Thursday, February 17, 2005

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T H U R S D A Y FEBRUARY 17, 2005

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXL, No. 16

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www.browndailyherald.com

An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891 POST- PREGAMES The Oscars are coming — hop in your armchair and play along as post- predicts the winners. INSIDE

SUMMERS SWEATS Harvard president’s future in Cambridge looking less secure after a contentious faculty meeting C A M P U S WATC H

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TODAY

TOMORROW

mostly sunny 39 / 23

snow flurries 32 / 10

Student car ignites on Waterman A car belonging to a Brown graduate student caught fire in front of Faunce House on Waterman Street shortly before 9 p.m. Wednesday. While Providence city firefighters were extinguishing the fire, the burning vehicle rolled forward into a parked car belonging to two sisters of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, who were attending an event in Faunce House. The car, a red Audi 4000, belonged to Faith Model GS, who was driving back to campus from Boston and noticed smoke and the smell of burning plastic as she crossed Prospect Street. She had pulled over on Waterman when she saw flames coming from the dashboard. She jumped out of the car and went to call police. “It’s unfortunate that I don’t have a car anymore, but at least no one was hurt,” Model said. According to Sgt. Stephen St. Jean of the Brown Department of Public Safety at the scene, campus police “responded to a fire in progress,” but were unable to put out the fire with five handheld extinguishers. They then called the Providence city authorities, who dispatched a police cruiser and a fire engine. St. Jean said he did not know what started the fire, though another officer present said he suspected the wiring in the dashboard had caused the blaze. “I feel bad for these guys, too,” Model said of the sisters, whose car sustained minor damage from its collision with the burning vehicle. “There is not too much damage,” said Phi Uong, one of the sisters. Officers at the scene said the car was to be towed. — Ben Leubsdorf

Greek Council responds to Spring Weekend conflict BY STEPHEN NARAIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

earlier that week. “The smell had been around the hall for a while, but we didn’t really know where it was coming from,” Quitman said. A week later, at around 3 a.m. Feb. 10, the bathrooms and hallways of Champlin Hall were severely vandalized. One resident, who requested to remain anonymous, said she woke up at 5 a.m. and discovered a shower covered in a red liquid with the curtain torn down. Thinking that the spilled substance might have been blood, the student immediately called the Department of Public Safety. The mess of red liquid turned out to be Jell-O shots. The vandals managed to spill cough syrup in the fourth-floor bathroom and smear shaving cream, toothpaste and dishwashing liquid all over the bathrooms on the second, third and fourth floors. Champlin Hall Residential Counselor Jessica Wall ’07 told The Herald that the words “f--- bitches” were written on the carpets of her hallway in either wine or dishwashing liquid. No one knows who the Champlin or Barbour perpetrators are. Wall said both she and Champlin’s custodian “really don’t think that any of (the Champlin) kids did it.” As a result, no one in Champlin is being charged for the damage. According to a dorm-wide email sent by Wall, the building’s custodian purchased new shower curtains with personal money to replace those that had been torn down in the Feb. 10 incident. In Barbour, residents called the Department of Public Safety and the emergency phone line for Facilities Management immediately after the oven had been turned on and opened. They were told by Facilities Management that emergency calls are prioritized by the order in which they are received. Facilities Management did not arrive at the site to take care of the smell until

The Greek Council, Brown’s umbrella organization of campus fraternities and sororities, unanimously decided Tuesday to move its annual Spring Weekend concert event, Rage on Wriston, to Friday, April 22 in response to a scheduling conflict with Passover. Traditionally, Rage on Wriston is held on the Saturday of Spring Weekend on Upper Wriston Quad, and features music by Brown students and alums. Holding Rage on Wriston as planned would be “disruptive and insensitive” to students celebrating Passover, said Chris Guhin ’05, chair of the Greek Council. “First of all, I want to extend my deepest regrets that all students cannot equally participate in this year’s Spring Weekend events. … It’s unfair for students to have to choose between celebrating Spring Weekend with their friends or observing a holy day with their family,” Guhin said. Individual fraternities will continue to hold their own events the Saturday of Spring Weekend. The Council’s decision comes as the University and numerous campus organizations are examining scheduling alternatives that would respect the religious beliefs of members of the Brown community while preserving one of Brown’s most popular campus traditions. Guhin praised planners at the Student Activities Office, especially Ricky Gresh and Phil O’Hara, who are working to “iron out the logistics” that inevitably arise when rescheduling major campus events. “The University is trying its best to work things out … whether it is getting people to help out with sound (for the concert) or staffing gates,” Guhin said. When first told about the conflict, Guhin admitted those in the Greek community were not sure what to do. Given the traditions of Spring Weekend, some students expressed reluctance to begin switching events around. “Somewhere along the line, the social chair (of the Greek Council) and I reached the conclusion that we can’t have any major events on Saturday. … The meeting (on Tuesday) was to formalize what the Greek community was going to do.” Robert Lazerow ’06, president of Alpha Epsilon Pi, Brown’s primarily Jewish fraternity, said he was grateful to the University and the Greek Council for their hard work in accommodating students observing Passover. “Personally, I was disappointed over the scheduling conflict … but I am confident that the University is making the appropriate steps and am satisfied that events are being moved

see VANDALISM, page 4

see GREEK, page 4

Donald Tetto / Herald

Shortly before 9 p.m.Wednesday, a car belonging to a Brown graduate student caught fire on Waterman Street.The driver escaped uninjured, though the vehicle rear-ended a car belonging to two sisters of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary parked in front of Faunce House.

Recent acts of vandalism disturb students BY JULIANA WU STAFF WRITER

Over the past two weeks, Barbour Hall and Morriss-Champlin have experienced bizarre, and likely alcohol-fueled, acts of vandalism. Two weeks ago, Deena Quitman ’07 turned on the oven in the second-floor kitchen of Barbour to bake brownies. As soon as she opened the oven door to check the heat, she was confronted by the overwhelming stench of urine, which permeated the dorm thereafter. Residents had called the Department of Facilities Management to complain

38 juniors named to Phi Beta Kappa Thirty-eight members of the Class of 2006 were elected last week to membership in the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the oldest academic honor society in the United States. Sixteen of the students are studying abroad this semester, while 22 are on campus. To be eligible as a junior for Phi Beta Kappa at Brown, a student must have attended the University for five semesters and received 17 A’s during that time. Students may also receive Phi Beta Kappa honors in their senior year. The Alpha of Rhode Island chapter at Brown was founded in 1830. Last year the society elected 36 members of the Class of 2005. Members of the Class of 2006 elected last week: Lucia Ballard Robert Blair Brian Corcoran Vincent Criscione Andrew D’Cruz Daniel Dadush Joshua Dunford Jonathan Fader Julia Furman Anthony Halperin Danielle Hill Mayalisa Holzman Andrew Huddleston Krista Ingebretson Mia Kazanjian Matthew Krumholtz Worasom Kundhikanjana Karim Ladha Jennifer Lambe Rachel Lauter Editorial: 401.351.3372 Business: 401.351.3269

Frank Lehman Vincent Leung Liv Leuthold Shirley Lo Vera Mayercik Simon McEntire Rielle Navitski Eric Perlmutter Katherine Ramsey Robert Schub Chelsea Sharon Rachel Siemons Suzanne Smith Matthew Swetnam David Thipphavong Srigowri Vijayakumar Carina Wallance Jamie Weaver — Herald staff reports

195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island

News tips: herald@browndailyherald.com


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