Friday, September 12, 2003

I N S I D E F R I D AY, S E P T E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 0 3 TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T

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

S E P T E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 0 3

Volume CXXXVIII, No. 70 www.browndailyherald.com

F R I D A Y

BY ZACH BARTERStudents may wonder what’s so magicalabout magic bars or so Brazilian aboutBrazilian chocolate cake, but one thingabout the food at Brown is certain: It’scheap, at least when compared with foodat Brown’s peer institutions.

Brown charges $3,066 per year for itsstandard, 20 meals-a-week board con-tract, the second lowest among the Ivies.At Harvard University a full meal planruns $4,162 per year, while a similaryear-long contract costs $4,000 atPrinceton and $3,900 at Yale. Dartmouth,the cheapest among the Ivies, offers itsstandard meal plan for $2,550 per year.

The process of setting meal plan ratesis highly complex and varies from insti-tution to institution, said Susan Howitt,associate vice president for budget andplanning at Brown.

“Schools have complex allocationschemes in terms of who pays for what,”Howitt said. “People can allocate costs inmany different ways, and I’m sure ourpeers just have different methodologies.”

Howitt noted that while the costs ofmeal plans vary widely among the Ivies,the total annual costs of attendance fallwithin a much smaller range. The vari-ance in board rates, she said, might sim-ply be an issue of which costs — space,administration and maintenance, forexample — universities require theirfood services offices to cover.

Student fees at Brown, includingtuition, room and board, are set by theCorporation, based on the recommen-dations of the University ResourcesCommittee. The URC in turn bases its

recommendations on the needs andrequests of individual departmentheads.

Once meal plan prices have beenagreed upon, it becomes the job ofBrown University Dining Services to lookat its budget and decide how much tospend on food, labor and other expens-es.

Gretchen Willis, director of diningservices, said BUDS prides itself on theflexibility and variety of options it is ableto provide students within the budget itis given.

“I think we offer a great product,”Willis said. “There’s a lot of meat in ourprogram, no pun intended, in terms ofwhat we offer students for their money.”

Unlike some other Ivies, Brown allowsstudents to redeem missed meals ascredit or opt out of the meal plan entire-ly. Harvard requires all students toremain on the full meal plan for fouryears, while Yale requires all students liv-ing in dormitories to purchase a stan-dard plan. Dartmouth requires studentsin dorms to purchase at least a $2,025meal plan and students living off-cam-pus to purchase at least a $1,425 con-tract.

David Davidson, director of diningservices at Yale, said his office hasreceived little feedback from studentscomplaining about the cost of meal plan.

“What they’re looking for is more flex-ibility in terms of hours and service,”Davidson said.

Davidson said his office has been

DPS trying toreconstructSaturday assaultDepartment of Public Safety officers areinterviewing eyewitnesses and reconstruct-ing the events of Saturday morning’s assaultagainst a Brown junior, but so far no onehas approached police with the identity ofthe assailant, according to Vice Presidentfor Campus Life and Student ServicesDavid Greene.

“One of the things I’m pretty confident ofis someone in this community knows whodid this,” Greene said. “It’s time for some-body to come forward.”

The victim was followed home by a col-lege-aged male from a party where she hadbeen in a 20-minute altercation involvinghomophobic slurs directed at her. As shewalked down Charlesfield Street near BrookStreet, the suspect yelled a homophobiccomment and hit her on the right side ofthe head, knocking her unconscious.

Some time later the victim woke up inthe middle of the street and returned to herroom, where she called DPS. She was takento an area hospital and treated for eye andhead injuries.

Greene said the University’s first respon-sibility was to the victim, and that shereceived support from Health Services thisweek.

The University began examining thefacts of the assault Sunday evening, he said.DPS is taking the lead role in the investiga-tion, with Captain Emil Fioravanti as super-vising officer. Campus police sent out acampus crime alert Monday evening whenenough facts were known, Greene said.

Yale’s “deliciousrevolution” hasstudents happyBY MONIQUE MENESESWhile Brunonians are piling up on charredhot dogs and greasy grilled cheese, Yaliesare devouring the finest in organically-grown produce.

During the past few months, students,staff and project administrators at YaleUniversity have worked to stage the pilotprogram of the university’s “delicious rev-olution” in Berkeley College’s dining hall.

The pilot program, called the YaleSustainable Food Project, is an attempt torenovate the College’s dining experienceby using freshly-grown products to pre-pare meals. To promote a healthier diet forstudents, the university’s food servicespurchased and converted an acre of landinto an organic garden — with the sole aimof providing fresh ingredients for the 450students who eat at Berkeley College din-ing hall.

Melina Shannon-Dipietro, projectadministrator for SFP, said the aim of theproject was twofold.

“(The goals) include the process ofturning home-grown food into consum-able organic matter, and the other is theongoing educational work with students,”she said.

