Monday, October 4, 2010

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Daily Herald the Brown

vol. cxlv, no. 83 | Monday, October 4, 2010 | Serving the community daily since 1891

315 Thayer renovations to grow campus housing Corp. accepts By Brigitta Greene Metro Editor

Renovations to the University-owned apartment building at 315 Thayer St. will result in 66 more on-campus beds by 2012, said Margaret Klawunn, vice president for campus life and student services. The renovations represent the largest expansion of the residence hall system since the opening of Vartan Gregorian Quad in 1991. Though located on the northern end of the Pembroke campus — a predominantly freshman residential community — the new residence hall will likely house sophomores and juniors. Single and double bedrooms will be “clustered” along a central hallway, with a shared lounge and study space on each floor, Klawunn said. The four-stor y brick building is currently part of Brown’s auxiliary housing system. Its 32 student residents live in two- and three- bed-

The ArabIsraeli conflict on campuses By Sarah Forman Staff Writer

Of the hundreds of passions and interests pursued on campus, none manages to simultaneously unite and drive apart the community as much as the conflict in Israel and Palestine.

higher ed

gift to fund humanities

room apartments, paying about $750 in monthly rent, Richard Bova, senior associate dean of residential and dining ser vices, wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. It is not now considered part of the on-campus residence hall system. Preliminary plans for the new residence hall include the relocation of central stairways, opening greater flow across all four floors and allowing adequate egress for safety. As it stands, the stairways block access across floors, creating a tower-like feel, Klawunn said. The University does not rent rooms on the fourth floor due to a lack of exits. Despite its current flaws, “the building has good bones,”she said. Construction is expected to begin this summer, President Ruth Simmons wrote in her Oct. 2 e-mail to the University community. Funding for the renovations was approved by the Corporation’s Budget and continued on page 9

Capital projects top weekend’s meeting By Alex Bell Senior Staff Writer

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Simmons to work on U.S.-Muslim relations By Kristina Fazzalaro Senior Staff Writer

President Ruth Simmons was nominated on Sept. 22 to the steering committee of Partners for a New Beginning, a non-partisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving relations between the United States and Muslim countries. A Brown program, Heritage as Bridge, will be Simmons’ first initiative as a member. Partners was founded jointly between the Department of State and the Aspen Institute, a non-

profit organization dedicated to pursuing common ground and deeper understanding on critical issues, according to the organization’s website. The steering committee is responsible for “operationalizing” this partnership, according to Toni Verstandig P’12, executive director of Middle East Programs at the Aspen Institute and secretariat of Partners. “Partners for a New Beginning is the follow-up to President Obama’s Cairo Speech,” Verstandig said. In June 2009, Obama dis-

URI tackles GLBT rights BY Abby Kerson Contributing Writer

Students at the University of Rhode Island staged a sit-in protest on behalf of the school’s Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Center. The protest began Sept. 23 and came to an end eight days later on Oct. 1 when the university’s administration agreed to meet the students’ seven demands.

Big voices on campus “It’s an extremely hot button issue on campus,” said Liz Jackson ’01, a law student at the University of California, Berkeley and a member of Berkeley Students for Justice in Palestine. “It’s extremely polarized.” Last year, the Associated Students of the University of California — Berkeley’s student senate — passed a measure urging divestment from two American companies that supply war

News.......1–6 Arts..........7 Sports.....8–9 Editorial....10 Opinion.....11 Today........12

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Stephanie London / Herald

Interior renovations to auxiliary housing at 315 Thayer St. will double its bed count and bring it into the on-campus housing pool by 2012.

The discourse on College Hill can be polarized — even with two groups specifically designed to reinforce the middle ground — in a manner that just doesn’t happen with other forms of student activism. But even if table slips and guest speakers leave some students feeling torn between just a few sharply different perspectives, the contention and rancor at some other campuses leaves Brown looking positively harmonious.

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cussed his aspirations in Egypt to renew engagements with Muslim countries. The Cairo Speech “lays out four pillars in which that engagement can be advanced — economic opportunity, science and technology, education and exchange,” Verstandig said. Partners is first reaching out to five target areas: Egypt, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Indonesia, Pakistan and Turkey, she added. One of the best features of the

During this weekend’s meeting, members of Brown’s highest governing body reviewed year-end budget results, accepted gifts, approved plans to expand housing and dedicated buildings. The University formally accepted a $3 million gift to fund a new humanities initiative, which will serve as a “stimulus for innovation” in humanities and aid the University in its goal of attracting senior-level humanities faculty, said Dean of the Faculty Rajiv Vohra P’07. Vohra said that in the past seven years, 60 percent of faculty hires have been assistant professors, while only 25 percent have been full professors. Vohra said the need for senior faculty hiring is “most acute” in the humanities due in part to resignations and retirements. In the next three years, he said he hopes to hire six new “pre-eminent humanists.” Vohra said the gift will not be used for hiring faculty directly, but will most likely be used for programmatic purposes such as developing new curricula, running seminars and conferences and supporting research projects. “When you’re trying to recruit a lot of senior faculty at the same time,

METRO

Courtesy of Brian Stack

URI’s GLBT center arranged a protest calling for the university to meet student demands.

The issues were brought to the forefront in mid-August when a group of students were harassed by a group of males who screamed “faggot” from their car and sped off, according to Brian Stack, a student

volunteer for the GLBT Center and the leader of the sit-in. Stack and other GLBT students met with David Dooley, president of the university, at his house in late August, along with other members of the administration, to discuss their concerns. “The students were very effective, very articulate in presenting their demands,” said URI Vice President for Student Affairs Tom Dougan, who was also present at the meeting. The students gave the administration a written list of demands after that meeting, he said. Despite the meeting and a Sept. 7 blog post written by the president addressing recent harassment continued on page 6

ABWxD

Bruno vs. URI

Social network

Student conference discusses ways to better the world

Brown football loses for the first time this season

William Tomasko ‘13 supports Facebook use – to an extent

ARTS, 5

SPORTS, 7

Opinions, 11

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