed upthe rollout of digital TV bytackling key copyright dis-putes, but a final draft has notbeen released.

The RIAA, rather than push-ing aggressively for new copy-right legislation, recently saidit would instead look to pri-vate-sector negotiations andenforcement of existing laws.

“There’s going to continueto be a lot of congressionalsound and fury,” said BruceMehlman, assistant secretaryof the Commerce Department.But Mehlman saw only a 10percent chance of any majorlegislation being passed.

The one possible exception,Mehlman said, might be a nar-rowly crafted bill requiring theadoption of a so-called broad-cast flag, a copy-protectiontechnology to prevent televi-sion programs from beingretransmitted over theInternet.

Legislation for piracy is dim, trade groups say

State legislatures call growingbudget gaps alarming

Is it worth it? Over the past four decades,

more than 400 humans have beenhurled into space. The push hascost hundreds of billions of dol-lars and 21 lives. The effort at var-ious times has been driven bynational pride, Cold War competi-tion and, at its most basic, a deepsense of wonder about what liesbeyond our Earthly horizons.

Since the giddy days of theApollo missions, when the worldwatched transfixed as astronautstook the first steps on the moon,space has seemed our birthrightand the next logical step in ourmanifest destiny.

But for all the effort and sacri-fice, the results so far have been awildly mixed bag, ranging fromthe sublime to the trivial.Ironically, the three productsmost associated with astronauts— Tang, Velcro and Teflon — werenot developed for the space pro-gram. But manned space flighthas brought such useful items asCAT scanners, smoke detectorsand cordless drills. Astronautsbrought back the first rocks fromthe moon and repaired the once-blurred vision of the HubbleSpace Telescope so astronomerscould see almost to the begin-nings of time.

At the same time, millions havebeen spent discovering that snailembryos develop nicely in micro-gravity, tomato seeds germinateslightly faster and female fruitflies live longer than males. Heapsof bacteria, yeast, worms, stickinsects, slime mold and Japanesecarp have been lofted into thevoid for a seemingly endlessstring of modest experiments —some of which could have easilybeen done on Earth, if they wereworth doing at all.

Perhaps the most crucial dis-coveries through 40 years ofmanned space flight arguestrongly against the enterpriseitself. Humans — fragile creaturesin the harsh world of high radia-tion, near-zero gravity, and haz-ardous launches and reentries —seem poorly suited for a life inspace.

The deaths of Columbia’sseven astronauts have driven

home this vulnerability andreawakened a debate that hasebbed and flowed since the firsthuman, Russian Yuri Gagarin,entered space in 1961. Are robotsbetter suited to explore space, atask they can handle at a fractionof the cost?

For some scientists, the cost oflaunching humans into space faroutweighs any scientific or com-mercial benefit—the major justi-fications that NASA has used topromote its shuttle and space sta-tion projects.

These critics say a large num-ber of experiments done in spaceby astronauts could have beenperformed on Earth at lower cost,with more conclusive results andfar less risk.

“The astronauts aboardChallenger died bringing up asatellite and carrying along ateacher — two mundane activi-ties that are not our purpose inspace,” said Louis Friedman,executive director of thePlanetary Society, a Pasadena,Calif., space exploration groupco-founded by astronomer CarlSagan.

Robert Park, a University ofMaryland physicist, said fewshuttle experiments have beenworthy of publication in leadingscientific journals. Many of theexperiments are devised not byscientists, but by schoolchildren.

“Nothing more than sciencefair experiments,” Park said.

Ever since the Apollo program,born of the race to beat theRussians to the moon, NASA hasstruggled to find a clear course forits manned space program.Sending a human to Mars was toocostly; launching unmannedprobes left astronauts unem-ployed.

The agency finally settled inthe 1970s on building what hasbecome one of the most costlyengineering projects in history —the International Space Station,projected to cost $100 billion bythe time it is complete. The spaceshuttles were created to ferryparts and crew up to the facilitylike long-haul trucks.

With a human trip to Marsstalled by cost, the station was no

longer able to serve as a platformfor travel to distant planets.Instead, conducting scientificexperiments became the mainjustification for spending at least$5 billion a year on the orbitingfacility and its fleet of shuttles.NASA planners thought usingastronauts was critical to keepingthe public — and Congress —interested in the program.

