M O N D A Y FEBRUARY 28, 2005
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXL, No. 22 JAM FOR OXFAM Keeney musicians to bring Jam Session to the Hourglass Café Tuesday night A R T S & C U LT U R E 3
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Corporation accepts $35m in gifts, approves transfer aid Brown alums pay homage to alma mater on the big screen BY ERIC BECK SENIOR STAFF WRITER
BY ELIZA LANE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Most university graduates express appreciation to their alma mater by offering financial gifts — and, on occasion, donating a building or scholarship. However, many Brown alums — true to the University’s style — convey their sentiments uniquely: Brunonians in the entertainment industry have endowed the University with celebrity status. Countless Brown alums work as producers, directors, filmmakers, screenwriters, actors and the like. These alums are influential and may be the reason why so many TV shows and films today feature characters who attended the University. “Hollywood — and the entertainment industry, in general — are full of Brown alums, more than most people can imagine,” said Scott Anderson ’86, who works as a director and visual effects supervisor for At the Ocean Entertainment. “When I first started in the industry, the joke used to be ‘The Brown Mafia,’ because there were just so many of us.” Brown, it seems, does not attract these aspiring film and production moguls as much as it produces them. “Brown fosters creativity and encourages original problem-solving — no matter which discipline you choose. Certainly, with the upswing of the creative writing and playwriting programs, Brown is offering students courses that are readily applicable to filmmaking and entertainment,” Anderson said. Anderson is not alone in his estimation of Brown’s ability to transform students into creative thinkers who could potentially be successful in the filmmaking industry. “Brown is a creative place that encourages students to take risks in order to find themselves. The focus tends to be on exploring the nontraditional, trying something new — this is what filmmaking is all about,” said David Munro ’85. Munro co-founded Grottofilms and is currently screening his first full feature, “Full Grown Men.” The project is expected to premiere in the fall. “Some of my classmates are out there now doing really adventurous filmmaking. They’re challenging the norms and doing it their own way — redefining what forms are acceptable,” Munro said, citing Doug Liman ’88, who produced “Go” and “Swingers,” as an example. “The writers and producers of many shows and movies that reference Brown almost always have connections to the University,” Anderson said. There is a natural tendency, especially among those who are just entering the industry, to draw upon their own lives for material. Anderson produced a short film during his professional career that was based on his college experiences. An extensive list of TV shows feature alleged alums, including “The Simpsons,” in which burnt-out bus driver Otto Mann is an alum; “Will & Grace,” see HOLLYWOOD, page 7
At its February meeting, the Corporation set undergraduate fees above $40,000 for the first time in Brown’s history, increased funding for financial aid — introducing longawaited transfer aid — and accepted some $35 million in gifts, including donations to establish a 24-hour study space in the Sciences Library, support the Center for Computational Molecular Biology and fund the Humanities Center. A Brown education, including tuition and room and board fees, will cost undergraduate students $41,700 next year, according to a University news release. The Corporation increased tuition for undergraduate and graduate students by 5.2 percent, with a 4percent increase for medical students, the statement said. The Corporation endorsed a budget of
$608.4 million for the 2005-2006 fiscal year, an increase of 8.2 percent over this year’s budget. University officials say the budget increase will help support initiatives in the Plan for Academic Enrichment, including increased student financial aid, faculty expansion and improvements to facilities, infrastructure and academic and campus life. The budget includes provisions for financial aid for incoming transfer and Resumed Undergraduate Education students, earmarking $400,000 in financial support. Undergraduate financial aid will grow by $3.77 million, an increase of 9 percent. Tuition support for graduate students increases by $1.2 million under the new budget, in addition to an increase of nearly $1 million for stipends and health insurance. The funding allows base stipends for graduate students to grow from $16,000 to
CORPORATE RECEIVING Largest gifts formally accepted by the Corporation Saturday: · $20 million to support the Center for Computational Molecular Biology, including endowment of five profes sorships. · $5 million for a 24-hour study center in the SciLi. · Undisclosed amount to establish Cogut Humanities Center.
