Professional Documents
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vol. cxliv, no. 84 | Wednesday, October 14, 2009 | Serving the community daily since 1891
on lobbying
Union, Local 615, which represents
In a nearly unanimous vote Tuesday the workers.
night, Brown Dining Services em- “It was loud and clear that workers
ployees authorized their bargaining don’t believe that what the Univer-
By Sydney Ember committee to call a strike if today’s sity is putting forward is just,” Rivera
Senior Staf f Writer negotiations on a new contract do not said.
yield a satisfactory agreement. The University is confident that the
The University spent nearly $160,000 Officials on both sides will meet two sides will reach a consensus today,
on various lobbying activities, in- at 11 a.m. today to attempt to reach a Vice President for Public Affairs and
cluding direct contact with govern- consensus on the contentious issues of University Relations Marisa Quinn
ment officials to influence national, health care payments, retirement ben- wrote in an e-mail to The Herald Tues-
state and local legislation, in the 12 efits for new hires and wage changes day afternoon.
months ending in June 2008, ac- ahead of the looming expiration of “If for some reason we are unable
cording to its most recent publicly the workers’ contract at midnight to- to accomplish this,” she added, “we
available tax filings. night. The contract was extended by can agree to a further extension, or
The total includes $65,755 spent 48 hours, and a federal mediator was the University can present its final
on total compensation for Brown of- summoned to today’s bargaining ses- offer to the union membership for a
ficials who work to influence efforts sion, after negotiations failed to secure vote to ratify or reject the same.”
at the federal and state levels and an agreement on Monday. It is too early to predict whether
nearly $93,698 to organizations that More than 120 of the approxi- another contract extension could be
specialize in lobbying the federal mately 200 employees congregated in the cards, or when a potential strike
government on behalf of research Max Monn / Herald for a membership meeting Tuesday might begin, Rivera said. “We have
universities. A new exhibit, “Beyond the Moon: 400 Years of Astronomical Ob- and expressed disapproval of the Uni- to see tomorrow to see how we’ll go
The tax filings for 2008 show a servation,” opened recently at the John Hay Library. versity’s most recent proposal, said forth in the next couple of days.”
large jump in spending on lobbying. SEE STORY, PAGE 2
In the previous fiscal year, spanning
parts of 2006 and 2007, the Univer-
sity coughed up only $52,329 for
lobbying activities. But the Univer-
Researchers get big award to investigate OCD treatment
sity may be cutting back on the fees By Jamie Brew cation and cognitive therapy. berg of the Alpert Medical School Greenberg’s project is one of sev-
doled out to lobbyists and related Contributing Writer But deep brain stimulation may is leading a project to investigate the eral in the larger study.
organizations, said Marisa Quinn, soon be more common in treating the efficacy of DBS as OCD treatment. Suzanne Haber, a pharmacology
vice president for public affairs and Brown professors are among a team disorder. The therapy, which is the Greenberg recruited Professor of and physiology professor at the Uni-
University relations. of researchers that recently received focus of the study, involves surgically Medical Science Barry Connors versity of Rochester, is the principal
“Every year, we review the value a $10.5 million grant from the Na- inserting an electrode in the patient’s — who is heading his own sub-proj- investigator of the study. There are
for the University of belonging to tional Institute of Mental Health to brain. The electrode connects to a ect to study the cellular effects of several sub-projects based at various
these organizations,” Quinn said, study a new treatment for Obsessive pacemaker-like device in the chest DBS — to the project. institutions, she said, including the
adding that since 2008 the Univer- Compulsive Disorder. Brown faculty that sends the brain electrical im- If Greenberg’s team finds that two at Brown.
sity has reduced some of its contri- will lead two of the study’s six sub- pulses. DBS consistently helps treat the “The components of the group
butions to lobbying organizations projects. DBS therapy has proven effective disorder, doctors will have a strong address the same question but from
and is planning to reduce more. OCD, an anxiety disorder, affects as a treatment for other conditions, case for expanding its use, which different angles,” Haber said.
For example, Quinn said, the more than 2 percent of the world’s such as Parkinson’s disease. Greenberg said is currently restrict- The study grew out of an existing
population and can be debilitating. Associate Professor of Psychiatry ed to only the most extreme cases
continued on page 4 Treatment regularly includes medi- and Human Behavior Ben Green- of OCD. continued on page 2
C ampus N EWS “You take out a little piece of brain, and it’s gone.”
