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8/14/2019 April 10, 2009 Issue
1/12
www.browndaiyhrad.com 195 An Strt, Providnc, Rhod Isand [email protected]
Nws.....1-4Arts... . . . . .5Word & Nation...6
Sports...7-8Opinion...10-11Today........12
Hot streak
M. ax taks on Pnn this
wknd hopin to brin
thir win strak to nin
Sports, 7tabula rasa
A blank canvas causs
tnsion amon frinds in
Art at th PW
Arts, 5recycle rigHt
Katharin Hrmann 09
says sustainability must
start sma
Opinions, 11
inside
DailyHeraldthe Brown
vol. cxliv, no. 49 | Friday, April 10, 2009 | Serving the community daily since 1891
ISD b by brian Mastroianni
SeniorStaffWriter
During the rst week o April,
930 hopeul students opened their
mailboxes to nd they were admit-
ted to the Rhode Island School
o Designs class o 2013. That
represented an acceptance rate o
33 percent, and an increase o 70
admitted students over last year.
More students were admitted
this year because admissions
oicers were concerned that
ewer people would choose to
matriculate given the economy,
said Edward Newhall, director o
admissions at RISD.
We were thinking mostly
about the economy, Newhall
said. You see stories everywhere
about the wide variety o decisions
amilies are making in terms o
how to spend their money. College
is a big part o that.
The school received 2,814 ap-
plications this year.
Though RISD has increased
its nancial aid budget or stu-
dents, Newhall said, the school
anticipates applicants will be more
concerned about nancing college
than in past years. The admissions
L by ellen cusHing
SeniorStaffWriter
Browns admitted Class o 2013
refects both national patterns and
previous years demographics,
according to Dean o Admissions
Jim Miller 73 and admissions
proessionals.
Just 2,708 or 10.8 percent
o the 24,988 total applicants were
admitted this year. That gure is
Browns lowest acceptance rate
ever, consistent with a national
admissions environment that has
seen more applicants and lower
admission rates than ever at many
o the countrys elite schools.
Browns acceptance rate ap-
pears to be very much in keep-
ing with the progressively more
selective admissions processes at
our already more selective insti-
tutions, said Barmak Nassirian,
associate executive director or
the American Association o Col-
legiate Registrars and Admissions
Ocers.
According to Miller, this years
growth in the application pool was
generally consistent across all
regions, all groups and all con-
centrations, and there were no
signicant demographic dier-
ences between the pool o admit-
ted students this year and in the
past.
High school seniors and col-
lege advisers underscored how
competitive admissions were
this year, at Brown and across
the country.
Lily Waters, a senior at Phil-
lips Exeter Academy in Exeter,
N.H. who was waitlisted at Brown,
said she and her classmates were
aware o how competitive admis-
sions were this year.
People were getting rejected
by their saety schools. I have
heard o a couple people who didnt
get in anywhere, she said.
Business, art run together
with RISD President Maedaby Dan alexanDer
StaffWriter
Just beore 6 a.m., Providence
is still sleeping, and its lamp-lit
streets are silent.
But eight joggers are stretch-
ing outside o a downtown Star-
bucks beore their monthly run
with Rhode Island School o De-
sign President John Maeda.
The group sets o, with Mae-
da leading the pack. They run
a two-mile loop up College Hill
and back down to the Starbucksunder the Hilton Hotel.
The pace is slow, and the
runners chat as they weave
through RISDs campus.
Lets be technical I dont
really run, Maeda said. We
just jog.
The idea or the jog emerged
ater the newly hired Maeda had
just nished giving a meet-and-
greet lecture last June to busi-
ness leaders in Providence.
Is this the last time were
going to see you? Maeda re-
calls someone asking during
the question-and-answer session
that ollowed. Because every
time we see a college president,
they disappear.
Steve Cronin was sitting in
the ront row when the question
was posed. Cronin, president
and CEO o Mercury Print and
Mail, came up to the new presi-
dent and said, Lets start a run a jog in the morn ing to stay
connected, Maeda recalled.
So once or twice a month,
Maeda rises with the sun and
jogs with Cronin and anyone
else who wants to join.
Most o the joggers are local
entrepreneurs, businesspeople
by setH Motel
StaffWriter
Many Brown students are worried
about their uture job prospects, but
more than 15 percent do not plan to
enter the workorce immediately a-
ter graduation, according to a recent
Herald poll.
About 45 percent o students sur-
veyed said they were worried about
getting the job they wanted atergraduation, while ewer, about 35
percent, said they were condent
in doing so.
Most o the students who said
they planned to get a job immedi-
ately ater graduation answered that
their condence was at neither e-
treme. In regard to getting the job
they wanted, 31.2 percent said they
were somewhat worried and 23.5
percent said they were somewhat
condent.
Just 10.5 percent said they were
very condent about getting the
job they wanted.
Nationwide, many graduating se-
niors are choosing either to take time
o ater college or to enter graduate
school directly, said Andrea Koncz,
employment inormation manager
or the National Association o Col-
leges and Employers. A study by the
organization showed that 23 percent
o last years graduates anticipated
going straight to graduate school
and 4 percent planned to take time
o, Koncz said.
For some students, getting a job
and making money immediately
might be especially important duringthe current recession, which started
in December 2007, according to the
National Bureau o Economic Re-
search. Others see graduate school
as a way to stay out o the turbulent
job market or the time being.
The number o college graduates
heading straight to graduate school
is increasing, but only slightly, Kon-
cz said.
Barbara Peoples, the interim di-
rector o the Career Development
Center, advised students not to rush
o to graduate school or the wrong
reasons. Students should apply to
graduate school when they are sure
why they are going, she wrote in
an e-mail. You will be obtaining a
proessional degree, oten at consid-
erable expense, so its not something
to leap into hastily.
Job marketis scaring
studentsout o it
bw uvc f 2013
Dmph
52% fma
40% minority studnts
15% first nration
co-studnts
10% intrnationa
studnts
M-pd
Nw York and Caifornia
idd
29% physica scincs
26% socia scincs
21% if scincs
16% humanitis
HOPe SPRINgS eTeRNAl
Quinn Savit / HradTh Sustainab Food Initiativ cbratd th first day of th 2009 rowinsason Thursday in th ardn on Hop Strt.
Quinn Savit / Hrad
RISD worrid fwr accptd studnts woud matricuat nxt yar.
continued onpage 2
continued onpage 3 continued onpage 3
continued onpage 2
tHe HeralD Poll
SPOTlIgHT
8/14/2019 April 10, 2009 Issue
2/12
sudoku
Stephen DeLucia, President
Michael Bechek, Vice President
Jonathan Spector, Treasurer
Aleander Hughes, Secretary
The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is an independent newspaper serv-ing the Brown University community daily since 1891. It is published Mondaythrough Friday during the academic year, ecluding vacations, once duringCommencement, once during Orientation and once in July by The Brown DailyHerald, Inc. Single copy ree or members o the community.POSTMASTERplease send corrections to P.O. Bo 2538, Providence, RI02906. Periodicals postage paid at Providence, R.I. Oces are located at 195
Angell St., Providence, R.I. E-mail [email protected] Wide Web: http://www.browndailyherald.com.Subscription prices: $319 one year daily, $139 one semester daily.Copyright 2009 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.
ed Ph: 401.351.3372 | b Ph: 401.351.3260
DailyHeraldthe Brown
FRIDAY, APRIl 10, 2009THe BROWN DAIlY HeRAlDPAge 2
CS wS Th Ivis tnd to captur th first bit of th app. Barmak Nassirian, associat xcutiv dirctor of ACRAO
and RISD students, but anyone is
welcome to join i they can getup early enough.
The ocus is not the jogging, but
the communication that takes place
between the joggers themselves.
Steve Cronin calls it a runversa-
tion.
John Cronin, a ellow jogger and
executive director o the Rhode Is-
land Small Business Development
Center, said the jog gives him an
opportunity to meet leaders in the
Providence community in an inor-
mal setting.
Its great just to be able to
network in running shorts and a
T-shirt, he said.Steve Cronin agreed. My avor-
ite part is people coming together
and everybody exchanging ideas,
he said between short breaths as
he descended College Hill.
He has exchanged marketing
tips and consumer relationship sug-
gestions with Maeda and others on
the jog, he said.
Maeda always has some an-
ecdotal inormation that gives us
perspective, Steve Cronin said,
adding that he also gives us some
technological ideas or how to make
it work.
Maeda has plenty o anecdotes to
draw upon rom his eclectic academicand proessional background.
