The

College
Hill
5 RHODE ISLAND’S TOP DEMOCRATS THE CONUNDRUM OF DIGITAL ARTWORK 12
9 REALLY CRAZY ANIMALS PUNK CONCERT GONE WILD 13
 The
College
Hill Independent
contents
2
NEWS
4
METRO
7
FEATURES
11
ARTS
F A L L 2010
MANAGING EDITORS Katie Jennings,
5BSBI
,OBSFTCPSP
&MJ
4DINJUU
t
/&84

Ashton Strait, Emma Whitford, Jonah
2 |WEEK IN REVIEW 4 |RI SCHOOL REFORM 7 |HURRICANES 11 |TRICKY GAUGIN
8PMG
t
.&530
(FPSHF
8BSOFS
4JNPO

3 |LABOR FIGHT 5 |RI PRIMARY ELEC- 8 |OIL IN LOUISIANA 1 2 |DIGITAL ARCHIVES WBO
;VZMFO8PPE
t
01*/*0/
.JNJ

TIONS 9 |THE NÜ ANIMAL 1 3 |PUNK SHIT %XZFS
#SJBO
+VEHF
t
'&"563&4
"MJDF

Hines, Natalie Jablonski, Marguerite

14
OP/ED
15
SPORTS
16
SCIENCE
17
LITERARY
1SFTUPO
"ESJBO
3BOEBMM
t
"354
+PSEBO

$BSUFS
"MFY
$PSSJHBO
&SJL
'POU
t

4$*
&/$&
,BUJF
%FMBOFZ
/VQVS
4ISJEIBS
t

LITERARY Rebekah Bergman, Charlotte
14 |TREECUTTER 1 5 |PILOT PEN TENNIS 16 |WHILE U WERE OUT 17 |U + ME = US $SPXF
t
9
1"(&
,BUJF
(VJ
t
-*45

4JN
one Landon, Erin Schikowski, Dayna
5PSUPSJDJ
t
%&4*(/
&NJMZ
'JTINBO
-JBU

18
X PAGE
8FSCFS
3BDIFM
8FYMFS
+PBOOB
;IBOH
t

*--6453"5*0/4
&NJMZ
.BSUJO
3PCFSU

4BOEMFS
t
$07&3
&%*503
&NJMZ
.BSUJO

t
.&("
103/
45"3
3BQIBFMB
-JQJO
STOCKHOLM 01/10 TLZ
t
4&/*03
&%*5034
.BSHP
*SWJO

Simone Landon, Erin Schikowski, Emily
Segal, Dayna Tortorici

from the editors

Computers can regularly crush Grandmasters at chess with maddening ease. They can surpass trained radiologists in flagging
.71
,BUJF
%FMBOFZ
$07&3
"35
&NJMZ
.BSUJO

The College Hill Independent

PO Box 1930
#SPXO
6OJWFSTJUZ
images that mean potential harm to a patient. They can analyze your genes. They can predict your cause of death.
Providence, RI 02912
As human capacity to understand ourselves grows, so too does our potential to mimic and improve upon our abilities. Hu-
theindy@gmail.com
man 2.0. But some technology falls startlingly behind. We can’t, for example, create a robot that adequately imitates human
motion. We half try to solve the problem and half relish in the humanity we have left—we can’t be bested at everything just
Letters to the editor are welcome dis-
yet, the complexity that is us is too abstract, too unique to be modeled.
tractions. The College Hill
But sleep with one eye open. Coming to a sci-fi nightmare near you is ROCR, a little robot weighing in at just over a pound—
Independent is published weekly dur-
and he can climb walls at over six inches per second, with better efficiency than a standard car engine. “It mimics a gibbon
ing the fall and spring
swinging through the trees and a grandfather clock’s pendulum,” said William Provancher, the robot’s developer.
semesters and is printed by TCI Press in
The breakthrough represents a huge advance in robot motor ability, and scientists predict the technology will soon be
Seekonk, MA.
implemented as a means for inspection and maintenance of buildings. Or perhaps spy missions. For now, it’s just a fun toy, but
tomorrow it’s another lost point in the battle between human and computer. Our specialness fixed in formaldehyde, preserved
in a jar, slowly disintegrating.

Humility is this semester’s first lesson.

-TAK

as if you care... ephemera

I am fuck, sex, and shag. The six things I could never do without
sex and rock
My Self-Summary
i love swaping dirty pics n talking dirty I spend a lot of time thinking about
and fucking poeple sex

What I’m doing with my life On a typical Friday night I am

shaging my life away fucking some1

I’m really good at You should message me if

fucking if u are very DIRTY

The first things people usually notice

about me
my cock

My favorite books, movies, music, and

GPPE
pornos
THEINDY.ORG
Week in Review
R . I . P. O E D
Much to the dismay of English professors the
world over, the Oxford English Dictionary
(OED) joined a long line of extinct reference
books last week at the age of 126. Its publish-
ers recently announced that the third edition
of the beloved reference book will never be is-
sued in print. The official cause of death has
been cited as the disappearance of the print
dictionary market, though the OED has never
made a profit, due to the millions of dollars a
year in research required for its survival.
The OED had a long and storied life. Since
its inception, the OED had been the defini-
tive record of the English language, with over
291,500 entries in its 20 volumes. It was con-
DFJWFE
CZ
0YGPSE
6OJWFSTJUZ
1SFTT
BOE
UIF
ë
STU

installment was published in 1884. The entire
first edition wasn’t completed until 1928. It
was then updated for the next 61 years before
the second edition was printed in 1989.
The third edition was expected to be com-
pleted in 2037. But the premature death was
not unexpected, as sales for print dictionaries
all over the world have been falling dramatical-
ly for years. The OED is survived by its younger
sibling, the Oxford Dictionary of English, a
single-volume version that is more commonly
VTFE
'FBS
OPU
BDDFTT
UP
UIJT
CFMPWFE
UPNF

will not be lost forever. It’s final resting place
will be the internet, where subscribers can pay
a yearly access fee and where it can achieve
completion of its third edition in peace, away
from the sticky-fingered students and hungry
moths of this cruel world.
P OT O F G O L D
The International Beatles Week Festival in Liv-
erpool ended on August 31, leaving thousands
of Beatles fans from all over the globe to return
home to a world where the Fab Four are now
only a tired two. However, one lucky Beatles
enthusiast will go home with a timeless me-
NFOUP
GSPN
UIF
GFTUJWBM
+PIO
-FOOPOT
UPJMFU

The blue and white porcelain fixture sold for
£9,500 ($14,740). After all, in this day and age
what better investment is there than a hunk of
porcelain that touched the bare ass of one of
the greatest musicians of all time?
The toilet, the sale of which was organized
by the Beatles Shop in Liverpool as part of the
festival, was found in the shed of builder John
Hancock. Hancock took the toilet from Len-
non’s home in Berkshire, England, where the
Beatle lived from 1969 to 1971, after Lennon
had it replaced. Hancock kept the toilet for 40
years until his death. Clearly he didn’t recog-
nize that he was sitting on a veritable pot of
gold.
Apparently, neither did the auction organiz-
ers. They had anticipated that the toilet would
fetch between £750 and £1,000. Anne-Marie
Trace, one of the organizers, could not say who
bought it, only that it was likely “going over-
seas.” Perhaps the better question is not who
bought it, but rather what they intend to do
with it. They ought to respect Lennon’s own
wishes that the men who took it “put some
flowers in it or something,” because really, can
$15,000 buy you a better vase?
2
News
By Ashton Strait
Illustration by Emily Martin
OH, CHUTE
A doctor from Bakersfield, California was found
dead inside her lover’s chimney on August 31.
The woman had been dead for three days when
the house-sitter noticed the stench and saw
fluids dripping into the fireplace. Dr. Jacquelyn
Kotarac had apparently been fighting with
her on-again, off-again boyfriend,
William Moodie, when she tried
to force her way, Grinch-like, into
his home. She did not slide down the
chimney with ease, instead becoming
lodged in the narrow flue. An autopsy
revealed the cause of death to be me-
chanical asphyxiation, i.e. suffocation
due to chest compression.
Kotarac, a respected internist whom
Moodie praised for generously providing
her patients with free treatment and medi-
cation, clearly could have been more gener-
ous with the self-medication. Kotarac chose
to climb a ladder and try to break into her
boyfriend’s house through the chimney,
though in her defense she only did it
after her first attempt to break in
with a shovel failed. Moodie had
already left the house to avoid
altercation when Kotarac got
lodged approximately two
feet above the fireplace.
Moodie commented,
“she had her issues, she
had her demons, but I never
lost my respect for her.” Not
even after firefighters spent five
hours dismantling the chimney brick
by brick to remove Dr. Kotarac’s body.
The next time you’re on the roof pining
after your lover, do your local chimney
sweep and yourself a favor and make like
a bird, not like Santa.
N E V E R B E E R A LO N E
College students have a new reason to
party hearty this semester. A recent
paper in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical
and Experimental Research has found that non-
drinkers have shorter life spans than even those
who drink heavily. Researchers found that over
a 20-year period, mortality rates were highest
for non-drinkers, followed by heavy drinkers,
with moderate drinkers living the longest. Many
studies have shown similar results, but failed to
factor in variables that researchers believe may
affect life span and correlate to drinking habits,
such as mental health, socioeconomic status,
number of friends, etc.
One possible explanation the researchers
provide for this phenomenon is that alcohol
lubricates social interactions. Perhaps accord-
ingly, people who choose not to consume alco-
hol show higher rates of depression than peo-
ple who do. Shotgunning a beer with your frat
brothers could be good for both your mental
and physical health—but really, who needs an
excuse?
3 S E P T E M B E R 9 , 2 010 T H E C O L L E G E H I L L I N D E P E N D E N T
NEWS

A More Perfect Union

California Workers Vote on the

Future of American Labor
By Emma Whitford, Illustration by Carolyn Shasha

T
he YouTube foot- permit unionization--accusations that Lisa Engels has been a medical assis- but we could never repay them.” Engels
age is jarring. prompted his resignation in April of this tant at Kaiser Roseville for 13 years. For herself talks to workers in every depart-
“Shut the fuck year. Sal Rosselli, a union steward in Cali- the first eight years of her union involve- ment of the hospital daily about the
up, you fucking fornia, began to criticize Stern’s focus on ment, Engels was a shop steward for /6)8T
QMBOT

XIJDI
JODMVEF
UIF
QSJ
asshole!” yells a expansion soon after taking control of 6OJUFE
)FBMUI
8PSLFST
8FTU
6)8


B
oritizing of the local voice and affordable
woman in a pur- 4&*6T
6OJUFE
)FBMUIDBSF
8PSLFST
8FTU

SFHJPOBM
Pê
TIPPU
PG
4&*6
4IF
CFHBO
UP
health care for all members. She stakes
ple jacket, knock- In a 2008 letter to Mr. Stern, Rosselli RVFTUJPO
IFS
BMMFHJBODF
UP
6)8
XIFO
out the cafeteria during lunch breaks,
ing the camera mourned that “an overzealous focus on TIF
TBX
6)8
MPTJOH
JUT
JOì
VFODF
"G and does phone banking after hours.
to the cafeteria growth—growth at any cost, apparently ter the trusteeship scandal, Engels also
ì
PPS
i&TUVQJEPT
7FUF
B
MB
NJFSEB
w
NVU ‰IBT
FDMJQTFE
4&*6T
DPNNJUNFOU
UP
TXJUDIFE
UP
/6)8 THE FINAL PUSH
ters a man in a t-shirt, letting the eleva- its members.” The last 18 months have not been 4&*6
IBT
UIF
GVOEJOH
UP
IJSF
IVOESFET

tor doors cut him off from other purple- In 2008, Rosselli established a patient easy for Engels. “This has been the most of last-minute representatives in the
clad workers. On February 25th of this education fund that he kept out of the depressing time in my whole career. They weeks leading up to the election. Engels
year, members of the Service Employees larger union’s control. A California judge haven’t done one positive thing for Kai- explains, “They plan to bring another
*OUFSOBUJPO
6OJPO
4&*6

EJTSVQUFE
B
deemed the fund illegal, and Stern re- ser. They are supposed to have our backs, 1,000 people to California this week-
group of healthcare workers meeting in placed Rosselli and his colleagues with but every agreement has been a draw- end, coming from all over. They are hir-
the cafeteria of Garden Grove Hospital unelected trustees on January 29th. CBDLw
0OF
CZMBX
QBTTFE
CZ
4&*6
IBT
ing people through a temp agency. Some
in Garden Grove, California to discuss Sadie Crabtree, the current commu- barred local leadership from bargaining QFPQMF
IBWF
POMZ
CFFO
XPSLJOH
GPS
4&*6

VOJPO
Bï

MJBUJPO
0OF
/BUJPOBM
6OJPO
PG
OJDBUJPOT
EJSFDUPS
PG
/6)8

MFGU
4&*6
at the table during contract negotiations for a few months. They are only in it for
)FBMUIDBSF
8PSLFST
/6)8

WPMVOUFFS
during the trustee scandal. She explains, with Kaiser. The result is a disconnect the paycheck, and they’ll say anything
managed to capture a few minutes of ob- “Trusteeship is like declaring Martial between the workers themselves and to get paid.” In contrast, “We don’t have
scenities before the camera was knocked Law. The union members don’t get to UIF
VOJPO
UIBU
SFQSFTFOUT
UIFN

4&*6
the raw numbers. Conversation is our
out of his hands. vote, and all of the people they elected has also neglected to fight for affordable best weapon. When people sit down
Six months later, tempers are still are gone. Because of the weakness of IFBMUIDBSF
GPS
IPTQJUBM
XPSLFST
6OEFS
with us and have a conversation, they
running high in healthcare facilities. federal labor law this is an acceptable UIF
TVQQPTFE
XBUDI
PG
4&*6

,BJTFS
IBT
VOEFSTUBOE
UIBU
4&*6
IBT
CFFO
MZJOHw
There are two colors being heatedly dis- thing to do.” The displaced organizers es- managed to amend workers’ retirement In Roseville, Engels is happy to report
cussed at Kaiser Foundation hospitals in UBCMJTIFE
UIF
SJWBM
/6)8
EBZT
MBUFS
VO packages, pushing the age for early re- UIBU
UIF
6/)8
SFQSFTFOUBUJWFT
IBWF
FT
$BMJGPSOJB‰SFE
GPS
UIF
VQTUBSU
/6)8
der Rosselli’s leadership. Since January tirement from 55 years old up to 62. tablished themselves securely and have
BOE
QVSQMF
GPS
UIF
4&*6
/6)8
JT
DIBM 

/6)8
IBT
SFDSVJUFE
KVTU
VOEFS

4&*6T
FMFDUJPO
UBDUJDT
BMTP
IBWF
staked claim on the hospital cafeteria.
MFOHJOH
UIF
NBOEBUF
PG
4&*6‰PS

BT
6,000 members. The 45,000 members /6)8
SFQSFTFOUBUJWFT
VQ
JO
BSNT
iɥ
FSF
BSF
UISFF
PS
GPVS
4&*6
TUFXBSET

they are known, the “purple ocean.” On at stake in next week’s election, if affili- Crabtree argues that claims made by the in OBGYN who put on a big show and
September 13 all Kaiser employees now BUFE
XJUI
/6)8

DPVME
QPTF
B
UISFBU
UP
4&*6
JO
SFHBSE
UP
GVUVSF
DPOUSBDUT
BSF
blow themselves up to be more than
SFQSFTFOUFE
CZ
4&*6
XJMM
WPUF
GPS
PS
4&*6T
EPNJOBODF
JO
IFBMUIDBSF
PSHBOJ unsupported by evidence. Rather than they are. But people know. I get feed-
BHBJOTU
B
TXJUDI
UP
/6)8 zation. presenting Kaiser workers with a plan back from them—‘We don’t trust them,
This dispute between unions comes UP
JODSFBTF
UIFJS
CFOFë
UT

4&*6
QVUT
and we’re tired of them being here all
at a time when thousands of healthcare W H AT ’ S O N T H E TA B L E its energy into scaring workers. It has the time.” She acknowledges that other
workers in California are lacking basic The approaching election for Kaiser made the claim that healthcare work- shops have not been so unanimous.
rights in the workplace—among them employees has been a long time com- ers will lose their entire contract with Many hospitals have turned into red and
affordable healthcare and reasonable ing.  According to national labor laws, a ,BJTFS
JG
UIFZ
TXJUDI
UP
/6)8
$SBC QVSQMF
CBUUMF
[POFT

JO
XIJDI
4&*6
BOE

retirement packages. However, all griev- union shop is only eligible for election tree explains, “They are trying to make 6/)8
SFQSFTFOUBUJWFT
WJF
GPS
DPOUSPM
PG

BODFT
IBWF
CFFO
QVU
PO
IPME
XIJMF
4&*6
for one 30-day period every three years. switching unions a hostile topic. It’s cafeterias for organizational purposes.
CBUUMFT
XJUI
/6)8
PWFS
IFBMUIDBSF
It is difficult to determine when this not about changing minds, it’s about Some union shops have decided that a
XPSLFS
SFQSFTFOUBUJPO
/6)8
BSHVFT
30-day period falls because workers can making people scared, making them CSFBL
GSPN
4&*6
JT
OPU
XPSUI
CFJOH
JO

that while growth of the union is impor- only inquire with the labor board once think that they don’t have a choice.” conflict with a powerful national union.
tant, it should never take a back seat to they have collected 30% of all signatures Even though intimidation works on “I think the vote will be closer than we
cultivating the local voice. in their shop. When Kaiser healthcare some level, Engels is optimistic. “In ar- want it to be, but every day our support
Today only 7.5 percent of private-sec- workers applied for an election a year eas where we have strong leaders there grows. We go into places where we don’t
tor workers belong to unions. Between and a half ago, the labor board informed JT

