T U E S D A Y JANUARY 28, 2003
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVIII, No. 5
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
www.browndailyherald.com
“Gangs” director Scorsese packs house for talk BY DANA GOLDSTEIN
In 1963, a 19-year-old New York University student submitted his first short film to a Brown Film Society contest. The work — “What’s a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This?” — earned its young director a $25 prize. Heartened by this first victory, the student submitted another film to the contest the following year, this time taking home $100. Yesterday in an overflowing Salomon 101, Brown once again acknowledged Martin Scorsese, the preeminent director, screenwriter and producer responsible for such modern classics as “Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull,” “Goodfellas” and the current “Gangs of New York.” In attendance was President Ruth Simmons, who received special thanks for fostering the arts at Brown. In a spirited discussion moderated by famed Hollywood talent agent Michael Ovitz, a longtime friend of Scorsese, the director spoke about his films through the lens of family, ethnicity, home and technique. In his introduction, Ovitz said his relationship to Scorsese was one in which he had played the role of agent, manager, supporter and fan. “The one thing that’s always extraordinary,” Ovitz said, “is that I find myself constantly as Martin’s student. … The man is a walking encyclopedia of motion pictures.” “The art of making film the way that Marty does it is exceedingly difficult,” Ovitz said. “The man does not compromise. It’s cost him dearly. The man who I consider probably the greatest filmmaker that we have today has never received an Academy Award.” Following Ovitz’s introduction was a 40-minute screening of clips from Scorsese’s films. The medley began with the 1974 documentary “Italianamerican,” in which Scorsese turned the camera on his own parents, capturing their comedic exchanges and his mother’s special recipe for spaghetti sauce. Movies up to and including 2002’s “Gangs of New York” were included in the screening, with many clips highlighting Scorsese’s way of capturing the smallest humorous moments in the midst of the darkest stories and characters. In conversation, Scorsese entertained the audience with humorous anecdotes about his childhood, his Sicilian-American family and his movie-making experience.
Jason White / Herald
Monday’s funeral Mass for David Zucconi ’55 at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul drew hundreds.
Hundreds bid farewell to Zucconi ’55 BY CARLA BLUMENKRANZ
Hundreds of members of the Brown community gathered yesterday for the funeral mass of David Zucconi ’55, in a show of exceptional devotion to “Mr. Brown” that mirrored his own commitment to the University. The Mass, held downtown at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, drew generations of alumni, faculty and staff, all of whom wore nametags with the Brown seal, at Zucconi’s request, and many of whom participated in the service. Reverend Howard O’Shea, former University chaplain, recalled Zucconi as a beacon of faith within a community that tends toward skepticism, remembering one occasion when Zucconi drove a student trip forward on its tour of the churches in the region of Provence in Southern France, regardless of the pouring rain. “In an academic community, we are accustomed to analysis,” but what we often need is faith, O’Shea said. “I don’t think one can live effectively without faith, and this, David showed us.” Others honored Zucconi’s devotion to the
University, as students, faculty and alumni, including Artemis Joukowsky ’55, chancellor emeritus, rose to read psalms in honor of a man who “flourished as Brown flourished,” as Zucconi wrote of himself in a letter addressed to the Brown community. Read as Zucconi’s eulogy by Eric Widmer, headmaster of Deerfield Academy, the letter recalled “a relentless energy on behalf of Brown that defines me, and sometimes gets me into trouble,” Zucconi wrote. He also expressed gratitude for the steadfastness of the Brown community, which does “our best for the University, now and forever.” Following the Mass, those in attendance were asked at Zucconi’s request to leave their nametags to be placed in the casket, “so that we will all be close to him forever,” as written in the program of the Mass. The chosen recessional was “We Are Ever True to Brown.” An additional memorial service will be held Feb. 22 in Sayles Hall. Herald staff writer Carla Blumenkranz ’05 can be reached at cblumenkranz@browndailyherald.com.
see LECTURE, page 4
LGBTA proposes campus resource center for students BY JOANNE PARK
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Alliance is spearheading the movement for a resource center for LGBT students on campus. The proposed center for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning students and straight allies would function as a space for both social and academic events that would serve the entire LGBT community. LGBTA President Kenneth Newberg ’05 said the current LGBTA office is “inadequate to hold meetings and to be used as a safe space.” The current office is on the second floor of Faunce House. As the umbrella organization for a number of student groups on campus advocating for a center, the LGBTA has played a prominent role in trying to formulate a proposal. Newberg said complaints by queer students often go unanswered because of a lack of communication with the administration. “The resources for queer students at Brown are very fragmented and oftentimes very difficult to find,” Newberg said. “Many queer individuals, especially those who have yet to self-identify as queer, are absolutely unaware of the many resources ... because of this decen-
tralization.” “At Brown … resources available to (LGBT) students are remarkably decentralized,” Assistant Dean of Student Life James Stascavage said. “We don’t have a readily identifiable place.” Newberg said a new center could centralize the resources available and allow for formal roles that would facilitate communication. If the center was constructed, a director would be able to act as a liaison between the students and the Brown administration. A new resource center would allow paid staffers to assume more responsibilities than the volunteers who currently work in the office. The center would also provide more opportunities for students to socialize. “Many queer students complain about not being able to meet other queer students,” Newberg said. “The queer student center is envisioned to serve the queer community in a similar manner as the women’s center serves women and the Third World Center serves people of color.” Associate Professor of French Studies Gretchen Schultz, a supporter of the center, said it “could serve as a
hub not only for Brown’s LGBT population … but could further maximize interaction among all campus groups by sponsoring dialogue.” Newberg said the LGBTA had pushed for a center in 1988 and 1992 without success, but the idea of a resource center has gathered support among faculty and administrators, graduate and medical students, and other student groups. Newberg counted the growing size of the LGBTA as a reason for the center. At present, there are five subgroups under the LGBTA, a queer undergraduate center under the TWC and one under Hillel, Newberg said. Stascavage said supporters of a LGBT center had met several times and assigned the tasks of collecting data and distributing surveys in order to gain wider input. He said research was also being done on the accommodations available at peer institutions. According to Stascavage, the University of Pennsylvania has a separate building with full-time professional staff that tends to students’ needs. The recent plans to complete a proposal for a LGBT center began last semester, Stascavage said. Faculty
I N S I D E T U E S D AY, J A N UA RY 2 8 , 2 0 0 3 Brown grad Joseph Fernandez to head city’s Department of Law under Cicilline page 3
State responds to recent cold, funds emergency shelters for homeless people page 3
Scorsese describes his place in the history of cinema in a Herald interview page 11
see LGBTA, page 4
TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Government actions unjustly permit citizen surveillance, says Sarah Green ’04 column, page 11
With revenge on its mind, men’s hockey faces Providence tonight sports, page 12
partly cloudy high 23 low 17