He isnt just a designer. He has
two degrees rom the Massachu-
setts Institute o Technology: a
bachelors in computer science and
a masters in electrical engineering.
He also has an M.B.A. rom Arizona
State University and a Ph.D. in de-
sign science rom Tsukuba Institute
o Art and Design in Japan.
Maeda said he sees overlaps be-
tween all o his interests, including
business and art art and design,
he said, are oundational to Provi-
dences economy.
Much o the runversationdidnt go on during the jog but
instead happened at Starbucks a-
terward. The joggers stopped and
had something to drink while they
talked.
For nearly 45 minutes, they
talked about everything rom Twit-
ter to tutoring. Steve Cronin told
Maeda that he was having some
trouble with his tutoring program
at Hope High School.
These kids all aspire to go to
college, but their writing skills are
just terrible, Steve Cronin said.Maeda told him that might not
be as big a problem today as it
once was. Im not saying writing
or reading or the written language
is gone, Maeda told him. But, he
added, imagine i you could turn
in an essay on video.
Some o the conversations di-
rectly tied business together with
design. One o the joggers men-
tioned the environmentally con-
scious design o his business. The
business is almost entirely paper-
ree and has only gone through a
ream-and-a-hal o paper in the last
si years.Maeda was so enthralled with
the idea o a paper-ree company
that he pulled out his iPhone,
turned on the voice recorder and
started interviewing the jogger
about how his company phased
out paper.
Its those chance encounters
that are so important in lie, i you
let them in. Thats kind o what I
like about these jogs, Maeda said.
Were all connected, and thats
why I love communication.
The jogs are not the only way
Maeda tries to stay connected with
the community. He eats lunch at
RISDs caeterias and exchanges
inormation on his blog.
It gets awkward having this
blog sometimes, Maeda said. Its
like Im ully vulnerable. Ive got
nowhere to hide.
But or all o the business talk
and exchange o complex ideas,
Maeda had a quick response when
asked about his avorite part o the
jog.
Umm, r unning.
Maeda is constantly trying to
get more people to come on thejog. He created a Web site or it, he
blogs about it, he talks about it on
television and he never misses it.
Its kind o a nice way to wake
up, Maeda said. I went to sleep
at like 1 a.m., and I was like, Oh,
I gotta go on this run. But Im
glad I did it.
continued frompage 1
j
Brendan Barry 13, a senior at
Classical High School in Provi-dence who was admitted early
decision to Brown, said that
while the magnet school usually
sends seven or eight students
to Brown each year, this year only
three will be attending.
It was a really, really tough
year, he said.
According to Nassirian, the
Ivies, in particular, are experienc-
ing a bumper crop this year.
For our most selective
schools, this was generally a re-
cord-setter, he said, adding that
this trend doesnt seem to hold
true at the second- and third-tierprivate institutions.
Six o the eight Ivy League
schools reported record-low ac-
ceptance rates this year, accord-
ing to their respective school
newspapers. Harvards accep-
tance rate was the lowest in the
Ivy League this year, with just
7 percent o applicants earning
admission. Browns admission
rate decreased the most among
Ivy League schools, ueled by a
21 percent jump in applications
this year.
Nassirian said the increased
competition or slots at Ivies
among applicants resulted rom
the critical intersection o su-
perlative reputation and very high
prestige and the act that despite
the setbacks and the losses to
their endowments, these schools
still have very deep pockets.
Rick Rizoli, director o college
counseling at The Rivers School
in Weston, Mass., said this prin-
ciple held true or his students.
The generalization is that
the higher up you go in the ood
chain in terms o prestige, the
more money you have, so not only
will you get the golden ring oIvy League admission, youll get
a good nancial aid package as
well, he said.
Miller also said Browns -
nancial aid program may have
contributed to the large number
o applicants this year.
It does appear anecdotally
that the nancial aid initiative
that we announced last year had
a positive infuence on our appli-
cant pool, he wrote in an e-mail
to The Herald.
Brown also allowed students to
apply through the popular Com-
mon Application service or therst time this year.
According to Miller, Brown
did not place more students on
the waitlist this year than in the
past.
But Rachel Petrella, co-director
o college counseling at Brooks
School in Nor th Andover, Mass.,
said many schools her students
applied to appeared to be using
wait lists.
There is this idea that every-
one has a longer waitlist than
usual, she said.
Nassirian echoed these senti-
ments, saying that in an uncertain
year, many schools were usingwaitlists to better control their
numbers.
In general it appears to be
the case that a lot o schools have
opted or a longer wait list as a
way o hedging their bets, he
said.
But Nassirian said this was
less true in the Ivy League.
The Ivies tend to capture the
rst bite o the apple, he said.
I continued frompage 1
Hrad Fi Photo
RISD Prsidnt John Mada carris out a runvrsation with ocantrprnurs onc a month.
8/14/2019 April 10, 2009 Issue
3/12
CS wSFRIDAY, APRIl 10, 2009 THe BROWN DAIlY HeRAlD PAge 3
Bin ay is a hardship, but in many ways its a privi.
Braydn McCarthy, associat at Barcays Capita
S b by eMily rosen
Contributing Writer
Though scientists have long un-
derstood that smoking has detri-
mental eects on the body, many o
nicotines biological eects remain
uneplored.
But research being conducted
by Brown scientists under the guid-
ance o Proessor o Medical Sci-
ence Edward Hawrot could provide
a clearer picture o the chemicals
interactions with human tissue,
giving additional insight into the
bodys workings.
Hawrots team has been work-
ing since 2006 to identiy proteinsnormally ound in the alpha-7
nicotinic acetylcholine receptor
i nicotine is not present, in hopes
o discovering dierences in the
proteins when nicotine is intro-
duced.
Hawrot and his team, which
includes William Brucker 04 GS
and Joao Paulo PhD08, published
the results o their experiments in
the April 3 issue o the Journal o
Proteome Research.
The research could provide
insight into epilepsy, schizophre-nia and Alzheimers disease, said
Hawrot, the associate dean or
the Program in Biology. Brucker
added that the research might
also help develop methods to help
people quit smoking.
We came up with 55 proteins
that we elt very condent were
associated directly or indirectly
with alpha-7, said Hawrot, who
has been studying nicotinic re-
ceptors or much o his scientic
career.
In order to identiy these pro-
teins, Hawrots team conducted
research on mice, which have asimilar alpha-7 receptor to that
o humans. The eperiment used
two sets o mice: one that had
normal alpha-7 receptors, and a
second, genetically engineered
set o knock-out mice that had
no alpha-7 receptors.
A neurotoin which alpha-7 is
known to bind was used to isolate
the alpha-7 receptor in the normal
b b
Quinn Savit / Hrad
Rprsntativs from thr businss firms discussd issus facin ay individuas in th workpac.
ch p
Reina Saiki 10 said she had
planned to work or a ew years ater
college and then enroll in graduate
school. But due to the uncertain job
market, going straight to graduate
school is becoming a big, big pos-
sibility, she said.
Its not really about the educa-
tion, Saiki said. Its about what I
should do as an alternative to a
job.
Gabriela Camargo 11 said she
had envisioned taking a similar route,
working or a ew years to urther
determine her interests and then get-
ting a graduate degree. But that was
beore the recession hit.
Now, it just changes the order,
she said.
Andrew Evans 09, who said he is
looking or a job in the roller coaster
industry, anticipates that he will take
time o beore committing to a job in
that eld. But he said he might have
avoided going straight into a career
even in a better economy.
Im kind o holding out or the
dream job, Evans said.
First-years and sophomores were
more likely than juniors and seniors
to choose somewhat condent or
somewhat worried. O rst-years
and sophomores, 62.6 percent put
themselves in the middle two cate-
gories, compared to 43.8 percent o
juniors and seniors who did so.
Additionally, 15.1 percent o stu-
dents said they did not intend to get a
job immediately ater graduation, and
5.3 percent selected the Dont know/
No answer option on the poll.
Despite the str uggling economy,
salary oers to this years graduates
are commensurate to those oered
to last years graduating seniors,
according to a February NACE re-
port. Graduates who anticipate that
they will earn degrees in business
administration or management ared
among the best o the class, seeing
their oers rise by 4.7 percent since
last year. But the average salary that
companies are oering to graduat-
ing seniors with potential computer
science degrees ell by 1.4 percent.
Salary oers to uture liberal arts
graduates ell by 0.9 percent.
Though internship positions are
down 21 percent rom last year, sala-
ries or those jobs are on the rise,
according to NACE research. These
internships are becoming more com-
petitive, but it remains important or
undergraduates to apply to ones in
their anticipated career area, Koncz
said.