“We are trying to educate them aboutthe process of growing, cooking and eatingtheir own food,” she said.

Shannon-Dipietro said students atBerkeley College will soon be able to takecooking lessons and create their ownmeals in the College’s dining hall kitchen.Another ongoing proposal in conjunctionwith SFP is putting together regular hoursfor students willing to learn how to farm,she said.

The idea behind renovating Yale’s din-ing experience arose in the fall of 2001.Students had been asking the dining con-tractor for more organic and local ingredi-ents since 1998 and weren’t satisfied withthe response they were getting, Shannon-Dipietro said.

Yale’s dining halls finally got a makeoverwhen Alice Waters, chef of Chez Panisse,an the award-winning restaurant inBerkeley, Calif., got involved. When herdaughter, Fanny, entered Yale as a fresh-man two years ago, Waters found herselfface to face with a project in much need ofimprovement, Shannon-Dipietro said.Waters suggested Yale develop a plan tomake food more central to student life.

Food has always been an integral part ofWaters’ life. She opened her restaurant in1971 and since then has tried to promote ahealthy, simple way of eating. Shannon-Depietro said Waters approached the uni-versity and began spearheading the proj-ect that has developed into the organicgarden and student-focused organizationit is today.

SFP is planning to approach changes inBerkeley College’s dining experience a stepat a time, Shannon-Dipietro said.

“The first stage of the plan is to have thepilot program in Berkeley (College) withthe side project of the Yale garden,” she

see ASSAULT, page 5see YALE, page 4 see MEAL PLAN, page 5

Marissa Hauptman / Herald

Nearly 100 students and administrators gathered on the steps of Faunce to remember the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001.

Brown’s meal plan cheapcompared with others

CAMPUS WATCH

Acclaimed Iraniannovelist comes toBrown, thanks toProfessor Coover arts and culture, page 3

The JCB displays con-nections with SlavicExploration in a newexhibitarts and culture, page 3

Bush cabinet officialsare misleading thepublic, says Schuylervon Oeyen ’05opinions column,page 3

Sports fan YoniGoldberg ’04 hatesthe NFL, and he’s bit-ter about it, toosports column, page 12

Men’s soccer gears upto play one the coun-try’s best teams thisweekendsports, page 12

THIS MORNINGTHE BROWN DAILY HERALD

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2003 · PAGE 2

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ACROSS1 Term paper

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British Islesextensively?

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actor28 Ground breaker29 Bathtub

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others51 Architect of

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end workload63 Red __64 Anthem

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ARTS & CULTURETHE BROWN DAILY HERALD


BY WALTER DRIVERAcclaimed Iranian novelist ShahrnushParsipur will be at Brown for the 2003-04academic year as the first recipient of theInternational Writers Project Fellowship.

Parsipur, 57, is the author of eight cele-brated works of fiction, most notably thenovels, “Touba and the Meaning of Night”and “Women Without Men.” She has alsopublished her “Prison Memoirs,” anaccount of her experiences as a politicalprisoner in Iran.

“She’s a tremendous writer. It’s very, veryexciting,” said Adjunct Professor of EnglishRobert Coover, who sought out Parsipurunder the auspices of the InternationalWriters Project.

Parsipur’s lifelong struggle for freedom ofexpression in her native country resulted inher arrest and incarceration on four occa-sions. From 1981 to 1986, she spent fouryears and seven months in prison withoutbeing officially charged with a crime. Fornearly two decades, all of her works werebanned in Iran.

According to Forrest Gander, director ofthe Graduate Program in Creative Writingand professor of English, the IWP aims toprovide a sanctuary for “writers whose workor life is endangered in their own country.”Gander credits Coover with the vision andenergy that made the IWP a reality.

Both men are incapable of concealingtheir excitement when discussing Parsipurand the newly established IWP, whichCoover said is about “maintaining routes tofree expression.”

“I think Brown is going to be a centralplayer in this issue,” he added.

The eagerly anticipated first major IWPevent is scheduled for Nov. 7 and 8. Parsipurwill be joined by Caribbean poet KamauBrathwaite and Nobel Prize-winningNigerian playwright Wole Soyinka for aweekend featuring readings fromBrathwaite and Soyinka, as well as paneldiscussions.

Funding for the IWP was secured lastspring from the William H. DonnerFoundation. With only weeks to conductthe search for the ideal candidate, Cooveradmitted he was worried that there was notenough time. When several sources imme-diately recommended Parsipur, Cooverdecided to investigate further. By the timehe finished reading “Women Without Men,”he was certain Parsipur was the perfectchoice.

“Women Without Men,” whose titlealludes to Ernest Hemingway’s “MenWithout Women,” was originally publishedin Iran in 1990. It was translated fromPersian and published for the first time inEnglish in 1998 by the Syracuse UniversityPress. Currently, it is Parsipur’s only titleavailable in English, but one that Cooverhails as a great introduction to her work. In2004, “Women Without Men” will bereprinted along with the first English trans-lation of “Touba and the Meaning of Night”by the Feminist Press.

