M O N D A Y APRIL 21, 2003
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVIII, No. 55
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
Tibetan political prisoner talks of Chinese human rights violations
UCS Election Board removes remaining cash from candidate Rehmani ’04
BY SCHUYLER VON OEYEN
Showing remnants of the torture he endured as a political prisoner, Palden Gyatso — the second-longest serving political prisoner in Tibet — testified to Chinese human rights violations Friday before a crowd of about 100 students. Imprisoned from 1959 to 1992, Gyatso described his experience in the 1960s, along with 7,000 other political prisoners, as one of “total starvation.” “During those times, conditions were so bad that many prisoners were buried before they died,” he said. “In many ways, it was as bad as the Holocaust. We were only allowed one ladle of soup per day. When let outside, prisoners would eat anything green. One day, I even resorted to eating my own leather shoe.” Over the course of his first decade in prison, he said 70 percent of prisoners died. Wearing a traditional Buddhist robe, Gyatso spoke with a passionate but tranquil demeanor. He supplanted his words by showing scarring from torture and pictures from his book, “Fire Under the Snow.” Before his arrest, Gyatso attended a university, where he trained to become a Buddhist monk. In 1959, when he was 28 years old, he joined peaceful protests for a free Tibet. “For that, I paid the price of 33 years in prison,” he said. “Since 1959, I have paid 33 years of my life for my peaceful slogan (in support of) Tibet’s rights.” Forced labor assigned to political prisoners included the growth and harvest of vegetables. The consequences of inadequate production were fatal, he said. see GYATSO, page 4
Swearer panelists discuss challenges, rewards of college BY MERYL ROTHSTEIN
The challenges and rewards of college were stressed by panelists at the PreCollege Teen Summit hosted Saturday by the Swearer Center for Public Service. Panelists also highlighted the resources available to high school students in the college preparation process. The event included two panel discussions, a spoken word poetry jam including two HBO Def Poetry Jam poets and a resource fair with about 20 college recruiters. The Barus and Holley audience included over 80 students from Rhode Island public high schools. Many were recruited from Swearer Center programs, and flyers were handed out in public schools, said Rachel Cotton ’04, coordinator for the pre-college enrichment program in writing. “College is not easy,” said panelist Shelly Perdomo, who is getting her Master’s degree from the University of
www.browndailyherald.com
BY JONATHAN ELLIS
Joanne Park / Herald
Roger Fan ’94 stars in “Better Luck Tomorrow,” which opens this month.
Fan ’94 brings Asian-American cinema to the mainstream BY JOANNE PARK
From nomadic traveling through Europe to lounging around with MC Hammer, Roger Fan ’94 has done just about everything to bring one film, “Better Luck Tomorrow,” to the attention of mainstream audiences. In a Friday discussion, Fan, who plays one of the film’s bored suburban teens, described industry reluctance to back Asian-American films. “Better Luck Tomorrow” began to gather acclaim after screenings at the Sundance Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival in 2002. Roger Ebert, along with critics from the New York Times and Rolling Stone magazine, has touted the film as an innovative take on the media’s portrayal of Asian Americans. “Better Luck Tomorrow” explores the descent into violence of a group of Asian-American teenagers, in marked contrast with their straight-edged appearance, Fan said. “The underlying definition of ‘Better Luck Tomorrow’ is opportunity, for today and tomorrow, for Asian Americans,” he added. The cast of “Better Luck Tomorrow” is committed to its progressive script, Fan said. “We were all going through the same thing at the same time,” he said. “This film was such a labor of love. … This dynamic occurred where we felt safe around each other.” Before the discussion, Fan screened
“Better Luck Tomorrow: Genesis,” a behind-the-scenes documentary that features Fan and his co-stars, Parry Shen, John Cho, Sung Kang, Jason Tobin and Karin Anna Cheung. “This film has a distinct AsianAmerican tint of teen violence and teen angst,” Fan said. “The term positive portrayal is loaded. … It’s misconstrued as having good people onscreen.” In the documentary, the actors and writers — Justin Lin, Ernesto Foronda and Fabian Marquez — discuss the intended message of their film. Most of the actors had previously worked as extras for network shows like “Caroline in the City,” “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “NYPD Blue.” Fan had previously appeared in minor roles on “ER,” “Frasier,” “Party of Five” and “Corky Romano.” He also played a bodyguard in “Rush Hour.” “They have a mold already,” said Fan, of roles for Asian Americans. “Whether they’re playing tourists or doctors, they’re usually there for an ‘Asian’ reason,” he said. Fan said both “Better Luck Tomorrow” films represent an attempt to bring a three-dimensional quality to media portrayals of Asian Americans. With a budget of $250,000, filmmakers culled extras from local supermarkets and maxed out 10 credit cards before MC Hammer decided to finance
The troubles of Ahmad Rehmani ’04 in his campaign for president of the Undergraduate Council of Students continued Sunday, as the UCS Election Board eliminated his remaining campaign budget. As The Herald reported last week, Rehmani sent e-mails to three student groups seeking their endorsement for the upcoming election. Wednesday night, the Election Board cut his budget in half because UCS election policy prohibits the use of e-mail in a campaign for any reason. At that Election Board hearing, Rehmani was asked if he had sent e-mails to any groups other than Friends of Israel, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Alliance and the Organization of United African Peoples, said UCS Representative Andy Golodny ’03, a member of the Election Board. Rehmani said he had not, Golodny said. But Rehmani had sent messages to the leaders of at least two other groups — the College Republicans at Brown and the Asian American Students Association — the same night, Golodny said. Joe Lisska ’04, vice president of the College Republicans, confirmed the group’s president received the e-mail. Rehmani said he told the Election Board Wednesday he didn’t remember sending any additional e-mails. He had sent the emails at around 10 p.m. Tuesday, about 24 hours before the Election Board hearing. Each candidate for any UCS post receives 10 fake dollars to use in the campaign so candidates will not attempt to outspend one another. For example, a banner costs three fake dollars, while a flyer costs 10 fake cents. The candidate pays the realworld expense of the promotional material. Because Rehmani had not been forthcoming about the other e-mails at his original hearing, the Election Board removed his remaining five fake dollars, said outgoing UCS President Allen Feliz ’03, a member of the Election Board. The Election Board could have disqualified Rehmani from the race but chose not to do so. Rehmani had not spent any of his fake budget before Sunday, Golodny said. “This time I did think (the Election Board’s decision) was unfair,” Rehmani told The Herald. He had called the original decision on Wednesday “fair enough.” “It’s kind of like double jeopardy,” Rehmani said. “They brought me back into the committee room with the same charges. They brought me back in because I didn’t give them all the names.” The Election Board is responsible for fully investigating an alleged violation before bringing charges, Rehmani said. “Those were the only three organizations that they knew of and I knew of at that point,” he said, referring to the board’s original Wednesday accusations. “How did he not know?” Golodny said. “It’s not double jeopardy. It would be double
see MOVIE, page 9
see TEENS, page 4
see UCS, page 7
I N S I D E M O N D AY, A P R I L 2 1 , 2 0 0 3 Green Party candidate for governor speaks against Iraq war at SASA weekend page 3
The Herald profiles the three candidates for this year’s UCS presidency page 5
TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Perle protesters’ logic doesn’t hold up to history, Alex Schulman ’03 argues opinions, page 11
Cramphin ’06 dominates Dartmouth and discusses his first season at Brown sports, page 12
Albert Chang ’06 bids a teary farewell to basketball legend Michael Jordan sports column, page 12
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