I would denitely say to an under-
graduate to get some kind o related
work eperience, she said.
Working as a paid or unpaid intern
is a way to get a oot in the door
or a permanent job ater graduation,
Koncz said.
Though some students are a ew
years away rom exploring the market,
the CDC encourages undergraduates
to begin crating a plan, identiying
resources and making connections,
Peoples wrote in her e-mail.
The poll, conducted rom March16 through 18, had a 3.6 percent
margin o error with 95 percent con-
dence. The inormation specically
about rst-year and sophomore re-
spondents had a 4.6 percent margin
o error and the inormation about
junior and senior respondents had a
5.7 percent margin o error, both with
95 percent condence. A total o 676
Brown undergraduates completed
the poll, which The Herald admin-
istered as a written questionnaire to
students in the University Mail Room
at J. Walter Wilson, outside the Blue
Room in Faunce House and in the
Sciences Library.
continued frompage 1
b jb
oces goal is to keep the size
o the incoming reshman class
remain the same about 420
students he added.
Each year, the school typi-
cally places between 250 and 300
applicants on a waitlist, a gure
that has remained about the same
this year. It is dicult to predict
how many students will be taken
o the waitlist this year, Newhall
said.
Admission to RISD was even
harder to come by or graduate
students. The school accepted
just 404 o 2,148 applicants to its
graduate programs this year, an
acceptance rate o under 19 per-
cent, Newhall said.
continued frompage 1
ISD
by brigitta greene
SeniorStaffWriter
Representatives rom three top busi-
ness rms spoke Thursday to a small
crowd in Smith-Buonanno 106 about
being openly gay in the workplace,
as part o a month-long collaboration
between the Career Development
Center and the Queer Alliance.
At the orum, representatives
spoke o positive and challeng-
ing experiences working in the
business world.
Being gay is a hardship, but
in many ways its a privilege, saidBrayden McCarthy, an associate at
Barclays Capital, a major investment
bank. You are a minority, and you get
to understand how other minorities
are being treated.
The event was designed to t
with the theme o Pride Month, dur-
ing which the QA has attempted to
advance dialogue beyond same-sex
marriage and address queer issues
in the 21st centur y.
Its easy to be out at Brown, Kyle
Poyar 10, the organizer o the event
told The Herald. But in the work-
place, you worry to what etent that
is proessional.
Much o ones workplace eperi-
ence has to do with the climate, the
specic people that you work around,
said Richard Clark, senior managing
director or investor relations at Ac-
centure, Ltd., a consulting rm.
Studies have shown, Clark said,
that when an employee does not bring
his or her whole sel to work, pro-
ductivity goes down.
Jens Audenaert, a consultant at
Bain and Company, said individuals
can choose the etent to which they
bring their personal lives into the o-
ce. Its about what kind o image
you set, he said.
All three rms Bain, Accen-
ture and Barclays received per-
ect scores on the Corporate Equality
Index, a ranking compiled by the Hu-
man Rights Campaign. All three give
medical coverage benets to domestic
partners a program even Brown
does not currently implement, Poyar
said.
Poyar worked closely with Laura
Joshi, an employer relations manager
at the CDC, to organize the event, he
said. Firms expressed high interest in
the orum, Joshi said, but many were
unable to send a representative due to
scheduling conficts. The event ell on
both Holy Thursday and Passover.
Poyar said he was disappointed
with the turnout, which was ewer
than 20 students. He said it is di-
cult to reach out to LGBTQ students
at Brown because there is no singlenetwork. The QA acts as an umbrella
organization, but there is no direct
outreach mechanism, he said.
The event represents current e-
orts by the CDC to work closely with
students on campus, said Barbara Peo-
ples, the centers interim director.
We really want to increase our
engagement with student groups,
she said. We want to look or what
the students are looking or.
continued onpage 4
8/14/2019 April 10, 2009 Issue
4/12
FRIDAY, APRIl 10, 2009THe BROWN DAIlY HeRAlDPAge 4
CS wS Th apha-7 rcptor can b dscribd as an xtrmymystrious rcptor. Wiiam Bruckr 04 gS, rsarchr
mice, and a similar procedure was
perormed on the mice without al-
pha-7 receptors to serve as a com-
parison group. Researchers then
used mass spectrometry to analyze
pieces o proteins extracted rom the
receptor and identied the proteins
using a computer database.
The team concluded that pro-
teins present in the normal mice but
not present in the receptor-decient
mice were the proteins normally as-
sociated with the alpha-7 receptor.
One o the next steps in continu-
ing this research is to study howthe introduction o nicotine to the
alpha-7 receptor will aect the pro-
teins associated with it, according
to the researchers. They hypoth-
esize that once nicotine binds to
the alpha-7 receptor, the identity
and quantity o proteins that interact
with the receptor will change.
This three-year project was
unded by a grant rom the Na-
tional Institute on Drug Abuse, a
part o the National Institutes o
Health. Brucker also received his
own ellowship unding rom the
drug abuse institute to work on the
project.
Hawrot noted that he and hiscolleagues were surprised that a
protein known as G-alpha was one
o the proteins ound to interact with
the alpha-7 receptor. The G-alpha
protein is associated with another
amily o receptors, known as G-
protein-coupled receptors, which are
crucial or the normal unctioning
o the body, he said.
The G-alpha protein thus pro-
vides a link between the alpha-7 re-
ceptor and G-protein-coupled recep-
tors, which interact with 40 percent
o drugs in use today, Hawrot said.
This could mean there is cross-
talk between alpha-7 receptors and(the G-protein-coupled receptors),
he said, which could provide more
insight into the many roles alpha-7
plays in the body.
The alpha-7 receptor can be de-
scribed as an extremely mysterious
receptor, Brucker said. He added
that knowledge about the nervous
system is murky since it is highly
comple, and it is oten dicult to
predict how certain drugs and other
substances will aect it.
We want to get more inorma-
tion about what nicotine is doing at
the molecular and cellular level,
Hawrot said.
b
continued frompage 3
DOg DAYS OF SPR INg
Quinn Savit / Hrad
Studnts njoyd th nic wathr ystrday aftrnoon and cam to th Main grn to pay with facuty
mmbrs dos for th Havy Pttin d-strssin vnt oranizd by Hath education.
F, by annys sHin
anD renae Merle
the WaShington PoSt
WASHINGTON The ailing nan-
cial and retail sectors showed tenta-
tive signs o strength Thursday, an
encouraging shit or an economy
whose prospects are tied to their
recovery.A resurgence among consumers
and banks is a necessary precursor
to a turnaround in an economy that
has been battered on nearly every
ront housing,
exports, employ-
ment in recent
months. New data Thursday oered
at least some hope that the darkest
days o the recession could be end-
ing, even i the economy remains
ragile.
Ahead o its ocial earnings re-
port, Wells Fargo, one o the nations
largest banks, said it has earned re-
cord prots rom January to March
and that its mortgage business was
exceptionally strong. The San Fran-
cisco-based bank, which beneted
rom having acquired Wachovia late
last year and writing down losses
then, easily surpassed analysts e-
pectations.
Financial markets surged on
the news, partly because they have
been braced or a dismal rst-quarter
earnings season. The S&P 500-share
index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq
were up nearly 4 percent ater steep
losses earlier in the week.
This is the th week in a row
that stocks have ended the week in
positive territory. In the month since
the market reached a low point in
March, stocks have climbed more
than 20 percent.
The recession remains severe,
and economists stress the worst or
U.S. workers is still to come. Ameri-
cans are still claiming jobless benets
at record levels, with the number o
people continuing to receive unem-
ployment insurance now approach-ing 6 million. The unemployment
rate in March was 8.5 percent, and
earlier this week, the head o the
Federal Reserve Bank o Dallas
said he thought
it could surpass
10 percent by
years end.
Mounting job losses have kept
consumers out o retail stores, which
have reported huge losses since the
all. The International Council o
Shopping Centers said Thursday that
national retail sales at established
stores a key measure o health
in retailing were down again in
March, or the sixth consecutive
month year over year.
