T U E S D A Y MARCH 1, 2005
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXL, No. 23
www.browndailyherald.com
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
SMOKE OUT Statewide smoking ban in effect today; students and business owners react METRO
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KICK THE KEG Nick Mark ’06 and Matt Lawrence ’06: UCS proposal overlooks keg safety and environmental concerns OPINIONS 7
PICKY, PICKY Adam Nelson ’06: Improvements now would make daily life better — and future donations bigger OPINIONS 7
TODAY
TOMORROW
snow 36 / 25
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AmCiv to offer Master’s in Public Humanities
University conditionally OKs Shanghai liquor license
BY SHAWN BAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Several community leaders, including Ward 2 City Councilwoman Rita Williams, formally objected to a liquor license application from new Thayer Street restaurant Shanghai at a hearing before the Board of Licenses Friday. During the proceedings, Shanghai owners Michel Boutros and Ray Hugh suggested a series of voluntary restrictions that are intended to ease the concerns of community leaders and University administrators. The owners have applied for a Class BV liquor license, which would permit them to serve any alcoholic beverage. Shanghai, a Chinese restaurant, will fill the space previously occupied by Café Java at 272 Thayer St. The board has taken the restaurant’s license application under advisement and said it will reach a decision by Monday. Darrell Brown, director of state and community relations, represented the University at the hearing. University administrators have recorded a formal objection, but the adoption of the owners’ proposed restrictions would render the objection moot, Brown said. The owners agreed to surrender the liquor license should Shanghai cease to operate as a restaurant or if they are found in violation of any restrictions. These stipulations address concerns voiced by University administrators and community leaders regarding the potential transfer of the liquor license if Shanghai were to go out of business. In particular, administrators fear the license could be used to open a new bar, according to Michael Chapman, vice
The Corporation approved a new Master’s Degree in Public Humanities in the Department of American Civilization on Saturday. The program, providing training for careers in museums and other historical preservation organizations, will be offered beginning Fall 2005. Steven Lubar, professor of American civilization and director of the John Nicholas Brown Center for the Study of American Civilization, will oversee the new program. The Master’s in Public Humanities expands and replaces the existing Master’s in Museum Studies, adding topics that go beyond the scope of museum studies. The program will include study of historic preservation, digitization, public memorials and journalism on art, history and culture. The new program will require four semesters and two practicums for completion. The practicums will be crucial to the new curriculum, Lubar said. Under each practicum, students will intern at local museums and cultural organizations and complete individual projects. The projects will expose the students to the real work of public humanities and will be supervised by professionals in the field. Some of the possible institutions being considered for practicums are Brown’s Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, the New Bedford Whaling Museum, the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, the Rhode Island Historical Society and the Smithsonian Institution. According to Lubar, the idea for the Master’s in Public Humanities had been discussed for a long time. “It’s been talked about for five years or so. There was a sense that it would be good to expand the (museum studies) program to include bigger issues of how to present the humanities. We wanted to incorporate things like state humanities commissions, theater and dance, and historic presentation in the program,” he said. In the proposal approved by the faculty on Feb. 1 and the Corporation last weekend, the Department of American Civilization notes “no other university, to our knowledge, offers an M.A. in public humanities,” although around 20 universities grant degrees in museum studies. Lubar said new courses would be introduced for the program, but there were no plans to bring in new faculty. “There will be several new courses that aren’t offered now, including an introductory course to public humanities and a course on methods and techniques of public humanities. But the program is very multi-disciplinary, and a lot of courses are taught in other departments, such as history and anthropology. We hope to have some visiting professors, and a lot of talks by guest speakers,” he said. The program also seeks to take advantage of Brown’s relationship with RISD to offer opportunities for collaboration between the two institutions. Planners hope to work with RISD’s Urban Design Institute and Landscape Architecture program.
BY ROBBIE COREY-BOULET METRO EDITOR
Gabriella Doob / Herald
Newly arriving Chinese restaurant Shanghai faces objections by several community leaders as it applies for a liquor license.
“One of the strengths of the program is that it includes all these related fields, and we hope to bring RISD into the mix. We could have RISD students working in this area together with our students from Brown,” Lubar said. He cited a current exhibition created by students in AC 190, Sec. 3: “Theory and Methods of Oral History,” currently on display at Carriage House, as an example of the type of collaboration that could be done with RISD. Brown and RISD students worked together to create the exhibit about artists and institution builders in the Providence arts community. Lubar said in addition to broadening the scope of the Master’s in Museum Studies program, the Master’s in Public Humanities will also have the resources to attract more students. “Right now we’ve usually had two or three students each year, but we hope to
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CONTINUING CORPORATION COVERAGE TODAY: Master’s Degree in Public Humanities. TOMORROW: 24-hour student study center in the SciLi.
have 10 students each year in the new program. We’re in the process of accepting admissions for next year, and we’d love to have Brown students apply for admission this fall,” he said. One student noted that the program has begun to receive some publicity among American civilization concentrators. “It’s just started to get a buzz, and people have started to talk about the new program in the past couple of weeks. It’s definitely worth consideration. I’m not aware of any other similar graduate programs in the U.S., and it could be very interesting,” said Heather Velez ’05.
see LIQUOR, page 4
Classes make virtual leap into blogosphere BY TARYN MARTINEZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Imagine not having to rouse yourself from a nap and run out the door still in your pajamas to make it to section on time. Imagine not having to walk back to your dorm in the dark when your section ends at TECHNOLOGY 9:30 p.m. in the classroom Sound too good to be true? Some professors and students are taking the matter into their own hands and making sections a little closer to home — by communicating from the comfort of their rooms. The answer lies in using Internet technology, specifically blogs and “virtual sections.” Student blogs can be personal or available for public comment. Virtual sections are discussion boards where anyone can start a new topic or comment on a topic, or “thread,” already present. Using blogs and virtual sections in place of traditional sections is still relatively new on the University’s campus.
“Others have used it in a supplemental way,” said Stephanie Birdsall, lead communication specialist for Computing and Information Services. “But Ross Cheit is the first person that’s (used a blog in place of section) so far.” The first class to utilize both blogs and virtual sections is PS 105: “Ethics and Public Policy.” Associate Professor of Political Science Ross Cheit uses both mediums as a substitute for sections, and though this is his first semester using them, he already sees “some really good indications.” The option of not answering to a post right away allows students to mull over and research their responses. “What’s happening here would never happen in a one-hour section,” he said. “People are really thinking.” Cheit first became involved with blogs and virtual sections in Technology and Resources for Enhanced Education, a program that teaches professors how to bring technology into the classroom. After learning how to use the two formats on WebCT, Cheit allowed his
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students to choose the one they preferred. He ended up with about 30 students using blogs and the rest participating in virtual sections, some large and some small. Cheit is “still assessing” the system, but said “they both have real potential to create something that doesn’t otherwise happen. On a blog … you can be creative.” Though Cheit said that most students have responded well to the new mediums, he acknowledged that while they make “some people more comfortable,” others “would prefer traditional sections.” Melissa Riess ’06 is involved with one of Cheit’s virtual sections, which she chose over blogging because “that’s what’s most interesting — talking to other people about their ideas.” Her experience with the virtual section has been positive. “It allows people to have more detailed responses to questions, without having people interrupt,” she said. see BLOGS, page 5 News tips: herald@browndailyherald.com