Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Page 1

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD TUESDAY, MARCH 14, 2006

Volume CXLI, No. 33

www.browndailyherald.com

An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891 CRITICAL CONDITION The Critical Review attempts to overcome budget restraints and poor professor reponse rates CAMPUS NEWS 5

SERVICE SURGE Providence Today, Part II: City jobs have increased over the past decade with a rise in service sector openings METRO 3

REPLACING RUTH Jacob Schuman ’08: If Ruth goes, Harvard President Larry Summers is the logical replacement OPINIONS 11

TODAY

TOMORROW

showers 55 / 30

showers 43 / 26

Coalition forms to save the Brown Bookstore BY MELANIE DUCH SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Just three days after the University Bookstore Review Committee issued a report recommending the Brown Bookstore be outsourced, a coalition dedicated to saving the bookstore’s independence organized and launched a Web site. The Save the Bookstore Coalition has gained local support from, among others, Professor of History Gordon Wood and Ward 1 City Councilman David Segal and has attracted backers from as far away as Texas. Since the Web site was launched on March 6, the coalition has grown to include over 120 politicians, students, professors, local community activists and alums. The Web site — which includes an official Save the Bookstore blog and a “mythbusters” fact sheet — receives an average of 2,800 hits per day, according to Brian Sweeney GS, the coalition’s media contact. The coalition, which is not affiliated with the Brown Bookstore, was started by a group of University graduate students following a meeting between members of the committee and the Graduate Student Council. Members of the GSC “were very dissatisfied with some answers that were given” to their questions about the recom-

mendation, Sweeney said. The GSC soon passed a resolution opposing outsourcing of the bookstore, and the coalition was born shortly after. “This time last week we didn’t exist,” said Sian Roberts GS, co-chair of the coalition. “Last Saturday a few of us grumbled about the recommendation. By Monday, I was phoning (council members), community members, David Segal. I was on the phone and e-mail the whole day.” Roberts said the coalition believes the detrimental effects of outsourcing the bookstore will affect both the Brown community and the larger Providence community. Concerns among members of the Brown community include a potential rise in textbook prices and the possible unwillingness of a large corporation such as Barnes and Noble to cater to the University’s specific needs. Roberts said Barnes and Noble often sells textbooks to students at prices up to 5 to 7 percent above list prices. “Even if you compare textbook prices to the Barnes and Noble Web site, the ones in the university bookstores (owned by Barnes and Noble) are higher. You’re really see BOOKSTORE, page 9

Student thwarts would-be robbers near Waterman and Hope streets BY ROSS FRAZIER SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Two males attempted to mug Ben Donahue ’09 last night around 11 p.m. as the first-year was walking from the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center to Perkins Hall. Donahue — who had just spent nearly two hours practicing martial arts and learning how to defend himself against multiple assailants — put his skills to use during the attempted robbery when he fought off the two men. Donahue, who was not injured during the incident, told The Herald one tall white male and one black male, who was of average height and “stocky,” came up behind him at the corner of Waterman and Hope streets and asked for his money. “My initial thought was, ‘I’m a college student. I don’t have any money. I can give you meal credits, but no money,’” Donahue said. “I ended up just telling them ‘No.’” The two men, who Donahue said were wearing black hooded sweatshirts, pushed him into a bush. Donahue said he reacted by spinning around and kicking one man in the stomach, “knocking the wind out of him.” The man was wheezing and hunched over in pain, Donahue said. Donahue said he then used his Hap Ki Do skills to neutralize the other assailant, injuring the man’s arm and causing the bone to stick out of his bloody appendage. Both men then walked off “briskly,” cursing him, Donahue said. “I kept on going to Perkins, but I did so a bit faster because I was kind of concerned the guys might have had 20 friends around the corner,” Donahue said. At first, Donahue said he was hesitant to call the police because he was worried about being charged with assault, but he ultimately decided to do so because he knew he acted

in self-defense. Donahue said he was not threatened with a weapon, though he does not know if the assailants were armed or not. Officers from the Providence Police Department and the Department of

Editorial: 401.351.3372 Business: 401.351.3260

see CRIME, page 4

Jean Yves Chainon / Herald

From left to right, Lamia Khan ’08, Malika Ali ’09, Khairieh Abbas GS and Noor Najeeb ’09 are some of the University’s Muslim women who choose to wear the traditional hijab, or veil.

Choosing the headscarf

Female Muslim students dispel veiling stereotypes BY REBECCA JACOBSON SENIOR STAFF WRITER

When Lamia Khan ’08 returned to campus for the spring semester, she worried how classmates might FEATURE perceive her change in attire. She was concerned she might be discriminated against or judged. Khan had not dyed her hair or pierced her nose; instead, she had donned the hijab, a scarf worn around the head by Muslim women worldwide. “I was really worried before I started wearing it, but I feel like it’s fine now,” Khan said. “The transition hasn’t been nearly as hard as I thought it would be. People have asked me questions, but everyone’s really supportive.” Before making her decision, Khan thought about wearing the hijab for nearly six months. She said though she had always respected women who wore it, she had few female relatives who did. Once

she came to college, she said she began to learn more about Islam and think more seriously about its place in her life. Khan spent her winter break reading about the Koran’s expectations concerning modest dress. She said that after much introspection, she decided wearing a scarf would strengthen her personal devotion to God. When she returned to campus, several of her friends from the Brown Muslim Students’ Association threw her a scarf party — she now has “a huge collection,” Atena Asiaii ’08 said. Khan may be one of the few women to don the hijab after arriving at Brown, but she is in the company of other hijabi, or Muslim women who wear a headscarf. Qadira Abdul-Ali ’06 estimated only seven or eight students at Brown wear the hijab, but she said this feels like a “drastic increase.” Abdul-Ali, who has worn a scarf for almost seven years, said she was one see HIJAB, page 9

Opening the doors of the president’s house BY KAM SRIPADA STAFF WRITER

An unassuming brick building set back from the street by wrought iron fences, the president’s house, located at 55 Power St., is both a gathering place for members of the Brown community and forms a chapter of Brown’s history on College Hill. Since assuming the presidency in 2001, President Ruth Simmons has used her “wonderful house” to make ties between people on campus and outside guests drawn in by events. The Gregorian Revival-style house has a central, three-story section flanked by two-story wings. Once inside, guests encounter a marble fireplace, marble floors and a spiral staircase. Around the house, the landscaped lawn provides room for larger gatherings and features a recessed grass patio. Designed by William Aldrich and originally built in 1922 as the home of Rush Sturges, the house was sold to the University by the Sturges family in 1947, according to Encyclopedia Brunoniana. President Henry Wriston was the first University president to reside in the house. In 1970, a later resident, the wife

Kam Sripada / Herald

President Ruth Simmons has lived in this Gregorian Revival-style house on Power Street since assuming her position in 2001. of President Donald Horning, comment- here to this advice, frequently opening ed that the house is so large, it “needs a her house to student groups and comlot of people.” munity members as well as more notable guests of the University. An evening at 55 Power St. see PRESIDENT, page 6 Today, Simmons said she tries to ad-

195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island

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