Despite having spent nearly five years ofher life in prison, Parsipur risked her free-dom again because she felt “WomenWithout Men” would help Iranian womencome to terms with the effects of living in a

BY SHOSHANA LAVINGHOUSEWith its newest exhibition,“Slavs andthe West, 1500-1815,” the John CarterBrown Library takes a new directionby focusing on its Eastern, rather thanWestern, European collection. Curatorof European Books and exhibit coordi-nator Denis C. Landis said he intendsfor the exhibit to showcase the rela-tionship between the Americas andEurope.

The exhibit chronicles aspects ofRussian exploration of the lands encir-cling the Bering Strait, with an assort-ment of illustrations, maps and novel-las “chosen for their visual impact,”Landis said.

To twist perspectives, Landis alsoincorporated materials that reveal theawed, exotic tones in European stud-ies of Russian and American natives.He noted that “the early explorerswere fascinated by comparison of thepeoples of the two continents.”

Other sections explore Czech- andSlovak-American relations, 16th-cen-tury Polish geography and Europeanperceptions of Russian.

The exhibit opened in late May tocoincide with the 300th anniversary ofthe founding of “window to the West”St. Petersburg, documents from whichare also on display, and closes Sept. 26.

JCB exhibitionexplores “Slavsand the West”

Iranian novelist coming to Brown

see PARSIPUR, page 4

Photo courtesy JCB

This image, from a 1719 Russian translationof Johann Huebner’s, "Brief QuestionsConcerning Modern and AncientGeography" is currently on display at theJohn Carter Brown Library.

start the season, and the re-sign-ing of Antonio Freeman is thesecond-best reunion sinceSimon and Garfunkelannounced they were going ontour.

Redskins (+3) over the FAL-CONS — The best label to comeout of Week One was the forma-tion of the “Jetskins.” Led byColes, who Patrick Ramseybelieves can only catch passes inthe first half, Washingtonappears to be primed for a play-off run. If they can take advan-tage of the absence of Michael“The Best Video Game Character

Ever” Vick, the Redskins willactually be in first place after thefirst two weeks of the season.

Bills (-3) over the JAGUARS —After beating the Pats worsethen Ed Norton beat Meatloaf in“Fight Club”, the Bills are mynew bandwagon team and willbe ridden until they lose. If JoshReed can learn not to drop openpasses and Lawyer Milloy canconvince himself he was cut byevery other team in the league,this team may not lose untilNovember. As a side note,despite what his own teamthinks, Mark Brunell could startfor 20 other NFL teams.

SAINTS (-8) over the Texans— This is a pick based solely onmy strong belief that the Texansare not actually a good team.

Winning last week was like theequivalent of David Blaine freez-ing himself in a block of ice orDavid Copperfield datingClaudia Schiffer. Let’s hope theSaints can shrug off the cobwebsand drop the Deuce on Houston.

RAMS (-3) over the 49ers —When Kurt Warner finally recov-ers from his concussion, hiscoaches should seriously con-sidering telling him he was in acoma, the last four years were adream and he is still a bag boy inIowa with G. I. Jane for a wife.That said, the Rams win whenMarc Bulger starts and MarshallFaulk gets more than nine car-ries and because that will hap-pen this weekend, go St. Louis.On the other side of the ball, thismarks the first time in 59 weeksthat someone has not men-tioned Terrell Owens’s cockinessand taunting.

Steelers (+3) over the CHIEFS— Rather than make a cheapjoke about Joey Porter beingshot in the butt, I will insteadsuggest people simply rent“Forrest Gump.” Even withoutPorter, Pittsburgh’s defense justneeds to be competent with itsoffense demonstrating the abili-ty to score TD’s on almost everypossession.

PAGE 4 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2003

said.Although doors to the Berkeley

College dining hall have not beenopened due to strikes unrelatedto the changes, Shannon-Dipietro said students shouldlook forward to a new menu,which is designed around what isin season.

“The new menu has beendesigned in such a way that stu-dents who come will be eatingthe freshest ingredients from ourgarden,” Shannon-Dipietro said.“Right now, tomatoes are in sea-son.”

The fresh produce comes froman acre of land 10 minutes fromYale’s main campus. This sum-mer, nine interns worked withorganic garden coordinator JoshViertel to convert the acre ofgrass into a productive garden.All summer, interns and diningstaff ate tomatoes, eggplants andsnap peas that were freshly pro-duced from the garden,

Shannon-Dipietro said.Viertel said the garden has

been an “amazing success” withstudents and staff. Yale sopho-more Laura Hess worked on thefarm for three weeks this summerand is organizing a student groupto promote student participationon the farm this semester.

