Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Daily

Herald

the Brown

vol. cxlvi, no. 57

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Since 1891

BUCC addresses ROTC, proposed team cuts DPS arrest records go to FBI

By Margaret Yi Staff Writer

As of Sunday, only 766 students had responded to a survey issued by the Undergraduate Council of Students last week to collect student opinion on the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, said Katherine Bergeron, dean of the College and chair of the Committee on ROTC, at yesterday’s Brown Community Council meeting. The survey deadline — originally set for May 4 — will be extended in hopes that more students will offer their feedback.

Surveys conducted by UCS usually average 1,500 respondents, said UCS President Diane Mokoro ’11.

About 50 community members gathered in the Kaspar Multipurpose Room for the meeting to hear updates from the Committee on

ROTC and the Athletics Review Committee. Many in attendance expressed dissatisfaction with both committees, criticizing a perceived lack of transparency and the athletics committee’s recommendations.

Bergeron began the meeting by summarizing the committee’s progress in reviewing the University’s stance on ROTC. In the past two months, there have been over 15 meetings and a wide range of responses from members of the Brown and Providence communities, she said.

She also spoke with an assistant secretary of the Navy, who is interested in involving the University in a cross-institutional program, Bergeron added. This plan would allow Brown students to travel to

Hilary Rosenthal / Herald

continued on page 9

The Committee on ROTC (above) presented at yesterday’s BUCC meeting in the Kaspar Multipurpose Room as community members looked on.

By Jake Comer Senior Staff Writer

alums — a woman who accused him of rape in 2006 and her father — claiming that he was falsely accused and that Brown failed to give him a fair hearing because

Under a federal program recently activated by the state attorney general, anyone arrested by the Department of Public Safety will have their fingerprints and identity submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation to be run against federal law enforcement records.

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin recently activated Secure Communities, a federal program that sends arrest records to the FBI and Department of Homeland Security. The program applies to all municipal police forces in the state, including the Providence Police Department, and suspects arrested by DPS are booked by the PPD. The majority of DPS activity does not rise to the level of making an arrest. But the department has arrested six people so far this year, according to Mark Porter, chief of police and director of public safety.

Secure Communities — created

by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2007 — is an agreement between the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security to share identifying information on arrested individuals, including their fingerprints, said Amy Kempe, a

continued on page 8

continued on page 2

Campaign Emails underline rape procedures’ flaws one student has committed a lifelong consequences of expulover, U. Hall Accuser’s father felony against another. A rape in- sion. Unsurprisingly, the handling offered to mentor vestigation involves more complex of rape investigations on college evidence than a case of plagiarism campuses has been the subject of seeks money witness in or underage drinking — and the much controversy, both nationMcCormick case stakes are much higher. wide and at Brown.

Currently, William McCormick elsewhere News analysis is suing the University and two Total gifts to the University have fallen since the seven-year $1.6 billion Campaign for Academic Enrichment came to a close Dec. 31, said Steven King ’91, senior vice president for University advancement, and the University is looking for ways to increase revenue. The question for leaders now will be how to “sustain the support and, in ways, increase it,” said Richard Spies, executive vice president for planning and senior adviser to the president.

Though King acknowledged the “pullback” in gifts, he said his office will continue to push for new approaches to fundraising outside the “artificial marketing construct of the campaign.”

“The plan continues — it doesn’t end here,” he said.

Achieving the initiatives set forth in the Plan for Academic Enrichment will take time, Spies said. “No one ever thought that a campaign over a five- or seven-year period was just going to get everything done.”

Prior to the campaign, the University raised about $80 million per year. By 2011, that figure had more than doubled to $200 million.

The advancement office will try to maintain the current level of gifts, said Beppie Huidekoper, executive

inside

continued on page 2

news....................2-9 editorial............10 Opinions.............11

By Nicole Boucher News Editor

A rape case on a college campus is a unique phenomenon. It places university administrators in an unfamiliar position — that of attempting to determine whether

If a campus rape investigation wrongly exonerates a guilty student, the victim of a violent crime can be further scarred. If it wrongly finds a student responsible, an innocent person faces the

Top high schools find admissions success

Proud President

By David Chung Senior Staff Writer

Stephanie London / Herald

President Ruth Simmons spoke yesterday in Salomon 001 as part of Pride Series 2011.

Munchies

New meal plan caters to off-campus hunger

campus news, 3

Certified

Faculty considers language certificates Campus news, 4

Besides rigorous academic curricula, extracurricular opportunities, long histories of distinguished alums and growing national and international reputations, the Harvard-Westlake School and Phillips Academy have something else in common.

Both institutions have sent more than 45 graduates each to Brown in the past five years, according to figures released by the schools’ college counseling departments.

Top-tier private and magnet high schools boast high matriculation rates to the most prestigious colleges and universities. But these schools deny that the relationships between college counselors and college admission offices help boost their students’ chances of getting in.

Harvard-Westlake, a college-preparatory day school in North Holly-

Sellout?

Have we traded learning for profit? opinions, 11

weather

By Amy Rasmussen Senior Staff Writer

wood, Calif., and Phillips Academy, a Massachusetts boarding school usually referred to as Andover, are two of a handful of high schools across the country that send more than onefourth of their students to Ivy League or highly reputable institutions.

The all-male Collegiate School in New York City has sent 39.6 percent of its graduates in the past five years to universities falling under the “Ivy Plus” umbrella — the eight Ivy League universities, as well as Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Among the graduates, 14 have enrolled at Brown.

Other New York private and boarding schools located throughout New England boast similar statistics.

Trinity School on the Upper West Side of Manhattan — named “America’s Best Prep School” by continued on page 7

t o d ay

tomorrow

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65 / 53

2 Campus News calendar Today

April 27

7 P.m.

ToMORROW

April 28

7:30 p.m.

“Gasland” Screening,

“SAAM: Take Back the Night,”

Wilson 102

Smith-Buonanno 106

8 p.m.

8 p.m.

Ghanaian Drumming and Dancing,

Visions Spring 2011 Release Party,

Grant Recital Hall

Salomon 001

menu SHARPE REFECTORY

VERNEy-WOOLLEY DINING HALL LUNCH

Beef Tacos, Vegetarian Mori Soba Noodles, Vegetarian Tacos, Chocolate Krinkle Cookies

Buffalo Chicken Wings, Red Potato Frittata, Vegan Brown Rice Pilaf, Chocolate Krinkle Cookies

DINNER Castle Hill Inn Pork Spare Ribs, Crispy Fried Tofu, Vegan Ratatouille, Fudge Bars

Roast Beef au Jus, Vegan Vegetable Couscous, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Fudge Bars

Sudoku

The Brown Daily Herald Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Police dept sends fingerprints to FBI continued from page 1 spokeswoman for Kilmartin. Jurisdictions can opt to activate their participation in the program without pressure from the federal government, she said.

Once a jurisdiction activates the program, the police departments within that jurisdiction send the identification information, including fingerprints, of anyone they arrest to the FBI. The FBI runs this information through a database shared with the Department of Homeland Security. The program’s primary purpose is to identify, and often deport, illegal immigrants who have already been arrested within the United States.

“There isn’t a change in the system, in the way local police departments act,” she said. Local police departments still do not have the authority to enforce immigration laws, she said.

Ian Eppler ’13, president of the Brown chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the Secure Communities program hurts interaction between immigrant families

Herald File Photo

Suspects arrested by DPS will have their fingerprints sent to the FBI.

and police. “I think it’s a bad thing for public safety, and it’s a bad thing in terms of what impact it will have on racial profiling,” he said.

But because the program applies to all arrests, Kempe said, “It does away with allegations of racial profiling.”

Eppler called the program “disconcerting” and said it could hit home for part of the Brown community. “There are a number of undocumented students here … and

I’m sure they’re a little bit more on edge as a result of this announcement,” he said.

“At this point in my life, I’m operating under the assumption that nothing I do is private,” said Michael Zamost ’14.

Nick Jacob ’14 said he found the program’s targeting of illegal immigrants distasteful. But as far as privacy concerns go, he said, “What I have on the Internet is way worse than my fingerprints.”

U. aims to diversify funding sources continued from page 1

Crossword

vice president for finance and administration. But it is important to remember the economic circumstances facing the University. “It’s a tough time,” she said.

Sponsored funding “is not looking too promising,” she said, adding that net tuition — tuition less financial aid — “is nearly flat.”

“We certainly are going to be totally dependent on what the development office is going to do,” Huidekoper said. But she said the University will also be looking to other sources of revenue.

Professional master’s degree programs will be one of the most important funding sources going forward, she said. She also pointed to the Summer@Brown program for high school students, which she said brings both fiscal and academic resources to the University by providing prospective students with an early “view of their future.”

There are “no current plans for a new campaign,” Huidekoper said, and it is unclear when the next campaign will begin.

The rhythm of campaign cycles varies from school to school, Spies said. Some schools pursue new cam-

Daily

the Brown

paigns immediately, and others try to maintain a more regular schedule.

The University’s last cycle saw a seven-year gap — the Campaign for the Rising Generation finished in 1996 after raising $534 million.

The amount of time and effort that goes into a campaign is “very, very significant,” Spies said. Volunteers and administrators need time to “catch their breath a little bit, even while continuing to do the type of fundraising we have to do every year.”

A gap between campaigns also offers “a chance for people to refill their pockets,” Huidekoper said.

Though it is important to celebrate past accomplishments, it is in the nature of the University to constantly look to the future, Spies said. “If we just sit still,” he added emphatically, “that’s a recipe for decline.”

The annual fund will now move forward without “the umbrella of the campaign,” Spies said.

From 2001 to 2011, the fund nearly tripled in size — from $12 million to $36 million. The goal for the fiscal year ending in June is $36.5 million.

Currently, King said the office is about 7 percent ahead of last year’s figures. Though the office is only

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40.3 percent of the way to their goal, Spies said much of the pledge activity happens in May and June. The $24 million dollar increase since 2001 is “an incredible expression of support,” he said, pointing to faculty and student initiatives it facilitated.

The annual fund is “one of the best in the country,” King said.

The advancement office will focus on the annual fund rather than targeted pledges, such as endowing professorships, King said. He said he plans to increase its professional support to younger graduates — and even to undergraduates — to keep younger alums connected. Alums should “really love the place and want to make sure it continues to grow,” he said.

The end of campaigns often brings about some office restructuring, Huidekoper said. Leaders move on to other schools currently in the midst of their own campaigns, opening possibilities for new leadership and new direction.

Currently, the advancement office is looking for people to fill three open positions — vice president for development, director of communications and director of corporate and foundation relations, King said.

Kristin Davitt ’88, former vice president for development, is now assistant vice president for undergraduate programs at Penn — which is in the fourth year of its own campaign. Though Davitt left Brown due to an opportunity that she said had “nothing to do with the end of the campaign,” Huidekoper said it is perfectly normal for people to want to move on at the close of such ventures.

