THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2006
Volume CXLI, No. 34
www.browndailyherald.com
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891 STEP INTO MY OFFICE Concentration advising varies widely across departments, and some programs are strapped by limited resources CAMPUS NEWS 5
KICK THE CAN A Coca-Cola ban at Swarthmore and other schools sparks an independent investigation CAMPUS WATCH 3
Plus/minus fails key test
THE SPIRIT OF ‘69 Ira Magaziner ’69 and Elliott Maxwell ’68 argue that pluses and minuses would cheapen the New Curriculum OPINIONS 11
TODAY
TOMORROW
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sunny / wind 43 / 25
UN FESTIVAL DE FILM
Faculty could still vote to change grading system BY CHLOE LUTTS SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The College Curriculum Council voted Tuesday against adding pluses and minuses to Brown’s grading system. The six-to-seven vote followed nearly an hour and a half of debate on the pros and cons of pluses and minuses. The CCC drafted six possible changes to the grading system but ultimately voted against sending any proposal for more differentiated grading to the Faculty Executive Committee, the body that sets the agenda for faculty meetings. Since the FEC is made up entirely of professors, and the faculty as a whole ultimately decides on any changes to the curriculum, the CCC represents the last chance for students to have an official voice in the decision-making process. The six changes proposed were to add pluses and minuses to all letter grades; to add pluses and minuses but omit the A-plus grade; to add only pluses; to add pluses and minuses to only B’s and C’s; to use pluses and minuses on internal transcripts only; and to add new grades of A/B and B/C to the current system. As a result of the vote, the plus/minus proposal will not be brought to the entire faculty by the CCC, but professors still have the power to suggest changes to the
PRO-CHOICE
Lucia Donatelli / Herald
Sarah Weddington, who successfully argued Roe v. Wade in 1973, spoke last night in Salomon 101. campus news 5
curriculum by requesting that the FEC add their proposal to the faculty agenda for a vote. Dean of the College Paul Armstrong, who chairs the CCC, told The Herald the next step is to inform Dean of the Graduate School Sheila Bonde that the CCC is not proposing anything to the FEC. The Graduate Council has already voted to send the FEC a proposal to introduce pluses and minuses to the Grad School’s grading system. Armstrong said during the meeting that changes to the undergraduate College’s grading system would likely be discussed by the faculty if it considers the proposal to add pluses and minuses to the Grad School grading system. Jonathan Waage, professor of biology and senior adviser to the dean, was one of the seven CCC members who voted against pluses and minuses. Although he said he was “opposed to any change at all,” he proposed the A/B, B/C option “if we have to go in that direction.” He believed this was a better way to address concerns “about the number of boxes we have to put students in.” The three student members of the CCC also opposed any change. Although most of the committee’s deliberations concerned the merits of the various suggested grading systems, they also addressed the issue of who should be making this decision. Waage said this “is a faculty decision to make but it is not a faculty issue — it is a University issue.” He said he would vote against any change for pedagogical reasons. James Dreier, professor of philosophy, said in the meeting that conversations with students over the past few weeks have changed his opinion. He reminded the committee they are “supposed to represent the University community.” “There is something to be said for deferring to the people who this most affects,” whether the committee agrees with them or not, Dreier said. Luther Spoehr, lecturer in education and vice chair of the council, and Armstrong both advocated for changing the system. Spoehr argued that the lack of definition in the current system “increases your grade consciousness to an unhealthy degree” because students “hate” getting B’s. He also raised the concern that the profusion of A’s on Brown see CCC, page 4
provfrenchfilm.com
‘Tar Angel’ was among the movies that appeared at the French Film Festival, which played at the Cable Car Cinema and Cafe.
Housing prices spike in wake of ‘Providence Renaissance’
Inflated market causes concern over affordability BY MARY-CATHERINE LADER FEATURES EDITOR
As the so-called “Providence Renaissance” has attracted national interest and new residents, house prices have soared, often beyond PROVIDENCE the reach of working class families. TODAY: Providence has Third in a series become an increasingly large part of the Boston housing market, but federal housing funding has been cut, and construction costs have shot up with rising energy and utility
Rock band Ted Leo and the Pharmacists will open for Wilco at Spring Weekend this year, Brown Concert Agency Chair Elizabeth Trongone ’06 told The Herald. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists will perform in Meehan Auditorium on Thursday, April 20, followed by indie rock outfit Wilco. Trongone told The Herald last week that Latin group Yerba Buena will open for rapper Common on the Main Green on Saturday,
One student, discouraged by incorrect score, decided against applying to Brown
The SAT scores of about 80 applicants to Brown were affected by a recently revealed scoring error, according to Dean of Admission Jim Miller ’73. Nevertheless, no admissions decisions at Brown were changed because of the error, Miller said. Approximately 4,000 students who took the SAT exam in October received incorrectly low scores due to problems with scanning answer sheets, the College Board announced last week. 83 percent of the incorrect scores were off
by fewer than 40 points. The mistake affected 0.8 percent of students who took the October test. Only 5 percent of the affected tests were off by 100 points or more, and only 16 tests were off by more than 200 points. The New York Times reported Tuesday that some tests were off by more than 400 points and that an additional 1,600 tests will be rescored. “When we got the notification (we) looked at all 80 students,” Miller said, adding that the “vast majority of the changes were miniscule.” The largest change among Brown applicants was one score that was
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see PROVIDENCE, page 6
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists to open for Wilco at Spring Weekend
SAT scoring error affects 80 students at Brown, 4,000 total BY CHLOE LUTTS SENIOR STAFF WRITER
prices. Housing demand has far outpaced supply, a sharp departure from the 1990s, when the market was in slight recession, according to Chris Barnett, spokesman for Rhode Island Housing, which has financed affordable housing development in Providence neighborhoods for nearly 30 years. “Fifteen years ago there were a lot of abandoned houses, but the big problem now is escalating values,” said Barbara Fields, executive director of the Rhode
raised by 150 points. But in each case involving significantly altered scores, Miller said, the corrected scores were lower than scores the students had submitted from other sittings of the test. In short, “nobody was disadvantaged” by the scoring error, Miller said. No admissions decisions were changed based on the corrected scores, including early decision results. But at least one student decided against applying to Brown because of the scoring mistake. The Times re-
195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island
see SATS, page 8
April 22. Trongone said it cost $7,500 to bring Ted Leo and the Pharmacists to Brown. She said the act was a particularly compelling choice because of its ability to blend musical elements. “Ted Leo comes from a punk background; he started in punk bands,” she said. “But then he kind of transitioned into more pop and rock music — and he writes some really good pop songs.” In addition to its musicianship, Trongone said BCA was also drawn by the act’s energetic stage presence. “He’s known for his high-energy performance,” she said. “We look for someone who gets a good performance.” BCA still has $12,000 remaining in its budget — a considerable sum of money — for two additional opening acts, Trongone said. “For Thursday, we’re hoping for a bigger ticket opener,” she said. “But for Saturday at noon, we’re looking for a (disc jockey) or local band.” Trongone said BCA tentatively expects to spend between $7,000 and $10,000 on an opener for the Thursday night bill and between $2,000 and $4,000 for an opener for Saturday. The final lineup may be settled on by this Friday, she said. — Jonathan Sidhu News tips: herald@browndailyherald.com