Daily Herald the Brown
vol. cxliv, no. 86 | Friday, October 16, 2009 | Serving the community daily since 1891
Corporation to focus
on long-term outlook
By Jenna Stark
News Editor
Against the backdrop of a weak-
ened economy, a shrunken endow-
ment and a diminished budget,
the University’s highest governing
body is set to convene this week-
end to evaluate the changes the
University has undergone in the
last year and to determine if addi-
tional adjustments are needed.
The Corporation will focus its
meeting on “stability and conti-
nuity,” according to Chancellor
Thomas Tisch ’76, the University’s
highest officer and the Corpora-
tion’s leader.
“This is not a meeting where
one can expect a great number of
actions on the budget, tuition and
the like,” he said.
The endowment lost roughly a
In first year under center, rookie QB leads team
By dan alexander
senior staff writer
Coming into this season, starting
quarterback Kyle Newhall-Caballero
’11 had never thrown a varsity pass.
His teammates, opposing coaches
and even his position coach agreed
that Newhall lacked one key attribute:
experience.
“Until the bullets are real, it’s very
Chinese Iron Wok will open on Brook Street in late October. The owner,
Tom Liang, is an MIT-educated engineer.
inside
News.....1-4
Ar ts.......5
Editorial..6
Opinion...7
Today........8
www.browndailyherald.com
quarter of its value in the recent
financial crisis. In February, the
Corporation responded by slashing
$90 million from the budget for
the next five years, implementing
a hiring freeze and increasing the
undergraduate, graduate and medi-
cal school tuitions by 3 percent.
The University is looking to
cut an additional $30 million this
fall from the originally projected
amount for the next budget, which
takes effect in July 2010, though
that budget will still represent a
small net increase from this year’s
budget. Final budget recommenda-
tions will be made at the Corpora-
tion’s next meeting in February.
“Overall, it’s certainly in the
context of what happened in last
year’s economy,” said Russell Car-
Brown’s highest governing body will meet in University Hall this weekend.
continued on page 2
hard to simulate,” said Quarterbacks anyone else in the Ivy League.
Coach James Perry ’00. This weekend — home again for
Last weekend, Newhall-Caballero a 12:37 p.m. game against Princeton
gained a considerable amount of ex- — he will likely face plenty of live
perience, passing 61 times bullets.
in a win against Holy SPORTS “They bring a lot
Cross, who was ranked of heat on the quarter-
No. 19 in the Football Championship back,” said Newhall-Caballero of the
Subdivision. Tigers. “They pressure something
Newhall-Caballero has passed 173 like 70 percent of the time.”
times in just four games, more than Newhall-Caballero said he is ex-
No more wheels, but wontons galore
By Jenna Steckel
Contributing Writer
Tom Liang, owner of Thayer Street’s
landmark Chinese food truck, is cov-
ered in plaster.
Construction, rather than Gen-
eral Tso’s chicken, is filling his days
as he prepares to open a Chinese
restaurant with a firm foundation
rather than four wheels. The finished
product, Chinese Iron Wok, will be
located on Brook Street near Loui’s
Restaurant and will offer Szechuan-
style dishes, known for their spicy
flavors.
It will also bring revenue to a
familiar landlord — the University,
which owns the property at Benevo-
lent and Brook Streets.
Liang closed his Seekonk res-
taurant, the first Chinese Iron Wok,
in August to focus exclusively on
construction, he said. He’s on site
every day to ensure an opening date
Freddy Lu / Herald in late October.
“Building your restaurant is part
News, 3 Opinions, 7
nose for success look to zimbabwe
Brown’s iGEM team is Dominic Mhiripiri ’12 says
building a bacterium all the Nobel Peace Prize was
on its own given to the wrong leader
195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island
Austin Freeman / Herald
cited to face the pressure because it
will leave vulnerabilities in the sec-
ondary.
“We’ve got to get a good pass
rush,” said Princeton Head Coach
Roger Hughes. “We can’t allow him
to run around and avoid pressure
to buy time for his receivers to get
open.”
continued on page 4
of the fun,” Liang said. “It allows you
to really know it.”
Building on Brook
The new restaurant will be split
into two floors, each catering to a
different Chinese food hankering.
The first floor will house a faster,
less expensive option, selling the
American favorites that have brought
SPOTLIGHT
in brisk business to Liang’s truck.
On the second floor, the pace will
be slower and the prices higher, as
diners will have the opportunity to
order more complicated and authen-
tic dishes for a complete sit-down
menu, Liang said.
Liang has noticed that many
Brown students are vegetarians
and want healthy options, he said,
and the menu at Chinese Iron Wok
will reflect that.
One Brown professor is already a
fan of the soon-to-open eatery.
Inside
Stuff brown
students like
post- magazine does Family
Weekend in style
BDS ratifies
three-year
contract
By Sydney Ember
Senior Staff Writer
Brown Dining Services workers
Thursday ratified the tentative agree-
ment negotiators had reached with
the University at around 2 a.m. that
morning, securing a new three-year
contract after nearly a week of bar-
gaining.
The contract resolved issues
surrounding health care premiums,
wage increases, retirement benefits
for new hires and the creation of
more full-time positions, leaving of-
ficials on both sides satisfied with
the settlement.
“Both bargaining teams are hap-
py with the resolution,” said direc-
tor of labor and employee relations
Joseph Sarno ’91, the University’s
chief negotiator. “We think it’s a fair
deal for both teams.”
The previous contract was origi-
nally set to expire at 11:59 p.m. Mon-
day, but when no agreement for a
new contract was reached by that
deadline, it was extended 48 hours
for further negotiation.
The new contract stipulates a
flat-rate increase to 7 percent for
health care premiums starting Jan.
1, Sarno said, adding that premiums
will increase in January 2011 to 8
continued on page 4
“It will be interesting to see how
Brown students learn to eat” Liang’s
more authentic dishes, said Profes-
sor of Computer Science Andy van
Dam, a self-professed “Chinese food
nut.” Van Dam said he’s a fan of Sch-
ezuan dishes because of their “use of
chili peppers and hot oils.”
The skeleton of the kitchen has
already been built. It doesn’t exactly
resemble that of an average Ameri-
can restaurant because, as Liang
pointed out, Chinese methods of
cooking differ from those used to
prepare most American foods. A
line of giant woks are set in a metal
trough in the middle of the kitchen.
Four chefs will work the woks, each
manning three. Six chefs in another
section of the kitchen will prep raw
ingredients.
Liang has outfitted the kitchen
with a large vent, necessary for wok
cooking because of the large jet fires
that reach 800 degrees. It takes only
continued on page 4
herald@browndailyherald.com
Page 2 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
C ampus N EWS
— Bradley Silverman ’13, on the new advising resources Web site
news in brief
M. crew goes to Head of the
New Web site one-stop advising shop
By Mark Raymond
Charles to ‘Pull for a Cure’ Contributing Writer
This Saturday, hundreds of thousands of spectators will
flock to the Head of the Charles in Boston to see a swarm of First-years can now access all their
collegiate and Olympic teams compete in a six-kilometer river advising resources in one virtual lo-
race. But one group might draw more attention than others — cation.
Brown’s men’s crew team plans to wear all-pink uniforms as a The Office of the Dean of the Col-
part of its “Pull for a Cure” breast cancer fundraiser. lege recently debuted “The Advising
Dan Aziz ’11, who is in charge of the effort, said his team Sidekick,” an online resource that
has already exceeded its original goal of raising $10,000, provides students and their respective
collecting nearly double that amount so far. advisors with personalized pages list-
