Aily Erald: Students Fall Short of Sex Expectations
Aily Erald: Students Fall Short of Sex Expectations
Aily Erald: Students Fall Short of Sex Expectations
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Daily
By Nicole FriedmaN Senior editor
the Brown
Herald
Since 1891
Mission drift?
Part 1 of a 4-part series
About 20 students and faculty members met on the Main Green at 10 a.m. yesterday in a walk-out supporting the Occupy movement at
The University mission statement grew out of its charter, a document bold enough to create a governance structure for a school with no home, professors or students. The motley crew of New England Baptists and in-
Though Henry Wriston championed Browns identity as a university-college, Ruth Simmons has departed from that model and pursued rapid expansion.
Local schools fund struggles for money Writer combines fiction and city & state history
By morgaN JohNsoN Senior Staff Writer By sahil luthra Senior Staff Writer
Ha Jins rule for writing is straightforward: Make the story interesting. Applying that rule is more complicated. The author whose real name is Jin Xuefei but who has, per Chinese tradition, adopted a pen name spoke to a crowd of nearly 100 last night in Martinos Auditorium as part of the Year of China. Jin read from his latest novel, Nanjing Requiem, and described his writing process. For Jin, inspiration hit after he arrived in the U.S. as a graduate student. Though he had learned about the Rape of Nanjing when he lived in China, the role of Westerners had been downplayed. One historical figure in particular Minnie Vautrin, an American missionary who served as the dean of Jinling Womens College captured his attention. Vautrin played a key role in establishing a refugee camp at the college, and Jin decided to make her the focus of his novel. But the road to writing the novel was not easy. Jin, a profescontinued on page 3
Two years after becoming the first black president of an Ivy League university, President Ruth Simmons appointed a committee to investigate the Universitys formative ties to the Atlantic slave trade. In 2007, responding to the report submitted by the Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice, which singled out the Universitys need to address enduring inequalities in public education due to racial segregation, Brown committed to raising a permanent endowment
in the amount of $10 million to establish a Fund for the Education of the Children of Providence. As Simmons prepares to step down this June, efforts to raise money
for the fund that bears her unmistakable imprint have stalled, sidelined by other development projects in a difficult fundraising climate. The funds current value of $1.26 million has not grown since 2009 and lags far behind its original $10 million goal. The funds largest grant payout
of $118,000 more than half of the $222,320 awarded in total was used to purchase Texas Instruments calculators for public school math classrooms in 2009. Members of the committee that oversees the fund said the companys relationship with Simmons, who currently sits on its board, allowed the fund to take advantage of a steep discount on the calculators. The steering committee designated providing financial support for local schools particularly important given the troubled state of the Provicontinued on page 3
How many sexual partners have you had so far this semester?
Despite the widespread attention Brown has garnered as the home of the infamous SexPowerGod party, the University is less sexually freewheeling than its reputation suggests. Poll results reveal Brunonians
36.4 percent have had one. A small percentage 9.3 percent had two partners this fall and an even smaller percentage 5.3 percent had three to five. Meanwhile, 44.5 percent of college students nationwide had one sexual partner and 29.2 percent had none in the year spanning spring 2010 to spring 2011, according to the American College Health Associations National College Health Assessment. The polls findings are consistent with the estimates made by Health Education, a division of Health Services , said Naomi Ninneman, health continued on page 5
Kyle McNamara / Herald
inside
No charter
a proposed academy stirs local controversy
city & state, 8
weather
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tomorrow
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2 Campus news
C ALENdAR
TODAY 4 P.m. How to Find an Internship, CareerLAB Library 8 P.m. Special Events Committees Candy Land, Sayles Hall 8 P.m. Sex and the MTV Culture, Wilson Hall 101 NOVEmbER 29 TOmORROW 5:30 P.m. Panel on Summer Research Opportunities, Petteruti Lounge NOVEmbER 30 By NeelkiraN YalamarthY Contributing Writer
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The well-worn phrase university-college was first used to describe Brown in the early 20th century. But it was Wriston who truly enshrined the term in his 1948 presidential report to the Corporation. A university-college is an institution which puts primary emphasis upon the liberal arts, bringing to their cultivation the library, laboratories and personnel resources of a university, he wrote. Its central business remains the increase of knowledge, the inculcation of wisdom, the refinement of emotional responses and the development of spiritual awareness. The University still alludes to the concept, boasting that Brown
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The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is an independent newspaper serving the Brown University community daily since 1891. It is published Monday through Friday during the academic year, excluding vacations, once during Commencement, once during Orientation and once in July by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Single copy free for each member of the community. POSTMASTER please send corrections to P.O. Box 2538, Providence, RI 02906. Periodicals postage paid at Providence, R.I. Subscription prices: $280 one year daily, $140 one semester daily. Copyright 2011 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.