TVQQPSU
GPS
/6)8w
ɥ
FSF
BSF
have much presence and we hear, ‘Oh,
1998 and 2008, under the leadership of them that they would not be eligible un- also plenty of organizers eager to help thank god you’re here!’ It’s taken us so
"OEZ
4UFSO

4&*6
XBT
UIF
POMZ
VOJPO
JO
til the fall of 2010. /6)8
EFTQJUF
MJUUMF
DPNQFOTBUJPO
long to get to this point that people are
America experiencing growth-- 800,000 Crabtree insists that in this election, “The people who are sacrificing the most excited for it to be over. I think people
members over the course of a decade. “workers’ control over their jobs is at are the people that have been with us are ready for a change.”
Stern came out of an era when the Amer- stake.” Members of the union “only have all along—the ones who didn’t sup-
ican labor movement was facing declin- UIF
QSPUFDUJPO
UIBU
4&*6
JT
XJMMJOH
UP
QPSU
UIF
4&*6
UBLFPWFS
BOE
BSF
XPSL EMMA WHITFORD B’12 stakes out
ing membership, and his ability to in- HJWF
UIFNw
3JHIU
OPX

4&*6
JT
UIF
CBS ing for free; who moved back in with the cafeteria during lunch breaks.
crease membership gained him respect. gaining force determining workers’ ben- their parents to work for nothing for
However, Stern was also accused efits, working conditions, terms for early months on end. We’ve done what we
of compromising with corporations to retirement, and health insurance. can to pay for organizers to be with us,
THEINDY.ORG
The Teachers Are Back!
Central Falls High School (CFHS) was
the source of considerable media at-
tention when Superintendent Frances
Gallo announced that every teacher
would be fired come the school year’s
end. Because CFHS had fallen into the
lowest five percent of consistently low-
performing schools, Gallo was compelled
to choose one reform model among the
four set forth by Arne Duncan, President
Obama’s Secretary of Education. With
limited time and a teacher’s union that
forcefully objected to the changes she
proposed—including a longer school
day, a formalized tutoring schedule, two
weeks of professional development, and
the implementation of more rigorous
teacher evaluations—Gallo chose this
last-resort model.
In mid-May, however, Gallo and the
local American Federation of Teachers
(AFT) reached an agreement whereby all
teachers would be rehired—on the con-
dition that certain changes be made at
the school. After last spring’s uproar—
the hate mail, impassioned student dem-
onstrations, and teachers’ anger toward
President Obama for supporting the
firings—teachers and students have re-

TBJE
i0VS
HPBM
JT
UP
HFU
FWFSZ
In mid-March, a CFHS teacher hung an
turned to CFHS, anxious and optimistic.
With an agreement reached and the lay-
offs avoided, many of the reforms Gallo
proposed in February are now being im-
plemented at the high school. And edu-
cators nationwide are watching carefully
to see how Arne Duncan’s reform agenda
plays out in the smallest city of the coun-
try’s smallest state.
In mid-August Gallo submitted a $2 mil-
lion School Reform Plan—to be funded
not by Race to the Top, but by the state’s
School Improvement Grants—to the

-B1MBOUF
SFì
FDUFE
i:PV
DBO
GFFM

Rhode Island Department of Education.
She and her leadership team have also
appointed two new co-principals and

XPSL
UPXBSE
UIBU
HPBM

portunities for these students, but you
a High School Transformation Officer,
conducted two weeks of professional de-
velopment for teachers, and brought in
speakers to discuss how other schools

UIJT
BUUJUVEF

that have used the transformation mod-
el successfully.
The new leadership team is confident
that any lingering bitterness will dis-
sipate as the School Reform Plan takes
hold, and that student achievement will
improve. However, if the plan is deemed
unsuccessful by State Commissioner
of Education Deborah Gist, the school
could be reconstituted—that is, closed
entirely.
Finding teachers willing to criticize
these reform efforts is difficult—per-
haps because the changes are extensive,
or perhaps because they are still worried
about their jobs. Nonetheless, embrac-
ing the reforms appears to be the only

their students are facing outside the
option teachers have. Joshua LaPlante,
a science teacher at CFHS who helped
advise the leadership team in drawing
up the School Reform Plan, said, “what’s
happening in Central Falls, it’s going to
draw this definite line. You’re either go-
ing to embrace the change, or you’re re-
ally going to stand out alone.”
N O -­ N O N S E N S E R E FO R M
The School Reform Plan calls for top-
4
Metro
Reform Efforts at Central Falls High School
By Erin Schikowski
down restructuring. This year, three ad- Photo by John Fisher
ministrators will share the work usually
done by one principal—which should some families to provide their children
make it easier for the school district to with a consistent education. In 2006,
hold each accountable for reaching dif- for example, the number of new trans-
ferent, very specific goals. fer students and leaving students to-
One administrator will deal with day- gether comprised about one third of the
to-day tasks including facilities upkeep, total student population. Bill Holland,
the budget, the master calendar, human who served as the Central Falls Interim ing to increase the graduation rate from
resources, and transportation, thereby Superintendent from 2006 to 2007, ex- 48 percent to 80 percent over the same
“protecting” the two co-principals’ time plains in his new book, A School in Trou- period of time.
from operational duties. One co-princi- ble, that families are constantly moving During the professional development
pal will manage curriculum development into and out of the area in search of work week held in August, workshop leaders
and assessment in all areas of academic and affordable housing. impressed upon teachers the importance
study—no small task at a high school in Holland also noted that “nobody of incorporating student data—that is,
which a mere seven percent of eleventh knows exactly how many people live in actively tracking individual students’
graders were deemed proficient in math, Central Falls. What we do know is that progress and learning patterns—into
and only 65 percent were proficient in the 2000 figures are not accurate. The their teaching methodology. Deloris
reading. The other co-principal will de- city’s chief of police believes that there Grant, who teaches English and drama
vote himself exclusively to the school’s are over twenty-five thousand residents at CFHS, said of the professional devel-
climate and culture, which has long been in the city, acknowledging that many are opment weeks, “I think they’re basically
criticized as one in which teachers do undocumented immigrants.” The official trying to set us up for evaluation. Every-
not push their students to excel. This co- 2000 Census data underestimates that thing we do is surrounding that. They’ll
principal will also coordinate parent out- number by about 6,000 individuals. be bringing in people from the outside….
reach and work toward aligning student They’re prepping us.”
guidance and advising programs. THE PRESSURE IS ON
But the administrators are not the LaPlante, who has taught at CFHS for O P E N WO U N D S
only ones being held accountable. A con- ë
WF
ZFBST
sortium involving the AFT and several student college-ready. But what does Obama doll upside-down in effigy at the
core urban districts is currently working that mean in a community like this, front of his classroom; Gallo received
on a new teacher evaluation system for where they don’t always go home to hate mail in which the author wished
all Rhode Island schools. Instead of wait- educated parents or libraries of books cancer upon her family; and according to
ing for those plans to solidify, however, or computer resources? Sometimes they Holland in A School in Trouble, the presi-
the CFHS administrators have instituted don’t go home to food, you know, so how dent of the AFT said “there was a ‘toxic’
a similar teacher evaluation system of do you take all the negativity in their relationship between the administration
their own, in effect immediately. lives and mold it and have students come and faculty unlike anything she had ever
Gallo hopes a more rigorous evalua- out looking at that as a way to motivate seen.”
tion system—which may eventually in- themselves?” How has the bitterness, distrust, and
clude student performance rates—will Having spent time visiting families embarrassment been addressed? One
precipitate a new school ethos, which at home over the course of the year, and UIJOH
TFFNT
PCWJPVT
UFBDIFST
XIP
TUJMM

she describes as having been unaccept- learning about their lives through those feel anxious and hurt cannot be expected
ably indifferent. She said, “For non- WJTJUT
to devote their full attention to the stu-
tenured staff, we had a good system. But as though you have the best understand- dents. Holland even went so far as to say
for tenured staff, it was simply a matter ing of what it means to create equal op- that teachers may still have reason to
PG
DSFBUF
B
HPBM
GFBS
GPS
UIFJS
KPCT
iɥ

PTF
UFBDIFST
XIP

and if you make it, you make it. If you really need to make the connection more do not reach the required proficiency lev-
don’t, you don’t. ‘So what?’ was the at- personally, with the students and their el, through whatever process they agree
titude toward evaluations at the end of families, to have them buy into the fact on, could be terminated. So it’s really a
UIF
ZFBSw
6OGPSUVOBUFMZ
that there is something more to what’s kind of delay from what they tried to do
was not limited to a small percentage of being taught in school.” in a compressed period of time last year.”
the teaching faculty (75 percent are cur- LaPlante also acknowledges the But Gallo, for one, believes the nec-
rently tenured). difference between a caring teacher- essary healing has occurred—particu-
student relationship and one in which larly during the first of two teachers’
W H AT T H E Y ’ R E U P teachers push their students to excel and professional development weeks. She
AG A I N S T achieve. In a 2007 instructional audit at said teachers have put the worst of last
Gallo, the administration, and teach- CFHS, education experts and veteran spring’s bitterness behind them and that
ers also hope the revamped schedule— urban teachers from around the country many teachers are excited by the chang-
which allows for more tutoring, a longer DPODMVEFE
i"
DVMUVSF
CBTFE
QSJNBSJMZ
es taking place. If anything, she said,
school day, and extra time for teachers to on caring is not enough. Where such a “We’re proving exactly what we set out to
meet and plan—will improve students’ culture dominates, neither teachers nor prove when we first met with the union
odds of success. However, the challenge students are challenged to improve nor JO
'FCSVBSZ
UIBU
UIF
UFBDIFST
XFSF


for CFHS extends beyond the school’s are they held to high expectations. Such percent behind the transformation. It
walls, as some students face formidable is the case in Central Falls High School.” wasn’t until the official union discussion
structural barriers to attaining an educa- Thus while teachers must understand took place that we lost ground. And that
tion. the structural barriers to education that is just unfortunate.”

"DDPSEJOH
UP
UIF

64
$FOTVT
When asked whether she believes
40.9 percent of Central Falls children classroom, they will also have to employ President Obama’s education reforms
aged eighteen and younger were living tough-love strategies in the classroom— came at the right time for Central Falls,
under the poverty line—about two and a and now more than ever since the pres- (BMMP
SFTQPOEFE
i8F
IBWF
BO
VSHFOU
SF
half times the state average. Considering sure is on to increase test scores by the sponsibility, and [not] enough people are
the child poverty rate increased by about end of the year. thinking because in a very short time,
nine percent between 1990 and 2000, The School Reform Plan’s academic we’re going to be relying on this next
and that there’s been a nation-wide re- targets are ambitious. The new leader- generation. If we’re failing over 50 per-
cession since, the forthcoming 2010 ship team hopes to increase math profi- cent of them, we’re in big trouble.”
Census data may be even more dismal. ciency from seven percent to 40 percent
The Central Falls population is also and reading proficiency from 65 percent ERIN SCHIKOWSKI B’11.5 is all about
highly transient, which makes it hard for to 85 percent by 2012. They are also hop- the tough-love.
5 S E P T E M B E R 9, 2010 T H E C O L L E G E H I L L I N D E P E N D E N T
Metro
Wide Open R aces
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood
Illustration by Charis Loke
O bama disapproval
ratings are near-
ing 50 percent,
and nationally,
Republicans are
polling anywhere
from 5-14 percent better than Demo-
crats. Whiz-kid political swamis like
Rasmussen and The Cook Political Re-
port project a Republican House take-
over and a slim Democratic majority in
the Senate. As the 2010 midterm elec-
tions draw near, Democrats are haunted
by bleak visions of 1994. Sixteen years
ago, with President Bill Clinton down in
the polls, Newt Gingrich’s Republican
army trampled Democratic majorities
in both chambers of Congress. Despite
accomplishing what Clinton’s 103rd
Congress could not, namely healthcare
reform, Democrats in Obama’s 111th
Congress will still be punished. It’s not
what they have done that will doom
them—it’s what they haven’t. With the
economy in the tank, many will use the
CBMMPU
BT
B
TJNQMF
SFGFSFOEVN
WPUF
SFE

for jobs, vote blue for no jobs. Brown
6OJWFSTJUZ
-FDUVSFS
JO
1PMJUJDBM
4DJFODF

Dr. Jeremy Johnson says, “The two most
important elements in determining the
vote in midterm elections are the inter-
related variables of presidential popular-
ity and the economy.”
Whether the overarching national
voter mood is anti-incumbent or merely
anti-Democrat, it isn’t likely to affect
Rhode Island’s blue state stranglehold.
Of the four highest-profile Ocean State
elections—Governor, Providence May-
PS

BOE
CPUI
64
)PVTF
TFBUT‰OPOF
GFB
ture a strong GOP candidate, and three
have no incumbent at all, with Congress-
man Jim Langevin (Dist-2) as the excep-
tion.
  In Rhode Island, it’s Democrats,
not Republicans who smell blood, and
they’re eager to capitalize on voter frus-
tration with a ‘broken’ Washington.
Statewide, 1,956 Democrats are running
for public office, 13% more than in 2008.
In the weeks preceding the September
14 primary elections, Democratic candi-
EBUFT
GPS
UIF
64
)PVTF
JO
UIF
'JSTU
$PO
gressional District have proudly adopted
the angry ‘outsider’ rhetoric that buoyed
the Tea Party all summer.  the Projo article yesterday?” Segal asks me with a big grin. “It
 
B R I N G I N G D OW N T H E H O U S E
Representative Patrick Kennedy is step-
ping down from the House this Janu-
ary after 16 years in office. There are
four Democrats vying to fill his seat in
Congress, which represents Northeast
3IPEF
*TMBOE
1SPWJEFODF
.BZPS
%BWJE

Cicilline B’83, former RI Democratic
Party Chairman Bill Lynch, plumbing
mogul Anthony Gemma, and State Rep-
resentative David Segal. Cicilline is the
presumed favorite.
DAV I D S E G A L
Segal and I meet at the aptly named Blue State Coffee, at the
top of Thayer Street. A nervous barista tells Segal he looks
like Ricky Ricardo, then turns down the music so I can better
interview Rhode Island’s Great Progressive Hope.
Over iced coffee, Segal and I discuss one of his campaign
ads, “Nobody’s Puppet.” In the television spot, a mechanic, a
doctor, and a hair stylist—all played by muppets—do things
the cheapskate way, thereby screwing over their clients.
  “Part of it’s a statement about the structures of Washing-
ton in general,” says Segal, who represents Providence in the
RI General Assembly. “Part of it is a more direct statement
about the corporate money the supposed corporate reformer
David Cicilline’s been taking.” Though the ad doesn’t make
this explicit, its quirky inaccessability is vintage Segal, who
can come across as distant and intellectual.
The “structures” in question are the federal government
taken hostage by the banks, the oil lobby, and the insurance
companies, among other corporate malefactors. Aware that
the current political climate is not necessarily a favorable one
for the far-left, Segal has channeled his rage against the ma-
chine ethos into  a series of well-timed attacks against Mayor
David Cicilline. According to Segal, “Cicilline claims he’s a
progressive, yet he’s taking money from coal, from nuclear…
from downtown developers in Providence [and] the Council
of Insurance Agents and Brokers, which opposed the public
option.”
  In an August 31 debate, the usually tepid Segal, getting
increasingly hot under the collar, used two of his wild-card
challenges to ask Cicilline if he’d give back donations from
a corporate nuclear energy Political Action Committee.
Cicilline coolly deflected the question, responding that one
returned donation wouldn’t solve the larger issues with
campaign finance rules. Cicilline has denounced the recent
$JUJ[FOT
6OJUFE
4VQSFNF
$PVSU
EFDJTJPO
UIBU
BMMPXT
QPMJUJDBM

campaigns to receive unlimited corporate funding.
 Segal’s biggest obstacle, however, isn’t Cicilline, it’s name
recognition. Segal’s consistent Huffington Post contributions
preach only to the choir, and his rising progressive star is not
well known outside of Providence
  Segal has racked up endorsements from major Rhode Is-
land teachers and heath care workers unions, as well Coun-
cil 94—the largest labor conglomerate in the state. With the
smallest war chest of the four candidates, however, Segal
doesn’t have the cash to blast the message across the state in
time for Tuesday.
He has had to adopt the underdog mentality. “Did you see
called me a willing monkey wrench who threw himself in the
workings of the political machine.”
Even the thirty-year old Segal, who has been in Rhode Island
politics for eight years, can’t resist an opportunity to distance
himself from the political scrum. “I’ve been in public office,
but you know, I’m the outsider’s insider.”
ANTHONY GEMMA
Anthony Gemma only joined the race in July and did not
make a good first impression on the voters of Rhode Is-
land’s first Congressional District. In his first televised
Congressional debate, Gemma repeatedly confused the
word trillion with million when discussing the national
budget deficit. He’s only been able to keep his eight week-
old political career afloat by loaning his own campaign
$300,000. Campaign manager Dan Mercer concedes that
this summer’s been a learning experience for Gemma,
who’s owned a plumbing company and a marketing com-
pany.
  “He’ll tell you it probably wasn’t his best public speak-
ing appearance…he got that one out of his system,” Mer-
cer says. “But he’s not a politician, he’s a businessman…he
doesn’t know the nitty gritty details of politics.”
Waiting for Gemma to return from a campaign engage-
ment in Pawtucket, I sit with Mercer and two other staff-
ers, Mike Giblin and Mike Mota, at Campaign Headquar-
ters on North Main Street, not far from the KFC. Dressed
in polo shirts, khaki shorts and Nikes, they fill in admira-
bly for Gemma, who arrives an hour late.
Giblin looks tired. The wears of running a relentless
chip-on-our-shoulder campaign are evident. “I only knew
it was Sunday today because the church parking lots were
full,” Giblin says. He sinks back into his swivel chair and
doesn’t say anything for the next hour.
Gemma, whose campaign slogan is “Enough is
Enough,’’ is running on the expectation that voters value
private over public sector experience. Mercer explains
Gemma’s decision to attempt the jump now.
  “When in Rhode Island is there a Congressional seat
without an incumbent?” Mercer says.
Mota jumps in. “Especially Patrick Kennedy’s seat!”
“Especially Patrick Kennedy’s seat,” Mercer says. “And
when in recent history have you ever seen such a frustra-
tion of the public with established politicians?”
“The whole country is suffering,” Mota says, striking
an emotional tone. “And who better to put people back
to work than Anthony Gemma? He’s the only candidate,
among all the candidates, who’s actually put people back
to work.”
  To Gemma, having zero political experience is a plus,
not just because he’s the well-respected owner of Gem-
Plumbing, but because, as Mota puts it, “He’s got no skel-
etons to hide.”
And it was skeletons, spooky or not, which ultimately
contributed to the defeat of established pols like Arlen
4QFDUFS
BOE
-JTB
.VSLPXTLJ
JO
SFDFOU
64
4FOBUF
QSJNB
ries.
It can be tricky, however, to locate Gemma’s specific,
positive messages amidst all his anti-establishment fire
and brimstone. Mercer likens Gemma to a monkey-
wrench, who lodges himself in the gears of the establish-
ment machine. Sounds familiar…
THEINDY.ORG
In primaries without in-­
cumbents RI Democrats
give it their gosh darndest