Each of the team’s 45 members was asked to collect at ing the students’ academic interests
least $100, but many exceeded that target. Aziz said rowers and their first-year summer letters
asked their families and friends for money, sent e-mails and written to faculty and Meiklejohn
even went door to door on occasion. Though only 20 members advisors.
of the team will actually be racing this weekend, the others The site streamlines the advising
also helped with the fundraising efforts, Aziz said. process and aims to improve adviser-
Aziz was motivated to get the team involved in breast student communication.
cancer awareness and support because he had “a lot of ties” “I like the new site because it keeps
to victims and survivors of breast cancer, he said, and because track of a bunch of helpful items,” said
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Abigail Perry ’01, assistant director of
Head Coach Paul Cooke ’89 said the fundraising efforts are admissions and an academic advisor.
a testament to the team’s consistent effort to represent Brown
well.
‘Knowlege economy’ on Corporation agenda
“All of the excitement has come from within the team,” he
said.
The team plans to make this an annual event, extend the
challenge to other schools’ teams and perhaps even make a
continued from page 1
competition out of it, according to Aziz.
Crew is currently only in its unofficial season, so members ey ’91 MA’06, senior vice president
typically wear “fun” uniforms to the race. Aziz said the rowers for Corporation affairs and Univer-
were excited to don their “really sweet, all-pink uniforms.” sity governance.
Cooke said the race was extremely competitive because Still, he said this weekend’s sum-
international teams compete alongside the local ones. “The mit would be “a pretty standard Oc-
guys are really looking forward to it and are reasonably well- tober meeting,” adding that “there’s
prepared,” he said. nothing they’re doing about their
This weekend’s race, the Head of the Charles, is the world’s schedule or subject that’s particu-
largest two-day rowing event, according to its Web site. larly unusual.”
Recent developments that the
— Parker McClellan Corporation will discuss include
several capital projects currently
underway and the University’s plans
sudoku to increase its presence in Provi-
dence’s Jewelry District.
Despite the diminished budget
for this fiscal year, the Corporation
in February approved several major
projects to move forward, making
the construction of buildings such
as the Center for the Creative Arts
and Nelson Fitness Center and the
renovation of Faunce House priori-
ties.
The body also juggled the budget
so two planned new projects — a
brain science building and a medi-
cal education building — could be
addressed by renovations instead of
new construction.
Tisch said the Corporation plans
to discuss the progress of capital
projects and how they fit in with the
University’s future plans, especially
as many are “moving forward at a
Daily Herald
much faster pace than we would
the Brown
have imagined last year.”
“Last year at this time there
Editorial Phone: 401.351.3372 | Business Phone: 401.351.3260 was great uncertainty as to how we
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“I probably wouldn’t want to deal with it.”
Perry said her only complaint was that
the site does not currently display
class schedule information, which
would allow students and advisors to
better coordinate meeting times.
Introduced for the class of 2013,
the project was inspired by recom-
mendations from last year’s Task
Force on Undergraduate Education
report, which analyzed students’ “lib-
eral learning” experience.
Dean of the College Katherine
Bergeron said the site will eventu-
ally serve as an archive for students’
writing and other academic work,
their transcripts and concentration
declarations.
At the end of each academic year,
starting with members of the class of
2013, all students will be expected to
upload at least one written assignment
to the site, accumulating a portfolio
would complete the forward calen-
dar of building projects,” Tisch said.
“Interestingly, in the midst of finan-
cial upheavals where many schools
have been cancelling projects, we’ve
been in the rare situation of green-
lighting many projects.”
Rhode Island Hall — one such
project that was midway through
a major renovation before the eco-
nomic slump — was completed this
fall and will be rededicated Friday
at 5:30 p.m. as the new home of the
Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology
and the Ancient World.
The rededication ceremony, to
be attended by Corporation mem-
bers, will include speeches by Tisch,
President Ruth Simmons, Chancel-
lor Emeritus Artemis Joukowsky
’55 P’87 and Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid
Al-Hussein, Jordan’s ambassador to
the United States.
The Corporation will also include
in its discussion of capital projects
the University’s plans to create a new
medical education space by reno-
vating a University-owned building
in the Jewelry District, according
to Carey. Construction at 222 Rich-
mond St. is scheduled to begin in
March.
Brown hopes to help develop the
district and will hear this weekend
from Frances Halsband — an archi-
tectural consultant to the Corpora-
tion who designed The Walk and
other long-term physical projects
— regarding her ideas to beautify
the area with restored historic
streetcars, widened sidewalks and
Friday, October 16, 2009
of writing samples by the time they
graduate.
“This is an opportunity for stu-
dents to reflect,” Bergeron said.
First-year students displayed
mixed reactions to the new site.
“It’s nice to have everything con-
veniently located in one place,” said
Samantha Powell ’13. “Before, I was
getting all this information from dif-
ferent sources and had to organize
it myself.”
Bradley Silverman ’13 said he
thought the site might be a hassle.
“Unless it proved really useful to oth-
ers, I probably wouldn’t want to deal
with it,” he said.
Bergeron said the site’s develop-
ment is still a work in progress. “We
want to do it slowly and get feedback
along the way so that it works,” she
said.
greenery.
Vice President of Public Affairs
and University Relations Marisa
Quinn said the Corporation’s dis-
cussion is to “illustrate the ways,
as we expand our presence in the
Jewelry District, of being a positive
contributing force in that area and
in the city overall.”
“We are acknowledging that we
have a role to play in this ‘knowledge
economy’ initiative and we seek to
advance that effort,” she said.
Carey said members of the
Corporation will also continue to
evaluate the progress of the Plan for
Academic Enrichment — Simmons’
wide-ranging blueprint for improving
the University.
While the weekend’s schedule is
largely the same as in past years, the
structure of the Corporation will be
different. A total of nine new mem-
bers will join the board of trustees,
and four new chairs will head major
committees, including the body’s
budget, advancement, campus life
and academic affairs committees,
according to Tisch.
“On each of these areas there is
revitalization, and interesting discus-
sions that will probably take place,”
he said.
This weekend also marks the be-
ginning of the Corporation’s young
alum trustee position, which was cre-
ated in response to remarks from the
Undergraduate Council of Students
last year that the Corporation “had
lost touch” with current students’
needs, Tisch said.
Lauren Kolodny ’08, who was
elected by the Corporation in May,
will serve a three-year term as a
trustee rather than the general six-
year term for general members. She
is the most recent graduate to serve
on the Corporation in 40 years, as
well as its youngest current member,
Tisch said.
The Corporation Weekend and
Family Weekend are occurring at
the same time this year, promising
a busy set of days for the president
and other administrators.
While Simmons may be “more
exhausted than usual” by the end,
Tisch said he thought the weekend
will overall “work very smoothly.”
Friday, October 16, 2009 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Page 3