“There’s no intent to decrease support” to the office, she said.

While the post-campaign world is “a new reality that we’re all operating in,” King said, he emphasized that his office would continue to focus on effective leadership and discussions regarding University initiatives.

Campus News 3

The Brown Daily Herald Wednesday, April 27, 2011

MunchCard to bring credits, points to Thayer

By Sahil Luthra Senior Staff Writer

When they return in the fall, students will have the option of a new off-campus meal plan that will allow them to use a credit-and-point system at Thayer Street venues as an alternative or addition to other meal plan options.

The MunchCard plan is the brainchild of four Brown students — Ben Vishny ’14, Tucker Adams ’11 and brothers Andrew Tran ’11 and Steven Tran ’13 — who have spent the past semester setting it up.

Local restaurants will accept MunchCards, which are wallet-sized and have a bite-shaped hole in the corner, and will often offer student discounts to cardholders. Though the MunchCard program will not run through the University, it will operate with meal credits and points similar to University meal plans.

A list of participating eateries is still being finalized, but the founders said it will be complete when registration opens May 20.

Kabob and Curry has already signed on, and close to 20 businesses — including Andreas Restaurant,

Baja’s, Better Burger Co., Froyoworld, Haruki Express, Juniper, Mama Kim’s Korean BBQ, Paragon and Subway — have expressed high levels of interest, Vishny said.

Students on the MunchCard plan will be able to choose how many meal credits and points they want for the semester during online registration, allowing them to use the plan either as an alternative or a supplement to a University meal plan. Students must sign up for a minimum of 30 meals per semester, though meal credits can roll over to the following semester.

Students and parents “want the security of having a meal plan, but they also want variety,” Vishny said.

The four founders also emphasized the flexibility of the card. Students can add meals and points at any point during the semester. The first four weeks of the fall semester will be a trial period during which students can change or cancel their plans.

The idea for the project came out of ENGN 0900: “Managerial Decision Making,” a class three of the four founders are taking this semester. A major factor stopping

Online declaration elicits mixed reactions

By Jackie Choi Contributing Writer

Hilary Rosenthal / Herald

Baja’s, a Tex-Mex eatery on Thayer Street, may sign on to the MunchCard.

students from eating off-campus is the fact that they needed to use their meal plans, Andrew Tran said. “We looked at the market, and it looked ready for something like this,” he said.

Kabob and Curry chef and owner Sanjiv Dhar said the founders’ “spirit of entrepreneurship” piqued his interest in supporting the MunchCard program.

Though Dhar said MunchCard discounts at Kabob and Curry would be minimal, Vishny said the discounts could be about 20 percent for some eateries.

Rie Ohta ’13 said though her University plan is “convenient,” she is “sick of meal plan.” She said she plans to look into the MunchCard option,

adding she “probably would spend less” because of the Blue Room’s high prices.

But MunchCard meal credits — like University meal credits — set a price range, which might make it just as easy to pay cash, said David Manning ’13, who lives in West House and eats most of his meals through the co-op. Manning added he would still look into the MunchCard.

Stephanie Lai ’12, who is off meal plan and eats on Thayer Street about once a day, said she would be interested in the MunchCard option.

“When we don’t eat on Thayer, we make our own food because it’s cheaper,” she said. “But if Thayer’s cheaper, that’s probably more convenient.”

New thrift store offers Students petition against exchange, upcycling Grad School funding policy

By Daniel Jeon Contributing Writer

Two undergraduates have teamed up to create Brown’s first studentrun thrift store, providing an outlet for students to donate, exchange and buy used goods. The Vault, which opened two weeks ago, was started by Hannah Winkler ’13 and Tara Noble ’12.5 in the hopes of providing various environmentally friendly ways for the community to handle unwanted items.

Since its opening about two weeks ago, the Vault has had three days of sales — one in the Salomon Center lobby Monday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., one on the Wriston Quadrangle April 15 and the opening sale in J. Walter Wilson April 8. About 50 students attended the second sale day on Wriston, which made substantial profits, Winkler and Noble said. “Considering we have no overhead, (the sales) are great,” Noble said.

Aniqa Anwar ’14, who visited the store on Wriston, said the Vault was “a great concept because it’s really difficult to get rid of clothes with such a busy schedule.” She said she traded in some of her own clothes for store credit and bought a T-shirt, but added the store should work on its selection because some items were “not fit for reuse.”

Winkler and Noble first began working on their business during the fall semester. Through partnership with the Brown Student Agencies, the Vault was provided a temporary space and advertising funds. Noble said the process was lengthy and arduous.

There are three components to the Vault — a thrift store, an item exchange and a workshop. The thrift store currently sells clothes, jewelry, books and other accessories donated by students, and Winkler said she also hopes to offer housewares in the future. For the item exchange, Brown students can bring in their unwanted clothing or other items to receive store credit for other goods in the thrift store.

“The Vault is very Brown … with student-to-student interaction,” Winkler said.

The Vault is also unique in that it offers various workshops that align with Winkler and Noble’s goal of upcycling, a process that converts old or useless materials into items that have more value and a positive environmental impact. The Vault offered a T-shirt workshop Monday in Salomon, where students could bring in used clothing and upcycle them into other items, such as bags or wristbands. Noble said other workshops are also planned for the future, on papermaking, repair-and-mending and seasonal workshops.

The Vault is “very environmentally motivated,” Noble said.

Winkler and Noble said the Vault is still getting off the ground.

“This is our trial period. … Since it’s going to be an establishment, (growth) is going to take longer,” Winkler said. “The primary hurdle is getting a space,” Noble said. With a stable location, “we’d be so much more efficient and reach out to a lot more people,” Winkler added.

“It’s an organic evolution,” Noble said.

By Caitlin Trujillo Senior Staff Writer

Graduate students petitioned President Ruth Simmons and Provost David Kertzer ’69 P’95 P’98 last Thursday to reevaluate the new Graduate School funding policy. The policy, which was finalized March 9, requires graduate students in the humanities and social sciences to apply for additional funds after five years.

The new policy also sets up a committee of administrators to review these funding applications.

Prior to the change, department heads and advisers negotiated funding levels for rising sixth-year graduate students, said Sean Dinces GS, a third-year graduate student in the Department of American Civilization.

But administrators making these funding decisions do not work directly with graduate students and do not understand their needs, Dinces said.

The petition demands removal of the application process, a guarantee of sixth-year funding for graduate students in good standing and more funding opportunities beyond the sixth year.

A group of 30 to 40 graduate students presented the petition with over 230 signatures to the offices of the president and provost last Thursday. The students also presented a similar petition from the undergraduate student body with 100 signatures, said Sara Matthiesen GS, a second-year graduate student in the American Civilization department. Graduate students also handed out flyers during A Day on College Hill.

The petitioning students are not advocating for a return to the old system, which was informal but also inefficient, Dinces said. Instead, he said they are asking the University to be accountable for helping students to fund their research.

Even if they require more than five years to complete their research, graduate students in the life and physical sciences have access to a wider variety of outside funding and thus often need not apply for sixthyear funding, Dinces said. Graduate students in these sciences request research funding less frequently beyond the fifth year of study, Peter Weber P’12, dean of the Grad School, told The Herald last month.

But the national average time to complete a PhD in the humanities is nearly 10 years, according to a 2008 study referenced in a press release from the petitioners. Matthiesen said the new policy is thus disadvantageous to researchers in the humanities and social sciences because it provides funding for only a portion of their time studying. “We feel it’s definitely an indication of what sort of knowledge the University values,” she said.

Simmons and Kertzer have not responded to the petition, Matthiesen said. But Kertzer told The Herald no other school in the country guarantees funding for sixth-year graduate students, and such a guarantee “doesn’t strike (him) as very plausible.”

“It might be nice, but it’s not going to happen,” he said.

The petitioning students will continue to “rally around” the students most immediately affected by the policy change, Matthiesen said.

The new online system for concentration declarations, instituted for the first time for sophomores and transfer students this spring, has received mixed reviews from students and faculty members.

Previously, students were required to turn in essays and a series of forms signed by a concentration adviser in paper form to the Office of the Registrar, a system that required three copies of each form.

The new system uses Advising Sidekick, a web-based program run by the Office of the Dean of the College. In a Feb. 11 Herald article, Katherine Bergeron, dean of the College, praised the “green system” for eliminating the need to print physical forms.

Timothy Harris, professor of history and a concentration adviser for the department, wrote in an email to The Herald that advisers would be less likely to read the essays now that they are online. He is concerned the new system may compromise the faculty-student advising system. “Students at Brown have access to extensive one-on-one advising from faculty, and I worry that the new system will undermine advising at Brown,” he wrote.

Gretchen Schultz, concentration adviser in the French studies department, wrote there are some “kinks” in the new system that have caused some frustration among concentration advisers and students. “My preference would have been to maintain the paper declaration form, which allows students to work out the details of their concentration face-to-face with an adviser during office hours,” she wrote in an email to The Herald.

But Anna Aizer, associate professor of economics and public policy, wrote in an email to The Herald the electronic declaration system was “fine on the whole.” She said the only issue was confusion on the part of students and faculty members who thought the online system replaced a face-to-face meeting.

Nicola Ryan ’13 found the electronic system to be “relatively efficient,” saying he started his form the day before it was due and had his concentration — economics — approved in an hour.

“I didn’t have any problems,” Ryan said. “If anything, it was almost too easy to declare a concentration.”

Caitlin Taylor ’13, who filed two concentrations, said it was annoying to have to wait for her first concentration to be approved before being able to edit her second one.

But on the whole, she found the online system preferable to having to write everything out.

“If people are complaining, they’re stupid,” she said.

“It takes a while to get used to continued on page 4

4 Campus News

The Brown Daily Herald Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Faculty considers offering language certificates

By Ashley Aydin Senior Staff Writer

Though discussions of a proposal to offer foreign language and culture certificates for undergraduates will continue next semester, faculty have questioned the rationale behind offering such programs and the ability of language departments to accommodate the increased enrollment the certificates could bring. The University does not offer minors, but the proposed certificates would essentially function as minors in a foreign language.

To receive certification, a student would be required to take six language and culture courses focusing on a specific language, work or study abroad in a country where the language is spoken and maintain an online portfolio of work, wrote Katherine Bergeron, dean of the College, in an email to The Herald.

Almost all students completing language concentrations combine them with second concentrations, according to Bergeron. The proposed certificates would require fewer courses than any concentration program.

Many of Brown’s peer institutions offer certifications or minors in foreign languages. The Office of International Programs has encouraged the University to offer certificates since 2007, according to the minutes of a March 8 faculty forum held to discuss the proposal.

Defining proficiency

Many faculty think language certificates are a good idea, but it remains to be seen how the University “would go about doing this,” said Cynthia Garcia Coll, chair of the Faculty Executive Committee and professor of

education.