“We go into space to do thingswe can’t do on the ground,”JohnCharles, the chief scientist for theexperiments aboard the ill-fatedColumbia said shortly before theshuttle lifted off. “Access to hardvacuums, access to the radiationenvironment of space, access tomicro-gravity. That’s why we’rethere.”

Space experiments haveindeed yielded a bounty of knowl-edge — primarily in how thehuman body responds whendeprived of gravity.

In space, chests expand. Fluidredistributes in the body, thin-ning the ankles, bulging the neckveins, erasing wrinkles and forc-ing the kidneys to work overtime.Faces of astronauts becomerounder because of the fluidmovement, which also causesrunny noses, persistent sinuscongestion and fainting fits uponreturn to Earth.

The long-term effects of zerogravity are far more serious.During a four to six month stay inspace astronauts can lose 30 per-cent of their bone and 10 percentof their muscle and experienceradiation doses roughly equal toeight chest X-rays a day.

“If we’re ever going to sendhumans out beyond Earth orbiton distant missions, we need toknow how to fix these things,” saidBruce Murray, former director ofthe Jet Propulsion Laboratory andco-founder of the PlanetarySociety. “When you land on Mars,there’s not going to be an ambu-lance waiting for you.”

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2003 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 9

Science may not be worth risksof human space exploration

WASHINGTON (Washington Post) —Lawsuits over cancer-causingasbestos are wreaking so mucheconomic and human damagethat longtime political enemiesare discussing a controversialdétente to end the suits once andfor all.

Union leaders and a few triallawyers have been talking pri-vately with representatives ofGeneral Electric Co. and otherFortune 500 companies aboutcreating a privately financed,multibillion-dollar compensa-tion fund for asbestos victims,according to people familiar withthe talks. Under the nascent plan,which would require congres-sional action, asbestos victimswould forfeit their right to sue inexchange for an immediate cashpayment from the fund.

The discussions have grabbedthe attention of strange legislativebedfellows. Senators includingliberal Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., andconservative Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, are monitoring the talks inhopes of possibly turning the ideainto a new law early this year.

A deal to settle the ever-grow-ing pile of asbestos lawsuitswould have broad ramificationsfor plaintiffs and the thousands ofcompanies they sue. It also wouldtouch the lives of millions ofAmericans unknowingly hit bythe economic side effects of thedispute.

Asbestos — the cancer-caus-ing fiber that most Americansassociate with the dusty wrap-pings around pipes in school-rooms, factories and basements— is driving dozens of companiesinto bankruptcy and costing tensof thousands of workers theirjobs.

The deadly fiber, until 25 yearsago widely used in products asvaried as insulation and brakelinings, causes mesothelioma, acancer of the chest andabdomen, and damages thelungs when inhaled.

Obstacles to a deal are ubiqui-tous. Some corporate leadersremain divided over the bestapproach to fix the asbestosmess, and others are locked in adispute over how much eachcompany would contribute to acompensation fund. Participantsmust also decide who wouldadminister the fund, what rolejudicial officials would play inoverseeing it and what medicalcriteria would be used to deter-mine how much each victimwould get. At the same time,many congressional Democratsare wary of striking a deal thatwould bar victims from seekingdamages by suing businesses.

But for the first time in 20years, key Republicans andDemocrats say they are nearing asolution that could save jobs andpromptly compensate thousandsof cancer sufferers.

“I am convinced we can get afair solution — fair for companiesand fair for victims,” Leahy said.“Just the sheer weight of all thiscoming down” will forceCongress to play a role.

Creation of a government-runcompensation fund is the mostpopular solution among unionleaders, many influential corpo-rate executives and keyDemocrats, but insurance com-panies want an alternativeapproach that would focus onestablishing medical criteria tosettle lawsuits through the courts.

Mark Iola, a Dallas-basedlawyer for asbestos victims, sayshe and other trial lawyers areworking with insurance compa-nies and the National Associationof Manufacturers to convincelawmakers that establishing newmedical criteria would root outfrivolous lawsuits and mostquickly get money to the sickestvictims.

The American Bar Association,the nation’s largest lawyers’group, is close to formally endors-ing a similar proposal.

Talks held in bid toend asbestos suits

EDITORIAL/LETTERSTHE BROWN DAILY HERALD


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L E T T E R S

R Y A N L E V E S Q U E

It’s one thing to talk about being socially responsibleand quite another to put those ideals into practice.From the free trade coffee in The Blue Room to thesweatshop-free products in the Brown Bookstore to theenergy-conscious building renovations around campus,Brown is already a remarkably environmentally friendlyand socially responsible institution — thanks largely tostudent-driven initiatives. And yet, there’s always roomfor improvement.

