W E D N E S D A Y MARCH 13, 2002
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVII, No. 34
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
www.browndailyherald.com
Student activites report calls for new student center, closing Underground BY ETHAN HOROWITZ
The creation of a student center and increased interaction between the Student Activities Office, student leaders and administrative departments are the primary recommendations of a report on student activities released this week. The report, which relied on data from the SAO and student perceptions of the office, also recommended a restructuring of the Undergraduate Finance Board and the closing of the Underground. The survey, developed and administered by two independent consultants, is the first University-commissioned a review of the SAO in at least 10 years. “It’s always helpful to have other experts in the field confirm some of your initial ideas,” said Margaret Jablonski, dean for campus life. Artie Travis, vice president for student affairs and dean of community life at Oglethorpe University and Tom Dunne, assistant dean for undergraduate students at Princeton University, conducted the survey. Jablonski said she and Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services Janina Montero “wanted two people who have a lot of experience with student activities,” referring to the fall 2001 commission of Travis and Dunne. Jablonski said Travis and Dunne each have about 15 years of experience in student life and have previous professional relationships with Jablonski and Montero. The review itself consisted of two-and-one-half days of tours and fact finding on campus as well as months of review of materials provided by various administrative departments and student organizations, Jablonski said. The review cost about $3,000, she said. Travis and Dunne directed their strongest criticism toward the current condition of Faunce House. The space as it is now used and maintained “calls into question the University’s commitment to the undergraduate experience outside the classroom,” Dunne said. see ACTIVITIES, page 4
Two students captain effort to form gaystraight alliance BY CRYSTAL Z.Y. NG
As Pride Month nears, two students are spearheading an initiative to form the Gay-Straight Alliance at Brown. Patrick O’Brien ’02, a member of the executive board of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Association, and Meredith Reiches ’05 said they want to create a place where heterosexuals can share their support, questions and ideas about sexuality and LGBT rights. “One thing we’ve noticed is there’s not specific programming in the LGBTA that includes straight people,” O’Brien said, adding that though straight students are welcome to attend LGBTA meetings, they often feel uncomfortable. He said he first considered forming the alliance at the end of last year and hopes to have 20 members by the end of March. O’Brien and Reiches recently held a meeting for interested students, which several people attended, he said. O’Brien said he also received five or six e-mails from interested students and that almost all the students who attended the meeting or e-mailed him were straight. The alliance’s stated purpose is to foster communication between gay and heterosexual students and to include heterosexuals fighting for lesbian, gay, bisexual see GSA, page 5
Marion Billings / Herald
President Simmons reads about her Proposal for Academic Enrichment at Tuesday’s ‘Midterm Chat’ in Petteruti Lounge.
At ‘Midterm Chat,’ Simmons fields questions from concerned students BY CARLA BLUMENKRANZ
President Ruth Simmons expressed her desire to move forward with her Proposal for Academic Enrichment Tuesday night, as students voiced concerns on a variety of issues at a Midterm Chat in Petteruti Lounge. Simmons discussed the main components of her proposal, including an expansion of the faculty, improved undergraduate financial aid and increased support for computing and library services. Since the Corporation approved the proposal in February, the University has purchased an off-campus library storage facility, she said. She also addressed the housing concerns of a large group of current Resident Counselors. The University designated 20 of the 100 new faculty positions as “targets of opportunity” for recruiting minority faculty, Simmons said. Shareef Jackson ’02 said that as a minority student and engineering concentrator, he would like to see more minority faculty in the sciences. “I respect a lot of the faculty members, but I can’t say, ‘this is a man or a woman who really knows what I’m going through,’” Jackson said. Simmons responded that she is currently discussing
UMass-Amherst undergrad Residential Assistants vote in favor of unionization page 3
see CHAT, page 5
With need blind, internationals still await equal status BY VINAY GANTI
When Brown adopted a need-blind admission policy in February, “we only went 90 percent need-blind,” said international student Maithili Parekh ’02. The University’s need-blind policy, under which all applicants beginning with the Class of 2007 will be admitted without regard to their financial need, will not apply to the ten percent of students who apply to Brown as international applicants. Director of Financial Aid Michael Bartini said needblind admission for international applicants is “a little far ahead,” and the University will focus on properly implementing need-blind admission for domestic applicants first. Parekh said the University must be willing to increase international student aid to a decent level before it achieves need-blind status. The University celebrated eliminating the five percent of the admission pool admitted under a need-aware policy, but failed to mention that ten percent of the student
I N S I D E W E D N E S D AY, M A RC H 1 3 , 2 0 0 2 Harvard limits use of Advance Placement credits to earn college course credit page 3
minority faculty recruitment with a wide range of departments. “We must focus on targeted recruiting, rather than just business as usual,” she said of the faculty hiring process. Students will see the effects of the proposal next fall in greater course availability and smaller class sizes, Simmons said. Students should expect further improvements to the financial aid program, including more support for international students and a decrease in loan expectations, she said. The need-blind admission policy passed under Simmons’ proposal did not include international student applicants. Simmons said she also hopes to address diversity in the coming year. “I’m fascinated by the fact that we don’t have a good idea of what we mean when we talk about diversity on this campus,” Simmons said, using the debate about the Third World Transition Program as an example. While some community members see TWTP as crucial for student support, others see it as evidence of a campus racial divide, she said. Simmons said the University must define what it
Carl Takei ’02 says Friday’s arrests demand an activist response column,page 11
population does not ever receive aid, she said. “We have a bigger gap that we still need to bridge,” she said. The amount of funds Brown has for international student aid is not enough, Parekh said, especially when compared to Brown’s peer institutions. Harvard, Yale, Princeton and MIT operate with a need-blind admission policy that extends to international applicants, she added. Parekh said even though the international community views Brown as a “global university,” lesser known schools allocate more aid to foreign students. She said Mount Holyoke College, Wesleyan University, Louisiana State University appropriate larger funds to international student aid. International students with financial need will not apply to Brown because their chance of being accepted is very slim if they declare a need for financial aid, or the see INT’L AID, page 5
TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Shaun Joseph ’02 says Bratton consulting group will bring racism to Brown campus guest column,page 11
Baseball starts 2002 season on winning note, taking three of four in Carolina page 12
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