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65
Daily
BUCC heats up over ROTC, sports cuts
By BeN KutNer Senior Staff Writer
the Brown
Herald
Since 1891
The reinstatement of the Reserve Officers Training Corps and the possible elimination of several athletic teams were the two hot issues at Tuesdays meeting of the Brown University Community Council in a standing-room-only Kasper Multipurpose Room. Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron presented the final report of the Brown Committee on ROTC, which was made public Sept. 7. In the report, the committee recommends that the president engage in conversations with the Department of Defense to learn how Brown students might participate in Naval or Air Force ROTC programs currently unavailable to them. The committee was divided six to four on this point, Bergeron said. Why does it need to be decided on so quickly? asked Julian Park 12, a member of the Coalition Against Special Privileges for ROTC, during public comment time. Transgender opportunities in ROTC need to be brought up in continued dialogue across campus, Park said. Any steps to bring ROTC would be divisive, he said. Simmons said there were extensive opportunities to comment before the report was published and added that people may still comment and discuss the matter with her. Discussion of athletic teams also evoked emotion from members of the gallery. No decision has been made yet as to what we will do, Simmons said, adding that this meeting was the first opportunity for a more general discussion since the athletics review committees report was published in April. The teams currently recommended for elimination are mens and womens fencing, womens skiing and mens wrestling. The report also recommended a review of coaches salaries, $10 million in athletic facilities improvements and a reduction of 30 admissions slots for athletes from the current 225 set aside, said Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services Marcontinued on page 2
While Brown fell from the top spot to third place in the Princeton Reviews happiest students ranking earlier this year, the University retained its 15th-place position in the U.S. News and World Report rankings.
Brown and Cornell share the worst U.S. News and World Report ranking in the Ivy League this year, according to the 2012 rankings released online Monday. The report which calculates rankings based on metrics such as academic reputation, retention rates, class size, financial resources
and selectivity ranked the two schools 15th in the nation. Harvard and Princeton tied for first place, with Yale at third. About 15 percent of the ranking is determined by college presidents participation in a peer assessment survey, according to the companys website. Though overall participation by college presidents dropped to 43 percent this year, President Ruth Simmons
participated. But she remains skeptical of the ranking system, she wrote in an email to The Herald, because the formula puts strong emphasis on an institutions financial assets. Nevertheless, Browns ranking at number 15 is very strong and an enviable position, she wrote. Brown has held roughly the continued on page 3
The University hopes to name a director of the center for the study of slavery and justice this fall, five years after the Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice recommended doing so. The decision should be announced within four to six weeks, according to Dean of the Faculty Kevin McLaughin P12. The creation of the center, one of the initiatives recommended by the committee in 2006, was approved by the Corporation in 2007 but has stalled in the absence of a director. The search process had to begin anew when the candidate originally chosen rescinded the Universitys offer. Its been immensely frustrating that it has taken so long, President Ruth Simmons said. Though it has taken nearly four years, the University is getting closer to completing the recomcontinued on page 3
ment. The work will be comprehensive, encompassing not only mechanical systems but also flooring, furniture, kitchens and bathrooms. Every aspect of those two buildings needs to be renovated, said Richard Bova, senior associate dean of residential and dining services. He compared the renovations in Miller and Metcalf to those of the New Pembroke residence halls, which were recently overhauled as well. The final configuration of rooms is still under consideration, and some single rooms will remain. About 100 new beds will be added to the residential system next fall, partially compensating for the temporary loss of beds due to the renovations, Bova said. 315 Thayer St., which is currently undergoing renovation, will house 60 students, and 42 will live on the first floor of Wayland House after the Office of Residential Life moves to Grad Center. The closing continued on page 4
Metcalf Hall (top) will be renovated beginning in summer 2012, and renovations to the Graduate Center (above) will begin the following summer.
weather
inside
Crime scene
start of school brings dorm thefts, kitchen caper
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2 Campus news
C ALENDAR
TODaY 11 a.m. Blood Drive, Kasper Multipurpose Room 9 p.m. The Distilled Motion Show, Cable Car Cinema 7 p.m. The Amazing Race: SciLi, 3rd Floor Sciences Library SEpTEmbER 14 TOmORROW 11:30 a.m. Get the Scoop on Study Abroad, J. Walter Wilson Lobby SEpTEmbER 15
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SHaRpE REFECTORY Beef and Vegetarian Tacos, Spanish Rice and Vegan Refried Beans, Chocolate Krinkle Cookies DINNER Castle Hill Inn Pork Spare Ribs, Vegan Jamaican Jerk Tempeh, Fudge Bars Rotisserie Style Chicken, Sweet and Sour Tofu, Corn Cobbets, Fudge Bars VERNEY-WOOLLEY DINING HaLL LUNCH Italian Beef Noodle Casserole, Asparagus Quiche, Chocolate Krinkle Cookies
The Brown University Community Councils latest meeting heard appeals from athletes hoping to save their teams.