C ampus N EWS “We essentially want to create a drug factory in your nose.”
— Indu Voruganti ’12, iGEM member

U. no. 31 in world, says British mag

By Max Godnick
Contributing Writer
Yet another publication has released
its list of best universities, with an
international magazine putting
Brown at No. 31 in the world.
The Times Higher Education,
based in London, put Brown four
spots lower in its World Univer-
sity Rankings than last year. The
new ranking placed Brown lower
than all other colleges in the Ivy
League except Dartmouth. Har-
vard secured the top spot, as it
has since the World University
Rankings started in 2004, with the
University of Cambridge coming
in second and Yale placing third
this year.
The U.S. had the greatest num-
ber of colleges in the top 200, with
54 schools, but its domination
among world universities has de-
creased this year with four schools
dropping out of the rankings since
2008. In an accompanying article,
Times Higher Education sub-editor
Phil Baty wrote, “The country’s
Kim Perley / Herald
decline comes amid improved
Indu Voruganti ’12 (left) and Minoo Ramanathan ’11 work a BioMed Cen-
ter lab in preparation for their competition at MIT later this month. Last
year’s team placed 13th.
showings by institutions in Japan,
Hong Kong, South Korea and Ma-
laysia.”
The magazine, working in
conjunction with Quacquarelli
Symonds Ltd., a company that re-
searches higher education, based
its rankings on four primary crite-
ria: research, teaching, graduate
employability and international
outlook. Universities were ranked
according to the number of times
their researchers’ published work
has been cited, the staff-to-student
ratios, the proportion of overseas
staff employed and the proportion
of overseas students enrolled in the
school. Fifty percent of the scor-
ing criteria were based on surveys
given to “informed university aca-
demics and university employers,”
according to the publication.
The highest-ranked school in
each subcategor y received 100
points, with the other institutions
ranked as a percentage of that
score. Brown received an overall
score of 83.9 relative to top-ranked
Harvard. Brown professors were
given high marks, earning a
score of 97 based on their citation
in published work. However, the
University received some of the
lowest scores in the rankings’ in-
ternational staff and international
student sections, earning scores of
55 and 53, respectively.
Brown students expressed
mixed reactions to the college
rankings process.
“I see the value in rankings, as
long as the people involved are be-
ing honest,” said Matt Jacobs ’11. “I
don’t think about rankings as much
because I don’t always understand
how they are calculated.”
Arjun Vaidya ’13, a student from
Mumbai, said he was surprised by
Brown’s low score in the interna-
tional students section.
“Adjusting to Brown was really
easy,” Vaidya said. “They paid atten-
tion to our needs, and there were a
lot of other international students
to relate to.”
As for the significance of these
numbers abroad, Vaidya said, “Col-
lege rankings do matter a lot to
people back home, but I don’t really
pay much attention to them.”

iGEM team creates

super-bacterium
By Warren jin
Contributing writer
This Halloween weekend, Brown’s
iGEM team will head off to the Mas-
sachusetts Institute of Technology for
the annual iGEM jamboree, in which
more than 110 schools from around
the world will present the results
of their research to create entirely
new microorganisms — custom-built
bacteria that may soon revolutionize
the world of medicine.
The International Genetically
Engineered Machine competition,
iGEM for short, gives teams of un-
dergraduates a toolbox of genes and
a summer to design and create an
organism.
This year, Brown’s team made use
of Staphylococcus Epidermidis — a
form of bacteria already present on
skin and in the nose — and spliced in
a gene found in ticks that suppresses
the host’s immune response as the
tick feeds. The result is a super-bac-
terium that cures allergies after only
one use and causes no drowsiness.
“We essentially want to create a
drug factory in your nose,” said Indu
Voruganti ’12, a team member and
biology concentrator.
Along with presenting their work,
competitors must also submit the new
genes that they have isolated. Called
“BioBricks,” they are highly specific
sequences of DNA with “sticky ends”
that allow them to be slapped together
like Lego bricks, Voruganti said. The
goal is to create a catalogue of DNA
that will allow researchers to build on
new field. It uses the same equip-
ment and methods as traditional
genetic engineering, but instead of
starting out with an organism and
seeing what can be done with it, an
organism is built from scratch, based
on an idea.
“The idea is that you’re pro-
gramming DNA,” said Will Al-
len ’12, a computational biology
concentrator.
“It’s a very different kind of re-
search,” Vorungati said. “There’s a
lot of potential for new ideas.”
iGEM is unique in that research
is entirely conducted by undergradu-
ates. The team members have widely
different experiences in the field —
Voruganti began iGEM as a first-year
and had done genetics research in
high school, while Ahmad Rana ’11,
a biology concentrator, had worked
at the Alpert Medical School’s Liver
Research Center during his fresh-
man and sophomore years. Ashley
Kim ’11, a neuroscience concentrator,
had relatively little lab experience
compared to the others.
Putting in 40-hour weeks over the
summer, the team sought guidance
from faculty members in fields from
chemistry to molecular cell biology
and bio-medicine, Kim said.
“At the beginning, it was really
frustrating,” she said. “We messed
up a lot.”
“It can take a lot of repetition —
five, 10, 20 times — just to get cell
growth on a plate,” Rana said. “It
might be the 21st time, but it’s so
rewarding when you succeed.”