One consideration involves how best to test students on their language proficiency. “We’re not going to just give a student a test and then give them a certificate,” she said. “They have to develop a portfolio.”

Departments and faculty have to ask themselves what they are “actually certifying,” said Kerry Smith, professor of history and chair of the East Asian studies department. “After three years, are we saying that you’re proficient or fluent? What about someone taking third-year French who has already taken French in high school? I’m not sure how we go about comparing what we mean by proficiency.”

It is also unclear whether language departments can support the implementation of language and culture certifications.

“The language departments came out and said, ‘Wait a minute, we don’t have the infrastructure for this,’” Garcia Coll said.

Language departments are already overwhelmed, Smith said.

“There would be an additional 10 to 15 students to teach. Does it mean this will diminish the quality of instruction?” he said. “If you look at the staffing numbers of our peer institutions, we don’t compare well. It’s a long struggle to try to correct that.”

The University’s lack of language certifications places it out of step with peer institutions, most of which offer minors or similar certifications.

“We are always comparing ourselves to other institutions,” Garcia Coll said. “I’m sure it is part of the motivation but not the only motivation.”

But the University does not base decisions on its peers, Smith said. “That’s not the way Brown

does things.”

‘Commodifying language’

Faculty and department chairs also questioned whether the proposed certificates would be used solely to help students make their transcripts look more appealing.

“There are questions such as, are we commodifying language acquisition? Is it just another thing that students can put on their resumes, or is it something that can bring students a real understanding?” Garcia Coll said. “We want them to be really interested.”

In the past, similar proposals have been turned down by faculty, Luiz Fernando Valente, associate professor of Portuguese and Brazilian studies and chair of the department, wrote in an email to The Herald.

“Many of us believe that such certificates go against the basic principles of the Brown curriculum,” he wrote. “A Brown education should not be a process of accumulating credentials, but rather of developing an integrated program of study that makes sense for each individual student.”

Valente emphasized that a foreign language certificate would be the equivalent of a minor in the foreign languages. And minors were eliminated with the implementation of the New Curriculum.

“Why not offer a certificate in computer science for students who would like to do work in computer science beyond the basic level, but not enough to complete a concentration?” he wrote. “We shouldn’t attempt to reintroduce minors through the back door.”

An incentive to learn

For students, a certificate might make learning languages more rewarding, said Kai Loh ’14, head of the Brown Language Society, a student group formed to serve as a Department Undergraduate Group for students learning languages.

“If there were language cer-

tificates, people would want to go beyond certain levels,” he said. “People usually stop at the 400-level. I think the major gains come from taking classes in the upper levels.”

Loh said there are many gaps in terms of resources for language at Brown. “Compared to our peers, there’s a long way to go,” he said.

“I know at Princeton, language classes are kept to a small size, about 12 students per class.”

Loh cited the open curriculum as a factor in the popularity of language classes at Brown. “Because of the open curriculum, sometimes students have no incentive to study languages,” he said.

“Having the certification would spark more interest in learning languages.”

Moving forward

A committee of language department chairs will work in the fall to address the concerns raised by the faculty, Bergeron wrote.

Faculty who favor the proposal are “excited about the possibility of encouraging more students to continue their language studies to an advanced level, and they like the interdisciplinary nature of the requirements,” Bergeron wrote.

Faculty who oppose the certificates “are concerned about a strain on departmental resources and the need for a broader discussion of language teaching at Brown.”

Valente said that at a meeting of foreign language department chairs with Bergeron last week, it was clear that most of the chairs prefer not to proceed with foreign language certificates at this time.

“We agreed, rather, that we need to create a task force to assess the current state and future aspirations of foreign language departments,” he wrote. “Brown is behind other universities in terms of support and facilities for foreign languages, and focusing on a certificate would distract us from more important and pressing issues regarding foreign language study at Brown.”

Students, faculty evaluate online declaration process continued from page 3 things and the main change is in the delivery method, not the material,” said Bergeron. “The basic structure in declaring concentration is the same, but we still encourage many suggestions and feedbacks from both faculty and students, and we have recently made small adaptations in the online declaration system that pertain to some particular departments.” Bergeron said students should not be any less likely to seek out their advisers as

the online declaration cannot be done before a face-to-face advising session. “We have no intention of discouraging faculty-student advising,” she said. “Once the semester is over, we plan to email each department and get their feedback on the new system as a whole.”

“The most important thing is to have the new program work for all students and faculty alike,” Bergeron said.

— Additional reporting by Shefali Luthra

Ne ws in brief $5.5 million grant to help fund labs The University’s Center of Biomedical Excellence for Cancer Signaling Networks was recently awarded a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence grant worth more than $5.5 million to be paid in annual $1.1 million increments for five years. The grant will be used to purchase and maintain new equipment for the Center for Genomics and Proteonomics.

This marks the third time in 15 years that the center has received funds from this grant.

The center currently serves about 40 labs, conducting research in subjects including engineering, immunology, biology and molecular pharmacology, said Christoph Schorl, assistant professor of molecular biology, cell biology and biochemistry.

“We want to get as many people in as possible to make use of the infrastructure,” Schorl said, adding that the facility aims to be as inclusive and accommodating as possible. Schorl and others who work in the Protein Genomics labs do not have research projects themselves but assist others with their research, something Schorl called “mercenary science.”

There are about 120 regular equipment users, ranging from undergraduates to post-doctoral candidates to professors, Schorl said.

The new equipment funded through the grant will impact a community broader than the University, helping to make the Jewelry District and Rhode Island a more competitive place for research, Schorl said. Small biotechnology companies and researchers from Rhode Island Hospital are currently welcome to use the facility for a relatively low user’s fee due in part to the support of this grant and grants previously received.

After this most recent grant, the Genomics Core Facility will be “weaned off” of funding from the National Center for Research Resources, which awards the research excellence grant a maximum of three times to the same institution, Schorl said. The facility will explore other options for self-sustainability, including increasing user fees and applying for smaller grants, Schorl said. It was an “amazing achievement” to receive the grant three times, he added.

— Kristina Klara

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Campus News 5

The Brown Daily Herald Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Facilities Management to undertake summer projects

By Greg Jordan-Detamore Senior Staff Writer

Come June, students may be on vacation, but the Department of Facilities Management will have no shortage of assignments. With the seniors’ departure after Commencement Weekend, Facilities Management will quickly get to work on a number of campus improvements.

Staff will install more bicycle racks, improve the area adjacent to Caswell Hall, repair sidewalks and perform classroom and dormitory room renewal as well as energy conservation projects.

“We try to start as early as we can,” said Stephen Maiorisi, vice president for Facilities Management. There are only about 10 weeks to get much of the work done. The absence of much of the student body allows Facilities Management to complete projects without as much interference as there would be during the academic year.

About $47 million will be spent over the summer, said Paul Dietel, director of project management.

This expenditure is comparable to those of previous years, Maiorisi said.

Currently, bikes can be found locked to railings, trees and other objects across campus. But the installation of about 80 to 100 new bike racks in around eight locations will ease these parking woes.

The rack locations have not yet been finalized, Dietel said.

New stairs to the sidewalk from the east side of Caswell Hall will allow a “safe egress path” for students exiting the dorm, Maiorisi said. Currently, students exit onto a patch of dirt and must then jump down several feet to reach the sidewalk.

Sidewalks will be replaced in various locations around campus.

Pending city approval, the University will also replace several of the artistically designed crosswalks on Thayer Street. The mosaic-style crosswalks would be replaced with traditional ladder designs, Dietel said.

The Main Green will see increased lighting as a result of community feedback about current lighting levels, Maiorisi said.

MacMillan 117 and Salomon 001, as well as classrooms in Wilson Hall and Barus and Holley, will be upgraded over the summer.

Improvements may include fresh coats of paint, new carpeting and updated audio-visual equipment and will cost about $100,000, Dietel said.

Along with classroom updates, about 600 rooms will be painted this summer, Maiorisi said.

Solar panels will be installed on the roof of the GeoChem building, which Dietel called “a really cool project.”

Work will continue on major capital projects, such as the Medical Education Building — scheduled to open for classes in August — the new fitness and aquatics center and the renovation of the Metcalf Chemistry and Research Laboratory.

Work will be completed on the $15.5 million Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics — located at 121 South Main St. — with one floor done in June and the other in July.

In the Jewelr y District, streetscape improvements as well as the creation of a new public plaza will occur over the summer.

“Our goal is to get (the plaza) done by the end of the summer,” though construction work has not yet begun, Maiorisi said.

Facilities Management will also conduct regular repair and maintenance, he said.

Forum examines ethics of ROTC

By Caroline Flanagan Staff Writer

Over 100 students, professors and community members crowded into MacMillan 117 last night for the Janus Forum Town Hall panel on the presence of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps at Brown.

Luther Spoehr, senior lecturer in education, spoke first, advocating for the return of ROTC to campus.

Though ROTC instructors should not be given faculty status and students should not receive credit for military courses, ROTC could provide many benefits for Brown, particularly by improving its public image, he said.

“For the past 40 years, some colleges and universities, including Brown, have taken the attitude that they are too pure to be sullied by contact with the military. This attitude must change,” Spoehr said.

The presence of ROTC cadets on campus “will expand significantly the meaning of diversity” as well as allow students to abandon military stereotypes and move away from prejudice, he said. “It comes down to the University’s self-interest and self-respect. It’s hypocritical for the University to live off its privileged position in American society and not give back. ... Restoring ROTC now would be a useful and significant statement. We should make that statement and we should make it now,” Spoehr said.

The next speaker, Amit Jain ’12, said he could not support the program because of the military’s policy on those who identify as transgender. The military defines being transgender as a gender identity disorder. People who express this identity — for example, by requesting to wear the uniform of the opposite sex — are at risk of being dishonorably discharged, he said.

The military’s transgender policy goes against Brown’s discrimination policy, he said, which states that the University does not discriminate

JFK Jr. lecturer discusses DADT, ROTC continued from page 12 before political expediency,” and he believed the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was the right thing to do. “If I lost my congressional seat, so be it,” he said.

During a question-and-answer session after the lecture, Raphaela Lipinsky DeGette ’11 asked Murphy his opinion on bringing ROTC back to Brown. Murphy, who participated in ROTC himself, said Brown should bring the program back.

Murphy said it was an honor to serve in Iraq, during which time he “became a witness to our foreign policy.”

“I came out of Iraq thinking it wasn’t the right thing to do,” said Murphy, who altered a bill within his first six weeks in Congress to set a time frame for withdrawing soldiers from the country.

After his talk, Murphy told The Herald he has always been committed to fighting for justice — regardless of whether the crime is committed on the streets or in a corporate board room — and he is “excited to bring this vision to office.”