The garden “is a really greatplace where students come tohave an educational experience,”she said. “Having a farm allowsstudents to see the connectionbetween what they eat andwhere the food comes from —eating is more that just abouteating.”

Viertel advocated the projectas a model for dining halls ofother universities.

“The food tastes better,it’smore fun to make and it involvesinteraction with farmers,” hesaid. “It’s seductive because it’s arevolution. A delicious revolu-tion.”

Senior staff writer MoniqueMeneses ’05 can be reached atm m e n e s e s @ b r ow n d a i l y h e r -ald.com.

continued from page 1

Yalecontinued from page 8

Troy

gender-segregated society.Parsipur was imprisoned twice

for a total of four months in 1992for making three references to vir-ginity in “Women Without Men.”When asked if she expected thenovel to provoke such a responsefrom the fundamentalist leaders ofthe Islamic Republic, Parsipursmirked and said, “Yes.”

Parsipur’s literary career hasbeen defined by her perseveranceand resilience in spite of almostcontinuous adversity. It began ayear after her graduation fromUniversity of Tehran with the pub-lication of her first novel, “The Dogand the Long Winter,” in 1974.Later that year, she resigned fromher position as a producer for theIranian National Television andRadio in protest of the Shah’sregime’s execution of two poets forreasons which were never dis-closed. Soon afterward, Parsipurwas arrested by the Shah’s secretpolice, the SAVAK, and imprisonedfor 54 days without being chargedwith a crime.

Following her release, Parsipurrelocated to Paris, where she spenttwo years studying French andChinese at the Sorbonne. It wasthere, in 1977, that she publishedher erotic second novel, “TheSimple and Small Adventures ofthe Spirit of the Tree.”

In 1979, Parsipur returned toIran after the overthrow of theShah’s regime, despite almost cer-tain conflict with the censorship

laws of the new fundamentalistregime.

“I thought my place as a writerwas with my people,” sheexplained. “I was never a politicalactivist. I was a writer.”

Unfortunately, when theIslamic Republic began to crackdown on suspected dissidents inresponse to increased guerillaactivities in 1981, Parsipur wasarrested along with her motherand her two brothers. Shedescribes the 55 months she spentin prison without any perceptibleemotion, stating coolly, “The situ-ation was horrible. In a prisonbuilt for 36, there were over 300people.”

She wrote the bulk of “Toubaand the Meaning of Night” duringher imprisonment, but the manu-script was confiscated by prisonofficials. It was ultimatelyreturned to Parsipur, who decidedto burn the manuscript ratherthan allowing the officials theopportunity to censor her work.She then rewrote the novel afterher release. It became a nationalbestseller upon its release in 1989.

Although Parsipur must stillendure the strain of her status as apolitical refugee and the separa-tion from her two brothers and 35-year-old son, whom she has notseen in nine years, she shows nosigns of slowing down. She plansto spend the year working onPersian translations of Coover’s“Spanking the Maid,” and KayRedfield Jamison’s “An UnquietMind,” which she hopes will altercommon perceptions of psycho-logical disturbances in Iran.


Parsipur

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2003 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD PAGE 5

forced to find ways to operatemore efficiently as Yale faces diffi-cult economic times. Yale raisedthe price of its standard meal planfrom $3,790 last year to $3,900 thisyear.

Yale sophomore Emily Kopley,however, said students were gen-erally unaware of the cost of mealplan because it is figured into thetotal costs of attendance. Ratherthan wishing they had the optionto opt out of meal plan entirely,Kopley said, Yale students wishthey had more flexibility with theplan they have, especially in termsof after-hours options andredeeming unused meals.

“If you miss a meal, you miss ameal,” Kopley said. “But on thewhole I’d say students are veryhappy with the food and with themeal plan. We eat very well.”

David Newlove, associatedirector of dining services atDartmouth, said his office man-ages to keep costs so low by view-ing itself as competing with localrestaurants for students’ diningdollars. Dartmouth, alone amongthe Ivies, operates exclusively on apoints system rather than on a by-meal basis, giving its studentsmore flexibility in terms of whereand how often to eat.

“For us, it doesn’t matter if wecharge more, because we still haveto get the customer to buy it,”Newlove said. “I could raise thecosts all I want, but that doesn’tmean students will buy that.”

Switching to a by-meal, all-you-can-eat model like Brown’s,Newlove said, would require rais-

ing prices and would result insmall eaters subsidizing largeeaters.

Doraelia Ruiz ’06, who went offmeal plan entirely this year, saidshe would have considered sign-ing up for a system likeDartmouth’s. Last year, Ruiz said,she felt she wasn’t getting hermoney’s worth because she oftenused only one meal a day andreceived only $3.80 in credit forthe meals she missed.

“I figured it would just becheaper to drop off meal plan andmake my own food, which I likemore than the Ratty’s anyway,”Ruiz said. “It’s just more conven-ient for me.”

