THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, APRIL 7, 2006
Volume CXLI, No. 45
www.browndailyherald.com
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
NO RECALL HERE “Elected,” a new mockumentary on BTV, pokes fun at UCS in an entertaining debut ARTS & CULTURE 3
DEMANDING A DIALOGUE Members of the Brown community present an open letter to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., on her Iraq war record OPINIONS 11
GOOD SEID Athlete of the Week Mary Seid ’06 on co-op cooking and the morality of stealing sweatpants SPORTS 12
Michener ’06 remembered for her cheer and love of science
TODAY
TOMORROW
showers 55 / 44
mostly cloudy 48 / 32
Providence City Council votes to divest from Sudan
Tax status of Brown Bookstore also addressed at meeting
BY CHLOE LUTTS SENIOR STAFF WRITER
BY BEN LEUBSDORF METRO EDITOR
Though Alison Michener ’06 had previously considered attending graduate school to study biology, a desire to use her passion for science to benefit others and “work with people” had recently inspired her to consider medical school, according to her thesis adviser, Assistant Professor of Biology Jennifer Hughes. It is this passion for bettering the world through science — combined Alison Michener ‘06 with a genuine concern for those around her — for which Michener will be most remembered at Brown, according to friends and professors interviewed by The Herald. Michener, who was born in Colorado but attended high school in California, where her parents reside, died March 31 while rafting in Peru. She had been vacationing with a close friend, Hae-In Kim ’06. Shirin Shakir, a student at Harvard Law School, also died in the rafting accident. Kristi Wharton, an associate professor of medical science who worked closely with Michener, described the senior’s “adventurous and upbeat nature” in an e-mail to The Herald. Michener spent a semester abroad in Australia last year and wrote home to friends about her “amazing experience,” which included traveling in the Western outback and rock climbing 10 meters above the ground. In these messages, see MICHENER, page 9
Clinton, focus of presidential rumors, to lecture on women leaders BY STU WOO CAMPUS WATCH EDITOR
It is a safe bet that many students attending Sen. Hillary Clinton’s lecture tomorrow night will be on hand not only to hear what the former first lady has to say, but to also catch a sneak peek of a woman who may be the country’s next president. Clinton, a New York Democrat, will deliver the inaugural lecture of the DohertyGranoff Forum on Women Leaders in Meehan Auditorium tomorrow at 7:45 p.m. She is considered by many political experts, including Professor of Political Science Darrell West, to be the frontrunner for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in 2008. “She has all the ingredients of a successful candidate,” said West, who is also director of the Taubman Center for Public Policy, a co-sponsor of the lecture. West said Clinton was chosen to be the inaugural speaker of the forum besee CLINTON, page 9 Editorial: 401.351.3372 Business: 401.351.3260
pitch, the team worked to promote women’s rugby in Uganda and foster international understanding. The inspiration for the trip came from captain Jennifer Hustwitt ’07, who spent time in Uganda over the past two summers, most recently through Brown’s Royce Fellowship program doing research about access to secondary school education. Last summer, she attended a game that paired a Ugandan women’s rugby
The City Council unanimously voted to divest from Sudan Thursday night, making Providence the first city METRO in the United States to do so, according to the measure’s backers. The council voted 13-0 in favor of divestment. The ordinance must be passed by the council a second time, on April 20, before it is sent to Mayor David Cicilline ’83 for his signature. “It is easy to ignore or forget that this genocide is happening,” said Ward 9 City Councilman Miguel Luna, one of the ordinance’s sponsors, before the meeting. “We are paying attention because our money is supporting this genocide.” The genocide in Sudan’s province of Darfur has left an estimated 400,000 dead since early 2003, with many more displaced, according to the Washingtonbased Coalition for International Justice. The ordinance requires that Providence divest from all companies that “provide revenues to the Sudanese government,” do not offer “substantive” benefit to the Sudanese people and have not taken steps to halt the genocide. The city has already identified at least one qualifying investment — $800,000 the city has invested in Alcatel, a French communications company. Ward 1 City Councilman David Segal, co- sponsor of the ordinance, said he hopes Providence’s divestment will spur other cities to do the same. “We hope that our action will trigger a wave of action on the municipal level around the country,” he said. “We want to do what we can to mitigate what’s happening there.” The city’s divestment came on the same day that a divestment bill was introduced in the state House of Representatives by five legislators, including Rep. Edith Ajello, D-District 3, whose district includes
see RUGBY, page 7
see DIVEST, page 9
Ashley Hess / Herald
Stephanie Bruce ’04 runs with the ball at one of the women’s rugby team’s games in Kampala, Uganda over spring break. The team went 5-3 during the 13-day trip.
Women’s rugby makes history with Uganda trip BY KAM SRIPADA STAFF WRITER
Over spring break, the women’s rugby team made history in Uganda, becoming not only the first non-African women’s team to play in SPORTS East Africa, but also the only team to score points against the best club in the country. During its 13-day expedition to Kampala, Uganda, the team won five out of eight matches against teams from Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda. Off the
U. ends bid to use RISD dorms BY ANNE WOOTTON METRO EDITOR
The possibility of using Rhode Island School of Design residence halls for Brown housing evaporated after RISD’s housing lottery for the fall semester, ending hopes that the halls could be used to alleviate the University’s current housing shortage. At a March 2 meeting of the Undergraduate Council of Students, President Ruth Simmons mentioned University administrators were looking into this potential solution to the housing crunch, which left some students living in converted lounges in Keeney Quadrangle last fall. “When that was all said and done, it see RISD, page 4
Justin Elliott / Herald
The University will no longer attempt to buy Rhode Island School of Design residence halls like this house on the corner of Prospect and Waterman streets.
195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island
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