SUDoKU
CR oSSWoRD
phases of formulation and approvals, these four pre-approved tracks do not. When asked about the status
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Matthew Burrows, Treasurer Isha Gulati, Secretary
The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is an independent newspaper serving the Brown University community daily since 1891. It is published Monday through Friday during the academic year, excluding vacations, once during Commencement, once during Orientation and once in July by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Single copy free for each member of the community. POSTMASTER please send corrections to P.O. Box 2538, Providence, RI 02906. Periodicals postage paid at Providence, R.I. Subscription prices: $280 one year daily, $140 one semester daily. Copyright 2011 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.
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change, Anthony Cokes, professor of MCM and the departments director of undergraduate studies, characterized the move as unremarkable. They were always intended to be small concentrations for students who had intense interests in both languages and culture and media studies, he said. The move does not compromise the quality of undergraduate education, Bergeron wrote. We value intellectual diversity, and we also want to ensure that students have good information in order to make good choices. Some students have a high degree of success when left to work independently. Others prefer to be in an environment with many other students, so that they learn from others.
Campus news 3
applicants from the teaching side of the program because of the recent financial turmoil in the Providence school system and its attendant consequences for job security. But Wong said he still feels the program is beneficial to both the students and the schools they go on to help. We hope these graduates are going to be leaders in the future, he said. Though the implementation of the committees recommendations has progressed tardily, Simmons sees a silver lining in the delays. Throughout the period of time, people have remained committed to the effort, and its given us time to think about space for the center and all of the mechanics of it, Simmons said. So I think in some ways if the person who has the offer says yes, hell get off to a faster start because weve actually had time to get things organized better. A university like Brown has a duty as a center of inquiry to bring up topics like these, Joukowsky said. The University has to play a special role to make people aware of many things that they dont think about all that much, Joukowsky said. If the University does not think about these, who will?
Continued responsibility
justice was very clear that this should not be a memorial that elicits guilt, Conklin said. They wanted it to be a learning process and that it should be a space for contemplation and learning. Conklin said the committee hopes the piece will be finished by 2014, in time for the Universitys 250th anniversary. She also said the memorial will cost the University under $500,000. Initially, the committee hoped to find a location for the memorial near University Hall records show that four slaves belonging to University donors helped with its construction, Conklin said. But due to lack of space, the committee is now looking at locations near the Walk and the current location of the Plant Environmental Center next to Hunter Laboratory. The Plant Environmental Center is scheduled for demolition in fall 2013. Wherever the location, the committee is focused on choosing a piece that best represents the University, Joukowsky said. What will represent Brown well 50 years or 100 years from now? he asked. Were very, very careful of what we put out. Two Brown initiatives in the Providence public schools that came out of the report continue to expand, albeit slowly. Currently, the Fund for the Education of the Children of Providence, which awards grants to local schools, has an endowment of $1.26 million, according to Hanna Rodriguez-Farrar 87 MA90 PhD09, assistant to the president and a former member of the committee overseeing the fund. The initial recommendation called for the fund to be endowed with $10 million, but its progress toward that goal has been slow. Given the economic context right now, its kind of hard, she said. If you look at the documents from the slavery and justice report, the response and the charge of the committee, it was always assumed that this was going to take time. The fund has given around $250,000 to schools in the Providence area, Joukowsky said. We try to find and this is the most important thing we try to identify contributions to public education that directly impacts the students, he said. The grants are intended to give them the opportunities that their predecessors could not have had, he said. The Urban Education Fellows program, the other educational initiative to come out of the report, also continues to help local students, according to Kenneth Wong, professor of education and chair of the department. The program allows a handful of graduate students to gain masters degrees in either teaching or urban education policy for free in exchange for three years of service in local schools upon graduation. Wong said he has seen fewer
slow and steady
Browns 15th-place U.S. News and World Report ranking is very strong, wrote President Ruth Simmons in an email to The Herald.