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one another’s work. The competitors
are then judged on the basis of how
many BioBricks they have submitted
and the real-world practicality and
feasibility of their projects.
Synthetic biology is a relatively
He said the team is well on its way
to being ready for the competition in
two weeks.
“We feel good about the chances facebook.com/browndailyherald
we’ll take home a gold medal,” Rana
said.
Page 4
C ampus N EWS
Brown, Princeton to face off
in ‘must win for both teams’
continued from page 1
Despite passing more often than
any other team in the Ivy League, the
Bears (2-2, 0-1 Ivy) have only given
up five sacks all season, tied for the
fewest in the Ancient Eight.
Last week Newhall-Caballero
had a breakout game, going 46-of-
61 passing for 431 yards and two
touchdowns. He added 14 yards and
a touchdown on the ground. For
his record-breaking performance,
Newhall-Caballero was named Ivy
League Offensive Player of the
Week, New England Football Writ-
ers Gold Helmet Award Winner and
a College Sporting News National
All-Star.
Newhall-Caballero now leads the
Ivy League in passing yards, (1,093)
total offense (1,191) and touchdown
passes (9). He leads the nation in
completions per game, with 28.5.
Wide receiver Bobby Sewall
’10 — who had 14 catches against
Holy Cross — said he hasn’t been
surprised by Newhall-Caballero’s
play this season.
“There was no question from our
end whether Newhall would be able
to step in and do well,” Sewall said.
“Everybody knew. We’ve all taken
snaps with Kyle.”
But Newhall-Caballero said
he is still learning, though he has
“developed quite a bit,” in his short
career.
Both Sewall and Newhall-Cabal-
lero said Perry deserved credit for
much of the quarterback’s develop-
ment, especially in his ability to read
defenses.
“Coach Perry has worked with
him day in and day out, just drilling
in coverages and everything,” Sewall
said. “Coach Perry has done an un-
believable job with Kyle.”
Sewall is just one of the many
receiving threats for the Bears this
season. Pre-season All-American
Buddy Farnham ’10 has 27 recep-
tions for 286 yards on the season.
And Trevan Samp, the Ivy League
leader in receiving yards, had 15
catches for 206 yards against Holy
Cross.
“We’ve got weapons ever y-
where,” Newhall-Caballero said.
“Our running backs catch the ball
well, too. It’s easy for me.”
Newhall-Caballero’s biggest
trouble this season has been his in-
terceptions — he leads the league
with seven. But he said he has been
working hard in practice for the last
couple of weeks to try to eliminate
his turnovers. He had just one in-
terception last week. He said he is
trying to take fewer chances and just
take what the defense gives him.
The Match-up
Although Newhall-Caballero will
likely pass often this weekend against
Princeton (1-3, 0-1), he shouldn’t find
himself in a quarterback duel like
last week.
Princeton has a more balanced
offensive attack than Holy Cross, but
the Tigers still look to the air often.
Sophomore quarterback Tommy
Wornham took over the starting job
for the Tigers this year and has led
an offense that is last in the league
in scoring, with only 9.5 points per
game.
The Tigers have scored only
three times out of their nine chances
in the red zone this year.
After getting blown out 38-0 by
Columbia, Princeton fell to FCS No.
17 Colgate last week, 21-14, in double
overtime.
Linebackers Steven Cody and
Scott Britton, the top two tacklers
in the Ivy League, led the Tigers’
defense, which held Colgate to only
seven points in regulation.
“They’ve always been very good
defensively,” Estes said. “They’re
very aggressive.”
But Princeton will face an entirely
different offense from last week. Col-
gate, the No. 1 rushing offense in
the nation, likes to run it up the gut,
but Brown’s spread offense focuses
on the pass.
Both Princeton and Brown are
0-1 in the Ivy League and will prob-
ably need to win out if they want to
have a shot at the Ivy League title.
“I think our kids know that this is
a must-win for both teams,” Hughes
said. “It’s very difficult to win the
league with two losses.”
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
— Tom Liang on Chinese Iron Wok, his soon-to-open restaurant
No wage freeze for BDS workers
continued from page 1
percent for the rest of the contract’s
duration. During negotiations, the
University had proposed implement-
ing a “sliding scale” for employees’
health care contributions — which
would have workers pay greater
premiums depending on their sala-
ries — hoping to partially offset the
rapidly rising costs of health-care
insurance. Under the previous con-
tract, BDS workers paid a flat rate
of 6 percent.
The University also agreed not to
implement a wage freeze, which had
been on the table at the beginning
of this month, instead consenting
to a 2 percent increase in each of
the three years, Sarno said. In ad-
dition, new hires will continue to
receive retirement benefits, which
had been a contested issue during
negotiations, he said.
BDS workers and the University
Iron Wok owner serious about food
continued from page 1
two seconds for the woks to heat up,
after which ingredients are cooked
in an oil wok. Then, excess grease is
washed off and the food is transferred
to another wok, in which it is cooked
by flipping it into the air an odd num-
ber of times to ensure that all sides
are cooked evenly.
“I want to engineer-ize the kitch-
en,” Liang said. To accomplish this
feat, he has imported a machine from
China capable of making 9,000 dump-
lings in a single hour. In comparison,
a very fast chef can only make 150
per hour, he said. Liang also plans
to purchase a bean curd machine to
make fresh tofu.
An enterprising engineer
Liang, a native of northern China
and an MIT-educated engineer, was
inspired to open a mobile restaurant
by the multitude of trucks he noticed
populating Cambridge during his
studies. The MIT campus supports
10 trucks, each of which can sell 1,200
boxes of food a day.
Liang chose Providence five
years ago for his Chinese food truck
because his wife was then working
toward her doctorate in computer
science at Brown. He estimated that
there are 400 to 500 Chinese restau-
rants in Rhode Island alone but said
the almost complete lack of competi-
tion from authentic Chinese eateries
drew him to the city.
Many Brown students frequent
Shanghai, Thayer street’s only Chi-
nese restaurant, which Liang said he
respects as a successful business. But,
he added, Shanghai’s menu is heavily
influenced by American tastes.
Van Dam, who has taught at Brown
since the 1960s, said he has personally
suffered from the lack of authentic
Chinese food in Providence.
“When I got recruited to Brown,
I was taken to a Chinese restaurant,
and it nearly convinced me not to go
here,” he said.
During the planning stages for the
Center for Information Technology,
van Dam had four requests: “large
windows, atriums, a shower and a
“I want to engineer-ize the kitchen.”
had reached a tentative agreement
early Thursday morning, but a new
agreement was not ensured until
after employees voted to ratify the
contract during two meetings sched-
uled Thursday afternoon between
employees’ shifts, said Roxana Ri-
vera, the chief negotiator for the
Service Employees International
Union, Local 615, which represents
all of the nearly 200 workers.
Negotiations reached a peak
Tuesday, when BDS employees
authorized their bargaining com-
mittee to call a strike if negotiations
failed to resolve the disagreements
by Wednesday night.
Rivera said the University had
been proposing to increase health
care contributions to an 8 percent
flat rate in 2010, a 10 percent rate in
2011 and a 12 percent rate in 2012,
but she added that the workers’ au-
thorization to strike brought both
sides back to the bargaining table.
Chinese Iron Wok will have a machine to make 9,000 dumplings an hour.
top-notch Chinese restaurant in the
basement.”
Three were met. The Chinese res-
taurant, however, remained in van
Dam’s imagination.
“President (Howard) Swearer
wasn’t a foodie, so that was just too
weird for him,” van Dam said.
Van Dam has taken his passion as
far as learning just enough Chinese
from friends to be able to order off
the Chinese-language menus at res-
taurants, a move which has rewarded
him with “incredibly great food,” he
said.
When he noticed that “Providence
had only horrible Chinese-American
food that bore no resemblance to Chi-
nese food of any kind,” van Dam said
he was ecstatic to learn that one of his
student’s husbands owned an authen-
tic Chinese restaurant in Seekonk.
Van Dam quickly became both a
fan and a friend of Liang’s as well as
a frequent patron of his Seekonk res-
taurant. At van Dam’s behest, Chinese
Iron Wok started catering parties for
TAs in the Department of Computer
Science.
Van Dam soon embarked on a
campaign to bring Chinese Iron Wok
closer to campus.
“‘Tom, you gotta move closer to
campus’ became an ongoing conver-
sation for years,” van Dam said. “I
offered to help him connect to the
right people at Brown.”
Rolling out a new business
It was through van Dam that Liang
was put in contact with Director of
Real Estate John Luipold.
“Andy van Dam called and said he
knew Tom was interested in finding a
space around campus,” Luipold said.
Friday, October 16, 2009
“The most important thing in
these negotiations for workers was
to keep health care affordable for
all Dining Services workers,” Ri-
vera said, adding that employees
ultimately voted to ratify the contract
based on recommendations from
the workers’ union’s bargaining
committee at approximately 8 p.m.
Thursday night.
Rivera said the contract also
includes provisions creating more
40-hour positions for workers, al-
lowing the University to hire fewer
temporary workers. There will also
be more staffing positions available
at places such as the Faculty Club,
which she said would relieve work-
load issues for employees.
Rivera and Sarno cited both
sides’ willingness to offer conces-
sions as the primary reason for the
successful establishment of a new
contract, which will not expire until
October 2012.
Freddy Lu / Herald
“He asked me to talk to Tom about
any opportunity we might have.”
The Brown-owned commercial
space that Liang and Luipold identi-
fied on Brook street had been vacant
for seven years, Luipold said. Farview,
Inc., Brown’s real estate entity, started
marketing the space to merchants
about one-and-a-half years ago, he
said.
The space has been a bit of a chal-
lenge, Luipold said, because “most re-
tailers want to be directly on Thayer.”
The generally dismal real estate mar-
ket compounded the difficulties they
faced in finding a tenant, he said.
In leasing the property, Luipold
said he was looking to have a “positive
impact in the area by finding a good
tenant that people knew and were sup-
portive of.” Liang’s truck’s popularity
among students proved him to be an
ideal choice, Luipold said.
Under city law, Liang’s truck can
park for only an hour at a time in its
traditional space outside the Sciences
Library, but in that hour Liang said he
can sell about one hundred boxes.
“It makes for good food during
those chemistry pre-labs,” said Fran-
cesca Santiago ’10.
“It’s a nice, cheap place for lunch,”
said Jeremy Korn ’13. “It’s a staple of
the community.”
But with the opening of the new
restaurant, Liang said he is unsure
if he will be able to keep the truck
operating.
On or off wheels, Liang has van
Dam’s enthusiastic support.
“I’m really hoping it takes off,” he
said. “It will make a lot of Brown stu-
dents and Providence natives happy.
A real Chinese restaurant has been a
goal since I got here in ’65.”
Arts & Culture
The Brown Daily Herald