uniquely combines the intimacy of an undergraduate residential college with the academic opportunities and prestige of a major research university. But Wristons definition of a university-college does not match Browns profile today. Wriston criticized schools that taught technical or professional skills for failing to prepare students for the questions and demands they would face in the world. He used the term vital necessity more than once in his report to describe the liberal arts, which he considered essential for students, society and the University. The value placed on the liberal arts was reinforced this year with the newly launched Humanities Initiative. But the schools focus on professional training has grown and will continue to do so with planned masters programs in areas such as business analytics and health care management. Against the tendency to allow the liberal arts to occupy a secondary position Brown has been almost uniquely emphatic, Wriston wrote. Brown, for example, is one of very few members of the Association of American Universities which incorporates even engineering education within the liberal arts college instead of segregating it in a separate school. Today, he could not make such as a boast. In 2010, the University approved the separation of engineering into its own school. Wriston also criticized educational empires so vast as to be beyond the control of their faculties and beyond the comprehension of their boards of management or their administrative officers. But the University has continued to expand into the Jewelry District of Providence, the graduate schools of Europe and Asia and the web of online education. As it outgrows its traditional borders, geographical and otherwise, it comes more to resemble the model Wriston consciously rejected. In 1969, the New Curriculum redefined Brown. Its shadow still looms large over campus, and it continued on page 4
the Brown degree
edIToRIAl
BuSINeSS
Campus news 3
After the funds grants are awarded, committee members ask schools to follow up with the fund once the money is spent. The fund committee asks schools for information on how the money has been allocated, Joukowsky said. In his opinion, some schools have not adequately acknowledged the University or the fund committee for the grants. But the Paul Cuffee School invited fund committee members to observe students using the equipment purchased with grant money. Seeing their investment is one of the most delightful parts of this, Karahalis said of the visit. Some of the committee members hope to invite a wider range of Providence schools to apply for grants in the future. Joan Sorensen 72 P06 P06, a Corporation member and member of the fund committee, said limited funding has prevented the fund from accepting applications from innercity Providence private schools, where many students cannot pay full tuition. Sorensen hopes the funds close ties to the Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice, an important part of Simmons legacy at Brown, will aid fundraising efforts. This committee was her baby, Sorensen said. She suggested at the last Corporation meeting that the University donate to the fund on Simmons behalf as a way to acknowledge her dedication to it. We havent done that with some of our other presidents, Sorensen said. Ruth is a different story.
