THE

Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481

WELLESLEY NEWS
http://www.wellesleynewsonline.com
Established 1901
Volume 109
Issue 25

M A Y 5 , 2 0 1 0

Journalist speaks about her captivity in Iranian prison

By IVY WANG ’13
Assistant News Editor
Students, faculty and other members
of the Wellesley community gathered in
Collins Cinema this past Monday, May
3 at 12:30 p.m. to hear Iranian-American
journalist, Roxanna Saberi, speak about her
new book, “Between Two Worlds: My Life
and Captivity in Iran”. The event opened
with the sound of piano music which Saberi
composed in Iran’s Evin Prison by tapping
her fingers against her cell wall.
“Every minute felt like an hour. Every
hour felt like a day. Every day felt like
an eternity,” Saberi said, recounting the
long moments she endured during solitary
confinement.
The talk was sponsored by the Madeleine
Korbel Institute for Global Affairs which
connected with Saberi through Margo
Meinicove, Saberi’s publicist and a
professor at Brandeis University. The
Institute plans to schedule more of these
kinds of lectures in the future.
“We hope that events such as this will
bring attention to important matters in
global affairs and allow students, faculty
and staff to hear directly from players on
the international stage,” Program Director
of the Institute Kathleen Miller said.
Saberi—who received her B.A.
at Concordia College in Mass
Communications and French—had always
hoped to become a foreign correspondent
in a French-speaking country. However, her
plans were put on hold when her life took
an unexpected turn, and she entered the
world of beauty pageants. The Miss Fargo
competition needed a fourth contestant.
Saberi’s mother happily volunteered her
daughter for the open spot.
“I wasn’t interested in wearing bathing
suits onstage but there was a talent part to
the competition,” Saberi said. “I had just
quit piano lessons at the time, and I think
my mother wanted me to start practicing
again.”
After winning the Miss Fargo title,
Saberi was crowned Miss North Dakota
and moved on to Miss America. Her main
concern was the scholarship money, which
she used to pursue her master’s in broadcast
journalism at Northwestern University.
She then went abroad to study international
relations at Cambridge University.
In 2003, Saberi moved to Iran as a
reporter. Six years later, on the morning of
Jan. 31, a man— whom she assumed was
the mailman—knocked on the door to her
apartment in Iran and handed her a letter.
“I didn’t quite understand the letter at
the time because it was written in the Farsi
language, but two words jumped out at me:
Evin Prison,” she said.
Saberi was then taken away and
questioned. No one knew of her
whereabouts. Her captors subsequently
accused her of espionage, commanding
that she confess her role as a spy for the
United States.
At the time of her arrest, Saberi was
completing a book about Iran in hopes
that outsiders could better understand the
country. Careful about giving a balanced
perspective, Saberi had spoken with Courtesy of Kathleen Miller
people whom she crossed paths with in her
Roxanna Saberi signs copies of her new book “Between Two Worlds: My Life and
See SABERI, Page 2 Captivity in Iran” and discusses with students her experiences in Iran.

