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Vice President for Research to step down Clyde Briant will leave the administration to return to the engineering faculty starting next year Senior Staff Writer
Unpopu-law Applications to law school decline this year Page 5
Sandy spending The Senate passes a bill to increase storm relief funds today
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tomorrow
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since 1891
thursday, january 31, 2013
By Sam Heft-Luthy
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Herald
Vice President for Research Clyde Briant will be stepping down from his administrative position at the end of the academic year, Provost Mark Schlissel P’15 wrote Wednesday in an email to faculty. Briant, who served as dean of engineering between 2003 and 2006 before joining the administration, will rejoin the engineering faculty at Brown. A search for his successor is expected to begin sometime next week, Schlissel said, with a goal of naming a new vice president for research by July, which marks the beginning of the next fiscal year. While serving as vice president, Briant presided over a 35 percent growth in
sponsored research, headed an effort to acquire a supercomputer for the Center for Computation and Visualization and helped reorganize the structure for protecting faculty-developed patents, among other initiatives, Schlissel wrote. “Clyde is terrific,” said Beppie Huidekoper, executive vice president for finance and administration. “He’s been a terrific vice president for research, and he’s been a great partner. I think it’s just that time in his life where he wants to go back to teaching. It’s a good time with all the transitions going on, and it’s certainly not anything but the most positive.” Briant said seven years in administration is “a pretty long time” and that he’s ready to pass the torch on to a successor. “I had always felt I would want to end my career back in engineering,” he said. “I’m very frank about my age. I’m 64 and will turn 65 soon and so it’s a good moment to think about the final years of my career here at Brown. This / / VP page 2 seemed like a
Courtesy of Brown University
The internal search for a new vice president for research will begin in the coming week as a committee evaluates current senior faculty members.
U.S. signs off on R.I. health care marketplace UCS The federally-mandated exchange will serve as a responds comparison tool for health insurance options to interim reports By alexander blum staff writer
Rhode Island’s Health Benefits Exchange — the health care marketplace mandated by the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — received federal approval Dec. 20, placing it on track to meet the law’s October deadline for being available to the public. “The exchange will be a tool for Rhode Islanders, small businesses and their employees to easily compare health insurance options, learn if they qualify for discounts and eventually sign up for other programs,” according to a website set up by the office of Gov. Lincoln Chafee ’75 P ’14. Though President Obama’s 2010 health care law required the exchange be set up, its implementation was delayed until the Supreme Court upheld the law’s
city & state
constitutionality in June 2012. Under the new legislation, every state must either develop its own health care exchange or join a federal exchange. “Rhode Island has been (at the) cutting edge when it comes to the Health Exchange,” said Christine Hunsinger, Chafee’s press secretary. “Federal funds are supporting the planning, establishment and initial operations of the exchange,” according to his website. An article in Monday’s Boston Globe noted that Rhode Island “has received $74 million in federal exchange funding.” The state awarded a three-year, $105 million contract to Deloitte Consulting to build the exchange and update other aspects of its health care system. Rhode Island is one of 18 states to build its own health care exchange instead of joining the federal government’s. “This governor believes that Rhode
Island should determine its own destiny,” Hunsinger said. Chafee “believes that he understands his own population better than the federal government does,” she added. But before the health care markets are fully developed, “there is no way to determine the difference between the federal exchange and the Rhode Island Exchange,” Hunsinger said. After operating for one year with federal support, “the exchange must find a way to raise its own money for staff, supplies and rent,” according to Chafee’s website. The transition to self-sufficiency will present a formidable challenge for the exchange, according to a study by the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council. “The long-term sustainability of (the exchange) depends on a number of factors, including how many individuals access insurance through the exchange,” according to the study. The number of people who will use the exchange is “the big unknown right now,” said Ashley Denault, RIPEC’s direc-
tor of research. But Chafee is confident the exchange will support itself, and “the early projections say that’s doable and achievable,” Hunsinger said. Denault said “there are so many questions right now” that it is difficult to predict the costs and revenues. The exchange will be accessible via phone, in person or online, but Denault said people who are not familiar with health information and technology may be discouraged from using it. An important factor in the exchange’s success will be whether it is “easily understandable for people at varying levels of health literacy,” she said. Though she understands this concern, Hunsinger said she is confident the exchange will accomplish its goal and “bring in as many people as possible.” Residents can expect that by October, “the exchange for Rhode Island will be up and running (and) will meet all the federal guidelines,” Hunsinger said.
Center for Disease Control and several other universities. Beginning with a video montage of different speakers reading from Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” the introduction also included a performance by the Shades of Brown a cappella group. In opening remarks, Associate Provost for Academic Development and Diversity Liza Cariaga-Lo, President Christina Paxson and Provost Mark Schlissel P’15 addressed the idea that despite progress in reducing racial inequality, much work remains to be done. When King took the podium, she began with a eulogy for her mother, who passed away seven years ago yesterday. “(My mother) is often lost in the equation when we talk about Martin Luther King,” she said. “When my father died in 1968, he was one of the most hated men in America, and today, he is one of the most loved men in the world.” King cred/ / King page 3 ited the shift in
Bernice King addressed a large crowd that included students from Harvard, Yale, Penn, Johns Hopkins University and Tougaloo College.