$JDJMMJOFT
QMVTFT
sized his “Head Start to Harvard” path—from
 
B I L L LY N C H
Bill Lynch has spent his summer railing
against “career politicians,” despite his 12-
year chairmanship of the RI Democratic Par-
ty. Lynch’s father Dennis was mayor of Paw-
tucket for a decade and his brother Patrick is
Rhode Island’s Attorney General.
Lynch’s campaign seems both short on
ideas and on energy, though I can’t know

NVDI

for sure, since his office did not return my
calls. Primaries typically have lower voter

GSBNF
BMM
SFTQPOTFT
UP
IJHIMJHIU
FYQFSJFODF

turnout than general elections, in part be-
cause people don’t remember they’re taking
place. In that respect, mobilizing one’s own
base to vote can be equally important as
getting one’s message out—something the
other candidates grasp. Segal seemed almost
bashful in describing the 10,000 call-a-night
“phone bombs” his field organizers routinely
put together. Cicilline’s exuberant campaign
manager Eric Hyers assured me that “no-
body is knocking on more doors than we are.”
Gemma even announced during a debate that
he had more LinkedIn friends than President
Obama. Lynch, by contrast, has 93 Twitter
followers and a lackluster website which of-


fers no campaign updates or specifics on is-
sues. While Cicilline’s site posts his calendar
-- five senior centers (where everybody votes)
in two days-- Lynch’s invites you to a barbe-
cue at a country club two weeks ago.
  Lynch may be hoping he can bypass the
young, internet-literate bloc altogether, and
draw from his base of old-guard Democrats,
familiar with the Lynch family name. His
television spot stars “Judy”, a 60-ish woman
in a velour tracksuit.
  Judy’s fed up with Lynch’s opponents,
seen in the ad auditioning for Congress on a
gameshow set. “Bahh.” She waves her hand at
the lot of ‘em. Lynch then appears in a cof-
feeshop and tells the camera he too is fed up
with career politicians, and issues three cam-
paign promises. He’ll fight to create jobs—
mentioning this whenever possible has be-
come a political necessity in Rhode Island
(fifth highest unemployment rate in country
at around 11.9%). He’ll fight to preserve so-
cial security (out of left field—an overture to
the older crowd). Finally, he unleashes his fa-
vorite talking point and ultimate anti-incum-
CFOU
UBDUJD
IFMM
ëHIU
UP
JOTUJUVUF
UFSN
MJNJUT

in Congress, “starting with my own.”
DAV I D C I C I L L I N E B ’ 8 3
If Segal- or Lynch-leaning voters end up choosing Cicilline on
Tuesday it may be for the same reason The Providence Phoenix
FOEPSTFE
IJN
i8IBUFWFS
IJT
TIPSUDPNJOHT
outweigh his minuses. He is right on the issues. He is a skilled
politician. And he has a national network of contacts that is not
to be underestimated.” In other words, the very political and cor-
porate connections his opponents decry will help him get things
done in Washington. Not that he’s necessarily worried about
those opponents. Cicilline has frontrunner money—$900,000
in cash as of second-quarter filings. Gemma, in second place,
had $181,000. Perhaps most importantly, he carries himself like
a frontrunner. On August 31 Cicilline’s people organized a “De-
bate Watching Party” in the basement of the restaurant Local
121 on Washington Street.
  The under-thirty set is poorly represented, save for volun-
teers and staffers, who pace in the back. The crowd chuckles
when Gemma stumbles, boos when Segal challenges Cicilline,
and talks among themselves when Lynch has the floor. Cicil-
line’s campaign manager Eric Hyers behaves like a trading-floor
jackal affixed to his BlackBerry and pumps his fist whenever his
man sticks home a good point. One candidate joked to me that
Cicilline’s team has a sort of “frat boy” vibe.
Cicilline’s strategy on the podium and in interviews is the
TBNF
JG
QPTTJCMF
to move out once centralized neighborhoods like
and successful initiatives as mayor of Providence. After the de-
bate, he comes directly to Local 121 to greet his supporters. In
a momentary pause from his friendly lap around the room, he
briskly walks my way, hand extended.
“You must be from The College Hill Independent.”
“Yes, how did you know?”
“You’re the only one here I don’t recognize.”
Later, by phone interview, he addresses Gemma and Segal’s
frustrations with him, namely that Gemma thinks he was a bad
mayor (bad economy, bad schools) and Segal thinks his pockets
are padded with corporate interest money. To the first point,
Cicilline talks uninterrupted for five minutes about each posi-
tive thing he’s done or attempted as mayor. The list is long. To
the second point, he sighs and says all the negativity is “unfor-
tunate.”
  “It’s nice to have ideas,” he says, referencing to the other can-
didates. “But ultimately it comes down to experience and getting
things done.”

*UT
UIF
GSPOUSVOOFST
QSJWJMFHF
UP
JHOPSF
DSJUJDJTN
IFT
EPFTOU

have as much to prove. Based on the experience and name recog-
nition he garnered at City Hall and in the state legislature, Cicil-
line is the de facto incumbent. After the debate, ABC6 political
BOBMZTU
BOE
GPSNFS
1SPWJEFODF
.BZPS
7JODFOU
i#VEEZw
$JBODJ

lauded Segal for his attacks on Cicilline, in what amounted to
an approving pat on the head. At Local 121, I egged Cicilline to
comment on Cianci’s well-documented bent against him. The
current mayor started and stopped a few times before leaning
back, smiling, and settling on “no comment.”
If Cicilline does win on September 14, his GOP challenger will
in all likelihood be John Loughin III, Rhode Island State Repre-
sentative and House Minority Whip. Now that the immovable
Patrick Kennedy is out of office, and the “Kennedy seat” up for
grabs, Loughlin may see a lot of GOP money and endorsements
from the national ranks, as Scott Brown did in Massachusetts.
A longtime local political reporter who wished to remain anony-
mous predicted that if Cicilline couldn’t win more than 35 per-
cent of the vote, a horde of salivating Republicans would storm
the state in an effort to paint another Kennedy seat red.
SIMON VAN ZUYLENWOOD B ‘11 conducted interviews
in a velour tracksuit.
6
Metro
THE BRAWL FOR
&,7<+$//¢
David Cicilline B’83, whether he wins or loses the
Congressional race, will no longer be mayor of
Providence come January. As in the race for Con-
gress, the winner of the Democratic mayoral pri-
mary is widely thought to be the purported winner
in the general election. There are no Republicans
running and Independent Jonathan Scott is a long
TIPU
ɥF
%FNPDSBUJD
DBOEJEBUFT
BSF
$JUZ
$PVODJM

President John Lombardi, State Representative
Steven Costantino, former Housing Court judge
Angel Tavares, and perennial rabble-rousing town
crier Christopher Young.
Tavares has never been elected to public office,
UIPVHI
IF
SBO
GPS
64
$POHSFTT
JO

ɥF
TPO

of Dominican immigrants, he has heavily empha-
poverty, through the ranks of Providence’s de-
crepit public education system. He ran a private
legal practice until Cicilline appointed him City
Housing Court Judge in 2007. Tavares says it
was always his dream to be a lawyer, ever since
he watched Jimmy Smits play a Hispanic lawyer
on LA Law. Wheninterviewed, Tavares repeats his
GBNJMJBS
SFGSBJO
i.Z
PQQPOFOUT
IBWF
CFFO
JO
QPMJ-
tics for 42 years, and haven’t solved our problems.
It’s time for a new voice and new leadership.”
 
Lombardi and Costantino both represent Fed-
eral Hill, one on the state level and one on the city
level. They each draw largely from the Italian/Irish
blue-collar base that once dominated Providence
politics. Lombardi rejects the notion that he’s com-
peting for an outdated Democratic machine vote,
and assures me he’s very close with Providence’s
CMBDL
DPNNVOJUZ
6OGPSUVOBUFMZ
GPS
IJN
of the poorer black community has been forced
the West End, due to foreclosure. In his law office
on Broadway, Lombardi says Tavares’s “outsider”
persona  is fraudulent, that he’s a Cicilline crony.
He says Tavares is likely to favor the same neigh-
borhoods Cicilline did, citing costly renovations to
the East Side’s Nathan Bishop Middle School. Ac-
cording to Lombardi, a well-respected pollster has
him and Tavares neck and neck, though the local
media haven’t given him much of a chance in the
primary.
 
Costantino has the edge over Lombardi in name
recognition and fundraising. Costantino chairs
the powerful House Finance Committee and his
GBNJMZ
PXOT
UIF
HSPDFSSFTUBVSBOU
7FOEB
3BWJPMJ
which has anchored Federal Hill for over 70 years.
Tavares has attacked him for cutting aid to schools
in order to close the state budget deficit, which
projects well over $300 million for 2011. Costanti-
no points out that this year, the state took in more
than it spent.
 
Young has not been utterly lacking in good ideas,
but several of his antics, all captured on camera,
have brought him fleeting internet fame. He was
dragged out of one debate when he wouldn’t relin-
RVJTI
IJT
UISFFGPPU
UBMM
TUBUVF
PG
UIF
7JSHJO
.BSZ

He concluded another debate by proposing to his
girlfriend. In a third, his microphone was shut off
when he challenged Tavares repeatedly on his Ca-
tholicism. His greatest PR stunt may have been
his appearance on a Rhode Island morning news
show, in which he sang a campaign song to the
melody of “Free Bird.”
Tavares appears to be the frontrunner. He’s a good
bet to win the largely Hispanic South Side and lib-
eral East Side. These growing neighborhoods are
the same ones Cicilline targeted in his 2002 victo-
ry. In a two-man race, one journalist told me, Tava-
res would lose to either candidate. In this election,
however, Lombardi and Costantino will likely split
the same votes and cancel each other out.
 7 S E P T E M B E R 9, 2 010 T H E C O L L E G E H I L L I N D E P E N D E N T
Features
Hurricane
Season
Earl Grey
By Marguerite Preston
The hurricane started out as a Category 5 and hit
land as a Category 3. It swept up the coast, leaving
hundreds of buildings destroyed and people displaced.
In the city, winds blew at 76 miles per hour; elsewhere
they reached up to 100. As one radio announcer re-
ported, “slate roofing and shingles flew like confetti.”
At a Boston airport, a grounded airliner was blown
across the field where it was parked and into a swamp.
The whole of New England was taking a beating.
But the most damage came with the flooding, and
the worst of all in Rhode Island. After the hurricane, a
tidal surge rose up and swept inland across the coastal
plain. Towns all along the shore were submerged, some
even washed away entirely. Low-lying Providence was
particularly vulnerable, and the waters rose to almost

*
XPLF
VQ
BU
ë
STU
MJHIU
BOE

fourteen feet above sea level. Downtown, people took
refuge in the top floors of office buildings, while else-
where others caught off guard clung to rooftops or
floating debris. The power went out, the phone lines
went down.
Then there was the looting. Abandoned stores with
windows broken by the heavy winds made easy targets,
and the city quickly fell into disorder. As witness David
Cornel De Jong described, “there were hordes, assist-
ing each other. They were brazen and insatiable; they
swarmed like rats; they took everything. When a few
policemen came past in a rowboat, they didn’t stop
their looting. They knew they outnumbered the police.”
The government dispatched the National Guard, to try
to maintain civility. The New York Times reported that
in Woonsocket, 25 National Guardsmen armed with
bayonets “restored order” to the young looters raiding

UIF
JTMBOET
fatty and tender and its skin like a spicy pork-flavored
jewelry and dress stores.
After the dud of a storm that was Hurricane Earl,
this might seem fantastic, like some worst-case scenar-
io dreamed up by the local news. But despite recent evi-
dence to the contrary, New England really can get real
hurricanes. This was the Great New England Hurricane
of 1938 (hurricanes weren’t given peoples’ names un-

BOE
.BMBZTJB
JO
 Hindu temples border Chinese clan houses on streets
til 1953). It was one of the worst hurricanes ever to
strike New England, and Rhode Island was the hard-
est hit. Of the approximately 600 people who died, al-
most half were from Rhode Island. Whole families and
even whole communities were swept away, and two
months later people were still reported missing. Since
then, only Hurricane Carol in 1954 has caused as much
flooding and destruction in Providence. The worst Earl
did was threaten to get in the way of Labor Day travel
plans and drench anyone unlucky enough to get caught
outside for that one half-hour, before turning into a
clear, perfect weekend.
Even if a hurricane ever does live up to the hype,
things will likely never be quite as bad as 1938 again.
Between 1960 and 1966 the city built the Fox Point
Hurricane Barrier, which spans the Providence River
with three large gates. When a hurricane (including
Earl last week) threatens, they can close these gates
and keep out any storm surges that might otherwise
submerge the low-lying city under several feet of water
So if you found yourself getting worked up about
Earl, rest assured. Even if a real hurricane ever does hit
Providence, it’ll never be quite like in these pictures.
And if after all the build-up, you felt like Hurricane Earl
(all twenty minutes of it) was a letdown, just take a trip
down to the Biltmore. They have a plaque marking the
high water level of the ’38 hurricane in their lobby.
Stand under it and imagine yourself underwater.
MARGUERITE PRESTON B’11 got caught in the
downpour.
When traveling, food acquires new significance. The
search for the next meal is a source of excitement and
anxiety, a risk that must be taken three times a day.
There is nothing more daring than ingesting part of
one’s strange smelling, strange looking surroundings
into your body. Sometimes it pays off, sometimes it
pays back. Yet because food is inextricably linked to
culture, it’s also the one of the most radical ways to di-
gest the craziness around you.
On a month-long trip through Malaysia and Indo-
nesia, I learned to forget about comfort. I ate mostly
from street vendors and food courts, more often than
not cooked expertly by men with missing teeth and
fingers. Many times, I could not pronounce what I was
eating or even describe its flavors. And almost always,
the risks were rewarded.
This region has been famous for its food since the
old world spice trade brought cinnamon, cloves, and
nutmeg to Europeans. Everyone, it seemed, wanted a
QJFDF
PG
UIF
QJF
PWFS
UIF
DPVSTF
PG
IJTUPSZ
of Java and Sumatra, Borneo, and the Malay peninsula
came under the power of many different religions amd
kingdoms, from Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam to
the Portuguese, Dutch, and British. Today, both coun-
tries are agglomerations of islands, ethnic groups, and
regions that were only recently brought together as
TJOHMF
TUBUFT
*OEPOFTJB
JO

While this isn’t a recipe for political stability, it has
yielded amazing food. European chefs, like fifteenth-
century explorers, still travel to places like Malacca, the
former hub of the colonial spice trade, to buy rare in-
gredients. In the last century, the large Southern Chi-
nese and South Indian populations who immigrated to
Malaysia under British rule to work on rubber planta-
tions and fishing boats have added new flavors to the
mix. Today, Chinese make up 26 percent of the popula-
tion, and Indians 8 percent. In most peninsular Malay-
sian cities, there is a Little India and a Chinese district,
with their own restaurants, food stalls, and markets.
The second I stepped out of my taxi in Jakarta, I
could smell nasi goreng being fried in carts along the
road. In both urban and rural areas, carts are the most
popular form of eatery. Several street food projects by
nonprofits in the early ’90s showed that in cities like
Bogor, Indonesia and Penang, Malaysia, up to 25 per-
cent of the laborers were involved somehow in the in-
dustry. They are cheap, mobile, delicious, and more hy-
gienic than a fresh-off-the-plane tourist would think.
In Malaysia, the government regulates licenses and
requires vendors to undergo health testing.
Nevertheless, it took me a week to risk it. By that
time, I had taken a 48-hour, non-air conditioned bus
ride across the island of Java, climbed the volcano
Gunung Bromo at sunrise, and stopped brushing my
teeth with bottled water. Culture and heat shock sub-
siding, I was ready for anything. When I finally arrived
in Bali, I felt fearless enough to rent a manual car and
Spices
and
Stomach
Viruses
A food diary of Indo-­
nesia and Malaysia
By Alice Hines
Illustration by Charis Loke
drive on the left side of narrow, bumpy roads into the
tropical forest center of the island.