We applaud Virginia Dunleavy, associate director ofUniversity Food Services, and the other studentsinvolved in the Community Harvest program. Not onlycan the program improve the quality of food in the din-ing halls, but it can aid farmers suffering the effects ofagribusiness and an economic slump.

Although improving ties with local farmers is a worthygoal in itself, the program brings with it additionalopportunities to make dining hall food more health-and environmentally conscious. UFS can more closelyexamine products purchased and select farmers usingeco-friendly agricultural practices.

Yale University has already begun an initiative to cre-ate an all-organic cafeteria. The inclusion of moreorganic products in dining hall menus would undoubt-edly meet with approval from many students. The possi-ble additional expense is something the communityshould consider funding.

Many other areas of the University outside food serv-ices would benefit from increased attention to sociallyand environmentally responsible initiatives. Issues oncewidely discussed on campus, such as the living wagecampaign and the push for the socially responsibleinvesting of Brown’s endowment, seem to have fallen bythe wayside in recent months. It is the responsibility ofBrown students to remain vigilant, and ensure that theideals we support are engendered on a practical level onBrown’s campus.

Stolen blood drivebanner key part ofcollection effortsTo the Editor:

On the morning of Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2003, I arrivedon campus to set up for the second day of a two-dayblood drive in Sayles Hall. Imagine my dismay tosee that a 10-foot banner (it said “DONATEBLOOD,” with the Rhode Island Blood Center logo)that I had hung the day before was ruthlessly cutdown from between a tree and a light post.

“Why the outrage?” you might ask. The RhodeIsland Blood Center is the state’s sole collector ofblood used for transfusions. It is a non-profit entitywith the mission to save lives through blood dona-tions. The stolen banner was fairly new, and costthe Blood Center $500. It was custom made by a sailmaker so that the letters could be removed to allowuse in many locations.

Last December we celebrated Brown’s 25,000thpint of blood collected since 1979. No other organ-ization in Rhode Island has attained that milestone.The people of Rhode Island depend on BrownUniversity to help collect the blood needed bynumerous patients, and they depend on the pro-motional materials, such as the stolen banner, tohelp spread the word about blood drives.

If you have the banner or know where it is, pleaseturn it in to the Department of Safety. No one willbe prosecuted, no questions asked. It’s the rightthing to do. Lives depend on it!

Peter HanneyRhode Island Blood Center

Feb. 4

Herald’s coverage ofspace shuttle disasteris lackingTo the Editor:

During the memorial service for the Columbia 7on CNN yesterday, Aaron Brown (CNN reporter)said something that greatly disturbed me. He saidthat not only the people at the Johnson SpaceCenter are grieving and feeling a loss, but the wholeworld is remembering the crew from Space ShuttleColumbia.

So what is it that disturbs me so much? Well, I amdisgusted and disturbed by the response here atBrown, primarily that of The Herald. I feel that asthe sole daily media outlet here, it should have beenthe responsibility of The Herald to help the com-munity honor the Israeli, Indian and Americanheroes we lost. Instead all I can find is the obsessionover ourselves regarding the Norwalk virus.

Christopher Pollak ‘06Feb. 4

WANNA BECOME AN OPINIONS COLUMNIST?THE DEADLINE IS THIS FRIDAY, 2/7. JUST GO TO WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM, CLICKON “JOIN US” ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE SCREEN,AND THEN CLICK ON THE LINK TO THE OPINIONSCOLUMNIST APPLICATION.

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OPINIONSTHE BROWN DAILY HERALD


LIKE ANY OTHER WRITER FOR THEHerald, I’m in it for the recognition, thegirls and the insane quantities of fan e-mail. Unfortunately, none of those thingshas actually happened. Nevertheless, itwas always a dream of mine to publish a“Readers Write” column, sothat I could at least pretendthat there are some peopleout there who really do wantmy opinions or advice oncertain issues that affectthem.

So without further ado, Ipresent to you what myReaders Write column wouldhave looked like if my readershad sent me some mail.

Dear Adam,I was intrigued by your

article categorizing college-age guys (“The five categories that classifycollege-age guys,” 10/28). You wrote thatall guys in college fall under one of the fol-lowing categorizations: Player, WannabePlayer, Teddy Bear, Steady RelationshipType, The Anti-Dating Bookworm/Videogame Freak. I was wondering if youthought girls could be categorized in thesame fashion.