“He is the definition of inspiring,” said Katerina Wright ’11, president of the Brown Democrats. “It is so easy to lose faith in politics, but he makes you believe that there

are good people out there.”

Jeremy Feigenbaum ’11, president of the College Democrats of Rhode Island and a former Herald opinions columnist, said he was particularly impressed that Murphy was open about taking positions on Iraq and “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” that were not mainstream positions in his district, but were still in the broader national interest.

Despite the warm spring day, approximately 50 students attended the lecture entitled “Ideals in the Age of Political Cynicism” in Salomon 001. Previous recipients of the John F. Kennedy Jr. award include Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. and Bill Clinton.

based on gender identity or gender expression.

“Transgender Americans face discrimination across all walks of American society. ... The transgender community is marginalized, degraded and denied at every turn,” Jain said. “As a student who believes in our country and believes in our military, but also believes in human rights and the rights of our peers, I believe we should depart from our peer institutions.”

Joy Joung ’11, who until recently was the only ROTC cadet on campus, advocated for ROTC’s reinstatement. She began by addressing sexual assault in the military and said there is only a minor difference between the proportion of women who suffer sexual assault in the military — 33 percent — and the proportion who suffer sexual assault in college — 25 percent.

The military is a progressive institution in some ways, she said.

For decades it has paved the way for social change, she said, citing women’s rights, desegregation and the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

If the University does not allow ROTC back on campus, it would be hypocritical to continue its relationship with the Providence College ROTC program, she said.

The final speaker, Professor of English William Keach, applauded the military’s repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, but cautioned that it may not resolve issues of LGBTQ

discrimination. Attitudes within the military will be slow to change, he said.

The ideals of the University might not correspond with the ideals of ROTC, Keach said.

He quoted President Ruth Simmons’ speech on the eve of the Iraq War. “Universities have a particularly important role to play in the advent of war. As in all times, universities must today cling to their commitment to the dispassionate search for truth. ... As scholars, true to our task, we are morally obligated to continue and strengthen that examination, bringing to light questions and insights that could be useful to the nation in the unwinding of war and the restoration of peace and prosperity. The task of the scholar to probe deeply and the role of the university to foster edifying debate must be protected especially in times of war.”

ROTC may conflict with that inquiry, Keach said, adding it’s important that a university stand back and observe the military.

“For me, it’s not a question of aloofness or purity, but a question of engagement,” he said. “There are a lot of ways in which the University can learn about and participate in the U.S. military and remain independent and retain its intellectual status.”

Audience members from diverse continued on page 9

6 Campus News

The Brown Daily Herald Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Demystifying UFB: Funding process draws mixed reviews

By Aparna bansal Senior Staff Writer

The Undergraduate Finance Board distributed over $1.1 million raised through the Students Activities Fee to fund groups on campus this year, according to Chair Adam Kiki-Charles ’11. But the funding process remains largely unfamiliar to the general student body.

The board allocates funds to student groups according to a three-tiered category system.

The roughly 270 Category II and 160 Category III student groups receive baseline funding of $200, though Category III groups may also submit budget proposals in the spring to receive additional funds. Category I and service groups receive no funding.

Funding decisions for Category III groups are made according to the nature of the group, the nature of its hosted events, previous funding levels and UFB’s budget, Kiki-Charles said. The board prioritizes funding activities that will “directly impact Brown students,” especially those offered free of charge, he added. But funding levels range widely given the diverse needs of groups who qualify as Category III. And determining the right amount can prove tricky.

In the board room

“We tend to look at the mis-

sion of the group,” said Ralanda Nelson ’12, Undergraduate Council of Students student activities chair and UCS president-elect.

“Can they operate in the fullness of that mission with the amount of funding that we provide?”

A representative from each group meets with a UFB representative to discuss budget proposals. While funding is partly up to the board’s discretion, there are certain rules that UFB always follows. Funds are usually provided for capital improvements, but UFB does not fund food, recruitment or fundraising efforts, events held during reading period or decorations.

“The hard and fast rules are there for a reason,” Nelson said.

Though UFB created the Student Activities Endowment in 2009, the board has limited funding.

Stephen Robert ’62 P’91 recently pledged $1 million to the fund, committing himself to leading fundraising initiatives.

The endowment’s expansion will provide UFB with “a lot of flexibility in the future,” KikiCharles said. UFB is also looking into the expansion of media services for all groups, Nelson said.

Due to high levels of required funding, the Brown Lecture Board, the Brown Concert Agency, the Special Events Committee and UCS — all Category III groups

— are given special consideration, Kiki-Charles said. “Their mission requires that we treat them differently,” he said of the four groups.

“They produce singular events that impact thousands of students.”

UFB funds food at SPEC events and the Brown Lecture Board and BCA receive large lump sums to host high profile speakers and performers on campus, he said. UFB is also working to provide UCS with discretionary funds to start new projects.

“I don’t think of it as a ‘us versus them’ fight for funding,” said Liza Weisberg ’12, co-president of Brown Lecture Board. “We definitely trust that the UFB has the best interests of our student group in mind.” Though the Lecture Board’s budget will be smaller this year, she said the UFB was “always very helpful in collaborating and cooperating.”

“My representative was very knowledgeable of things that went above and beyond just funding student groups,” said Fiona Condon ’12, station manager of Brown Student Radio. She added the process was “easy and quick” when a piece of equipment broke and she had to make a supplemental funding request. Though BSR rarely receives all the funds it requests, the group is always provided with an explanation of UFB’s decisions, she said.

A controversial process

But certain groups have had more difficulty with UFB. Natalie Van Houten ’14, treasurer for Students for Sensible Drug Policy, expressed frustration that her group only received $273. The group also did not receive funding to travel to a conference that club members traditionally attend. SSDP was asked to come back with an argument for why four students should be able to attend the conference, she said. UFB will normally fund up to three students to go to conferences, according to its website.

“We feel like we really have been shafted,” Van Houten said, adding that five out of seven items for which she requested funding were rejected. “The budget that’s been written for next year is just ridiculous,” she said. The group was asked to return to UFB at a later date for supplemental funding.

Charlie Wisoff ’11.5, former president of the Brown University Mediation Project, said his group did not receive the same funding level it had previously received because UFB demanded more details about the requested funds. “I think (UFB) could probably be a little more democratic — (get) more of the student body involved in the process,” Wisoff said.

The Brown Band, another Category III group, also faced problems getting funding for off-campus events.

Dara Illowsky ’14, the band’s business manager, said UFB’s policies were more stringent this year — she was asked to go through the appeals process and had to answer questions about specific items before she could receive any funding.

The board should be more transparent about budgeting, Illowsky said. They “should be very explicit about where funding is going and where it’s coming from,” she said.

But the board is more open than many groups give it credit for, Nelson said. Though UFB has closed deliberations, it posts its policies and minutes on its website, including information on why an objection was made.

Illowsky said she recognized the dilemma that UFB faces. “I know it’s frustrating for them, too — when they can’t give out money that they want to,” she said.

Funding philanthropy

Two years ago, UCS and the Student Activities Office created a new category designated S for service groups. Groups that fell in this category were no longer

eligible for UFB funding.

This semester, Health Leads was changed from a Category II to a Category S group. Amy Traver ’12, co-campus coordinator of the group, said the loss of funds will mean the group can do less to promote awareness on campus and will now focus solely on helping the Providence community.

“We are connected to a national organization, but we are still very much a Brown student group,” Traver said. “We should be able to access the things that Brown student groups have access to.”

There needs to be “better communication” between UFB and service groups, she said. For now, the group continues to receive funding from the Swearer Center for Public Service and its national organization.

Seeking other sources

In addition to funds from UFB, student groups can approach the SAO for funding. The Late Night Fund is available for any groups seeking to host non-alcoholic events on weekend nights, said Katie Colleran, program associate for student activities and religious life.

The fund supported over 40 events last year, including the Brown Folk Festival and a comedy night for Stand Up Comics, she said.

Funding also comes from higher up. Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron said student groups unable to find funding through other mechanisms often apply for discretionary funds from her office. But budget constraints left fewer discretionary funds available this year, she said. The office recently funded events such as Strait Talk, guest speakers, film screenings and a production of “Rent.”

“We don’t make people jump through too many hoops,” Bergeron said. Students applying for funding had to include a faculty endorsement with their application.

Certain groups such as the Ivy Film Festival have also been “great about off-campus fund raising” and use corporate sponsors in addition to UFB spending, Nelson said.

The board is actively engaged in dialogue with the SAO to discuss how to better support student groups lacking funds, Kiki-Charles said. He said conversations need to continue, not only about how UFB can better support student groups, but also about how the University can better support UFB. “If we had infinite funding we could give (groups) a lot more support,” he said, “but the reality is we don’t.”

www.browndailyherald.com

Campus News 7

The Brown Daily Herald Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Elite college preparatory schools get more students in continued from page 1 Forbes Magazine last year — sent 21 students to Brown and matriculated 37.3 percent of its students to “Ivy Plus” universities in the past five years.

Twenty-two graduates of Phillips Exeter Academy, a boarding school in Exeter, N.H., enrolled at Brown in the past three years, while 250 alums have entered other “Ivy Plus” institutions in that time. Milton Academy in Milton, Mass., sent 24 students from its past three graduating classes to Brown.

But according to Jim Miller ’73, dean of admission, personal relationships between prestigious institutions and secondary schools do not impact these numbers.

“We do not admit schools,” he wrote in an email to The Herald. “We admit students.”

Attracting talent

Miller credited these prep schools’ ability to attract a diverse and talented group of students with their high college admission rates.

The growing global reputations of institutions such as Andover, Exeter and Milton allow the schools to enroll exceptional students from all corners of the world, he wrote.

And renowned day schools, such as Harvard-Westlake or public magnet Stuyvesant High School in New York, benefit from their footing in larger metropolitan areas.

Such preparatory schools possess a high level of talent, and the greater number of applicants from the schools is “inevitable,” he wrote.

Brown receives more than 75 applications from many of these schools each year, he wrote, adding that “it makes sense” for schools with such a large number of applications to see a high number of acceptances.

“The successes of these schools in our admission process … is a function of the unique opportunities they have to find promising students across a broad geographical spectrum and educate them well,” Miller wrote. “We do not have any quotas, expectations or targets for any institution for any reason.”

But the top independent schools across the country expect they will maintain a “batting average” in university admissions, said Stephen Nelson, senior scholar at Brown’s

Leadership Alliance. College counseling is undergoing a process of “professionalization,” Nelson said, making it the college counselors’ jobs to get students into top universities.

Though he is unsure whether an “on-the-phone relationship” exists between universities and certain high schools, he said college admissions are affected by trends, and universities tend to invest their time in schools and regions from which students consistently enroll.

Nelson, an alumni representative of Gettysburg College, said there are schools from which Gettysburg seeks prospective students and other institutions it avoids based on previous matriculation statistics.

