The Brown Daily Herald T hursday, O ctober 4, 2007
Volume CXLII, No. 82
Burglaries on campus spike as DPS considers dorm security By Kristina Kelleher Senior Staf f Writer
On-campus burglaries increased sharply last year, rising from 16 in 2005 to 58 in 2006, according to the 2006 crime statistics recently released by the Department of Public Safety. Of the 58 burglaries, 46 were in residence halls. While 2006 saw a dip in larcenies reported to DPS, there was a spike in burglaries in on-campus residential buildings, according to Chief of Police and Director of Public Safety Mark Porter. “There is a huge amount of evidence that suggests crime is happening inside the residence halls,” Porter said. Because of this, Porter said he would like to see a security presence in the first floor lobbies of residence halls and areas immediately outside. “That’s something I’ll always put on the table,” he said. “It keeps
Since 1866, Daily Since 1891
KING GETS A LIFT
our residence halls protected, and it adds an additional layer of protection.” Currently, “officers do not generally patrol the residence halls (but) are dedicated to foot and car patrols,” Porter said, explaining that he believes crime outside the residence halls has dropped due to increased police presence on campus. Because of that development, Porter said, “another level of security presence inside the lobby of the residential halls” is worth considering. “We’ve seen a significant increase in the amount of larcenies that take place in unlocked and unattended rooms,” Porter said, adding that he believes burglaries are going up on college campuses nationwide. Porter attributed the crime spike at Brown to unlocked continued on page 6
Min Wu / Herald The University spent $4.5 million this summer to make several campus buildings — including King House — handicapped-accessible. See Campus News, Page 5
As alcohol-related EMS calls rise, drug stats remain inconclusive By Ross Frazier News Editor
The Department of Public Safety’s annual crime report, released in September, shows a continuing upward trend in students’ use of Emergency Medical Services for treatment of alcohol intoxication — with a 48 percent spike in 2006 — and a stable number of students referred for disciplinary action due to drug or alcohol violations. The statistics, taken from DPS’ federally mandated annual crime report, show EMS responded to 228 calls for alcohol-intoxicated undergraduates in 2006, up from 154 in 2005. Twenty-one students received disciplinary referrals for drug violations, up from nine the year before. Eighty students received referrals
for alcohol violations, down from 103 the previous calendar year. Even though the statistics show basic trends, it’s difficult to know what the numbers really say about students’ alcohol and drug use, University officials told The Herald. For example, student life officials tied the 12-person increase in drug-related disciplinary referrals to just two incidents in which several students were caught at once, said Margaret Klawunn, associate vice president for campus life and dean of student life. “If there are eight people in a room and a bong, they all get reported,” she said. With respect to drugs, the number of students arrested or receiving disciplinary referrals has dropped steadily over the past few years, with 108 drug-related referrals in 2003
but only 21 last year. Mark Porter, chief of police and director of public safety, said it’s not clear why students are getting referred less. “With drugs, there’s so much of a search-and-seizure issue,” Porter said. “I’m going to assume students are respecting city ordinances and our laws as well as University policy.” “Our officers also don’t patrol residence halls,” he added. “They respond to calls.” According to Klawunn, DPS patrolled residence halls in 2003 and before. When regular dorm patrols stopped in 2004, drug-related disciplinary referrals dropped 92.5 percent. “We know there are things we’re not catching,” Klawunn said. Klawunn said residential peer
leaders and community directors now receive more training on how to respond to students who may be using drugs. RPLs and CDs can deal with students creating a disturbance themselves or call DPS for support. “We had a very specific conversation with (CDs) back in August about what the expectations are,” Klawunn said. “I tried talking to students. Knock on the door, say you smelled something and wanted to make sure there were no drugs involved,” said Claire Santoro ’09, who was a residential counselor last year in Keeney Quadrangle. “Sometimes you would get students who were unresponsive or wouldn’t open the door. It would continue to be a prob-
rare, but I think school means a lot to people who come to Brown.” In fact, 12 members of the football team were planning on getting Brown-themed tattoos at the end of the season, according to Blazek. But only three of the teammates went through with the plan. Balestracci chose a tattoo of the Brown crest, and he added the Brown motto “in deo speramus” along the bottom. Because his father and uncle both graduated from Brown, Balestracci felt that simply going to the school was not enough. He wanted something that would make him stand out. “My brother goes to Harvard and has a Harvard tattoo,” he said. “I wanted to be the first one to get a Brown tattoo.” “I wanted to get something that I continued on page 4
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By Joy Chua Staff Writer
Samantha Cohen / Herald
Three football players chose to commemorate their 2005 Ivy title with Brownthemed tattoos.
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post- abroad Post- has an existential crisis about whether it should go abroad and talks to jamband moe.
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METRO
BURRITOS ON EUCLID Zoning has been approved for a new Chipotle on Euclid near Thayer, but two appeals still loom.
By Scott Lowenstein Senior Staff Writer
Two former presidents — Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil and Ricardo Lagos Escobar of Chile — told a full Salomon 101 Wednesday that democratic social programs like improved public health and education were responsible for their respective countries’ successes addressing poverty and income inequality. The presidents’ lecture was the inaugural event of a three-year initiative on globalization and inequality sponsored by the Watson Institute for International Studies, where both men are professors-at-large. Each former president talked for about 20 minutes at the beginning of the lecture on poverty and inequality in their respective countries and in Latin America as a whole, presenting an array of statistics ranging from the percentage of people in extreme poverty to changes in the minimum wage and inflationary data. The presidents then asked each other questions in a dialogue format. The audience was allowed to asked questions at the end of the lecture. Cardoso, who served as president of Brazil from 1995 to 2003, said the decline of poverty and unequal wealth distribution in Brazil is a result of lowered inflation and a slate of social welfare programs that he instituted as president. Going through the series of steps Brazil took starting in 1994, Cardoso said, “with stabilization to stop inflation then agrarian reform then education then public health, it is possible to reduce poverty.” Cardoso stressed that a broad
Football’s Ivy title will be remembered in ink for three FEATURE
While most people celebrate memories and victories with photographs and trophies, three varsity football players chose an alternative souvenir: tattoos. Thomas Balestracci ’07, Josh Blazek ’08 and Zak DeOssie ’07, all of whom played in the epic 2005 game against Columbia that clinched the Ivy League Championship for Brown, wanted a unique way to express what the season meant for them. Last summer, the three athletes traveled together to Portsmouth, N.H., to get inked. Instead of getting popular motifs like snakes, mandalas or motorcycles, the three chose tattoos that reflect, in some form, the University. “I haven’t met anyone else with a college-related tattoo,” said Blazek, who has a Brown “B” with ivy going through the letter’s holes tattooed behind his right shoulder. “It’s very
Two former presidents discuss globalization in Latin America
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OPINIONS
195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island
MONEY MATTErS Matt Prewitt ‘08 mulls on monetary policy and why the strong Canadian dollar is like the sack of Rome.
12 SPORTS
HORSE POWER The equestrian squad won their second event of the season, padding their lead in Region 1 standings.
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