The Brown Daily Herald M onday, N ovember 19, 2007
Volume CXLII, No. 113
Since 1866, Daily Since 1891
As college president salaries rise, Simmons’ comp nears $700,000
mezcla m i x es i t up
By Debbie Lehmann Senior Staf f Writer
Rahul Keerthi / Herald Alexandra Heredea ‘08 and Jason Reeder ‘11 (guitar) performed a rendition of Gloria Estefan’s ‘Hoy’ at the MEZCLA fall show. See Arts & Culture, Page 3
Steep Thanksgiving fares keep students in driving distance By Gaurie Tilak Staf f Writer
Thanksgiving may be the busiest travel time of the year, but many Brunonians won’t be contributing to that rush. Students who live a plane flight away often have a hard time making it home over the short recess, plagued with steep
plane fares. “Thanksgiving is always a lot more expensive than winter break, and it’s been that way for the past four years,” said Amy Baxter ’08. Baxter, who lives in California, usually buys her tickets for Thanksgiving in September. This year, she had to change her flight
Communication issues thwart MPC, RPL efforts By Emmy Liss Staff Writer
Nearly two years after the Minority Peer Counselor program broke away from the Office of Residential Life, MPCs now live alongside Residential Peer Leaders in every first-year dorm, but student counselors say communication between the programs could still stand to improve. The MPC program had reported to the Third World Center until 2000, and it was a part of the RPL program run by the Office of Residential Life — a structure that lasted until 2006. Under the joint supervision of ResLife and the TWC, MPCs had the same general responsibilities as RPLs but received additional training for minority issues. But when the program was internally reviewed a few years ago, administrators discovered a “consistent trend that MPCs were unhappy with their role as RPLs,” said MPC Co-Coordinator Nabanita Pal ’09. Exit surveys completed by MPCs over the years suggested students felt that their duties as general counselors detracted from
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their ability to spend time working on minority-specific issues, Pal said. In 2006, the program was redesigned and separated from ResLife to allow MPCs to focus more on minority programming. Pal said that, contrary to the belief that they were “pulled out of the units,” MPCs did remain in freshmen dorms. For funding reasons, there were not enough MPCs to place one in each unit, and the counselors were instead assigned according to regions. This year, there is at least one MPC in each dorm, if not in every unit. Equal distribution of MPCs is an integral component of the program. Current MPC Okezie Nwoka ’10 said last year his MPC lived in a different building, adding to the stress of his freshman year. “There were a lot of issues I didn’t know how to deal with, and I did want to articulate them to someone with the insight to help me with those issues,” he said. Some see this specialization as limiting. “They’re there for anyone, but they seek out more minority continued on page 6
mezlca gets dirt Campus Latino dancing group MEZCLA wowed attendees with their Dirty Dancing-inspired show.
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time after she booked her tickets, and she ended up paying $200 more for her flight. “I don’t think it’s ever a problem of not being able to get tickets,” she said. “It just gets really expensive.” Travel gets so costly, in fact, continued on page 9
The expectations placed on university presidents are rising along with their salaries, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education’s latest report on executive compensation. The median compensation for presidents of private universities has increased 37 percent since 2001, the Chronicle repor ted, reaching just above $528,000 and creating a large gap between the salaries of presidents and university faculty. The Chronicle found that 81 presidents of private universities earned more than $500,000 in 2006 — a 200-percent increase from five years earlier. In the 2005-2006 fiscal year — the most recent with data available — three university presidents had salaries over $1 million, and many more took home more than $1 million after receiving deferred compensation upon leaving their posts. For the two previous years, only one university leader — Vanderbilt University’s Gordon Gee — received a yearly compensation package of over $1 million. Gee, who was president of Brown from 1998 to 2000, resigned as chancellor of Vanderbilt in July to take the presidency of the Ohio State University. In 2005-2006, President Ruth
Herald File Photo
Gordon Gee, Simmons’ predecessor, left his Vanderbilt post to become the highest paid public college president at Ohio State.
Simmons received $500,000 in salar y and $189,007 in benefits for a total compensation package of $689,007, according to the Chronicle. Four years earlier — in her first year on College Hill — Simmons’ total compensation was $432,900. Elizabeth Huidekoper, executive vice president for finance and administration, said the Corporation sets Simmons’ compensation package and that her salar y “reflects their confidence and support of Simmons as a terrific leader of Brown.” Lawrence Summers, the presicontinued on page 5
IR concentration changes on tap for spring By Irene Chen Senior Staff Writer
International relations, one of the largest concentrations at Brown, has begun the process of re-evaluating its advising and curriculum. After a sur vey conducted by the IR Department Undergraduate Group last spring, some changes were instituted to address complaints of insufficient advising and limited senior course offerings. Now, a se-
mester later, the implementation has been slow, but Michael Boyce ’08, a member of the IR DUG’s executive board, said more changes are on the horizon. The biggest shift, Boyce said, has been the increased student input into discussions about changes to the IR program. “If nothing else, the student voice in the IR program now garners a lot more respect and attention than it did before,” Boyce said. “It’s a variety of
reasons, but at least partly due to the fact that the IR DUG has really been active and attentive in trying to monitor what goes on (in) the program and trying to be a stakeholder. We’re invited to the table, and we get to participate in these decisions.” Peter Andreas, associate professor of political science with a joint appointment at the Watson Institute for International Studies, is now the continued on page 4
Campus unicyclists go it alone By Joanna Wohlmuth Staff Writer
Some students get around campus on four wheels, many on two wheels and a select few on just one. Charlie Wood ’10 said he began riding a unicycle in his backyard in Maine two summers ago. He had been interested in the circus arts since junior high, when he learned how to juggle. He then picked up slacklining, which is similar to tightrope walking but on a stretchy rope, and then finally found his niche with unicycling. He bought an entry-level cycle online and began to practice. UCS WHAT? The Herald’s semi-annual poll finds mixed student confidence, some confusion about UCS’ performance.
Using two chairs as a base to balance, he mastered going straight in a few hours. Turns took a week or two. Once he came to Brown, Wood began to use his unicycle as a mode of transportation. He said the unicycle is convenient because he can keep it
FEATURE in a dorm room and carry it almost anywhere when he’s not riding it. That mobility makes unicycles useful for college students, Wood said. But soon, his interest in the device broadened. “Second semester, it became more of a sport,” Wood said. He
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OPINIONS
195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island
LAGER VS. Coffeee Taylor Barnes ’08 mourns the erosion of Brazil’s coffee culture and the rise of beer drinking.
learned how to do jumps and spins by watching videos online and speaking with other unicyclists. Though unicycles were invented in the late 18th century, their use has expanded in recent years. The Internet now connects unicyclists from across the globe allowing them to learn new tricks, share advice and find other riders in their area. YouTube is an important resource, as are forums such as Unicyclist.com. Most unicycle tricks are learned through imitation, so watching people from across the globe means newly continued on page 6
EDITOR’S NOTE The Herald suspends publication starting tomorrow for Thanksgiving recess. Publication resumes Monday, Nov. 26. News tips: herald@browndailyherald.com