Friday, October 16, 2009 | Page 5

In PW’s ‘Clean House,’ love, Installation marches to its own (heart)beat

death and untranslatable jokes By Anne Artley two of Marey’s most celebrated in- ways. I get to see the internal life of
Contributing Writer ventions: the sphygmograph, the a movement,” said Shulman, who
By Ben Hyman Ana and perplex WASPy Lane. Like first machine ever to record a pulse, collaborated with Rovan on most
Arts & Culture Editor the word “catharsis,” Matilde’s jokes “Let us imagine a straight line,” a and the chronophotograph, which of the work. “You can’t access this
only work in the original language. new multimedia installation, opens advanced the creation of film by pro- kind of thing on stage.”
The term “catharsis” invokes a par- “It’s not funny in translation,” she ex- today at the Cogut Center for the ducing the first multiple exposures The project combines art and
ticular combination of purification, plains. Over the course of the play, the Humanities. The work, by Joseph on glass plates. Viewers place their science with elements of sound,
purgation, insight, clarity and cleans- implications of this line get played out. “Butch” Rovan, an associate profes- hands on the two pedals and hear such as the staccato, choppy tele-
ing that cannot be reduced to any one Ruhl’s characters are surrealistically sor of music and the co-director of the sound of their pulse projected graph typing, the sound of the heart
of those sensations. Aristotle used up-front with each other, trying to Brown’s computer music program, while an image of their EKG appears monitor and texts by Bergson being
the word to describe the feeling of express exactly how they feel, but combines cinema with a 19th-century on a screen. whispered overhead by the recorded
emotional release at the end of a good they constantly run up against the machine aesthetic. “Marey was the first person to voice of Dean of the College Kath-
tragedy, but catharsis is also surpris- impossibility of communicating their According to a press release, study motion, and this project is erine Bergeron.
ingly close to the rush of recognition feelings in words. “Let us imagine a straight line” was all about movement,” Rovan said Shulman said she and Rovan
that comes with the punchline of a This combination of earnestness inspired by the work of French at a press opening for the work on first met at a talk he gave at McGill
really good joke. and concealment in Ruhl’s dialogue physiologist Etienne-Jules Marey Wednesday. “This project shows University in Montreal. The proj-
That little excursus does have a is extremely difficult to get right, and — who contributed to the study of how various approaches reflect ect took about a year-and-a-half to
point. “The Clean House,” the cel- Price and her cast do it well. Most movement and the development of ideologies.” complete.
ebrated 2004 play by Sarah Ruhl ’97 of the time they find the register cinema — and by the writings of Turning a corner into a second Rovan said he hopes to continue
MFA’01, will be performed at Brown where the lines sound both obvious philosopher Henri Bergson. room, viewers see videos of South Af- the project and install it in Montreal
for the first time this weekend. Ruhl’s and elusive. As viewers enter the room rican dancer Ami Shulman projected next spring. He and Shulman also
work has appeared at Brown before Where they really nail it, though, where the piece is installed, they onto screens. The time-lapse videos plan to collaborate on more dance
(see Sock and Buskin’s luminous is in what are arguably the play’s see an original machine, a wood-and- show Shulman’s movements broken videos.
2007 “Melancholy Play”), but “The most affecting moments — the in- brass board with two pedals at hand down into discrete motions. “Let us imagine a straight line”
Clean House” is the central play in stants when language fails. Martinez, height. Designed by Rovan, this elec- “I find it so inspiring to see move- will be on view at the Cogut Center
Ruhl’s career so far, the work that playing a cancer patient exasperated trocardiogram-like device combines ment that can be seen in so many through Nov. 6.
brought her fame and a Pulitzer Prize by hospitals, glows as she reduces
nomination. So the current Produc- litanies of medical jargon into “blah
tion Workshop staging, directed by blah blah,” and Mathews, as Lane, re-
Emma Price ’10, is important on a sponds to her husband’s betrayal with
basic level in that it renews the con- a red-faced wail situated exactly on
nection between Brown and one of its the fragile border between laughter
most famous alumni artists. and weeping. Even the tightly wound
But — and here’s where that and quick-talking Virginia ultimately
first paragraph becomes relevant — snaps. Colella — who is fantastic
Price’s strong production also gives throughout — finds a pitch-perfect
audiences here the (overdue) oppor- laugh: apprehensive at first then
tunity to experience Ruhl’s cryptically manically uninhibited as she makes
plainspoken play with its investigation “a giant operatic mess” of Lane’s
of the cathartic possibilities of humor. house. The mask of order hiding the
Laughter is so close to tears that it can messy reality of this “clean house”
break us down and rebuild us and comes crashing down as Colella runs
provide everything from a pint-sized rampant, tearing the set apart, her
epiphany to a seismic life-quake — face shining with glee. Now that’s
thoroughly clean us out. catharsis.
“The Clean House” is set in “a
metaphysical Connecticut,” in the “The Clean House” runs through
antiseptically white home of Lane Monday, with performances at 8 p.m.
(Lily Mathews ’12) and Charles (Alex and an additional 2 p.m. performance
Kryger ’12), both doctors so preoc- on Sunday.
cupied with work that they barely see
each other. Lane has hired a Brazilian
maid, Matilde (Sakina Esufally ’13) to
keep the house in order, but Matilde
refuses to clean. It makes her sad, she
says. The orphaned daughter of the
two “funniest people in Brazil,” she
is preoccupied with her attempt to
come up with the perfect joke. Her
search repeatedly drives her into her
own head, in scenes Price eloquently
stages in half-light, with yearning vio-
lin music.
Enter Virginia (Abby Colella ’12),
Lane’s sister. Cleaning palliates Vir-
ginia’s feelings of disappointment and
suburban desperation (which Ruhl
— always sensitive to the complicated
interplay of class in American society
— treats with an appropriate amount
of sarcasm), so she strikes a deal with
Matilde and starts cleaning Lane’s
house in secret.
Then, without warning, Lane’s
marriage collapses. Charles has fallen
in love with one of his patients, an
older Argentinian woman named Ana
(Ivy Martinez ’10). He wants Lane to
accept that he’s found his soulmate
and release him.
Like the child of a divorce, Matilde
gets divided between Charles and
Ana’s household and Lane’s, contrib-
uting jokes — in un-subtitled Portu-
guese — that delight the multilingual
Editorial & Letters
The Brown Daily Herald

Page 6 | Friday, October 16, 2009

l e t t e r to t h e e d i to r White House, 3 a.m.