$17,000. Dean of the Graduate School Karen Newman told the faculty at a Dec. 7 meeting that the new stipend was necessary for Brown to remain competitive with its peers. The new budget also provides $3.7 million for faculty compensation raises and increases funding for library acquisition and see CORPORATION, page 4
Benefit raises over $7k in tsunami aid BY CHRISTINA KIM CONTRIBUTING WRITER
workers who had come from all over India and Southeast Asia to help. He met an official from Thailand who came to set up a blood bank even though his own country had also been affected. “In a way, it was like we were united in grief,” Iyengar said. Dias spent the days after the tsunami checking in on family members in other towns and helping distribute a truckful of supplies her friends had gathered. They drove to southwestern Sri Lanka, one of the worst-hit areas. Their first stop was at a military base in Weerwila where they talked with military officials about distributing the aid. However, “there were complications,” Dias said. “They wanted us to leave our stuff there, but we wanted to make sure it was getting into the hands of people.” Dias and her friends then went to a Buddhist temple where a priest offered to lead them further inland. With her guide, Dias reached isolated villages packed with people and was finally able to distribute the supplies.
The tsunami relief benefit, “Children of the Tsunami: Rebuilding Lives,” held Saturday in Alumnae Hall, marked the culmination of tsunami relief efforts on campus. Featuring Indian cuisine, a silent auction and live entertainment, the fundraiser took in over $7,600 in donations for UNICEF. Over 20 student groups sponsored the benefit. “I knew that SASA (South Asian Students Association) had to do something,” said Preethi Guniganti ’05, one of the organizers of the benefit. The tsunami hit areas of Southeast Asia in December right after students left campus for winter break. Some students worried about how the Brown community would respond because students were away. But as soon as students returned to campus, relief efforts began. Guniganti e-mailed student groups and administrators, seeking sponsors for the benefit. Starting with SASA, the benefit grew into a campus-wide effort involving students, faculty, administration and even Providence businesses. Faizah Malik ’06, another organizer, thought that a benefit would be a good idea because people would be able to enjoy themselves while giving to a good cause. “It’s something that really appeals to people,” Malik said. The semiformal benefit included a dinner catered by Taste of India, a silent auction, live music and dancing. As students dined on traditional Indian cuisine, a live jazz band entertained and images of the work by UNICEF were projected overhead. The silent auction featured over 50 items, including Trinity Repertory Company tickets, a lunch with President Ruth Simmons and tickets to an April reception for former President Bill Clinton. After dinner, rock band The Good Days performed. The evening concluded with dancing that included popular Indian music. The silent auction raised at least $1,000 on its own. The highest bid, $220, was for the lunch with Simmons. Throughout the evening, students were generous with their donations. One student won $52 in a raffle, then donated the money back to UNICEF.
see TSUNAMI, page 4
see BENEFIT, page 4
Zerlina Wong / Herald
Students who attended the Children of the Tsunami semiformal fundraiser for UNICEF enjoyed an evening of dinner and dancing in Alumnae Hall on Saturday night.
Students recall tsunami aftermath BY LOIS SALDANA CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Though it is often easy to feel helpless and unsure in the midst of a crisis, Thilakshani Dias ’05 was inspired to begin her own relief efforts after the Dec. 26 Indian Ocean tsunami, which wreaked havoc on her hometown Colombo, Sri Lanka. Unlike most Americans, who saw the tsunami on television from the comfort of home, Dias and several other Brown students witnessed the shocking aftereffects firsthand in the familiar surroundings of their neighborhoods. The experience compelled Dias to start the Tsunami Relief Housing Project. “I never expected to see half the things I saw there,” Dias said. Arjun Iyengar ’05, who lives in New Jersey, was in Chennai, India, during the days following the tsunami, visiting family members and conducting research for his thesis. Chennai is a large city with over 4 million inhabitants located on the southeastern coast of India. Iyengar visited relief camps in Mahabilipuram and was impressed with the overall sense of unity among the aid
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