Always Reading,— Rachel ’06

Ah, Rachel. If only you were real, maybewe could go out.

To answer your question, yes, a very

similar categorization system can be usedfor college-age girls. All of the categoriesare actually identical in meaning to thosein the male version, but for some reasonsociety demands that they have differentnames. For instance, the equivalent of the

male Player would be a four orfive-letter word that means“someone who gets around.”Come on, Rachel, you go toBrown; you can figure out whatmonikers I’m referring to. TheWannabe Player’s girl counter-part is called a Flirt. The TeddyBear becomes a Prude. TheSteady Relationship type of girlis just called Boring. And final-ly, the female Anti-DatingBookworm/Videogame Freakearns the name “Hey, will youdo my homework for me?Thanks.”

I think the fact that women are givenfar more derogatory categorizations bysociety is a sad statement on the culturalroles and stereotypes we have come toembrace.

So do society a favor and let womenenjoy the fruits of their social status. Nexttime you see a girl starting to act promis-cuously, just tell her that some day shewill make a great Player.

Buddy,Got any change?— Panhandler on Thayer Street

I just gave it to the guy in front of thebookstore. Am I the only schmuck whogets angry at the beggars when they askfor change after I have given it all awayalready? These poor people are request-ing a little bit of charity that could help

them survive, and all I can think about isthat they should have some system ofcoordinating their begging so pedestriansonly get accosted once a trip.

Hey Adam,You seem to have an awful lot of

thoughts on stupid things like the tri-honk alert system and the reasons whypeople work out at the gym. I just wantedto know if you were ever going inform thereaders of your views on the escalatingcrisis with Iraq or North Korea. I mean,really, isn’t that what opinions columnistsare supposed to write about?

— Joey ’05

In my tenure as a columnist, I haveconsciously attempted to stay away frompolitical issues for a couple of reasons.First, I feel that they are covered wellenough by my peers for the purposes ofthe Brown community. Second, I couldnot contribute a single ounce of decentinsight into global problems and nationalsecurity.

Let’s face it, I don’t know too muchabout the international political scene. Ittook me 10 years of education to realizethat Korea and Vietnam were actuallycompletely distinct countries, with dis-tinct wars. Okay, that is a slight exaggera-tion, but to think that, as a freshman atcollege, I could intelligently write aboutanything as grave as war would be a littleconceited.

Besides, nobody should be relying onme to inform them of what’s going on.With as many 24-hour news stations asthere are, people should be sick of hear-ing and reading about the world by now.That is why I hope to entertain andenlighten my readers on issues that some

have deemed “silly,” or “the stupidestthing I have ever read.”

Dude,Don’t you hate it when girls point to a

really ordinary looking girl and say, “Oh,she’s so pretty.” I mean really, what planetare they from?

— Ross ’03

Your question is a good one. Many acolumnist has attempted to answer thisquestion. I would recommend readingone of my favorites, ESPN.com columnistBill Simmons, for his comments abouttaste differences between men andwomen on what constitutes beauty.Perhaps I can offer an alternative view-point from a slightly more adolescentangle.

Although originally I did hate it whenwomen asked me about the looks of ordi-nary girls, I have come to accept that menand women just have different tastes.Women seem to love those classicallybeautiful types. You know, the ones thatlook great when they roll out of bed insweats because their beauty lies withintheir unwavering facial and body struc-ture.

While guys think that’s cute, we usuallyseek other aspects of a woman’s appear-ance to qualify for our gaping drool. Forus, proportions are extremely important.For instance, I was recently lucky enoughto meet Pamela Anderson. While it is nosecret that she is not completely natural, itis also no secret that any guy would sayshe’s incredibly hot. I think the major dif-ference is that women think of whom theywould like to take wedding pictures with,while men wonder more about the honey-moon.

SOME DEMOCRATS WOULD BE LYINGif they told you they would still oppose awar on Iraq if the president were Clintonor Gore instead of Bush. But conservativeswho underscore this point are really miss-ing the more important issue. It’s not somuch that we liberals wouldblindly support a Democrat,it’s that we’d support someonewe could trust and whose rhet-oric corresponded to policy.But now that we’ve arrived atthe brink of war, it’s time tostart talking about how wewant Bush to proceed oncebattle begins, as ProfessorElliott Colla has advocated inthese pages.

