Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Daily Herald the Brown

vol. cxliv, no. 103 | Tuesday, November 10, 2009 | Serving the community daily since 1891

U.’s planner shares plan for growth downtown

Taking empathy for a spin, students find new outlook

By Anne Speyer Senior Staf f Writer

Architectural consultant Frances Halsband described the University’s vision for redevelopment of the Jewelry District to community members Monday afternoon at Brown/RISD Hillel.

The plan, crafted by the firm RM Kliment and Frances Halsband Architects, suggests a downtown urban campus in which the streets bustle with commercial activity and Alpert Medical School students can study and live without feeling isolated from the Brown community.

The relocation of I-195 — which should be completed by the end of 2012 — could aid the University’s expansion into the Jewelry District and will allow for greater movement between that neighborhood and downtown Providence, Halsband said.

And a new Medical Education Building on Richmond Street is scheduled to open to students in the next two years.

Michael McCormick, assistant vice president of planning, design and construction, said at the presentation that the opening of the Med Ed building would increase the number of Brown-affiliated faculty and students in the Jewelr y District to nearly 1,000 from fewer than 600.

RM Kliment and Frances Halsband Architects conducted interviews with members of the Brown community, Rhode Island hospital workers, representatives of the Providence Foundation and members of the Jewelry District Association in order to draft plans that reflected not only the University’s priorities but also the needs of the greater community, Halsband said.

“The real challenge is to create a place that feels like a campus but, at the same time, is part of the city,” Halsband said. “When you walk across the Main Green, you feel that you’re on a campus, but you also feel welcome to walk across.”

Currently, the Jewelr y District is “not a campus — not even a part of the city that we could admire,” she said.

The plans include not only

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and when she began co-teaching the course seven years ago, she started to lend students her extra Allyson Schumacher ’12 hadn’t chair for a day. anticipated how important a little “You’re exposed to a lot of dicrack in the sidewalk could be versity at Brown,” she said, but until she tried to roll over it in a “one thing you are not exposed wheelchair. Luckily, Schumacher’s to at Brown is disability.” roommate was there to help her Though the wheelchair experiout with a push. Otherwise, Schu- ence is one of a number of “dismacher said, it would have been ability experience” options in the “impossible.” course, Max Clermont ’11, the Schumacher was course’s head teaching only bor rowing the assistant, said it is one FEATURE of the most popular. wheelchair for a day as a project for PHP 1680I: Students doing the “Pathology to Power: Disability, project typically pair up, Skeels Health and Community.” But the said, with one student using the difficulties she encountered trying chair and another ser ving as a to navigate Brown’s campus are helper. At the end of the day, both “part of the reason why you don’t students document their experisee many students in wheelchairs ences in a journal. at Brown,” said Professor of ComOf the 66 students in the course, munity Health Bruce Becker, who 40 have chosen the wheelchair opco-teaches the course. tion so far.

“There’s an over whelming Schumacher said she chose need to raise the consciousness to spend a day in a wheelchair of Brown students” about the lives because it was “something that of the disabled, he said.

I probably wouldn’t get to experiStudents in the course, which ence alone.” In doing so, she dishas been part of the community covered how “truly inaccessible” health program for 10 years, read Brown’s campus can be. books and attend lectures by peoBrown’s location and terrain ple with disabilities. They are also make it inherently difficult for encouraged to volunteer with com- wheelchair users to navigate, Dimunity organizations that serve rector of Disability Support Serdisabled people. vices Catherine Axe ’87 wrote in But there’s no substitute for di- an e-mail to The Herald. rect experience, said Sarah Ever“Brown sits on a hill and now hart Skeels, a TA in community continued on page 3 health. Skeels uses a wheelchair,

By Emma Berry Staff Writer

Nick Sinnott-Armstrong / Herald

Students took up mallets on Monday to smash through a replica of the Berlin Wall, spray-painted here with the word “Freiheit,” or “freedom.”

The event marked the 20th anniversary of the wall’s destruction.

Main Green festivities mark anniversary of Wall’s fall

By Julia Kim Contributing Writer

Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, another wall has come down — this time, in Brown’s own backyard.

Students and faculty gathered on the Main Green to tear down a 16-by-8foot drywall replica of the Berlin Wall on Monday.

The “Tear Down this Wall” event was the conclusion of the German

department’s week-long “Freedom Without Walls” series celebrating the reunification of Germany. The destruction of the symbolic wall was also part of a larger national event funded by the German Embassy. On the same day, 29 other universities performed similar acts of remembrance.

Facilities constructed the wall with plans and instructions sent from the continued on page 3

Panel weighs health costs, reform ideas

By Jenna Steckel Contributing Writer

A panel of doctors and Brown professors tackled the thorny subject of health care costs Monday afternoon in MacMillan 117. The talk, the second in a three-event series on health care reform, brought together speakers with expertise in medicine, political science and economics.