Examining the relationships

Martha Lyman, associate head of school and director of college advising at Deerfield Academy, a boarding high school in Massachusetts, denied the existence of any special relationship between Deerfield and universities. According to the academy’s website, six members of the class of 2010 enrolled at Brown while 48 others matriculated at the remaining “Ivy Plus” institutions.

Tamar Adegbile, an upper school dean at Harvard-Westlake, said her school has developed a positive relationship with Brown, but students at Harvard-Westlake do not receive “preferential treatment” in the admission process. Ed Hu ’87, Harvard-Westlake’s chief advancement officer and former associate dean of admission at Brown, has often led Harvard-Westlake students on tours of the University, but Adegbile said Harvard-Westlake has not used the relationship to its advantage.

But she added that athletes, especially water polo players or students with family connections to Brown, may have a greater chance of being admitted.

Max Lubin ’12, a graduate of Harvard-Westlake and a member of the men’s water polo team, said it has been “a long tradition” for the school’s water polo players to attend Brown. The coaches at Brown and Harvard-Westlake do not have an established relationship, but HarvardWestlake is well-known for its water polo program, he said.

But Lubin said he believes special relationships have affected college admissions in the past. According

to Lubin, more than 25 students — what Lubin said was an “absurd” number — were admitted to Penn from Harvard-Westlake’s class of 2007 because of connections among school personnel, but when the admissions officials at Penn changed, the acceptance numbers noticeably decreased, Lubin said.

Stanley Bosworth, former headmaster of Saint Ann’s School in New York, established connections with a number of universities through his ability to be “personable,” said Caleb Townsend ’11, a 2007 graduate of the school. Bosworth, who retired in 2004, developed relationships that were personal at first, rather than school-to-school, Townsend said.

But as Bosworth consistently sent talented students to reputable universities, Saint Ann’s became more oriented toward university preparation.

Bosworth’s influence became noticeable after his retirement, Townsend said, as the “gravity” of the relationships between Saint Ann’s and top universities has been “dwindling.”

According to matriculation statistics available on the school’s website, 50 students came to Brown and 152 enrolled at “Ivy Plus” universities in the six years prior to Bosworth’s retirement. In the six years after his departure, 26 Saint Ann’s graduates have enrolled at Brown, and a total of 118 have entered “Ivy Plus” institutions.

Students at Saint Ann’s receive written reports from their instructors instead of grades. Universities are accustomed to the school’s grading system, wrote Elizabeth Hannan and Melissa Gibson, college counselors at Saint Ann’s, in an email to The Herald. They declined to comment on whether or not Saint Ann’s has special relationships with certain universities that can sway admission numbers.

Brenda Tan ’14, who graduated from Trinity last year, said students at her school expected approximately 50 percent of the graduating class to be admitted to an Ivy or equally reputable institution. She said that, though many of the students who went to Ivy League schools from Trinity were legacy candidates, college counselors who themselves attended the schools were able to establish connections and contact institutions on behalf of students

placed on waitlists.

But Katrina Toal ’12, a graduate of Hunter College High School, a public magnet school in New York, said her school’s counselors “don’t buddy it up with admissions staff to get students into schools.” She said she believes special relationships exist between Hunter and institutions across the country, but they are “based solely on the reputation of the quality of students at Hunter.” Hunter does not publish matriculation statistics.

Clogging the applicant pool

But some graduates of these preparatory schools said attending competitive schools may have actually hurt their chances of admittance to top institutions.

Chris Sulawko ’13, who attended Stuyvesant, said he was “frustrated” when applying to Ivy League universities because of the stiff competition he faced from his classmates.

The school tends to create the “formulaic college applicant” derived from a “how-to book,” according to Evan Schwartz ’13, also a Stuvyesant graduate.

Due to the caliber of Stuyvesant students, some might have had better luck in the college admission process had they attended another high school, said Gabe Paley ’12, a Stuyvesant alum. Paley said his father suggested he enroll at the Horace Mann School in New York, which was ranked second in the nation last year by Forbes, to better his college prospects. Horace Mann boasts a matriculation rate of 36 percent at “Ivy Plus” universities, according to Forbes. Like Hunter, Stuyvesant does not publish matriculation statistics.

Allen Kramer ’13, a member of Stuvyesant’s class of 2009, said the school sends around seven students each year to Brown, significantly fewer than it sends to Cornell and Harvard. But Miller wrote that over the past two years, Stuyvesant has

2006-10 matriculation to Brown Harvard-Westlake School: 47 students Phillips Academy: 46 Dalton School: 25 Milton Academy: 24 (2008-10) Saint Ann’s School: 22 Phillips Exeter Academy: 22 (2008-10) Trinity School: 21 St. Paul’s School: 15 (2007-10) Collegiate School: 14

been the school with the highest number of applications to Brown.

Alice Hines ’11, an Exeter alum, said some students at Exeter believed their chances of attending a top-ranked university were hurt by having attended the school. Aboveaverage students who did not stand out among their classmates could get “screwed over” in the admission process, she recalled.

College counseling officials at Andover, Exeter, Collegiate, St. Paul’s School and the Dalton School in New York declined requests for comment.

St. Paul’s, a boarding school in Concord, N.H., sent 15 students to Brown in the past four years, while Dalton matriculated 25 graduates to Brown in the past five years.

Though many of the nation’s top secondary schools are heavily concentrated in New York and New England — Forbes placed only two prep schools located outside the northeast in its top-20 rankings — Miller wrote in his email to The Herald that other schools with pools of gifted students find similar success in the college admission process. Among them, he mentioned the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Va. and Li Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong. Around 120 alums of the 13 UWC campuses attend Brown, The Herald reported in February.

8 Campus News

The Brown Daily Herald Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Emails call into question U.’s ability to prosecute rape continued from page 1 his accuser’s father is a University donor and fundraiser.

Emails written in the days before McCormick was accused of rape and removed from campus — recently made public during the course of the lawsuit — highlight obstacles to adjudicating rape cases through university tribunals.

Hidden bias

The emails, sent between the accuser’s father and her residential counselor, Shane Reil ’09, show that in the days leading up to the rape allegation, the alum’s father, a prominent financier, offered to discuss career prospects with Reil.

A day after the email conversation ended, the female alum accused McCormick of rape. A week later, Reil authored a damning appraisal of McCormick in his witness statement for the University sexual misconduct hearing.

In the emails, written after the father hosted Reil and a friend of his daughter at the home of another financier in Providence, Reil wrote, “(Your daughter) also expressed to me that you would not mind helping me trying to straighten out a path for my future.” After discussing his career aspirations in the email, Reil added, “Thank you again for dinner, and for making yourself available to me as a mentor. I cannot begin to express to you how grateful I am that I can speak to someone who wants to offer me advice, rather than ask me for it.”

In his response, the father wrote, “I am happy to offer my thoughts on career plans and things you might think about. …

Let’s talk when I am at Brown this fall.”

The next day, Sept. 13, 2006, the female alum, who had previously taken out a harassment complaint against McCormick, accused him of raping her on the evening of Sept. 6.

A week later, Reil filed a witness statement for the sexual misconduct hearing. Reil’s statement indicates that McCormick had asked an unnamed student to lie about his whereabouts on the evening in question. It also describes McCormick as “emotionally eccentric” and “a tense individual who is prone to anger.”

Witness statements filed by other students state that McCormick punched a wall in anger after his accuser ditched him at the annual orientation dance. The statement concludes, “He does not seem to have any handle on his emotions.”

What the statement does not include is disclosure of the relationship between Reil and the accuser’s father, revealed in the emails. In the witness statement, Reil describes himself only as “a residential counselor in Keeney Quadrangle.”

But Reil’s nondisclosure of a potential source of bias does not violate any University rules governing disciplinary procedures.

“There are no specific rules regarding disclosing relationships,” wrote Jonah Allen Ward, senior associate

dean of student life, in an email to The Herald, though he added that witnesses are expected to be truthful in their accounts.

“If you lie during a conduct board hearing, that’s an offense against you,” said Margaret Klawunn, vice president for campus life and student services.

According to the Code of Student Conduct, “Lying in the course of a student conduct hearing constitutes an offense that is immediately actionable.”

Much of Reil’s testimony consists of his opinion of McCormick’s personality and is not entirely composed of factual assertions.

And in the absence of definitive hard evidence — the University did not allow a pair of boxer shorts allegedly worn by the accuser during the rape to be sent out for testing or admitted as evidence — such character appraisals necessarily take on more importance.

It is unclear what role, if any, Reil’s statements would have played at a hearing on the rape allegation — McCormick signed an agreement with his accuser to withdraw from Brown before the case could be heard. McCormick maintains he had reason to believe he had no chance of a fair hearing and that he signed the agreement only under duress. It has been revealed that his law firm at the time he withdrew, Adler Pollock & Sheehan, was representing the University in federal court at the same time — an apparent violation of the American Bar Association’s conflict of interest rules.

The University, McCormick’s accuser and her father deny wrongdoing.

Anna Cordasco, a spokeswoman for the accuser and her father, declined to comment. In an email to The Herald, Reil also declined to comment. Though University administrators commented on disciplinary procedures in general, they declined to comment on McCormick’s case.

The problem of Reil’s witness statement is representative of the procedural shortcomings that have led many critics to argue that universities should leave rape investigations to police and the courts.

Rape hearings on campuses

But the question of universities’ role in investigating rape allegations is a thorny one, and Title IX guidelines set forth by the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights mandate that universities have “grievance procedures” in place to address sexual misconduct allegations and to take “prompt and effective action calculated to end the harassment, prevent its recurrence and, as appropriate, remedy its effects.”

Despite the law’s mandate, universities have been criticized both for failing to afford accused students due process and for failing to protect victims of sexual assault.

Robert Shibley, senior vice president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, said he worries that universities may be intent on conducting hearings expeditiously without also en-

suring that appropriate procedures are in place to guarantee equitable outcomes.

“This case is an extreme example that is symptomatic of a larger pattern,” said Azhar Maheed, associate director of legal and public advocacy for the foundation, of the McCormick case.

Majeed said universities lack the expertise to deal with the complexities involved in sexual misconduct cases, particularly in cases that hinge on “he-said, shesaid” evidence. Due process rights may not be fully extended to the accused as they would in a court system, he said, adding that, in an effort to pursue a quick resolution to the matter and protect the campus, universities can have a “tendency to tilt the playing field in favor of the accusing student.”

But universities face criticism on both fronts. The charge is frequently leveled that rape — a crime already underreported because of the stigma attached to it — is swept under the rug by university administrators wary of their schools’ public images, leaving victims alienated and perpetrators unpunished.

Universities’ handling of sexual misconduct has risen to the forefront of national debate after the Department of Education announced it was investigating a complaint that Yale permits a hostile sexual environment on its campus. Earlier this month, Vice President Joseph Biden and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan unveiled updated sexual assault guidelines for colleges, saying universities are not doing an adequate job in addressing sexual assault on campus, particularly in meeting the needs of victims.

