Monday, April 4, 2005

Page 1

M O N D A Y APRIL 1, 2005

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXL, No. 41

www.browndailyherald.com

An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891

PLAY JUST PLAIN SUCKS Student effort not worth it A R T S & C U LT U R E 13 FOCUS ON: UNRELATED ITEMS I N S I D E 14

U. CAPITAL CAMPAIGN IN ‘ABSOLUTE QUIET PHASE’ Simmons will mime fundraising requests to wealthiest donors MONEY

15

WRISTON TO BE ED OPTIONAL For students who ‘don’t want to learn’ H O U S E & H O M E 16 ARA PROTESTING SOMETHING AGAIN O L D N E W S 17

TODAY

TOMORROW

cloudy with a chance

raining cats and

of meatballs

dogs

Ratty latest victim of Thayer Street closures Simmons: BY ALVIN THEODORE SIMON CALENDAR EDITOR

The Sharpe Refectory will close its doors Friday in response to increased competition from neighboring eateries and declining profit margins, continuing a trend of Thayer Street business closures that has called into question College Hill’s economic viability. The Ratty’s demise “was a long time coming,” according to Virginia Dunleavy, associate director of Dining Services. Lastditch efforts to save the cafeteria — including this year’s “eclectic, though somewhat ridiculous” highway traffic decoration scheme — proved to be “something of a failure,” Dunleavy said. As Dining Services attempted to bolster the Ratty’s public image, a series of themecentered meals led to some “questionable” spending on behalf of the cafeteria’s management, Dunleavy said. “People may think a giant Eiffel Tower model comes cheap,” she said. “I’m afraid those people are dead wrong — something we found out the hard way.” Though botched promotions surely played their part, last week’s rejection of the Ratty’s application for a Class BX liquor license ultimately led administrators to deem the cafeteria a failure, according to Michael Chapman, vice president for public affairs and University relations. “That decision really hurt us,” Chapman said. “We had some big plans for the Roots and Shoots line.” Though Chapman refused to elaborate on these plans, he indicated that some of the cafeteria’s vegan fare may have been replaced with chasers and bar condiments. The liquor license application drew protest from a number of community leaders who feared its approval would expedite the decline of one of the city’s more prosperous residential districts, said License Administrator Richard Aitchison. Ronald Dwight ’66, who serves on the board of the College Hill Neighborhood Association, said the placement of another alcohol-serving establishment would have

Career Development encouraging class of 2005 to “think reality TV” BY APRIL WILKNER SENIOR ENTERTAINMENT INSIDE

Encouraged by the success of “America’s Next Top Model” runner-up Yaya Johnson ’04, the Career Development Center is encouraging more Brown seniors to audition for reality television shows as a path to success. The “Think Reality” initiative, spearheaded by CDC Associate Director Barbara Peoples, has produced a handout on how to make oneself marketable to different types of reality television. The handout instructs students on the process of appearing “benignly insane” in casting calls and includes a table to help students decide which shows to audition for. Eileen Pratap ’05 said she was sursee CAREER, page 6

Men ‘dumb’ BY SILVER WALDENWOOD SENIOR CAMBRIDGE CORRESPONDENT

Anne Geddes / Herald

Last week’s rejection of the Ratty’s application for a Class BX liquor license ultimately led administrators to deem the cafeteria a failure and close it down. been “just plain inappropriate” for the East sure will force the University to “pursue alternate forms of revenue,” said Dean of Side. “The Ratty has, shall we say, something the College Paul Armstrong. “Food service sales are a huge boon to of a reputation for pandering to lust and alcoholism,” Dwight said. “Allowing that us,” Armstrong said, citing cheap food supplace to serve booze really would have sig- pliers and preparation standards that “have admittedly been on the decline.” nified the beginning of the end.” “Nearly 90 percent of those meal plan The Ratty also fell victim to steep competition brought on by new and “wildly charges are pure profit,” Armstrong said. As for alternative revenue sources, successful” Thayer Street upstarts, accordPresident Ruth Simmons said administraing to several dining services employees. “When Pizza Grille came, we definitely tors are considering “several items on the saw a dent in business, but we thought we table,” though none has emerged as a clear could recover,” she said. “But now there’s La favorite. “Now I’m not pushing for any particular Luna. And with the Nice Slice on the way? I don’t know who can compete with that, but option, but I hear massage parlors mean big business in Rhode Island,” Simmons it’s certainly not us.” The fall in revenue due to the Ratty’s clo- said.