The United States House of Representatives passed a major health care reform bill over the weekend, which participants said made the long-scheduled panel particularly timely. But the bill did not address “the cost question,” Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences Edward Wing, who moderated the

Kim Perley / Herald

(From left to right) Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Economics Anna Aizer, Andrew Brunner MD’10 and Professor of Political Science James Morone participated in a panel about health care reform Monday.

discussion, said Monday. Wing encouraged the panelists to consider other countries’ successful health care models and to propose solutions for the United States.

Professor of Political Science

James Morone, who chairs his department and recently co-wrote a book about presidents and health care reform, emphasized the pressing need for enforced cost control.

Morone said that “political leadership” is the only way meaningful reform will ever take effect. “As you look across countries, govern-

Metro, 4

Metro, 5

Opinions, 11

GoV, ACtually?

A year from election day, the 2010 gubernatorial race is already heating up

Safe Six Forbes Magazine ranked Providence among the safest cities in the country

Bigger is Better Dan Davidson ’11 thinks merging R.I. city services is a step in the right direction

195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island

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herald@browndailyherald.com

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

C ampus N EWS

U. architect presents vision for downtown continued from page 1 the expansion of University property, but also a collaborative, total renewal of the neighborhood.

In its most ambitious form, the plan would allot nearly 250,000 square feet, including Brownowned buildings and land the University hopes to acquire, to research facilities, office buildings and “University life” buildings, which could include a student librar y or study center. Space is also being considered for the construction of an “instructional conference center,” an arts space and a fitness center.

In addition to the University’s projects, the plans also envision new residential buildings, shops, cafes and parks that would draw on the influx of people into the district that Brown’s increased presence would bring.

“The knowledge-based economy has to be there for any of this to happen,” McCormick said.

One of the most drastic changes the plans call for involves the buildings on Richmond Street to be pulled back about 25 feet to widen the streets and sidewalks.

The widening of the street would facilitate the addition of

a “circulator y” — or trolley — route through the district, a proposed development the University hopes the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority will undertake.

The Richmond Street sidewalks, if expanded, could feature a boulevard of trees and sidewalk cafes, Halsband said.

After her presentation, Halsband opened the discussion to questions from the approximately 30 audience members in attendance, many of whom were faculty whose office space is already located in the Jewelr y District.

While there were few questions after Halsband’s report, one audience member, who said he occupied lab space in the Jewelry District, asked how the plans might address safety concerns in the neighborhood.

“An environment is safer when it feels safer,” McCormick said.

“It has to feel like a nice place to be.”

Halsband said despite the collaborative nature of many aspects of the projects for the Jewelr y District, “It’s not a plan that requires one thing to happen before ever ything else goes. There are multiple triggers, multiple ways for this to get started.”

Panelists: health care costs pose challenge continued from page 1 ment is the only force” that has consistently solved the problem of rising medical costs, he said.

The current system of health care in America is “unsustainable,” Wing said. The United States spends 16.7 percent of its gross domestic product on health care, compared with other industrialized nations with superior systems that cost much less, he said.

Japan, which “in many measures has the healthiest citizens in the world,” spends only 8 percent, while Germany spends 11 percent and the United Kingdom spends 13 percent, he said. Monroe predicted real reform would come in this countr y only when health care costs reach 22 percent of the GDP. “The thing that makes the system unstable is the relentless rise of the percentage of the entire economy going to health,” he said.

“We keep shifting our resources into the health care system.”

Assistant Professor of Economics and Public Policy Anna Aizer said it is imperative that consumers have access to choice in their care. “People should be able to choose how generous their coverage is, which physicians they go to,” she said.

Morone said he agreed that

choice is important but disagreed about the level at which choices should be made.

“We have to find a place to put the decision that’s unambiguous, at the consumer or government (level),” Morone said, noting that he preferred the government enforce cost reforms. Either way, he said, “when cost control hits, someone will have to make the difficult trade-offs.”

Aizer said she is also concerned about physicians’ inability to work in a cost-effective manner.

“We need to design incentives and payment schemes so that physicians will have incentives to provide high-quality care at a lower cost,” she said. “Altruism only gets you so far.”

“There are huge variations in both cost and quality of care.

People don’t know what works,” Aizer said. New technology is often developed “with ver y little work understanding of how cost efficient it is.”

But Aizer said she does not think cost effectiveness is the private sector’s responsibility alone.

“Physicians need to be accountable to provide the highest-quality care using the fewest resources, but they should not be left on their own to do this,” she said. “Government needs to help them.”

The private nature of health care in the United States is “the elephant in the room,” said Nicholas Beckwith ’67 PMD ’99, who chairs the board of directors of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. “It’s hard to imagine private insurers under a for-profit model being responsive to the

needs of the insured equal to the needs of their investors. Twenty percent goes to administration or profits. It’s an environment where Wall Street and investors come first.”

The audience included many medical students and local physicians. Doctors asked questions based on their personal experiences, and at one point an audience member told the panel he was poor and without health coverage.

“I’m afraid to go to a doctor because I don’t know what my bills are going to be,” he said.