Over 80 percent of Brown stu-dents living on campus purchasedmeal plans last year, according toWillis. She said that figure washigh for a university that does notrequire students to purchase aplan.

Despite the University’s budgetcrunch, Willis said, BUDS hasbeen able to avoid scaling back itsoperations and reducing optionsfor students. If times become tootough, however, the Universitymight have to consider institutinga mandatory meal plan, she said.

Nevertheless, Willis said a big-ger BUDS budget might not nec-essarily translate into better quali-ty food, at least not withoutaccompanying improvements infacilities.

“I think the thing that holds usback most is our facilities,” Willissaid. “I don’t know that it’s directlyrelated to money.”

Senior staff writer Zach Barter ’06can be reached [email protected].


Meal plan

The students who held theparty where the initial disputetook place could also face discipli-nary action, he said.

“Organizations are responsiblefor the events they organize,”Greene said. “They could be(responsible). It depends on whatthe investigation reveals.”

Many students were dissatis-fied with the crime alert, whichthey say failed to denote the seri-ousness of the assault.

“The University does not pro-vide us with any kind of meaning-ful news source to distinguishhate crimes from other muchsmaller crimes that occur,”Lindsay Mann ’03.5 told TheHerald Wednesday. She and atleast 20 other students wearing T-shirts that read “hate crimes havehappened here” passed outcopies of the crime alert aroundcampus Wednesday andThursday.

Greene said he agreed thatSaturday’s assault deserved extrascrutiny because it highlights acampus-wide failure to addressthe wide range of homophobiaexperienced by many LGBTmembers of the Brown commu-nity.

“This puts mundane scribbling(of homophobic graffiti) on white-boards in a different light,” Greenesaid.

Brenda Allen, director of insti-tutional diversity, said pastacceptance of minor acts of hatemay have contributed toSaturday’s attack and the ensuing

silence about the identity of theperpetrator.

“(Acceptance of smaller acts)gives some kind of open invitationto move along the continuum ofviolence,” she said.

The offices of Campus Life andInstitutional Diversity plan toeducate the campus on where toreport acts motivated by hate,Allen said.

Both administrators were pres-ent at a candlelight vigil heldThursday night in remembranceof Sept. 11, 2001, that wasexpanded to include a QueerAlliance-sponsored vigil againsthate.

“Campus Life will support theQueer Alliance,” Greene told TheHerald.

Also present was UniversityChaplain Janet Cooper Nelson,who said she would title herSunday sermon “Hate HappensHere.”

“There’s a sense of fear and adisheartened sense of Brown,”Cooper Nelson said. “Any bigotrythat produced violence must berepudiated in the most strong wayby an intellectual community.”

Like Greene, she called on any-one with information about theidentity of the suspect to comeforward.

“Communities of secrecy thatare hiding violence are nothumane communities either,” shesaid.

But she cautioned studentsmobilizing in support of the vic-tim not to divide the campus into“good” and “bad” people.

“There’s a danger for a self-righteous tone to emerge fromactivism,” she said.

—Staff reports


Assault

O

EDITORIAL/LETTERSTHE BROWN DAILY HERALD


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P O S T- M A G A Z I N E

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S T A F F E D I T O R I A L

Diamonds and coalCoal to stupid acronyms, like BUDS, and the PATRIOT act.But a diamond to turning the campus into a web of impen-etrable nicknames: LiSci, FauHo, JHay…

A diamond to the Ratty’s new noodle bar. Mmm, ducksauce.

A cubic zirconium to Brown’s cheap meal plan. You getwhat you pay for.

A diamond to the Hope Street Farmers’ Market — yoursource for fresh, organic produce, and fresh, organic indie-rocker types.

Coal to the freshman 15, to sophomore slump, and to junioryear crippling depression. But a diamond to senior scram-ble.

A diamond to RISD’s activities fair cum block party. Yourrock wall alone makes our annual OMAC-fest look lame.

A diamond to bikini-clad coeds lounging on the variousgreens. You make our campus look like a brochure for astate university.

Coal to use of the term “Bennifer”: taking “Ben and Jen” toeven more excruciating levels of cuteness. Gobble, gobble,indeed.

A diamond to the popcorn-chickened spectre.

Coal to people who refuse to acknowledge the sexual natureof flowers, especially within the context of a GeorgiaO’Keefe painting.

A diamond to the meter-high club.

A diamond to 21st birthdays.

A N D R E W S H E E T S

L E T T E R S

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pinions

OPINIONSTHE BROWN DAILY HERALD


THIS SUMMER I HAD THE OPPORTUNITYto intern in the U. S. Senate. I was veryencouraged by the openness of membersof both parties, and by the dedication andenergy their aides brought to their work. Ibegan to view government as an open,deliberative body that evalu-ates issues on their merits —until I sat in on hearingswhere Deputy DefenseSecretary Paul Wolfowitz andDefense Secretary DonaldRumsfeld testified. Suddenly,the discourse smelled of hos-tility and deceit.