MLK’s daughter speaks on health equality Bernice King discussed her family history, as well as her personal and poltical views By Alex Constantino Contributing Writer
Bernice King, CEO of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, delivered a rousing speech to a packed De Ciccio Family Auditorium in the Salomon Center for the 16th annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Lecture yesterday afternoon. The talk, titled “Advancing the ‘Dream’: Addressing Social Equity Issues to Eliminate Health Disparities in the 21st Century,” focused extensively on the legacies of her parents, Coretta Scott King and Martin Luther King, Jr. In addition to members of the Brown community, representatives from the
Ruba Aleryani/ Herald
The council discussed new curricular programs and 3- and 5-year undergrad programs By Maxine Joselow Senior Staff Writer
Members of the Undergraduate Council of Students raised concerns about potential changes to the Diversity Perspectives course category and a proposed three-year undergraduate program while showing support for possible sophomore seminars and a five-year undergraduate program. The council discussed the changes at its meeting Wednesday night in one of the first formal student reactions to interim recommendations released Jan. 25 from the strategic planning committees. The six committees will seek community input before submitting their final reports, the contents of which are expected to influence President Christina Paxson’s agenda for the next several years. “How (UCS) reacts to these reports will really make a difference,” said Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services Margaret Klawunn, who presented the strategic planning report’s key initiatives to UCS along with Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron. The strategic planning report contains dozens of potential initiatives, and council members’ feedback will help determine which half dozen or so will become reality, Klawunn said. Bergeron pinpointed renaming and / / UCS page 5 reevaluating
2 university news c alendar Today
january 31
2:30 P.M.
ToMORROW
february 1
1 P.M.
A Reading by Kate Bernheimer
Auditions for BTV Short Films
McCormac Family Center
Wilson 102
4 P.M.
7:30 P.M.
Clapp Lecture: Carol Robinson
Qualifying Poetry Slam
MacMillan 117
Smitty-B 106
menu SHARPE REFECTORY
VERNEy-WOOLLEY
LUNCH Hot Turkey Sandwich with Gravy, Fresh Broccoli, Vegetable Bean Stew
BBQ Beef Sandwich, Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Cream Sauce, Peanut Butter Sandwich Bar
DINNER Marinated Beef with Au Jus, Baked Potatoes with Sour Cream, Red Potato Frittata, Pesto Tortellini Salad
Cajun Pasta with Chicken, Vegan Paella, Yellow Beets Roasted with Red Onion, BBQ Navy Beans
Sudoku
Crossword
the brown daily herald thursday, january 31, 2013
Seminar explores conflict in Turkey A Watson fellow cites rifts between Muslims and Christians as a key obstacle to pluralism By Aparaajit sriram Senior Staff Writer
The popular notion that Turkey is a model democracy is incorrect, Nukhet Sandal, postdoctoral fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies, argued in a research presentation Wednesday Sandal presented her research — concerning differential treatment of religious minorities in Turkey — to about 30 scholars and students at the institute’s Birkelund Boardroom yesterday. The talk was the first in a series of luncheon seminars sponsored by the Middle East Studies department and filled the room over capacity. Sandal, who was raised in Turkey, spent 20 minutes giving her presentation, titled “Public Theologies of Citizenship in the Middle East: Revisiting the Turkish Model.” She began by describing some of the religious rifts that exist today in Turkey, from ethno-religious conflicts between the Muslim majority and Christian minority to the dissemination of pamphlets by religious institutions offering commentary on the question “Who is a Turkish citizen?” She framed her presentation by arguing that, even in a purportedly secular state like Turkey, “public theologies” — religiously animated attempts at addressing broader societal questions — arise and define boundaries between “citizens” and “non-citizens,” leading to conflict. In her analysis, Sandal explained four “dimensions” that make up public theologies — the substantive, spiritual, spatial and temporal — and
/ / VP page 1 good moment to go back to engineering.” In addition to his personal considerations, Briant said his decision was partly motivated by the current transitional period in the University’s presidency. “The president is taking on a lot of new initiatives that are very exciting,” he said. “It’s probably good to have someone in here that will start out at the beginning and play a big role in that.” More senior administrators have been stepping down recently than is usual, in part because a university president’s exit often spurs administrative
Meron Tadesse/ Herald
In the first of several Watson Middle East seminars, Nukhet Sandal argued Christian minorities in Turkey face discrimination. acknowledged her potential for bias, on this issue during a question-andhaving grown up in a mostly secu- answer period following the presenlar family. Religious minorities — tation, she identified “the Ottoman mainly different sects of Christians understanding of nationhood” and the — do not receive equal treatment, she “Neo-Ottoman dream of governance said, highlighting the tacit conviction and foreign policy” — a reference to that despite Turkey’s facade of plural- the expansive Ottoman empire once ism, Muslims can legitimately claim to centered in Turkey — as reasons the be “the highest category” of citizens. public theology has persisted. Under the Ottoman millet system, The talk prompted many questions which was supposed to protect reli- from professors, probing Sandal’s regious minority subjects of the Otto- search and offering comparative cases man Empire, political leadership only that might be illustrative. Professor of dealt with religious leaders instead of Political Science Ashutosh Varshney proposed Sandal’s research could be with full civil societies. “That system cannot work any- distilled into the question “Who owns more,” Sandal said. “These (minority) the nation?”, a question he said played populations do not get along with out in conflicts like the Sri Lankan each other now.” civil war. Touching on contemporary poliThe formality of the talk receded tics, she argued that issues like Tur- during the questions period — Sankey’s attempts to join the European dal joked about “doing field research” Union and the rise of Kurdish nation- while going to the salon, and a profesalism have displaced attention from sor prodding Sandal for clarity added these longstanding issues of citizen- that she did so “because we’re friends ship and nationhood. “Christians are and I care.” Despite her findings, Sandal said happier now,” she said, but this sentiment belies rifts that persist and result she was optimistic about Turkey’s fuin sporadic hate crimes. ture. “I don’t know how the process “There is an embedded public the- will be, but things have to change.” “How can we create the most inology,” she said, citing “textbooks, laws, the practices of people through clusive societies in the shortest time?” their lives,” as contributing factors she asked. “It may require some sacin this phenomenon. When pressed rifices, but change will come.”