Morone said the man’s stor y showed the real impor tance of the health care debate. “It’s not only costs. There are 50 million people without health insurance and 25 million with inadequate insurance,” he said. “There is no single answer. All the plans have good points and bad.”

Morone said that ever y politician claims to have a “magic bullet” to combat health care costs, but none would be effective because they “don’t hur t.” To exact real change, the government will have to decide on a price for health services, he said.

In all likelihood, physicians’ incomes will fall in a reformed health care system, panelists agreed.

“The day we say we’re not going to pay any more you’re going to find a shuddering shock,” Morone said.

The many hurdles a bill must face before it passes are the real reason there is no national system of health care in the United States, he said. “It’s an extraordinarily difficult path that lies ahead.”

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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Page 3

C ampus N EWS On wheels, students learn about life’s little challenges continued from page 1 spans the hill as it has expanded downtown,” she wrote. Brown’s integration with Providence also means that the University doesn’t “have control of all the streets and sidewalks.” For example, Brown has no authority to keep Thayer Street’s sidewalks clear of any objects retailers choose to put out. Paving and snow removal can also be “unpredictable” in areas that are technically off-campus, she wrote.

Schumacher agreed. Going downhill was “scary,” she said, and when she was going uphill, she felt like she “was going to tip over.”

Milford James ’12, who did the project without a helper, said he could get to all his classes that day. But, like Schumacher, he experienced frustrations with hills and sidewalks. “There were some instances where I got stuck,” he said.

Despite the campus’s inherent challenges, Becker and Skeels agreed that accessibility has improved over the past 10 years, in large part because of projects, such as the Walk, in which DSS was actively involved.

Axe also singled out the formation of the Campus Access Advisory Committee, which advises the University on priorities to improve campus accessibility and gives input on new construction plans, as a factor in the general improvements in accessibility.

Still, the University’s age means many campus buildings were constructed “well before access was considered in construction,” Axe wrote. While renovations aim to increase accessibility, “there are still some buildings that have not been fully renovated or that it would be very hard to make accessible.”

Students in the class cited dormitories on Wriston Quadrangle as particularly inaccessible. James, who lives in Chapin, said he could not enter his building in a wheelchair.

Though recent renovations en-

larged restrooms on the second and third floors of the buildings and added railings, people must use a staircase to get to them, said Lauren Presant ’10, another of the course’s teaching assistants. The buildings have no elevators or lifts.

Limited funds present one barrier to renovations. Before the recent financial crisis, Axe wrote, DSS had a budget of $100,000 per year to spend on smaller projects not related to construction, including improving sidewalks and making restrooms and elevators more accessible. But with the University’s budget cuts, Axe added, DSS and the CAAC must prioritize some projects at the expense of others.

James and Schumacher both said people were generally friendly to them, offering to lend a hand, opening a door or carrying a drink at lunch. However, both said they “got a lot more stares” than usual.

Wheeling down Thayer Street “was almost demeaning,” James said, “like I was just a prop that was, like, rolling down the street.”

Schumacher said people were generally friendly to her. “When I went to Blue State that day, the person behind the counter was really nice,” she said. Still, she wondered, “Is he treating me nicely because that’s how he treats all people, or is it because I’m handicapped?”

Skeels said such reactions aren’t unusual. “There’s these weird assumptions people make about people with physical disabilities,” she said.

For example, when a person in a wheelchair goes to a restaurant, the waitstaff often ask an able-bodied friend what the person in the wheelchair wants to eat, she added.

Though students said the project helped them appreciate the importance of accessibility, it also helped them realize that wheelchair users are not helpless.

Using a wheelchair is “definitely manageable,” James said. “It’s difficult, but it’s their life. They’re regular people that have regular lives.”

Twenty years later, another wall falls continued from page 1 German Embassy, according to Jane Sokolosky, senior lecturer in German studies and the main coordinator of the event.

Sokolosky’s young son was the first to swing his hammer into the wall. Then, passing the mallet back, he allowed Brown students to leave their mark. Taking turns, the students continued to break down the wall, ripping it apart in 10 minutes. One part of the wall was left intact as a keepsake for the German department.

Students were originally supposed to have twice as many mallets, but the funding from the Dean of the College’s Office allowed for less than 10 mallets, said Liz Dang ’10, a member of the German club and a coordinator of the event. But, she said, the small number of mallets made for a sense of community as students shared them and took turns smashing the wall.

Students, faculty and other community members then ran through the holes created in the wall from the east side to the west side to symbolize the absence of the barrier between the formerly divided halves of the city.

The event included giveaways, free German food and singing. A graffiti competition was held earlier

in the day.

The competition — in which students could tag the wall from either side with spray paint or graffiti markers — took place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

While the original Berlin Wall was decorated with graffiti, tagging was only possible from the West German side, Dang said.

The student-made graffiti included the word “freedom” written in multiple languages and colorful faces covering the once blank drywall.

The event has “a lot of energy,” said Diogo Alves ’11, the president of the German Club and a coordinator of the event.