Speaking before the SenateArmed Services Committeeearly last July, DonaldRumsfeld and Gen. TommyFranks tried to evade givinganswers to basic questions.Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W. Va.,became so fed up with their evasiveanswers he returned to the basics. Thefollowing quotes are paraphrased frommy memory only: “I want to know howmuch money we are spending right nowon the Iraq postwar effort,” said an agitat-ed Byrd.

“I don’t have that figure right now,”Rumsfeld contended.

“I’ll have to get you that for the record.” “You are the chief of the Department of

Defense,” quipped Byrd. “I know that youcan get those numbers.” Byrd would notaccept “soon” as an answer, and indicatedhe wanted the information immediatelyafter the conclusion of the next 15 minuterecess. Rumsfeld made a few calls, andprovided a $3.9 billion per month esti-mate before the committee. That figureappeared on the front page of the

Washington Post the next day, and rightlyso. It was the first publicly released figureon the costs of reconstruction.

Wolfowitz’s July 29, 2003, testimony tothe Senate Foreign Relations Committeeregarding the Iraq reconstruction effort

was even more evasive. Themeeting was prefaced byremarks from Sen. Dick Lugar,R-Ind., and Sen. JosephBiden, D-Del., the rankingmembers of the committee.Both made it clear toWolfowitz and White HouseBudget Director JoshuaBolten, who accompaniedhim, that the Fiscal Year 2004Budget required estimates ofmonthly Iraqi reconstructionexpenditure. The Budgetwould have to be finalized bymid-September, and the

Senate would be on recess for the entiremonth of August. They did not requireperfection, but reasonable estimates.However, Bolten and Wolfowitz failed toprovide anything. They contended a “sup-plemental request form” would be for-warded in early 2004, and that Rumsfeld’s$3.9 billion estimate would probably besimilar to future needs. “C’mon, when youare guys going to start being honest withus?” snapped an angry Biden. “There is acertain level ….of candor missing fromthis [testimony]. Raise your hand if youthink the level of troops will decreasebelow 100,000 anytime soon.” Silence.“See, you guys know something, yet youwon’t tell it to us.”

Wolfowitz proceeded to note the pres-ence of 2,400 Poles and 400 Italiansmarked a shared sense of internationalcooperation. But those numbers were amere fraction of the 148,000 United Statestroops in the region, and the U.S. wassubsidizing the Poles. Wolfowitz contend-ed the U.S. troops were the only ones

capable of performing certain functionsand that “peacekeepers” could not fulfillthat commitment. This sparked Sen.Christopher Dodd, D-Conn, to say, “Itdoesn’t sound as if you are enthusiasticabout a U.N. resolution at all, are you?”

“That is incorrect, Senator,” pleadedWolfowitz. “I would be interested in theright resolution at the right time.” Ofcourse he would be interested in a resolu-tion that maintained U.S. authority butspread the cost over other countries. Hewants to remake the Middle East so theUnited States gains more control over theregion.

Paul Wolfowitz stated in his speech that“Iraq is the central battlefield in the waron terror.” Likewise, President Bush stat-ed on Sunday that Iraq is the “centralfront” in the war on terror. But to pretendIraq was the exclusive central hub ofinternational terrorism is to be extremelynaive. As Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.,pointed out, the Administration’s post-Sept. 11 report did not even list Iraq asone of the 30 or so nations worldwidewith known connections to al-Qaida — alist which included the United States andCanada. Earlier that week, on CBS’s “Facethe Nation,” Wolfowitz himself concededthat some intelligence had been “murky.”It is appropriate for a presidential admin-istration to make an educated judgmentwithout indisputable evidence, but hon-esty requires admitting the degree of esti-mated fallibility in the evidence used fordecision-making.

The rationale to go to war presented tothe American public was filled with thesame kinds of exaggerations and mislead-ing comments Wolfowitz made in his tes-timony. There was a gross exaggeration ofthe national security threat posed by Iraqto the United States, an obfuscation of theamount of resources (both financial andmilitary) required and unsupported orexaggerated claims of weapons programs

and links to al-Qaida. When discussionturned from the cost of war to its justifica-tion, Wolfowitz insisted to inquiring sena-tors that “If you want to have a conversa-tion about motives, then we can arrangean entirely different kind of hearing.”However, as Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I.,asserted, “I only bring these issues upbecause it appears that you are operatingunder entirely different assumptions thenwe are.” While Wolfowitz suggested thechanging security concerns of a post-Sept. 11 world strongly influenced theneed to remove the Iraq regime, Chafeepointed to a 1997 letter in whichWolfowitz called for an invasion of Iraq.“You have been advocating for this[regime change] all along,” he said.