New access to SEQs Student organizations lead joint

By ANA FERNANDEZ ’13
Staff Writer
Along with the end of classes
and the start of finals come the
Student Evaluation Questionnaires
(SEQs). On Monday May 3,
students were granted access to
the SEQs through a new portal,
MyWellesley. This year, changes
have been implemented to the
medium through which students
are to evaluate each of their
classes and professors.
Elizabeth Lieberman, Assistant
Dean of the College, facilitates
the SEQ process. “Once you
get in [to fill out the SEQs], it
will look exactly the same. This
[MyWellesley] is just a new way
to access self service,” she said.
At the end of each semester,
all students must complete an
evaluation about their courses and
the instructor for each particular
course.
“SEQs, I hope, are not just about
performance in the classroom, but
about students’ overall learning,
which includes assignments
and work with their professor
on the assignments, including
feedback,” Professor Kenneth
Hawes, senior lecturer for the
Education department, said.
There are five questions
about the course and two about
the instructor, the majority of
which require written input. The
comments are confidential since
there is no identifying information
available. Furthermore, instructors
cannot see the evaluations until
he/she has submitted grades for
the semester, allowing students
to provide honest comments.
The Reappointments and
Promotions Committee (R &
P), the Committee on Faculty
Appointments (CFA) and the
faculty members evaluated have
access to SEQs. “Faculty members
use SEQ responses to help them
improve their courses and their
teaching,” Lieberman explained.
The R & P and CFA will use the
information to evaluate staff for
reappointment, tenure, promotion
and merit reviews.
“I think that it [SEQs] is one safe
way that students can express to
others their experiences in classes
at Wellesley. The drawback is
that follow-up questions are not
a normal part of the process,”
Hawes said about the setbacks of
anonymous SEQs.
However, students feel that
anonymity is integral to the
process.
“People aren’t going to tell their
professors [outright] they dislike
the way they teach, because
that is rude and inappropriate,
but with constructive criticism
especially anonymously, students
feel ‘safer’ and more comfortable
telling the truth regarding their
feelings toward the professors. I
think this is really the only way
to attempt to get students to be
honest,” Lisa Koplik ’13 said.
“Honest thoughtful comments
are important when answering
See SEQs, Page 3
effort to recycle move-out waste
By HEATHER VAN HULL ’10
Staff Writer
As move-out quickly
approaches, ask yourself “Can
this be reused?” before disposing
of old clothing, furniture and
other houseware.
Through a joint effort with
Outing Club, the Environmental
Studies Department, Wellesley
Energy and Environmental
Defense (WEED) and other
campus organizations, the
Sustainability Advisory
Committee is sponsoring a
Sustainable Moveout Initiative
during reading and finals period.
Orange bins will be placed in each
dorm so that furniture, clothing
and other goods can be donated.
Collected items will be sold at
a tag sale in the fall and profits
will be utilized to fund further
sustainability actions.
Through a joint side-project
with the Outing Club, old bikes
can also be donated. Collected
bikes will be restored to working
condition and then either be set
aside for resale or utilized as
community bikes available for
student use. Students can donate
old bikes by placing a labeled
sticker on the post of the bike
seat. At the end of finals period,
donated bikes will be collected
so students can continue to use
them for the upcoming semester.
“This should be a great program,
since many bikes have been left
behind in the past, and some have
even been discarded,” Outing
club member Austin Stuckert ’10
stated.
“I’ve always been bothered by
how much people throw away
during moveout,” moveout
organizer Yi Zhang ’10 said. “It
is always a shame to see things
wasted and go to the landfill.
Throwing usable items away is
also a social problem [because]
the sorts of people who live next
to the landfill and breathe the
fumes are not the kind who go to
Wellesley,” she continued.
Zhang explained that she
believed in the effectivity of the
large-scale collection project
because students are not only
unable to carry a large amount
of their possessions, but also
because they are provided with
limited storage. She hopes that
the resale of donated items will
also benefit incoming students
who lack the transportation, time
or hands needed to bring furniture
purchased at nearby stores back
to campus.
“The tag sale will provide
students, incoming freshman in
particular, with an affordable
and accessible alternative
for purchasing dorm room
necessities,” Zhang describes.
“Before this year only used
clothing and shoes were collected
by Big Brothers Big Sisters [a
youth program providing mentors
to children in communities
across the country],” Zhang said,
adding that “[L]ast year, seven
tons of clothing were donated.”
Big Brothers Big Sisters will
continue to sponsor and organize
the clothing collection, but
the Sustainability Advisory
Committee will be responsible
for collection of other goods.
Although she is hopeful for
the success of the project, Zhang
realizes the limitations placed
on the project by the stress of
the moveout period, “It will be
finals after all, and people will be
stressed.”
Thus, in order to encourage
involvement, the Sustainability
Advisory Committee has created
spam and posters to advertise the
movement.
“We have also informed RDs
about the project and most have
in turn told students at moveout
meetings,” Melissa Gallant ’12,
who has recently joined the
project, added. “It’s impressive to
see how many individual student
volunteers and staff members
have gotten involved and I am
amazed at how much support
we have received so early in the
process.”
“This is the first time any
project this big has been planned.
I am excited to see where it goes
since the project is just getting off
the ground now .… Hopefully it
will continue and get bigger over
the years,” Gallant concluded.