Prior to the destruction of the wall, students gave speeches and spoken word performances on the significance of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The finalists of the event will have the option to compete in Washington, D.C., against the winners from the other participating schools to win a free trip to Berlin, he said.

The German club and the German department will announce the two winners by the end of next week, Alves said.

The speeches touched upon a “wide range” of topics but discussed “generally the same thing,” Dang said. Common themes included the

aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall and Germany’s reunification process, and speakers addressed the crowd in both English and German.

In addition to Monday’s programs, “Freedom Without Walls” included screenings and lectures throughout the week.

A screening of the film “Goodbye Lenin!” kicked off the event.

Approximately 100 students came, creating “momentum” for the rest of the week, Alves said. Other events included a lecture by former West German diplomat Reiner Mockelmann and a gala on Saturday night attended by students and members of the local German communiy, he said.

The German department organized and planned the events, Alves said, while the German club provided support. Students mostly helped with advertising and came up with ideas to make events more appropriate to Brown, he added.

According to Sokolosky, the German Embassy came up with “Freedom Without Walls” because it didn’t want “Americans to forget.”

Sokolosky said she hopes the event keeps the wall’s fall in the student body’s consciousness. “Tear Down this Wall” could “make sure the younger generations don’t forget” the freedom that Germans once lacked, she said.

Metro The Brown Daily Herald

“I’m used to building my own organization.”

— Former R.I. Sen. Lincoln Chafee on campaigning for governor as an Independent Tuesday, November 10, 2009 | Page 4

Nontraditional candidates spice up 2010 governor’s race in R.I.

By Ben Schreckinger Senior Staf f Writer

A year before voters go to the polls, the race for the governorship of Rhode Island already promises to be different from most political contests in the United States. Along with one Republican and two Democratic candidates currently in the running, the race features a high-profile independent candidate and an ambitious third party.

All are vying to replace Republican Gov. Donald Carcieri ’65, who is barred by term limits from seeking re-election in 2010.

“It has the potential to be a very unique general election,” said former U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee ’75, who is running as an independent.

Rhode Island’s General Treasurer Frank Caprio and Attorney General Patrick Lynch ’87 will face off in the Democratic primary, while East Greenwich businessman Rory Smith is the only declared Republican candidate.

The newly formed Moderate Party of Rhode Island also intends to compete in the race. Though the party does not yet have a nominee, Executive Director Christine Hunsinger MPP’08 said the party is currently in talks with more than

10 potential candidates.

The campaign will hinge on economic issues if Rhode Island’s fiscal struggles and job woes continue, said Wendy Schiller, associate professor of political science.

Democrats enjoy a supermajority in both chambers of the general assembly, but Republicans have held the governorship for 15 years. As a result, Schiller said, voters tend not to blame the state’s poor economic performance on either party, but on politicians in general.

This would give an “advantage to Chafee,” who left the GOP in 2007, she said.

Though there has been no independent polling of the race in recent months, the Chafee campaign recently released the results of a telephone survey it commissioned, which showed Chafee ahead in three-way races with Smith and either Caprio or Lynch.

Schiller said Chafee, a former visiting fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies, showed leadership on environmental and foreign policy as a United States senator. But “I don’t know how credible Chafee is” on the state’s economy, she said.

In such a crowded field, the former senator would “run on the

Chafee name” rather than tr y to “position himself on the ideological spectrum,” she said.

The Chafee family has been active in Ocean State politics for over a century, and Chafee’s father, John Chafee, had held his Senate seat for nearly a quarter century before him.

Chafee said he believes the budget process is integral to righting the economy and that the state should “cut our expenditures as much as we can.”

He also said that the unique convergence of air, rail and interstate highway infrastructure in Warwick presents an important opportunity for economic growth.

“I want to make sure that that area prospers and grows,” he said.

Another development adding uncertainty to the race is the emergence of the Moderate Party, which will be fielding a candidate in a statewide race for the first time.

Hunsinger said the Moderate Party intends to bring “pragmatism” to state politics. “We’ve done studies on ever y issue that’s out there,” she said. “It’s time to make some common-sense decisions” and “stop spending money that’s not well-spent.”

Hunsinger said 47 percent of the state budget goes to the “social safety net,” but the bureaucracy administering social ser vices is inefficiently structured. She said better coordination between state agencies and more astute use of technology could bring down costs significantly.

Rhode Island also needs to bring its business taxes in line with the rest of the Northeast, Hunsinger said. The Moderate Party’s chairman, Ken Block, for instance, has been told by his accountants that he could cut his expenses 20 percent by moving his business a few miles over the border into Massachusetts, Hunsinger said.

Neither Chafee nor Hunsinger said they viewed the lack of a major party’s backing as a significant handicap in the campaign.

The high proportion of unaffiliated voters in the state benefits third parties, Hunsinger said, and the Moderate Party’s statewide organization is already comparable to Republicans’, she added.

“We’re probably going to have the best field organization” by election day, Hunsinger said.