It’s useful to understandwhy people like me distrustBush and the statements hemakes. He has talked endlesslyabout crimes against humanityand “evil” while he has shown little enthu-siasm for the International CriminalCourt, a body set up to prosecute miscre-ants like Saddam Hussein who commitcrimes against humanity. His words con-sistently aim to conceal and deceive: out-lining a “healthy forests” initiative thatonly makes logging easier, speaking

against the “quota system” at theUniversity of Michigan knowing full wellthat such a system was not beingemployed by the university and providingan “economic stimulus plan” he admits isnot a stimulus but a long-term “growth”

plan (which benefits the rich-est Americans the most). Thisdeception may just be thenature of politics, but it seemsexcessive.

Even if I set aside my biasagainst him, I can’t evenagree with the way Bush han-dled Afghanistan. When itcounted the most, SenatorJohn Kerry points out, wesent Northern Alliance troopsto the Tora Bora region tosearch for al-qaida fightersrather than doing it our-selves. It’s probably why wedidn’t capture as many al

Qaida operatives as we hoped for. Wehave consistently refused to extend ourpatrols beyond Kabul, making our mis-sion there irrelevant for much of thecountry. If this is how we are “rebuilding”the country where bin Laden planned theSept. 11, 2001 attacks, how am I supposedto believe that we will be a responsibleoccupying power in Iraq? Also, don’t for-get that Afghan President Hamid Karzai’ssecurity has been outsourced to a privatesecurity company (a subsidiary of

Halliburton) because we don’t want to doit with our own troops.

Despite the president’s poor record inAfghanistan, there is no denying therepression, torture and widespread fear inIraq. On top of this, economic sanctionshave debilitated an already beleagueredpopulation. So, I’ve come to agree withone of my professors — one quite familiarwith the history of dubious Western inter-vention in the Middle East — when he saysthe Iraqi people have suffered far toomuch under economic sanctions and thatwar may be the best way out.

If we are bound to invade, the best thingwe can do now is avoid civilian casualtiesand prove the United States is in this forthe right reasons. I don’t know enoughabout war technologies to say what shouldbe done to avoid harming innocent civil-ians. In any case, we must be open aboutour mistakes and not conceal casualty fig-ures on the Iraqi side (as the Pentagonoften does).

We shouldn’t rebuild Iraq half-hearted-ly. The administration should invest (ourtax dollars) in a mini-Marshall Plan forIraq. Instead of unleashing a horde of

American oil companies on Baghdad, weshould develop creative solutions that willdirect oil revenues toward reconstructingIraq. We should even consider promisingall existing countries that their oil con-tracts will remain intact in the post-Hussein era.

Bush should promote real democracy,as opposed to a U.S.-backed puppetregime. Remember how we thoughtinstalling the Shah in Iran would promoteour interests in the region? Iraqis, likeIranians, are perceptive and will seethrough it. Our best hope to win overhearts and minds in the Middle East is theestablishment of a legitimate regime inBaghdad. If we meddle more than isabsolutely necessary, we will only confirmsuspicions.

I know it may sound like a cop-out toabandon antiwar arguments now. I do notwish to belittle the possible impact oninnocent Iraqis and U.S. soldiers. But themomentum has moved so dramaticallytoward war that it may be more construc-tive at this point to make sure the war andits aftermath are handled in a way that willmake Americans proud.

Jaideep Singh ’03 is an international rela-tions concentrator.

JAIDEEP SINGH

J-DEEP THOUGHTS

If there is no way that war can be stopped, at least Iraq should be handled well

If we are bound to invade, the best thing we can do now

is avoid civilian casualties and prove the United States is

in this for the right reasons.

Thayer Street beggars, ordinary readers weigh in

ADAM STERN

ADAM’S RIB

Stern’s “fan base” asks the tough questions

If you e-mail [email protected],maybe Adam Stern ’06 will have enoughfan mail to run a real “Readers Write” col-umn.

Post-war Iraq must be independent, democratic

BY KEELY THARPThe Brown women’s indoor track teamcompeted in a tri-meet against Cornelland Harvard on Feb. 1, and the perform-ances provided a possible glimpse of theconference championship match-ups.The Bears will work hard to improveupon their third-place, 26-point finish.

The highlight of the meet was the per-sonal record set by each of the threethrowers. Jill Lynch ’05 won the shot putwith a throw of 13.92 meters. Lynch isnow ranked second in the Ivy League andis planning to improve in order to reachher goal of winning indoor heps.