4 / FEATURES 6 / OPINION 7 / Q&A 9 / ARTS 11 / SPORTS

INSIDE Dead Serious show offers
bittersweet, hilarious
farewell to seniors.
Editorial: Not okay, OK:
legislature turns back on
women.
Emma Chung ’12 speaks
about a vision of unity for
Asian organizations.
The Carillonneurs teach
visitors the art of change-
ringing.
Crew receives NEWMAC
post season awards for
2010.
2 NEWS May 5, 2010

In Albright lecture, Saberi tells Wellesley her story

SABERI, from Front Page
everyday life in Iran: the young
and the old, the poor and the rich.
She had also interviewed members
from both sides of the political
spectrum. Her comprehensive
research appeared threatening to
the Iranian government.
“I had interviewed liberals.
They didn’t seem to like that,”
she said. “ I told them I had also
interviewed conservatives. They
didn’t seem to like that either.”
Though Saberi was given a
trial, her attorney remained mute
while she fended for herself.
She was charged with eight
years in prison, but her case
made the headlines and received
international attention. The
Iranian government released her
on May 11, 2009 after a great deal
of external pressure by Saberi’s
supporters.
“It was so easy to drive away.
I started to cry. They were tears
of joy but also tears of sorrow,”
she said, describing her departure
from the prison. “Why was I
freed, I wondered, while all these
people stayed behind?”
Since then, Saberi has
committed herself to advancing
human rights and acts as the voice
for those who do not have one.
She reminded the audience that
the efforts of ordinary citizens
go a long way and encouraged
while these inherent liberties are
constantly being violated.
“We always hear about these
things but we don’t necessarily
hear it from the first person,”
Yoruk said. “So many people are
imprisoned in their countries, like
the Iranians, but don’t really get
a chance to communicate their
“I started to cry. They
were tears of joy but also
tears of sorrow.
Why was I freed, I
wondered, while all these
people stayed behind?”
Ivy Wang ’13, Assistant News Editor
Journalist Roxanna Saberi shares her message at a Madeline feelings or thoughts.”
Korbel Institute for Global Affairs talk about her life as a journalist Alex Stark ’10, a Madeleine
and what she learned while in captivity at Evin Prison. Albright fellow who introduced
Saberi, was also aroused by the
students and faculty to write Evin Prison. journalist’s encounters in Evin
letters expressing their concerns. Students and faculty alike Prison. A member of Wellesley’s
More information about human were touched by Saberi’s story. Amnesty International, Stark
rights issues can be found on her Irem Yoruk ’12 found Saberi to was pleased that members of the
website, www.roxanasaberi.com. be inspiring and was motivated community could hear from a
“Sometimes we’re faced with by her call for universal human former political prisoner.
challenges. It’s up to us to turn rights. Yoruk noted that the “I just thought her experience
them into opportunities,” she said, general public is inclined to take was so moving, and she was so
quoting a fellow female captive in basic rights for granted even poised and graceful when [she]
was talking about it. She must
have been incredibly brave,”
Stark said.
Even after her experience in
the most notorious prison in
Iran where many web bloggers,
academics and student activists
have also been taken captive—
and sometimes tortured or
executed—Saberi still holds dear
many memories of the country.
“I grew to love Iran and the
paradoxes in Iranian society,”
Saberi said, showing a slide in
which she and two other Iranians
are enjoying apple pie and ice
cream.
Saberi ended her presentation
by recounting the many freedoms
in her daily life. After living in
a tiny cell with a dysfunctional
toilet and a sealed window, Saberi
came to appreciate more than just
the liberties entailed in the Bill of
Rights. Along with the freedom
of speech and religion, she now
treasures the freedom to put her
head on a pillow as well as the
freedom to floss.
“In a way, prison for me was a
college because I learned many
lessons but it was not the lessons
my captors wanted me to learn,”
she said. For the first time in her
life, Saberi had felt injustice, but
she has transformed her ordeal
into a message that she now
shares with the rest of the world.