A welcome farewell to cloves

To the Editor: this nation’s deteriorating overall
health, which the Obama adminis-
After reading Sean Quigley’s ’10 tration actually acknowledges and is
column on the banning of clove- taking action on, for a change.
flavored cigarettes (”R.I.P. cloves,” If Quigley had done even a
Oct. 13), I found myself sitting on little digging, he would see that
the fence as to whether he was ac- the measure was meant to reduce
tually taking the banning seriously cigarettes’ appeal to younger con-
or if the write-up was some sort of sumers, something essential to
elaborate joke. He seems to wander loosening the industry’s vice-grip
in a fuss between mourning the loss on American culture, and the first
of flavored cigarettes to “progres- step in the process of removing
sive busybodies” who decided to tobacco from America’s list of self-
bring about the Family Smoking inflicted wounds.
Prevention and Tobacco Control In summation, just because Big
Act, and overcomplicated and un- Brother is being responsible and
justified jabs at liberalism and some of right mind in the American con-
sort of correlation between the “tra- sumer’s stead doesn’t mean we’re
ditional family” and loving liberty, losing our liberty; rather, we’re
tying the entire tirade together with healthier for it — at least those of
a tinfoil-hat theory that the govern- us who lean on the legal side of the
ment under Obama is seeking to be market. Even if flavored cigarettes
ale x yuly
a replacement for those ever-cited, are out of the commercial side of
never-found “family values.” things, there still is demand for
Somehow, all of these are tied to them. In reality, this ban will most
an FDA ruling that will only serve to likely transfer a fraction of flavoreds e d i to r i a l
weaken our nation’s dependence on to the black market — with hiked
the tobacco industry, which, if not prices. Still, this will do what the
for its stranglehold on a significant
portion of our country’s GDP, would
have been banned long ago.
FDA intends: make the items in
question more difficult for younger
buyers to obtain.
Fight for their right
I understand that Quigley feels But for you out there who still
like his “family values” and liberty have an itch, don’t worry. I’m sure We don’t generally have a high opinion of neighbors’ grievances, though legitimate, may
are under fire, but cigarettes are there’s a provider out there will- harsh underage drinking laws. Students under have led to an unnecessarily harsh response
far from a liberty to be respected, ing to scratch it. This is Brown, 21 have, and always will, get away with flouting by the police. There is a middle ground that
regardless of who introduced the anyhow. them, and harsh penalties for this behavior would curb the worst excesses of Elmhurst
habit into his life. They are unnec- can have disastrous consequences. Arrests for extravanganzas without unfairly punishing
essary, an addiction and a tradition Nick Morley ’13 even minor infractions can destroy students’ the students involved.
that only serves to further wound Oct. 15 chances of being admitted to graduate schools When police encounter a party where mi-
or employed at some jobs, and the threat of nors are being ser ved, they should not arrest
arrest can discourage students from calling for or cite every underage student they can catch.
t h e b r o w n d a i ly h e r a l d medical attention when it is truly needed. Instead, they should warn the party’s hosts,
Editor-in-Chief Managing Editors Deputy Managing Editors Senior Editors However, the shortcomings of underage after taking their information, that any future
Steve DeLucia Michael Bechek Nandini Jayakrishna Rachel Arndt drinking laws don’t entitle students to behave infractions will result in their arrest for provid-
Chaz Firestone Franklin Kanin Isabel Gottlieb however they please. College students aren’t ing minors with alcohol (a threat that should
Michael Skocpol Scott Lowenstein
editorial the only people in Providence, and should surely be enforced). This approach will give
Business
Ben Hyman Arts & Culture Editor General Managers Office Manager recognize that other locals don’t like it when, students a strong incentive to keep parties
Rosalind Schonwald Arts & Culture Editor Alexander Hughes Shawn Reilly for example, the victim of one too many Beirut from getting out of hand without incarcerating
Sophia Li Features Editor Jonathan Spector
George Miller Metro Editor games pukes on begonias on the path back an undue number of students.
Joanna Wohlmuth Metro Editor Directors to Perkins. Other punitive measures — including a
Seth Motel News Editor Ellen DaSilva Sales
Jenna Stark News Editor Claire Kiely Sales
The public interest and the grave conse- proposed ordinance that would fine landlords
Andrew Braca Sports Editor Katie Koh Finance quences of an arrest should both be taken into for not evicting tenants who incur three noise
Han Cui Asst. Sports Editor Jilyn Chao Asst. Finance account by the Providence Police in their ef- complaints in the course of a year — need to
Alex Mazerov Asst. Sports Editor Christiana Stephenson Alumni Relations
Katie Wood Asst. Sports Editor forts to curb excessive partying among Rhode be rethought. Noise complaints can be filed
Island college students in the Elmhurst district. frivolously, and the cap could result in the evic-
Graphics & Photos Managers
Chris Jesu Lee Graphics Editor Kelly Wess Local Sales The crackdown, called (no joke) Operation Red tion of those who merely listen to music too
Stephen Lichenstein Graphics Editor Kathy Bui National Sales Cup, has racked up 70 arrests in only three loudly while studying. Only noise complaints
Kim Perley Photo Editor Alex Carrere University Sales
Max Monn Asst. Photo Editor Matt Burrows Credit and Collections
weeks. The severe response has been moti- that stem from a party should count towards
Jesse Morgan Sports Photo Editor vated by complaints from Elmhurst residents, the limit.
production Opinions one of who compared the atmosphere created The police may already be thinking along
Ayelet Brinn Copy Desk Chief Alyssa Ratledge Opinions Editor by out-of-control partying to “a war zone.” these lines. If not, we urge them to reconsider
Rachel Isaacs Copy Desk Chief Sarah Rosenthal Opinions Editor
Marlee Bruning Design Editor We understand the neighbors’ complaints. their policies. A moderate set of regulations
Jessica Calihan Design Editor Editorial Page Board We too would not like to live in a place where can ensure that Elmhurst remains a livable
Anna Migliaccio Asst. Design Editor James Shapiro Editorial Page Editor
Julien Ouellet Asst. Design Editor Matt Aks Board member “loud late-night music and other noise, lit- place for all of its residents.
Neal Poole Web Editor Nick Bakshi Board member tering, vandalism, fights, trespassing, and
Post- magazine Zack Beauchamp Board member
public sex, vomiting and urination” are com- Editorials are written by The Herald’s edito-
Arthur Matuszewski Debbie Lehmann Board member
Editor-in-Chief
Kelly McKowen William Martin Board member monplace. However, we’re concerned that the rial page board. Send comments to editorials@
Editor-in-Chief
Marlee Bruning, Jessica Calihan, Nick Sinnott-Armstrong, Katie Wilson, Designers
Nicole Boucher, Joe Milner, Brendan Burke, Copy Editors
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C O R R E C T I O N S P olicy
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Opinions
The Brown Daily Herald
Of Obama, Tsvangirai and a Nobel war
DOMINIC MHIRIPIRI
Opinions Columnist
The world woke up Friday to the stunning
news that President Obama had won the
Nobel Peace Prize for 2009, beating more
than 200 other nominees for the religiously
coveted medal. As much a surprise as it was,
the decision to award “the highest honor in
the world” to America’s freshman president
less than nine months into his presidency was
also lauded by many — creating a heated and
interesting debate that has claimed acres of
space in newspapers and kept the heat running
in the realms of the blogosphere.
Even the activity on “status updates” by
my Facebook “friends,” particularly those
here at Brown, has largely been dominat-
ed by varied responses to Obama’s “prema-
ture” Nobel triumph — a trend reminiscent
of the enormous outpouring of grief, admira-
tion and eulogies on social networking sites
that followed the June 25 death of the king of
pop, Michael Jackson.
Obama landed the $1.4 million prize
ahead of the race’s three strong favorites
— Colombian Senator Piedad Cordoba, Chi-
nese dissident Hu Jia and quite notably, Zim-
babwean opposition hero and now Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
From the deafening buzz surrounding
this controversial choice by the Norwegian
Nobel Committee came some familiar voic-
es. Previous Nobel laureate and American
statesman Al Gore is one of them, saying “I
think it is thrilling that the Nobel Peace Prize
Committee recognizes early contributions
made to world peace by President Barack
The course evaluation responsibility
Jared Lafer
Opinions Columnist
A kitten dies every time you don’t fill out a
course evaluation.
Indeed, there’s a lot riding on our course
evaluations (which shall henceforth refer
both to departmental evaluations and the
Critical Review unless otherwise noted).