— Professor of Neuroscience Barry Connors, on experimental lesion surgery
Brain electrode may help treat OCD nies and launched her own company,
Apollo BioPharmaceutics.
“Dr. Gordon brings experience
get to know the faculty, the research
directions, make sure that people
know we’re here,” Gordon said.
continued from page 1 Very little research exists on the One advantage of DBS is its re- both from having started her own As the year progresses, Gordon
effects high-frequency currents — versability. It alters brain function company, from her experience in said she hopes to obtain patents,
OCD research program that includ- like those involved in DBS — have without killing cells, making it dif- the technology transfer office at strike deals and start businesses.
ed Greenberg, Haber and Associate on brain cells, Connors said. His re- ferent from traditional, lesion-based Harvard, and her own background “We hope to see Brown commer-
Professor of Psychiatry and Human search aims to determine whether surgery, which always causes perma- in the life sciences,” Vice President cialize the appropriate intellectual
Behavior Steven Rasmussen, all of DBS merely disrupts activity in an nent changes. for Research Clyde Briant wrote in property that is created at Brown,
whom focus their research on OCD. area of the brain or whether it actu- Lesion surgery is “a one-way an e-mail to The Herald. to license that technology and to
Now, with the help of the NIMH ally enhances brain function. street,” Connors said. “You take out a Bringing Gordon to Brown rep- have that intellectual property lead
grant, the program has expanded To examine the currents’ effects little piece of brain, and it’s gone.” resents a continuation of recent to start-up companies where appro-
to include researchers who are only on the brain, Connors’ team will study Though DBS is in its early stages attempts by the University to in- priate,” Briant wrote.
beginning to apply their expertise to the areas of mouse brains that cor- and presents a hopeful avenue for the crease the resources available to Gordon described her first month
the disorder. respond to OCD-related areas in the future of OCD treatment, Haber said faculty researchers as they enter the as “great.”
One such newcomer is Connors, human brain, such as the basal gan- this research already has tangible market. “I found everybody to be really
who chairs the Department of Neu- glia. This collection of nuclei contain benefits. To improve the prospects for new receptive,” she said. People have
roscience. While Greenberg tests the neural pathways responsible for “The science is benefitting from products, Gordon and her office will been “interested in gathering infor-
humans to find out if DBS works, balancing risk and reward — mak- the patients, and the patients are work with the Rhode Island Center mation on our new directions” and
Connors will test animals to learn ing them a key area in OCD and the benefitting from the science,” Haber for Innovation and Entrepreneur- “meeting and talking about our new
how DBS functions on brain cells. target of DBS therapy. said. “It’s really a two-way street.” ship, which opened this past spring ideas,” she added.
sudoku
Astronomy exhibit now open at Hay
By Claire Peracchio preparation for the event, astronomer exhibit, and a film on solar eclipse
Contributing Writer Benjamin West and Joseph Brown, studies conducted by Charles Smiley,
a natural philosophy professor and the former head of the Department
With Fall Weekend behind them, one of the founding Brown broth- of Astronomy, which merged with
Brown students can now turn to the ers, collaborated to construct the first the Department of Physics after his
exploration of a decidedly less contro- University observation center on a retirement in 1970.
versial new world: outer space. street that was later aptly renamed The exhibit features other texts
“Beyond the Moon: 400 Years of Transit Street. from the Lownes Science Collection,
Astronomical Observation,” a new Holly Snyder, a librarian at the Hay historical records from the Ladd Ob-
exhibit at the John Hay Library, offers and one of the organizers of “Beyond servatory and a variety of astronomi-
a panoramic view of four centuries of the Moon,” said the interface between cal instruments from the 18th century
astronomical inquiry at Brown and history and contemporary research to today.
in the wider scientific community. played a central role in the planning West’s telescope and journal of
The display, which includes a gallery of the exhibit. observations, which launched the
room and an array of glass cases in “We were trying to figure out what University’s endeavors in astronomy,
the library’s lobby, is the result of a we could do to celebrate this momen- are also on display.