Nation & World

By DIELAI YANG’13
Staff Writer
NATION
Car Bomb sparks scare in Times Square
On Saturday evening, a crude car bomb of propane, gasoline and fireworks was
found in a smoking Nissan Pathfinder in the heart of Times Square in New York City.
Thousands of tourists and theatregoers were evacuated. There was no explosion.
Federal authorities said the incident appeared to be an isolated one, and that there
was no evidence of an ongoing threat to the city.
Advocates rally for change in Arizona Immigration Law
Thousands of demonstrators joined marches and rallies Saturdays in cities across the
country to protest the newly-passed anti-illegal immigrant law in Arizona, calling
on Congress to pass an immigration overhaul. The new Arizona law authorized the
police to question people about their status based on a suspicion that they might be
illegal immigrants, which advocates claim would lead to racial profiling and spread
fear in immigrant communities.
Oil spill options are evaluated
President Obama traveled to Louisiana on Sunday for a briefing on the Gulf of
Mexico oil spill, which was set off by an explosion on April 20. Federal officials said
they were putting their hopes on drilling a parallel relief well to plug the unabated
gusher. Drilling such a well could take three months. Strong winds and rough waters
have hampered cleanup efforts.
Obama defends government action in commencement speech
President Obama on Saturday directly confronted the sharpening political rancor in
Washington. In his speech, he told the graduating class at the University of Michigan
that the country needs a “basic level of civility in our public discourse” and gave a
defense of governemnt intervention at times of crisis.
WORLD
World Expo opens in Shanghai, China
Shanghai kicked off the 2010 World Expo on Friday evening with an extravagant
opening ceremony. The city has spent $45 billion, more than Beijing spent on the
2008 Olympics, to put on the Expo, aiming to attract 70 million visitors during the
six-month-long festival.
Greece reaches bailout deal with EU, IMF
Greece reached a historic deal with other Euro-zone countries and the International
Monetary Fund for a three-year, €110 billion ($146.5 billion) bailout. The EU
countries will lend as much as €30 billion this year. The price of the aid is a set
of searing measures to cut Greece’s budget gap, including slashing public-sector
wages, which have whipped up anger among Greeks who will be affected by the
new, more drastic measure.
Congo rebels killed scores in village
United Nations officials said Saturday that the Lord’s Resistance Army rebel
force killed up to 100 people in a previously unreported massacre in the remote
northeastern corner of Congo. The L.R.A. has been waging a brutal and bizarre
rebellion for more than 20 years, starting in northern Uganda in the late 1980s.
Arabs back indirect talks between Palestinians
Arab ministers on Saturday endorsed resuming indirect talks between Palestinians
and Israelis, formally resurrecting an American proposal that collapsed last month
after Israel announced plans to build new housing in East Jerusalem. But while the
Palestinians and the Arab ministers agreed to endorse peace talks that have been
stalled for more than a year, they did not give ground on the issue of settlements.
News compiled from New York Times and Wall Street Journal
THE Senate Report
By BETSY GRETHER ’11
Senate Reporter
Updates made to campus drug policy
Catherine Collins, director of health and education, and Don Leach,
administrative chair of the Alcohol and Drug Hearing Board, reported to Senate
on Monday about recent changes to the campus drug policy. The Alcohol and
Drug Hearing Board meets each year to review its policies. This year the drug
policy was reviewed; the alcohol policy will be reviewed next year. Changes
made this year to the drug policy include additional educational sanctions for
policy violators, a clarification on record keeping and the confidentiality of drug
violation records, and the elimination of the student position on the standing
committee that hears contestations to drug violations. Whenever a student is
charged with violation of the alcohol or drug policy, the student must accept or
contest the charge. If she accepts the charge, she receives disciplinary sanctions.
If she contests the charge, she goes before a hearing panel. There have been no
student contestations—and therefore no hearings—in over four years. Because
of this, the Alcohol and Drug Advisory Board has decided to eliminate the
position of the Student Organizations and Appointments Committee (SOAC)
nominated student on the hearing panel. By doing this the board will avoid