Chafee said his decision to run without a party will benefit him in the campaign.

“Running as a Republican statewide … you’re pretty much on your own,” he said. “So I’m used to building my own organization.”

“I think being an independent will open constituencies to me,” Chafee said, “particularly labor” and “environmental groups.”

In an e-mail to The Herald, Caprio Committee Spokesperson Margie O’Brien wrote that the general treasurer’s “experience and success in fundraising give him an edge and position him well for the 2010 election.”

The Lynch and Smith campaigns did not reply to requests for comment.

Two high-profile local politicians who had been considered contenders — former Cranston Mayor Steve Laffey, a Republican who in 2006 came close to securing his party’s nomination to the U.S. Senate, and David Cicilline ’83, the Democratic mayor of Providence — have both publicly announced they will not run.

And former United States Attorney Robert Corrente last week announced he would not run as the Moderate Party’s candidate, despite the party’s public courtship. He said he intends to return to private practice.

Page 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Metro

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

“Like anything, it goes up and down.”

— Lt. John Ryan, Dist. 9 police commander, on the city’s crime rate

Forbes: Providence sixth-safest U.S. city

By Kate Monks Contributing Writer

Courtesy of Jef Nickerson

This facade of a bank building demolished in 2005 could soon come down, if the Downcity Design Review Committee approves a developer’s request.

Historic facade faces demolition downtown

By Ana Alvarez Staff Writer

The historic facade of the Providence National Bank, standing at 35 Weybosset St., could soon be demolished and replaced with a temporary parking lot, pending the city’s approval.

In a meeting Monday night, the Downcity Design Review Committee, part of city’s Department of Planning and Development, heard a request from developer Jeremiah O’Connor to tear down the facade, but decided to postpone its decision, said Jef Nickerson, president of Greater City Providence, a Web site that promotes the city’s growth and development.

Nickerson, who attended the meeting, said many community members expressed support for preserving the building’s facade at the meeting. If the committee rejects the request, the facade will have to be incorporated into future plans for the site.

The city’s director of planning and development Tom Deller said in a Nov. 4 Providence Business News article that he predicted that the committee would sanction the request to demolish the facade provided the owner do additional landscaping on the site.

Officials from the planning department could not be reached for comment.

Jesse Polhemus, a Providence resident who has advocated for preserving the facade, said that apart from destroying another historic building, the proposal will only add to an increasing number of temporary parking lots in the downtown area.

“The surface parking lots have become a big issue,” he said. “We have a right to say we deserve a real building (instead of another parking lot).”

Nickerson has also observed this trend, adding that in the most recent development boom there has been

an alarming “smattering of demolitions” to make space for buildings that never materialized.

The facade, which was built in the 1950s, is the last remnant of three buildings, including the Providence National Bank and the First Federal Bank, which were demolished in 2005 to make way for the One Ten Westminster Street residential tower.

The tower, which would have been the tallest building in Rhode Island, was designed to incorporate the standing facade. But following the real estate market crash, the proposal for One Ten was scaled back and eventually fell through.

According to a city ordinance, developers are allowed to request temporary parking lots for two years on unused property and then request an extension. But, Nickerson said, “none of these temporary parking lots have ever been temporary.”

The result, he added, is that developers demolish buildings with proposals of raising new structures but “what was proposed is never built.”

Instead the developers later retract their plans and install “temporary” parking lots.

Rep. David Segal, D-Dist. 2, proposed a bill in April to create demolition bonds that would require developers to set aside money which would only be returned once the project was completed. This proposal would have provided an incentive to developers to follow through with their projects instead of creating temporary parking lots.

While Segal’s legislation did not pass, “something like the demolition bond gives the city another tool ” to end the parking lot trend, Nickerson said.

“There’s no need for that much parking,” he said. “There is this perception that there is this parking crisis in the city, but it’s only a perception.”

Providence has been named the sixth-safest city in the United States by Forbes Magazine, which recently ranked the 40 most-populous metropolitan areas based on 2008 data on violent crime rates, natural disasters and traffic- and workplace-related deaths.

Within the list, the metropolitan area that includes Providence, New Bedford, Mass., and Fall River, Mass., had the sixth-lowest violent crime rate, the seventhlowest workplace fatality rate, the 11th-lowest rate of traffic deaths and the 28th-lowest natural disaster risk.

The rankings were generated using crime statistics from the FBI, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ information on workplace death rates, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s traffic death rates and SustainLane.com’s rankings of natural disaster risks.

In the five-year period between 2002 and 2007, the overall crime rate in Providence decreased by 30 percent, with even sharper decreases in violent crimes such as rape and murder, according to Providence Police Department

statistics. The first eight months of 2009 have seen a 12 percent decrease in the overall crime rate despite an uptick in violent crime in the last two years.

Lieutenant John Ryan, commander of Providence Police Depar tment District 9, which includes College Hill, said the recent increases in violent crime — including increases in burglaries and assaults — might be due to the economic downturn.