joint effort by the University’s librar- tous year,” she said. “We decided that Barbara Findley, a recent visitor to
ies, the Ladd Observatory and the the exhibit should be a conjunction the exhibit, found out about it through
Daily Herald
Department of Physics. between what has been done histori- her membership in the Brown Com-
the Brown
Running through the month of Oc- cally and what is happening now.” munity for Learning in Retirement.
tober, “Beyond the Moon” celebrates In keeping with this vision, the “It’s a fascinating subject that I
Editorial Phone: 401.351.3372 | Business Phone: 401.351.3260 the timely intersection of a number of display juxtaposes objects and me- otherwise wouldn’t have seen,” she
Stephen DeLucia, President Jonathan Spector, Treasurer historical milestones. This year is the dia related to giants such as Galileo, said. “It’s amazing how much our
Michael Bechek, Vice President Alexander Hughes, Secretary International Year of Astronomy and Brahe and Johannes Kepler with the view of the universe has changed as
The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is an independent newspaper serv- the 400-year anniversary of seminal scholarship of distinguished Brown scientists continuously add to previ-
ing the Brown University community daily since 1891. It is published Monday works by astronomer Galileo Galilei professors. One highlight is the ous research.”
through Friday during the academic year, excluding vacations, once during and Tycho Brahe. It is also 240 years Lownes Collection’s first-edition copy But student interest in the exhibit
Commencement, once during Orientation and once in July by The Brown Daily
Herald, Inc. Single copy free for each members of the community.
after the University began telescopi- of Galileo’s 1609 book, “The Starry has been underwhelming, said Andy
POSTMASTER please send corrections to P.O. Box 2538, Providence, RI cally exploring the universe. Messenger,” which contains the notes Moul, a member of the Hay’s reader
02906. Periodicals postage paid at Providence, R.I. Offices are located at 195 The 1769 Transit of Venus — a of the astronomer himself. services staff.
Angell St., Providence, R.I. E-mail herald@browndailyherald.com. phenomenon in which Venus pass- Also on display are digital pho- “I would call this under-utilized,”
World Wide Web: http://www.browndailyherald.com.
Subscription prices: $319 one year daily, $139 one semester daily.
es between the Sun and the Earth tographs of outer space taken by he said. “Unless someone really
Copyright 2009 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved. — marked the auspicious start of Associate Professor of Physics Ian makes an effort, they won’t come
astronomical study at Brown. In Dell’antonio, a co-organizer of the into the Hay.”
Wednesday, October 14, 2009 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Page 3
C ampus N EWS “How do we talk about racism … when we’re told it doesn’t exist?”
— Ralina Landwehr Joseph ’96
C ampus N EWS “I was alone in the room, but I was definitely still performing.”
— Brown University Movement Experiments member Josh Kopin ’11
24-hour art headlines eclectic week for BUME Amid budget cuts, U.
continued from page 1
l e t t e r to t h e e d i to r
Book smarts
Get angry! Cooler weather and midterms signal that charity. They should also consider returning
the fall semester is now well under way. As stu- that money directly to their students. The Uni-
dents’ memories of a hectic shopping period versity’s 2009-10 cost of attendance projections
and expensive textbook purchases start to fade, expect each student to spend $633 per semester
letters@browndailyherald.com we would like to remind faculty members of an on books — that’s $1,266 for the school year, a
important matter of principle: No Brown profes- significant financial burden.
sor should profit from the book royalties they The high cost of college textbooks is a prob-
earn by assigning their own book to a class of lem that has received attention on the national
Brown students. level. In 2005, the Government Accountabil-
The possibility that professors might be ity Office reported that the price of textbooks
t h e b r o w n d a i ly h e r a l d
able to profit based on the books they assign tripled between 1986 and 2004. And in 2008
Editor-in-Chief Managing Editors Deputy Managing Editors Senior Editors
makes for a textbook (sorr y) case of a conflict congress passed legislation that requires text-
Steve DeLucia Michael Bechek Nandini Jayakrishna Rachel Arndt
Chaz Firestone Franklin Kanin Isabel Gottlieb of interest. Most book contracts stipulate that book publishers to disclose more information
Michael Skocpol Scott Lowenstein the author receive a percentage of the profits about pricing and to sell supplemental materials
editorial Business from sales. Even if a professor genuinely judges like CDs separately from textbooks. But these
Ben Hyman Arts & Culture Editor General Managers Office Manager
Rosalind Schonwald Arts & Culture Editor Alexander Hughes Shawn Reilly his or her own book to be the best in the field new requirements do not take effect until next
Sophia Li Features Editor Jonathan Spector or the most relevant to the topic of the class, year.