The decline in sales have been
stabilizing, though, in part because
low energy costs have let people
with more money to spend. Many
retailers Thursday reported better-
than-epected results and sounded
more positive about the uture than
they have in months. Wholesale
clubs such as Costco and BJs turned
in particularly strong perormances,
with sales rising 5 percent in March
excluding the impact o uel. Even
sales at those rms that missed ana-
continued onpage 9
WorlD & nation
8/14/2019 April 10, 2009 Issue
5/12
rts & CultureTh Brown Daiy Hrad
FRIDAY, APRIl 10, 2009 | PAge 5
w by ben HyMan
artS & Culture editor
The artist Frank Stella once said o
his minimalist paintings, What you
see is what you see. But in Yasmina
Rezas 1994 play Art to be staged
at Production Workshop this week-
end this statement is as untrue o
paintings as it is o people.
Nothing is what it seems in Rezas
etremely dark comedy, which sati-
rizes the ragile veneer o civility that
hides the monster in every human
being.
The catalyst or all o this is, in act,
a Stella-esque painting an all-white,
our-by-ve oot canvas marked only
by aint diagonal stripes in a slightly
dierent shade o white. Serge (Jon-athan Gordon 11), a middle-aged
dermatologist with art connoisseur
pretensions, has purchased the work
or an exorbitant amount o money,
much to the dismay o his longtime
riend Marc (Boaz Munro 09), who
can hardly contain his utter hatred
or the painting.
Over the course o an hour and a
hal, the artwork becomes the site or
a battle o wills between the two men,
while their younger riend Yvan (Dan-
iel Gonon 12) nds himsel caught
painully in the middle.
Essentially, thats all there is to this
tight drama. The rst thing viewerssee as they enter PWs downstairs
space is the canvas itsel, acing
backwards on a triangular stand. Its
the perect starting image or a play
whose stark geometry is based on the
constantly shiting triangle its three
characters compose. But lurking be-
hind this classical balance is a erce,
primal energy.
This nely tuned production o
Art, directed by Gordon Sayre 12
and eaturing three antastic peror-mances, is a slow-building crescendo
o subtle intensity.
The play begins with the men
mostly conned to their separate
spheres, nicely delineated by the bal-
anced, three-part set. In the opening
scene, Marc an aeronautical en-
gineer who prides himsel on his un-
ashionable tastes scorns Serges
painting, initiating a rit between the
two riends. Yvan, preoccupied by his
upcoming wedding, acts as a media-
tor, shuttling back and orth between
Serge and Marc, trying to appease
them both but only heightening the
confict.
When all three men nally end upin a room together with the painting,
what ensues is a simmering war o
words that questions whether or not
the bonds o riendship, in the end,
amount to anything at all.
Ever since its premiere, Rezas
play has been a hit not only with audi-
ences, but also with actors, who relish
its three meaty roles. Rezas language
is more o a blunt instrument than
a precision weapon she tends to
overwrite and give away develop-
ments the audience could probably
gure out or itsel but the play
nevertheless provides remarkable
opportunities or perormers whoknow how to mete out their energy
in small doses.
Gordon plays Serge as the con-
summate smooth-talker, but he injects
something deeply threatening into his
characters glassy, almost uninfected
voice, as though hes keeping the lid
o a pressure cooker rmly locked
down. When Gordon nally does raise
his voice, the result is gripping.
Gonon is wonderul as Yvan, ca-
reening rom a hyperventilating de-livery o a monologue about wedding
invitations to an aecting speech that
brings to lie the sense o betrayal
he eels when his two best riends
eventually turn on him.
While Marc and Serge have
cushy, high-status careers, Yvan is
lucky even to have a job as a statio-
nery salesman at his brides uncles
store. The class issues inherent in
this dynamic are always bubbling
under the surace. Ater Yvan tells
Serge he likes the painting, Marc eels
compelled to dissect his declaration,
eectively denying Yvans right as
a younger, less skilled inerior to
have an opinion about something ascomplicated as art.
Munro portrays this condescen-
sion skillully. Marc becomes a com-
pelling character who cant look at
himsel objectively enough to under-
stand his own faws until Serge orces
him to see himsel or what he is.
This leaves out the silent ourth
character o the play: the painting.
Its blankness becomes a constantly
shiting mirror or the characters,
the context or their agonism. As
the men become more and more
animalistic, the whole atmosphere
o the play turns stifing. Unolding at
a stately pace, the inevitable climax isso tension-lled that, or the audience,
breathing almost begins to seem like
a distraction.
Art really is that good its styl-
ish intellectual catnip. For anyone
who has ever used the word prob-
lematize and anyone who has ever
been annoyed by the word problema-
tize its not to be missed.
The first Brown University Folk Festival kicks off Saturday.If weather permits, the festival will be held outdoors onLincoln Field. In case of rain, events will take place in Say-les Hall and Wilson Hall.
11 11:45 .m. Shapnot Sin
11:30 .m. 12 p.m. Dyan Nsons Burass Band
11:45 .m. 12:30 p.m. Yiddish Danc with Yarmukazi
12:15 12:45 p.m. Sa Music
12:45 2:15 p.m. Contra danc/Hambo workshop with
th Rhoboth Jammrs
1 1:30 p.m. Throat Collctiv A studnt trio that
xplors th intrsction of th human voic and
architctura spac
1:45 2:30 p.m. R.I. sinr-sonwritr Hannah Dvin
2:15 3:15 p.m. Bakan Danc with Zdravts, Bostons
frindy nihborhood Buarian band.2:45 3:30 p.m. Taahass A Providnc trio purvyin
catchy, fok- and country-inspird indi pop.
3:30 4:30 p.m. Fishin with Finnan Ths four
siblin prformrs ar a stapl of th Rhod Island
Ctic music scn.
4:30 5:30 p.m. Ida Rd
5:30 6:30 p.m. Th Touhcats Faturd on Nationa
Pubic Radios A Sons Considrd, this trio provids
cassic Amrican roots music with a saty Nw enandish
twist.
6:30 7 p.m. Brak
7 8 p.m. Fstiva hadinr lissa Schncknburr, Nw
enand fiddr and fok sinr.
8:30 11:30 p.m. Contra danc, cad by Rbcca lay
Artist information supplid by Folk Fstival Wb sit and artists
prsona sits.
brown universiy Fok Fesiva:the linep
Kathrin Raado / Hrad
Production Workshops nw show cntrs around a four-by-fiv foot minimaist canvas.
8/14/2019 April 10, 2009 Issue
6/12
world & ationTh Brown Daiy Hrad
FRIDAY, APRIl 10, 2009 | PAge 6
qby anna gorMan
loS angeleS timeS
LOS ANGELES First Jason Farber
lost his job. Then his new wie, Julie,
lost hers. Their combined $160,000
income vanished, and soon their sav-
ings did too.
The unemployment checks
werent enough to pay the rent,
so they turned to Jasons mother
or help. Suzi Farber, 62, willingly
opened her doors because she was
having trouble making her own
house payments. The couple moved
into her San Fernando Valley home
in late February.
Its not where I would choose tobe, said Jason Farber, 39. But its
where we ended up.
As the nations economic crisis
deepens, amilies hit hard by layos
and oreclosures are turning to rela-
tives or help. They are trying to ride
out the recession together by sharing
homes, bills and groceries.
The pooling o resources harks
back to the Great Depression, when
amilies were doing whatever they
could to make ends meet, said Zsu-
zsa Berend, a sociology proessor
at the University o Caliornia, Los
Angeles. She said the practice is
probably happening more in areas
like Los Angeles, where rents and
property values are high, than in less
urban areas.
Living with amily members can
benet everyone, Berend said, be-
cause o the economies o scale its
less expensive to heat one house
than two, less epensive per person
to cook or si people than our. But
living together can also strain amily
relationships and lead to arguments
over privacy, money and household
duties.
There is this myth that hard
times bring people together and they
discover the true value o amily,
Berend said. I dont think thats true.
... Financial diculties dont bring
out the best in people.
Adult children moving back in
with parents is the most common
combined amily living situation. No
gures eist on how many amilies
have begun doubling up as result o
the recession, but even beore the
sharp downturn in the economy,
about 19.9 million adults ages 18
to 34 were living in their parents
homes in 2008, up rom 17.8 million
just ve years earlier, according to
U.S. Census data.
People are also renting rooms
to siblings, cousins and aunts and
uncles. In 2007, nearly 3.5 million
people were living in the home o a
FBI j .S.
by stePHanie MccruMMen
anD ann scott tyson
the WaShington PoSt
NAIROBI The FBI and U.S.
Navy were in delicate negotiations
Thursday with Somali pirates hold-
ing an American captain in a lie-
boat driting in the Indian Ocean,
as one U.S. destroyer hulked
nearby and additional naval ships
were speeding to the scene, U.S.
oicials said.