As a recent editorial in The Herald
(“Teaching and tenure,” Sept. 28) explained,
department evaluations are used to provide
input into decisions about tenure, and the
tenure process makes or breaks careers.
Critical Review evaluations are used by
students to make class selections, and so by
evaluating classes, we help students shape
their educations.
Course evaluations provide professors
with feedback about their classes and their
teaching, which is beneficial to future stu-
dents and professors alike.
With all these considerations, filling out
course evaluations thoughtfully is an impor-
tant responsibility.
But we generally don’t live up to this re-
sponsibility. I’ve seen students spend five
minutes working on evaluations, trying to
pass off single sentences and inappropriate
N/As as responses, and I’m sure you have
too. I concede that there are some students
who ostensibly evaluate well, but they’re un-
doubtedly in the minority.
So why are we negligent? The answer to
this question is complicated, but (as usual)
where better to begin than with the admin-
istration?
The administration does not do a good job
Obama. Much of what he has accomplished
already is going to be far more appreciated
in the eyes of history, as it has been by the
Nobel Committee.”
Oh please. Give me a freakin’ break.
What contributions to world peace has
President Obama made that warrant him to
stand on the same perch as Nelson Mandela,
Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King, Presi-
dent Theodore Roosevelt and many other
worthy Nobel laureates? Even he acknowl-
edged this.
Have Obama’s efforts significantly
changed the global mood for cooperation
and a quest for peaceful resolutions to world
As an African township boy, I took Obama’s Nobel
success with a personal dimension, as it denied a similar
triumph for a bold and courageous countryman whose
sacrifice has been a beacon of hope in the storied
struggle for democracy in my country and
across the African continent.
crises, particularly nuclear non-proliferation
and hostile nations? Yes. Has Obama initi-
ated an important journey towards a better
perception for America across the world,
and sought to undo some ills of the previous
(Bushian) foreign policy? Yes. Has Obama
been a largely positive, inspirational and
hard-working president, keen on reviving
America’s flagging economy and her waning
image abroad since taking office? Yes.
Does Obama deserve his Nobel Peace
Prize? No!
— or any job at all — stressing course evalu-
ations. Indeed, when I first came to Brown I
had absolutely no idea what a course evalua-
tion was, let alone what was expected of me
in filling them out.
The only information Brown has about
evaluations is on the Dean of the College
Web site, but it is directed towards faculty.
There’s no general information about the
significance of course evaluations or any-
thing relevant to students. Thus we are neg-
ligent in part because we are ignorant.
Course evaluations impact all members of the
Brown community, and so professors have a duty
to distribute them in the same vein that students
have a duty to complete them.
Then there’s the faculty, which pays
short shrift to course evaluations in several
ways. First, professors seldom encourage
us to course evaluate thoughtfully in class,
which is surprising given how much they
can benefit from them. A sentence, even a
word, would do.
Second, even if they did encourage us,
we couldn’t evaluate meaningfully even if we
wanted to. Professors often give students too
little time to do justice to an entire semes-
ter’s worth of study. In my experience, pro-
fessors tend to allot 10 minutes on the last
day of class to course evaluations. I’ve heard
a similar number quoted by others. This is
not nearly enough time for us to thoughtfully
address every question.
Since when did people get awarded for
aspirations and rhetoric or for simply not be-
ing other people? Since when do Brown pro-
fessors give final grades to students for “ex-
traordinary promise in mastering and excel-
ling in a course”? Since when do the Oscars
go to the director who can potentially make
a good film this year, especially when there
are a few great movies already made?
As an African township boy, I took
Obama’s Nobel success with a personal di-
mension, as it denied a similar triumph for
a bold and courageous countryman whose
sacrifice has been a beacon of hope in the
storied struggle for democracy in my coun-
try and across the African continent.
Zimbabwe’s Morgan Tsvangirai, famous
across the world for his fight for democracy
and peace in his country for the last decade,
was the African hope for the medal this year
and widely touted to take the podium in Oslo
this November. Pitted for a decade against
one of the most repressive dictators in the
world, Robert Mugabe, Tsvangirai has been
jailed, tried for treason, tortured and robbed
of an election victory by his geriatric oppo-
nent.
This short time period is explicable —
professors probably prefer to maximize class
time, and so only a small amount of time is
slotted for evaluations. But is it worth it to
try and maximize class time on the last day
if it means neglecting this important respon-
sibility? I think not.
Of course, these “efficient” professors
aren’t the worst of them. Some professors
don’t distribute course evaluations at all.
This is more common with the Critical Re-
view since it’s not mandatory, but in any case
these professors should be sent to the stocks
and vegetabled.
Course evaluations impact all members
of the Brown community, and so professors
have a duty to distribute them in the same
vein that students have a duty to complete
them. I can at least rationalize only partial-
ly living up to one’s responsibility, but com-
pletely shirking it is inexcusable. Thus we
are negligent because it’s imposed upon us.
Students are to blame as well. Aside from
simply not caring, out of what I’ll assume is
ignorance, students suffer from a compul-
sion to be what economists call “free rid-
ers.”
At Brown, course evaluations are a public
good. This good is supplied by the students
Friday, October 16, 2009 | Page 7
Tsvangirai was denied the presidency by
Mugabe in March 2008 despite winning the
presidential poll — and even when Mugabe
embarked on a vengeful retribution offen-
sive against opposition supporters, which
claimed scores of lives, Tsvangirai espoused
peace and cooperation. A September 2008
agreement with Mugabe culminated in the
(power-sharing) Government of National
Unity, which has significantly stabilized the
country and set it on a path to economic re-
covery.
In risking his own life for his country,
Tsvangirai has slowly established himself as
the face of an emerging brand of 21st-century
African leaders who value peace and democ-
racy more than personal power, recognition
and wealth. His humility in agreeing to share
power with an unpopular, failed and reject-
ed regime for the sake of the Zimbabwean
people eased a tense political situation that
by now would have had an exponentially in-
creasing pool of human casualties. Already,
thousands of Zimbabweans have perished in
politically sponsored violence in the country
since 1999.
Although I have a lot of respect and ad-
miration for America’s iconic president, and
know positively that one day he will deserve
a Nobel Peace Prize, I am of the humble
opinion that a few other people deserved
it more than he this year. Chief among
these, Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai.
Dominic Mhiripiri ’12 is an Applied
Math/Economics concentrator from
Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe.
He can be reached at
dominic_mhiripiri@brown.edu
because it benefits them to do so. However,
since course evaluations are not “exclud-
able,” a student acting in his or her self-inter-
est would be incentivized not to contribute.
Students gain from the good regardless of
whether they contribute or not, and so stu-
dents tend not to fill out course evaluations,
or at least to the best of their abilities. Thus,
we are negligent because of our psychology.
So how do we compel everyone to take
course evaluations more seriously? The first
step is to make people aware of the impor-
tance of course evaluations, which I intend
this column to do in part, but I hope ulti-
mately becomes an institutional endeavor.
We should then foster that awareness by
allowing students to fill out evaluations on-
line after the last class. This would provide
them with the necessary time to really think
about the semester and write more detailed
and useful evaluations.
Finally, to combat the free rider problem,
we should establish a disincentive for not
contributing. Brown should refuse to release
the grades for students who do a lackluster
job evaluating. If a professor feels too little
thought was put into an evaluation, the Uni-
versity should contact the relevant student
and ask him or her to revise it. Of course,
evaluations are anonymous, so the profes-
sor would not know the name of the student,
which avoids ethical complications.
So, in conclusion, the next time you en-
counter a course evaluation, think about the
kittens.
Jared Lafer ’11 is a philosophy con-
centrator from Manhattan. He can be
reached at jared_lafer@brown.edu
 Today 5
to day to m o r r o w
‘Imagine a straight line’
The Brown Daily Herald