But Ryan said he is not worried that the last two years represent a new trend for crime in Providence. “Like anything, it goes up and down,” he said.

Ryan credits the overall drop in crime to cooperation among the different police districts in Providence.

“We all meet ever y week,” Ryan said. “You pick up on the trends, and you assign your people.”

Ryan said the ef for t to increase the on-foot police presence in communities since Mayor David Cicilline ’83 took office in 2003 has resulted in “high visibility” and made people more likely to call the police when they see something suspicious.

“The people are a lot more alert now,” he said.

America’s Safest Cities By violent crime, natural disasters and traffic- and workplacerelated deaths in metropolitan areas 1. Minneapolis, Minn.

2. Milwaukee, Wis. 3. Portland, Ore. 4. Boston, Mass.

4. Seattle, Wash.

6. Providence, R.I. 7. San Jose, Calif.

8. New York, N.Y. 9. Cincinnati, Ohio 10. Cleveland, Ohio 10. Denver, Colo.

– According to Forbes Magazine

Editorial & Letters The Brown Daily Herald

Page 6 | Tuesday, November 10, 2009

l e t t e r to t h e e d i to r

Jewelry District already a great neighborhood To the Editor: We are writing in response to the article about Providence’s Jewelry District (“Downtown, big ideas are soon to be tested,” Nov. 2). The article suggests that the Jewelry District is empty (of businesses, of Brown University students, etc.) and dead, and therefore ripe for University development. We live in the Jewelry District and have found it a wonderful place to live. Contrary to the image portrayed in the article, the Jewelry District is already a beautiful, lively neighborhood.

We have Olga’s, a cafe with freshbaked bread that rivals Seven Stars; CAV, a restaurant ranked as one of Providence’s best in none other than the New York Times; and Jerry’s Artarama, one of the best art supplies stores in Providence. The Jewelry District is home to many important local businesses, including Durkee Brown Viveiros & Werenfels Architects (responsible for the majority of development in downtown Providence) and Shape Up the Nation.

The Thayer Street staple Beadworks even recently relocated to the Jew-

elry District. Just a five-minute walk from downtown Providence, it’s an exciting place to live. The Jewelry District is alive and well.

While Brown University’s expansion in the Jewelry District seems unstoppable, we hope that the University will not approach the Jewelry District as a blank slate waiting to be developed or renewed. Although the University professes to prioritize community engagement in future building plans, we also hope that new developments will not be shaped solely around the needs of Brown University students. The Herald’s dream of “sitting at a small sidewalk cafe on Richmond Street, sipping a cappuccino, discussing the applications of stem cell growth” is a dream of a Jewelry District built for the enjoyment of Brown’s Bio Med community. We ask that the University tread carefully on a diverse neighborhood that already enjoys countless assets.

Camilla Hawthorne ’09 GS Timothy O’Keefe Nov. 9

Letters, please. letters@browndailyherald.com t h e b r o w n d a i ly h e r a l d Editor-in-Chief Steve DeLucia

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Deputy Managing Editors Nandini Jayakrishna Franklin Kanin Michael Skocpol

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franny choi

e d i to r i a l

PLME bait and switch

Have you ever had something promised to you and then taken away? Of course you have. For some, it was probably something pretty important, like, say, your ability to make free choices about your career. At this point, if you’re a student enrolled in the Program in Liberal Medical Education, we’re no longer speaking hypothetically. Though all PLMEs were told when applying to Brown that they would have guaranteed admission to the Med School, the University has enacted a new rule, and applied it retroactively to the class of 2011 and below, that will rescind this assurance if a PLME chooses to apply to other medical schools.

The backward-looking implementation of this rule is grossly unfair. The University has an obligation to keep its promises to students. Were the University to, unilaterally and without student input, impose course requirements, we would have just cause for complaining that Brown wasn’t the school it told us it was when we applied. The PLMEs’ case is even stronger: Brown students aren’t explicitly guaranteed a right to the New Curriculum as part of the program they enroll in.

But until now, PLMEs who fulfilled several academic requirements were guaranteed admission into Alpert regardless of whether they chose to “apply out.” This promise probably affected at least some students’ decisions to enroll in the PLME program. There is a world of difference between a high school senior certain he or she wants to attend Brown’s Med School and one who isn’t so

sure but saw the guarantee as a compelling reason to pick Brown over other schools. If every PLME were the first type, this new policy wouldn’t be a problem. But judging from the angry reactions from PLMEs who spoke to the Herald, that’s not the case. Some students almost certainly did think of Alpert as a fallback in case applying out didn’t work — an assumption that the University guaranteed that they were free to make.

We should be clear that we actually think that the policy is a good idea for future classes of Brown students. We’re sympathetic with Associate Dean of Medicine Phillip Grupposo’s claim that ending the guarantee is necessary to properly calibrate admissions into the Medical School. We would also prefer to give students who actively want to attend Alpert the first open slots.

