T H U R S D A Y APRIL 21, 2005
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXL, No. 54 FOCUS ON: FINANCIAL AID Focus looks at the financial aid taboo on campus, international students’ packages and aid at other Ivies FOCUS 3
BITE-SIZE EDUCATION Kurt Moriber ’07.5: Some halflength classes should be offered to facilitate subject sampling O P I N I O N S 15
BIG RED GETS RAIN REPRIEVE Bruno baseball pounds Cornell, 16-5, in Ithaca; postponed second game keeps men in N.Y. S P O R T S 16
TODAY
TOMORROW
mostly sunny 59 / 34
sunny 59 / 41
U. reinstates fired BuDS worker with back pay
ARA protest draws response from students, but not administration BY CHRISTOPHER CHON STAFF WRITER
Holding signs that read “Apartheid South Africa fell; Israel is next” and “Palestine must be free; Israel equals white supremacy,” around 20 members and supporters of Anti-Racist Action protested outside University Hall Wednesday, demanding that the University disclose its entire investment portfolio and divest from the state of Israel. Protesters called for President Ruth Simmons to respond publicly to their demands. Meanwhile, several student groups set up a table on the other side of the Main Green to present their positions on the Israel-Palestine conflict. “Our objective today is to have Simmons publicly address the community for once about why Brown’s investment portfolio is kept a secret,” said Dara Bayer ’08, an ARA founder. “We want to draw attention (to) and expose these serious issues and problems.” Wednesday marked the second protest this semester sponsored by ARA, the Democratic Solidarity Committee and Brown Alumni for Divestment. During the first protest Feb. 11, the groups demanded that the University divest completely from the state of Israel, all Israeli corporations and any U.S. corporations doing business with Israel. Simmons subsequently followed the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility and Investing and rejected ARA’s demands for divestment in a private letter addressed to Bayer. Last week, ARA sent Simmons a letter demanding the University disclose its entire investment portfolio. After several speeches from ARA members and supporters on Wednesday, the protesters walked into University Hall to speak with
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concerns about a specific company, we can determine whether the University has a position in that company,” Chapman wrote. ARA planned the Wednesday protest to coincide with A Day on College Hill so the group’s concerns could be publicized to both current and future students, said ARA member Matthew Hamilton ’05. “The bottom line is, we believe authority should rest democratically and not solely with (Simmons),” Hamilton said. “We’re here to put pressure on her to let her know that we’re watching her and waiting for a public response.” Several students and passersby expressed confusion over ARA’s reasoning and logic. Peter McElroy, a prospective first-year who said he was “pretty decided” on coming to Brown in the fall, described the protest as “kind of amusing, actually. It seems like they just take a few buzzwords and slap them together: ‘Palestine,’ ‘white supremacy,’ whatever,” he said.
The University has rehired with back pay a Sharpe Refectory worker who was fired for not washing her hands after entering the bathroom — where she said she only adjusted her uniform and did not touch anything. Valdi Williams, who had worked as a “limited duration employee” at The Gate since 2000 before being hired under a union contract as a dishwasher at the Ratty, was fired March 7, her second day in the position. When Sam Holzman ’05, a friend of Williams from her time at The Gate, found her “in a state of shock” in the back of The Gate a few hours after she was fired, he brought her to the Human Resources Department so she could present her side of the story. After three meetings with Human Resources administrators and a public campaign by the Student Labor Alliance, the matter was referred to Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services David Greene by the director of Brown Dining Services. Greene told The Herald that he initiated a formal “problem resolution process,” looked into the facts of the case and ultimately rehired Williams at a meeting early Wednesday afternoon. At the meeting, attended by Greene, Williams, a union representative and five members of the SLA, Williams signed a letter providing that she would be rehired to her dishwashing position, starting work Sunday, according to Seth Leibson ’05, an SLA member at the meeting. “At the request of Valdi and the union
see PROTEST, page 13
see WILLIAMS, page 4
Chris Bennett / Herald
Kevin Kliman ’06 (left) spoke with Matthew Hamilton ’05, a member of Anti-Racist Action, during their rally on the Main Green Wednesday. Simmons, but Marisa Quinn, assistant to the president, told them Simmons was not on campus and had not yet seen the letter. “Once again, there were no concrete statements,” Bayer said, “and (Quinn) didn’t offer any schedule of when Simmons would publicly respond.” In an e-mail to The Herald, Michael Chapman, vice president of public affairs and university relations, said investment portfolios are often not disclosed, not only at Brown but also at many other institutions and businesses. “Most management firms consider the portfolios they build to be a trade secret,” Chapman wrote. “To divulge those holdings is to reveal the strategies and analysis that is the managers’ stock in trade and maintains their competitive edge. In most cases, the University signs and adheres to a non-disclosure agreement.” “For the most part,” the University does not “purchase and hold securities directly,” Chapman said. Instead, it employs several managers and management firms with expertise in particular areas. “When the University community raises specific
BCA prepares for Spring Weekend BY SHAWN BAN STAFF WRITER
Chris Bennett / Herald
Supporters of the American Sign Language program spoke to students, gave out buttons and sold t-shirts on the Main Green Wednesday.
As the campus gears up for Spring Weekend shows tonight and Saturday, members of the Brown Concert Agency are seeing to day-of details ranging from setting up stages and dressing rooms to arranging a ride from the airport for performers. Elizabeth Sczudlo ’07, BCA hospitality chair, will oversee the setting up of the dressing rooms for the bands. Rooms in Meehan and Faunce House will be converted to dressing rooms on Thursday and Saturday. Citing confidentiality clauses in the contracts signed with the acts, Sczudlo declined to reveal details of the requests made by the bands, commonly known as “riders.” “It’s mostly just food and magazines. Some asked for alcohol and cigarettes, but we’re not allowed to provide that,” she said. While two or three BCA members are typically assigned to acts as “runners” to fill requests from the band, Howie Day is bringing his own runner.
Siegel said that overall the bands were “surprisingly reasonable in their requests.” According to Sczudlo, the acts will arrive at Brown through a variety of different means. Arrangements have been made to pick Howie Day up from T.F. Green Airport, while The Shins will arrive in a tour bus from a prior show in Toronto. The acts are expected to leave shortly after their sets. “Some choose to load out right after their set. Others might choose to stay around and sign autographs,” Sczudlo said. The Brunettes are scheduled to open tonight’s sold-out show at 8 p.m. at Meehan Auditorium, followed by Talib Kweli at 9 p.m. and The Shins at 10:15 p.m. On Saturday, Matt Nathanson opens at 12:30 p.m. on the Main Green, followed by Howie Day at 1:30 p.m. and Ben Folds at 3 p.m. Brown Concert Agency members have been meeting weekly with Director of Student Activities Ricky Gresh, fire marshals and Department of Public Safety staff see BCA, page 9