4 Mission Drift?
continued from page 2 largely defines Browns national reputation. Yet more than 40 years after its educational principles passed a faculty vote, the New Curriculum hardly works as its founders envisioned. Modes of Thought courses were a central component of the New Curriculum, designed to be co-taught by professors from multiple departments and offered in such plenitude as to comprise the majority of firstyear courses. But they quickly died out and have been replaced by the less multi-departmental and interdisciplinary First-Year Seminars. And the principles of the New Curriculum have come under attack from students who request pluses and minuses as transcript-boosters, administrators who strengthen course prerequisites and faculty members who disregard undergraduate advising. Brown is defined by its innovative curriculum, which brought it into the national spotlight and attracted the bright applicants who made it a top-ranked institution. But the Brown degrees connotations and prestige are changing as Simmons PAE goals continue to unfold. The University announced plans to launch professional masters degree programs in 2013, which would involve little on-campus learning and could be taught exclusively by adjunct faculty members without permanent appointments. With these programs in place, a Brown diploma would no longer signify that the graduate studied under Brown faculty or was held to world-class academic standards. Such curricular changes have been tried and abandoned before. Former President Francis Wayland launched his New System in 1850 to expand Browns offerings to students who were more interested in professional advancement than four-year liberal arts degrees. By 1856, the loosened requirements and three-year bachelors of philosophy program had lowered the Universitys academic standing. ThenPresident Barnas Sears 1825 wrote to the Corporation, No college has ever resorted to extra measures in order to facilitate the acquisition of academic honors without incurring the ridicule and contempt of other colleges. We are flooded by a class of young men of little solidity or earnestness of character, who resort to this college not so much for the sake of sound learning as for the sake of cheap honors. We are now literally receiving the refuse of other liberal arts and non-pre-professional coursework. As Browns educational values conflict with its search for new revenue streams, its operations take it farther afield from the principles of the university-college and the New Curriculum. The PAE is essential for the Universitys survival as a top institution, Simmons told The Herald. I think when I first started, and I went to the Corporation and said that I didnt think that the current model that were on is sustainable, a lot of people just couldnt fathom that because it feels perfectly fine right now, said Simmons, who was
more money, more programs
browns mission Statement The mission of Brown University is to serve the community, the nation and the world by discovering, communicating and preserving knowledge and understanding in a spirit of free inquiry, and by educating and preparing students to discharge the offices of life with usefulness and reputation. we do this through a partnership of students and teachers in a unified community known as a university-college.
colleges. By 1876, the Corporation had increased requirements and added a year to the bachelors of philosophy curriculum. The University has a long history of continuing education, beginning with its offering of courses for the public in 1890. The professional masters programs now offer more opportunities for the University to extend the Brown education beyond the ivory tower of those privileged enough to gain admission and afford tuition. But when the Office of Continuing Education plans to open degree-granting courses taught by non-University faculty, a Brown degree is no longer associated with president of Smith College and an administrator at Princeton before heading to College Hill. Its only if you are out and about in the rest of the world, seeing what our peers are doing, that you come to understand how much Brown would be falling behind, she said. But the PAE requires money for everything from hiring professors to adding academic programs to continuing construction, and the University is constantly seeking new sources of revenue to continue to fund growth. But at times it seems money, rather than academics, has become the end in itself. The orientation toward money can be read in the names of campus newest buildings. Older edifices are named after former presidents or even beloved faculty, such as Professor of History and Political Economy Jeremiah Lewis Diman 1851. But the newest, biggest buildings all bear the names of donors: the Perry and Marty Granoff Center for the Creative Arts, the Stephen Robert 62 Campus Center and the soonto-open Jonathan Nelson Fitness Center, Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center and David Zucconi 55 Varsity Strength and Conditioning Center. Masters programs, which increase tuition income but not financial aid costs, have proliferated over the past 10 years. The University awarded masters degrees in 38 programs in 1991, 39 programs in 2001 and 53 programs in 2011, according to the Office of the Registrar. The expansion of the engineering division into a separate school has allowed for increased investment in the program, both in the form of new faculty hires and external grants. An enlarged engineering program will bring corporate partnerships and research funds to the University, but such revenue could come at the loss of Browns reputation as a true liberal arts university. And if the proposed engineering building is located off main campus in the Jewelry District, undergraduate students will ficult. Major University decisions have