Only on Sunday night did the Bushadministration finally reveal how muchthe Iraqi rehabilitation effort is expectedto cost American taxpayers: $87 billion.Indeed, the administration has contin-ued its trend of gradualism, garneringsupport for its programs by only partiallyrevealing the eventual costs up front.Unless it wants to face a situation likeVietnam where the United States stalledits military and economic commitmentsuntil the government of the country itwas trying to assist collapsed, the U.S.Congress must fully support the presi-dent’s requests or risk wasting everypenny it has spent on the war effort inIraq this far. This is an unfair positionthat demonstrates how thisAdministration has managed to avoidtelling the whole truth up front in orderto gain support for its policies, obscuringits motives and the costs involved.Hopefully the American electorate willdemand more accountability in thefuture so they can engage in a fair andopen debate over foreign policy andother areas, rather than allowing itself tobe duped by Wolfowitz, Karl Rove, GeorgeW. Bush and their dubious policies.

Top Bush cabinet officials mislead pubic on cost, justification of war

Who’s afraid of the Big, Bad Wolfowitz

Schuyler von Oeyen ’05 believes that arepresentative democracy requiresaccountability among its elected officials.

SCHUYLER VON OEYENALL THINGS

CONSIDERED

SPORTS FRIDAYTHE BROWN DAILY HERALD

SEPTEMBER 12, 2003 · PAGE 8

WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST SURPRISEfrom Week One? Vinny Testaverde notthrowing an interception? LaveranuesColes announcing his high school duringpre-game introductions? The first half ofthe Titans-Raiders game taking two-and-

a-half hours? Whileall of these eventsare difficult tobelieve, the biggestsurprise from theopening weekendof the NFL seasonwas the HoustonTexans upsettingthe MiamiDolphins in Miami.

More impres-sive, however, wasthe means bywhich the Texans“shocked the

world.” After setting a record by giving upthe most sacks in NFL history last season,the offensive line surrendered none to adefense featuring at least 32 Pro Bowlers.The loss, which drove suicide pool playersto consider watching “Gigli,” also involvedHouston driving down the field in the finalminutes for the game-winning field goal,against the same ballyhooed Dolphin “D.”

If Dave Wannstedt is the good coachJimmy Johnson says he is, Wannstedt willuse this loss to motivate his team to finallyoverachieve. However, if the Dolphinscontinue their underachieving ways, thegood news is Wannstedt won’t be aroundto see the traditional December collapse.

These picks have been made against theSkybook odds and, as always, are for recre-ational purposes only. For completelyaccurate predictions, I recommend usinga Magic Eight Ball.

Last Week – 10-5-1Lock of the Week – 1-0Dolphins (-3) over the JETS – In

Testaverde’s time on the bench, he appar-ently mastered the art of throwing thethird down completion that automaticallycomes up short of the first down. While hemay only be 39, Vinny demonstrated lastThursday that he plays the game with theagility of a 59-year-old. With Miami out forblood following the aforementionedupset, New York has a better chance atfinding Hoffa’s body than of picking up awin.

Browns (+2) over the RAVENS – Sincethe offensive shoot-out betweenCleveland and Indianapolis turned into afield goal kicking contest, this gameshould be a high-scoring affair.Unfortunately, the Browns have all of theoffensive talent and the Ravens once heardabout a team that reached the end zonemore then twice in a game.

COLTS (-2) over the Titans – WhenTennessee signed kicker Gary Anderson,they proved the adage that as a kicker inthe NFL, you are not retired until you arein a wheel chair or a pine box. A similarphenomenon is seen with professionalwrestlers. But while the Titans had broughtin the NFL equivalent of Strom Thurmond,the Colts still feature the best QB/RB/WRcombo in the AFC and Tony Dungy onlyfails to lead his team to victory in the play-offs.

PACKERS (-6.5) over the Lions – Lastweekend, we saw the birth of theHarrington-Rogers connection and thebeginning of the end for Brett Favre. Still,Green Bay will not lose two at home to

Why football isoverrated as afall sportONE WEEK INTO THE EIGHTY-FIFTHseason, I am already sick of the NFL. As apassionate sports fan, there is nothing Idread more, with the possible exception ofWNBA preseason highlights, than the startof the NFL season.

As the NFL’s calendar commences,Major LeagueBaseball’s pennantraces heat up, col-lege football kicksoff, the U.S. Opencelebrates its

championship weekend and the PGAenters its homestretch. Sadly, however, theubiquity of the NFL in sports media goes along way to obscure one of most appealingtimes of the year in athletics.

ESPN spends Sunday through Tuesdayrecapping the recently completed gamesand further inundates its viewers with pre-game coverage for upcoming gamesbeginning on Wednesday. Meanwhile,other networks begin curbing their sportscoverage and it feels as if there is littleescape from the NFL’s ascendancy.

