Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Daily

Herald

the Brown

vol. cxlvi, no. 84

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Since 1891

Lifetime Faculty satisfied with Simmons U. restricts Oxford, Do you approve or disapprove of the emails on way Ruth Simmons is handling her job as Cambridge president of the University? horizon

By Shefali Luthra Senior Staff Writer

By Phoebe Draper Contributing Writer

Conversion to a lifetime alumni email system has cost the University $75,000 so far, according to Todd Andrews ’83, vice president for alumni relations. The program, which allows students to maintain their Brown Gmail accounts after they graduate, will officially launch early next semester.

“Making this investment is a very significant expenditure at a time when budgets are razor thin,” Andrews wrote in an email to The Herald.

Computing and Information Services traditionally deletes the University email accounts of graduates in late September, but CIS has allowed the accounts of the class of 2011 to remain active. Until this semester, alums had the option of registering for an email forwarding service, but only about 20,000 of 85,000 alums took advantage of it, Andrews wrote. With lifetime email, brown.edu accounts will automatically convert to alumni.brown.edu accounts and retain all the features of the student’s original email account.

In particular, the program bencontinued on page 5

President Ruth Simmons’ approval rate among faculty is about 10 points above the most recent student approval rate, according to a Herald poll conducted among the faculty.

About 73 percent of faculty

study abroad

the faculty poll members stated they either “strongly” or “somewhat” approve of how she handles her job. About 41 percent strongly approve, while 31.4 percent somewhat approve. The poll was conducted more than a week after Simmons announced her intention to step down at the end of the academic year.

The student approval rate, from a poll taken last March, showed Simmons at a 62 percent approval rate among undergraduates, with 30 percent stating strong approval and 32 percent stating they somewhat approved of the way she was handling her job.

The faculty poll was conducted online from Sept. 25 to Oct. 8 and has a 6.6 percent margin of error with 95 percent confidence.

The faculty poll indicated a split on whether the campus ban on the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps should be lifted. Forty-four percent stated the ban should not be lifted, while 38.3 percent stated it should be. The remaining 17.7 percent indicated they either do not know or have no opinion.

One-semester programs no longer option

By Alison Silver Contributing Writer

ing in this position who does not bring those particular attributes,” she said.

Simmons is the first black president in the Ivy League and among its first female presidents. But she said those titles color her role more outside the University than within it. The interest in having her “play a role in African-American society” has been an expectation throughout her presidency, she said.

While serving as president, Simmons formed the Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice, which researched the University’s historical ties to the slave trade and made recommendations for how the University can acknowledge its past. Simmons also participated in an ancestry program at Harvard and discovered that her

The University will offer only fullyear study abroad programs at Oxford University and Cambridge University beginning next year. Students will no longer have the option to study abroad for one semester at those universities, and petitions for one-semester programs will not be approved.

The decision was made to encourage students to benefit from a “comprehensive immersion experience,” said Kendall Brostuen, director of international programs and associate dean of the College.

Until about nine years ago, Oxford and Cambridge did not offer a semester option at all, Brostuen said.

The universities follow a trimester schedule, comprised of one eightweek term in the fall and two in the spring.

Oxford and Cambridge operate under a tutorial system, through which students take two intensive classes per term in a focused area of study. This tradition of highly individualized and independent work is unique to Oxford and Cambridge, which is why Brown’s new policy applies specifically to these universities.

“Our aim is to expose more students to this system, respecting, at the same time, its traditional format for delivery,” Brostuen said.

Over the past five years, 44 students have spent a full year at one of the two universities, and 43 students have spent just a semester.

Akash Shah ’12, an economics concentrator who spent his junior year at Oxford, said it is “100 percent worthwhile to do a full year.”

Shah said he took the opportunity to go abroad in order to become a more “global person” and chose Oxford because its curriculum focuses on “applying your skills rather than just taking a test.”

Theresa Lii ’12, a neuroscience concentrator, spent a full year studying abroad at Cambridge. She said

continued on page 2

continued on page 5

Katie Wilson / Herald

Across disciplines, faculty from the sciences and social sciences were more likely to indicate that the ban should be lifted. About 41.1 percent of science faculty members and 51.2 percent of social science faculty members are in favor, compared to 27.1 percent of humanities faculty.

Simmons is planning to make a recommendation about ROTC at this month’s Corporation meeting. If the University is considering changing ROTC policy, the revision

will likely come before the faculty for discussion and vote. ROTC, as an extracurricular activity, does not technically fall under faculty jurisdiction, but Simmons has previously said the University values faculty opinion on the topic.

According to the poll, the proportion of humanities faculty members who spend most of their time teaching is about double that of continued on page 3

By Shefali Luthra Senior Staff Writer

Herald file photo

inside

President Ruth Simmons said she prefers to avoid ‘superficial’ labels about her identity.

news....................2-5 editorial.............6 Opinions..............7

President Ruth Simmons does not want to be revered simply for her race or gender.

“I don’t talk a lot about role models,” she said. “Because the principle of it, I just don’t believe in.”

She would prefer to be remembered as a president who worked hard for the University, built a “pathway for Brown to the future” and left something solid for the next president to build upon, she said.

But, she said, her race and gender will “forever” influence how people perceive her and her tenure.