turnover, Schlissel said. “People often use that as a reason why they want to go back to doing their regular work,” Schlissel said. “None of these folks was asked to step down — certainly I would have been happy if they had continued — but it’s more the sort of natural turnover of these positions as people naturally retire or go back to being a professor.” Briant works primarily in the field of mechanical engineering and said he plans to finish off his career in teaching and research. Last semester, he cotaught ENGN 0030: “Introduction to Engineering.” “It was really good to get back in the classroom, and I remembered how
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much I enjoyed that,” he said. The Provost’s office will be leading the internal search for Briant’s successor. “The plan is to initially see whether any of our existing senior faculty are interested in the job and appropriate for it,” Schlissel said. “We’ll look internally first, and if we don’t find the right person, then we may look outside (the University).” “In this instance, there’s a very large advantage for a faculty member who actually is very familiar with a broad array of what the Brown faculty do for their research,” he added. “A big part of the job is helping find ways to support and stimulate research and build interdisciplinary programs. An outside person might be quite good at this, but they would have a very steep learning curve.” Paxson said she hopes Briant’s successor will help the University expand its role in new, innovative fields. “We need somebody who really understands research and who can play an important role in bringing groups of researchers together,” she said. “This position is sort of a broker, somebody who’s pulling the community together and figuring out what opportunities there are for research and especially for research funding and matching us up with people. … We need someone who can take what Clyde’s done and carry it forward.”
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the brown daily herald thursday, january 31, 2013
/ / King page 1 public perception to her mother’s efforts to establish the King Center and a federal holiday in his name. King’s remarks centered on the theme of unity between all races. “I believe we are all related, and we are all a little dysfunctional,” she said, noting that humans share 99 percent of their DNA. King spent the rest of her speech discussing issues of health care and poverty. She called health issues the most harmful form of racial inequality. “Not all communities have benefited” from medical advancements, King said, noting the high concentration of convenience stores, fast food restaurants and liquor stores in impoverished neighborhoods. She referenced statistics showing racial disparities in medical issues like HIV, substance abuse and stress and social issues like incarceration, education, employment and internet access. King identified poverty as the underlying social issue that policy should address. “We must escalate the war on poverty wherever it occurs,” she said. King’s parents believed health care should be universal, she said. King commended the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act but said it did not go far enough. “We must set higher standards,” she said. King also discussed recent mass shootings, calling violence a large public health problem. She said she supports bans on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition and shared an anecdote from her childhood. After her house was bombed in an assassination attempt on her father, he calmed an armed mob seeking revenge for the attack, saying, “We are going to fight this another way because he who lives by the sword will perish by the sword.” She suggested restricting violent media including video games, likening them to sugary products that parents should limit in their child’s diet. King concluded with the final line from her father’s “I Have a Dream” speech: “Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last.” King’s speech was followed by a question-and-answer period, a significant portion of which King spent addressing her views on gay and lesbian equality. King said though she does not hate the LGBTQ community, her first responsibility is to her religious views. “The family was created and ordained first and foremost by God,” she said. King has publicly opposed gay marriage in the past, a point on which she said she disagreed with her mother. During her answer, King said many people are gay if they “delved into it as an experiment,” though some are gay due to a “genuine birthing experience.” The event concluded with a performance of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” by Shades of Brown.
