Monday, April 5, 2004

Page 1

M O N D A Y APRIL 5, 2004

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXIX, No. 41

An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891

BROWN TO BUY RISD

Citing space, liability, U. to eliminate oncampus housing

RISD to be renamed BRISD; both endowments will be combined BY DICKENS BELKNAP

— the silver bullet for the Democrats is David Greene,” Zogby said. If elected, Greene, who stepped into the campus life post last July, would be the first person to move directly from mid-level university administration to the vice presidency. Greene has never held public office, although he said he is a registered Democrat. He previously served as assistant to President Ruth Simmons at Brown and Smith College and was a student life administrator at Wells College in Aurora, N.Y. The Bush campaign had no official comment on Greene, but strategists said the administrator’s selection had

The Brown Corporation announced Friday that it plans to buy the Rhode Island School of Design. The two schools, which have had a solid partnership on College Hill, will officially merge this coming fall. RISD will be renamed BRISD, the Brown Rhode Island School of Design. Negotiating teams from both schools met last week, while students were off campus and the University was officially closed for spring break. According to Director of the News Service Mark Nickel, the administrations of the two schools had discussed the merger for several years and met last week “to iron out the details.” Brown will pay RISD trustees an undisclosed amount and has promised to increase the RISD operating budget by an undisclosed percentage, Nickel said. The merger comes at a time when RISD has been suffering from financial difficulty and Brown is looking to increase its endowment to fund President Ruth Simmons’ Initiatives for Academic Enrichment. “RISD is the premier art and design school in the nation and Brown is a leader in cooperation that will enable better access to resources and liberal arts education. The two have shared much in the past and will continue to share much in the future. Both schools will be greatly benefited by heightened opportunities for all students,” Simmons said in a statement released Friday. Although she said RISD students might feel betrayed by the merger, RISD Director of External Relations Ann Hudner promised it will not alter student life and academics. BRISD students will maintain their own classes and their own dormitories, but plans will be drafted next year to allow for integrated dormitories between Brown and BRISD students and increased cross-registration, Hudner said. Brown Director of Admission Michael Goldberger said all applicants will apply through the Brown Office of Admission, but prospective students will note whether they want to be considered for admission to Brown, BRISD or both. The BRISD Office of Admission, which will remain in its own building and run its own tours, will select its own students and continue to require portfolios. “I think this new change will draw in more applicants to both schools. Brown will now be able to draw in applicants from potential BRISD students and BRISD will be able to attract students from the Brown pool,”

see KERRY, page 7

see BRISD, page 4

BY APPLE ONEIDA

Following recent cutbacks to parking, storage and printing, the University announced yesterday that it will not provide students with on-campus housing, effective this fall. “It’s really a liability thing,” said David Greene, interim vice president for campus life and student services. “I mean, a student could slip in the shower, slam his finger in the door, stub his toe on a desk — we just can’t afford to take the risk.” The decision, which will take effect next semester, came after administrators also received complaints from faculty and staff about congestion on College Hill. “When we realized how much space we could open up by doing away with student parking, we just started looking for other ways to meet those needs,” Greene said. Greene said he understands that students may be concerned by the decision and promised that administrators will find a way to accommodate their housing needs. Possibilities include a “tent city” on the Main Green for students unable to find off-campus apartments. “The welfare of our students is the absolute top concern of this administration,” Greene said. “Except, of course, for cost, space and liability. If Brown wants to keep its place as a premier institution, we need to constantly be on the lookout for ways to be more efficient.” Mail services, fitness facilities, advising and classes may be the next student “perks” to go as the administration looks to cut costs and reduce liability, according to Greene . “We have issues all over the place,” he said. “Take Food Services, for instance. One bad batch of Saturday Night Jambalaya, and we’re out of business.”

Clark Kent / Herald

A RISD student sits mournfully on a piece of land previously owned by her university. Brown recently purchased RISD in unprecedented corporate-takeover fashion, and this property on College Hill will be part of newly formed BRISD.

Hunter: Simmons ignored al-Qaeda threat before 9/11 BY APPLE ONEIDA

A top administrator went public yesterday with allegations that President Ruth Simmons ignored the threat posed by alQaeda and did not consider terrorism an “urgent priority” before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. “Not once in my time in University Hall did I hear the president make reference to the threat from international terrorists,” said Walter Hunter, vice president for administration. “There was no plan in place. It was pure neglect.” In the early months of Simmons’ term, Hunter alleged, the president’s focus on need-blind admissions, interdisciplinary initiatives and hiring new faculty distracted the administration from combating the terror threat.

“From day one, this administration’s priorities were elsewhere,” Hunter said. “Meanwhile, al-Qaeda was building up its capabilities and plotting to kill thousands of Americans.” Hunter called for a full investigation of “what the president knew and when she knew it.” But University Hall officials were quick to denounce the allegations, blaming bureaucratic inertia during the Gee and Blumstein administrations for the attacks. “When we came into office, we certainly weren’t handed any plan for combating al-Qaeda,” said Dean of the College Paul Armstrong. “The two previous administrations had plenty of time to address this see AL-QAEDA, page 5

Kerry names Greene as running mate BY MATILDA GREENWICH

Poppy Harwood / Herald

John Kerry introduces University administrator and vice-presidential candidate David Greene to supporters at a Sunday night rally.

In a move that shook up both the U.S. presidential race and the Brown administration, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry (DMass.) named David Greene, interim vice president for campus life and student services, as his running mate. The selection stunned political commentators, many of whom predicted the addition of Greene to the ticket would lead to a landslide victory for the Democrats in the November election. Greene’s approval numbers are “off the charts,” said independent pollster John Zogby. “I’ve never seen anything like it. “Forget (Sen.) John McCain (R-Ariz.)

W E AT H E R F O R E C A S T

I N S I D E M O N D AY, A P R I L 5 , 2 0 0 4 Yo-Yo Ma to play Spring Weekend; BCA Booking Chair Dustin Keitel ’04 tells girlfriend arts & culture, page 3

www.browndailyherald.com

U. to invite all students to TWTP, but secret password required for admission campus news, page 4

Career Development Center officials hid that office was open to liberal arts students campus news, page 5

BuDS to offer more than matzo for students observing Passover campus news, page 6

M. basketball rests hopes for NCAA championship on phenom toddler sports, page 12

MONDAY

locusts high 98 low -12

TUESDAY

apocalypse high 2694 Kelvin low 0 Kelvin


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