0OF
NPSOJOH
JO
6CVE
walked alongside rice fields until I came to the daily
market. I arrived at six in the morning, when fami-
lies and chefs come to buy what they need for the day.
At the entrance, vendors sell the fuchsia and orange
flower Hindu offerings that dust the sidewalks of the
town. Inside, there are straw baskets of rich colored
powdered dye, picked peppers, fresh vegetables, small
pink pastries, and a hive of people weaving through the
small, makeshift aisles, bartering and chatting with
one another.
One stand attracted me—it served coffee and
breakfast rice along with babi gueling, or suckling pig.
Babi Gueling is a dish that’s unique to the island, whose
population is Hindu and pork-eating. On a whole, the
country is 86 percent Muslim. The tiny pig was the
size of football and roasted to a crisp. The meat was
cracker. Like everyone around me, I ate with my hands.
When I returned to the market in the afternoon, pig
fat still on my breath, the space had turned into a tour-
ist market, selling hippie chic earrings and souvenir
sarongs.
In Georgetown, on the island of Penang in Malaysia,
with names like “Queen” and “Church.” At one time it
was a British colonial port, and is now a food Mecca.
Fruit stands cluster together on street corners, pick-
le markets stretch down hidden alleyways, and food
courts with every kind of stall imaginable stay open
late into the night. My favorite was a Chinese food
court called Hong Kong Garden that I spotted from a
bus window. I chose the stalls with the longest lines
and ate what they gave me—dim sum pork buns (de-
licious) shark fin soup (strange, gooey, illegal) and
stuffed crab (the best I’ve ever had). When I was finally
satisfied, I sat and watched older couples dance to a live
band performing Elvis.
A few days later, back in the mega-metropolis of
Kuala Lumpur, the risk finally caught up to us. Or
at least to my friend, who caught a stomach bug and
couldn’t eat anything but bland, vegetarian food. For
almost a week, she nibbled only the fries at McDonalds
and the biscuits at KFC, while I wandered off to find
more fish-ball soup.
ALICE HINES B’11 still has pig fat on her breath
THEINDY.ORG
I
n June several friends and I
bicycled through Louisiana.
Headed for New Orleans,
we took the River Road from
Baton Rouge, snaking along
with the Mississippi on our
left. A couple miles outside
Donaldsonville, a sheriff
drove past us with his lights
on but no siren. He pulled
over in front of us, got out of his car and
said, “Did you folks happen to notice a

DPODFOUSBUFE
JOUP
B
TUSJQ
PG
MBOE
MFTT

fertilizer plant back there, pass by a cou-
ple of times?” Of course we had noticed
it. How could fail to notice a sprawling
behemoth of giant white tanks and pipes
and ramps and towers? The officer con-
UJOVFE
i%JE
POF
PG
ZPV
IBQQFO
UP
UBLF

a picture of that fertilizer plant?” We
looked at each other. My friend said,
“Yeah, I took a picture.” The officer told
him he needed to delete the picture be-
cause Homeland Security regulations
dictate that you can’t take pictures of
a petrochemical plant, can’t even stop
in the vicinity of one, shouldn’t really
even look too long at one, as a matter of
fact. Oh, we said, we didn’t know about
that. My friend deleted his picture. The
officer was pretty nice about it. Then he
requested our names and birthdates. We
gave them to him without protest. We
didn’t want any trouble.
Louisiana is the largest producer of
crude oil in the country, if you include
the offshore rigs on the Outer Continen-
tal Shelf. Three million barrels of oil are
refined here each day. Every few miles
along the River Road, we passed another
gargantuan refinery or chemical plant.
-JGF
JO
UIF
64
SFMJFT
PO
QFUSPDIFNJDBMT

oil involves dredging canals and cutting
and River Road is where they are made.
The signs on the plants read ExxonMo-
bil, Shell, ConocoPhillips. The list of
companies went on and on, their refiner-

XIJDI
UIF
64
the pockets of higher rates don’t show
ies and chemical plants dominating the
landscape.

MJWFE
JO
/FX
0SMFBOT
has the second highest poverty rate in
DIRTY MONEY
The recent BP disaster has highlighted
the risks and costs of the petroleum in-
dustry. But in reality, the burden of pe-
troleum has been borne by Louisianans
since 1901, when the first oil well was
drilled in the state. Texaco was one of
the first to capitalize on the oil reserves
in Louisiana, and from the beginning,
many locals resented the company’s
presence. In a series of oral histories col-
MFDUFE
CZ
UIF
64
%FQBSUNFOU
PG
UIF
*O
terior, residents of the coastal commu-
The Big
Greasy
A voy
ag
of the e to the Oi
United lC
States apital
by Nata
lie Jablo
n ski, Illu
stration
nities of Golden Meadows and Leeville Most of Louisiana’s oil, gas and
describe the mixed blessing of Texaco’s chemical industry is centered along an
arrival. Chester Charmie recounted the 80 mile stretch of road between Baton
poverty that plagued the region which Rouge and New Orleans. The road that
depended almost entirely on fishing and my friends and I biked along is officially
USBQQJOH
VOUJM
UIF
T
i1FPQMF
IBE
OP
referred to as the Industrial Corridor—
money. They had no money.” Texaco of- or, more popularly, ‘Cancer Alley.’ One
fered wages up to four times higher than hundred fifty-six petrochemical plants
what the average fisherman could make. line the corridor, producing 129 million
Pershing Lefort recounted how without pounds of toxins each year. That’s six
the oil money, “We would have stayed percent of what is produced in the entire
poor forever.” 64
collect $4.5 out of $6 billion in fines as-
Money poured in as more companies than a hundred miles long.
entered the market. Royalties and sever- Louisiana has the second highest
ance taxes on the oil companies brought SBUF
PG
DBODFS
JO
UIF
64
*U
BMTP
SFë
OFT

in state revenue for schools and other three million barrels of oil each day and
public services, in an unprecedented produces one quarter of the nation’s
stream of income. Offshore drilling be- petrochemicals, second only to Texas.
gan in 1947 and brought even more It is difficult to prove a link between
profits. In the 1970s, oil and gas were re- human health problems and prevalence
sponsible for nearly 40 percent of state of industrial plants, but the connection
revenue, and at its peak in 1982, gener- seems clear in the minds of many resi-
ated nearly $100 million in taxes. Ac- dents of ‘Cancer Alley.’ A 1994 article by
cording to an industry study, the oil and The Nation reported that unreasonable
gas industry and the supporting busi- numbers of rare cancers like neuroblas-
nesses currently generate 320,000 jobs tomas and rhabdomyosarcomas were
and $70 billion each year. showing up in children living in towns
At the same time, the toxicity of the along River Road. Anecdotal evidence
oil was apparent from the start. Lefort points to frighteningly high levels of un-
remembers how an explosion at one of usual cancers, in addition to asthma and
the wells sprayed salt and sulfur over the other illnesses associated with environ-
town, eating through roofs and killing mental pollution.
vegetation. He said, “It was like living in The Louisiana Tumor Registry insists
a desert or something. Everything was that their data shows no evidence of
dead, everything.” higher rates of cancer along the Industri-
The industry boomed. But the costs of al Corridor. In fact, these parishes often
these profits were great. have lower rates than those of Louisiana
Even before the oil spill, the ecologi- as a whole. However, environmental jus-
cal damage to Louisiana’s coastline was tice advocates point out that the Tumor
unquantifiable. The process of extracting Registry keeps track only of cancers on
the parish level. These cancer clusters lost. “We need to get back to work to
through marshlands. Coastal scientists seem to occur only in the immediate vi-
say that the oil and gas industry are re- cinity of the Industrial Corridor, when
sponsible for at least one third of the looking at the entire parish as a whole,
TUBUFT
MPTT
PG
XFUMBOET
oil and gas industry, only $18 billion go
Geological Survey estimates to be re- up.
treating at a rate of 25 square miles per J. Timmons Roberts, Director of the
year. In addition to its direct impact on Center for Environmental Studies at
wildlife and the fishing industry, the loss #SPXO
6OJWFSTJUZ
of wetlands also leads to more intense for ten years. His book, Chronicles from the
storms, which are no longer buffered by Environmental Justice Frontline, deals
wetlands before reaching the shore. with the struggles of citizens’ groups in
Louisiana to assert their right to justice.
S I D E E F F E C T S M AY I N C L U D E . . . He explains that these kinds of small-
The oil and gas industry, however, is not scale studies are notoriously hard to do,
limited to drilling, onshore or off. Ac- due to privacy restrictions on data. In
cording to the Louisiana Mid-Continent addition, he adds that the State Depart-
Oil and Gas Association, the industry is ment of Health is underfunded, and that
NBEF
VQ
PG
GPVS
TFHNFOUT
FYQMPSBUJPO
the Cancer Registry is sometimes known
and drilling, refining, marketing, and to have “very bad data.”
transportation. Roberts also notes that government
8
Features
by Robe
r t Sandle
r
regulation of the petrochemical industry
is suspect, and describes a combination
of “terrible loopholes, terrible enforce-
ment” that keeps oil companies in the
clear. “There’s huge pressure from in-
dustry groups for [the Department of
Environmental Quality] to be not a very
effective agency,” Roberts explains. Ac-
cording to the environmental justice
group the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, be-
tween 1999 and 2001, the LDEQ did not
sessed, calling into question the agency’s
credibility.
Communities along the Mississippi
are predominantly African American,
with high poverty rates. Property values
are low, preventing many from mov-
ing elsewhere. Many live in fear of acci-
dents and toxic exposure. Having passed
through some of these towns myself, it
is hard to imagine anyone choosing to
live here. It’s not even as simple as high
rates of health problems. The refineries
and chemical plants are monstrous—
massive creatures taking up dozens of
acres. Strange smells fill the air. Roads
are deserted, and the landscape is bleak.
It feels simply inhospitable.
Around the country, hearts have gone
out to Gulf Coast residents suffering
from the effects of the oil spill. But even
faced with the ugliness of the disaster,
few voices have come out against the oil
industry as a whole. Louisiana depends
on it. The country depends on it. Louisi-
ana Senator Mary Landrieu is calling for
an end to the moratorium on offshore
drilling, citing the billions of dollars in
economic productivity that are being
build this region, and we intend to do
so,” she said on NBC’s Meet the Press.
Of the $70 billion generated by the
to wages and benefits. Taxes make up
another $2 billion. And the rest? Your
guess is as good as mine. Louisiana still
the country.
It would be no simple task to extri-
cate the oil industry from Louisiana. But
with millions of gallons of oil still in the
Gulf, it is clear that the cost of continu-
ing as usual is more than we bargained
for.
NATALIE JABLONSKI B’10.5 is go-
ing off the grid.
T ZRPRQWKVEDFN,¶PDWWKH$UWH%$
H[SRLQ%XHQRV$LUHVWKHFLW\¶VODUJ
HVWDUWIDLUZKLFKRYHUWKHFRXUVHRI
D ZHHN ¿OOV WKH FRQYHQWLRQ FHQWHU
ZLWK VRPH  JDZNHUV DQG
HQWKXVLDVWV 7KHUH¶V D ORW WR VHH
WKRXVDQGV RI SLHFHV LQ UHDG\PDGH
FXELFOH JDOOHULHV WKH KDOISLSH
VNDWHVRXQG LQVWDOODWLRQ D EURNHQ
JODVVVFXOSWXUHWKDWWKHFLW\¶VPD\RUDFFLGHQWDOO\SXVKHG
over;;   UHWURVSHFWLYDV ODWLQRDPHULFDQDV %XW SRSXODULW\
follows  the  crowd.  So  what  does  it  mean  when  a  couple  
KXQGUHG RQWKHVSRW SKRWRJUDSKHUV DQG IDQV FRQ¿UP
WKDWUHDOO\WKHPRVWFRPSHOOLQJZRUNDWWKHVKRZLVD
OLWWOH EODFN ODPE OHG E\ D OLWWOH ER\ GUHVVHG LQ EODFN"
DQ DQLPDO LV µLQWHOOLJHQW¶ RU µFRQVFLRXV¶ KDV QRWKLQJ WR
GRZLWKLWVFXOWXUDOYDOXH2WKHUZLVHZH¶GDOOEHPXFK
PRUHLQWHUHVWHGLQRFWRSLRUFURZV:HKDYHWR¿QGQHZ
arbitrary  ways  of  evaluating  animals.  Is  it  cuddly?  Is  it  
UDUH",VLWMXVWSODLQFXWH"
  Then   comes   the   Industrial   Revolution.   Two   things  
KDSSHQ  PDQ¶V SUR[LPLW\ WR QDWXUH DQG DQLPDO YLU
WXDOO\GLVDSSHDUVDQG]RRVDUHLQWURGXFHG6XEXUEV
and  toxic  industries  overrun  pastures  and  forests.  Mech
DQL]HGSRZHUUHSODFHVRUJDQLFIRUFH$WWKHVDPHWLPH
FRORQLDOL]DWLRQLQWURGXFHVWKH]RRDVDSXEOLFLQVWLWXWLRQ
:KHQWKHSDODFHDW9HUVDLOOHVFORVHGLWVSULYDWHPHQDJ
HULHRIH[RWLFDQLPDOVLVOLWHUDOO\FDUWHGWRWKHSXEOLFDQG
ZLOGO\WUHQG\-DUGLQGHV3ODQWHV(QWHUWKHDQLPDODV
FRPPRGLW\6XGGHQO\NLGVKDYHWHGG\EHDUVDQGIDVK
man  has  become  an  everyday  cultural  phenomenon.    