The other two throwers, RachelleSeibolt ’04 and Jennifer Donahue ’05,placed third and fifth in the weight throwwith distances of 15.64 meters and 14.40meters, respectively. Head Coach RobertJohnson praised Coach MichelleEisenreich for her “tremendous job withthe throwing program.

“She puts them through the ringer andnow it is starting to pay off, which bodeswell for future competition,” Johnsonsaid.

The second winning event for theteam was the pole vault. Lauren Contursi’03 vaulted 3.65 meters and continues tomaintain her position as a consistenthigh scorer for the team.

Also contributing to the team’s finalscore was Brittany Grovey ’06, whoplaced second in the triple jump with aleap of 11.47 meters.

Erin Meschter ’06 and Ashley Wall ’05placed third and fourth in the high jump.Both Brown’s 4x400 and 4x800 meterrelays placed third, as did KatherineKosub ’04 in the 800-meter run with atime of 2:15.84.

In other events, Fara Kitton ’05 placedfourth in the 60-meter hurdles. Julia

Stevenson ’04 continues to improve andreveal her versatility as she ran to a thirdplace finish in the 60-meter dash and asecond place finish in the 200-meterdash. Also placing in the 60-meter dashwas Jaylon White ’05, who finishedfourth.

Captain Basia Dabrowski ’04 said theteam recognized they are not in thefastest stage of training, so the perform-ances are not indicative of what the ath-

letes are capable of achieving.“We have to stay positive and continue

to work hard,” Dabrowski said, “and thecoaches will peak us.”

Several scoring members of the teamare injured, while others are coming backfrom injuries — something that was nat-urally reflected in the final score.

The women are now in preparation forthe next meet on Feb. 8 at the Universityof Rhode Island.

IN CASE YOU DO NOT KNOW ANYTHINGabout the sports world or have been study-ing abroad, let me tell you a little bit aboutLeBron James. He is a senior at St. Vincent-St. Mary’s High School in Akron, Ohio, andhe plays basketball. He plays basketball

really well. No, I amnot saying “reallywell” as in JoeSomebody fromyour high school,but “really well” asin the best highschool baller in thecountry. In fact, notonly will he be thefirst pick in theupcoming NBAdraft, chances arehe would have beenthe first pick had he

left high school last year. With his teamranked number one in the country by USAToday, all seemed perfect on Planet LeBron… until recently.

On Jan. 31, he was suspended for theremainder of the season by the Ohio HighSchool Athletic Association. His offense —receiving two throwback jerseys with a com-bined value of $845 in exchange for takingpictures to be displayed on the walls of agenerous sports store. The OHSAA is sayingthat James compromised his amateur status“by capitalizing on athletic fame by receiv-ing money or gifts of monetary value.” Is theOHSAA justified in suspending James andeffectively ending his high school career?

As much as LeBron may say that hethought the store was rewarding him for his3.5 GPA, as he stated in an interview withDeion Sanders, he obviously knew why hewas getting the jerseys. I had a better GPA inhigh school and all I got was a pat on theback.

However, I believe that LeBron is proba-bly telling the truth when he says he did notknow that he was putting his playing statusin jeopardy by taking the jerseys. Thinkabout this for a second: If you were offeredanything with that value for taking somepictures, would you take it? The only reasonI can come up with that a rationally thinkingperson would say no is if they knew theywould face consequences similar to thosefacing LeBron. LeBron has had a giant bulls-eye on his back since the beginning of theseason and possibly even earlier, as it was agiven fact that he would immediately go proafter graduation. Of course, driving a brandnew H2 Hummer valued at around $50,000is bound to raise questions about whetherhe is accepting gifts.

Word is hitting the Internet that LeBronhas hired a lawyer and has filed an appeal.Why he will win and why he should win theappeal are two very different things. He willwin because of a clause in those kookyOHSAA bylaws that says only his school cansuspend him for violating rules that do nothave to do with sports directly.

He should win because, frankly, if everyplayer who accepted gifts because they weregood at sports were suspended for theremainder of their seasons, high school andcollege sports would end as we know them.I am not just talking about them at the high-est levels either. Any athlete who is known intheir community will get “hooked up” everynow and then. There is no way to eliminatethat sort of thing, so why not just let it be? Inthis situation, LeBron’s teammates and hisfans are the ones who lose out, not Jameshimself — he is going to get his money any-way. I say let the kid play and we shouldmove on to bigger things — like makinganother Terry Tate commercial.

