T U E S D A Y FEBRUARY 10, 2004
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXIX, No. 10
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
Brown orchestra makes move downtown for performance
Simmons delivers Presidential Address
BY SCHUYLER VON OEYEN
It’s only fitting that the Rhode Island premiere of renowned composer Peter Boyer’s “Ellis Island,” performed by the Brown University Orchestra, will take place at Veterans Memorial Auditorium, the state’s premiere concert hall. Home to the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, VMA is “the best concert venue” in the state, according to Paul Phillips, director of orchestras and chamber music at Brown. As such, it has the technical capacity to accommodate “Ellis Island,” a multimedia piece for actors and orchestra that requires a largescale projection display as well as live narration. The March 6 performance will mark only the fourth time the orchestra has played at VMA in Phillips’ 15-year career at Brown, he said. The orchestra usually performs in Sayles Hall. “The absence of a concert hall at Brown forces us to look elsewhere for high-profile events,” Phillips said. Located adjacent to the State House in Providence, the VMA “is a nicer hall and will attract a larger-thanusual audience.” Neither Orchestra Board President Adam Fouse ’04 nor Phillips knew the cost of renting VMA, although Fouse estimated the expense had been several thousand dollars. Funding came from a number of sources, including a grant from the Creative Arts Council and the Department of Music’s main budget, Phillips said. Thanks to an artist-in-residence grant, the orchestra will also be able to cover the cost of bringing Boyer to campus for about a week, he added. Boyer’s work is based on the testimonies of seven late-19th-century immigrants, which he found through the Ellis Island History Project, according to Phillips. “All of them are different stories told in different styles,” Fouse said. The orchestra had planned to perform the piece since the summer, he said, but it wasn’t until after the orchestra’s December concert that the plan to move the concert downtown was developed, he said. “As a musician, you want to be able to play in a nice hall, and the idea to do this downtown was to be able to provide a better experience,” Fouse said. Phillips acknowledged that the offcampus location is less convenient for Brown students to attend. But he said he is currently in the final stages of negotiating a plan to bus students from campus to the concert. Rebecca Fischer ’06, a violinist in the orchestra, said she thought the location of the concert might discourage some students from attending. But she said the auditorium might entice others to come because of its professional design. “I’m hoping it will sell out,” Phillips said. The concert is March 6 at 8 p.m. Tickets are available for sale at Orwig Music Hall.
BY SARAH LABRIE
Nick Neely / Herald
Boston Market’s treatment of its workers is poor, says Lindsay Ryan ’06 column, page 7
Weaving personal anecdotes with statistics and facts, President Ruth Simmons emphasized the importance of better university facilities, a bigger faculty and universally need-blind financial aid in the first Presidential Address Monday. Simmons’ speech focused on the Initiatives for Academic Enrichment, a plan designed to improve all aspects of the university for both students and faculty in the coming years. The 10 initiatives in the current plan include support for undergraduate education, the Graduate School, faculty and research, the Division of Biology and Medicine, multidisciplinary initiatives, diversity, the University community, improved revenue sources, relations between the University and the outside community, and facilities. Simmons shared plans for faculty and academic expansion, saying that 33 searches for new professors are now underway. New seminars for first-year students and an increased dedication to minority recruitment are two other major improvements made recently, she said. Simmons praised the versatility and ingenuity of several faculty members — including playwright and Professor of English Paula Vogel and Professor of Political Science Darrell West — while lamenting the state of the facilities the uni-
President Ruth Simmons talks with Jake Rosenburg ’07 following her address Monday night. Rosenburg earlier questioned Simmons about legacy admissions.
see SPEECH, page 4
New Morning Mail e-mails provide Brown community with administrative news BY MICHAEL RUDERMAN
Students can’t contribute to it or avoid it, either. Since last Thursday, members of the Brown community have received e-mail notifications of events and announcements through the new Morning Mail system. The product of an administrative organizational committee’s recommendation in spring 2002, Morning Mail seeks to “better coordinate the flow of information across the University,” according to an announcement made by Elizabeth Huidekoper, executive vice president for finance and administration. Despite its intentions, this mass e-mail production has received criticism from students. After receiving Friday’s Morning Mail with only an announcement regarding note cards sold at the library, students did complain, said Pamela Vogel, associate director of communication and documentation at Computing and Information Services. “I think students will find over time that there will be announcements that are rel-
evant to everyone,” Vogel said. Some students said they were confused Thursday when the first edition of Morning Mail arrived without any warning. An e-mail had been sent to faculty and staff members explaining the new system, but no such announcement was made to students. “I was pretty confused the first time I got it, just because I didn’t think they publicized it well enough,” said Bob Fairhead ’04. Fairhead read the first edition but now deletes Morning Mail when it appears in his inbox, he said. Faculty and staff can submit announcements to be sent out the next day. Students are currently unable to do so, but plans are in the works for establishing policies and procedures that would open Morning Mail to student use. The administration believes Morning Mail will provide event information separate from what is available to students through the Brown Daily Jolt, Vogel said. “I see the Daily Jolt as more of a student-
I N S I D E T U E S D AY, F E B RUA RY 1 0 , 2 0 0 4 Providence Place Mall bought by corporation that owns Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston metro, page 3
www.browndailyherald.com
Sarah Green ’04 says banning gay marriage will only promote inequity column, page 7
to-student mechanism, and I see this as an administration-to-student mechanism,” she said. Taking advantage of the University’s email system also saves time and paper, Vogel said. “Because of the cost of paper mailings, people don’t send things out that should be sent out.” Following the committee’s recommendations in the spring of 2002, CIS worked alongside the Office of Public Affairs and University Relations to develop a companion to the bulk e-mail system that sends urgent e-mails to the Brown community, said Tracie Sweeney, senior associate director of the News Service. “A lot of people around campus wanted to use that system for things that were not urgent or emergencies,” she said. Morning Mail and its policies are modeled after a similar program in place at the University of Richmond, according to Sweeney. At Richmond, e-mails are sent out daily and include about six announcements, she said.
TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Deborah Mendel ’04 prepares to play for Canadian national team after graduation sports, page 8
Grinnell’s tactics have merit, have earned the team points, according to Luke Meier ’04 sports, page 8
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