While  SoHo  loft  dwellers  are  now  spending  six  or  seven  
¿JXUHVRQKLJKHQG¿VKWDQNVWKHPDMRULW\RIXVKDYH
another  access  to  the  exotic:  the  web.  Cuddly  slow  lo
ULVHV WDONLQJ GRJV GUDPDWLF FKLSPXQNV XJO\ DQLPDO
VOLGHVKRZVHWF:H¶UHVPDFNLQWKHPLGGOHRIWKHIXQQ\
I   spent   twenty   minutes   with   it £&KH PLUD OD RYHMLWD
QHJUD
 7KHODPEDVDUWLVRQHRIWKRXVDQGVRIH[DPSOHVWKDW
UDLVH D IDLUO\ EDVLF TXHVWLRQ ZKDW LV LW DERXW DQLPDOV
LQ ÀHVK RU RQ WKH VFUHHQ WKDW IDVFLQDWHV XV" 2U WR EH
PRUHVSHFL¿FZKDWLVLWULJKWQRZLQRXUVWFHQWXU\
JOREDOO\ QHWZRUNHG ZKDWHYHU\RXZDQWWRFDOOLW VRFL
HW\ WKDW KDV FKDQJHG WKH ZD\ ZH VHH WKLQN DQG ZDQW
animals?  The  man/animal  dualism  is  nothing  new.  That   ERRPLQJ ,W¶V KDUG WR DYRLG UHODWLQJ WKH WZR$IWHU DOO
DQLPDOVFRQ¿UPRUGHQ\RXUH[LVWHQFHDVKXPDQEHLQJV
JRHVEDFNWRFDYHSDLQWLQJV%XWRYHUWKHODVW\HDUV
technology  and  culture  have  radically  changed  this  fun
damental  binary.
 7KHQHZVFKHPDWLFLVSDUWHFRORJLFDOSDUW¿EHURSWLF
,QFUHDVLQJ NQRZOHGJH DERXW HQYLURQPHQWDOGHVWUXFWLRQ
KDVLOOXPLQDWHGPDQNLQG¶VLQÀXHQFHRQYLUWXDOO\HYHU\
VSHFLHVRIWKHSODQHW0HDQZKLOHLQIRUPDWLRQWHFKQRO
ogy  allows  for  instant  and  renewed  access  to  everything   GLI¿FXOWWRIROORZ,QWHUSROSXWVWKHLOOHJDOPDUNHWWUDGH
IURPYLGHRVRIVQHH]LQJ*LDQW3DQGDVWRWKHUKLQRKRUQ
VRXS PDUNHW7KH DQLPDO,   on   earth   and   in   the   mind   of   EODFNPDUNHWQXPEHULVVHFRQGRQO\to  GUXJVDQGDUPV
man,LVQRZPRUHFUXFLDOPRUHH[RWLFDQGPRUHWULYLDO
than  ever  before.
FXWH ZHLUG   animal   revolution.   If   Descartes   thought  
DQLPDOV ZHUH PDFKLQHV ZH FDQ QRZ WKLQN RI WKHP DV
videos.  In  The  New  York  Times1DWDOLH$QJLHUDSURPL
QHQWVFLHQFHZULWHUH[SODLQVZK\ZHORRNDWDQLPDOVRQ
a   biological   basis:   “Humans   and   other   mammals   seem  
WR KDYH DQ LQQDWH EDE\ VFKHPD DQ DWWUDFWLRQ WR LQIDQW
FXHVOLNHODUJHZLGHVHWH\HVDEXWWRQQRVHDQGDPRXWK
set   low   in   the   face.”   But   that   does   nothing   to   explain  
LRQLVWDVKDYHOHRSDUGSULQWV3DUDNHHWVLQWKHboudoir.     KRZ WKH VHFRQG ³6XUSULVHG .LWWHQ´ KDV  PLOOLRQ
YLHZVRQ<RX7XEH:HKDYHWRORRNDWWKHNLWWHQ¶VKDQGV
PDWFKLQJWKHKXPDQVWKHYRLFHWKDWVTXHDOVDWWKHHQG
7ZRKXQGUHG\HDUVODWHUZH¶UHLQWKHPLGGOHRIDJORE RIWKHYLGHR³<RXORRNOLNHDOLWWOHPRQNH\´'RPHVWL
DO VSHFLHV FULVLV$FFRUGLQJ WR WKH ,QWHUQDWLRQDO 8QLRQ FDWHG DQLPDOV DSSHDO ZKHQ WKH\ EUHDN RXW RI WKHLU GR
IRU WKH &RQVHUYDWLRQ RI 1DWXUH WKH DEXQGDQFH RI VSH mesticated  cage.
cies   worldwide   declined   by   40   percent   between   1970    ,QVRPHZD\VWKHFRIIHHEUHDNZHEVDIDULLVWKHLGHDO
DQG6LPXOWDQHRXVO\WKHSHWDQGZLOGOLIHWUDGHLV VROXWLRQIRUFRQÀLFWHGFRQVXPHUV:K\JRWKURXJKWKH
personal   or   moral   WURXEOH RI ORQJWHUP SHW FDUH ZKHQ
UDULW\LVRQHRIWKHEHVWWRROVLQPDUNHWLQJ7KHWUHQGLV HD   sloths   are   available   at   the   closest   WiFi   spot?   In
PRVWREYLRXVLQWKH86ZKHUHDFFRUGLQJWRWKH$PHUL IRUPHGFRQVXPHUVFDQVHHVKDUHDQGIDYRULWHEXWQRW
FDQ3HW3URGXFW0DQXIDFWXUHUV$VVRFLDWLRQSHWRZQHUV KDYH$WRSWHQOLVWRI³([RWLF3HWVWR$YRLG´WHOOLQJO\
will  have  spent  roughly  $47.7  billion  on  their  pets  by  the   accompanies  the  +XI¿QJWRQ3RVW¶V³7RWDOO\&XWH9LGHR
HQGRIWKLV¿VFDO\HDU,QWKDWQXPEHUZDVELO RIWKH'D\´EORJ2IFRXUVH\RXFRXOGJRWRWKH]RR
lion.  Total  spending  has  increased  steadily  every  year  on   DQGJHWWKHJODVVZDOOH[SHULHQFHEXWWKDW¶VDOZD\VVR
UHFRUGZLWKQRQRWLFHDEOHGHFUHDVH GHSUHVVLQJ &DQ¶W , MXVW ZDWFK D YLGHR RI D GRJ VNDWH
  Worldwide,WKHSHWDQGZLOGOLIHPDUNHWLVPXFKPRUH boarding?
 7KHKXPDQDQLPDOG\QDPLFKDVQ¶WVRPXFKFKDQJHG
of   wildlife   at   $12   billion.   While   some   claim   that   this   DV WZLVWHG DQG ZDUSHG RQH HUD DIWHU WKH QH[W ,W KDV
WXUQHG WKH FODVVLFDO 1RDK¶V $UN PDQDVEHDVW¶VVKHS
WKHVWDWLVWLFLVGLVSXWHGE\RWKHURUJDQL]DWLRQV$FFRUG KHUG SDUDGLJP LQWR VRPH NLQG RI VXUUHDO K\SHUPHGLD
LQJ WR75$)),& D ZLOGOLIHFRQVHUYDWLRQ RUJDQL]DWLRQ fantasy.   Chihuahuas   are   personal   accessories.   Curious  
  WKHWRWDOPDUNHWH[FOXGLQJWLPEHUDQGIDXQDLVDURXQG George   tells   a   charming   colonial   fairy   tale   while   he  
$21  billion.  Booms  in  recent  years  are  largely  attributed   VPRNHV D FLJDU DQG URFNV RXW WR -DFN -RKQVRQ *LDQW
We’ve come a long way from bovine oracle bones to WR &KLQD¶V JURZLQJ HFRQRP\ DQG LQYHVWPHQW LQ H[RWLF SDQGDVZKLFKUHIXVHWRPDWHDQG±OLNHPDQ\]RRERXQG
arrive at Surprised Kitten memes and dolphin activ- JRRGV HJ UKLQR KRUQV DQG VKDUN ¿QV IRU WUDGLWLRQDO FUHDWXUHV±NLOOWKHLU\RXQJRUWKHPVHOYHVDUHIRUFHEUHG
JTN
6OEFSTUBOEJOH
XIFSF
XF
BSF
OPX
SFRVJSFT
B
CJU
&KLQHVH PHGLFLQH &RQVHUYDWLRQLVWV WHQG WR GHPRQL]H to   continue   the   species.   Unable   to   glimpse   animals   in  
of history. In the caveman era, and in some ways up to WKHSUDFWLFHEXWLW¶VIDUPRUHRIDQHFRQRPLFV\PSWRP WKHLUQDWXUDOKDELWDWXSVHWE\XQGHUZKHOPLQJ]RRVZH
the Industrial Revolution, the presence of animals was WKDQDVRFLDORQH,IWKHSRSXODULW\RIVDIDULKXQWVLQ9LF HQFRXQWHU WKH DQLPDO RI WRGD\ LQ WKH OLYLQJ URRP LQ D
an integral, if not fundamental, part of human life. As
UIF
DSJUJD
+PIO
#FSHFS
QVUT
JU
i<"OJNBMT>
XFSF
XJUI

man at the center of his world.” For the Paleolithic
man, ox, deer, and boar could be both alimentary and
NBHJDBM
GPPE
BOE
TQJSJU
XJUI
MJUUMF
TFQBSBUJPO
JOCF-
WRULDQ(QJODQGDQGPRGHUQGD\7H[DVVKRZVDQ\WKLQJ FROODSVLEOHZLQGRZRURQDWVKLUW
LW¶VWKDWSHRSOHOLNHWRVSHQGPRQH\RQWKHH[RWLF  
 $OORIWKLVGRHVQ¶WQHFHVVDULO\PHDQWKDWWKHSHWWUDGH ADRIAN R ANDALL B’11.5   ZDQWV WR WLFNOH D VORZ
LVGLUHFWO\NLOOLQJRIIRXUSODQHW¶VZLOGOLIH,QWKH86IRU loris.
H[DPSOHPXFKRIWKHSHWWUDGHLVOHJDODQGPRVWH[RWLF  
tween. Compare that to a tourist paying $150 to see a
whale’s dorsal fin while eating a corndog. It’s a change
of distance.
 7KDWGLVWDQFHLV DOVRSV\FKRORJLFDO6NLSSLQJDIHZ
FHQWXULHV RI FLYLOL]DWLRQ 'HVFDUWHV PDNHV WKH ¿UVW UHDO
LQFLVLRQEHWZHHQPDQDQGDQLPDO$QLPDOVDUHIXQFWLRQ
LQJRUJDQLVPVKHVD\VEXWXQOLNHPDQWKH\ODFNDVRXO
$QLPDOLD HTXDO HPSW\ PDFKLQD :H DV FRQVFLRXV EH
LQJVDUHIUHHWRVWXG\DQLPDOVDQGH[SORLWWKHPIRURXU
RZQSXUSRVHV,WPD\VRXQGOLNHDQWLTXDWHGWKLQNLQJEXW
any  human  being  who  uses  the  life  of  an  animal  for  his   it  is  something  that  artists  and  philosophers  are  increas
DQLPDOVOLNHD7H[DQ]HEUDDUHEUHGLQFDSWLY
LW\+RZHYHULWSXWVPDQ¶VUHODWLRQVKLSZLWKKLVQDWXUDO
HQYLURQPHQWDWDXQLTXHFRQYHUJHQFHSRLQW%URZQ8QL
YHUVLW\SURIHVVRU7KDQJDP5DYLQGUDQDWKDQZKRLVFXU
rently  studying  the  animal  in  contemporary  French  lit
HUDWXUHVD\V³5LJKWQRZZHDUHH[SHULHQFLQJDGLYRUFH
EHWZHHQ WKH HFRORJLFDO DQG WKH V\PEROLF $V DQLPDOV
EHFRPHOHVVSUHVHQWLQRXUHQYLURQPHQWERXUJHRLVFXO
ture  becomes  invested  in  the  production  of  rarity.  We  are  
UHFHLYLQJWKHVLJQL¿FDWLRQRIWKHDQLPDOGLIIHUHQWO\DQG
RZQ EHQH¿W IRRG FORWKLQJ PHGLFDO WHVWLQJ PXVW DW LQJO\FRQFHUQHGZLWK´2YHUWKHODVWVHYHUDOGHFDGHVWKH
OHDVWLQSDUWDFFHSWWKDWSKLORVRSK\7KHH[WHQWWRZKLFK paradox  of  animal  on  earth  versus  animal  in  the  mind  of  
11
Arts
Original Pranksters
T
he largest col-
lection of Paul
Gauguin’s works
will be showcased
later this month
in the Tate Mod-
ern Museum’s
C M P D L C V T U F S 

i(BVHVJO
'SPN

Money Man to Myth Maker.” The title
w
POF
PG
IJT
ops more than simple investigations
deceives. Gauguin and his friends—the
Post-Impressionists—are by no means
former “Money Men,” but instead can
now reliably command unprecedent-
ed audiences at their exhibitions and
prices at Christie’s and Sotheby’s. Their
“myth-making” has enjoyed a uniquely
exponential resurgence in interest from
both scholars and public alike in the last
30 years. Why does this movement and
its makers particularly fascinate, rather
than the more skilled Impressionists or
the wilder Modernists? Clues from their
personal lives breed a new understand-
ing that they were perhaps more ironic

GPS
POF
FYBNQMF

Turner, describes his ‘savage in the
and tricky than traditionally assumed.
The still-growing success of their works
demonstrates a particularly contempo-
rary desire for a traditional, male-brava-
do inspired trickery in painting.
The exhibit begins at the Tate before
venturing to the National Gallery of
Art in DC. It highlights Gauguin’s self-
imposed exile, revering his self-created
“myth” of the enigmatic, solitary genius.
Caroline Boyle-Turner, an expert biogra-

7BO
(PHI
ous new landscapes. The other figures,
pher on Gauguin, locates contemporary
scholarship on his work, which frequent-
ly used exoticism and Christian imagery,
“he was precocious with a reverence for
primitive art styles.” The paintings and
his personal life tell a different story
than this traditional celebration of his
exotic “poetic narrative.”
BROSKIS AND BRUSHSTROKES
Gauguin and his contemporaries—in-
DMVEJOH
4FSVTJFS

$F[BOOF

BOE
7BO
(PHI

—all cultivated successful reputations as
solitary, transcendental wunderkinds.
They all left Paris to hole up in artistic
communes for years in the 1880s, basi-
cally in order to hang out, get drunk off
cheap wine, and sometimes vacation
at their friends’ communes. These men
were young, ranging from nineteen to
thirty-something. New research on this
era’s artists’ social lives is starting to de-
bunk their ‘solitary artistic genius’ myth.
-PDBMMZ

B
OFX
FYIJCJU
BU
$MBSL
6OJWFS
sity maps Degas’s influence on Picasso.
7BO
(PHIT
OFXMZ
QVCMJTIFE
MFUUFST
IBWF

spurred much inquiry. He and Gauguin
spent months together in the French
coutnryside, huffing turpentine and
fighting like siblings. Most notably, ex-
hibitions of a group of post-Impression-
ists called Les Nabis and their influence
September Gauguin Exhibit Invites
New, Sillier Perspective on Post-­
Impressionists By Alexandra Corrigan
shows how silly these art communes re-
ally were.
Les Nabis, a group of painterly friends,
had close contact with Serusier and
Gauguin. Pranksters with a little bit of
money and a lot of bravado swapped each
others’ esoteric ideas. They made specta-
cles of vague references to Eastern reli-
gions and parodies of each others’ work.
They and other post-Impressionists out-
side of Paris often visited each other for
months, devolving into alcoholism and
painting each other tongue-in-cheek as
absurdist biblical figures and peasants.
Paul Ranson even sold a large reproduc-
UJPO
PG
%B
7JODJT
iɥ

F
-BTU
4VQQFSw
UP

a Brittany museum, using his buddies as
models for the disciples.
The boys shared flats in Paris so they
could deliver some works to the galleries;
these works, while fun, drunk, art-camp
exercises for them, were received as inac-
cessibly brilliant contemporary works. It
would be absurd to think they weren’t in
PO
UIJT
KPLF
-FT
/BCJT
ironically and irreverently named their
Parisian party-pad “The Temple.” A quick
color sketch by Serusier nailed to their
wall was the “alter,” and the sketch, “The
Talisman,” reminding them to paint to
the point of absurdity. The fact that it
now hangs in the Musee D’Orsay with
an estimated worth of tens of millions,
either indicts the art world as easily de-
ceived or speaks to the Post-Impression-
ists’ impressive art-trickery.
The hype surrounding Gauguin’s up-
coming show demonstrates the lasting
impact these young men have, and the
power of their crafty marketing genius.
Gauguin, in particular, irreverently
used potent symbolic tropes (noble sav-
agery, Christian imagery) to pander to
his friends’ irreverence and his buyers’
beliefs. Still, he subverted the figures
S E P T E M B E R 9, 2 0 1 0 T H E C O L L E G E H I L L I N D E P E N D E N T
by painting these precious subjects bi-
zarrely and even badly. They lay flat,
two-dimensional in strange and conde-
scendingly constructed juxtapositions.
While the new exhibit seeks to highlight
Gauguin’s love of folklore and “primi-
tive” tropes, the paintings really show
how easily he got away with capitaliz-
ing and deconstructing these stories.
*O
i7JTJPO
"GUFS
UIF
4FSNPO
most famous works, he depicts a scene
from the bible where Jacob wrestles an
angel. Instead, however, he paints it as
if a delusional vision from a religious
peasant with richly absurd colors. In
another work, “Yellow Christ,” Gauguin
transplants a flattened, almost comic
Crucifixion scene onto workers in a hay-
field. Turner-Boyle, along traditional art
historian lines, describes his depictions
of religious life in Brittany as “reverent.”
Yet his exoticism of rural peasants and
subtle ironic tricks no longer seem so
subtle.
C E L E B R I T Y I N D U S T R I A L CO M -­
PLEX
The Tate, anticipating the mad rush,
started pre-selling tickets to the Gauguin
show months ago. Despite the recession,
audited socialites still sell off-brand
name, late-1800s wall décor for unprece-
dented sums (to hedge-fund managers).
The sums don’t come from nowhere. The
value of these works has exploded in the
MBTU
UXFOUZ
ZFBST
*O
UIBU
UJNF
has sold three out of the top ten most ex-
pensive paintings ever sold—each over
$100 million. Within the last ten years,
a Cezanne sold for $79.2 million. Some
of Gauguin’s works were estimated at
$40-50 million in 2004. Fascination with
Gauguin and his comrades seems to only
grow; their tenuously ironic paintings do
command some degree of this attention.
anthropologist’s book. He marketed
the post-Impressionists. For forty years,
Most successfully, however, their self-
aggrandizing marketing has been their
real staying power.
Young and fun rogue men, they were
not naïve to the power of a painterly
mystique. Painting commands, more
than any other art form, a tradition of
celebrity-culture intrigue both in and
out of the art world. The public devel-
into their techniques and inspirations.
Historians and spectators speculate on
their everyday life, attempting to under-
stand what kind of genius they had—
and how they accessed it. Even cynics
or the uninterested speculate on their
self-important grandeur, and why these
people deserve to be looked at.
Perhaps a contemporary desire for
celebrities’ rise and fall has revitalized
the fascination with Gauguin. The man,
as the Tate’s exhibit reads, made myths.
The only one he didn’t simply steal and
subvert, though, was himself. Boyle
woods’ act as “completely made-up.” The
precursor to Warhol’s tactics, his life be-
came his art, delusional and completely
unrelated to reality. The exhibition will
house an entire room of Gauguin’s pro-
lific self-portraits, including some de-
picting himself as Christ. While he suf-
fered from syphilis, old age, and poverty,
he still sent back vibrant self-portraits of
himself as a saintly stud, colonizing vari-
besides his buds, are depicted as plebe-
ians compared to his architectural bone
structure. Eventually, in his own state of
delusional, silly and self-manufactured
grandeur, he donned himself a creator of
culture—Tahiti. Travelling there late in
life, he sought out the ‘exotic’ in a place
already colonized by Europeans. While
not spending time with his new young
wives, he painted a version of Tahiti he
had only just read about in a European
a false naïvety, using Tahitian culture
as currency. In Boyle-Turner’s words,
“Well, at least he was successful. He has
a cruise-ship named after him.”
So where does contemporary reverence
for the celebrity painters-cum-sardonic
tricksters lie? Large-scale travelling ex-
hibits create new, younger academic and
artistic ripples. Younger ideas should
use contemporary savvy and irreverent
attitude towards new art as a lens for
at least in America, art has mostly been
about what you can get away with. It’s
time to question how new this idea re-
ally is.
ALEX CORRIGAN B’12 spent the
summer studying and working in
Gauguin’s former art colony in France,
THEINDY.ORG 12
Arts

Uploading Culture
Variability and Immateriality
in Video Art

By Jordan Carter
Illustration by Emily
Fishman

The walls of the Whitney are hijacked by

moving images in the museum’s summer
2010 exhibition Off the Wall: Part 1— tracts and maintain physical archives of
Thirty Performative Actions. As the title digital-based media instead of uploading
suggests, 30 video installations of bodily videos to user-based upload/download
gestures turned spectacle supplant the databases. The goal is to provide broad
architecture of the white cube to estab- access without granting total access. The
lish an environment of flux and charged videos must retain but never meet their
visual participation. The single-channel potential for mass circulation. But as it
(one video feed, one monitor) pieces are becomes increasingly difficult and ex-
one dynamic theater—glossy surface ob- pensive for distributors to store archaic
scures distinct structural components. media formats and players while accom-
The immersive setting makes it difficult modating new ones—like the growing
to pose detached questions regarding HD industry—online distribution is be-
the disparate origins, formats, and in- ing reconsidered as a viable option.
stallation specifications of the media.
But these very questions are essential to SLIPPING THROUGH THE
the production, exhibition, and preser- C R AC K S
vation of new media art. 7JEFP
JT
B
SFQSPEVDJCMF
NFEJVN

BOE
UIF

Behind the scenes of any multimedia existence of editioned and uneditioned
exhibition, a array of curators, installers, works reflects different economic and
technicians, media conservators, and cations. Distributors receive work from distribution systems, and often a con-
custodians engage in troubleshooting artists and their estates in every imagin- trasting theoretical approach to the prac-
and maintenance. The process of acquir- able format and must then convert them tice as well. Many new media artists are
ing and displaying technology-and-time- to comply with clients’ expectations. tor chooses “to use an unstable plastic dedicated to harnessing, not regulating,
based art goes far beyond purchasing an Distributors are in constant dialogue as opposed to a stable plastic, it’s going the variability and virility of new media
object and placing it on a pedestal. It is with artists and museums in an effort to yellow and crack—it won’t last, even for creative purposes. Cory Arcangel’s
a convoluted process involving licensing to standardize digital file practices. The in the best museum environments.” 2003 Internet-based piece, Super Mario
agreements and reproduction rights that fruit of these conversations translates Wharton applied this analogy to media Clouds, highlights the productivity of de-
is further complicated by the variabil- into online tutorials like the EAI Online arts, depicting how digital best practices regulated digital practice. He hacked an
JUZ
PG
UIF
EJHJUBM
MBOETDBQF
ë
MF
GPSNBUT

Resource Guide for Exhibiting, Collect- guidelines might be most successful if old Super Mario game cartridge, edited it
TIFMM
UZQFT
%7%

#MVSBZ

%7$".