training and giving responsibilities to a student representative who will not have
the opportunity to act on those responsibilities. In the case that an alcohol or
drug violation is contested, an ad hoc committee will be formed with student
representation from the House President’s Council liaison, the Director of
On-Campus Affairs or another College Government member who does not have
a conflict of interest with regards to the case being presented.
Representatives from the Student Council to the Board of Trustees present to
Senate
Three students from the Student Council to the Board of Trustees (SCBT)
presented to Senate to report about their positions as SOAC appointed student
representatives on the Board of Trustees Admissions Committee, Finance
Committee and Investment Committee. The student representative on the
Admissions Committee works with trustees to discuss admissions policy,
outreach and attracting certain populations of students to Wellesley. This year
the committee discussed how to use the college’s newly formed collaboration
with Babson and Olin as an outreach tool. The student representative on the
Finance Committee works with trustees to review Wellesley’s operating budget
and ensure the financial stability of the school. Due to the recent economic crisis
Wellesley’s budget has decreased by 17 percent, a drop which is in line with the
budget decreases of similar institutions. The student representative from the
Investment Committee works with trustees to create an investment strategy for
the college and to examine endowment spending.
Open discussion: the year in review
Senators split up into groups during the Senate meeting on Monday to discuss
their perspectives on their time in Senate and to provide feedback to cabinet
members on how to improve the operation of Senate for the coming year.
Senators were satisfied with how efficiently Senate was run this year and that
Senate meetings were relatively brief. Senators reported that their constituents
enjoyed the resource of “Sixty Second Senate” to help inform students about
what occurs in Senate each week. The new week of events titled “Fall Frenzy”
was well-received by senators and students, though senators suggested that
cabinet members involve senators more in its planning. Senators also reported
enjoying the presentations by different student organizations throughout the year.
Criticisms of the past year included the lack of enforcement of the absences
policy for senators, the last minute execution of “Senators Projects” and the lack
of information given to students about the $10,000 Student Initiative.
May 5, 2010 NEWS 3
Students will learn MyWellesley portal beginning with SEQs
SEQs, from Front Page
the questions. Rudeness is never
appreciated, and rude comments
are easily dismissed. Honesty is
respected,” Lieberman added.
A memo from the Office of the
Dean of the College has been
released to class conferences with
additional information about the
new process. Starting on Monday
morning, an SEQ conference will
be available on students’ FirstClass
desktops and will be removed after
the May 10 deadline. Students
can reference the “Frequently
Asked Questions” section, which
serves to inform students of the
purpose of the evaluation, its
“Honest thoughtful
comments are important
when answering the
questions.“
uses and the procedures students
must follow. The conference will
also give students the opportunity
to communicate questions or
concerns. Students who fail to
complete their SEQs by Monday,
May 10 at 11 p.m. will be unable to
access their final grades on-line.
Students will access online evaluations through MyWellesley, the new Luminis portal, which is part of the new Web site.
Unprecedented number of campaign
violations overshadow recent elections
By ANA THAYER ’12 and MEHAR
NAJEEB ’12
News Editors
Although the campaign season has
ended and positions have been filled, the
large number of campaign violations in
the recent College Government elections
continues to be a point of concern for the
candidates and those involved with running
the election.
According to a source who asked to
remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of
the issue, “We are all wondering why there
were so many violations. The candidates
were all briefed before campaigning as
usual and it was stressed how important it
was to remain fair during campaigning.”
Even though all candidates should have
been aware of the rules, it is possible that
maybe the rules were unclear or seemed
unimportant. “Most violations were cross-
posting] sending spam to more than one
conference at a time],” the source said.
“Perhaps it was because people did not