The USS Bainbridge, which ar-
rived Thursday morning, launcheda surveillance drone that ed live
color video o the lieboat back to
the ship, though it was unable to
provide a clear view o Capt. Rich-
ard Phillips o Underhill, Vt.
But as ar as we know, the cap-
tain is okay, a Deense Depart-
ment oicial said on the condition
o anonymity.
Phillips, stuck in a hot lieboat
with no uel and no toilet and bob-
bing in a rolling sea, had been pro-
vided with batteries and other
provisions, according to a state-
ment rom his company, Maersk
Line o Norolk, Va., which said he
remained unharmed. At the same time, Somali
sources said other pirates were
motoring toward the scene o the
Horn o Arica country, where their
colleagues were thwarted Wednes-
day by the American crew o the
17,000-ton Maersk Alabama con-
tainer ship. The second pirate boat
was loaded with guns, and possibly
European hostages seized in an
earlier attack, to deter the U.S. mil-
itary rom any action, the sources
said, speaking on the condition o
anonymity or their saety.
The aim o pirates in the sec-
ond boat was to rescue their com-rades and probably also secure a
cut o any ransom eventually paid,
said the sources, who include a
pirates brother, a ormer pirate
negotiator and a resident o the
coastal pirate town o Harardhere,
who said the boat let there late
Thursday aternoon.
Earlier, U.S. Navy oicials in-
structed the Maersk Alabamas
crew to steer their ship to the Ke-
nyan port o Mombasa, about 50
hours away.
The deense oicial said no
other vessels had been seen in
the area and dismissed the idea
that the second group o pirates
would get near the scene. Thats
not going to happen, the oicial
said.
Somali pirates are holding
more than a dozen other vessels
ranging rom massive container
ships to luxury yachts and ishing
trawlers, along with more than 200
hostages rom France, Turkey and
other nations part o a thriving
business that pumps tens o mil-
lions o dollars into the economy
o northeastern Somalia.
Few, i any, hostages have been
harmed, which analysts say helps
uel piracy. The incoming money
has made relatively thriving pirate
towns out o ishing villages such
as Harardhere, which now have ca-
terers that bring ood to hostages
and new construction.
Ken Menkhaus, an expert on
Somalia and the piracy epidemic
o its coast, said that despite the
U.S. show o orce, military action
was improbable.
Maersk Line was probably ne-gotiating a ransom with the pirates,
as most companies do, he said.
Menkhaus also said it was unlikely
the pirates would ree Phillips until
they reached Somalia.
I the pirates release him, then
what happens to them? said Men-
khaus, a political science proes-
sor at Davidson College in North
Carolina. Hes their only leverage
to get back to shore.
Private shipping companies
have generally preerred to pay
ransom rather than to arm their
ships and engage in gunights with
pirates on the high seas. Doing so,
the logic goes, would create a more
violent situation.
The companies are also moti-
vated to keep their ships unarmed
by a concern the pirates seem to
understand: money.
Putting armed guards on ships
could trigger an array o legal
and inancial trouble or shipping
companies. They might not be
granted access to certain ports,
or instance, and arms on a ship
sharply escalate the cost o insur-
ance. Paying ransom a total o
about $150 million or shipping
companies last year is still
cheaper than insuring a heavilyarmed ship.
For now, this is a sustainable
business or the pirates, Men-
khaus said. Everyones doing a
cost-beneit analysis.
The pirate business model usu-
ally involves hauling the crew or
passengers o a seized ship back
to Somalia.
The pirates current predica-
ment stranded in a lieboat
and staring at the hull o a U.S.
destroyer is unusual.
According to a Somali business-
man who has been involved in ran-
som negotiations with pirates in
the past, the pirates in the lieboathave asked the U.S. warship to
move away and allow them to take
the captain ashore.
They are araid i they release
him, the warship will reach them,
said the businessman, who spoke
on the condition o anonymity be-
cause o security concerns.
Tyson reported from Washington.
Special correspondent Mohamed
Ibrahim in Nairobi contributed to
this report.
Francin Orr / los Ans Tims
Suzi Farbr, cntr, and hr son Jason and dauhtr-in-aw Jui shar ama of chickn and saad. Th thr ar tryin to mak savin mony
and ivin tothr fun.
continued onpage 9
th f d!
8/14/2019 April 10, 2009 Issue
7/12
by anDreW braca
SPortS editor
The mens crew teams varsity
eight passed a sti test at the
San Diego Crew Classic this past
weekend, nishing th in a eldloaded with many o the top crews
in the countr y.
Though the Bears werent
completely satisied with the re-
sults, said three-seat Matt Wheel-
er 09, it was crucial to gain the
eperience.
Its always our goal to go out
and win races, he said. But it was
a good opportunity to go out and
see the countrys best. It really
gives us a lot o ocus now heading
into a tough (race) with Harvard
this weekend.
In Sundays grand nal, Brown
covered the two kilometer course
in 6:03.77, beating Princeton by
3.30 seconds. Cal took the title
with a time o 5:51.8, ollowed by
Washington at 5:52.61. Harvard
crossed the line at 5:53.95 to take
third place in the six-team race,
ollowed by Stanord at 5:56.34.
The Bears qualied or the
grand nal on Saturday by tak-
ing third in a competitive heat.
Ater Washington cruised home
with the victory, Bruno crossed
the nish line at 5:55.28, just 44
hundredths o a second behind
Harvard. Syracuse nished 3.24
seconds back, and Ohio State and
Purdue lagged ar behind.
For Brown, Christian Crynes
10 was in the bow, ollowed by
Gavin Crynes 10 in the second
seat, Matt Wheeler 09 in third,
Cole Bonner 10 in ourth, Ben
Duggan 10 in th, Scott Mor-
gan 10 in sixth, Nick Ritter 10 inthe seventh seat, Sean Medcal
09 at stroke and coxswain Rob
OLeary 09.
Wheeler said the Bears enjoyed
their trip across the countr y.
San Diego was beautiul, he
said. It was nice to get a break
rom the weather here.
But the trip was not a vacation
or the crew. Although the San
Diego Crew Classic is one o the
largest regattas in the world, ea-
turing 90 races over the two days
this year, Wheeler said ull ocuson their own races pr ecluded the
Bears rom seeing many others.
Back on the East Coast, the
ull crew will take on Harvard
tomorrow on the Charles River
in Boston, looking to deend the
Stein Cup ater a stirring victory
over the Crimson last season.
Wheeler said the Bears are
not concerned that they lost to
Harvard by nearly 10 seconds on
Sunday.
We raced them down to the
line and we were within hal-a-second o them on Saturday, so
were sure that thats more what
our actual speed is, he said.
There are a lot o things were
going to do this week, but were
denitely going to be ready or
them out there.
SPortS StaffrePortS
Among the Bears in action this weekend, the nationally-ranked
mens lacrosse team will look to
keep its success going in a crucial
home match, while the womens
water polo team will play its nal
home game o the season nearly
20 miles o campus. Womens tennis
also aces a pair o home matches
against Ivy oes this weekend.
M
The No. 8 mens lacrosse team,
currently enjoying an eight-game
winning streak, will try to extend
it to nine against Penn (2-7, 1-4)
tomorrow at 1 p.m. at StevensonField.
Last Saturday, the Bears rallied
rom a 9-6 decit to pull out a 13-9
win over Yale, running their record
to 9-1 overall and 2-0 in Ivy League
play.
Bruno has elded a potent o-
ense this season, ranking eighth
in the country with an average o
11.8 goals per game.
Andrew Feinberg 11 has led the
way with 28 goals and 12 assists,
good or an average o 4.0 points
per game that ranks ourth nation-
ally, while Thomas Muldoon 10 has
come on strong with our goals in
each o his last three games, ex-tending a 29-game point-scoring
streak that places him sith in the
nation.
Kyle Hollingsworth 09 ranks
th in the nation in assists, dishing
out 2.1 per game.
Wm w p
The womens water polo team
will play a rematch with Harvard
tomorrow at 1 p.m. It will be Brunos
nal home game o the season
at Balour Natatorium on the cam-
pus o Wheaton College in Norton,
Mass.
Last Saturday, the Bears (17-12)
capped a 4-0 weekend with an 11-10
win over the Crimson in Cambridge,
as Rory Stanton 09, the teams lone
senior, scored the game-winning
goal.
A powerul pair o juniors pace
the oense. Lauren Presant 10
leads the way with 89 goals, while
Sarah Glick 10 has accumulated 123
points on 65 goals and 58 assists.