Who should have won the Nobel

7
Friday, October 16, 2009
44 / 38 50 / 43
Page 8

all green thumbs d i a m o n d s a n d c oa l

A diamond to negotiators from the University and Dining Services, who reached an agreement on
a new contract just before 2 a.m. Thursday morning in a New Dorm conference room. Nothing puts the
pressure on like the last call for Jo’s fries, eh?

Coal to news of a city law that says residents cannot expect trash removal unless they also put out
their recycling. A week after we learned the city is planning a future streetcar system, now this? We know
Providence wishes it could be San Francisco, but we can never call ourselves a true Golden Gate City as
long as we have that crappy green bridge over India Point.

A cubic zirconium to the pro-Columbus ralliers on Monday, one of whom protested that “American
Indians knew not Christianity” before the explorer’s arrival. We’re glad your opinions have contributed to
a lively debate, but we knew not people still talked like that.

Coal to the Sustainable Endowments Institute, which gave Brown an A-minus on its 2010 green report
Kim Perley / Herald card. You know that just shows up as an A on our transcripts, right?
Daniel Sherrell ’13 helps Meredith Epstein ’12 plant jade at a garden-planting party
run by students from Environmental Science 11.
A diamond to the Brown students who traveled to a marriage equality rally in Washington last weekend,
which featured speakers including Lady Gaga. This must have been the greatest equality rally ever! (As
c a l e n da r long as you don’t mind the swarms of papa, papa, paparazzi.)

Today, october 16
4 p.m. — GISPs and ISPs Info Ses-
sion, Curricular Resource Center, J.
Walter Wilson
8 p.m. — Brown Derbies and Chatter-
tocks Family Concert, Salomon 101
Sharpe Refectory
Lunch — Rosemary Portobello Sub
Sandwich, Grilled Caribbean Jerk
Chicken, S’mores Bars
Dinner — Vegetable Stuffed Peppers,
RELEASE DATE– Friday, October 16, 2009
Cannelloni, Pumpkin Pie
saturday, october 17 Coal to DPS for making a clearly erroneous entry in last week’s crime log that a cement flower pot
found broken had “a value of $500.” Either that, or an even bigger coal to whoever is leaving gold-plated,
2 P.M. — Office of International extremely rare Augustan-era flower pots out on Manning Walk.
Programs Open House, J. Walter
Wilson 420 A diamond to the plucky wide receiver on the football team who kicked the game-winning field goal
in the team’s victory over Holy Cross. This heartwarming underdog tale has all the makings of a Disney
8:30 P.M. — Brown University Channel TV movie. (Just throw in a talking golden retriever, maybe.)
Orchestra Concert, Sayles Hall
A cubic zirconium to the buzz-killing city councilman who told The Herald he was concerned that
“word has gotten out” that Elmhurst, the neighborhood around Providence College, is a “party district.”
menu Not sure talking to our reporters is going to help that problem, but we appreciate your openness. In other
news: party in Elmhurst tonight!
Verney-Woolley Dining Hall
comics
Lunch — Chicken Fingers, Summer
Cabernet Voltaire | Abe Pressman
Squash, Vegetarian Grinder
Dinner — Salmon Quiche, Cheese
Raviolis With Sauce, Roasted Herb
Potatoes

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

crossword
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 65 Home of the 33 Aquarium fish 46 Lincoln’s
1 Seawater witch buried with an iridescent Confederate
component, to a under a fallen stripe counterpart
chemist house 34 Rene of “Ransom” 47 Separately
5 Egypt’s Mubarak 35 Burning desire? 48 Court case
10 Adriatic Sea DOWN 37 Stick in a parlor 50 Grenoble’s river
country: Abbr. 1 Chill in the air 38 Airing in prime 51 Boot camp Dot Comic | Eshan Mitra and Brendan Hainline
13 “In other words ...” 2 Latin 101 verb time, say negative
15 Decide to 3 Texting device 39 Hardly a speed 53 Debt-laden corp.
participate 4 View from demon takeovers
16 “You stink!” Cleveland 43 Tot’s beach toy 56 Suffix with Capri
17 Oktoberfest 5 Shack
44 Bad picnic omen 58 Mariner’s “Help!”
dance 6 “The Barber of
Seville,” e.g. 45 Hotelier Helmsley 59 Que. neighbor
18 Seat for eating
scaloppine? 7 Represents ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
20 Speaker’s stand 8 Zilch
22 Blue Cross 9 Peruvian
competitor ancestor
23 Tool for a dueling 10 Taper off
snake? 11 Tender beef cuts
26 Home of the 12 Sacha Baron
witch who Cohen title
melted character
27 Earth tones 14 Mother-of-pearl
28 Newspaper ad 19 Axed
meas. 21 Atlanta-based sta. Hippomaniac | Mat Becker
30 Sainted fifth- 23 Saab competitor
century pope 24 Trap during a
31 Playfully winter storm,
33 Org. once maybe
headed by 25 Prefix with
Heston distant
36 What Tarzan 29 22-Acr. business
became after 31 Deep-rooted
years of 32 Miami-to-N.Y. dir. xwordeditor@aol.com 10/16/09
swinging?
40 Half and half
41 Madison’s neat
roomie
42 Bottom-line
negative
43 Sykora of the
NHL
44 “The Tempest”
king
46 Facts and figures STW | Jingtao Huang
49 Egotistical
describer of laws
of motion?
52 Month for fools?
54 Uranium-238,
e.g.
55 Paleontologist’s
ski resort
discoveries?
57 “Au contraire!”
60 Nest egg item,
briefly
61 Cheri of “SNL”
62 Firestone
Country Club
city
63 Arch site: Abbr.
By Dan Naddor
64 Passover meal (c)2009 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
10/16/09