T U E S D A Y APRIL 30, 2002
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVII, No. 60
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
www.browndailyherald.com
UFB raises most student group budgets for next academic year BY JULIA ZUCKERMAN
The Undergraduate Finance Board has allocated nearly $630,000 out of the $650,000 set aside for next year’s student groups’ budgets. Last year, UFB allocated a total of $600,000. Most groups with budgets will receive more funding than last year, and UFB met nearly all appropriate requests for funding, said UFB Chair Nigel Cordeiro ’02. After initial allocations and three rounds of appeals, there is still $20,000 left for UFB to allocate this week, Cordeiro said. The budget includes $30,000 to fund a new initiative: “one centralized group that will organize campus-wide activities,” Cordeiro said. Cordeiro, Director of Student Activities David Inman, Project Coordinator for the Office of Campus Life and Student Services Kate Wolford, Dean for Campus Life Margaret Jablonski, Undergraduate Council of Students representatives and Senior Class President Greg Moffitt ’02 met this year to plan the committee, he said. The committee has “been talked about for a while” but not yet made public, and the question of who will sit on the committee has yet to be determined, Cordeiro said. Its members may be elected at large or appointed by UFB. The most significant allotment increases were to club sports teams and publications. The Critical Review will receive $10,290 next year, up from $8,140. Clerestory will receive $9,380, up from $7,500. Club sports often pay high travel expenses out-ofpocket, so UFB “tried to do a lot more to aid their travel costs,” Cordeiro said. In its first year designated a Category III organization, the Field Hockey Club will receive $800 next year, marked primarily for travel and equipment expenses. “Now we can do a lot of the things that we weren’t able to do last year,” said Co-captain Victoria Ford ’03. The Coalition of Bands at Brown saw its budget increase more than 10 fold, from $304 this year to $4,384 next year. The funding increase was based in part on the see FUNDING, page 11
Psychologist McCann ’82 takes charge of sports psyches for Olympic team BY CARLA BLUMENKRANZ
Once just another first-year in Professor of Psychology Billy Wooten’s introductory course, Sean McCann ’82 is now responsible for the mental health of the U.S. Olympic team. As U.S. Olympic Team Sport Psychologist, McCann is a full-time employee of the U.S. Olympic Committee. He and his four-person staff are based at committee headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo., and also work on-site at all Olympic games. Sports psychologists study the mental aspects of athletic performance. Practical application of sports studies research may allow athletes to perform better, overcome the pressure of competition and psychologically recuperate from physical injury, according to the Association for Advancement of Applied Sports Psychology. McCann described his work as “a very specialized form of stress management.” Many athletes see the Olympics as the pinnacle of their careers and need help coping with the associated physical and psychological stress, he said. see MCCANN, page 8
Charlie Hall
Prosecutor Richard Rose questions witness Patricia McLaughlin, the director of city administration, who testified that she first discussed the University Club with Cianci in July 1998.
THE CIANCI TRIAL
FOCUSTO SHIFTTO UNIVERSITY CLUB BY KATHERINE BOAS AND SETH KERSCHNER
Following City Planner Christopher Ise’s testimony that he bribed city officials in exchange for a job, Director of City Administration Patricia McLaughlin set the stage for today’s trial session, which will focus on Mayor Vincent Cianci’s involvement in the University Club. Federal prosecutors aim to prove that the mayor granted the private East Side Club a building variance in exchange for a lifetime membership, which he was granted in 1998. Today marks day six of the federal corruption trial against Cianci and three co-defendants. With Cianci listening intently from the defendants’ bench to his top aid’s testimony, McLaughlin nervously said she first discussed the exclusive University Club with the mayor in July 1998. This discussion came after Cianci received a solicitation for the University Club to appear before the city’s Building Board of Review as per its request for a building variance, she testified. The mayor “said something to the effect that he expected the University Club to be held to the code,” she said. “Was there anything unusual about the way he gave this instruction?” U.S. Attorney Richard Rose asked McLaughlin. “He was clear they shouldn’t receive their variances.” McLaughlin testified that after the Building Board of Review did not approve all the University Club’s variances, the building became unsuitable for occupancy pending an appeal to the State Building Board of Review. Rose asked McLaughlin why the mayor was so interested in the club. “He applied to the (club) for membership,” McLaughlin said. “Is he a member of the club?” Rose asked. “No.” “So he had applied and was rejected, correct?” “Correct.” McLaughlin also testified that although she served as legal advisor to the Building Board of Review as part of her duties as Director of City Administration, she rarely attend-
ed the board’s meetings. “Why was this meeting on your agenda?” Rose asked about the July 30, 1998 meeting during which the board voted not to approve all the club’s requests for variances. “Because I believed it was going to be a contested hearing,” she answered. City planner says he bribed Cianci for job Earlier on Monday, Ise told Assistant U.S. Attorney Terrence Donnelly that David Ead, former vice chairman of the Board of Tax Assessment Review, told Ise in July 1996 that he would find him a job with the city of Providence in exchange for a $5,000 contribution to the mayor’s campaign. Ise said he had known Ead since childhood, and said he did not know at the time that Ead had a connection to city government. “I put myself in a bad situation,” Ise said. Ead — an admitted felon now cooperating with the government — pled guilty to arranging bribes for himself and Cianci in exchange for jobs and tax breaks. Ead testified last week that he set up a meeting with Cianci and Ise in January 1997. The men discussed Ise’s background and resume, after which Cianci called two of Ise’s references — on speakerphone. Ise said he heard both sides of the conversations. Ise testified that the mayor called Thomas Deller, then deputy director of the city’s Planning and Development Department after hearing that there were no job openings at the Providence Preservation Society’s revolving fund. Deller took the stand after Ise and corroborated the story. According to Ise’s testimony, Deller said there were no openings at the time, but changed his mind after speaking with the mayor. Deller created a temporary job for Ise — $9 an hour, no benefits — and the two men met that afternoon. Ise said he started his job the following week. About two weeks later Ise went to Ead’s office to make
I N S I D E T U E S D AY, A P R I L 3 0 , 2 0 0 2 Professor Dan Brock prepares to depart Brown for National Institutes of Health page 3
Two Brown professors claim Guggenheim Fellowships for work in history, physics page 3
see CIANCI, page 9
TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T CIS chief tells ACUP the University’s computing systems need major repairs page 5
Kavita Mishra ’04 says SASA slide show denegrated women in South Asian society guest column,page 23
Baseball team claims two out of three against Harvard, stays in the hunt page 24
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