Wm
The No. 60 womens tennis team
will look to improve on its 16-3 over-
all record and 2-1 mark in the Ivy
League when it hosts Columbia (4-11, 0-3) today at 2 p.m. and Cornell
(6-10, 2-1) tomorrow at noon.
Last weekend, the Bears split
a pair o road matches, trouncing
Penn, 5-2, beore dropping a 6-1
contest to No. 47 Princeton to end
a 12-match winning streak.
Bruno is powered by Bianca
Aboubakare 11 and Cassandra
Herzberg 12, who team up to orm
the 69th-ranked doubles tandem
in the nation and also anchor the
teams top two singles slots. The
third doubles duo o Emily Ellis
10 and Kathrin Sorokko 10 has a
12-7 record on the season with ourmatches let, giving them a good
chance to break the school record
o 14 doubles wins in a season by a
single team.
SportsweekendFRIDAY, APRIl 10, 2009 | Page 7
Th Brown Daiy Hrad
Ff- S D .
, SWith the NCAA mens basketball
tournament now behind us, we
plunge into a dark abyss with nothing
to entertain us but the never-ending
NBA playos
and the three-
hour snooze-
ests that we still
inexplicably call
our national
pastime.
We enter, inshort, the deso-
late purgatory
that is the NFL
oseason. So in an eort to stave
o or as long as possible having to
dive into the numbingly dull Kobe vs.
LeBron vs. yes D-Wade debate,
why not milk March Madness or all
its worth?
This years tourney was widely
panned as chalk-ull o powerhouse
conerences and blowouts by domi-
nant higher seeds and as the nal
stroke o midnight or wannabe
Cinderellas. Every single No. 1, 2
and 3 seed advanced to the Sweet
Sixteen, and only one team seededlower than ith 12th-seeded
Arizona, not eactly a Cinderella
made it to the third round o play. In
the early rounds, upsets were ew
and as ar between as Jon Scheyers
top and bottom teeth when he lets
loose the Scheyerace. Only three
true midmajor teams survived their
rst game Siena, Cleveland State
and Western Kentucky.
Granted, there were some near-
upsets Pitt had some trouble with
East Tennessee State in the rst
round and American University gave
Villanova a scare and plenty o
exciting games, but there was alsoa slew o ugly blowouts: UNC over
16th-seeded Radord by 43, UConn
over 16th- seeded Chattanooga by 56,
Oklahoma over 15th-seeded Morgan
State by 28.
And though the controversy over
bubble teams has been somewhat
muted in recent seasons there
were ew qualms about this years se-
lections o Maryland, Wisconsin and
Arizona over Creighton, St. Marys
and San Diego State its still been
a steady source o seasonal employ-
ment or ESPN college basketball
analyst Joe Lunardi.
Though Im o the view that the
chalky results o the last two tourna-
ments all our number-one seeds
made the Final Four in 2008 are
more an anomaly than anything else,
theyve stoked admittedly well-ound-
ed ears among college basketball
ans that the increasing parity weve
seen in recent years is being inexora-
bly reversed. The days o the George
Masons o the sport advancing deep
into the tournament, the pessimists
ear, will soon be as distant a memory
as Dukes last mens basketball cham-
pionship (sorry Dukies, I just cant
pass up a chance to rub it in).
Justin Coman / Hrad
Th mns across tam hops to add a ninth am to its winnin strak this wknd aainst Pnn.
continued onpage 8
a MzvMazs Minut
8/14/2019 April 10, 2009 Issue
8/12
FRIDAY, APRIl 10, 2009THe BROWN DAIlY HeRAlDPAge 8
SSwD
So how can we cure what ails the
Madness? Beore the tournament
began this year, there were repeatedcalls to add two days on the ront
end o the tournament and expand
the eld to 128 teams. Including so
many more teams in the Big Dance
would certainly make the selection
committees tendency to avor the
major conerence bubble teams over
smaller bubble schools this years
bracket was no eception a moot
point, since almost every team with
a semblance o talent in Division I
would make it in. But can you imag-
ine what those rst-round games be-
tween the 1st and 32nd seeds would
be like?
And to borrow a tired gripe romBowl Championship Series commis-
sioners, having such a large eld
would severely diminish the impor-
tance o the regular season, at least
in the power conerences, since all
but the cellar dwellers would be o-
ered spots. With 97 at-large bids to
ll, its not hard to see a team like
2009s St. Johns squad, which went
6-12 in the Big East with zero wins
over ranked opponents, playing in
late March. The point is, we dontwant the tournament to become a
haven or mediocre teams and early-
round blowouts.
So heres what I propose: Add
what are essentially two play-in
games to each o the our regions
o the bracket we could include
more than two, but lets use two or
simplicitys sake to increase the
tournament eld by eight teams over-
all. The teams in each region would
then be seeded rst through 18th,
with the top 14 seeds getting byes
into the round o 64. In this case, the
top seed would play the winner o the
16-vs.-17 game, and the No. 2 seedwould take on the 15-vs.-18 victor.
This system would push the very
lowest seeds generally the measly
automatic bids youve never heard o
rom obscure conerences like the
Ohio Valley Conerence out o
rst-round match-ups with the pow-
erhouse teams that they were never
going to win anyway and give them
a chance to nd their ooting against
a more comparable squad.
It would also turn possible at-largemidmajor teams that would be among
the Last Four Out in the current
system St. Marys is a good ex-
ample this year into 15th- or 16th-
seeded teams. Theres a reason no
16-seed has ever knocked o a num-
ber one, but in this new system wed
at least be giving 16 seeds a ghting
chance (assuming they win the play-
in), hopeully keeping blowout dreck
to a minimum.
No matter how much the eld
is expanded, there will always be a
bubble, but with this system wed
be letting in the top-tier midmajors
without automatic bids as well asmost o the big-conerence teams
with conerence records above
.500 and a ew quality wins against
ranked opponents the general
consensus standards or being on
the bubble.
And Joe Lunardi can keep his
job.
continued frompage 7
z 0: F
Onin vry day bfor brakfastbrowndaiyhrad.com
8/14/2019 April 10, 2009 Issue
9/12
FRIDAY, APRIl 10, 2009THe BROWN DAIlY HeRAlDPAge 9
world & ation Wr sin mor surpriss to th upsid. Bth Ann Bovino, S&P snior conomist
sister or brother and 6.8 million lived
with other relatives. Seven years ear-
lier, 3 million were living with siblingsand 4.9 million were living with other
relatives.
Suzi Farber bought her house or
$711,000 two years ago, using in part
money she had recently inherited rom
her own parents. She put 15 percent
down and was able to aord the $3,759
mortgage each month primarily using
interest rom her investments.
But in the last year, the invest-
ments have lost two-thirds o their
value and will run out soon i the re-
cession continues. Her house also has
plummeted in value and now is worth
less than the loan. She deaulted or
the rst time on March 1. Farber, whorecently ran a git-wrapping company,
hasnt been able to nd work. Its not
just people in Lancaster, she said. Its
hitting everyone right now.
Farber, who was already helping
Jason and Julie pay their bills, said
having them move in made sense or
everyone. She said she is trying to go
out o her way to make sure they eel
welcome. She gave up her bedroom
and moved into the guest room so
they would have more space. She
moved her car to the street so they
could use the garage or storage.
Suzi said she is anxious about her
own nances but more worried about
her son.I think its harder on Jason and on
his sel-esteem, being with his mom
and not being able to support his wie,
she said. That makes me sad.
Jason said the move has been
a little blow to the ego but that he
is also getting spoiled. On a recent
morning, Farber made an egg salad
sandwich or Jason as he watched the
news. The Dow is dropping rapidly,
he said.
Jason, a University o Southern
Caliornia graduate, was working as
a project manager in commercial de-
velopment when the bottom ell out
about a year and a hal ago and severalhotel projects canceled and he ound
himsel unemployed. In February
2008, Julie was laid o rom her job
as a brand manager ater 17 years in
the ashion industry.
They moved to a cheaper place,
but even with $21,000 a year in unem-
ployment checks, they couldnt aord
to pay rent and they used up their sav-
ings. Both have applied or numerous
jobs. Jason has submitted applications
everywhere rom property manage-
ment companies to a 99-cent store. Id
rather not work at Jack in the Box, but
Ill take anything, he said.
He is taking classes to be certied
as a welder, hoping that ederal stimu-
lus money will lead to jobs. Julie plans
to study medical coding and billing.
She said she has changed her lie-
style, shopping at the 99-cent store,
clipping coupons, eating at home
and washing her car by hand. She
wishes she didnt have to rely on her
mother-in-law.