George Miller Metro Editor
Joanna Wohlmuth Metro Editor
students could reasonably question the ob- While the sort of rebate we’re calling for is
Directors
Seth Motel News Editor Ellen DaSilva Sales jectivity of that judgment. For larger classes by no means a panacea, it would help reduce
Jenna Stark News Editor Claire Kiely Sales and more expensive books, the opportunity some students’ book costs. And if a book truly
Andrew Braca Sports Editor Katie Koh Finance
Han Cui Asst. Sports Editor Jilyn Chao Asst. Finance for a windfall profit increases, fueling students’ is an essential text in its field, then sales at other
Alex Mazerov Asst. Sports Editor Christiana Stephenson Alumni Relations skepticism about the real reasons behind the schools should be sufficient to earn the author
Katie Wood Asst. Sports Editor
course’s reading list. significant returns. A fraction of book royalties
Graphics & Photos Managers Some professors have sought to alleviate seems like a small price to pay for the Univer-
Chris Jesu Lee Graphics Editor Kelly Wess Local Sales
Stephen Lichenstein Graphics Editor Kathy Bui National Sales
this concern by promising students they will sity’s improved transparency and integrity.
Eunice Hong Photo Editor Alex Carrere University Sales donate royalties earned from their classes to Students already pay tens of thousands of
Kim Perley Photo Editor Matt Burrows Credit and Collections charity. Professor James Morone has histori- dollars for access to Brown’s faculty and course
Jesse Morgan Sports Photo Editor
cally given away the royalties he earns from offerings. The mere idea that a professor might
production Opinions
Ayelet Brinn Copy Desk Chief Alyssa Ratledge Opinions Editor students purchasing his book for “POLS0220: assign a book to make a little extra money on the
Rachel Isaacs Copy Desk Chief Sarah Rosenthal Opinions Editor City Politics.” Since “City Politics” usually en- side strikes us as crass. We call on all professors
Marlee Bruning Design Editor
Jessica Calihan Design Editor Editorial Page Board
rolls several hundred students whenever it has who assign their own books to avoid the appear-
Anna Migliaccio Asst. Design Editor James Shapiro Editorial Page Editor been taught, we applaud Morone for valuing the ance of impropriety and do what’s right.
Julien Ouellet Asst. Design Editor Matt Aks Board member
integrity of the course over what would probably
Neal Poole Web Editor Nick Bakshi Board member
Post- magazine Zack Beauchamp Board member be a tidy profit. Editorials are written by The Herald’s
Arthur Matuszewski Debbie Lehmann Board member Of course, professors shouldn’t have to do- editorial page board. Send comments to
Editor-in-Chief
Kelly McKowen William Martin Board member
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Opinions
The Brown Daily Herald
R.I.P. Cloves
remain untouched (for the time being). Word nant faithful — churches and ministers, admire the conspirators that thieve after the
has it that the Congressional Black Caucus families and spouses, friends and neighbors liberty to smoke should not admire the cur-
SEAN QUIGLEY was largely responsible for this inconsistent would address these matters if they actually rent president. I would wager that this column
exemption. were worrisome. Now we have a government alone will not convince cultural levelers to
Opinions Columnist Besides allowing for the banning of a whole agency, with a team of Jacobin-esque experts concede my first point, but they should at
class of cigarettes, the legislation dramatically and horny bureaucrats, all subsisting on the least concede the second.
shifted the FDA’s regulatory purview by allow- public dollar, to replace the traditional institu- Our president is the enemy of liberty, quite
Indonesian spices and tobacco make for an ing it to police tobacco for the first time. Since tions of marriage, family and church. honestly, in most things. Yet he is especially
excellent smoking experience. Indeed, even FDA stands for Food and Drug Administration, But I suppose that is what Marxists, and the enemy of tobacco connoisseurs, and even
those who look askance at regular cigarettes it is curious why this obese bureaucratic blob their progressive cousins, want. those whose drags fall well below the thresh-
typically enjoy the unique aroma created by would now regulate a plant that has nothing to Yes, I am making the claim that the decline old needed to be called a dreaded “smoker.” I
the product that incorporates those two ele- do with the agency’s original mission. in the traditional European family is causally suppose that, as with the philosopher in Plato’s
ments: the clove cigarette. Crunchy types es- Allegory of the Cave, that enlightened former
pecially are known to travel about with a cloud smoker has returned to bring illumination, in
of South-Pacific spice over their heads. the form of prohibition.