historically included extensive community involvement, committee evaluations and multiple reports. The New Curriculum, for example, started as a Group Independent Study Project before traveling through committee assessment, widespread discussion and a faculty vote. The 1967 Advisory Committee on Student Conduct loosened curfews and liquor rules, the 1969 Special Committee on Educational Principles recommended the New Curriculum and the 1969 Pembroke Study Committee inspired the merge of Pembroke College and Brown. But the era of influential committees is over. All three of those historic committees included administrators and students but were chaired by faculty. The Universitys more recent high-profile committees the Committee on ROTC, the Athletics Review Committee and the Committee on Tenure and Faculty Development Policies have all been chaired by administrators. The ROTC committee, despite much fanfare, precipitated no major shifts, and the athletics committee saw its most important recommendation, the cutting of varsity teams, rejected. Student activism has changed as well. In a Herald faculty poll conducted this semester, 57.4 percent of respondents and 82.6 percent of those who have worked at Brown more than 20 years indicated that student activism has decreased since they were undergraduates. While campus activism has not died, it is far less widespread. While 500 rallied in 1969 in support of the New Curriculum, only 15 undergraduates attended a recent forum on the ongoing presidential search. The four-year model, in which the student body sees a 25 percent turnover each year, lends itself to weak institutional memory among undergraduates. The debate over adding pluses and minuses to the
grading system, which seized campus in 2006, is forgotten today. And ongoing discussions over the Reserve Officers Training Corps could be lost to memory by the time the class of 2019 enters the Van Wickle Gates. Simmons told The Herald she is not concerned if students do not engage with broad institutional shifts. The impact of the PAE, she said, will be appreciated by alums who benefit from the Universitys increased prestige after graduating. The same students who dont notice it today because theyre here, and theyre absorbed in their studies and their activities will care about it a good deal when they leave Brown, Simmons said. There are certain things that happen within our University that are of greater interest to faculty and administration and to some extent to alumni than to students. With limited resources and ambitious goals, the University constantly faces tough decisions about how to best allocate money. We have to be careful stewards of those resources, said Provost Mark Schlissel P15 in August. For me, its very important not to make the wrong trade-off between doing lots of things sort-of and doing a smaller number of things really well. The mission itself, while lofty, does not directly determine these choices: The task of aligning Browns means and mission is left to each generation of leadership, guided by two-way dialogue from the top down and the bottom up. The mission, like the Constitution, must be interpreted in each generation anew, but its written in a way thats broad and ambitious and aspirational, that can meet each generations interpretation, said Schlissel, who has a copy of the mission statement hanging over his desk in University Hall. As the University prepares to bid farewell to a visionary president and to select a new leader, the mission again comes to the forefront as the most prominent and permanent statement of Browns identity and purpose. The remainder of this series takes stock of the past decade and provides a snapshot of the institution as it now stands. It will compare institutional decision-making in the 1970s to that of the present day, analyze the role of Browns peers in shaping its identity and examine the extent to which the need for money shapes, and may distort, University priorities. The presidential search process makes this series especially timely, but the questions raised in these articles have been, and will continue to be, debated within and beyond The Heralds pages. We feel that institutional selfstudy must be a very important part of the activity at the institution, wrote the authors of the MagazinerMaxwell report, which first proposed the New Curriculum. The questions of what, how and why raised in the process of self-examination, as well as by the use of institutional selfstudy, will accent the need for human relevance in education.
a call for self-study
tablish a school in Cranston, but the application was rejected by the Rhode Island Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education in September. Another application to open a school in Providence has been submitted and currently awaits consideration by the Board of Regents. The Rhode Island Department of Education has scheduled public hearings on the application for Dec. 7 and 8. If this proposal was deemed not good enough for Cranston about two months ago, then why should we believe its good enough for Providence today? Wall asked. The application has garnered the support of the Providence School Board, but Wall said he does not believe the approval of the school board, appointed by the mayor, constitutes support of the policy. The protesters suggested the government focus its energy on fixing existing public schools. Its a badly injured system, said Victoria Ruiz, a member of the Olneyville Neighborhood Association. Protester Jean Link, whose daughter attends Charles N. Fortes Elementary School, carried a poster covered with photos that depicted the schools dilapidated state and extended the governor a personal invitation to visit her daughters school. We dont take care of our schools, she said. As a taxpayer, I want my money to go to my public school.