I hate it, she said. But thankully
we have his moms house to move
into.
For some amilies, the honeymoon
already has ended.
Maria Garnica, her husband and
their two children are sharing their
two-bedroom apartment in East Los
Angeles with ve members o her
husbands amily. The relatives moved
in over the last year because o risingrents and lost jobs. There are bunk
beds in Garnicas living room and
makeshit beds on the couch and
the foor.
There is no privacy anymore, said
Garnica, 29, who works at a day-care.
Beore I had my living room. Now
everyone is in my living room.
Beore, Garnica said, she used to
rela on her couch in the aternoons
beore cooking dinner. Now, she goes
straight to her room ater work and
rarely cooks because she said prepar-
ing meals or nine people is too much
like working in a restaurant. There
are two rerigerators and they dont
share ood. They try to give each otherspace, she said, but too many people
are crammed into a small apartment.
You can eel the tension, she said.
But Garnica said living on their
own isnt an option. Her husband, who
worked at a printing company, was laid
o last month. The relatives pay hal
o the $1,600 rent.
I have no choice, she said. We
do need them or the income.
She knows that isnt likely to
change or a while.
Adrea Bellenbaums time living
with amily, however, soon may be
over.
Ater graduating rom the Univer-sity o Caliornia, Riverside in 2008
with a degree in political science, Bel-
lenbaum moved in with her ather in
a senior citizen complex in Hemet,
thinking she would nd a job and be
back on her own within a month. She
hid in the apartment so her ather
wouldnt get evicted.
I couldnt nd a job to save my lie
or three months, she said. It was
denitely a reality check. ... I kind o
thought I would have my act together
by the age o 25.
She ound a minimum-wage job
stocking shelves at a crat store 40
minutes away. The paycheck didnt go
ar, so she contributed by cleaning andbuying some ood. Last month, she
and her ather moved in with his girl-
riend, who worked in real estate and
couldnt aord her own mortgage.
Finally, Bellenbaums resume, de-
gree and determination paid o; she
got an entry-level oer or a govern-
ment job in Washington, D.C., and
is waiting or a background check.
Now she is trying to save money or
moving costs. Bellenbaum said she is
thankul that her ather, a truck driver,
has been able to help.
continued onpage 9
Francin Orr / los Ans Tims
Jui Farbr, ft, and mothr-in-aw Suzi shop with coupons.
C .S.
lyst epectations could have beenworse, according to analysts.
The overall tone or March
was actually stronger than the re-
ported sales perormance, ISCS
chie economist Michael P. Niemira
said.
Exports, another undamen-
tal driver o the economy, are
also rebounding marginally. The
Commerce Department Thursday
reported that eports r ose in Feb-
ruary or the rst time since July.
That, along with plummeting im-
ports, helped shrink the U.S. trade
decit to a nine-year low.
Demand or U.S. goods re-mains below what it was beore
the downturn. Companies have
been slashing production to catch
up with alling sales at home and
overseas, and they appear to be
making progress, with wholesale
inventories declining. Many com-
panies have more to cut, though.
Boeing, or instance, said Thursday
that it would reduce production o
some planes net year.
Government ocials have been
counseling patience on the econo-
my, even as they argue that actions
they have taken are beginning to
pay dividends. Thursday, President
Obama gathered Washington-areahomeowners at the White House
to spotlight his administrations
eorts to bring down mortgagerates.
Ocials have also said they
have reason or optimism. Lawrence
Summers, Obamas top economic
adviser, told a packed luncheon in
Washington Thursday that while
he could not predict when the re-
cession would end, this sense o
reeall ... will be arrested within
the net ew months.
Some o that cautious optimism
has begun ltering through to Main
Street, according to the Discover
U.S. Spending Monitor, a monthly
inde. Compared with the Febru-
ary survey, twice as many consum-ers last month reported eeling the
economy is getting better, though
a majority still eel tough times lie
ahead.
Analysts, too, say are increasing-
ly condent that the breathtaking
pace o the economys decline over
the past si months is easing.
Were seeing more surprises
to the upside, Standard & Poors
senior economist Beth Ann Bovino
said. Less weakness is the new
strength.
Staff writers Lori Montgomery
and Ylan Q. Mui contributed to this
report.
continued onpage 9
8/14/2019 April 10, 2009 Issue
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ditorial & LettersPage 10 | FRIDAY, APRIl 10, 2009
Th Brown Daiy Hrad
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opinion
Lettertothe editor
I have a conession to make: I actually had two weeks
o Spring Break this year! But dont hate me too much;
I wasnt just tanning on a beach somewhere in the
Caribbean. A week beore spring break, I was lucky
enough to be in Milan, Italy, representing the United
States as Secretary o Deense at the annual Model G8
Youth Summit.
Around Christmas, when the international relations
program sent out its periodic newsletter, the entry or
the Model G8 Youth Summit caught my eye and Illed out the application. From there everything went
very quickly, and, ater a brie phone interview and a
couple o meetings with Brown proessors to brush up
on issues o deense, I was on my way to Milan!
At the summit, there were delegations o 15 or more
students, graduate and undergraduate, rom the G8+5
countries. Students rom the University o Oxord, La
Sorbonne, the Free University o Berlin, Moscow State
University and many other leading schools around the
world passionately argued their countries positions
over the course o si days.
From start to nish, the summit was one o the most
exciting, educational and un experiences o my lie. In
terms o my negotiations with the other Ministers o
Deense, it was amazing to see how much our positions
diered in the beginning, and how, through a week
o intense discussion, we reached a consensus on all
the dierent points on the agenda. While issues such
as the ght against piracy or strategic missile control
and disarmament were rather easy to agree on, when
it came to the problem o Iran or the Missile Deense
System, much lengthier negotiations were needed.
While I learned a lot rom the process o negotiation
itsel, it was the discussions that took place outside
the negotiation room that I enjoyed the most. I believe
that such a summit is a rare opportunity to meet bril-
liant and passionate students rom around the world
and learn rst-hand about their perspectives on the
dierent global issues we ace today.
Ater the daily negotiations were over, many o my
nights were spent sitting around drinking wine with the
dierent ministers, just learning about their personal
views on many global issues. In this way, I ormed a
real riendship with the Russian Minister o Deense.
I discovered the perspective o an educated Russian
citizen on issues such as the Russia-Georgia confict,the Putin-Medvedev dynamic and on dierences be-
tween Russian and American society. The knowledge
I gained through these discussions and the others I
had at this summit have given me valuable eposure
to perspectives not represented on our campus.
The reason I am writing this column is not to say
how great my spring break was, but rather to e ncour-
age other students to apply or this type o summit as
well. Indeed, I was shocked to nd out I was the only
Brown student to apply or this conerence. As I have
hopeully conveyed here, I think these types o sum-
mits are rare and enlightening learning eperiences,
and I truly hope more students take advantage o
them in the uture.
Anthony Stahin 10 is a poitica scinc con-
cntrator from gnva, Switzrand. H can b
rachd at [email protected].
BY ANTHONY STAeHelIN
opinions CoLumnist
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Schrckinr, Caroin Sdano, Missa Shub, Ann Simons, Sara Sunshin
stff Wt Zunaira Choudhary, Chris Duffy, Nico Dunca, Juiana Frind, Camron
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t h ed:
The Heralds Tuesday editorial (The Transer Tradeo, April 7) was
at once incoherent, misinormed and oensive. It laments the act that
Browns acceptance o transer students requires it to admit ewer reshmen,
ignoring the act that transer students ar e generally lling spots vacated
by students not returning to campus.
More troubling, however, is the apparent perception on which this
statement is based. I the Herald editorial page board is troubled by what i t
thinks are transers lling spots that might otherwise add to the number o
incoming reshmen, it is suggesting that transer admits are less desirable
than those who enter Brown directly rom high school. Indeed, the board
seems to say this over tly in its nal sentence, which claims the Oce o
Admission needs to ensure that transers are as deserving as members o
the incoming class. Combined with the editorials recommendation that
the number o transers be reduced and the headline o the piece The
Transer Tradeo this statement gives the impression that the boardneeds to be disabused o several other misconceptions.
First, transers are neither o a lower quality nor less deserving. In
act, transers are disproportionately represented in leadership positions
and in activity partic ipation at Brown. Most are not transers because they
had hoped to be admitted rom high school and been rejected, but because
they went to schools they thought theyd like and ound themselves unhappy
there. In act, many transers did not apply to Brown rom high school, and
some o those that did were admitted and chose not to matriculate.
