T H U R S D A Y FEBRUARY 6, 2003
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVIII, No. 12
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
www.browndailyherald.com
Sarah Lamendola ’04 dies unexpectedly in dorm BY CARLA BLUMENKRANZ
Kimberly Insel / Herald
The four members on the “Brown Graduates Doing Social Change in Providence” panel talked to audience members about the difficulties and rewards of social-change work.
Brown grads discuss challenges of work in social-change careers BY JULIA ZUCKERMAN
Working in social-change careers requires a great deal of sacrifice and commitment, alumni said at the panel “Brown Graduates Doing Social Change in Providence.” Four panelists spoke with a small audience about the challenges they face in nonprofit careers. They emphasized the need to be passionate about a community in order to serve it. Natalie Lewis ’00.5 took a year off from Brown to coordinate a math and science program for grade school students of African descent in rural Alabama. “That was the single most transformative experience in my life,” she said. Jon Mahone ’99 turned down a Fulbright scholarship, choosing instead to continue working in the Providence community. His family was shocked, he said. But “there’s nothing else for me,” he said. “This is it.” Mahone, a youth organizer at Direct Action for Rights and Equality, emphasized the need to “know your role in the
community.” He warned against misjudging the community and trying to impose one’s own ideas of what it needs. “You have to go through a lot before you can really be helping them,” he said. Ralph Jonson ’98 said he has “selfish reasons” for doing social-change work: He wants to work with more people of color on a professional level. “I want more peers,” he said. When he was at Brown, he noticed people “talking about change and not doing anything about it,” he said. He recommended that students explore the resources available at Brown and in the greater community. “If you look hard enough, you’ll find way more resources than you ever knew there were,” he said. An audience member asked how the panelists dealt with paying off student loans and other financial pressures while working in traditionally low paying nonprofit jobs. “Doing social-change work is not see PANEL, page 6
Sarah Lamendola ’04, a geophysics concentrator from Weston, Conn., died unexpectedly in her room on the fourth floor of Graduate Center Tower A. Providence and Brown police confirmed Lamendola’s death after responding to a call from her suitemates at about 8:15 a.m. on Wednesday. The Rhode Island medical examiner has yet to determine the cause of death, but unofficial police reports show no evidence of foul play or unusual circumstances in the room, according to a University statement released at about 6 p.m. yesterday. “The story is so simple that at the moment we just don’t know what happened,” said Janet Cooper-Nelson, University chaplain. Cooper-Nelson described Lamendola as a “happy, strong and wonderful student who was loved by her family and her friends.” Last night, those friends, several of whom met her in their freshman unit in Andrews Hall, gathered together at the home of Professor of Visual Arts Wendy Edwards, the faculty fellow for Grad
Center. The students were “really a comfort to each other,” Cooper-Nelson said. In the coming weeks, the Office of Student Life and the Office of the Chaplains and Religious Life will continSarah Lamendola ’04 ue to provide support for those who knew Lamendola and for the Brown community. “We’ve reached out to her friends and suitemates and will provide whatever support is necessary to deal with this tragic loss,” said Margaret Jablonski, dean for Campus Life. A campus memorial service will be arranged in the coming weeks in accordance with the wishes of Lamendola’s family, Cooper-Nelson said. Herald staff writer Carla Blumenkranz ’05 can be reached at cblumenkranz@browndailyherald.com.
Blood center banner stolen BY AKSHAY KRISHNAN
A banner worth $500 belonging to the Rhode Island Blood Center was stolen from the Main Green between Monday night and Tuesday morning of the group’s two-day blood drive in Sayles Hall. Peter Hanney, regional account manager of the RIBC, told The Herald the banner was custom-made and was hung between a tree and a lamppost on the Main Green. Hanney reported the theft to the Department of Public Safety, which has assigned a detective to find the banner. Hanney also asked DPS to adopt a “no questions” policy regarding the return of the stolen banner. “I have told Brown police that if a student voluntarily returns the banner, no
questions will be asked and no charges will be pressed,” he said. “The banner has zero resale value and I urge the person or group of people who took (it) to return it and we can all move on,” Hanney said. The RIBC, a non-profit organization, now possesses only three banners to use at events across the state. Hanney said RIBC does not have a banner for a blood drive in the North Providence community on Monday. A similar banner was stolen last year at Providence College in the middle of the day, he said. “I would expect something like that to see BANNER, page 4
Xu Wenli appointed senior fellow at Watson BY XIYUN YANG
Xu Wenli, appointed last week as a senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies, spent 16 of his last 20 years in a Chinese prison serving two sentences for his pro-democracy activities. A large portion of his imprisonment was carried out in solitary confinement, but at times he shared a cell with two convicted murderers. Upon his unexpected Christmas Eve release, Xu was suffering the effects of hepatitis, arthritis and malnutrition. But if you ask him, he’d rather be in China. “I am Chinese and so my duty is to improve the conditions of the Chinese people and of the country as a whole,” Xu said in Chinese. Xu, who speaks little English, is one of China’s most prominent political dissidents, but was flown straight from a Beijing prison to Providence upon his release. While holding his six-month appointment at the Watson Institute, Xu said he hopes to organize a symposium on Sino-American relations, featuring both scholars
and political figures. “What else can I do here?” Xu said. “I don’t speak English, and I can’t lecture.” Xu said he hopes to utilize his insights into the Chinese political situation to further Sino-American relations. “Neither side understands the other one right now,” Xu said. Forgoing higher education because he found it too politically restricted, Xu has been a zealous thorn in the communist Chinese government’s side for three decades. He has been convicted twice on counts of subversion. Xu was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 1982 for editing an unauthorized political journal during the Democracy Wall movement of the late 1970s. Paroled three years early in 1993, prison didn’t deter Xu from pursuing his democratic ideals. During his time in prison, Xu covertly wrote an account of his trip through the Chinese judicial system. Five years later, openly petitioning for labor unions and independent political parties in connection with the see XU WENLI, page 4
Photo courtesy of Watson Institute
Xu Wenli spent 16 of his past 20 years in a Chinese prison for his pro-democracy activities.
I N S I D E T H U R S D AY, F E B RUA RY 6 , 2 0 0 3 Committee appointed by Bush administration recommends changes to Title IX page 3
Subscription service announces financial problems, affects university libraries page 3
Brown students start new mentoring program, take girls to the outdoors page 5
TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Hanne Eisenfeld ’06 says shopping period doesn’t mean consumeristic education column, page 11
Women’s swimming and diving splits with Columbia, Cornell in New York meet sports, page 12
mostly sunny high 33 low 24