The Brown Daily Herald T hursday, A pril 3, 2008
Volume CXLIII, No. 44
THE HERALD POLL
Seniors less happy than first-years with advising
aw e s o m e b l o ss o m
Are you satisfied with academic advising?
By Matthew Varley Staff Writer
Don’t know / No answer Very dissatisfied
11.0%
2.0%
Brown students split evenly over their assessment of academic advising, a recent Herald poll shows, with 49.2 percent of respondents saying they are satisfied and 48.8 percent saying they are dissatisfied with the University’s academic guidance. Students polled by The Herald were asked to qualify their overall experience with academic advising. 11.4 percent of students said they are very satisfied, and 11.0 percent said they are very dissatisfied. Exactly the same percentages of students — 37.8 percent — said they are either somewhat satisfied or somewhat dissatisfied with advising. The poll shows students’ satisfaction with advising varies based on their class year. The poll suggests first-year students are the most satisfied with advising, with 15.2 percent saying they are very satisfied, the highest figure of any class. Overall, 58.6 percent of first-year students are either somewhat satisfied or very satisfied with the advising process. 35.6 percent of first-years said they are somewhat dissatisfied with advising, and 5.2 percent of first-years said they are very dissatisfied, the lowest figure of any class. But 56.9 percent of seniors polled said they are either somewhat dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with advising at Brown. 18.1 percent of seniors said they are very dissatisfied, the highest figure from any class in this
Very satisfied
11.4%
Somewhat satisfied
Somewhat dissatisfied
37.8%
37.8%
Poll studentsconducted conducted Pollofof643 643Brown Brown students between March 1010 and March 12.2008. There is a between Mar. and Mar. 12, 3.6 percent margin ofoferror. There is a ± 3.6% margin error.
category. Though The Herald poll suggests the sophomore and junior classes are split relatively evenly in regards to advising — with close to half either satisfied or dissatisfied in each class — only 7.3 percent of sophomores polled said they are very satisfied with advising, the lowest figure from any class. Deputy Dean of the College Stephen Lassonde said the decreasing satisfaction as class years rise reflected in the poll was consistent with institutional research on advising conducted in the last decade. “The mystery to us is why (advising satisfaction) doesn’t improve more after a student declares a concentration,” Lassonde said. He said the University has worked continued on page 4
Rahul Keerthi / Herald
This untitled sculpture by Jennifer Quiroa ‘09 is part of the ongoing Latino Student Art Exhibition at Brown/RISD Hillel.
Rhodies have edge getting into Brown By Alex Seitz-Wald Contributing Writer
On Monday, more than 2,000 students from across the county and the world were accepted to Brown. But when the class of 2012 arrives in Rhode Island this fall, they may be surprised by how many of their fellow first-years were already here. The state is the 43rd most populous in the country, but the fifth most common home-state
Male WPC hopeful part of ongoing debate
applicant.” Miller, who said there is no policy, formula or quota concerning Ocean State applicants, compared the advantage of being a local resident to that of a top legacy applicant. “We feel an obligation to the state, and students and families from the state,” he said. “We want to be good citizens of the state, to educate the best students from the state,” he added. continued on page 4
By Catherine Straut Staff Writer
Bowel movements, generally considered taboo in conversation, are now up for discussion, thanks to two Brown grads who recently published a book that hopes to satisfy the curiosity of everyone who wonders but
FEATURE
In February, Alex Morse ’11 filled out an application to become a Residential Peer Leader. At the top of the page, he checked off two boxes: one next to “Resident Counselor” and one next to “Women Peer Counselor.” Morse was the only male this year in a pool of 51 WPC applicants. On March 19, Morse found out that he had been accepted as an RC but not as one of the 22 selected WPCs. Morse said he is entirely content with being an RC next year. “I wanted to increase my chances of being a C,” Morse said. But, he added, “I wouldn’t have applied to be a WPC if I didn’t feel like I was qualified and able to be a WPC.” In high school, Morse ran a local
Rahul Keerthi / Herald
Alex Morse ‘11 was the only male to apply to become a Women Peer Counselor, but he was not accepted to the program.
PostFakes it good with bookman Jonathan Karp ’86 www.browndailyherald.com
for the class of 2011. About 4 to 6 percent of Brown students hail from the Ocean State, despite the state accounting for only one-third of 1 percent of the country’s population, according to the Office of Institutional Research and the U.S. Census Bureau. Do Rhode Island applicants have a home-field advantage? “All other things being equal,” Dean of Admissions James Miller ’73 said, “being from Rhode Island will tip the balance towards that
Alums’ new book demystifies defecation
By Sophia Li Senior Staff Writer
continued on page 8
Since 1866, Daily Since 1891
5
CAMPUS NEWS
Truth be told Lincoln Chafee ‘75 describes his time in the Senate in his memoir
11
OPINIONS
is too afraid to ask. Published in May 2007, “What’s Your Poo Telling You?” by Josh Richman ’97 and Anish Sheth ’98 MD ’01 has been a surprising success, having sold over 200,000 copies and currently ranking as the top selling physiology book on Amazon.com. According to Richman, the book gives readers a unique mix of bathroom humor and legitimate medical facts about digestive workings and bowel movements. “The idea was not to just write another book about potty humor,” Richman said. Rather, the authors’ vision involves “walking the fine line of highbrow humor about a very lowbrow subject, coupled with details
down on one knee Sean Quigley ‘10 thinks the government should stay out of the marriage institution
195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island
rain, 50 / 47
and serious medical information,” he said. With chapter titles ranging from “Poo-phoria” to “Rambo Poo,” the book definitely captures people who enjoy the more humorous aspects of defecation, Sheth said. “Coming up with the nicknames ... was entertaining,” Richman added. “The whole premise of the book is that I think everyone realizes that the subject matter is inherently funny and a little bit awkward,” Sheth said. continued on page 7 tomorrow’s weather Your toilet may be o v e r f l o w i n g — l i k e Providence streets after too much rain
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