Law school application rates decline The high expense of attending law school in a risky economic climate may be to blame By gadi cohen staff writer
The numbers of law school applicants and total applications submitted nationwide decreased for the second year in a row, according to a Law School Admissions Council report released last year. The percent of individuals applying for fall 2013 admission to law school fell by 13.7 percent nationwide. Comparatively, in fall 2011, the last year with available data, Brown students and alums applying to law school decreased by 24 percent. The University does not yet have data on the number of Brown applicants for fall 2012 or fall 2013 admission. The number of total applications for fall 2013 admission to law school nationwide fell by 12.5 percent. This year’s smaller pool of applications could bolster the admission chances for Brown students seeking acceptance to law school. The report confirmed concerns about the path to law school that have arisen since the 2008 economic recession. Critics have pointed to the financial risk of attending law school at a time when job prospects remain low, leading some to reconsider their law school plans. Only 55 percent of students who graduated from law schools in 2011 nationwide had secured longterm jobs in the legal profession, according to data from the American Bar Association. The percent of Brown students and alums applying to law school who have been accepted has been rising in recent years, said George Vassilev, director of pre-professional advising and assistant dean of the College. Of Brown students and alums who applied to law school during the fall 2011 admissions cycle, 91 percent were admitted into at least one school, a rate 20 percent higher than the national average. “Students and alumni have been much more methodical about examining their personal and professional goals,” Vassilev said, adding that he believes Brown students should reflect on their options before making postgraduate commitments. Vassilev wrote in a follow-up email to The Herald that the number of law school applications from the University has corresponded to national trends in recent years. The number of Brown students and alums who applied to law school for fall 2010 admission, for instance, rose 33 percent from the
previous year, which was linked to a nationwide increase in law school applications as more students sought out advanced degrees in the face of a difficult economy, Vassilev wrote. Just over 200 Brown students and alums submitted law school applications for fall 2011 admission, a total that Vassilev wrote is “more typical of Brown’s law school applicant population.” He added that the 24 percent decrease from the previous year at Brown followed the national trend of declining applications. Since becoming the head of preprofessional advising in 2010, Vassilev has implemented some changes in the University’s advising services for law school with the goal of helping students better understand the application process. “One of the first things we did was to reframe the way we deliver advice to students,” Vassilev said, noting that his office used to be centered more on academic advising. He said he worked with the Center for Careers and Life After Brown to provide students with better information about law career options. As part of this goal, Vassilev helped construct a new law careers advising website to provide information on multiple aspects of law school preparation. The website offers statistics about the admission process, describes different fields in the legal profession and lists upcoming law-related events on campus. Vassilev said the University’s efforts to provide more information to prospective law school applicants reflects one encouraging change brought on by the new dynamics of the admissions cycle. “There’s been a lot more transparency among law schools these days,” Vassilev said, adding that applicants are better informed about the admission process after criticism that law schools withheld too much information from prospective students. “Before, law schools found themselves in a very challenging position about being forthright with applicants.” Students indicated they are weighing the costs of attending law school in the midst of continuing struggles in the legal job market. “For a while I thought I wasn’t going to think about law school,” Hannah Begley ’15 said. “It’s scary to see how few people end up with jobs even from top-three schools and how hard it is to get six-figure salaries, even with sixfigure debts.” Begley expressed hope that a smaller applicant pool will signal to law schools that their price tags are inflated. She said she believes law schools may lower tuition costs as they witness a decline in demand among prospective students.
Though Begley sees the decline in applicants as a sign that students are growing increasingly aware of the costs of attending law school, she said that she still wants to apply to law school once she graduates. She said she hopes the number of applications will continue to decline so she can gain advantage from a smaller applicant pool with lower Law School Admission Test scores. “If that trend continues, the number of applicants getting high scores will probably be lower,” Begley said. “So, hopefully, my shot of getting into a good school will be higher.” Students considering law school indicated concern about the costs but said they plan to finance their education with grants, fellowships and scholarships. “Many students are wondering whether it’s worth it for them to take out a big loan for such a career,” Cindy Abarca ’16 said. “But there are always scholarships available and ways you can get support.” Despite being a first-year, Abarca said she has already begun exploring legal career options. She said she has attended several law school information sessions on campus and has already interned with a law firm that provides her with a scholarship to help finance her education at Brown.
Ne ws in brief Judge rules in DUI hit-and-run A woman who was convicted of injuring two students in a hit-and-run in spring 2011 was sentenced to one year in a minimumsecurity prison followed by two years of house arrest. Rhode Island resident Jessica Paden pleaded guilty to drunk driving among other charges. The students, Julia Unanue Banuchi ’14 and Amanda Chew ’14, were struck on the corner of Hope and Charlesfield streets at around 10:45 p.m. in April 2011, The Herald reported at the time. Unanue Banuchi sustained a leg fracture and Chew suffered from a concussion. Paden apologized to the victims in court and will work as a tutor for fellow inmates during her sentence. She will lose her driver’s license for two years after she leaves prison. — Emily Boney
4 city & state
the brown daily herald thursday, january 31, 2013
R.I. officials praise Chafee’s proposed budget plan If the budget passes, the state will see no new taxes, and corporate taxes will decrease By Emily boney Senior staff writer
Gov. Lincoln Chafee ’75 P’14 P’16 received generally positive reactions from academics and officials for his proposals to cut the corporate tax rate and tentatively cap tuition at the state’s public colleges and universities in the Jan. 17 State of the State address. Presenting his third budget to the General Assembly, Chafee asked for “no increase in taxes, fees or charges of any kind” on individuals or businesses, adding that the corporate tax rate should be lowered from 9 to 7 percent — a lower rate than both Connecticut’s and Massachusetts’. Speaker of the House Gordon Fox, D-Providence, told WPRI that he thinks the budget “is a great starting point,” but added that “the devil’s always in the details in terms of lowering the corporate tax ... so until we get into the weeds and see how it all balances, we will hold further comment.” House Minority Leader Brian Newberry, R-North Smithfield, told WPRI that he was “certainly happy about the lack of any taxes or fee increases” and supports “the idea of cutting the corporate tax.” He added that it was “an improvement over the last two budgets.” “This is by far the best thing Gov. Chafee has done since he’s been in office,” said Leonard Lardaro, a profes-