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Fraternity of Evil | Eshan Mitra, Brendan Hainline and Hector Ramirez
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6 editorial
EdITORIAL
Embracing experiential diversity
Browns effort to diversify the student body should be about more than just race, religion and ethnicity. It should emphasize finding students with as varied life experiences as possible. This holistic diversity will foster the formation of more rounded, inclusive classes and more fully reflect American society. According to The Herald, President Ruth Simmons sent 11,000 letters encouraging prospective minority applicants to apply last year. We applaud this effort to increase minority applicants and recommend that similar engagement be made with prospective veteran applicants. The millions of current and former members of the armed forces are strikingly underrepresented on campus. Just six of the more than 6,000 undergraduates are veterans. Brown should increase its efforts to recruit veterans. (There are more than 300,000 veterans and veterans dependents enrolled in institutions of higher education, according to the New York Times). We have previously registered our concern about Browns isolation from the military, which is disproportionately poor and southern. Increasing veterans enrollment will help to bridge this divide. Veterans contribution to the campus community is obvious. Their perspectives offer classmates and professors valuable insight into the unique experience of serving in the military. Undoubtedly, a discussion on the impact of the Iraq War on civilian populations would be enriched by the insights of a student who has served in Fallujah. A public lecture critical of drone airstrikes in the Afghanistan-Pakistan tribal region would benefit from a veterans experience coming under fire from Pakistan. David Salsone 12.5 previously told The Herald, We, as veterans, add to classroom discussion. We bring a different perspective. Veterans have frankly seen and done far more than many undergraduates, some of whom are just 17 years old. As our community reflects on our relationship with the Department of Defense and Reserve Officer Training Corps, as we learn about our countrys military history and our current involvements around the world, it is vital that we increase military perspectives on campus to add to these academic and intellectual conversations. Increasing veterans recruitment will also serve other diversity objectives. Service members often come from socioeconomic backgrounds less advantaged than those of typical Brown students. Currently, Brown lacks an effective program to recruit veterans. Besides a sparse webpage, Brown does little to attract veteran applicants. Chaney Harrison 11.5 said, Brown is simply not doing a good job of attracting student veterans. Other schools, most prominently Columbia, do much more. Columbia, which has 210 veterans enrolled, specifically recruits veterans. According to the New York Times, it targets veterans, both active-duty and students, even sending admissions officers to military bases. Though Columbia is a special case its school of general studies is specifically designed for non-traditional students its recognition of the importance of veterans on campus, and its success in attracting them, speaks to the potential for Brown to substantially increase the number of veterans enrolled. editorials are written by The heralds editorial page board. Send comments to [email protected].
EdITORIAL CARTOON
by lo r e n f u lto n
CORREC TION
A headline in Mondays Herald (Senior brings dance to abandoned mall, Nov. 28) incorrectly identified choreographer Elise Nuding 11 as a senior. In fact, she is an alum. The Herald regrets the error.
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opinions 7
It is this constant pressure to succeed as success becomes less of a means to happy, fulfilling lives than an end in itself that drives young people, not so different from us, to pay as much as $2,500 to have someone sit for a standardized test in their stead. While very few Brown students may have done something that drastic, many do go through the trouble of illegally purchasing Adderall to fuel all-night paper writing sessions, and others benignly copy friends answers on homework they have more so would he be in an introductory biology course? It is impossible to fully remove the pressure to cheat, but universities could do a better job of reducing the incentives. Browns Admissions Offices website already makes perfectly clear that mere quantitative credentials dont adequately explain admission decisions. The website goes on to explain that the Universitys approach looks at the quality of the applicant as a whole, not just their scores on standardized testing. haps by knocking the SAT off its pedestal, the craziness surrounding it will die down. If high schoolers were reassured that a so-so SAT score is not the end of the world and that one out-of-this-world score does not make up for years of slipshod work there would be less incentive to cheat. Even without cheating, the amount of money families spend on SAT preparatory classes and tutoring often thousands of dollars is absurd and distorts the SAT as a means to compare students between different socioeconomic statuses. Ultimately, all the focus on getting good SAT scores accomplishes is to diminish the tests value as a tool in helping colleges find the strongest students, since the affluent can, sometimes literally, buy good test scores for themselves. In light of the current cheating scandal, it is important that the College Board review its practices to make it more difficult to impersonate someone else to take the SAT. But since no amount of security will prevent cheating, the best we can hope for is to reduce the incentive. Beginning this endeavor will not be easy, but it starts by creating a culture that does not let our grade point averages or standardized test scores define who we truly are. Ethan Tobias 12 is a biology concentrator from Long Island, N.y. He can be reached at [email protected].