But not everyone agrees that campuses are an appropriate venue for addressing the most serious forms of sexual misconduct. Administrators should not address a criminal offense against a sexual abuse victim with the same kinds of disciplinary processes used to address an “overdue library book,” said Katherine Hull, vice president for communications for the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. “It is a crime that should be handled through law enforcement.”

Brown administrators, though, say the University is capable of successfully handling rape cases. Ted von Gerichten, associate counsel for the University, said he believes the University provides an adequate process that balances Title IX’s call for a quick and effective response with due process rights for the accused.

The University has a “pretty robust” policy in place to support due process and fair treatment of both the accused student and the one bringing a complaint, he said. “Embedded within our code are the concepts of trying to give individuals a fair hearing,” he said.

“We have a lot of process in place for giving notice, giving people the opportunity to present witnesses (and) statements (and) have advisers.”

“A university has the adminis-

trative process that works for it.

I’m not going to say it’s perfect.

I don’t think any institution has perfect procedures,” von Gerichten said. “We have the resources available to get to the truth as best as we can.”

University v. judicial proceedings

University procedures differ from those of police and the courts in their length, thoroughness and standards of evidence. “We’re not a criminal process, and we say that from the get-go,” Klawunn said.

At private universities, victims of sexual assault have the option of pursuing remedies through university procedures without pursuing criminal complaints.

In criminal courts, an offense must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. In Brown disciplinary proceedings, verdicts are made based on “the preponderance of evidence” — a lower standard often used in civil trials.

In addition, Title IX requires that universities’ responses to sexual misconduct be “prompt,” whereas criminal investigations and trials can take months — or longer if a conviction is appealed.

While Brown’s processes are swifter, the courts are often more thorough. And some kinds of pertinent information, like Reil’s relationship with the female alum’s father, would be far more likely to come to light during the course of a criminal investigation and prosecution.

Within the judicial system, parties have the opportunity to uncover potential sources of witness bias during discovery, said Robert Friedman, professor of law at the University of Michigan. “It’s not just that the witness is sprung on (the defendant),” he said. During this period, both sides are permitted to ask questions of witnesses and compel the owners of relevant documents to turn them over.

In the federal court system, there are laws in place to force the prosecution to disclose evidence that may undermine a witness’s credibility, Friedman said. He said that Supreme Court’s rulings in Brady v. Maryland and Giglio v.

U.S. stipulate that prosecutors must release to the defense any “exculpatory evidence” — that which may be helpful to the defendant.

The viability of the courts

The argument that the evidence in some rape cases is too complex to be handled internally is one the University has accepted in the past.

In 1996, the University Disciplinary Council declined to hear a rape case after the accused student’s adviser argued the evidence was too complex and could only be properly handled by the courts.

The University accepted the argument and declined to hear the case. But the accused student was a relative of the Jordanian royal family and questions of diplomatic immunity arose after the decision was made. His father had donated money to Brown, and his adviser’s research in Jordan depended on

the royal family’s cooperation. The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights opened a Title IX investigation, which was later halted when the parties involved and the University reached a secret out-of-court agreement.

Despite the suspicions surrounding that University Disciplinary Council’s decision, many with experience in college rape cases agree with the sentiment that courts handle the cases better than colleges. And representatives from both the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education told The Herald last year that universities do not protect victims’ identities any better than police and the courts do.

But campus disciplinary proceedings sometimes provide the only viable recourse for rape victims, said a female student who brought a rape complaint this year through the University. The same factors that complicate the evidence in rape cases also make it more difficult to obtain a conviction in a court of law. “It’s a real legal conundrum,” said the female student, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

She said the judicial system is not set up to handle cases like hers — a rape allegation lacking physical evidence — but that “it’s the school’s job to protect its members” and provide “some type of justice.”

Due to revisions to the University’s sexual misconduct policies in 2010, the female student’s case was automatically referred to a Student Conduct Board hearing — more formal than the administrative hearing that McCormick was scheduled to face before he withdrew from Brown. During the hearing, she said she, the accused student and witnesses faced extensive questioning from an administrator, a faculty member and a student on the board. In her case, the board found the accused student guilty of rape.

The female student said she believes the University performed well under the circumstances.

Not above reproach

In rape cases, universities find themselves stuck balancing between considerations of speed and exhaustiveness, between the rights of the accused and protection for victims and between the requirements of the law and recognition of their own limitations.

With the stakes so high, and the evidence frequently difficult to interpret, these processes face a more intense level of scrutiny than other administrative actions do.

University sexual assault investigations are held to a higher standard than other administrative actions. Like Caesar’s wife, they must be above suspicion to avoid criticisms of their integrity.

But McCormick’s lawsuit raises suspicions about Brown’s policies that remain unallayed.

And, with Reil’s emails, critics of the University’s policies have hard evidence to point to in making their case.

Campus News 9

The Brown Daily Herald Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Final decision on ROTC RUE explores the ‘nontraditional’ remains uncertain continued from page 12

continued from page 1 the Massachusetts Institute of Technology or College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts to participate in their naval ROTC programs because no such programs are currently offered in Rhode Island.

ROTC’s current arrangement with Providence College would likely remain unchanged.

At this point, the committee is not recommending changes to the 1969 resolution, which recognized ROTC programs as extracurricular activities, thereby rendering ROTC courses ineligible for University credit.

In a question-and-answer session, audience members brought up the issue of transgender discrimination and how it factors into the committee’s recommendations.

Bergeron said the committee still needs time to “formulate an appropriate response.”

Another audience member questioned the academic implications of allowing ROTC back on campus. President Ruth Simmons assured the audience that faculty members will have the opportunity to offer input on the committee’s recommendations.

Simmons said the committee’s report on ROTC will be made available to the public, though she did not specify when. After she reviews the report, it will then be presented to the Corporation, though the University’s highest governing body has not indicated a desire to provide much input on the decision. She said she hopes the committee will offer its recommendations before summer break.

Athletics Review Committee Chair Richard Spies, executive vice president for planning and senior adviser to the president, led the discussion on the proposed cuts to four varsity teams.

Spies said the recommendations should be considered as a “whole package” that will strengthen athletics in the long run. In addition to cutting teams, the committee’s report also recommends increasing the athletics budget by 10 percent.

But even with the budget increase, it will be challenging to support the

34 remaining teams, Spies added.

Cory Abbe ’13, a member of the women’s fencing team, asked about the criteria on which the review committee based its recommendations to cut teams.

“In the end, it wasn’t a formula.

It was a judgment of a combination of factors,” Spies replied.

A member of the audience also asked if it would be possible to postpone a decision on cutting the programs to allow the teams to figure out alternative plans.

Students expressed collective disappointment and frustration with the quality of the answers from review committee members, characterizing them as overly vague, and said the committee lacked transparency.

“We feel that the reports, which obviously took a lot of time and effort, may not have had as much data or rigorous analysis that we feel should have been included,” said Tanya Nguyen ’13, a member of the women’s fencing team.

The Organizational Review Committee first proposed cutting teams two years ago, Simmons told The Herald after the meeting.

But the proposal to cut teams was struck down at that time. “The aim here was to bring it back and have a fuller discussion,” she added.

Teams were not given more time to respond to the recommendations because the Corporation set guidelines for the review process that were not presented to the Athletics Review Committee until this February, Simmons said.

Consequently, it was difficult for the committee to alert teams sooner because the committee could not formulate recommendations until recently, she added. “The timing is very unfortunate,” Simmons said.

Simmons said she believes that public discussions, such as those on ROTC and the review committee’s proposals, are valuable but do not always occur at peer institutions.

“What made our process different is we don’t make our decisions just like that. When we have people participate, we’re ahead,” she said.

“It’s not just about a budget. It’s about what’s the best experience we can give our students.”

RUE community and outside of it.

Danford, recently a finalist in the Mr. Brown pageant, said he tries to live with “one foot steeply in the RUE population and one foot dancing around at house parties.”

Money matters

Though RUE students generally express gratitude for the program, there is one factor many say they would change — its size.

The program’s small size has a lot to do with the increased costs of attending Brown, according to Maitrayee Bhattacharyya, associate dean for diversity programs and the designated advisor for RUE students. “Brown has a very strong commitment to meeting need,” and RUE is no exception, she said.

But unlike in the traditional admissions process, the program receives a set amount of money each year. The University rates RUE applicants on a need-blind basis, then accepts as many top candidates as it can fund. Bhattacharyya noted that though many RUE applicants have already excelled in professional fields, they often stop working to

perspectives took advantage of the question and answer session following the panel.

An audience member questioned how Brown could make its voice heard about discrimination policies within the military.

The best way to change the military is from within, and Brown is marginalizing itself by rejecting ROTC, Spoehr maintained. Brown should not marginalize itself, Jain agreed. But it might be more powerful for Brown to respectfully disagree with its peers, he said.

At the end of the forum, mem-

bers of the Coalition Against Special Privileges for ROTC stood in the lobby asking audience members to sign a petition to keep ROTC off campus.

Julie Pittman ’12, a member of the coalition, said she was surprised the forum “ended up being a forum to talk about how we feel about the military rather than how we feel about ROTC.” “I wish the debate could have centered around the idea of ROTC existing on campus as an extracurricular, and how even as an extracurricular it’s problematic that we’re providing support for a discriminatory program,” she said.

‘The silent program’

Students in the program describe themselves as “nontraditional.”

“What does traditional mean, at the end?” Ben Ayed asked.

Though programs like RUE exist at many universities they are often not very large or well publicized.

“The information is there, but you definitely have to be looking for it or have heard about it. It’s not hidden,” said Bhattacharyya.

Danford said the program’s size

comics Cloud Buddies! | David Emanuel

Dr. Bear | Mat Becker

Dot Comic | Eshan Mitra and Brendan Hainline

Janus panelists debate military’s role on campus continued from page 5

become full-time students.

RUE students “don’t have parents who are going to pay for us,” Keough said.

Accepted students said they find the aid they are provided with meets that need — with one exception. The University expects RUE students to earn roughly twice as much as traditional students for their summer earnings contribution, Keough said.

Salsone said the assumption is that their experience gives them a higher earnings potential. “It can be an assumption that’s not really founded in anything,” he said, noting that he cannot return to the military for a summer job.

Gelotology | Guillaume Riesen

— only four students were admitted in his year — can make him “question the legitimacy of (his) nontraditional path.”

Ayed said she originally applied to Brown as a transfer student without knowing about the program.

Only after she had begun the application process did a University advisor tell her about RUE. At that point, Ayed said she was “told that obviously with my background — with my personal history — I wasn’t necessarily considered a traditional student.”

“I wish that we had a bigger presence, honestly,” Keough said, calling the RUE program “the silent program.”