sor of economics at the University of Rhode Island. He added that he thinks the budget will support long-term investment in Rhode Island’s economy. “It’s not an instantaneous thing ... but if these are implemented, we’re definitely starting to move in the right direction.” Lardaro praised Chafee’s proposals but argued that if the state passes the budget, it will be at risk of running a deficit. Politicians are supposed to present balanced budgets, but “this one is a little optimistic on revenue,” he said. Recent data show revenue from state income and sales taxes is on the rise and expected to keep rising. But Lardaro said analysts may be predicting too great an increase. He added that he thinks Chafee might be creating a challenge for future leaders who will have to make cuts in order to balance the budget. Rhode Island should also explore other policies that will help it stay competitive with neighboring states, Lardaro said. Massachusetts may be lowering its sales tax rate, he said, adding that “we have to assume that other states are going to keep competing.” Chafee attributed Rhode Island’s high business operating costs to some of the largest local property taxes in the nation, proposing “an additional $30 million dollars in property tax relief ” to combat the tax burden. He said the money would go to the cities
Herald File Photo Chafee proposed additional funds to public schools, colleges and universities in an effort to improve the economy. and towns themselves to disincentivize tax increases as well as to fund infrastructure upkeep. Cranston Mayor Allan Fung told WPRI he applauds Chafee “for the recognition of the need for help for the cities and towns, particularly in light of the significant drastic cuts that we’ve had to achieve over the past several years.” In an effort to make college more affordable, Chafee proposed a $6 million increase in funding for higher education to help stave off tuition increases at URI, the Community College of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College, as long as the schools make $6 million worth of budget cuts to “meet
(him) halfway.” Lardaro said that though this budget was Chafee’s “best” yet, he did not think the governor put “adequate emphasis on the role of higher education in moving the state forward.” “Our most glaring deficiency is the lack of skill in our labor force,” Lardaro said. Chafee did not provide the $14 million state higher education institutions had requested to keep tuition costs level and enable them to train tomorrow’s workforce, he said. Rhode Island is trying to move toward knowledge production and away from manufacturing but will not be able to do so without significant increases to higher education funding, Lardaro said. Rhode Island was the 16th best state in the nation for innovative technology-based economies, according to the 2010 State New Economy Index. Commissioner of Higher Education for the State of Rhode Island Ray Di Pasquale had a more positive reaction to the proposed funding, Special Assistant to the Commissioner Mike Trainor said in an interview with Rhode Island Public Radio. Trainor
said the commissioner thought the budget exemplified “a continuation of (Chafee’s) three year trend now to reverse the hemorrhaging of state aid to public higher education that occurred under the prior administration.” Chafee also proposed adding $30.3 million to public education and $14 million to vocational schools on top of the funds required by a state education formula , said Elliot Krieger, executive assistant for communications at the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The formula is based on district capacity, student aid and the district’s financial need. While some of the additional funds are going to districts in need, some will go toward special needs education, career technology education and early childhood education, among other projects, Krieger said. If Chafee’s budget passes, Rhode Island “will have invested $115 million in public K-12 and higher education” over the past three years, he added. “The world sees us as a caricature: ‘What Not to Do,’” Lardaro said. “This is something I hope the politics don’t dominate and the economics do.”
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the brown daily herald thursday, january 31, 2013
/ / UCS page 1 the Diversity Perspectives course category as one key initiative that emerged from the strategic planning process. “ The definition right now is something we worked on 10 years ago, so it doesn’t reflect current scholarship right now,” Bergeron said. The strategic planning committees considered changing the term Diversity Perspectives to “Social Justice,” but ultimately decided the new terminology would deter many students with its connotations of activism, she said. The committees also considered making Diversity Perspectives courses a requirement comparable to the Writing
University news
Requirement, but “didn’t want to add too many requirements to the Brown curriculum, or else we’d end up looking like some other schools,” Klawunn said. Instead of creating a Diversity Perspectives requirement, the committees considered adding a question to the concentration form about whether students have made diversity a part of their education, Klawunn said. Holly Hunt ’13, UCS general body member, said the University must remember the term diversity is often used as a euphemism when discussing race, whereas in reality the term encompasses other aspects of a person besides race, such as socioeconomic status. Maahika Srinivasan ’15, UCS Corporation liaison, said the University should work on extending Diversity Perspectives courses from the humani-
ties to the sciences. “There are tons of biology classes that introduce (diversity) in a biological context,” and these courses might as well have the Diversity Perspectives designation, Srinivasan said. Council members raised qualms about a proposed three-year undergraduate program. The three-year program would benefit students who struggle to afford four years at the University, those who have taken a gap year and those who have taken college courses before enrolling at Brown, Bergeron said. “It would be really hard to enter a class where people have already made friends,” said Kiera Peltz ‘16. “I know I wouldn’t trade my freshman year experience for anything.” “I’m not sure a potential employer would think someone with a three-year
Spotlight on the state house by Adam Toobin, City & State Editor
Same-sex marriage The Rhode Island House overwhelmingly approved a bill last Thursday that would make Rhode Island the 10th state to legalize same-sex marriage. The bill now goes to the Senate — the branch of the General Assembly historically less supportive of same-sex marriage — where its fate remains unclear. Senate President Teresa PaivaWeed, D-Newport, who personally opposes same-sex marriage legislation, has promised to allow a committee to vote on the bill but has not provided a timetable for action. A breakdown of senator support for same-sex marriage yesterday by the Providence Journal revealed an evenly-divided body. Rhode Island has 39 senators, so the bill’s advocates need to secure 20 votes to ensure the bill’s passage — assuming all members vote. The Journal counted 11 senators co-sponsoring a bill to legalize same-sex marriage and 11 others co-sponsoring a bill that would call for a voter referendum to amend the state constitution to define marriage as “the lawful union of one man and one woman.” The Journal article explained that co-sponsoring a bill did not ensure that senator’s support for the given issue. Rep. William San Bento Jr., D-Pawtucket, voted against the same-sex marriage bill in the House but was a co-sponsor. He told the Journal he only co-sponsored the bill so it would be heard and voted on in committee. Of the remaining 17 senators, the Journal found “four leaning in favor of same-sex marriage and four who oppose it.”
