T U E S D A Y SEPTEMBER 23, 2003
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVIII, No. 77
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
www.browndailyherald.com
Gate had mouse problem last spring semester BY MERYL ROTHSTEIN
World Report is not a gauge for reputation,” she said. For-profit corporations often invest a lot of money and perform research studies to improve their reputations, she said. But nonprofits, like universities, leave their reputation to chance, Freid said. “I think reputation is to a university as profit is to a corporation,” Freid said. Freid said she understands the difficulty in quantifying an “experience.” “Although profits can be easily meas-
Every day last spring, Gate workers threw out pretzel and chip bags they found covered in holes and swept crumbs off the floor. The culprits? Mice, said a Gate worker who wished to remain anonymous. “There were definitely mice here,” the worker said. “There’s no question.” The problem peaked around the middle of April, the worker said. “Periodically, I would see mice at the Gate,” said Andrew Pfeffer ’05, then a Gate supervisor. At the end of February, Pfeffer said he saw an increasing number of mice, primarily at the entrance to Alumnae Hall, the building that houses the Gate, near Meeting Street and occasionally near the back of the eating area by the managers’ offices. “You would never see one where they’d actually make the food,” he said. The anonymous worker claimed to have seen a mouse in the eating area but didn’t know of anyone who noticed mice in the kitchen and cashier’s area. But, because of the holes in chip and pretzel bags that appeared overnight in the food area, the worker assumed they were there. Only the bags appeared affected and no one ever saw evidence of mice in any other food areas, the worker said. At its peak, nearly half of the chip and pretzel bags left in the baskets overnight had to be thrown out daily, the student said, adding that customers would sometimes buy bags with small holes and return them only to find that all the bags were at least marginally damaged. Mice appeared at the Gate following winter break at the same time that renovations took place in Alumnae Hall, another anonymous worker said. The presence of mice was common knowledge among workers and customers at the Gate last spring, the first worker said, adding that student supervisors joked about it, but never gave an official acknowledgement of any problem. Brown University Dining Services also never addressed the issue with student workers, the first worker said. Associate Director of BUDS Ann Lawrence denied there had been a rodent
see FREID, page 4
see MICE, page 9
Kerry Miller / Herald
Student workers said they saw evidence of mice in the Gate last semester.
DPS unable to find witnesses in Charlesfield assault case BY ZACH BARTER
Department of Public Safety officers have been unable to locate any eyewitnesses to the Sept. 6 assault of a female student on Charlesfield Street, though the investigation into the incident continues. The victim was heading home from an off-campus party when she was approached from behind by the assailant, who directed a homophobic comment at her before knocking her unconscious with a blow to the head. The events transpired after a 20-minute altercation at the party, according to friends of the victim. DPS Chief Paul Verrecchia said officers were gathering information on every aspect of the night’s events — who attended the party, what occurred at the party and who left the party when. “The investigation is progressing. We have interviewed a number of witnesses, and we have several to go,” Verrecchia said. “Just because we don’t have an eyewitness doesn’t mean we can’t solve the crime.” Verrecchia said the party was held in student housing owned by the Office of Rental Facilities. The party was not offisee ASSAULT, page 4
Former media relations head now studies Brown BY JONATHAN HERMAN
For her doctoral dissertation, former Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and University Relations Laura Freid traced the formation of Brown’s open curriculum to the University’s fourth president, Francis Wayland — much earlier than its official adoption in 1969. “My key finding is that history matters in higher education,” Freid said. Freid stepped down from her position in August, which she assumed in 1996, to pursue a doctoral degree through the University of Pennsylvania. As vice president, Freid was Brown’s key liaison to the community on College Hill and beyond, as head of media relations. She said her dissertation — for which she will do research at Brown — will examine the role policy changes have had on the University’s reputation. According to Freid’s preliminary research, Wayland pursued curricular change during his presidency. “He was an educational reformer of the same as Ben Franklin or Thomas Jefferson,” Freid said. Freid paraphrased Wayland as saying, “Courses should be arranged so that the student would study what he chooses and only what he chooses.” To pursue her thesis, Freid said she must create a means of quantifying reputation. “The question comes, how do you assess reputation — and U.S. News and
Fights and bike theft top crime report The campus saw fights and a rash of bike thefts over the last two weeks. On Sept. 12, a Department of Public Safety officer and Providence Police arrived on Wriston Quad to investigate a possible fight in progress. A student reported that between 1 a.m. and 1:15 a.m., numerous Johnson and Wales students and friends were denied entrance to a party in progress. The students became angry and began fighting among themselves. By the time the police arrived the fight was over, but four men were seen leaving the area, one with a visible lump over his eye.
I N S I D E T U E S D AY, S E P T E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 0 3 Sex Kola, a new low carb energy drink, gets bottled in Providence metro,page 3
Provost moves into his official house, a $1.25 million buy, earlier this year metro,page 3
Californians should focus their efforts on defeating Prop. 54, say guest columnists column, page 11
The students were questioned about the fight, and the injured student admitted he was hit during the altercation. He turned down medical treatment. Bike thefts were reported at 5 p.m. on Sept. 14 and noon on Sept. 15 at Plantations House. A third bike theft was reported at 5 p.m. on Sept. 14 at the Ratty, and a fourth at 6 a.m. on Sept. 15 from the same location. DPS also received reports of thefts at Rhode Island Hall and Miller Hall, all between Sept. 14 and Sept. 17. —Herald staff reports
TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Football defeats Northeast Conference champs U. of Albany 21-3 in first meeting sports, page 12
M. soccer takes one step back, losing on Sunday to Fairleigh Dickinson 2-1 sports, page 12
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