However, we believe that the University’s obligation to current PLMEs — and admitted early decision PLME applicants for the Class of 2014 — trumps its interest in efficiently filling the Med School class. “Many aspects of these students’ lives, from their choice of college all the way down to their decision to take Orgo 2 (required for nonBrown medical schools but not for PLMEs), were premised on an offer of admission to Alpert.” The University ought to respect that.

Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.

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Opinions The Brown Daily Herald

Tuesday, November 10, 2009 | Page 7

Good without God Michael Fitzpatrick Opinions Columnist If you plan on visiting New York City over the Thanksgiving holiday break, I insist that you ride the subway at least once. While you’re at it, take a good look at the ads — you may read something thought-provoking.

For the next four weeks, an advertising campaign coordinated by the Big Apple Coalition of Reason — an umbrella organization that includes several atheist, secular and humanist societies based in New York — will run in a dozen different Manhattan subway stations. In honor of the Oct. 27 release of Greg Epstein’s book, “Good without God,” the ads bear the message, “A million New Yorkers are good without God. Are you?”

Well, are you? That’s an excellent question!

Unfortunately, “good” is a very ambiguous term. Not having read Epstein’s book myself, I am at a loss to understand the intended meaning of the phrase “good without God.” At first glance, two possibilities seem equally plausible: “good” may either mean “morally sound” or simply “content.”

Debating the virtuous interpretation is, quite frankly, a waste of time. Atheists are perfectly capable of making moral decisions. On the other hand, the satisfaction interpretation deserves a closer examination.

To say that a person is happy without God is a confusing claim for some religious people, because God represents the ultimate source of all happiness, meaning and

pleasure in their worldview. At Brown, this perspective is mitigated by the open mindset encouraged by an academic setting, but the real world is not always so forgiving. In many religious traditions, atheists are almost certainly damned for all eternity, and some theistic blowhards out there still relish the notion of endless suffering for nonbelievers. By their logic, all atheists should be perpetually miserable.

And yet, a million New Yorkers — and a fair chunk of Brown students — are good

there is one other interpretation of the aforementioned question. This construal is not an invitation to reflect on faith or question theology; rather, it is a rallying cry — a clarion call to those millions of people who find themselves, by choice or circumstance, without a God. As you might expect, I commend the efforts of the Coalition of Reason to raise public awareness of the various atheist, secular and humanist societies in New York. Even in large cities like New York, atheists and

This construal is not an invitation to reflect on faith or question theology; rather, it is a rallying cry — a clarion call to those millions of people who find themselves, by choice or circumstance, without a God. without God. The prospect of damnation doesn’t discourage us. In fact, the possibility of losing this existential coin flip is a good reason to smile. With or without God, atheists have no reason to hope for something better. With or without God, life is still worth living. No matter what, we will make the best of the one lifetime we have.

Alternatively, take the message from a more derisive British atheist campaign that displayed the following ad on buses in London this past January: “There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”

Putting aside the feel-good arguments,

other secular humanists still represent a minority, but a growing minority nonetheless.

And like all minorities, they will seek a community. Even atheists need social cohesion.

Out of all atheists, former believers more fully understand the grim reality of apostasy; especially in situations where one’s family or friends are predominantly religious, atheism can be a very lonely state of mind. Religions are essentially groups of people united by common beliefs. Because of this, rejecting the religion of one’s family and friends often leads to a loss of belonging, a feeling of disconnection from one’s

community.

What atheists — especially young atheists — need to know is that we are also unified by common beliefs: namely, a dedication to science, freedom of thought and a firm trust in humanity. A billboard ad campaign coordinated by the Dallas-Fort Worth Coalition of Reason this past March summed up this idea fittingly: “Don’t believe in God? You are not alone.”

Granted, these ad campaigns are all public displays. They will impact the daily routines of believers and nonbelievers alike.

Most religious people will probably shrug off the message, but a few may find the ads offensive. This is, of course, the calculated risk of promoting a controversial point of view. However, it is my sincerest hope that religious groups take advantage of the ad campaign to foster friendly discussion between atheists and theists rather than protest the Coalition of Reason’s freedom of expression.

For their efforts, the Big Apple Coalition of Reason’s ad campaign and others like it are figurative successes, regardless of how many young atheists they manage to recruit.

They send a firm message to the members of their local secular communities: We don’t need to hide for fear of rejection. We don’t need to feel like we are alone in the world.

We can live comfortably with our choice of values and know that others share them.

Michael Fitzpatrick ’12 is great without God. He can be contacted at michael_fitzpatrick@brown.edu.

Consolidate more, spend less DAN DAVIDSON Opinions Columnist The town of Foster, R.I., has just over 4,000 residents. It also has its own police department and department of public works. This will change if some state legislators get their way.

State Sen. Frank Ciccone III, D-Dist. 7, has said he is planning to introduce a bill next year that would consolidate Rhode Island’s 39 municipalities into five counties. If the bill becomes law, “all municipal services — including public safety, public works and education — would be regionalized” into countywide departments.

Such reorganization is a sensible way to address the state’s fiscal woes, and Rhode Islanders stand to gain from this bill’s passage.