‘Katie’s Law’ State Sen. David Bates, R-Barrington, and Rep. Brian Patrick Kennedy, D-Hopkinton, introduced legislation that would require collecting DNA from all individuals arrested for a broad set of violent crimes. In honor of Katie Sepich, who was murdered in New Mexico in 2003 — a crime the woman’s parents believe could have been solved sooner if DNA tests had been mandated by law — the bill has been named “Katie’s Law.” Similar legislation has been introduced and adopted in states around the country. President Obama signed a federal version of “Katie’s Law” Jan. 10. Under the proposed law, officers would take DNA samples from any individuals arrested for the variety of violent crimes included in the legislation, but — like fingerprints — would delete the data from the system if they were acquitted.
Business collaboration The Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council and the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation joined with both branches of the General Assembly to create a database “for tracking business-related legislation in the 2013 legislative session,” according to a state press release. Officials designed the database to help Rhode Islanders, the business community and legislators keep track of pending legislation related to “tax structure, regulatory climate, public safety and economic development,” according to the press release. Gov. Lincoln Chafee ’75 P’14 said he believes the collaboration will show businesses that Rhode Island is actively working toward making the state more welcoming to business.
degree would really be ready for the job market,” said Abigail Braiman ’15, chair of the Committee for Admissions and Student Services. Though the proposed three-year plan came under attack by council members, the five-year plan received more support. Council members said they appreciated the intent of the fiveyear program, which was to support students who sought to “interrupt their time on College Hill to do meaningful activities” such as jobs, internships or community service, Bergeron said. “So yes to the five-year plan and no to the three-year plan,” Klawunn said in summary of UCS sentiment. A proposal for sophomore seminars also received support from council members. Sophomore seminars would cater to second-years who were unable
to take a first-year seminar but desired a smaller classes, Klawunn said. A proposed group of sophomore seminars called Randall seminars would explore issues of diversity and would “pull a number of students in who aren’t necessarily interested in those issues” with their appealing small size, Klawunn said. “I think it’s a great idea to introduce students very early in their Brown career (to diversity issues), especially at a critical point when they’re about to declare their concentration,” said Anthony White ’13, UCS president. “It would be a great alternative to requiring students take these courses,” White added. The strategic planning committees will continue to seek feedback from UCS at its forums in the future, Bergeron said.
Senate passes relief bill for Sandy damage Rhode Island will receive an as-of-yet undetermined portion of the $50.5 billion of aid By emily boney senior staff writer
The U.S. Senate passed a bill Jan. 28 allocating $50.5 billion of aid to facilitate reconstruction in states affected by Hurricane Sandy last October. Three months later, the East Coast is still recovering from Sandy, which left wreckage and destruction in Rhode Island’s coastal areas. The state requested additional assistance for housing insurance after $10 million of initial emergency funds were allocated to repair highways and infrastructure. The funding “will help Rhode Island communities hurt by Hurricane Sandy to rebuild,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., in a press release. Rhode Island’s congressmen voiced frustration about the Republican caucus’ inaction. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., wrote that Republican leaders are “incomprehensible and irresponsible” for not responding quickly to alleviate suf-
fering for victims in a tweet Jan. 2. Reed was one of the main advocates of the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill. Rhode Islanders are ready to make repairs and rebuild their lives, but lack the necessary funds to do so, he said in an interview with WPRI. The amount of aid appropriated to Rhode Island will not be determined until President Obama signs the legislation into law, said Richard Luchette, communications director for Rep. David Cicilline ’83, D-R.I. The bill’s language currently allocates funds to various governmental departments, with the largest amounts of funding going toward roadway reconstruction, flood control, housing restoration and transit line rehabilitation. Luchette said the fight for additional funding was long and grueling but added that passage in the Senate is a victory worth celebrating. “This was the culmination of the efforts (of Rhode Island legislators). ... It’s long overdue.” He added that in a time of crisis, it is important for Republicans and Democrats to “set aside their differences and work together.”