FUD


ing, and Preserving Media Art, which targeted at art schools and faculty. to show nothing but floating clouds, and
playback equipment, and display devic- lives in the organization’s website. The uploaded the source code to his website.
es. proposed guidelines are only so effective, FO R A ( U N ) L I M I T E D T I M E Prolofic mutation ensued. Artists and
The images must migrate through an however, as they are limited to post-pro- O N LY hackers appropriated the piece, altering
immaterial process of digitization, ed- duction acquisition, display, and mainte- 7JEFP
IBT
CFDPNF
B
QVCMJD
QSBDUJDF
"T
and redistributing it.
iting, and output format selection. The nance. Streamlining digital production -JTB
4UFFMF

EJSFDUPS
PG
75BQF
%JTUSJCV Super Mario Clouds went on to travel
technical decisions that are made—on BOE
FYIJCJUJPO
JT
B
CPUUPNVQ
QSPDFTT
tion, noted during the EAI think tank, through finite and regulated channels
computer programs like iMovie and Fi- it begins with the artist and ends with “the medium is now open. It’s out of the PG
JNBHF
SFMBZ
FYIJCJUFE
BOE
TPME
BT
BO

nal Cut—have a direct impact on the the museum. So, in order to actually es- box, so that everyone does video on their editioned multi-channel installation at
quality and clarity of the product. But tablish universal digital practices, me- camera, on their telephone, on every- Team Gallery in New York and eventu-
media formatting has ramifications that dia artists must encode and adhere to UIJOH
6QMPBEJOH
WJEFPT
UP
:PV5VCF
IBT
ally distributed by EAI as an uneditioned
surpass aesthetics. The technical aspects these guidelines. But despite their desire completely changed the public’s relation- single-channel video for cultural and
of the medium raise tensions between to stabilize the process of image flow, ship with video.” Profit-oriented video educational purposes. Both versions
standardization and artistic experimen- distributors and art spaces are wary of artists work with commercial galleries to perpetuate the democratic aspects of the
tation, exclusivity and universal access, becoming too didactic and impeding bypass this democratizing influence and original—coming equipped with source
physicality and worth. They determine productive exploration. Protocol can be set their work apart from the digital-sav- code and a do-it-yourself tutorial.
the ways in which distributors, commer- recommended, but not enforced. vy masses. They release editioned copies Hailing from television, video and new
cial galleries, and museums contend and One way to shape digital practices is of their video work, drafting stringent media art have a higher potential for
collaborate as they regulate the cultural in the classroom. A substantial portion licensing agreements to prevent illegal cultural circulation than any preceding
circulation of immaterial art objects. of the August 2010 file format think reproduction and distribution. There ex- medium. Distributors and museums at-
tank, organized by EAI, addressed weak- ist a limited number of copies for sale, tempt to treat new media art like formal
T H E M E D I U M I S T H E M E S S AG E nesses in media-based art education. accompanied by a few artist proofs. Col- mediums, falling back on archaic models
Distribution organizations such as Elec- Participant Glenn Wharton, media con- lectors purchasing high-profile video art of exclusivity and cultural capital. But
tronic Arts Intermix (EAI) in New York servator at MoMA, voiced that within from galleries receive a certificate of au- perhaps digital production is not meant
$JUZ
BOE
7JEFP
%BUB
#BOL
JO
$IJDBHP
the field of art conservation it is often thenticity—branding potentially ubiqui- for standardized archiving, regulated
function as intermediaries between me- lamented “that in the 1970s and ’80s tous media as a genuine cultural artifact. distribution, and limited screening. Me-
dia artists and the collectors or cultural art instructors began teaching concep- New media artists who are interested dia art is immaterial, ubiquitous, and
institutions interested in acquiring art- tual art,” decreasing “transmission of in reaching a wide, yet managed audi- inherently democratic—designed to
ists’ work. They maintain and update technical understanding of how a paint- ence extend the rights to their work to spread, mutate, and mobilize. It carries
archives of thousands of video works ing is created, how a bronze is cast.” The distribution services like EAI. Their un- the potential to redefine class boundar-
that are forwarded to clients all over the consensus among media conservators is editioned (infinitely reproducible) videos ies and establish a universal artistic dis-
globe. Distributors operate similarly to that artists should be trained in technol- are then rented out and sold to univer- course in which the public is artist, dis-
television broadcasters, providing titles ogy in terms of traditional object-based sities, arts institutions, and collectors. tributor, and curator.
in whatever media format the vendor re- art. Like painters and sculptors, video The artists receive modest dividends
quests, be it analog or digital. Like cable artists must understand the ways in from each rental and sale, as unlimited JORDAN CARTER B’12 interned at
networks, different museums and art which materials—be they physical or art objects rarely bring in the big bucks. EAI, and comes equipped with source
spaces have distinctive format specifi- digital—interact and decay. If a sculp- Distributors bind clients to strict con- code and do-it-yourself tutorial.
13
Arts
Fucked Up, Tinsel Teeth,
and the Chew and Swallow
Gastrointestinal Circus
Labor Day 2010, Providence, RI

'VDLFE
6Q

w
'VDLFE
6Q
TJHOFE
UP

A
by Erik Font
photos by
the author

FWFSZ
500-foot long neon American Locomo-
tive Works sign shines over the Capco
Steel Manufacturing plant, a sprawling
complex filled with welding machinery,
Caterpillar trucks, and massive steel
sheets covered in overgrown shrubbery.

'VDLFE
6Q
EPFT

Once inside, we wandered around look-
ing for any trace of other people until we
found a trail of Christmas lights, which
wound around steel, under truck beds
and finally to a garden tucked behind a
CSJDL
XBMM
UIF
TJUF
PG
UIF
$IFX
BOE
4XBM
low Gastrointestinal Circus. ¬
Formed from the ashes of the Skunk Ape
Mystery Circus Tour, the Four Circuses
of the Apocalypse Tour (which is actually
only one circus) and the Trouser Snake
Circus, the Chew and Swallow Gastroin-
testinal Circus consists of eight or nine
baby-faced punks covered in dirt and
face paint. Accompanied by a makeshift
band of ukuleles, an accordion, and a
clarinet, the circus’s ringleader promised
unusual acts of awe and terror. A “new
anatomical take on a classic circus act.”
Dressed in a wolf mask and fur coat,
one of the troupe’s members began lick-
ing a knife, then tossed it in the air as
he pulled out a bowling pin and a rubber
heart. The juggling act ended with the
wolf stabbing the heart in midair and (of
course) rolling around in the dirt.
Next, the ringleader presented a light
bulb to the audience and called up her
friend to sing an aria to hopefully shatter
the glass. Although the singer received
a well-deserved round of applause, the
glass remained intact, forcing the ring-
leader to break it with a hammer. Then
the ringleader ate the broken glass and
circled the audience, making sure every-
one could hear her crunching it between
her teeth.
After a few chews, the ringleader
passed the hammer to the smallest
member of the group, an uncanny Julia-
Roberts-as-Tinker-Bell-in-Hook looka-
like who could also play a mean accor-
dion. She was visibly nervous as she held
up a nail and prepared to hammer it into
the front part of her brain. After testing
it on a piece of wood, she stuck the nail
up her nose, tapped it with the hammer
a few times and raised her arms in the
air, all to the bewilderment and applause
of the audience.
The rest of the show was much less
gruesome. One member laid on a bed
of nails and played a ukulele duet about
drunk hobo love. Two robust girls per-
formed an unsexy but very funny strip-
tease to the Beastie Boys’ song “Girls,”
which ended with nipple tassels and one
of the dancers draining the puss out of a
huge fake zit and throwing it across the
room, hitting me squarely in the chest. I
think it was only oatmeal.
The Chew and Swallow Gastrointes-
tinal Circus felt like a talent show held
by Peter Pan’s Lost Boys. All of the acts
consisted of either gross jokes or ama-
teurs doing dangerous things. But this
was exactly the show’s charm. Whatever
it lacked in thrills and expertise, it made
up for in careless youth. The show cul-
minated in a fire twirling routine, and
S E P T E M B E R 9 2010 T H E C O L L E G E H I L L I N D E P E D E N T
although the act was entertaining, it
certainly wasn’t one of the most impres-
sive fire acts I’ve ever seen. Neverthe-
less, watching two members cautiously
throwing fire sticks back and forth, fre-
quently halting to make sure the other
one was ready, added a new thrill and
honesty to something I’d seen many
times before. The performance had its
moments of shock and comedy but the
true pleasure came from being in the
middle of an empty steel lot, surrounded
by a bunch of other grungy kids, feeling
as though I’d finally made it to Neverland
to chill with my ragamuffin brethren.
After the circus, I headed to Club Hell
GPS
UIF
'VDLFE
6Q
TIPX
*G
UIF
$IFX

and Swallow Gastrointestinal Circus
were the free, scavenging children of
the post apocalypse, Providence’s own
Tinsel Teeth was a reminder that the
apocalypse was currently upon us. The
band lists “tree radiation, dying bees, cell
phone sex, global whoring and organic
mutagen biomagnitude,” as reasons to
“fuck yr ears on the first date.”
Sipping on a bottle of Andre, the five-
foot female lead singer of Tinsel Teeth
walked onto the stage in a platinum
blonde wig, a push up bra, a leopard skin
leotard and a strap-on. After each mem-
ber took off their shirts and put on plas-
tic masks, the drummer counted off and
the most brutal performances began. On
their first note, Tinsel Teeth’s singer and
guitarist jumped off the stage and into
the audience. Within a few seconds the
singer’s wig and mask went flying. Left
in only a hair sock, she began relentless
shaking and screaming. By the time the
song was over she was covered in blood.
Tinsel Teeth’s sound is carried by
a sludgy bass line and layered with a
shrieking guitar. Tinsel Teeth’s drummer
and singer kept the pace fast, but all to-
gether it just sounded like a fucking ex-
plosion. As if the sound weren’t enough
to fill the whole club, the band’s singer
let everyone know that for the next
forty-five minutes Club Hell was hers.
She ran through the whole space, fucked
with everyone, and screamed from the
top of both bars.
After twenty minutes of thrashing,
she began collapsing on the floor in be-
tween songs, only to crawl back on stage
and do it all over again. The show took
on a new horror, it was exhausting and
amazing. At first she seemed to run at
the audience, blood gushing forth from
her gaping mouth, but when everyone
was still standing and she was still the
only one running around, I felt like I had
suddenly become part of a horror movie.
Watching an attractive, half naked girl
run around covered in blood, uncontrol-
lably shrieking recalled every slasher
movie I’d ever seen. As far as terror and
suffering goes in art this was something
I’d never seen before, let alone live.
It would have been impossible for
just about anyone to match the first
act’s power; after watching Tinsel Teeth
I had little sympathy for anything, let
alone Cloud Nothings. I was already four
Narragansetts in, I’d just listened to the
sound of the world exploding, and clean
indie rock with a bit of reverb just wasn’t
getting me off. At one point, looking
down at his tennis shoes, the lead sing-
er of Cloud Nothings said, “The stage is
covered in fake blood.” Then he tuned
his vintage body. In fairness, they fol-
lowed with a few solid songs, songs that
I’d later find out sounded much better on
Myspace.
But as I watched the bassist and one—
at one point both—guitarists play with
their backs to the audience, I couldn’t
help but think about the singer of Tin-
sel Teeth rolling around the floor with
both her nipples exposed, jacking off
her strap-on, amongst a bunch of empty
Narragansett cans. The raw energy of the
latter reminded me of something John-
ny Ramone said, that when you listen to
Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix you think, ‘I
gotta practice twenty years before I can
do something like that,’ but that isn’t
what rock and roll is about; rock is some-
thing everyone can do. Although I’ve al-
ways personally liked Jimi Hendrix just
as much as the Ramones, the point be-
came clear to me as I watched the second
act. Rock, and especially punk rock, have
always been about turning frustration
into energy. Although this may sound
a bit angsty, the same can be said about
such archetypal works as Huck Finn,
Guernica, and N.W.A.’s “Fuck the Police.”
Musically, Tinsel Teeth sounded like hell.
But as far as rock being an instrument
for anyone to unabashedly rebel against
an unforgiving and sometimes down-
right evil society, which blatantly mur-
ders innocent people for capital gain,
Tinsel Teeth nailed it.
The difference between Tinsel Teeth
BOE
'VDLFE
6Q
JT
UIBU
'VDLFE
6Q
MFUT

ZPV
KPJO
JO
'PSNFE
JO

has since become the godfathers of the
Toronto hardcore scene. After releasing
a series of 7” records including “Police”
BOE
i/P
1BTBSBO
Matador Records in 2008 and released
“The Chemistry of Common Life.” Since
then, they’ve collaborated with everyone
from Final Fantasy to the GZA, raised
awareness about issues such as the dis-
appearances of Aboriginal women in
Canada and voiced their opposition to
the passing of Arizona’s SB 1070 immi-
gration law.

"T
'VDLFE
6Q
TUBSUFE
UIFJS
TFU
one in the venue moved to the front of
the stage. As their second song began,
the club erupted. Some people began
running into each other (deliberately),
as others jumped off the stage, onto
those still at the front, screaming the
MZSJDT
CBDL
BU
1JOL
&ZFT
6OMJLF
NBOZ

PUIFS
IBSEDPSF
CBOET
more than play angry, fast thrash. In-
stead, they generate a number of differ-
ent sounds that result in a much more
powerful, thicker brand of punk. Either
way, the show was ridiculous and it was
the hardest I’ve head banged in a long
time.
After taking off his fitted and his
shirt, Pink Eyes jumped into the audi-
ence where audience members grabbed
the mic or jumped onto his back. After a
solid half hour, he just went around hug-
ging people. At one point he even played
patty-cake. But this kindness and broth-
erhood was only a natural reaction to the
dozens of kids screaming about loneli-
ness and perseverance.
ERIK FONT B’11 said goodbye to sum-
mer.
THEINDY.ORG 14
OPINIONS

the warty younger sister of Yosemite, the

and peeing myself over the mountains
and trees and rivers and sky. I unpacked
Selling a Soul in my bags and met my coworkers, whom
the Stanislaus I expected to be older, more profes-
sional versions of the upper-middle class
Whole Foods-shopping environmental-
ists you find all across New England.
bargain it sounds like. Land sales are
tapered by researchers, like my wildlife
crew, who can get specific areas barred
from interference if they find a rare spe-
cies there—we looked specifically for the
California Spotted Owl and Northern
Goshawk. Moreover, since National For-
moody Ashlee to its Jessica. It borders
Yosemite on the north side and serves as
a nice foil for the different kinds of man-
agement in the two areas. People in the
Stanislaus love to say that their Forest
is a less overbuilt and equally stunning
version of the same High Sierra majesty,
perhaps not as well-known or tradition-
ally beautiful, but worthy nonetheless.
The fancy front-country areas of Yo-
semite are indeed crowded and even
have their own shuttle bus system. You

E
by Mimi Dwyer
Illustration by
Robert Sandler
nvironmentalism,
like Providence, is
so hot right now.
Brown students,
you look so damn
cool and politically aware with your
shirts that read “Eco Warrior” and your
Sierra Club memberships. It’s fantastic
that you’re cognizant of and interested
in melty polar ice caps, unsustainable
farming practices, and clear-cutting in
the rainforest. But the environmental-
ism so rampant on college campuses is
more style than substance—the Klean
Kanteen you carry around and the “Re-
store Hetch Hetchy” bumper sticker you
plaster on your Prius have little to do
with ostensible change.
When I got an internship in wildlife
research for the Forest Service this year,
I imagined roaming through the woods
with John Muir quotes in my head, en-
acting some vague idea of protecting the
planet. I did these things, but my para-
digm of what it means to “love the earth”
changed significantly. Activism and ide-
als are important, but a real relationship
with the environment is a sexless reality
of logging companies and cattle ranch-
FS
JO
UIF
XJEF
FYQBOTFT
PG
UIF
6OJUFE