Consolidation of services is a hot topic around the statehouse right now. State Sen. Lou DiPalma MA’89 P’09, D-Dist. 12, is leading a commission exploring the idea, and Mayor David Cicilline ’83 is pushing legislation that would create police, metropolitan fire and public works districts shared by Providence and its neighbors.

The push for consolidation comes as lawmakers struggle with massive fiscal problems. This year’s budget deficit is approaching $70 million. Tax revenue is down as many residents feel the pain of the recession and others leave the state.

Bill Falcone, a former staff director of the

Rhode Island Water Resources Board, asked an illustrative question in an Aug. 3 Providence Journal op-ed: “Why do we have 39plus school districts with the expensive hierarchy that they entail? Los Angeles County has one school district, and it has more students than Rhode Island.”

Consolidating municipal services is not a cure-all, but it is a step toward fiscal solvency. You could ask Falcone’s question over and over again, simply filling in the blank with a different service.

Why does every municipality in Providence County need its own fire department

countability are de-localized.

I believe this notion is misguided. Rhode Island’s small size is advantageous, in that it would allow many services to be provided effectively but in a more centralized manner, reducing costs. If residents are dissatisfied, they will have greater strength in numbers to foment change.

Many public officials are coming to see the benefits of consolidation. Lincoln is considering merging fire services with Cumberland, and Cicilline’s regionalization proposal enjoys the support of Pawtucket, North Providence and East Providence officials.

Consolidating municipal services is not a cure-all, but it is a step in the right direction toward fiscal solvency. if a county fire department could provide the same service at a lower cost? Larger departments would benefit from economies of scale and save money.

In addition to cutting costs, consolidation would help prevent corruption. The ethics scandal that rocked New Jersey this summer demonstrated that unnecessary positions of power and layers of government often breed abuse. And with fewer agencies, auditors and investigators will be able to focus their resources, improving transparency.

Critics of consolidation may argue that locality and responsiveness are inherently linked. Replace a town’s public works department with a county one and the quality of service will decline as delivery and ac-

Yet Ciccone’s legislation may not cruise to passage. Many local leaders stand to lose power if services are regionalized, and some will surely aim to maintain the status quo.

More problematic for the prospects of regionalization is the power of organized labor.

Consolidation will inevitably mean cutting unnecessary jobs, and public employees and their unions would suffer.

Proponents of consolidation must engage with unions to find a mutually acceptable way forward, since the legislation’s success may hinge on labor’s support. Workers should be treated with compassion, particularly during difficult economic times, and not simply cast aside in a cold effort to cut costs.

Unions must recognize, however, that the

state’s fiscal woes are hurting everyone and threatening Rhode Island’s future. While some jobs may disappear, labor doesn’t benefit from crippling budget deficits, either — East Providence decided to lay off 13 police officers this summer to save money.

One problem with Ciccone’s proposal is that county lines were not originally drawn with policy objectives in mind. There may be better ways to group towns for service consolidation than simply using existing boundaries.

I encourage the commission studying regionalization to devise a better way of organizing the consolidated departments. Providence and Warwick are the two biggest cities in the state, and only a sliver of Cranston separates them. It might make the most sense for these cities to merge services into a larger metropolitan organization.

Under Ciccone’s plan, however, this would not happen. Providence is in Providence County, while Warwick is in Kent County.

While the devil will certainly be in the details when it comes to consolidating services, Rhode Islanders will benefit from smart regionalization. If lawmakers can craft a plan to consolidate services without reducing quality or unnecessarily hurting state workers, we might finally make progress on bringing the state’s financial troubles to an end.

Dan Davidson ’11 is a political science and music concentrator from Atlanta, Ga. He can be reached at daniel_davidson@brown.edu.

Today The Brown Daily Herald

4

Not your average gubernatorial race

5

comics

Cabernet Voltaire | Abe Pressman

c a l e n da r 4 pm — Chinua Achebe Celebration and Welcome, Salomon 101

12:30 PM — Veterans Day Ceremony, Main Green

7 pm — Bollywood Film Series: “New York,” Wilson 102

6:30 pm — “Making the Truth Truthful: Turning Science Into Storytelling,” A Lecture by David Shenk ’88, Smith-Buonanno Hall 106

Hippomaniac | Mat Becker

menu Sharpe Refectory

Verney-Woolley Dining Hall

Lunch — Chicken Fajitas, Spinach Enchiladas, Vegan Rice and Jalepenos

Lunch — Chinese Chicken Wings, Linguini with Tomatoes and Basil, Sticky Rice

Dinner — Breaded Pork Chops with Apple Sauce, Tomato Quiche, Roasted Rosemary Potatoes

Dinner — Meat Tortellini with Sauce, Artichoke and Red Pepper Frittata, Parsley Potatoes

crossword

63/41

51 /38

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Dot Comic | Eshan Mitra and Brendan Hainline

wednesday, november 11

to m o r r o w

City planners: Tear down this wall?

another note on the wall

Today, november 10

to day

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