If high schoolers were reassured that a so-so SAT score is not the end of the world and one out-of-this-world score does not make up for years of slipshod work there would be less incentive to cheat.
not yet finished. And when that upperclassman friend just happens to mention that he has some old tests saved from that really hard chemistry class, it is hard to resist taking a peek. The problem is that an individual cannot cheat his way through life, and it is better to recognize limits earlier rather than later. What were the Long Island students going to do when their stellar SAT scores earned them fraudulent entry into a top school? If a student is willing to cheat just to get in the front door, how much In fact, students who received perfect marks on one of the SAT sections still had barely more than a 20 percent acceptance rate for admission to the class of 2015. If the University wanted to accept only students with perfect SAT scores, it could easily do so. Instead, it makes seeking out candidates with diverse strengths a priority. Other institutions should follow Browns lead and announce that SAT scores are merely one facet in a toolbox of ways they can evaluate candidates. Per-
Many students, especially first-years, simply are not in the position to handle full academic freedom.
as an excuse to take easy or comfortable classes instead of challenging ones. Firstyears who lack college experience and a deep appreciation for a broad-based education cannot always be expected to take a wide range of classes on their own initiative. Many students, my first-year self included, would benefit from some curriculum requirements that forced them to sample new disciplines. In hindsight, I realize that
most students who abuse this complete freedom upon arrival learn to handle it in a more enriching way as they spend more semesters here. Yet I would still argue that some students leave Brown without a proper understanding of the most beneficial way to handle the New Curriculum. Instead of using it as an opportunity for a wide range of intellectual exploration, they use it as an excuse to avoid challenging and unfamiliar courses and subject areas.
Aileen daniels 12 led the Bears to win the dead River Company Classic title.
W. bASkETbALL
Over Thanksgiving break, the womens basketball team traveled to Orono, Maine and captured the Dead River Company Classic title. The Bears (3-3) defeated Evansville 55-47 Friday evening and then took down the tournaments host team, the University of Maine, 61-59 in an overtime nail-biter to win the tournament. Head Coach Jean Burr said the Bears entered the tournament really anxious to do well after a 6449 loss to Bryant last Tuesday. The first half of Brunos opener against the Evansville Purple Aces (1-4) was a back-and-forth affair the score was tied six times in the first 20 minutes of play. Cocaptain Hannah Passafuime 12 netted a jumper right before the halftime buzzer, sending the teams to the locker room deadlocked at 26. We were on the attack mode, Burr said. And you could really see it. After the break, the Evansville squad surged ahead with a 13-4 run to go up 39-30, its biggest lead of the night. Lindsay Nickel 13 began Brunos charge back, scoring a jumper and a three-pointer to narrow the deficit to four at the 11:10 mark. Propelled by Nickels initiative, Bruno fought back to tie the game at 44 with six minutes of play remaining. The teams remained close until the one-minute mark, when Passafuime and guard Sheila Dixon 13 went on the attack. Their combined seven points in the last minute put the Bears on top at the end of the game and sent them to the final round of the tournament. Co-captains Aileen Daniels 12 and Passafuime were the high scorers of the night, netting 17 points apiece. Passafuime went six for 12 from the field, including two of three from three-point range. The seniors fight and determination was really evident, Burr said. They had a lot of hustle.
The next day, the Bears had to face the tournament hosts on their territory. It was a hard-fought battle on their home court, Burr said. We knew we had the chips against us going into the game. Despite the unfriendly environment, the Bears started off hot, taking a five-point lead in the first three minutes. The Bears continued to dominate, going up 19-10 with seven minutes remaining in the first half. But the Black Bears (2-3) did not back down, going on a 14-8 run to cut the deficit to three at the halftime mark. Bruno was able to build its lead back up to seven with 12 minutes remaining, but that would be the last time the Bears could sit comfortably. The Black Bears inched closer, but with the help of back-to-back three-pointers from Nickel, Bruno was able to go up by six with 1:50 remaining in the second half. Nickel really stepped up this weekend, Burr said. There was an air of determination there. But in the last 90 seconds, Brown missed four free-throw opportunities and with 19 seconds remaining, Maine guard Ashleigh Roberts put in a layup to tie the game at 56. After several missed opportunities from both squads, the teams went into overtime. In extra time, just one player from each team scored. Corinne Wellington put in a jump shot and a free throw for the Black Bears, but point guard Lauren Clarke 14 outscored Wellington, putting up five points to give the Bears the 61-59 win and the title. Daniels was named the tournament MVP with 29 tournament points and a combined 13 rebounds. Passafuime was given All-Tournament Team honors after netting 25 points and 16 rebounds in the two games. The Bears will return to the Pizzitola Center to face Fairfield Wednesday evening at 5 p.m. and will then host the Brown Bear Classic this weekend.