4 Campus news
continued from page 1 of the Saunders Inn at Brown also created 46 new student beds in Vartan Gregorian Quad this fall. Renovations may be scheduled so that Miller and Metcalf are closed during different semesters, Bova added. The conversion of many singles to doubles in Miller and Metcalf will be a first step toward the Universitys goal of creating first-year communities. Having a core where firstyears live allows us to provide services in unique and different ways for them, Bova said. Original plans for the renovations were put on hold due to the economic recession, Maiorisi said. With the creation of more firstyear rooms on Pembroke, dorms like Perkins Hall that currently house first-years may be used for upperclassmen instead. Perkins is a unique facility, Bova said. He suggested with a new room configuration, it could be used as upperclass housing an idea that has also been discussed by the student Residential Council. Alexander Zamudio 12, who lives in a single on the first floor of Metcalf, said he initially opposed the plan because the Metcalf and Miller singles are prime options for upperclassmen. But he said he sees the benefits of a potential net gain of beds, which could limit temporary housing assignments. First-year students who would live in Metcalf and Miller would benefit from access to the Pembroke first-year community, Zamudio said. General renovations to the residence halls would also be welcome, as Zamudios room is
Consolidated communities
Theres no question about the need. There has long been interest and discussion among administrators and Corporation members about the possibility of new residence halls, but everybody knows weve got to raise some money, Spies said. Fundraising ability depends on whether or not donors can be excited about residence halls. The University is continuing to study it and think about alternatives, he said, with an understanding that adding to the housing stock is necessary to reduce overcrowding. More news about the Universitys residential plans should be available after the Oct. 20-22 Corporation meeting, Bova said. He said the renovations were absolutely not a step toward increasing enrollment. Also important to residential life is the dining experience. While there are not yet official plans to renovate the Ratty, administrators have their eyes on such a project for the future. There is broad agreement that the building needs significant renovation within the next several years, as its mechanical systems are near the end of their useful life, Spies said. Such upgrades will
From bed to breakfast
Minden Hall (bottom) is tentatively scheduled to undergo renovations beginning summer 2013.
provide the University a great opportunity to overhaul the entire building, he said. Bova evoked Verney-Woolley Dining Halls renovation as an ex-
ample of what could be in store for the Ratty. Food is an important part of the residential experience, he said. The Ratty is an institution.
NE WS IN BRIEF
Today in University history
On Sept. 14, 2001: A candlelight vigil mourned the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks while a panel of faculty discussed the United States options moving forward. At the panel, Watson Institute Research Professor Nina Tannenwald, now a lecturer in political science, cautioned against a course of action that involved flattening Afghanistan. On Sept. 14, 1981: It was the day before the first day of school. The Sept. 15, 1981, Herald reported that for the first time since the program began in 1975, white students were allowed to participate in Third World Transition Week, now called the Third World Transition Program. None did. First-year Alexis Egan 85, who moved in the day before, painted a Sunkist-colored mural on her wall and spread out a rug the color and texture of Astroturf. Headphones for a Sony Walkman were advertised for $29. Campus policeman Al Phillips told The Herald that everythings running smoothly so fah, as car horns honked furiously around him outside the West Quad now known as Keeney Quadrangle. On Sept. 14, 1971: West Quad opened Bronson and Jameson Houses to co-ed living for the first time. Female students remarked on the hastily painted Wo- additions to bathroom doors but were otherwise pleased with the new living arrangements. Dean of Academic Counseling Barrett Hazeltine, now professor emeritus of engineering, advised first-years to strongly consider exercising the Satisfactory/No Credit option while exploring the New Curriculum, which was at that point only one year old. Katherine long
Herald file photo
Returning teammates say newer defensive linebackers have shown they can definitely handle the task.