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6 editorial Editorial
Calling for financial fairness
Under current policy, international, transfer and Resumed Undergraduate Education students are admitted on a need-aware basis, in which ability to pay is considered in deciding whether students should be admitted. While financial aid is a familiar issue, as President Christina Paxson begins to shape her agenda, now is the time to bring it to the forefront of campus dialogue. We strongly advocate making full need-blind admission the administration and student body’s top priority during the coming years. Last Friday, Paxson emailed members of the Brown community with interim reports whose recommendations could ultimately shape her agenda. These recommendations included attracting and supporting “an excellent, diverse and global student body” and developing “signature academic initiatives that contribute in significant ways to challenges that confront society.” But fulfilling these objectives is simply not possible without making our community accessible to the multitude of students discouraged from or unable to apply to the university because of their need-aware status. In its interim report, the Committee on Financial Aid concluded that “Brown’s reputation and quality of community are diminished to the extent that we do not make ourselves fully available to the best and brightest of students.” The current policy creates a dichotomy between need-blind and need-aware students, which is detrimental to internal student body relations, the University’s global reputation and the diversity of the community as a whole. Being need-aware for select groups punishes them for circumstances beyond their control. As a result, the community suffers from a lack of diversity that curtails student discussion. The report concluded recommending a need-blind admissions policy that extends to all students. Suggestions for implementing this have been researched and presented by Brown for Financial Aid, a student-run organization committed to the establishment of need-blind admissions for all students and increased transparency on Brown’s financial aid policy. BFA has issued a set of recommendations that include an “aid-centered capital campaign” that would encourage donors to fund scholarships, as well increasing the amount of the Annual Fund “internally earmarked for financial aid.” Innovative fundraising drives and working in tandem both with current students and alums to generate ideas and support for stronger aid programs could be strong new pathways to finding a solution to Brown’s current need-blind quandary. This commitment is essential when viewed in the context of Brown’s role as an Ivy League institution. Harvard, Princeton and Yale all extend need-blind admission to international students, while UPenn and Cornell offer limited financial aid. We hope endowment and not intent is what constrains Brown. But the cost of a need-aware policy is significant. Because Brown has not dedicated the resources to helping certain types of students, it cannot continue attracting the best and brightest that those groups have to offer. This results in several consequences for the University: lost potential students, future alums less willing to give back to the school and a tarnished image as an institution unable to achieve the ideals it espouses. Certainly, it will be more damaging than not renovating dormitories. We need commitment and action from the administration to create an inclusivefinancial aid policy. If Brown wants to improve upon the diverse, equal, passionate community it has cultivated for so long. Our education should and must be accessible to everyone. Otherwise, everyone, regardless of financial situation, loses out.
the brown daily herald thursday, january 31, 2013
Editorial cartoon b y a n g e l i a wa n g
Cl arific ation And correc tion An article in Wednesday’s Herald (“Study investigates marijuana dependence,” Jan. 30) had a headline suggesting the study described was researching marijuana dependence. Though the study was part of a larger research project examining dependence, it specifically did not address that topic. Additionally, the story’s caption said marijuana users perceive their addiction in a different manner from observers. In fact, the study did not investigate perceptions of addiction. The Herald regrets the error.
Correc tion Due to an editing error, an article in Wednesday’s Herald (“Expanding engineering school considers off-campus space,” Jan. 30) incorrectly referred to Iris Bahar as an associate professor of engineering. In fact, Bahar is a professor of engineering. The Herald regrets the error.
Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board: its editor, Dan Jeon, and its members, Mintaka Angell, Samuel Choi, Nicholas Morley and Rachel Occhiogrosso. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
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opinions 7
the brown daily herald thursday, january 31, 2013
In defense of grade inflation Ian Eppler Opinions Columnist Everyone seems to understand grade inflation to be real and to be a problem. Websites are devoted to tracking the average grade point averages at colleges and universities and shaming the universities that the sites’ owners consider to be the worst offenders. Last year, the Brown Conversation devoted discussion to the perceived ease of earning an A at Brown. Proponents of the grade inflation hypothesis cite many causes — from the increasingly commercial nature of higher education to moral decline among America’s students to affirmative action — for the observed increase in average grade point averages that they term grade inflation. The observed trend in increased grades is real, but there is reason to believe the trend is a byproduct of positive changes at America’s colleges and universities and should be celebrated as evidence these changes have been successful. Well-known critics of grade inflation, such as Harvard professor Harvey Mansfield, attribute grade inflation to increased racial and ethnic diversity in America’s institutions of higher education, arguing that grade inflation arose from a desire among college faculty members to avoid being perceived as racist or bigoted for assigning deservedly low grades to unqualified beneficiaries of affirmative action. There is reason to believe average
grades have increased as a result of increased diversity in the student bodies of colleges and universities but that the cause differs from Mansfield’s conception. Prior to the middle of the 20th century, the student bodies of American colleges and universities, especially the “elite” institutions, did not consist of America’s brightest young people. Many groups of potential students, such as women, racial and ethnic minorities, students of limited economic means and international students, were systematically excluded from elite institutions and higher education as a whole through explicit rules, cul-
we expect the average quality of student work to increase? If the average quality of student work increases, why shouldn’t grades correspondingly increase? Grade inflation is not an attempt to compensate for affirmative action. Rather, it is the natural result of successful attempts to make our universities fairer and more meritocratic, a success that should be praised instead of abhorred. It is also plausible grade inflation has resulted from technological progress. The information technology revolution has drastically changed the process of producing graded academic work. Research no longer requires
There is reason to believe the trend is a byproduct of positive changes at America’s colleges and universities, and it should be celebrated as evidence that these positive changes have been successful. tural norms or economic constraints. Over the past decades, the country has seen many social movements and policy changes that attempted to transform America’s universities from staid playgrounds for the elite’s children to meritocratic incubators of the next generation. While there remains much to be done to make university admission and education financing truly meritocratic, it is easier to claim the Brown student body in 2013 represents 6,000 of the nation’s and world’s brightest young people than it was to make the same claim 50, 30, or even 20 years ago. Given that we’re no longer excluding thousands of great students based on arbitrary and irrelevant demographic factors, shouldn’t
painstaking hours digging through card catalogs and meticulously flipping through dusty back issues of journals on lonely library shelves. Instead, the entirety of the world’s academic corpus is now readily accessible at all hours of the day and night with a university login account. Technology has improved the writing process, too. Students no longer need to struggle with recalcitrant typewriters to draft a paper. Inexpensive computers and printers have made easier refining and perfecting one’s writing. The end result of technological changes is that an undergraduate can prepare written work that draws on a much larger body of research and is significantly more polished
than was written work prepared before the information technology revolution. When it becomes easier to prepare work traditionally understood to be A-level work, shouldn’t we see more A’s? This is, in fact, the pattern found in the data. The current grade inflation trend began during the mid-1980s, contemporaneous with the arrival of personal computers such as the PC and Macintosh. As information became steadily more accessible, grades increased correspondingly. That grades in the humanities and social sciences have increased more significantly in the past 25 years than grades in the physical sciences is due to the differing nature of assignments given in these courses. Written work such as research papers greatly benefits from access to computers and the Internet, and those assignments are more common in humanities courses. Courses that rely on inclass assessment without the benefit of access to a computer, such as courses in the physical sciences, will see a less significant increase, and any increase is presumably attributable to improved interactive study aids and the improved student population in those courses. The observed increase in average GPA is the product of two trends worth celebrating — increasingly meritocratic selection of students and the arrival of new technologies that improve access to information and increase productivity. Grade inflation is not something to fear. It is something we should praise. Ian Eppler ’13 just wants an easy A. He may be contacted at ian_eppler@brown.edu.