For most RUE students, discovery of the program happens through word of mouth. Danford said a former coach was a RUE graduate and told him about the program.

As president of the Resumed Undergraduate Student Association — a group that serves both RUE students and adult students returning after extended leaves of absence — Danford said his overall goal has been “to celebrate RUE.” “If this program didn’t exist, I wouldn’t be at Brown,” he said.

10 Editorial & Letter Editorial

The Brown Daily Herald Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Editorial comic

by sam rosenfeld

All’s well that ends well As reading period approaches, we are all looking for ways to avoid studying for finals, and seniors especially may find the best tactic to be nostalgia. Reflecting over the last year, we have seen Brown evolve in many areas, and we are proud to see most of these changes have been for the better.

The physical face of campus has been updated, and we have celebrated the completion of the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center in Faunce House and the opening of the Perry and Marty Granoff Center for the Creative Arts. As Brown continues to expand — renovating the Metcalf Chemistry and Research Laboratory, moving the medical school to the Jewelry District, breaking ground for the new aquatics center and seeking to create more on-campus housing for undergraduates — we hope the University will solicit student input and plan wisely to construct high-quality and cost-effective facilities for the Brown community.

Student life is also on the verge of renovation. We are grateful to have witnessed the much-needed growth of the student activities endowment. Coupled with the agenda of the newly elected president of the Undergraduate Council of Students, we expect to see improvements in the way student groups operate and individuals participate in campus activities. Of course, there are some issues of student life yet to be resolved, such as deciding whether to bring the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps back to campus and looking for options to relieve the housing crunch. When the new provost Mark Schlissel P’15 takes office, we hope he will give these issues serious consideration.

And just because most students are leaving Providence in a few weeks, that does not mean the current local and state issues will grind to a halt. The summer promises many new political developments worth following. Most importantly, the contentious budget process will move forward for the first time under Gov. Lincoln Chafee’s ’75 P’14 administration. How the budget gets hammered out will have significant real-life implications — a major component of the plan is a broadening of the state sales tax — and will also set the tone for at least the next few years of Chafee’s governorship. By the time we return in the fall, medicinal marijuana will be sold from state-regulated dispensaries, gay marriage might be a reality and a new streetcar system for Providence will be closer to fruition.

We have occasionally been critical in the past months. But looking at the bigger picture, we are very pleased to see how much progress Brown has made over the last year and look forward to more growth in the coming one. We wish the graduating seniors well in their future endeavors and all returning students a safe and enjoyable summer.

Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.

le tter to the editor UCS presidents oppose cutting teams To the Editor: As proud alums and former student leaders, we were concerned to learn about the proposed cuts presented recently by the Athletics Review Committee that would eliminate the women’s skiing, wrestling and men’s and women’s fencing programs.

The competitive outcomes of these programs speak for themselves with, for example, the fencing team placing in the top 15 nationally in 2011, or the women’s ski team qualifying for 10 of the last 10 national championships.

But these athletic teams equate to more than just wins and losses on the field of athletic competition. They help tell the history of our alma mater as much as any entity within the University community. As much as we remember enrolling in ENGN 0090: “Management of Industrial and Nonprofit Organizations” with (Professor Emeritus of Engineering) Barrett Hazeltine, gathering on the Main Green with our classmates and enjoying meals at the Sharpe Refectory, we also recall the exhilaration of a big win on the wrestling mat and on the slopes.

These athletic teams and the pride they have given us helped shape our Brown experience, and we would be disappointed if future generations of Brunonians could not experience these wonderful memories. Many of these student-athletes embody the best of Brown and have demonstrated past and current excellence in athletics, community involvement and academic experience.

We respectfully disagree with some of the findings of the Athletics Review Committee. For instance, the report

cites “a small number of fencing programs nationally,” but it does not take into account the six of our Ivy League counterparts that support women’s fencing programs and the five that support men’s programs. And while it’s a positive development that the Committee recommends increasing the athletic budget overall, we disagree that these funds be primarily directed toward higher coaching salaries. Why not also invest that increase in all 37 of our existing intercollegiate teams, including these endangered programs that have been recommended for elimination?

We know that compliance with Title IX federal guidelines related to gender equity in athletics will influence this decision, and we staunchly support the objectives of Title IX. But we are also sensitive to the pain that these cuts would cause current students, prospective students, alums and coaches and their families.

As former student leaders, we know that these decisions are never easy. But we also know how important these programs are to Brunonians, and we hope that our sentiments are taken into consideration as President Ruth Simmons contemplates the future of the skiing, fencing and wrestling programs.

Rodrick Echols ’03, UCS President 2001-2002 Allen Feliz ’04, UCS President 2002-03 Rahim Kurji ’05, UCS President 2003-04 Joel Payne ’05, UCS President 2004-05 Brian Bidadi ’07, UCS President 2005 Sarah Saxton-Frump ’07, UCS President 2006 John Gillis ’07, UCS President 2006-07

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“At this point in my life, I’m operating under the

”

assumption that nothing I do is private.

— Michael Zamost ’14 See dps on page 1.

Correction An article in Monday’s Herald (“Conflicting ROTC camps face off,” April 25) incorrectly attributed the words, “But since it’s trans students they’re discriminating against, people think it’s more okay. But I say — funk ROTC and support trans rights!” to Gabriel Schwartz ’13. In fact, the words were said by another student. The Herald regrets the error.

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Opinions 11

The Brown Daily Herald Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Liberal learning is under attack By julian park Opinions Columnist Much like a cancer, the University’s growths, initiated in the name of profit and prestige, threaten its health.

Before, I’ve called this the logic driving the corporatization of our university, but today I’m going to call it the logic of the attack on liberal learning.

Changes Brown has recently undergone have physically harmed the lives of members of our community — cancerous, in some cases, to the point of the surgical removal that the University called organizational restructuring and everyone else called layoffs.

The layoffs of 2008-2010 occurred for one reason — because risky endowment investments were made to compete with peer schools. The University was able to grow, and when risks came home to roost, cuts came at the expense of our staff ’s livelihoods.

This cancer has overrun and corrupted our most fundamental principle: the liberal learning that underlies our open curriculum. This principle would seem to espouse the equality and importance of diverse disciplines operating in academic freedom.

Pure and simple, the search for profit and prestige has increasingly guided Brown’s decision-making since the Plan for Academic Enrichment. That plan and the campaign that funded it have operated along lines at direct odds with liberal learning.

In the life and physical sciences, as well as at Alpert Medical School, these plans meant growth. Faculty was one of the central areas of growth outlined by the PAE. Of all seg-

ments of the faculty, the life and medical sciences have grown the most since the spurts began, by 26.9 percent, with physical sciences second at 18.2 percent, followed by social sciences at a 15.8 percent and humanities at a paltry 8.1 percent. Nonetheless, the humanities still have the greatest number of professors all told — 200 — while the physical sciences have but 12 fewer.

The humanities’ size can be understood by the fact that they incorporate the most departments, programs and centers by far, with 25. The humanities departments average eight faculty each, while the social scienc-

expansion — the life and medical sciences — proves it. Ninety-five-million dollars were invested into the Sidney Frank Hall for Life Sciences, and $45 million into the Medical Education Building in the Jewelry District.

This reorientation of the University’s priorities has become a threat to those who don’t directly aid in achieving efficient growth.

The restructuring the University underwent in 2009-2010 can serve as a model to understand how the University interprets the efficiency it covets.

Despite the fact that the PAE’s second phase, which came in 2008, recommended

No graduate student would knowingly choose higher salaries and more summer funding over a guaranteed sixth year of funding. es have slightly more than nine each, the life and medical sciences have more than 19 each and the physical sciences have more than 23.

The largest areas of the University have continued to get larger, and have disproportionately benefited from investments.

The areas of greatest growth generate the most revenue — those which, balance would tell us, shouldn’t need disproportionate support. But expanded research in science, technology, engineering and mathematics translates to greater federal and corporate grants, and with those come profit margins with which increases in the number of tuitionpaying undergraduates can’t compete.

Expanded research demands new and bigger facilities, and the single area of greatest

staff increases to accommodate faculty increases, more than 200 staff were lost last year alone, including 66 lost to layoffs. This could only be justified in terms of monetary efficiency, for while staff are necessary, they are not profitable and rarely prestigious.

In the case of Brown graduate students, whose numbers have grown by 14 percent since May 2008, the cancerous nature of this growth can be understood best in the new pilot project called “Dissertation Completion Funding.” On paper, without context, these funds appear to be a boon — they create a standardized application process to access University funds for sixth year doctoral work, awarding money months earlier than in years past.

The pretty package disguises major concerns. To begin with, only graduate students in the humanities and social sciences apply.

All graduate students in the profitable sciences receive their funding from external grants.

While money is now being centralized in the graduate school in the name of efficiency, these funds are now budgeted in advance of any calculation of need. In order to calculate merit, a new system has been established to rank graduate students against departmental colleagues, and departments against other departments.

Creating a centralized internal ranking system does nothing but establish the sort of competition that is fundamentally inimical to academic freedom. You’d think that the school that prides itself on the right of its undergraduates to take any course Satisfactory/ No Credit would understand that.

Where the University doesn’t directly profit, it’s after prestige. The new policy restricts graduate student funding towards the recruitment of more competitive applicants.

The Dean of the Graduate School, Peter Weber, has confided to graduate students that there isn’t less money — more money had just been put towards graduate students’ first five years.

No graduate student would knowingly choose higher salaries and more summer funding over a guaranteed sixth year of funding. But more money up front looks better, boosts the number of applicants and, consequentially, our graduate school rankings, our prestige and our profit.

Julian Park ’12 would rather see Brown drop in ranking than sacrifice its values.

Contact him at julianfrancispark@gmail.com.

Overlooking personal responsibility

By Oliver Rosenbloom Opinions Columnist In her recent column, Sofia Ortiz-Hinojosa ’11 castigated Brown marijuana users, arguing that their consumption funds gang violence in Mexico (“4/20 and the drug war,” April 18). Her column incited a strong backlash from readers because no one wants to hear that the Brown community has a hand in gang violence. It is much easier to avoid self-examination and pin the blame for this violence on the U.S. government’s drug policies, as a column and a letter did last week (“Letter: Pot on campus not from Mexico,” April 19, and “In the drug war, keep your eyes on the real killer,” April 22).

Contrary to what Ortiz-Hinojosa’s critics argue, drug violence is not solely caused by bad policy. It is also caused by individual consumers prioritizing their desire for substances over the safety of those who are impacted by the drug trade. Ortiz-Hinojosa acknowledged the multiple aspects of this problem, while her critics only focused on the policy aspect of drug-related violence.

This rush to clear the Brown community of any blame for drug violence is indicative of a larger trend on campus. We refuse to acknowledge personal responsibility for the effects of our actions. Instead of individual accountability, we attribute all injustice to larger social forces, most commonly to government policies. According to this state of mind, social problems are never created by individuals who make immoral or irrespon-

sible choices. Instead, these problems stem solely from bad legislation.