States.
LO G G E R I T H M I C G R OW T H
I pulled into Strawberry, California in
Stanislaus National Forest starry-eyed
They weren’t. Examples of Stanislaus- ests can turn a significant profit through need a special permit and advance per-
dwellers include a wilderness ranger who resource industries like ranching and mission to camp in any given area of the
just wanted to rock climb in Yosemite, a logging, it’s much easier to get land des- Park. And entrance by car costs $20 for
HSJ[[MFE
7JFUOBN
WFUFSBO
XIPTF
KPC
XBT
ignated as a forest than as a park, and a maximum of three days’ stay. National
to mark trees for death, and a forester there’s nearly twice as much official for- Forests are free, since most of their rev-
enue comes from resource industries.
who said his favorite part of his job was FTUMBOE
BT
QBSLMBOE
JO
UIF
6OJUFE
4UBUFT
You can camp where you like and in the
hunting for morels and selling them at The balance the Forest Service tries
Stanislaus it takes all of ten minutes to
the Saturday farmers’ market in Sonora. to strike between resource use and pro-
get to total seclusion. Sure, you come
The forest seemed devoid of activists, tection often results in tense relations
across the occasional logging truck or
filled instead with people who liked na- between civilians and researchers. We
cow patty, but isn’t a place where you
ture but weren’t particularly militant lived with a mammal crew doing a study
can set up camp when your feet get tired
about it. on whether cattle grazing significantly
more “natural” than one where you plan

7JTJUPST
UP
UIF
'PSFTU
EFë
FE
NZ
FY decreased populations of Great Grey
your stay days in advance?
pectations as well. People from Modesto Owl prey like voles. In one of the mead-
You go to a National Park or For-
BOE
UIF
4BO
+PBRVJO
7BMMFZ
DBNF
VQ
UP
ows they surveyed, a rancher noticed the
est out west to have your ‘Big Majestic
Pinecrest Lake, the nearest Sierra tour- fieldwork gear the crew carried around,
American Experience,’ right? Parks like
ist spot, to vacation. They lined up at and proceeded to stand next to his
Yosemite are beautiful, but they aren’t
the snack bar and laid on the one dock, barbed wire fence, shotgun in arm and
wild per se. The reality is that the Fron-
cracked open Budweisers and took out dip in lip, as the crew went out to work.
tier Myth is long obsolete and our wide
QBEEMFCPBUT
37T
BOE
)BXBJJBOQSJOU
Ranchers are notorious for sabotaging
open spaces grow smaller every day. So
shirts abounded. Far more people came scientific studies in the Forests because
how do we manage our land without de-
to the Stanislaus to barbeque and crowd they know they often mean smaller graz-
stroying it? Our Forests need a constant
around one small dammed lake than to ing areas. They knock down barbed wire
trickle of capitalist lifeblood to survive;
backpack or birdwatch. The recreation fences and graze meadows illegally, and
it’s a matter of giving it to them without
was more Americana than environmen- they get away with it because it’s difficult
giving them too much.
tal. to enforce use restrictions on huge tracts
People love to criticize our generation
of land like the Stanislaus.
for its lack of sincere activist fervor. And
U S E I T D O N ’ T LO S E I T But in the privately-owned foothills
while we disaffected youths probably
The Forest Service is an interesting of the Forest, you can drive for miles
don’t have an intricate and nuanced plan
case study in environmental policy be- and miles and not see a single tree, just
for environmental policy in the depths
cause it’s dedicated not primarily to the stumps from where Sierra Pacific Indus-
of our photo-tagging brains, maybe our
land’s protection but to its practical use. tries clear-cut. The ecosystem is dried
blasé attitudes can segue nicely into sen-
All entrance signs for National Forests up, dead, filled with prickly invasive
sible, pragmatic ones. You can be an en-
SFBE
i-BOE
PG
.BOZ
6TFTw
*UT
FBTZ
UP
grasses. Ranchers and loggers who work
vironmentalist and still sell a few trees.
scoff at a motto like that. The Stanislaus through the Forest Service don’t look so
sold 32 million board feet of wood to bad when you see what the free market
logging companies this year, and it has did to the Stanislaus. MIMI DW YER B’13 needs a constant
trickle of capitalist lifeblood to survive.
allocated many of its pastures and idyl-
lic meadows to ranchers at highly sub- T H E E A S Y S I S T E R
sidized rates. But this isn’t the Faustian Stanislaus National Forest is sort of like

WANT
TO MAKE
PUZZLES
FOR THE
INDY?

EMAIL
RAPHIE
AT
BROWN
DOT EDU
15 S E P T E M B E R 9 2 010 T H E C O L L E G E H I L L I N D E P E N D E N T
Sports

Saving A
Tournament
And A Career
James Blake’s quest at Pilot Pen Tennis

“
by Malcolm Burnley
Illustration by Benjamin Cohen tennis facility in the country, but fans website and promotional material dis-
relish the tournament’s intimacy. Ev- play his face as the centerpiece of a pitch
It’s like the Olympics,” Dave ery match is held on a close network of to new sponsors. Worcester hopes he can
Rapoport says, speaking hardcourts, a proximity that allows fans create anticipation and excitement wor-
from a promotional stand at the Pilot to flock from court to court following thy of a new sponsorship deal. With the
Pen Tennis tournament, “Each year, the best action, whether it happens to tournament teetering on the precipice of
for this week, I’m a tennis fan.” Since it be at the food court or the 15,000 seat extinction, it pegs its hopes of survival
began in 1996, the tournament has of- stadium. There is an endearing sense of on a player in a survival mode of his own,
fered the annual promise of competitive humor about the event as well, an appre- fighting to reclaim his career.
intrigue and international flare, while ciation for its imperfections and oddi- Blake and the Pilot Pen saw a syn-
serving a vital role in the local economy. UJFT
CBMM
CPZT
MBVHI
BT
EPFT
UIF
DSPXE

chronized ascendancy, but have simi-
The Pilot Pen generates $26 million year- at their gangly miss-grabs and outsized larly shared a parallel decline; he has
ly and provides seasonal jobs, a tourist outfits, hot-dog umbrellas blow over and fallen to a ranking of 107 in the world
attraction, and much-needed visibility dance away, and promotional workers and the tournament has trended lower
UP
/FX
)BWFO
BOE
:BMF
6OJWFSTJUZT
$VMM crack wry smiles at their own superficial in attendance each of the past five years,
man-Heyman Tennis Center, the host pitches like “Get Free Airfare to Africa with only 78,480 atendees in 2009. En-
venue. Its presence is a mainstay in the Right Now!” (How? On the New Haven- tering the 2010 Pilot Pen, Blake looks to
community as well as for Rapoport, who Johannesburg Express? ). redeem himself as a high-caliber player
has worked Pilot Pen’s promotional aw- and the tournament hopes he can revi- who wins the first set. The second set fin-
ning for a decade, handing out free pens A S P E C I A L CO N N E C T I O N talize interest with another captivating ishes like the first, completing a 6-4, 6-2
and merchandise to ticket-buyers. But Groups of children equipped with over- run at the title. XJO
GPS
UIF
6LSBJOJBO
BOE
UIF
TUVOOFE

this will be his final year at the stand; sized tennis balls and sharpies roam crowd abandons the stadium. As Blake’s
last November the President and CEO of about the tennis grounds, asking each THE PROMISE OF RETURN flaws are exposed, so too is the tourna-
Pilot Pen, Dennis Burleigh, announced PUIFS
i)BWF
ZPV
TFFO
#MBLF w
ɥ
F
ZPVOH
In the first round of play, the stands are NFOUT
GSBHJMF
QPTJUJPO
UIF
MBSHFTU
DSPXE

that the 2010 tournament would be the fans, unconcerned with sponsorship filled with less than 1,000 people and ap- and the biggest star simultaneously exit
company’s last. Without a new spon- worries, anticipate the arrival of James plause rarely reaches above a dormant in just the second round.
sorship deal by the end of the month, Blake, the tournament’s biggest attrac- rumble until Blake’s match begins. By
a meaningful late-summer procession tion. Blake originally did not intend to the time he enters the court, the crowd A N U N C E R TA I N H O R I ZO N
could disappear from New Haven per- play in New Haven, but days after ac- has expanded to two or three times in As devastated as Blake was for himself,
manently. cepting a wild-card entry into the 2010 size, enthusiasm exploding. At age 30, his post-match comments hinted at how
For any small-scale tennis event, Pilot Pen, Connecticut billboards arose he is no longer the dread-locked boy crippling the loss was for the tourna-
sponsorship is essential, covering all on the I-95 highway announcing “Blake named People Magazine’s “Sexiest Ath- ment, “I love having this tournament
costs and providing prize money; in ex- is Back.” The proclamation alludes to a lete” of 2000, but is still a charming pres- here… I would love to play here again
change, a company receives direct pub- deep bond he holds with the Pilot Pen ence on stadium court. His cheeks thick next year,” and asked all players to help
licity every time the tournament’s name tournament, a welcoming home for a na- in stubble, his head smooth-shaven and with the sponsorship search if asked.
is mentioned in print and on television, tive hero of Fairfield, CT. Blake’s affinity topped by a halo-like white headband, The night of Blake’s defeat, attendance
such as the coverage of New Haven’s for the area began in boyhood, but his Blake’s demeanor is serious, never flash- dropped immediately to 4,402, a worri-
event on ESPN 2 and CBS. Pilot Pen’s up- connection with New Haven truly took ing his boyish dimples to the crowd who some sign when evening matches are ex-
coming vacancy jeopardizes the tourna- root in 2005. has suddenly arrived, if only to support pected to outperform day sessions. Four
ment’s future, and has injected the 2010 That year, Blake won the Pilot Pen him. days later, total tournament attendance
tournament with an added responsibil- less than twelve months after a string of Blake’s recent struggles are impercep- finished at 76,722, its lowest since 1999.
JUZ
HFOFSBUJOH
B
OFX
TQPOTPSTIJQ
EFBM
NJTGPSUVOFT
IJT
GBUIFST
EFBUI
B
CPVU
PG
tible in his first match. He looks every bit
"OOF
8PSDFTUFS
SFNBJOT
PQUJNJTUJD

The tournament director, Anne Worces- shingles, a near career-ending neck in- the champion of 2005, displaying a full “We’ve had some good meetings too, but
ter, says that she must convince visiting jury, and a professional drop to outside weaponry of overpowering aces, fore- we still have work to do.” But with the
corporate representatives that fronting the top 200 players in the world. The hand winners, and gritty defense to de- cutoff date mere weeks away, it is unlike-
$1.8 million a year, out of the $4.5 mil- 2005 Pilot Pen was a breakthrough in his feat 76th ranked Pere Riba 6-0, 6-1 in 35 ly a title sponsor will be found, consider-
lion annual operating estimate, is a wor- inspirational comeback from a physical minutes, the single fastest victory of any ing the lackluster buzz surrounding the
thy investment that will ultimately save and psychological low, a victory propel- player on tour this season. Blake is opti- 2010 tournament, from its empty stands
the tournament from collapse. If a new ling him to a career-high ranking of #4 mistic of progressing further, “Hopeful- to its unenviable field of competitors. It
deal is not reached by September 30, in the world in 2006. Blake’s rise in 2005 ly, it’ll be a good show all week,” he says is similarly unlikely that Blake will ever
Yale’s tennis tournament will become coincided with the tournament’s all-time when he exits the court to Kanye West’s return to the top-tier form he once held,
a casualty of the economic recession, peak in media spotlight and attendance “Homecoming.” despite expressing no desire to retire im-
when corporate and consumer wallets figures (100,375), with the tennis world In the second round, the Pilot Pen mediately. Whether or not the event is
are tight. enamored by the player’s story. continues to lag in enthusiasm and at- renamed or a new title sponsor is found,
The community relies on this tourna- A star like Blake is an anomaly at the tendance, but Worcester tells reporters it will never again be The Pilot Pen. The
ment beyond its monetary capabilities. Pilot Pen, a tournament dismissed and that she is beginning to usher corpo- Pilot Pen will always be James Blake’s
Families consider the event an enter- skipped by most top players. Only a week rate representatives around the event. tournament.
taining outdoor escape and kids savor CFGPSF
UIF
QSFTUJHJPVT
64
0QFO
QMBZFST
Blake’s second match sees a jump in at-
their summer vacations here. The Pilot often forgo New Haven and fast-forward tendance to 4,915 for his session, play- MALCOLM BURNLEY B’12 is at the
Pen is a friendly, open environment that to the season’s final Grand Slam. For the ing 43rd ranked Alexandr Dolgopolov Hydration Station.
satisfies tennis enthusiasts and leisurely soon-to-be renamed Pilot Pen tourna- PG
6LSBJOF
'SPN
UIF
POTFU
%PMHPQPMPW

followers alike with its local charm and ment, Blake is one of the few recogniz- makes Blake seem elderly, a half-step too
personality. The Cullman-Heyman Ten- able players in the 2010 field and clearly slow and a half-inch inaccurate, a margin
nis Center is the fourth largest outdoor its most marketable. The tournament’s of error easily exploited by Dolgopolov,
THEINDY.ORG 16
Science

While You SLEEP

T I G H T…
The summer of New York City vs.
WAVES
OF CHANGE
by Katie Delaney and
Nupur Shridhar
It’s somewhere between difficult

Were The Bedbug has seen the city’s infes-

tations double. Cincinnati residents
and painful to stay up to date on
changes in the global climate, especial-

HU
are sleeping on the street. Mattresses ly when Russia’s heat wave, the worst in
lie abandoned on sidewalks, bedbug-

Out
1000 years, coincides with the flooding

M
sniffing dogs are the latest craze, and in Pakistan, which has significantly af-

AN
(oh, the irony) flea markets are suspect. fected nearly 20 million people. In the
But entomologists warn that the Cimex past weeks, Pakistan has struggled to
lectularius boom has been building for

AF
recover—roads and state buildings alike
a while and might stick around longer have been washed away. Russia has fared
than we’d like. POMZ
TMJHIUMZ
CFUUFS
MBTU
NPOUI
1SJNF

FA
Bedbugs were all but eradicated by the .JOJTUFS
7MBEJNJS
1VUJO
CBOOFE
BMM
HSBJO

1950s with heaping doses of DDT. (No, exports, hoarding his country’s scarce

IRS
but really. People used to put it in wallpa- wheat supply and driving American
ING

per.) They came crawling back in the ‘90s. wheat prices higher than they’ve been in
Some blame the DDT ban, or the advent of two years. Rising prices are a clear incen-
central heating (which allowed the bugs to
E AT

tive to keep our interests—our food, our

survive winters). But most cite increased business, our personlal lives—local,
global travel as the reason for the bed- but how do we do so without
YO U A R E W H AT
bug’s return. compromising the quality
YO U E AT ?
There’s no surefire way to of the goods and services,
A survey conducted by TESTBIOTECH, a German “Institute
kill bedbugs, which can live B OA R S the unnatural diversity
for Independent Impact Assessment in Biotechnology,” has
a year without feeding and G O N E of fruit in our super-
revealed that DNA from genetically-modified plants can be
are now immune to DDT. WILD markets, and the
FUNGUS found in animal—and human—tissue and milk. Presumably,
The pesticide propoxur Twenty-five convenience of
Z O M B I E if we’ve eaten genetically modified organisms (GMOs), there’s a
works, but it’s illegal years after cars and cheap
ANTS chance our cells have absorbed foreign DNA, making us the stuff
and the EPA would Chernobyl, many foreign labor
At first glance, the of science fiction. Is this bad news? Maybe. Scientists have known
like to keep it that eastern European that we’ve
leaf looks like any oth- for years that plant DNA is only partially degraded in the gut,
way, fearing its forests still contain come to
er that you might find and can be found in the intestines, bloodstream, and offspring of
effects on chil- Cesium-137, which is take for
on the ground at the tail- mice—but aside from these microscopic differences, the mice ap-
dren (it’s, um, readily absorbed by soil, grant-
FOE
PG
GBMM
CSPXO
CSJUUMF
pear healthy, and so do we.
just your aver- plants, and people. The re- ed?
and a little tattered. But this A few initial studies have, however, shown that ingesting certain
age, everyday TVMU
B
OVDMFBS
GPPE
DIBJO‰
fossilized leaf has a very spe- DNA segments can alter human enzyme levels, and as a result of
neurotoxin). radioactive mushrooms feed-
cial chunk missing. It cuts right poor funding and even poorer governmental oversight, very little
So zip up ing radioactive boars. Boars
through the leaf’s central vein else is known about the possible side effects of meddling with bio-
those bursting into supermarkets and
and is oddly dumbbell shaped. It’s logical functions we don’t fully understand.
mattress church services are not uncom-
a bite-mark that would make any or-         Yet GMOs have the potential to solve the problem of glob-
protec- mon, and this summer, the Ger-
thodontist proud and one that, to Dr. al hunger if studied and used carefully, and in accordance with
tors and man newspaper Der Spiegel fea-
David P. Hughes and his research team, strict[er] environmental protection laws. Tweaking DNA al-
keep tured articles on boar aggression,
DPVME
POMZ
NFBO
POF
UIJOH
[PNCJF
BOUT
lows us to make bigger, fleshier plants, and to raise more of
on including an incident where two
Bites like this one arise from ants in- them on the same amount of scarce farmland. Historically, of
scrat- dozen boars marched into the
fected with the fungus Ophiocordyceps uni- course, the food industry has abused this scientific authority.
chin’. town of Eisenach, and anoth-
lateralis. This fungus overtakes an ant’s brain Without their calculated manipulation of the corn genome,
er where a herd closed down
and forces it into an oral death-grip on a leaf, our diets and supermarkets might not have been so eas-
a highway for hours. In an ef-
allowing the fungus to grow out of the ant and ily saturated with High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), but
fort to curb the boar popu-
onto the leaf, an ideal spot for fungal repoduction. other experiments, such as Golden rice—rice contain-
lation, and to discourage
Hughes has been studying bites like these for years, ing the genetic sequences for beta-carotene—can
eating radioactive meat,
CVU
VOUJM
OPX
UIFZ
IBWF
BMM
CFFO
PO
NPEFSO
MFBWFT
supplement the deficient diets of starving peoples T H AT ’ L L
the German govern-
this fungal parasite is fairly common today among some everywhere. For this reason, though it will likely D O, P I G
ment has begun com-
species of carpenter ants. But this leaf and its signature be years until we have access to newer, and Your friend-
pensating hunters
bite-mark, uncovered in Messel, Germany by Hughes’ team, hopefully improved, GMOs, it’s important ly neighbor-
to wield Geiger
is at least 48 million years old, and the first of its kind to sur- to keep an eye on their development hood pig might
counters and
face from ancient times. and consumption beginning im- be a trough-half-
discard ir-
The full story of a typical zombie-ant infection, as Hughes tells mediately. full kind of guy. In a
radiated
it, is gruesome and creepy. Once an ant inhales the fungal spores, C. study out this summer,
kills.
unilateralis grows inside the ant’s body and extends into its brain, where Dr. Catherine Douglas and
it overtakes the ant’s ability to perceive pheromones. In a sort of false pher- her team found that pigs have
omone-sensing hypnotic trance, the ant abandons its colony and wanders away complex emotions, like optimism
in search of a plant to bite. The ant/fungus zombie is frighteningly specific in choosing a and pessimism.
MFBG
BO
PWFSXIFMNJOH
OVNCFS
PG
UIFTF
CJUFT
BSF
GPVOE
PO
MFBWFT
DN
BCPWF
UIF
HSPVOE
PO
UIF
First, the team trained the pigs to respond
north side of the plant, in areas with temperatures between 20-30 degrees Celsius and 94-95 UP
TPVOE
DVFT
B
HMPDLFOTQJFM
OPUF
NFBOU
B

percent humidity. Why? C. unilateralis is apparently a harsh zombie-dictator, and needs very treat, whereas a clicker meant a rustling plas-
L

specific conditions in order to reproduce. tic bag. (Apparently this isn’t a very pleasant
RO