The need for real conversation on gun control Jaclyn Katz Opinions Columnist On January 7, Austin-based talk radio host Alex Jones excitedly claimed, “1776 will commence again if you try to take our firearms,” during his appearance on Piers Morgan Tonight. While this comment was certainly entertaining — I highly recommend watching the entire clip on YouTube — what struck me the most about this segment was Jones’ complete lack of interest in engaging in real conversation about gun control. Instead, Jones spoke over Morgan, who is a major proponent of gun control legislation, dodged Morgan’s questions and accused Morgan of asking him for “some little factoid” when Morgan inquired about how many gun murders there were in the United Kingdom last year. Jones’ angry, unapologetic tone and his emphatic body language also signaled that he was more concerned with advertising his point of view than taking part in a productive conversation. This segment of Piers Morgan Tonight is representative of the larger hostile debate on gun control that has been at the forefront of domestic politics since the shootings at the Century 16 movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado and Sandy Hook Elementary School. Without true communication, the gulf between the two major camps of the debate will continue to widen, political rhetoric will replace political action and the American people will be left feeling help-
less. For example, the National Rifle Association has already geared up to fight President Obama’s recommendations for new gun laws. After Obama laid out his plan this month to reduce gun violence in America, the NRA was quick to respond “with a familiar gun lobby refrain: The nation doesn’t need any new gun laws, just better enforcement of laws that already exist,” wrote Dorothy Samuels of the New York Times. Despite compelling statistical evidence that lax enforcement is not the primary cause of gun violence — in 2010, for example, only
appear responsive and decisive in the political battle over gun control, especially in the wake of Sandy Hook. What the NRA and all other parties involved in shaping gun laws must do is reexamine current laws as well as the underlying forces that lead to gun violence in America, rather than spew empty rhetoric and staunchly defend their respective positions. The gun control debate needs to involve a real conversation incorporating many different perspectives. It needs to face the sticky issue of which rights the Second Amendments conveys to gun owners and
Without true communication, the gulf between the two major camps of the debate will continue to widen, political rhetoric will replace political action and the American people will be left feeling helpless.
44 out of nearly 80,000 Americans failed background checks because they “lied or gave incorrect information were charged with a crime” — the NRA continues its efforts to reframe the debate in those terms to avoid other types of reforms. The NRA has even taken part in antienforcement strategies, such as restrictions that make it challenging to “identify dealers who falsify sales records.” This utter hypocrisy highlights how the NRA aims only to
determine the validity of those rights in the 21st century. It must address the role of private economic liberties and how to weigh these liberties against the security of our fellow citizens. Finally, it needs to examine a simple question: What kinds of laws will help save as many lives as possible? I’m hopeful that these tasks are not mutually exclusive. The main obstacle facing a potential solution to the gun control debate is not that such a solution is elusive,
but rather it is the intense polarization that characterizes the nature of the debate. The current political polarization will remain strong if the two camps do not effectively communicate or accurately understand each other’s perspectives. Harry Wilson, Roanoke College professor of political science and author of “Guns, Gun Control, and Elections: The Politics and Policy of Firearms” has argued both sides hold misperceptions about the other. These misperceptions prevent real conversations from taking place. For example, Wilson has called gun control advocates to understand that “gun owners are not in favor of gun violence. Gun owners are in many ways like them, and would genuinely like to see gun violence reduced.” In the aftermath of Sandy Hook, some folks in Washington have signaled a willingness to question their assumptions and reconsider their previously held beliefs. For example, Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey has said he will support bans on militarystyle weapons and high-capacity magazines — both of which the Senate may soon consider — whereas in the past “he has explicitly opposed any new gun control laws,” NPR recently reported. This kind of reevaluation of one’s position is necessary for a productive conversation on gun control to commence in Congress, whether or not such a reevaluation leads one to change his or her original stance. Jaclyn Katz ’14 would love to discuss gun legislation with you and can be reached at jaclyn_katz@brown.edu.