However, as of Sept. 22, at least in the U.S., Whatever. Most fellow undergraduates
cloves have been banned at the behest of Clove cigarettes are only the most recent victim were cheering when he made the donkey
busybody progressives and legislators who, move of going all-in with outdated Keynesian
without a source of honest work, perpetually of an autocratic tendency in modern, “social- theory this past February, so I really cannot
seek to manufacture problems — which they expect that they will be moved by an appeal to
then omnisciently solve by coercive fiat.
contract” governments to compel others to cease their aromatic pleasures. As long as he means
The most avaricious of those busybodies, behaviors that some find annoying. well, what could really go wrong?
our venerable president, leapt at the opportu- Two last ironies, if I may. The ban has
nity to dismantle more of his people’s liberties caused a slight rift in relations with Indonesia,
when he signed the legislation that serves as the major producer of clove cigarettes. It looks
the legal foundation for this ban, the Family like the president is not always the solver of
Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. Maybe the progressives can explain that linked to the federal ban on clove cigarettes. all international disputes.
And in so doing this past June, he caused a anomaly to me. Conservatives, with their Now, I cannot explain why some people sim- Also, lest we forget, American Indians gave
dramatic shift in U.S. policy by empowering longstanding claim that bureaucracies only ply hate liberty, and thus think they have the us the horrible leaf. In an age when Colum-
the secular priests — excuse me, federal FDA seek to expand in order to feel legitimate and authority to coerce people to stop smoking bus Day is deemed unacceptable as a holiday
regulators — to seek the very ban which came important, must be wrong. Right? clove cigarettes. because of the explorer’s actions in the New
into effect on Sept. 22. But until that time, I shall simply note that Yet I am very confident that, were “archaic” World, one would think that the preservation
In their press release, the swine at the FDA cloves are only the most recent victim of an au- religious rearing and conservative familial of Indian culture would be a priority.
wrote, “The U.S. Food and Drug Administra- tocratic tendency in modern, “social-contract” attitudes more prevalent, those who hate Oh, well. Federal experts know best.
tion announced today a ban on cigarettes with governments to compel others to cease behav- liberty would have less success in foisting
flavors characterizing fruit, candy, or clove. iors that some find annoying. Common is the their pet peeves into public law. They would
The ban, authorized by the new Family Smok- claim that a schoolmarm concern for smokers’ instead raise their families according to such Sean Quigley ’10 smoked his first
ing Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, is health is the real reason behind the ban; but preferences. tobacco with his high school chaplain.
part of a national effort by the FDA to reduce those who recognize Puritanism across the Which brings me to two fundamental He can be reached at
smoking in America.” ages are not convinced. points: those who love liberty should love sean.b.quigley@gmail.com.
In a stinging bit of irony, menthol cigarettes In the past — and presently, for the rem- the traditional family; and those who do not
Today 3
to day to m o r r o w
Chem lab stabbing at UCLA
The Brown Daily Herald
t h e n e w s i n i m ag e s
1 2 1
c a l e n da r comics
Today, October 14 tomorrow, october 15 Cabernet Voltaire | Abe Pressman
menu
Sharpe Refectory Verney-Woolley Dining Hall
Lunch — Buffalo Chicken Wings with Lunch — Chicken Fajitas, Vegan Black Dot Comic | Eshan Mitra and Brendan Hainline
Bleu Cheese Dressing, Falafel in Pita, Bean Tacos, Mexican Succotash
Vegetarian Reuben Sandwich
Dinner — Cilantro Chicken, Mexican
Dinner — Garden Style Baked Scrod, Cornbread Casserole, Herb Rice
Couscous Croquettes with Cider Pepper
Sauce, Vegan Rice Pilaf
RELEASE DATE– Wednesday, October 14, 2009