The mens basketball team fell below the .500 mark Sunday night, losing to Sacred Heart 77-64 after dropping three of its four matchups in the National Invitation Tournament Season Tip-Off. The squad (3-4) lost its first three games of the tournament falling to Albany 77-68, Manhattan 54-52 and George Mason 74-48 before toppling Monmouth 79-71 in its final game in the consolation bracket. The week before the Bears defeated Hartford 59-52. Stephen Albrecht 12.5 had a breakthrough performance against the Monmouth Hawks (0-6), leading the team with 22 points on eight of 13 shooting from the field, including four of eight from threepoint range. Sean McGonagill 14 added 18 points and eight assists, while Andrew McCarthy 13 and co-captain Matt Sullivan 13 contributed 13 points apiece. The Bears unleashed an impressive shooting display, connecting on 61.2 percent of shots from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc as a team. It was an honor to be invited to play in the most prestigious annual tournament, said Head Coach Jesse Agel. We competed really, really well, and we had a chance to win those other three games. After their victory against Monmouth, the Bears traveled to Connecticut to face Sacred Heart (4-3), losing a game that was closer than the final score indicated. Despite falling behind by as many as 15 points in the first half, Bruno battled back to cut the Pioneers lead to eight at halftime. The Bears stormed out of the gate in the second half, grabbing a three-point advantage with just over 10 minutes remaining. But Sacred Heart responded with a 13-1 run and held on to the lead for the remainder of the game. For the second straight game, Albrecht was the Bears leading scorer, finishing with a careerhigh 23 points. Albrecht who
Sean McGonagill 14 led the mens team through seven games in scoring, assists and steals.
was forced to sit out last season after transferring from the University of Toledo connected on eight of 17 shots from the field and six of 12 from beyond the arc. His six three-pointers rank 10th-best in school history. Stephen had his second great offensive performance, and he is beginning to show himself as a really good player, Agel said. Hes been injured, so he had a really short window of opportunity to practice and get back. Im absolutely amazed at what he has been able to do without getting the repetitions that one would need to be at the top of his game. Albrechts recent emergence as a scoring threat has also reduced the pressure on his teammates. Im always looking for guys on the perimeter when I drive from the wing, so me and him working together was really helpful, said McGonagill, the teams point guard. He took advantage of open shots and knocked them down, so he really stepped up and gave us a big burst of energy throughout the game.
Several players on the young Brown squad have been forced to take on a larger scoring role in the absence of the teams leading scorer, co-captain Tucker Halpern 13. The squad has also been plagued by other injury and eligibility issues. Whatever can go wrong has gone wrong, Agel said. I give our guys an unbelievable amount of credit to keep battling and not using it as an excuse at all. The Bears face an arduous stretch in their next three games they challenge the University of Rhode Island Wednesday and then visit the University of Iowa and Providence College. Browns history against URI and Providence in the last 10 years has not been one of success, Agel said. But to go out to Iowa is a great chance for us to get to the Midwest, where some of our guys played. Iowa will be a new experience, McGonagill, a native of Brookfield, Ill., said, but I think it will be nice for some of us Midwest guys because we get to see our family and a few friends.
Roughly 30 members of various neighborhood and education groups gathered at the State House Monday morning to protest the proposed Providence mayoral academy. The charter school would be operated by Achievement First, a nonprofit organization that runs 20 academies in New York and Connecticut. After a brief press conference in the lobby of the capitol building, the protesters proceeded to the office of Gov. Lincoln Chafee 75 P14. The protesters who said they were there to contest the notion that broad community support exists for the school called for the rejection of Achieve-
ment Firsts application and renewed support for Providences existing public schools. The group presented the governors secretary with a letter signed by seven City Council members and 21 Providence-based coalitions. Achievement First is the worst kind of corporately funded topdown school reform, said Sam
You make a choice of either supporting public education for all our children or corporate education for a few of our children, said Kevin Jackson, Providence city councilman for Ward 3. The answer is not to take resources from the many to provide the alleged benefit to the few, said Kathy Crain, former president of the Providence School Board. Admission to the mayoral academy would be determined by a lottery if applications submitted by interested parents outnumbered spots at the school. Ellie Wyatt, a retired public school teacher and member of the Coalition to Defend Public Education, said the application continued on page 5