President Ruth Simmons spurred a national controversy over spring break when she told a conference on women in the sciences that “innate differences” between the sexes make men “total idiots.” “Let’s face it: Men are dumb,” Simmons told the National Association for Women in Science and Engineering at its annual spring luncheon. “Am I right, girlfriends?” Massachusetts Institute of Technology biologist Clancy Hopkins said he felt physically ill while listening to Simmons and said he and several others left the room midway through her speech. But a worker at the restaurant at which the luncheon was held, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said there was something bad in the pasta primavera. Speaking to a primarily female audience, Simmons laid out “three broad hypotheses about the sources of the very substantial disparities” between men and women. They included the “toilet-seatleaving-up” hypothesis, the “sit-on-thecouch-drinking-beer” hypothesis and the “my-penis-my-penis-my-penis” hypothesis. “And despite all this, they think they’re better than us,” Simmons said of the notquite-as-fair sex. “In truth, we women should be the ones saying, ‘Bitch, make me a sandwich!’ ” Though many in the national media have since characterized Simmons’ speech as insensitive toward men, some who attended the luncheon said Simmons’ remarks have been taken out of context. “These were unprepared, off-the-cuff comments that weren’t intended to be see SIMMONS, page 6

University admin shuffle continues With Goldberger as new athletic director, Simmons to coach m. hockey BY EDDIE NOVAK FLAK FOR THE MAN

Coming fast on the heels of the March 23 announcement that Director of Admission Michael Goldberger will soon take over as athletic director, a number of additional shifts within the University administration were announced Sunday. Taking many by surprise, President Ruth Simmons saide at a special faculty meeting she will step down April 30 to become head coach of the men’s ice hockey team, replacing current coach Roger Grillo. “Roger Grillo has done great service to the University in his eight years as coach, and he will be sorely missed,” Simmons said. “But I’m sick of raising money and running (Brown University Community Council) meetings. I want something I can really sink my teeth into, and I figure, hey, if Goldie can run athletics, then I can run one measly little team.” “We’ve got some great first-years on the team, and I think we can go places next season with a little luck and maybe some injuries on the (Cornell) Big Red squad,” Simmons added. The Bears fin-

Editorial: 401.351.3372 Business: 401.351.3269

ished last season 16-14-3, 9-11-2 in the ECACHL. Grillo, when reached for comment, wept uncontrollably. Taking over as Brown’s 19th President will be Gretchen Willis, currently director of Brown University Dining Services, according to Chancellor Stephen Robert. Though traditionally the president of the University is selected by the Corporation by means of a national search with student, faculty and administration input, University officials have chosen to forgo this lengthy process. “We were going to conduct a nationwide search, interview finalist candidates on campus and make a final recommendation to the Corporation, but that sounded like a lot of work, so we decided to just skip all that and just promote from within,” Robert said. Robert praised Willis’ work as director of BuDS, noting her leadership makes her uniquely qualified to serve as president of the University. “Gretchen’s innovative leadership has given us Trattoria and the Fruit Route. It’s that sort of out-of-the-box thinking that the University needs right now,” Robert said. “She is the only person in

195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island

the country qualified to lead Brown at this point in time, we think,” he added. “This is a great day,” Willis said. “It’s a fantastic day, a freakin’ wonderful day.” While vague about her exact plans as president, Willis said she would focus on increasing the number of tackey informational signs on campus. According to David Greene, vice president for campus life and student services, taking Willis’ place as director of BuDS will be current Dean of the College Paul Armstrong. “What the hell, why not?” Greene said. “He has the administrative experience to manage the Ratty and V-Dub, and he’s an expert on the literature of Henry James, so somehow that will factor in. Maybe themed meals or something. It’ll be great.” Armstrong was not enthusiastic about his position, however. “This is not such a great day,” he said. “I am not even remotely qualified for this position. Am I being punished for something? Have I upset my masters in some way?” There has been no official word yet as see SHUFFLE, page 3 News tips: herald@browndailyherald.com


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