W E D N E S D A Y APRIL 3, 2002
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVII, No. 42
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
www.browndailyherald.com
U.receives $15M Starr Foundation donation to support need-blind admission BY JULIETTE WALLACK
Megan Lynch / Herald
Latino History Month began with a convocation in Salomon 101 Tuesday night.This month’s theme is “Nuestra Identidad: Reaffirming Our Place in the Americas.”
Latino history month kicks off, calling all to arms against racism BY JULIA ZUCKERMAN
Latino History Month kicked off last night with a series of speeches urging Latinos of all backgrounds to join concerned people of other ethnicities in combating racism. Carmen Espinal ’04 and Tatiana Pulido ’05, co-programmers of Latino History Month, introduced the month’s theme: “Nuestra Identidad: Reaffirming Our Place in the Americas.” “Often, when people refer to the Americas, they mean the United States,” Pulido said. Latinos have long been overlooked, but “we are here and have always been here,” she said. The convocation, held in Salomon 101, featured keynote speaker Elizabeth “Betina” Martinez, a Chicana writer and activist. Born in segregated Washington, D.C., Martinez said she first became aware of racism at the age of five, when she and her dark-skinned father were told to move to the back of a city bus. Martinez warned that early exposure to a biased culture can lead to a harmful internalization of racism that blocks the realization of identity. As a child, she said she wished for blond hair and blue eyes but didn’t question the reasons behind her dissatisfaction with her true appearance. “We are buying into the culture of white supremacy when we do that,” she said. Although Latinos have different cultures, they are “united by (a) common memory” and by their obligation to expose the whitewashed “false history” of European imperialism in Latin America, she said. Beginning with Columbus “discovering” the Americas, the role of Latinos is unacceptably absent from mainstream accounts of history, Martinez said. Latinos need to assert their identity by “remembering that our history is what made us,” she said. Martinez described her experience in anti-racism and anti-war activism, which began in childhood when she heard her father’s stories of Mexican revolutionary movements. “I was already a little anti-imperialist by the age of eight,” she said.
During World War II, Martinez saved every day’s newspaper because, she said, “I knew there was something terribly important going on.” That war was a defining force in her life, she said. Martinez said she was inspired by the struggle against fascism but horrified by America’s dropping of atomic bombs on Japan. In essence, she said, the victims of the American government’s actions had been killed in her name, she said. Her horror at the violence committed on behalf of Americans first led her to her anti-war views, she said. In 1970, Martinez traveled to North Vietnam and saw the destruction American bombing had caused there. “That was done by my country,” she said. “In my name? No, thank you.” Martinez was active in the civil rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s, when young activists demonstrated “unforgettable” courage and commitment to justice, she said. Her travels in revolutionary Cuba and her experience with African American and Chicano activists in America made her realize the need for fundamental changes in society, she said. It also made her aware of the challenge in devising a strategy for achieving the goal of a better society. “We have to have a vision of what we want, not just what we want to get rid of,” she said. Martinez said the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks made her see clearly “the connection between racism and war.” The war on terror is “an imperialist war,” she said, and she called the killing of Afghans on the victims’ behalf an “opportunistic use of their memory.” Latinos understand the imperialist nature of the war on terror because Latin American countries have been the victims of imperialist U.S. policy for centuries, she said. Martinez told the audience to be active in fighting for what they believe in. The biggest problem in America “is
In the largest show of support for financial aid in Brown’s history, the Starr Foundation donated $15 million in support of need-blind admission last week, according to a University press release. The gift is “a significant first step” toward supporting the $5 to $8 million needed each year to fund a need-blind policy, wrote Laura Freid, executive vice president of public affairs and University relations, in an e-mail. But to remain need blind, the University must establish a separate endowment of more than $100 million, she wrote. President Ruth Simmons, who received permission in February from the Corporation to pursue her Proposal for Academic Enrichment and the included need-blind policy, said in a statement to The Herald that the University is “absolutely delighted” with the foundation’s gift. The donation helps make possible the long-awaited initiative, she said. “I have met with thousands of alumni over the last several months, and the importance of making a Brown education accessible to outstanding students regardless of their financial circumstances is often one of the first issues they raise with me,” Simmons said. The Starr Foundation, with assets of over $5 billion, is one of the largest private charitable organizations in the country, according to the organization’s Web site. It was established in 1955 by Cornelius Vander Starr, an insurance executive, and received his estate after his death in 1968. The Starr Foundation has contributed financially to Brown since 1980 when it funded the University’s first C.V. Starr scholarship, said Gladys Thomas, vice president of the Starr Foundation. Thomas would not say whether or not the University solicited the foundation for the gift. The large donation comes as the Starr Foundation is “increasing our grant-making to education and higher education in general,” Thomas said, and the foundation expects a need-blind policy will allow Brown to attract the most see STARR, page 4
Reform needed to level electoral playing field, voting rights expert says BY MATHU SUBRAMANIAN
John Bonifaz ’87, founder and executive director of the National Voting Rights Institute, spoke to students in Petteruti Lounge about his commitment to campaign finance reform Tuesday night. Unlike organizations that tend to focus on eliminating corruption from the fundraising process, NRVI strives to end what Bonifaz called “wealth discrimination.” The electoral process allows only wealthy candidates to run for office, Bonifaz said, adding that undertaking a political campaign, especially at the federal level, is too costly for the average citizen. A campaign for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives might cost more than $500,000, while a campaign for the U.S. Senate often costs $5 million, he said. The vast majority of people who finance campaigns are affluent Caucasian males, a segment of the population Bonifaz said “is not reflective” of America. Consequently, the majority of constituents feel alienated
see IDENTIDAD, page 4
I N S I D E W E D N E S D AY, A P R I L 3 , 2 0 0 2 College Board considers changing, adding writing sample to SAT I test page 3
Study shows binge drinking on college campuses remains steady page 3
Employees at Josiah’s suggest recycling is not always executed correctly page 5
see REFORM, page 6
TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Peter Asen ’04 says we must demand living wages in memory of M.L. King’s legacy column,page11
Women’s icers reach NCAA championship game, fall short of victory by a goal page 12
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