True story: While in East Side Mini Marton Monday, a middle-aged manapproached me as I waited in line at theregister. Unsolicited, he told me, “Themost important thing in the world hap-pened yesterday.” I turned and smiled,disinterested in what I expected to be histake on President Bush’s war budgetrequest. He continued, “The NFL seasonbegan.”

Twenty-one Sundays before the SuperBowl, this guy, like sports fans across thenation, is as giddy as an 18-year-old at astrip club.

Further evidence of the NFL’s domi-nance: Sunday evening’s edition ofSportsCenter devoted three full minutes tothe Cleveland Browns-Indianapolis Coltsgame and a mere two minutes and 40 sec-onds to Andy Roddick’s U.S. Open victory.Roddick’s win legitimized the future ofAmerican tennis while the bromidicBrowns-Colts affair was the week’s lowestscoring game.

Though I understand I speak for aminority, how about focusing some moreattention on this week’s Twins-White Soxseries that will go a long way to decide theAL Central? Why not concentrate on thecompelling NL Wild Card race? At thispoint, I’d even embrace more coverage ofKobe Bryant’s personal life.

Unfortunately, this is all wishful think-ing. Propagated by the machine that isnetwork television, football is the perfectgame for a nation with unparalleled ratesof ADD. With its 16-game regular season,few seem to feel the NFL season ever dragson.

By Thanksgiving, no non-NFL sportsevent will register as anything more than ablip on the national sports scene. Thoughpro football has, for myriad good reasons,emerged as the contemporary nationalpastime, its season must be placed insome reasonable perspective.

Newsworthy indeed, the nascent stagesof the pro football’s calendar should not,however, displace more stimulating andremarkable events from the front of sportspages around the country.

To allow the first week or weeks of theNFL season to overshadow all other eventsis to look past the excellence of sport andcompetition NFL fans should seek toembrace.

Yoni Goldberg ’04 hails from Newton,Mass. His apartment is too big.see TROY, page 4

Men’s soccer thinking big asit faces some of nation’s bestIAN CROPPIf there were a litmus test in soccer, itwould be playing a first game againstone of the best teams in the nation. TheBrown men’s soccer team will do justthat this Friday when they face lastyear’s national championship finalist,Stanford, in the opening game of theadidas-Brown Classic. On Sunday theBears will take on the 1998 nationalchampions, the University ofWisconsin-Madison.

Brown comes into the weekend hav-ing scrimmaged Bowdoin andMiddlebury, as well as having played anintra-squad scrimmage.

“We feel confident with where we areat, but you can never really tell untilyou play against one of the top DivisionI programs,” said Head Coach MikeNoonan. “This is why we invite teamslike Stanford.”

Stanford has played two leaguegames and is currently ranked 7th inthe nation. The team has been playingtogether for a substantial amount oftime, as it took a trip to Costa Rica thissummer to play several exhibitiongames.

“Over the summer they gelledtogether as a team,” said Chris Gomez’05. “Also, they don’t start school untilthe end of September, so they are justcoasting on soccer.”

It seems only fitting, then, thatStanford should be invited to a tourna-ment whose name is an acronym forthe phrase “all day I dream about soc-cer.” Even though Brown has only com-peted in scrimmages, the team hasbeen playing together for over threeweeks.

“We’ve really been able to get com-fortable with each other, especially overthe past week,” said captain AdomCrew ’04.

Crew, who was last year’s leadingscorer despite missing the last ninegames, will lead the Brown lineup thathas many returning players, four ofwhom earned All-Ivy honors last year.Of the seniors who graduated, the pres-ence of two-time First All-Ivy selectionDustin Branon ’03 will be missed in thebackfield. Jeff Larentowicz ’05, EdwardThurston ’04 and Derrick Woodward’04 will be key in maintaining a strongbackfield against the prolific Stanfordoffense.

The games this weekend, along withBrown’s next five, are not league games,but will count towards their overallrecord.

Though no first-years are likely tostart in the Stanford game, look forMatt Britner ’07 and Andrew Daniels’07 to earn some playing time thisweekend.

Wisconsin, much like Brown, fin-ished last season with a losing record.They will face off against Brown’s Ivy-League opponent, Yale, on Friday.

“(Our) second game may be as toughas the first,” Crew said. “We are obvi-ously going to be more tired, andWisconsin is not a team you can takelightly.”

One thing Brown definitely has in itsfavor this weekend is the home fieldadvantage.

“All the players look forward to thefans, and it’s nice to play on a fieldwhere you know the ins and outs,”Gomez said.

After this weekend Brown will havethe week off to prepare for the YaleClassic, where they will again miss Yaleand square off against FairleighDickinson and Creighton.

Herald staff writer Ian Cropp ’05 is anassistant sports editor.

Teams look toprove week onelosses a fluke

dspics

Captain Adom Crew ’04 will lead the team against No.7 Stanford Friday night.

JOSH TROYOLD SPORTS GUY

YONI GOLDBERGGUEST COLUMN

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Friday, September 12, 2003