CoMICS
Fraternity of Evil | Eshan Mitra, Brendan Hainline, and Hector Ramirez
EDIToRIAL CoMIC
by sam rosenfeld
t h e b r ow n da i ly h e r a l d
Editors-in-chiEf sydney ember Ben schreckinger editorial Kristina Fazzalaro rebecca Ballhaus Claire peracchio talia Kagan amy rasmussen tony Bakshi alex Bell ethan mcCoy ashley mcdonnell sam rubinroit anita mathews tyler rosenbaum sam Carter hunter Fast arts & Culture editor City & state editor City & state editor Features editor assistant Features editor news editor news editor sports editor sports editor assistant sports editor editorial page editor editorial page editor opinions editor opinions editor ManaGinG Editors Brigitta Greene anne speyer sEnior Editors dan alexander Nicole Friedman Julien ouellet Business GEnEral ManaGErs matthew Burrows isha Gulati aditi Bhatia danielle marshak margot Grinberg Lisa Berlin officE ManaGEr shawn reilly
CoRREC TIoNS
An article in Tuesdays Herald (Rohde 90 to return to Little Rhody, Sept. 13) misspelled the name of journalist David Rohde 90. The Herald regrets the error. A front-page article in Thursdays Herald (ROTC committee issues final report, Sept. 8) incorrectly asserted that the report of the Committee on the Reserve Officers Training Corps states that (President Ruth) Simmons can discuss possibilities for ROTC programs with the Department of Defense when she receives input from the Brown community in support of such programs. In fact, the report does not mention input from the Brown community as a prerequisite to such discussions. The Herald regrets the error.
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opinions 7
ed their ability to consume food. It seems impossible to finish a spicy cashew chicken at the Cheesecake Factory, and I usually share a burrito bowl with a friend at Chipotle for lunch. In Germany, I could not even find a cup as big as the supersized milkshakes I have seen here except a beer mug. The deep buckets of chicken and wheel-sized burgers sold in fast food chains look like weapons of mass destruction to me, but every day millions be normal? Lets admit it: Restaurants and supermarkets have made us believe that we need that much food to survive, so that we consume more. We live in a country where corporate health is favored over human and environmental health. In order to expand food sales, companies lobby government agencies, market to children and advertise junk food as healthy. To get people to buy their products, fast food really dangerous to our health and the environment is the eating habits we have developed throughout the years under their influence. Whats even worse is that, after years of brainwashing, eating and wasting too much food has almost become part of the American culture. Every time people try to raise money, they bake brownies and cookies. The University provides students with all-you-can-eat meals, as do most American colleges. Student groups and clubs on campus always capitalize FREE FOOD on their advertising materials to attract people. Is it not weird that we are not even paying for what we eat? Food is no longer respected: It is so easy to get and so cheap to purchase that we do not even want to spend time on it. People buy without thinking, eat without thinking and throw things away without thinking. I dont think that anyone really wants to waste food we are just given too many opportunities and sometimes even forced to do so. Nobody judges you when you dump the food you cannot finish into the garbage, because we have all been in the same situation. Sometimes, wasting is no longer just a choice. It has become a must. How sad is that? Jan Cao 13 is a comparative literature and German studies concentrator from Nanjing, China. She can be reached at jieran_cao@brown.edu.
My roommate, who works the closing shift at the Friedman Cafe, called me up Friday night and said, Would you mind coming to (the Sciences Library) and taking a couple of the leftover muffins for us? Its so sad to see them going into the dumpster. I feel like a rampage killer. I went there and took four muffins home, gave one to the lady at reception and threw the rest of them away. The total death toll was 54 bagels and 28 muffins. My roommate said later that closing cashiers have been throwing away around 50 bagels every single night of the week. Whats even worse is that, as cashiers, they are not allowed to give them away by Brown Dining Services policy. I used to work as a cashier at Friedman, the Rockefeller Library and Barus & Holley last year, both opening and closing shifts. I told the person who delivered baked goods every morning that we throw away too many of them at the end of the day. After a year, cashiers are still given the same amount of baked goods. It seems that the BuDS officers believe that we should eat a lot more than we do now. Americans have, indeed, overestimat-
In Germany, I could not even find a cup as big as the super size milkshakes I have seen here except a beer mug.
