T H U R S D A Y NOVEMBER 21, 2002
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVII, No. 119
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
www.browndailyherald.com
University may raise admission standards for student athletes BY DANIELLE CERNY
Maria Schriber / Herald
In the wake of an influential book about collegiate athletics and academics, the University is considering raising admission standards for athletes. With changes still in the discussion stage, two possibilities include reducing the number of athletic recruits or raising the minimum standards those athletes must achieve. No definitive decisions have yet been made in either case, said Director of College Admission Michael Goldberger. The Class of 2008 would be the earliest affected by the new standards. Currently, the admission of athletes to Brown is regulated by an academic index, computed by an arithmetic formula using SAT I, SAT II and either class rank or GPA, Goldberger said. “It is designed to guarantee that Ivy League athletes are representative of the student body. It is calculated for
One month after the University ordered the Underground to stop serving alcohol, questions remain as to the appropriate use of the space. Some student groups are hesitant to host events at the bar now that it is dry.
Underground adjusts to life after alcohol Ordered to stop serving alcohol last month, the Underground is shifting its focus to provide performance space for Brown’s musical artists BY AKSHAY KRISHNAN
One month into the Underground’s alcohol-free run, the focus has shifted from the bar to the stage. The University prohibited the Underground from serving alcohol in early October. Student groups continue to use the on-campus bar for concerts, but there have been cancellations, said Ally Dickie ’03, general manager of the Underground. “In recent weeks, the senior class, Students for Sensible Drug Use and the Hunger Benefit have all staged events at the Underground,” Dickie said. Vanessa Saal ’03, a coordinator of National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week at Brown, said her organization is no longer holding one of two planned events at the Underground because the bar cannot serve alcohol. Without alcohol, organizers feared fewer people
would attend the events, she said. The Underground “is centrally located, easily accessible and an 18-plus venue, rather than a 21-plus venue — three reasons that make it a great venue,” Saal said. “With the ban on serving alcohol, we did feel that this would affect the attendance to the concert we were organizing so we moved one concert out of the Underground,” she said. The Underground’s student managers hope to serve alcohol next semester, Dickie said. Money the Underground saves this semester by not purchasing alcohol can be carried over to next semester’s budget, said Langston Dugger ’04, chair of the Undergraduate Finance Board. The Undergraduate Finance Board allocated $19,197 to the Underground this semester and will give the bar $18,190 next semester, the UFB Web site reports. “We just deduct the left over from the amount that we were going to give them for the next semester, so we will be giving them a reduced amount if that’s indeed the case,” Dugger said. Herald staff writer Akshay Krishnan ’04 can be reached at akrishnan@browndailyherald.com.
see ADMISSION, page 6
Students, Univ. look to iron out substance-free housing policy JESSICA TOOKER
Administrators and students are working to clarify the meaning of substance-free housing, specifically the extent to which residents are allowed to consume alcohol outside the dorm and return to the dorm while under the influence. Currently, New Pembroke No. 2 and Hegeman E are designated as substance free residences. Students who live in these dorms are required to sign a housing contract that reads, “I agree not to consume alcohol or other drugs (with the exception of medically prescribed drugs) anywhere on the floor, suite or building, included but not limited to public areas, quarters, stairwells and bathrooms.” The contract also makes the residents responsible for see SUBSTANCE, page 4
Texts and Teachers program brings college, high school classrooms together BY ALLISON LOMBARDO
Brian Robert, an English teacher at Classical High School, takes his class on field trips — to Brown University. Seventy-eight of his students walk up College Hill to the University several times a semester to discuss the works of authors like Toni Morrison in a collegiate setting. It’s all part of an exchange program, Texts and Teachers, organized by Professors of Comparative Literature Arnold Weinstein and Edward Ahearn, through which high school classes have the opportunity to visit Weinstein’s and Arnold’s lectures and to incorporate collegiate material into their curricula. Undergraduates, graduate students and the professors also have the opportunity to visit the high school classroom to teach, a positive experience for both the class and college students, Ahearn said. Texts and Teachers “speaks to the idealism of Brown
students” Weinstein said, but logistics are the most difficult obstacle. First suggested in the mid-1980s by Weinstein’s wife Ann, a program coordinator in the German studies department, the program began as a set of summer seminars that connected high school and collegiate educators. In the short term, Weinstein said he would like this program to grow within Brown and then expand to other local schools and involve more faculty in other literary departments. Robert said teachers “try to match (their) curriculum and syllabi with the Brown courses, which include “City (B)Lights,” “Desire in the Marketplace” and “Rites of Passage.” A structured public school curriculum at times does not allow a perfect fit, so some classes match better than other, Robert said. This program takes a unique approach to the learning
process for both students and teachers. The “cross-beneficial nature” of this program lies in the relationship of mutual professional respect between the professors and high school educators, Robert said. “Universities have a big responsibility for education throughout the country — on the whole, they have not fulfilled it,” Ahearn said. The opening up of professional resources is the “most moral thing about this program,” Weinstein said. He said the most difficult challenge of the project is getting educators to expand their vision of what their job should entail. It is a hard issue to get on the agenda because the “academic community is privileged and sheltered” and confined to its own audience, he said. This program creates an environment in which educa-
I N S I D E T H U R S D AY, N O V E M B E R 2 1 , 2 0 0 2 Undergrads running for political office face unique challanges in their bids page 3
Annual survey finds need for more lighting at some campus locations page 5
Salaries for U. presidents skyrocket across the nation page 5
see CLASSROOM, page 4
TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Seth Leibson ’05 says Brown students should rally behind labor’s cause against Wal-mart guest column, page 11
Women’s basketball looks to rebuild, rely on youth from bottom up this season sports preview, page 12
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