T H U R S D A Y MARCH 6, 2003
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVIII, No. 30
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
www.browndailyherald.com
U. loan raise Students gather to speak against war draws SOFA criticism BY JULIA ZUCKERMAN
The University’s decision to raise loan expectations for students on financial aid has drawn criticism from the group Students on Financial Aid, which staged protests during the recent Corporation meeting. The University Resources Committee recommended the loan increase in its budgetary recommendations to President Ruth Simmons, which the Corporation approved in its retreat last month. The URC recommendation will change $1,000 of grants in most students’ financial aid packages to loans. For students in the lowest income bracket, loans will increase by $500. In addition, work requirements will increase by an average of $100 per student, said Director of Financial Aid Michael Bartini. SOFA criticized the loan increase, holding rallies before the Corporation meeting to raise awareness. Members of SOFA presented Corporation members with nearly 400 false $1,000 bills bearing messages from students critical of the loan increase. The loan increases hurt both students on financial aid and Brown’s economic diversity, said Brady Dunklee ’04, a spokesman for SOFA. Dunklee drew attention to a statement by Simmons in 2000 in which she called financial aid a “moral imperative.” “They are not successfully living up to this moral imperative with these loan increases,” Dunklee said. “I can understand them entirely,” Bartini said of SOFA. “It’s very difficult to (increase loans), and it’s certainly something the University doesn’t want to do.” The high cost of Simmons’ academic enrichment initiatives, the move to needblind admission, which takes effect with the Class of 2007, and the downturn in the economy all contributed to a steep increase in financial aid costs for fiscal year 2004, Bartini said.
Nick Mark / Herald
Despite the rain, students gathered on the steps of Faunce to speak out against the war.
Students get reality check when Lack of campus Providence homeless visit Ratty pro-war groups leaves debate one-sided
BY XIYUN YANG
Students mired in midterms and housing lottery concerns received a reality check Wednesday night during a discussion with members of the Providence homeless community. Discussion topics at the event, which was held in the Ratty, ranged from political and economic policy change, to personal experiences, to hope for the future. Participants requested The Herald not print their last names. “We could be your sister, your cousin or your uncle. We’re just normal people,” said Catherine, who helps run a temporary shelter through People to End Homelessness, an organization of previously or currently homeless indi-
see SOFA, page 4
New Providence Police Chief Dean Esserman speaks to The Herald INTERVIEW BY AKSHAY KRISHNAN
Dean Esserman was sworn in as the new chief of the Providence Police Department in January. The Herald spoke with Esserman about College Hill security issues at a public safety forum held Wednesday at Cornell Young, Jr. Elementary School. What plans does the Providence Police Department have for improving security on College Hill? I see College Hill as an important neighborhood in the City of Providence. We intend to pool in the resources of all university police, whether it’s RISD or Brown. We plan to set up a neighborhood command and set up a business
About 50 people gathered on the steps of Faunce House Wednesday despite the drizzle to speak out against potential war with Iraq. Organized by Students Against the War in Iraq, the gathering was part of the “Books Not Bombs” student strike declared by the National Youth and Student Peace Coalition. SAWI speakers, members of the College Democrats and Greens at Brown, and others, including Professor of English William Keach, asked the audience to challenge the Bush administration to put humanitarian goals before military action and to reconsider its drive toward war. Rally organizer Emma Rebhorn ’06 said that while the NYSPC called for a March 5 walkout, SAWI encourages students to walk out the day after the bombing starts. She called today’s gathering “really successful, especially in light of the weather.” “I thought it spoke well for the movement that a wide variety of opinions was expressed,” Rebhorn said. —Ellen Wernecke
improvement district on Thayer Street. Can you tell us a little about these plans you have for establishing a business improvement district on Thayer Street? We are making an effort to work with the merchants on Thayer Street along with University and city authorities to coordinate services in cleaning and security in particular. What’s the nature of your relationship with the Department of Public Safety at Brown? We have a very good relationship with Brown police and I am looking to further
viduals. The discussion with current and previously homeless people was aimed to educate Brown students about the realities of homelessness, Catherine said. It was held as a part of the Oral History Project, one of the Swearer Center for Public Service Breaks Projects. “I think a lot of the time Brown students live in such a bubble. This is just our way of doing a small part to help the community,” said Tze Yong Ng ’05, one of the event’s coordinators. “People have to start thinking about us as part of the solution, instead of the problem,” she said. Common misconceptions of homeless individuals as lazy and reliant on charity are just not true, she said. People become homeless for a variety of different reasons, and most are hardworking individuals who just cannot make ends meat, Catherine said. The most despairing facet of homelessness is the loss of personal identity and social interaction, said Moe, a 68year-old man who has been homeless for a year and a half. In the face of such hardship it is difficult to preserve one’s dignity and maintain hope for the future, he said. “You’re a ghost, a non-entity, a walking statistic,” said Larry, another participant. A multitude of different obstacles prevent homeless individuals from securing jobs, including the lack of transportation, phone number and address, Catherine said. Catherine’s teenage son, Joe, said homeless individuals often face blatant discrimination and described how
BY DANIELLE CERNY
As the likelihood of war with Iraq increases, some students are left wondering whether more vocal antiwar activists are overshadowing pro-war voices on campus. While groups such as Students Against War in Iraq and Not Another Victim Anywhere have organized in direct opposition to the potential war, no unifying group has stepped forward to consistently express the opposing viewpoint. Although the war debate is ubiquitous in society today, there is less of a drive for those in favor of military action in Iraq to voice their arguments, said Joseph Lisska ’04, vice president of the College Republicans. “You won’t find people protesting for war because that viewpoint is already being represented by the current administration,” he said. The College Republicans have publicly supported the government’s use of force in Iraq. But Alexandra Lynn ’03, president of the College Republicans, emphasized that the group is not “pro-war,” but rather, believes “war is sometimes a necessary action.” Lisska said the issue cannot be boiled down to the rigid classification of opinions as either “pro-war” or “antiwar.” “Those titles are misnomers. No one is universally for or against war,” he said. But some students have yet to choose a side on the issue and are dissatisfied with the quality of information being dispersed on the part of antiwar groups. Michael Graves ’06 considers himself
see POLICE Q&A, page 6 see HOMELESS, page 6
I N S I D E T H U R S D AY, M A RC H 6 , 2 0 0 3 E-mail glitch at Cornell is the cause of confusion and heartbreak campus watch, page 3
Harvard alumni say the university needs to be more conservative in its spending campus watch, page3
Kate Gubata ’03 thinks class sections are a waste of student time column, page 15
see PRO-WAR, page 4
TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Nate Goralnik ’06 thinks doves and hawks must fly together column, page 15
Women’s swimming team takes third place at the Ivy League championship sports, page 16
p.m. snow high 31 low 12