Once the zombie ant has staked out the perfect leaf, it takes a bite, chomping sound for pigs.) The pigs were then split into
down so hard that it cannot physically unclench, producing the telltale dumbbell UXP
HSPVQT
POF
MJWFE
JO
BO
FYQBOTJWF
QFO
XJUI

A clean straw and interactive pig toys. The other
NT

shape. The ant remains there, attached to the leaf, until it dies. C. unilateralis then
overtakes the ant carcass, growing onto the leaf and releasing spores, starting lived in a small space with no straw and only one
Venn the cycle over again.   (non-interactive) toy. Both groups were then ex-
CO

In his paper, out last month, Dr. Hughes explains that this leaf posed to an ambiguous sound—a squeak—and,
almost without exception, the reactions corre-
diagram contains the fossil record’s first evidence of behavioral manipu-
D

lation by a parasite. It also proves that the undead ant fun- lated to pigs’ environment. Those in the swanky
pen were optimistic about the squeak’s meaning,
IN

gus is at least 48 million years old.

of approaching the treat bin upon hearing it. But
M

the other group, the poor pigs with only one non-
VFLHQWL´F interactive toy, seemed more pessimistic about the
squeak, retreating and apparently expecting the plas-
Illustration by
happenings







ɥ
tic bag treatment.

JT
JT
OPU
VOMJLF
B
IVNBO
QIFOPNFOPO
DBMMFE
DPHOJUJWF
CJBT
PO
B
HPPE
EBZ

ZPV
Robert Sandler and
from the expect the best from an ambiguous stimulus, like getting a test returned. If
you just got rained on and fell down the stairs, however, you’d have a
Emily Martin
more pessimistic reaction toward the same situation. Doug-
summer las hopes that this study can help improve live-
D E S I G N BY
R AC H E L W E X L E R
stock welfare.
17
Literature
A short short by Charlotte Crowe
Illustration by David Emanuel
Algebra
Staring at the back of Tess’s
neck in algebra class. The knobs
of vertebrae visible just above
the neckline of her sweater.
Wondering what all the knobs
would look like, lined up straight,
uninterrupted by an orange,
wooly sweater. Dreading the end
of algebra, the screech of the
chair, all the sneakers squeaking
up against the locker room
floor, the girls standing in their
stretchy bras, stomachs long and
flat. The coach’s whistle and how
it was cool, October. Wondering
if I should have brought a long-
sleeved shirt. Richard Babson
looking at me during practice,
whether I was wearing sleeves or
not. While we stretched, while we
ran. His eyes tracing the line from
shoulder to elbow, knee to ankle.
Geophysics
This semester they start asking us
about the thickness of glaciers. There is
an earthquake in the Caribbean. Then
an earthquake in South America. There

SPDL
DMJNC

IFMJDPQ like a snakeskin and throws it in. It floats
is recurrent volcanic activity in northern
Europe. They keep asking us something
about groundwater. Floating ash disturbs
airplane routes and seismic waves topple
cities, topple governments. Meanwhile,
they ask questions about solar winds.
The global economy, having already col-
lapsed, is setting new, record-breaking
lows. They ask us to define paleomag-
netism. Every front-page headline uses
the word “plummet.” Oil starts pump-
ing into the Gulf Coast. Keeps pump-
ing through midterms. We are asked to
accurately measure the Earth. We lose
track of all the questions and stop look-
ing for answers, even on other people’s
Shirley Local standing in the
middle of the stretching circle,
screaming, “One! Two! Three!
Four!” and Richard reaching his
arms up, looking. The line of dark
hair visible between his shorts
and t-shirt. The line of dark hair
descending from his belly button.
The line of hair descending from
my belly button, much finer.
Barely visible, blonde. Standing
in the bathroom at home after
practice, naked and looking at the
mirror on the back of the door.
The bathroom door shaking,
Katherine banging, saying,
“You’re not the only one who
needs to use the bathroom, you
know. You’re not the only one,
Elizabeth.” And my mother’s voice
too, yelling, “Do hurry Elizabeth,
dinner is ready. Dinner is ready!”
My mother down in the kitchen,
melting butter on the broccoli, the
knife just slipping right into the
soft stick of butter. Just slipping
right in. Her buttering my toast,
eating it burnt and buttery,
finding crumbs in my hair first
period. The slam of all the lockers,
the hallway smelling of shampoo,
a short short by Rebekah Bergman
papers. Grades subsequently plummet.
A sinkhole opens like an eyeball in a for-
eign capital city and they ask us to ap-
proximate its depth. We start dreaming
of getting close enough to make it shut
with us inside it. They ask us to drop the
course or we will fail.
Having cut our losses, we head to
the sinkhole hoping to dive in. For six
days we ride through flat expanses of
uninteresting countryside, living out
of my backpack with its broken zipper.
The bus is crowded and we are fixated
on the hardness of the seatbacks. I mas-
sage your shoulder blades even though
you didn’t ask me to and we snack on
tasteless frozen mangoes, pre-sliced and
wrapped in plastic. Your back is deeply
knotted.
When sunlight pours through the
windows on Saturday, we see a big bill-
board for ecotourism in a language we
do not speak. You pull down the flimsy
S E P T E M B E R 9, 2 010 T H E C O L L E G E H I L L I N D E P E N D E N T
cheap perfume. My backpack with
its broken zipper. Balancing it on
my shoulder while Richard Babson
talks, this time keeping his eyes
on my face. His eyes locked with
mine, my eyes wanting to look
away. Algebra class, the desk
with the seat attached. Trying to
draw her neck, but it never looks
right. Not as beautiful, my little
smudgy pencil marks. Richard
asking about the movies. And the
popcorn leaving a buttery film on
my tongue. His father’s blue Ford
and how I can feel the metal of the
car, the car’s hardness, through
the worn-out cushions of the
backseat. Feeling the hardness,
and wondering if he can taste the
butter. His tongue slimy, slipping
around. My buttery, salty mouth
and his slippery tongue. My eyes
closed, seeing the dead people
in the movie, their heads purple
with blood, the city exploding
behind them. My underwear all
bloody after algebra class; I have
to ball them up, hide them in the
bathroom. Cecile Monroe gives
me a tampon. Practice wearing
just my shorts. Running. Six
miles, for the girls. The boys run
eight. Richard Babson running
eight miles. Tess not running. The
C minus on my algebra test, my
mother asking what’s wrong. My
mother saying, “Elizabeth, you
know how important your studies
are. You know.” The rollers in her
hair, the green Styrofoam rollers
visor to return us to darkness. An hour
later we are outside the station choos-
ing between several options for a guided
UPVS
CVOHFF
KVNQ
ter ride. The locals have names we mis-
pronounce. Other foreigners have other
broken-zippered backpacks. A young girl
has her toes on the edge, biting a papaya
and spitting the seeds inside. The tiny
black dots shrink to tinier black dots
and, watching this, we somehow feel re-
lieved.
They ask us to sign a release form.
They ask us if we have a history of back
injury. They do not wait for our respons-
es. Papaya droplets continue to fall as we
are strapped into harnesses. They ask
us to pick a focal point to jump toward
because this is a big place and getting
bigger. We do not understand their ac-
cents, their directions (for instance, who
do they mean when they say ‘we’? And
did they ask us to pray when the grav-
ity pulls us in?). Someone speaks in bible
verse of eyes that first opened to nudity
and shame. Someone mumbles to him-
and the purple under her eyes.
Katherine sitting at the kitchen
table too, painting her fingernails
pink with slow, careful strokes.
“Yeah, Elizabeth. Your studies
are important.” Her asking if I
want to paint my fingernails.
No. The left-over jello salad on
the Formica counter. Quivering
there in the yellow light, the red,
XFU
KFMMP
ɥ
F
QIPOFT
CSJUUMF
SJOH

“It’s for you, Elizabeth.” Saying
I’ll go to the movies, hoping
there’s no more dead people. The
hardness of the backseat again.
I want to spit out the slippery
tongue. Thinking of my mother’s
green rollers and my sister’s pink
fingernails. And my balled-up
underwear in the bathroom stall,
the red stains. Bright, right there.
The red of the jello, right there,
quivering. His fingers with their
bitten nails unbuttoning my shirt.
Both of us looking at Katherine’s
PME
CSB
QJOL
GBEJOH
UP
BMNPTU
white. The coldness of the car, in
November. And his hot mouth on
the flat, hard expanse between
my breasts. My biology teacher
saying, “Sternum,” and my algebra
teacher drawing graphs, pale and
luminous on the blackboard. The
back of Tess’s neck, what the
knobs of her vertebrae must look
like, all lined up, uninterrupted.
What she must look like without
the orange sweater, the brown
corduroy pants. Her underwear
balled up. Richard Babson making
a strange, small sound, with
his mouth between my breasts.
My fingers on the back of his
neck, pressing into the knobs of
his vertebrae. Closing my eyes,
pressing. Imagining Tess, if it
was her neck. If it was her hot,
red mouth, open on my chest.  
self and we hear a word that sounds like
“plummet.” The little girl, having fin-
ished her papaya, holds the empty rind
before it freefalls down and down and
down. Did you see that, I wonder. Then
you kiss me and tell me my mouth tastes
vaguely of earth.
Any questions, they ask.
The thickness of glaciers? My mind
screams. Now before it is too late. The
solar winds? Magnetic fields?
There is silence at these altitudes. We
squint down and feel single-celled as
even the sinkhole appears no bigger
than a womb.
Are we ready now? We nod or the wind
nods for us. Either way, we’re jumping.
As a child, I once asked my mother
why life is exactly this way as opposed to
any other. For instance, why not have a
single human composed of every other
one?
You hold my hand.
Mom said, that’s a very big thought
for such a very little girl.
And, bury that deep inside the dark
muds of your mind.
As I fall I pray no sinkhole will ever let
this all flood out.
X
FRIDAY | 10
ALL DAY
Registration deadline for “Ladies Rock Camp” (October
8th thru October 10th @ JamStage, 25 Esten Ave,
Pawtucket). No experience necessary. girlsrockri.org.
$300–$500 per camper. Scholarships may be available.


1.
o

1.
0QFOJOH
SFDFQUJPO
PG
i1JDUVSFT
GSPN
UIF
)BZ

$FMFCSBUJOH
UIF
+PIO
)BZ
BU
w
0O
EJTQMBZ
iUIF

graphic novel, Time Beavers, and Abraham Africanus
I, a rare political pamphlet from 1864 that satirically
depicts Abraham Lincoln as an African American,
making a pact with the Devil to become the monarchical
SVMFS
PG
UIF
6OJUFE
4UBUFTw
-JTU
"SU
#VJMEJOH
#SPXO

6OJWFSTJUZ
'3&&

8 PM
Blondie in Concert. Doors Open at 7pm. Twin River
Event Center. Twin River Casino, Lincoln, RI. Mucho
mistrust for $32.50+

10 PM
4UBUF
-PVOHF
BOE
)FOOFTTFZ
#-"$,
1SFTFOU
"GSP4POJD

+6.1
'SJEBZ

ɥ
SPPQ
"MMFZ
1SPWJEFODF



SATURDAY | 11
11 AM – 4 PM
8BMLJO
8PSLTIPQ
&WFSZCPEZ
1SJOUT
BU
UIF
"4

Community Print Shop, 2nd Floor of the Dreyfus, 95
Mathewson St, Providence. FREE.

11 AM
1884 World Champion Providence Grays vs. Brooklyn
Atlantic. 19th Century Baseball Game. Last game of
the season. At Ardoene Field, Ardoene St, Providence.
FREE.

2 PM
Film Screening of 1974—On the Road with The Beach
Boys at the 2010 Pawtucket, RI Arts Film Festival.
Followed by Q&A with the Beach Boys’ Billy Hinsche.
"U
#MBDLTUPOF
7BMMFZ
7JTJUPS
$FOUFS

.BJO
4U

Pawtucket. $10.


1.
Surfer Blood @ Jerky’s. 71 Richmond Street,
Providence. Formerly Jabroni Sandwich; still meaty.
Doors at 8 PM. 18+, $15.

10 PM
-VBV
CJLJOJT
UBOLJOJT
NBSUJOJT
OP
XFFOJFT
"U
,JOH

House, 154 Hope Street, Providence. FREE.

SUNDAY | 12
10 AM
3VTI
)PVS
*NQSPWJTBUJPOBM
5SJCBM
#FMMZ
%BODF
8JUI

Neylon. Perishable Theatre Mainstage, 95 Empire St,
Providence. $13 drop-in.

2 PM – 7 PM
Americana Sailing Party at India Point Park W/S/G
Devine’s Diner, Downcity Mountain Boys, Last Good
Tooth, The Silks, Joe Fletcher & the Wrong Reasons.
India Point Park, Providence. Admission is free but a
sailboat rides will run you $3. BYOYacht.


1.
o

1.
Summer Ice Skate at Meehan Auditorium, Brown
6OJWFSTJUZ
1SPWJEFODF
88#SJBO#PJUBOP%
'3&&

5 PM
Live recording party for What Cheer? Brigade. Event
organizers promise pizza and beer and recommend
arriving “at 5, not punk 5.” At Machines With Magnets,
400 Main St., Pawtucket. FREE.

MONDAY | 13
PARY O’CLOCK
Karaoke. At the Hot Club, 575 South Water St,
Providence. I like girls who wear Abercrombie and Fitch.
One drink minimum.

TUESDAY | 14
ALL DAY
Last day to add a course without a fee. selfservice.
brown.edu. FREE til 5PM.
Two-fer Tuesdays at Geoff ’s, 163 Benefit St, Providence.
5XP
TBOEXJDIFT
GPS
UIF
QSJDF
PG
POF

3FDPNNFOE

“Havarti 5-0” on pumpernickel. All the pickles you can
eat.


1.
o

1.

A Reading by Poet/Translator Sawako Nakayasu,
author, most recently, of “Texture Notes” (2010),
“Hurry Home Honey” (2009) and several other volumes
of poetry. McCormack Family Theater, 70 Brown St,
Providence. FREE.

1PM – 3PM
Domino Madness! What’s black and white and tipped
all over? At the Providence Children’s Museum, 100
South St, Providence. $8.50 museum admission.

WEDNESDAY | 15
5 PM
Fashion Show of Canine Couture. Dog waste bags
will be provided. Rough Point, 680 Bellevue Avenue,
Newport. $7. Woof.

5 PM
Disney On Ice Presents Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 3.
WWBrianBoitanoD. Dunkin Donuts Center, heart of
Providence. $20-$100.

8 PM
Sleigh Bells. 8#36T
$IFBQ
%BUF
"U
ɥ
F
.FU
)PQF

ArtJTUF
7JMMBHF

.BJO
4USFFU
1BXUVDLFU
3*
64"

$9.55.


1.
The Shield Around The K The Story of K Records (film
TDSFFOJOH

16/,
3*05
"4
1SPWJEFODF
'3&&

THURSDAY | 16
%64,
.PWJFT
PO
UIF
#MPDL

,JMM
#JMM
7PM

(SBOUT
#MPDL
PO

UIF
DPSOFS
PG
8FTUNJOTUFS
BOE
6OJPO
4U
1SPWJEFODF

FREE. Wiggle your big toe. Wiggle your big toe. Wiggle
your big toe.