Friday, February 13, 2004

Page 1

F R I D A Y FEBRUARY 13, 2004

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXIX, No. 13

An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891

www.browndailyherald.com

Legendary professor might or might not appear for Carberry Day

Hazeltine cancels classes to protest dean’s decision

BY LISA MANDLE

BY ROBBIE COREY-BOULET

Since 1955, Friday the 13th at Brown has been more about honoring a legendary professor of psychoceramics than worrying about bad luck. Today’s Carberry Day celebrations honor a decades-old University tradition that began after the University received an anonymous gift of $101.01 from the mythical Professor of Psychoceramics Josiah Stickney Carberry to establish a fund in memory of his “future late wife.” Psychoceramics is the study of cracked pots. The gift was given with the stipulation that every Friday the 13th, jugs would be placed around campus for the collection of loose change for the fund. Money collected in this manner would go towards the purchase of books that the Professor “might or might not approve of.” In the nearly 50 years since then, University libraries have placed ceramic pots around campus on Friday the 13th and Leap Day. Though Carberry Day began in May 1955, the professor himself has been around since 1929. Legend has it that Benjamin Clough, chair of the classics department at the time, discovered a flier posted on a bulletin board announcing a lecture to be given by J.S. Carberry on “Archaic Greek Architectural Revetments in Connection with Ionian Philology.” Further inquiries were directed to another professor in the department, John Spaeth, according to Pembroke Alumna magazine. Clough, as the story goes, found the

As part of an ongoing battle with administrators, Professor Emeritus of Engineering Barrett Hazeltine canceled lecture classes yesterday but made no promise of when they would begin again. Students expecting to attend EN 90: “Managerial Decision Making” were notified of the cancellation by a notice Hazeltine posted outside the classroom. “No lectures today. I do not know if or when they will resume. I am in a major (to me) dispute with the administration,” Hazeltine wrote. The dispute stems from a restriction on the number of independent study projects Hazeltine’s students can pursue, he told The Herald. Administrators imposed a limit of 20 students in April 2002, he said, leaving him with the understanding that additional sponsors would be found to take on more projects. In the past, Hazeltine had agreed to advise as many as 175 projects in one semester, according to Dean of the College Paul Armstrong. But as more students requested approval for independent study projects, Hazeltine said he became frustrated with administrators, who had not responded to his requests. “The last week or so, the situation seems to be getting worse and worse,” he said. “More than a week ago, I sent a memo to University Hall saying I really want a resolution and the students deserve a resolution,” he said. “And we just didn’t hear a thing.” Hazeltine said he hoped the class cancellations would elicit a response from the administration and eventually lead to more sponsors for his independent study candidates. But Armstrong said Hazeltine agreed to the 20-person limit in a meeting two years ago, and that the University has done its part in responding to his requests. “Twenty independent study projects is still a high number, more than most faculty would be able to handle,” Armstrong wrote. “But Professor Hazeltine is an exceptional teacher who is unusually dedicated to students.” Armstrong wrote that since the limit was imposed, his office has actively sought other sponsors for Hazeltine’s students and will “continue to work with the dean of engineering toward that end.” Sponsors have been located for a number of students, Armstrong said. Hazeltine said he believes the independent projects are an important aspect of the business curriculum at Brown. “I think that people can learn a lot dealing with real world problems,” he said. “For many students, dealing with

Philissa Cramer / Herald

This fixture in Jo’s is one of the modern relics that Professor Josiah Carberry has left behind.

see CARBERRY, page 4

Student hurt in weekend attack BY JONATHAN ELLIS

An unidentified Brown student was assaulted near the Damascus Food truck early Sunday morning, according to two eyewitnesses. A University official confirmed a student was attacked. A group of assailants punched and kneed the victim in the face, the witnesses said.

Arming implementation on schedule, administrators say BY ZACH BARTER

Two months after announcing the decision to arm campus police officers, the University remains on track with its implementation plan and will soon begin providing detailed updates to campus groups, said Vice President for Administration Walter Hunter. “We think it’s very important that this be an open process,” Hunter said. “We want the community to feel comfortable that we’re being careful, thorough and communicative.” Updates will be released as the University reaches milestones in its plan rather than on a regular basis. The first

update will come within the next month, Hunter said. Groups to receive arming updates include the Undergraduate Council of Students, Graduate Student Council, Medical Student Senate, Faculty Executive Committee, Staff Advisory Committee and Campus Community Public Safety Committee. Representatives from the Third World Center and Greek Council will also receive the updates, which will be accessible to the full Brown community on the Web, Hunter said. see ARMING, page 4

Department of Public Safety Officer Daniel Nuey refused to provide information regarding the alleged incident, calling it an “open investigation.” Mark Nickel, director of the Brown News Service, said DPS told him it did not have a police report of such an incident. But DPS did report that a student received medical assistance early Sunday morning, Nickel said. According to that report, the student had apparently been attacked, but he could not identify the assailants and did not wish to file a complaint or press charges, Nickel said. Dean for Campus Life Margaret Jablonski also had access to the report, which was filed Monday. The student, who was walking near the intersection of George and Brown streets, was “struck in the face and body by two unknown subjects,” Jablonski said. “I know the case is still open and (DPS) is investigating,” Jablonski said. According to the report, DPS and Providence Rescue responded to the incident, she said. The Office of Student Life followed up on the assault and provided assistance to the student, Jablonski added. The two witnesses said they have not yet been contacted by DPS.

I N S I D E F R I D AY, F E B RUA RY 1 3 , 2 0 0 4 Production Workshop’s “The Country Wife” has an edge, thanks to dark humor arts & culture, page 3

American Indian History Series convocation celebrates Native heritage campus news, page 5

Safewalkers to receive paychecks, and students to take over dispatching campus news, page 5

see HAZELTINE, page 6

TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Yann Danis ’04 in the running to win college hockey’s highest award sports, page 12

W. water polo finds success at recent Ivy Classic, maintains national ranking sports, page 12

mostly sunny high 44 low 28


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