of kids and adults just walk into those restaurants, devour some burgers and walk out with their super-sized bodies. Everything seems perfectly normal. According to visualeconomics.com, an average American purchases almost 2,000 pounds of food per year. Every year, we consume 29 pounds of French fries, 53 gallons of soda about a gallon per week 24 pounds of ice cream and 24 pounds of artificial sweetener. That is a diet of 2,700 calories per day. How could that possibly
companies spent $4.2 billion on marketing in 2009, according to a report by Yales Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. Their market share has been continuously growing since McDonalds and other restaurants introduced dollar menus and specifically targeted children and low-income families. Im not saying we should blame these companies for everything. After all, they represent good value for people on a budget and provide children a relatively safe place to hang out. What is
Everyone on campus currently being paid six figures to give political advice to President Barack Obama, raise your hand. No one? Okay. Obama has a team of operatives older and richer than we are, dead inside though they may be. He pays them a whole lot of money to tell him what will hurt him politically and what will not. The very last thing that Barack Obama needs is a crack squad of unpaid political advisers proclaiming that any given position he might take would be politically unwise or some such thing. But thats exactly what he has. Mention that the president has continued many of the worst Bush-era civil rights policies and dollars to doughnuts whatever that might mean and a wise and pragmatic Brown student within earshot will wisely and pragmatically explain that no matter how much they might agree, we simply must understand that the president is doing his best, and that in todays political reality, we simply cannot expect ideological purity from our elected officials. Mention that the presidents unabashedly nonsensical rhetoric on how government is like a family, a wise and pragmatic et cetera, et cetera. This will often lead into someone pointing out that Obama is basically a good president the best we have had in 50
We are not deciding whether obama gets into Judeo-Christian heaven or whether he gets to be our best pal at summer camp.
him. American pro-Israel activists did not waste their time worrying about election silliness, and that is why political reality on Israel policy is what it is. Now its obligatory concrete example time. In 1960, there was a presidential election between a candidate who was not particularly interested in civil rights and a candidate who was essentially Satan. Imagine if everyone involved in the civil rights struggle had accepted they would, for the time being, have to operate within that framework. Imagine if, whenever anyone criticized Kennedy, they had it pointed
(more effective). It is very much not our job to compare the status quo to Michele Bachmann before we do anything. Secondly, we do not need to make a final judgment of Barack Obama. We are not deciding whether Obama gets into Judeo-Christian heaven or whether he gets to be our best pal at summer camp. Hes a politician. Hell do some good things, some bad things, some terrible things and some things that are just okay. Good president, bad president, whatever when hes wrong, hes wrong and should therefore be criticized and fought. Unless you view pol-
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the Brown
FOOTbaLL
By ashLey mCdoNNeLL SportS editor
can run, and hes very physical at the point of attack and just a tremendous player for us, Estes said. Quarterback of the defense is a title usually reserved for the
middle linebacker. But as the leader in tackles and interceptions on the team who earned Second Team All-Ivy Honors, Peyton has proven worthy of the title. Against
By e By e , B u B B l e
Crime Log
DPS does not divulge information on cases that are currently under investigation by the department, PPD or the office of Student Life. DPS maintains a daily log of all shift activity and general service calls, which can be viewed during business hours at its headquarters at 75 Charlesfield St.
Glenn Lutzky / Herald
Construction continues on the Nelson Fitness Center, Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center and David Zucconi 55 Varsity Strength and Conditioning Center, slated to open in March.
Four rarely studied concentration tracks have been re-categorized as pre-approved independent concentrations as of this academic year. The College Curriculum Council has placed tracks or concentrations that had zero or one concentrator over the past three years in a special Independent Concentration status, wrote Dean of the College Kath-
erine Bergeron in an email to The Herald. The move affects the German, French and Italian tracks within the Department of Modern Culture and Media and the statistics concentration within the Public Health Program. All four have had consistently low numbers of concentrators, according to Bergeron. If one of these concentrations continues to attract no concentrators for a sustained period, even as an independent concentration,
the CCC will probably recommend removing (it) from the list of (pre-approved) options, she wrote. The re-categorization will have little impact on students concentrating in these tracks, Bergeron wrote. Because of the dearth of concentrators, students pursuing these tracks would essentially complete them independently regardless of the re-categorization, she wrote. continued on page 2
Sept. 3 12:28 p.m. Two students reported their laptop computers had been taken from their residence in the early morning hours. They reported they had filed a report with the PPD. They stated persons unknown entered an unlocked room and took two computers. They stated they were in the house overnight and reported there had been people visiting. Sept. 5 12:47 a.m. DPS was dispatched at the request of the PPD for a large party and excess noise. Upon arrival, people were starting to leave the party which was located in the backyard. There were approximately 200 people in attendance. Six kegs and numerous