understand what [the rules] really [were].”
However, student candidates feel it might
be a problem with enforcement. “I thought
that the rules were well-intended but were
difficult to have good punishments for and
to keep track of,” Dana Lee ’13, who ran
for co-president of the class of 2013, said.
“Most violations were ignored and sort
of brushed off as not important. [I] know
there were many incidents reported but no
punishment was given.”
Co-president for the class of 2013
Charlotte Kiang ’13 agrees with Lee and
Police Blotter
4/27/10 Larceny from Buildings. report a beer keg and cart were stolen
feels that people knew the rules but with
10:11 a.m. Wang Campus Center. sometime between Saturday, April
little to no enforcement, the rules were not
The RP, a WC student, entered the 24 and Sunday, April 25. An officer
followed.
office to report the theft of her cell responded to speak with the RP. After
“I think a lot of the problems in College phone. An officer was dispatched. conducting a brief investigation, the
Government and Class Council elections
Report filed. Case closed. officer located the beer keg and the
were that there were rules in place, but
4/29/10 Unclassified. 3:29 p.m. cart. Report filed. Case closed.
a lot of people were afraid to stick to
Miscellaneous Locations. The RP, a 5/1/10 Suspicious Person. 1:06
them,” Kiang said. “After three violations,
WC Davis Scholar alumna, entered a.m. Lake House. The RP, a WCPD
candidates get disqualified, but they didn’t
the office to report she believes officer, reported observing two
want to offend candidates by disqualifying
surveillance-type bugs were placed unescorted males enter Lake House.
them.”
on and in her vehicle. An officer was The officer located and identified
With harsh punishment for those who
dispatched to speak with the RP and both parties. The WC student they
broke the rules and few contestants
investigate. The officer inspected were visiting was contacted and met
running to begin with, enforcement might
the RP’s vehicle and could find no with the officer. Report filed. Case
have been more lax than in previous years.
evidence indicating any surveillance closed.
However, perhaps the system of violations
bugs were placed in or on her vehicle. 5/1/10 Vehicle Accident with
should be changed to be more subjective.
Report filed. Case closed. Property Damage. 4:31 p.m. Davis
“Fundamentally, the whole system where
4/29/10 Ambulance Call. 5:34 p.m. Parking Facility. The RP, a WC
candidates are supposed to be on the watch
McAfee Hall. The RP, a WC student, visitor, entered the station to report
for other candidates’ violations [should be
called to report a fellow WC student damage to her motor vehicle. An
reconsidered] because [it seems like] they
was not feeling well. An officer was officer was dispatched to investigate.
are trying to make others look bad,” Kiang
dispatched to assist. Upon arrival, Report filed. Case closed.
said. “There should be an overseeing
the officer requested WFD and AMR 5/1/10 Injury. 9:25 p.m. ZA House.
body instead of candidates trying to make
medics to respond. The student The RP, a WC student, called to report
other people mess up. I also don’t think
was transported, via ambulance, to another student fell and suffered an
it’s their [the elections committee’s] fault.
MetroWest Medical Center in Natick. injury. An officer was dispatched to
It’s a fundamental problem that should be
Report filed. Case closed. assist. The officer transported the
fixed.”
4/29/10 Larceny from Buildings. student to the MetroWest Hospital in
Considering the problems with this past
7:11 p.m. Wang Campus Center. The Natick. Report filed. Case closed.
campaign season, candidates will likely
RP, a WC staff member, entered the 5/2/10 Illness. 2:28 p.m. Davis
see major changes to the system in the
station to report missing equipment Museum. The RP, a WC visitor,
coming election season.
from the LWC kitchen. An officer called to request a building admit
“For the next elections committee,
was dispatched to speak with the so her companion, who was feeling
perhaps [we should] stress further to the
RP. Report filed. Case under weak, could get a glass of water.
candidates [the rules] before campaigning.
investigation. An officer was dispatched and he
Go through each violation in detail. And
4/29/10 Larceny from Buildings. provided the woman with water. She
now there is a precedent of what will
8:31 p.m. Wang Campus Center. The refused medical attention. Report
happen after three violations, things are
more concrete,” the source concluded. RP, a WC staff member, called to filed. Case closed.
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