F R I D A Y JANUARY 24, 2003
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVIII, No. 3
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
UFB gives $114k for extensive renovation of T. F. Green Hall
www.browndailyherald.com
Non-academic hiring freeze in effect; critical depts. exempt BY PHILISSA CRAMER
BY LISA MANDLE
The Undergraduate Finance Board will spend $114,000 to help renovate T. F. Green Hall, the space shared by such groups as Production Workshop, the Coalition of Bands at Brown and Mezcla. The University agreed last spring to fund basic renovations, so the UFB money will go to more extensive enhancements. UFB decided to pay for the renovations at a meeting last night with David LaPlante, project manager for Facilities Management, and Margaret Jablonski, dean for Campus Life, after a series of discussions between UFB and the student organizations that use T.F. Green. Funding provided by UFB will make the building “fully functional and efficient,” Jablonski said. Langston Dugger ’04, UFB Chair, said the money will be used to upgrade PW’s scene shop, soundproof practice rooms and add floor-to-ceiling mirrors. The University had already earmarked funds from the Department of Facilities Management for renovating the building’s walls, ceilings, lights and carpeting, Jablonski said. In addition to the $114,000, UFB is considering spending $30,000 to purchase audio and video systems for T. F. Green, which would cut costs for student groups who currently have to provide their own or rent them, he said. Dugger said UFB will make a final decision on the purchase in the next few weeks. He added that UFB’s contribution to the renovations will come from its holding account, which is an accumulation of some $500,000 in surplus funds allocated to the board in past years. The money in the holding account is earmarked for onetime capital investments for student groups, Dugger said. The total cost of renovations to T. F. Green is expected to be between $1 million to 2 million, but the University is still negotiating the budget with the general contractor, LaPlante told The Herald. Jablonski said the renovations should be complete by the beginning of August. T. F. Green, when renovated, will contain redesigned practice spaces for music groups, new multi-purpose spaces for music, dance and martial arts groups and a larger dance floor, Jablonski said. Student groups are looking forward to using the newly renovated building. The Tae Kwon Do club at Brown currently practices in Leung Gallery and has faced a space crunch because demand for the room has increased, said Daniel Santiago ’03, the group’s president. “It would be great to work with padded floors and mirrors,” Santiago said. Matthew Lewkowicz ’03, President of the Coalition of Bands at Brown, said he is happy with the plans for new practice rooms and performance spaces, which will provide performance options that are
Kimberly Insel / Herald
NO SWEAT: When renovations are complete in a few weeks time, the exercise area of the Bear’s Lair will nearly double in size.
Unfinished Bear’s Lair will reopen Saturday BY ZACH BARTER
Although a renovation of the Bear’s Lair exercise facility is still several weeks away from completion, the facility will reopen Saturday and remain open throughout the renovation process. The project, a combined effort of the Office of Campus Life, the Office of Student Activities, the Athletics Department and the President’s Office, will nearly double the size of the exercise space, from 1120 square feet to 1995 square feet. The expansion also includes plans for new equipment, improved air circulation and increased hours of operation for the facility, located in the central tower of the Graduate Center. The additional equipment includes four treadmills, six elliptical trainers, 10 selectorized machines for weight training, two sets of dumbbells and two moveable benches for weight training, said Janina Montero, vice president of Campus Life and Student Services. The new equipment is also covered
University departments with vacant nonacademic positions might have to wait to fill them, according to Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Elizabeth Huidekoper. A new hiring policy announced Dec. 23 prevents departments from filling vacant positions without receiving explicit permission from the University administration. The freeze will not affect faculty positions or researchers who are supported by outside funding, Huidekoper said. Furthermore, exemptions will be given to positions related to public safety and other departments considered vital to the University, she said. The hiring freeze is part of a number of changes across the University resulting from the effects of the current economic downturn, which Huidekoper said has increased demand for financial aid while returns on University investments have diminished. “We need more savings,” she said. The freeze is one way the University is trying to balance its budget in a harsher financial climate, she said. Huidekoper said departments will have a harder time hiring because they must request and receive exemptions on a caseby-case basis, with the final decision made by herself and Provost Robert Zimmer. Currently, the University has about 100 vacant positions, Huidekoper said. “We aren’t going to fill those positions within (a certain) amount of time unless the economy improves or we’re sure they’re absolutely critical jobs,” she said. Though not a direct aim of the policy, Huidekoper said the freeze could also see HIRING, page 4
by maintenance plans, she said. “We wanted to build that into the cost so you don’t have machines you can’t use,” she added. Though the Office of Student Life originally hoped to have the project completed over the break, the new equipment will not be in place for at least three weeks, said Katherine Wolford, project director for Campus Life. The equipment has been ordered and will be in place sometime in the coming weeks, said Assistant Director of Athletics and Physical Education Matthew Tsimikas, who was in charge of the equipment’s purchase. Fitness, community space, residential halls and dining were identified over the summer by the Office of Campus Life as four areas in need of improvement. “The issue of fitness came through very clearly both for the short-term and especially for the long-term,” Montero said.
Student loans increase due to poor economy BY CARLA BLUMENKRANZ
Student loans will increase $1,000 per year for most students on financial aid and $500 for students in the lowest income bracket in the 2003-2004 academic year. The increase is due to heightened demands on financial aid in the current economic climate. Students on financial aid received a letter yesterday from Michael Bartini, director of the Office of Financial Aid, and Janina Montero, vice president of Campus Life and Student Services, informing them of the increase in their loan expectations. “I don’t think it’s any surprise that, economically, the country is in a different situation than it was before,” Bartini told The Herald. As a result, the need for financial aid this year was greater than anticipated, necessitating an adjustment in the “cost-
see BEAR’S LAIR, page 4
see T. F. GREEN, page 6
see LOANS, page 6
I N S I D E F R I D AY, J A N UA RY 2 4 , 2 0 0 3 Campus theater groups lay out the spring performance schedule page 3
Roe v. Wade turns 30 attracting national, but not Brown’s, attention page 5
Simmons delays decision on arming Brown police indefinitely page 5
TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T U. must formally support balanced debate on campus, says Brett Cohen ’03 column, page 11
Men’s basketball has its Ivy League homeopener tonight against Yale sports, page 12
mostly sunny/windy high 24 low 9