M O N D A Y APRIL 18, 2005
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXL, No. 51
www.browndailyherald.com
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
ELECTIONS UNDERWAY Inside: Profiles of the candidates for UCS president and UFB chair CAMPUS NEWS 5 Voting began Sunday and runs through 10 p.m. Tuesday.
Poet and professor Creeley remembered at memorial service
Michal Zapendowski ’07: Here’s the anti-occupation O P I N I O N S 11 argument that ARA rhetoric obscures M. lax crosses out Penn; equestrian brings home Ivy Crown; track squads dominate at home S P O R T S 12
TODAY
TOMORROW
sunny 67 / 40
sunny 70 / 49
BUCC addresses worker firing, ASL moves at second meeting
FIT FOR FUN
BY ALEXANDRA BARSK SENIOR STAFF WRITER
BY LOIS SALDANA STAFF WRITER
At the memorial service for celebrated poet and professor of English Robert Creeley held in the Salomon Center Friday, friends, relatives, colleagues, students and admirers of his work were welcomed by the sound of his voice in recorded readings of his poems, unmistakable with their simultaneous simplicity and complicated rhythms. Creeley, who joined the Brown faculty in 2003, died March 30 at the age of 78 in a hospital in Odessa, Texas. Associated with both the Beat and Black Mountain poets, Creeley remained prolific until the end of his life. According to Forrest Gander, professor of English and director of the Literary Arts Program, Creeley did not write on a regular schedule. “Things would come to him, and he would always be ready for the muse when it came,” Gander said. Creeley published over 60 books of poetry during his lifetime. The memorial’s program included readings of Creeley’s work by his colleagues, students and friends. The service ended with a series of video and audio clips of Creeley sharing his poetry and his life stories. Gander opened the readings with an asyet-unpublished poem titled “I think.” But before beginning the recitation he explained how difficult it was to read Creeley’s work — with its complex line breaks — in front of the poet’s wife, Penelope, and daughter, Hannah, because they had heard him read it the “right way.” Professor of English C.D. Wright read “Goodbye,” a poem from Creeley’s book “Life and Death,” which ends with the lines: “I know this body is impatient./ I know I constitute only a meagre voice and mind,/ Yet I loved, I love./ I want no sentimentality./ I want no more than home.” Michael Gizzi, also a writer, said of Creeley,“I don’t think I ever met a more real human being. I think that’s why we all miss him so much — you don’t run into such real
At the second meeting of the Brown University Community Council on Friday — its last meeting of the year — members of the audience asked University officials to address the firing of a dining services worker and cuts to the American Sign Language program. The meeting was attended by panel members representing various parts of the University community and by about 25 audience members, an increase from the first meeting. Even though most of the time was allocated to formal agenda items, there was an opportunity for non-panel members to raise questions and topics for debate. Sam Holzman ’05 took advantage of the open floor to bring up his concern over the firing of Sharpe Refectory worker Valdi Williams. Holzman spoke about his friendship with Williams, whom he has known during his time at Brown and called a “great person” and a “hard worker.” Holzman said he came “unaffiliated, as a concerned member of the community” to raise awareness about the way Williams was fired from her job. According to recent accounts, Williams was terminated some weeks ago from her job at the Sharpe Refectory after failing to wash her hands
see CREELEY, page 7
Gabriella Doob / Herald
Kids from the YMCA, Fox Point neighborhood and the Boys and Girls Club joined Brown volunteers for a Fit ‘n Fun field day on Friday afternoon.
Puerto Rican event considers heritage, independence BY KATE SPITZER-COHN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
A speech on Puerto Rican independence by Rubén Berríos Martínez, president of the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP), brought many of the students in attendance to their feet. Berríos, the keynote speaker for the convocation that opened Puerto Rican Cultural Week Saturday night, has been a senator of Puerto Rico and the PIP candidate for governor several times over the
Local food requires better networking BY KIM STICKELS STAFF WRITER
There are barriers on the road from farm to cafeteria plate, especially if the food is locally grown. The lack of a local system to coordinate efforts between farmers and local institutional food purchasers is one of the primary problems for those trying to initiate local food programs in Rhode Island, said participants in a roundtable discussion on locally grown food Friday. Louella Hill ’04, food system coordinator for Brown Dining Services, organized the discussion, which included farmers, BuDS representatives, representatives from other universities and public schools and government officials, to discuss ways to increase the amount of locally grown food Rhode Island students consume. Brown Dining Services, which currently offers students a variety of local food options according to the season including milk, eggs, peaches, apples and peppers,
see BUCC, page 9
is seeking to expand the amount of locally grown food offered to students. Yet problems of volume, distribution, cost and efficiency continue to deter BuDS and other local schools from acquiring locally grown food. “So much of the barriers have to do with the different parties not talking to each other. In order to transition to something more local, you need to build personal relationships,” said Noah Fulmer ’05. “We wanted a connecting of people and all the different parts that would make a local purchasing system work,” Hill said. Roundtable participants stressed the importance of connecting farmers with buyers. “It’s all a matter of communication. If farmers saw a demand out there for baby carrots, they’d grow baby carrots,” said Al Bettencourt, director of the see FOOD, page 7
past 30 years. He is a strong advocate for Puerto Rican independence, in spite of the lack of popular support for this opinion. Still, he said, though other voters may not agree with his positions, they do respect him. Berríos’ talk, however, was not purely confined to the need for Puerto Rican independence. He also spoke to the many Puerto Rican students in the audience not born and raised in Puerto Rico, emphasizing that patriotism had little to do with language or location, and much more to do with taking pride in one’s heritage and homeland. History was also a significant topic in Berríos’ speech. He described the relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States from the earliest interactions between the two during the SpanishAmerican War. The United States originally claimed Puerto Rico for use as a Caribbean military base in 1898. That lasted until nonviolent protests led to the closure of the Vieques base in 2004, which in turn resulted in the exodus of U.S. military personnel from the island. Berríos said that the colonialist relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico leaves Puerto Rico dependent on the United States for federal money, but without the full benefits that either statehood or independence would convey. Statehood, he said, would be disadvantageous to the United States, and thus is unlikely, because of the relative poverty of Puerto Rico to other American states. However, this was not the sole reason he gave for advocating independence. A
strong national spirit was central to his message, as well as anger over the suppression of the independence movement through incarceration and exportation by the U.S. government. He also spoke of the need to connect the problems in Puerto Rico to larger global problems, echoing a statement made by Carmen Andrea Rivera ’05 in her senior reflection at the opening of the convocation. Rivera, while discussing the meaning of her Puerto Rican heritage, stressed the need to use that heritage as a bridge to a larger world view. “Anyone who cried ‘paz’ (peace) in Vieques should also demand peace in Iraq,” she said. The evening was planned by Ayana Morales ’06 and Susana Rigau ’06, co-programmers for Puerto Rican Culture Week. The two teamed up because they felt they would together have a fuller perspective on Puerto Rican students at Brown — Morales was raised in New York, whereas Rigau was born and raised in Puerto Rico. Last year’s event had focused more on the experience of Puerto Ricans living on the mainland, they said. They wanted to give more of the native perspective this year, which was why they invited Berríos. The convocation also included a speech by Cynthia Thaler ’08 on her experiences as a Puerto Rican raised in the United States, emphasizing the connection she still feels to her culture in spite of the fact that she was raised speaking English in New York. A lyrical and instrumental poetry performance by Lydia Pérez rounded out the event. Puerto Rican Cultural Week continues with events through Friday.