Chris Hatfield ’06 hails from Salem, N.H.

SPORTS WEDNESDAYTHE BROWN DAILY HERALD

FEBRUARY 5, 2003 · PAGE 12

King Jamesgets hooked-up

dspics

Members of the women’s indoor track team will next compete at the Milrose Games and theUniversity of Rhode Island Invitational to be held this Friday and Saturday,respectively.

CHRIS HATFIELDOUT OF LEFT FIELD

Throwers lead women’s indoor trackin tri-meet with Harvard, Columbia

Men’s, women’s ski teams overcomeweather in season’s only home carnival BY DANIEL C. MURRAYImagine Meehan Auditorium. ImagineMeehan Auditorium’s ice surface dividedlengthwise down the middle and raised toa 30-degree pitch. Now stick a few polesabout fifteen yards apart, zigzaggingdown the middle, and send fifty ofBrown’s toughest linebackers on iceskates down the track.

Add 20-degree weather, a nice coldwind chill and don’t forget the six-by-sixinch deep groove the 6-feet-2-inches,210-pound linebackers carved into theice.

Toss on a spandex ski suit, somethinglike your mother’s one-piece that shesports in St. Barthes, and a pair of giantslalom skis.

Now feel the pain of the Brown men’sand women’s ski teams.

The Brown men’s and women’s skiteams held their annual carnival this pastweekend at Loon Mountain in NewHampshire. The weather was uneventfulduring Saturday’s slalom event; however,on Sunday terrible weather and unsafecourse condition forced the teams tohead back to school early.

“Ski racing is not easy,” said AlexanderBernstein ’05, a new member of the skisquad this year. “This may sound a littleobvious but it’s true. The course gets terri-bly icy and quick and sometimes a littlescary.”

“As a new racer, I get a little intimidat-

ed,” Bernstein said. “I guess it’s natural,but I thought growing up a recreationalskier would make a huge difference — itdoesn’t. I have so much more respect forski racers. They are unbelievable athletes,both the men and the women.”

Despite rough conditions, the men’steam turned in a decent performanceover the weekend. On Saturday in theslalom, Christopher Palmisano ’04 andAlexander Petals ’04 finished 55th and80th.

Jake Colognesi ’05, Greg Hanyen ’05and Jonathan Hastings ’05 finished 15th,49th and 72nd, respectively.

Charlie Cummings ’06, the sole first-year on the men’s squad, finished 30th.

“Conditions were definitely difficult onSunday,” said Captain James Maher ’03.“It snowed off and on Saturday night andSunday morning, and, because it was alsowarm, the snow was wet and heavy.”

On Sunday, Maher finished 44th, whileCummings, Hastings and Petalas finished31st, 57th and 61st, respectively.

The women’s team kept up their stellarrecord, progressing towards their ulti-mate goal of the Nationals, which will beheld at Northstar in Tahoe, Calif. Overall,the team finished third in its only carni-val.

“The women’s squad continues tobuild their strength with each weekend ofcompetition,” Head Coach KarenFinocchio said.

Saturday’s slalom went smoothly forthe women with two finishing in the top10 and three others in the top 30.

Adrienne Jones ’03 and Captain DoriaDibona ’03 finished in ninth and 12thplace.

Like at the past two carnivals, the trioof Hilary Swaffield ’06, Caitlin Stanton ’06and Stephanie Breakstone ’06 skied welland continued to turn heads.

“The freshmen on the squad havesolidly found their footing and addtremendously to the team’s success.Stephanie Breakstone, Caitlin Stantonand Hilary Swaffield have made tremen-dous strides in their skiing,” Finocchiosaid.

Molly Sheinberg ’04 finished fifth inthe slalom and eighth overall in the giantslalom.

On Sunday, the women fared even bet-ter in the giant slalom. Dibona finishedfifth on Sunday, followed by Swaffield inseventh, Breakstone in 12th and Stantonin 13th.

“The efforts from the men’s andwomen’s teams this past weekend werephenomenal,” Finocchio said. “Not onlydo they have to focus on racing, but alsoassist extensively with race operations.Our carnival was exceptional because oftheir hard work.”

Finocchio and her team head toAscutney Mountain this weekend inVermont.

wednesday, february 5, 2003

Documents

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