Furthermore, transer admission is already more dicult statistically
than admission as a reshman, so the boards suggestion that the admission
oce should keep the admit rate or transers below the rate or reshman
applicants betrays an ignorance concerning even the most basic acts o
the discussion. Freshmen arriving on campus this past all aced about a
14 percent acceptance rate. Transers arriving the same day aced a rate
o around 12.5 percent, and brought with them diverse eperiences rom
colleges all over the countr y.
Lots o people look at their lives and wish they were happier. Every
transer actually made the dicult choice to do something about it. Lets
not disparage that choice with failing elitism.
Php k 11 (tf F 08)
Apri 7
8/14/2019 April 10, 2009 Issue
11/12
FRIDAY, APRIl 10, 2009 | PAge 11
pinionsTh Brown Daiy Hrad
I have a thirty-something relative, a work-
ing woman, married with kids. She has a
Facebook account, which I cant say I ever
thought about twice until I noticed, one
day, a note she had posted.
Remember that game where you put your
iPod on shufe, and every song that popped
up was the answer to some question about
your lie? That game all the annoying girlsin your high school played when you were
16? My thirty-something relative, a working
woman, married with kids, was playing that
game.
Its the sort o thing that invariably makes
me cringe, the kind o thing that makes me
realize, with dawning horror, just how good
a chance there is that well all still be help-
lessly tethered to this stupid thing 10 to 15
years down the line. Ill say it outright: Face-
book drives me crazy.
I have it, I sort o hate it, but I cant kick it,
because Im under that same delusion were
all under; without this handy dandy network-
ing tool making my lie oh-so-much easier, I
couldnt possibly keep up with old pals. Id
never get the memo about campus events,and Id probably have no riends whatsoever
at college, none.
Okay, but really. Somehow, some way,
once upon a time, humanity got by just ne
without Facebook, right? Yes, yes, I think I
can vaguely recall it. A time when riends
called each other on the phone i they want-
ed to get together instead o mass Facebook
messaging. A time when people took pic-
tures so theyd remember an event orever,
not so they could happily rub it in others ac-
es later on. A time when acquaintances said
hello on the street instead o ignoring each
other and caught up on each others lives by
conversing in person, not by creeping on
the computer.
To me, Facebook is scary because we all
want to be a part o it and yet it repr esents
an approach to lie with which I cant say Im
particularly comortable and an outlook on
human eistence I cant pretend to condone.
When we log on, we are living solely or the
approval o others, or the presentation o a
particular public ace, and eisting, withouteven realizing it, in isolation, in an alternate
cyber reality.
We hardly stop to think about the act
that writing on Jane Does wall does not
mean were talking to her no, were just
idly posting on a Web site she might happen
to visit later on! Were not even writing or
Janes benet were just hoping every-
one else checking out Janes page will think
were pretty cool. We dont have Facebooks
so we can keep up with other people our
Facebook eistences are, instead, all about
us. We think o our proles and ourselves,
Web site and person, as one and the same
and in that, Im araid, were treading on
dangerous ground.
Whats alarming isnt so much that were
carrying on in such a way, eecting such
shenanigans were just kids, ater all.
Were only in college, one might even argue,
right? So whats really got me worried is that
this thing might actually be here to stay. I
look at my elder cousins Facebook prole
and get a bit nervous. Whats in store or our generation in a
ew years time? Facebook albums instead
o amily photo albums? Engagements an-
nounced via relationship status? RSVPing to
meetings and work get-togethers via Face-
book event? Catching up with old riends on
Facebook chat, instead o getting together
or dinner? In 15 years or in 50 years
will we still be wasting our ree time sending
bumper stickers and pieces o fair, playing
iPod games and last-ten-people-to-write-on-
your-wall games, stalking recently updated
statuses and relationship statuses?
When is it time to grow up? We have our
un on Facebook, sure, but mightnt there
come a time when the decision to simply live
our lives will be the better one? And as the
boundary between lie and Facebook growsblurrier by the day, as our day-to-day eis-
tences get more deeply entangled in this
web o proles, groups, notications and
events, is it ever really going to be possible
to just let it go?
Hours spent on Facebook are, at the end
o the day, a bit o a waste. We live in a day
and age when theres much to be ed in
the world a large task, and one that is in
the hands o our generation. Maybe its time
to meet the challenge and not let a pro-
ciency at social networking prove our great-
est legacy.
Kat Doy 12 is from Wstport, Con-
ncticut. Sh can b rachd at
When it comes to sustainability, most Brownstudents think big attacking or propos-ing national policy or urging the Univer-sity administration to create a completelycarbon-neutral campus. These eorts willhopeully lead to big, positive impacts. Butunortunately, I think we big thinkers aregetting ahead o ourselves when it comes tosustainability.
Many Brown students, and many Amer-icans in general, ignore our deciencies
when it comes to very simple, basic sustain-ability eorts. Most people I know have noteven mastered how to recycle a bottle.
When I look into recycling binsaround Brown, even the one in my ownapartment, I see that most bottles havecaps on them. This makes them un-recyclable and probably destined orthe landll.
Our problem is not intent, but eecution.
Brown students make persistent eorts to
recycle. However, when people ail to ollow
some small piece o procedure, like remov-
ing caps rom bottles, their good intentions
are wasted.
As the Providence Recycling Oces
Web site makes clear: All bottle caps
should be thrown into the trash because
they cannot be recycled. The reason or
this policy is that plastic caps have a dier-
ent melting point than other recyclable plas-
tics and will contaminate the load. Time is
money when it comes to recycling, and no
recycling plant employee is going to takethe time to untwist and discard your caps.
Individual bottles, or even the whole load,
will be discarded.
Small eorts, like removing a bottle cap
or properly sorting paper, could add up
to huge dierences. These small actions,
however, are not the kind o problems that
Brown students seem to notice or get e-
cited about.
In a column rom the beginning o the
school year (Brown should orce students
to think green, Sept. 5) Joshua Kaplan 11
proposed a ew big, fashy, green ideas.
Among other initiatives, he advocat-
ed installing sensors and displays into the
Grad Center Dorms that would show that
rooms energy use and compare it with the
average use o each room in the dorm at
that moment. This idea strikes me as am-
bitious, but it is not certain that it would
have a substantial impact. How much ener-
gy would have to be saved to make up or
the manuacture and installation o thesesystems into the dorms, i there even is a
way to measure equivalents?
Kaplans sensor project demonstrates a
problem with sustainability today. Many
sustainability proponents insist on pur-
chasing more things, using more technol-
ogy and spending a ton o money, all in the
name o some airly uncertain payo. I wish
that more environmental advocates would
recognize that we have very easy, simple
and cost-ree ways to be more sustainable
right now.
One might say that I cant compare ap-
ples to oranges. Recycling bottles aims to
reuse materials, while installing sensors
aims to reduce power consumption.
Both o these activities, however, all un-
der the heading o eorts to create a more
sustainable liestyle and mode o consump-
tion. The true dierence between recycling
bottles and installing sensors, I believe, is
each concepts cache and ability to grab at-
tention. Sadly, the dierence is not the trueimpact that they could have in the uture.
I know that removing bottle caps is not
eciting. Its not a Leus hybrid. Its not
sensors and monitors rigged up to com-
pare individual power consumption. But
when it comes down to it, sustainability is
not eciting.
Truly meaningul sustainability is real-
ized through many mundane, everyday ac-
tions like choosing fuorescent bulbs, us-
ing a reusable water bottle, taking public
transportation and yes, properly recycling
a bottle.
No, you cannot recycle pizza boes. No,
those biodegradable containers rom Blue
State are not likely to degrade i sent to a
landll. While ailed eorts at recycling bottles
might seem insignicant, they are only
one eample, among many, o ways that we
have misunderstood and ailed to maimize
the benets o the eisting sustainability in-
rastructure.
I hope that Brown students will work to-
ward educating themselves about how to
properly recycle, in the name o true, last-
ing and simple sustainability.
Katharin Hrmann 09 is a COe and
Urban Studis concntrator from Port-
and, Oron. Sh can b rachd at
F b
Truy maninfu sustainabiity is raizd
throuh many mundan, vryday actions
ik choosin fuorscnt bubs, takin pubic
transportation and ys, propry rcycin a
bott.
W hav our fun on Facbook, sur, but mihtnt
thr com a tim whn th dcision to simpyiv our ivs wi b th bttr on?
KATe DOYle
opinions CoLumnist
KATHARINe
HeRMANN
opinions CoLumnist
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