While government policies certainly contribute to drug violence, it is irresponsible to deny the consequences of our individual choices. Regardless of the merits of legalization, we currently live in a society where individual drug use often funds violent gangs. Admiral James Winnefeld, leader of the U.S. Northern Command, testified that American drug consumption provides Latin American cartels with $40 billion every year. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

mon among liberals. We have a deeply held belief that a well-informed and rational government can devise policies that will solve all of our problems. This positive vision of government makes us overlook the key role that individual choices play in creating social problems.

Those who believe in the positive potential of government and are fixated on policy solutions to social problems are less likely to take individual responsibility for addressing these social problems. The differences in charitable giving between liberals and

We refuse to acknowledge personal responsibility for the effects of our actions. Instead of individual accountability, we attribute all injustice to larger social forces, most commonly to government policies. also notes, “our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade.” The existence of the alternative policy of legalization does not absolve individual drug users of partial responsibility for funding the drug trade and the related violence that ensues.

Brown’s moral blindness to the connection between individual drug use and gang violence is a symptom of a belief in the benevolence and ability of government. This reliance on policy solutions is connected to our political liberalism. The vast majority of Brown students are social liberals, and liberalism is defined by its belief in the power of government to address social problems. When Brown students identify a social problem, they immediately look to the government to fix it, a mindset that is com-

conservatives illustrate this point. Liberals believe in active government policies to address injustice, yet they take less personal responsibility for fighting poverty. Arthur Brooks, a former professor at Syracuse University, found that conservatives donate 30 percent more to charity than liberals, even though they earn 6 percent less. Philosophy on the proper role of government was the second most important factor in determining an individual’s charitable contributions. Those who disagreed with the statement “government has a responsibility to reduce income inequality” donated four times as much to charity as those who agreed with the statement.

The more positively you view government, the less likely you are to take person-

al responsibility for addressing social problems. Brooks wrote, “If support for a policy that does not exist … substitutes for private charity, the needy are left off worse than before. It is one of the bitterest ironies of liberal politics that political opinions are apparently taking the place of help for others.” This sentiment applies to both charity and drug violence. The politically liberal Brown community believes the government alone is responsible for ending drug violence. Unfortunately, this belief prevents us from taking individual steps that would end drug violence. The most obvious such step is to stop consuming narcotics.

A belief in the positive potential of government is not inherently flawed or objectively wrong. But it comes with the negative consequence of diminishing our sense of personal responsibility for addressing social problems. It is crucial that all of those who have a positive view of government acknowledge this negative consequence and fight it by examining how their own actions contribute to social problems.

As a college community, we do not have the opportunity to instantly change American drug law. What we can do is limit our own consumption of the substances that fund violent crime. Such an action would require us to acknowledge our own moral responsibility, instead of looking to the external source of government and deflecting blame from ourselves.

Oliver Rosenbloom ’13 is a history concentrator from Mill Valley, Calif.

He can be reached at oliver_rosenbloom@brown.edu.

Daily Herald the Brown

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

City suggests revised teachers’ contract

By Claire Schlessinger Staff Writer

At a hearing last night, the City Council Education Subcommittee presented its recommendations for negotiating a new Providence teachers’ contract, the single biggest expense in the city budget and the most costly teacher contract in the state. The current contract is set to expire in August.

city & state Stephanie London / Herald

Former Congressman Patrick Murphy spoke yesterday in Salomon 001.

Politician lauds repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

By Shanoor Seervai Contributing Writer

As Former Congressman Patrick Murphy walked to the podium yesterday afternoon for the Brown Democrats’ John F. Kennedy Jr. Lecture, he offered his hand to the students filling the hall. He sustained this gracious tone throughout the lecture, as he spoke about defending the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the timely withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

The Brown Democrats presented Murphy, the first Iraq War veteran to serve in Congress, with

the John F. Kennedy Jr. award for his advocacy in civil rights.

Despite opposition from his district, Murphy said he took the lead on the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” because the legislation violates the military’s goal to treat all people with respect regardless of color, sex, race, religion and sexual orientation.

“Kicking people out” of the military for reasons of sexual orientation is a waste of money, he said. He said he has always tried to “put what (he) thought was right continued on page 5

The hearing was the last of four on the contract negotiations that started Feb. 17. Sam Zurier, subcommittee chair, city councilman and former Providence School Board member, presented two options for negotiating the new contract ­— both of which would cut costs for the district through measures including permitting more flexibility in school opening times, staggering bus schedules to increase efficiency, reforming the system of awarding bonuses for taking five or fewer sick days and changing the way the district pays its substitute teachers.

The first option would increase teacher salaries by 5 percent this year and 2 percent in subsequent years, while reducing the overall cost of the contract by 5 percent.

The second option would hold salaries constant and save the city 10 percent on the contract.

The report also proposed increasing the school year by two days, lengthening the school day and mandating that parent-teacher conferences occur after school rather than during school hours.

The subcommittee laid out a “‘tool kit’ for the negotiating parties to consider that can support significant reforms and improvements while also yielding savings for the city,” according to the report.

Zurier said the purpose of the report was not to criticize teachers, but rather to hold them to higher standards. He said many teachers go above and beyond what is stipulated in their contracts because they care about their students.

“Thank God a lot of our teachers don’t care what’s in the contract,” he said.

Nevertheless, “whatever is in that document is going to be very important,” he told The Herald.

Karina Wood, interim executive director of People for a Better Providence, a non-profit that seeks to raise awareness about local issues, said the contract creates policies that directly impact students’ education, parental interaction with teachers and the number of school days in the year.

As a Providence resident for 13 years and a parent of Providence public school children for six, Wood said this is the “first time that I’ve seen a discussion — a

public discussion — of ways that we can improve and reform education as a whole in Providence, like looking at the teachers’ contract.”

Wood called the recommendations a “win-win-win” situation for taxpayers, teachers and students.

At yesterday’s hearing, Zurier summarized the subcommittee’s work so far. The subcommittee’s first hearing on the Providence teachers’ contracts was Feb. 17 ­— nearly a week before Providence Mayor Angel Taveras drew the ire of the union by firing all 1,926 of the city’s teachers. The hearing was billed as a first step in building a collaborative relationship between the Providence Teachers Union and city administrators.

The relationship between Providence School Board President Kathleen Crain ’93, Superintendent Tom Brady and Providence Teachers Union President Steve Smith has deteriorated since then.

“I don’t think I could make that same presentation today,” Zurier said.

The negotiating parties may not accept the ideas the subcommittee has proposed, but significant changes to the current contract are necessary, Zurier told The Herald. Even though past negotiations have yielded small changes, the severity of the city’s fiscal woes and looming changes for Providence schools could make this year different, he said.

School’s in: Undergrads resume study By katrina phillips Staff Writer

What do a former American Ballet Theater dancer, an ex-convictturned-voting rights advocate and a former guitarist for the Mighty Mighty Bosstones have in common?

They are all alums of the University’s Resumed Undergraduate Education program, and they all went through these experiences before enrolling in their first class here.

feature The small program offers adults who have been out of high school for six years or longer an alternative to the traditional application process. Rather than extracurriculars or SAT scores, RUE applicants are evaluated on their experiences after high school and can include people who had limited opportunities to attend college straight out of high school.

The program is highly competitive, with fewer than 10 applicants admitted each year. According to Nick Danford ’11, president of the Resumed Undergraduate Students Association and a former professional ballet dancer, successful applicants to RUE have a unique experience and tell their story “in a compelling way.”

“It’s nice that in the (admissions) process, they look at everything you’ve done — all of you — rather than just what you look like on paper,” said Megan Keough ’14, a

former ballet dancer and freelance writer.

Having abandoned traditional schooling at the age of 12 to focus on her dancing, Keough never took the SATs or ACTs. The standard admissions process would not accurately portray her when she decided to return to school, she said. “My high school transcripts were like 11-years old. What does that say about me now?”

Board room to Blue Room

While most students were busy filling out applications with extracurricular activities, students like Danford and Karima Ben Ayed ’12.5 were busy pursuing careers on the stage with the Nevada Ballet Theater in Las Vegas and in a corporate office, respectively.

Ben Ayed was born in Tunisia and later lived in France and Germany before coming to the United States with her husband to study at a community college in Virginia.

She worked in language instruction, corporate training and account management before returning to school.

David Salsone ’12.5 also travelled before applying to Brown — through his time in the military.

One of five former military members currently enrolled in the RUE program, Salsone said he lived in Bahrain for four years while serving with the Army.

“I could’ve stayed in telecom and taken the six-figure job that they offered,” he said. But, “I honestly just

had an academic curiosity.”

This same curiosity has led dozens of parents, ex-military service members and former dancers — groups that Danford said RUE “loves” — to apply to the program.

“RUE is not some kind of second chance program,” said Danford. “ These people have very valuable experiences. They contribute just as much to the classroom experience as people who have taken the typical route.”

Nate Albert ’01, an RUE alum, was the guitarist for the ska band Mighty Mighty Bosstones before applying to Brown. Andres Idarraga ’08 is an ex-convict who advocated for giving Rhode Island ex-felons the right to vote, a goal he accomplished during his time on campus.

A state referendum approved giving ex-felons the vote in 2006, and Idarraga was able to register to vote.

RUE students often return to their professional careers again after graduation. Rachel Moore ’92 was a ballet dancer before RUE — she is now the executive director of the American Ballet Theater.

Culture shock

With their less traditional backgrounds, many RUE students also carry a fair amount of baggage that can make full-time study more complicated for them than it is for other students.

The University makes a few policy exceptions for RUE students. In addition to not being required to live on-campus or purchase a meal

Courtesy of Nick Danford

Nick Danford ’11 (above) danced in the Nevada Ballet Theater before coming to Brown.

plan, RUE students have the option to study part time. These allowances can be crucial for married students like Keough, or those who continue their professional career while enrolled and often need to commute.

But not everyone takes advantage of these exceptions. Salsone opted to live on-campus for his first semester, and Ben Ayed is currently on meal plan.

“It’s a nice way … for me to meet students from my classes, to meet students I met through other organizations and sometimes to just sit at a table and chat with someone I don’t know,” Ben Ayed said.

For many RUE students, the greater challenge is adjusting to academic life. Keough said she had

difficulty connecting with younger undergraduates on a meaningful level, while Ben Ayed said, “In my case, I wish I would socialize more, to be frank.”

But these students ultimately seem to feel they connect with fellow students through common academic passions. “I’m a little different, but not in any way that matters,” Salsone said. He participated in Brown Outdoor Leadership Training and briefly played on the men’s crew team before National Collegiate Athletic Association regulations regarding prior education forced him to quit. He said he has undergraduate friends both within continued on page 9