“While I’m not insulted by that, I can in a clear-eyed way be aware that (my image) is different from what it would be for anybody serv-

Dorm Vandal Farewell, iCon SciLi Love Student switches dorm after homophobic incident

campus news, 2

Envisioning Steve Jobs in the Brown community

opinions, 7

A case for the ‘brute’ in the sky

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Black and female, but that’s not the point

t o d ay

tomorrow

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72 / 60

2 Campus News

Homophobic scrawl spurs room change

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Sudoku

The Brown Daily Herald Wednesday, October 12, 2011

By MIchael Weinstein Contributing Writer

A female sophomore who identifies as gay transferred out of Sears House in response to a homophobic remark written on the whiteboard on the front of her door. The student, who asked that her name not be used, said she saw the comment when she woke up the morning of Sept. 24. The comment read “OMG IM SO HAPPY YOU CAME OUT OF THE CLOSET, GAY PARTay.” Though the student said she has experienced some homophobia off campus, she said she had not come across much antagonism from Brown students until last month’s incident.

After the student emailed her Community Assistant, the Department of Public Safety and the Office of Residential Life got involved to help investigate the incident and provide support. A dean called and emailed the student to offer temporary residences until she could move to a different dorm.

The identity of the student who wrote on the whiteboard is still unknown.

Students writing offensive statements on whiteboards is not a new problem, said Margaret Klawunn, vice president for campus life and student services.

“Usually it’s an unpleasant or biased or discriminatory state-

ment, and they can do it in a way where they’re not identified with it,” she said. “It’s cowardly, and it’s counter to the values that we try to promote, but unfortunately it does happen from time to time.”

The student said she thinks comments such as the one written on her door are based on a sense of entitlement. “That just made me feel like they were laughing at me and laughing at my identity, which is not something I really want to feel,” she said.

The comment falls under Offense IV of Brown’s Code of Conduct, which states that students must not subject another person or group to “abusive, threatening, intimidating or harassing actions, including, but not limited to those based on race, religion, gender, disability, age, economic status, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.”

If the student responsible is caught, he or she will face nonacademic disciplinary charges, said Natalie Basil, associate director of ResLife. The severity and nature of the punishment would depend upon the sanctions the student is charged with, and subsequent determinations by officers hearing the case.

Basil attributes the majority of whiteboard vandalism to poor decision-making when students are

intoxicated. While many students are open-minded and progressive, their judgment and rationalization might be impaired while under the influence of alcohol, she said.

It is not clear whether alcohol was involved in this specific situation.

The LGBTQ Resource Center is considering organizing a community program in response to this situation, said Kelly Garrett, coordinator of the center.

While bias-related incidents do occur on campus, Garrett said such displays of discrimination are not frequent. “I don’t want to paint an overly rosy picture, but I think we’re very lucky here,” she said.

“Most Brown students value supporting LGBTQ students.”

Garrett said many students do not understand the consequences of actions they may think are harmless or funny. She said she thinks this problem can be improved with the help of individual and community education. “Students do things without thinking sometimes,” she said. “Individuals have the right to their opinions, but it’s when they do something to harm others that it becomes problematic.”

The LGBTQ Resource Center offers support for students faced with homophobia. “We want people to seek out that support,” Garrett said. “We don’t want people to suffer in silence.”

Simmons ‘open-eyed’ about race, gender Crossword

continued from page 1 great-grandparents were slaves.

The daughter of sharecroppers, Simmons said the discovery made the act of facing Brown’s relationship with slavery “fundamentally more interesting.”

But she said the project did not define her presidency — that idea has been imposed by others.

“If I were white, people probably wouldn’t even mention that in connection with my presidency,” she said. “I’m very open-eyed about this.”

People often approach her differently because of her race or gender, she said. Sometimes she examines her male presidential counterparts, wondering what it feels like “to be in that space.”

Daily

the Brown

“The experiences I’ve had — surely colored by the fact that I’m a woman and African-American — have been fantastic,” she said. “I’m pretty happy with my life, and I’m pretty happy with what I’m able to experience. But I do get that sense of ‘what would it be like’ if none of that were in play. I’ll never know.”

Women outside of the University call Simmons’ example inspiring. Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., and Jane Gates, provost and academic vice president of Western Connecticut State University, both identified Simmons as someone who opened new paths for women of color.

Bass said Simmons opened the door for all colored women to enter academia, while Gates called Simmons’ presidency “one of the

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most amazing accomplishments in higher education.”

Simmons is an important role model, Gates added. Her presidency “reinforces the possibility of what can happen not only in my life, but in the lives of other young women and young women of color or any other underrepresented group in this country.”

But Simmons disagrees with that theory.

“The idea is because you are black, or because you are a woman, you offer a special inspiration to people because they are women and because they are black,” she said. “And I guess I don’t believe in that because all of my life, I have been inspired by people who are so dissimilar to me. I don’t buy it.” She cited Aaron Lemonick — a former dean of the faculty at Princeton who was a white Jewish male — as her most influential mentor. She called him “big and blustery and aggressive,” someone she actually feared.

Despite these differences, she credits Lemonick’s influence as the reason she became a university president.

“It’s finding that shared perspective that will encourage you, inspire you, make you feel like a human being,” she said. “So I hope that people don’t treat me like a role model because they think there’s something superficial like race or gender that binds us together.”

twitter.com/the_herald

The Brown Daily Herald Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Full Poll Results Do you approve or disapprove of the way Ruth Simmons is handling her job as president of the University?

Strongly approve: 41.1% Somewhat approve: 31.4% Somewhat disapprove: 11.4% Strongly disapprove: 6.9% Not familiar enough to answer: 7.4% No opinion: 1.7% Do you approve or disapprove of the Corporation’s governance of the University?

Strongly approve: 16.0% Somewhat approve: 44.6% Somewhat disapprove: 13.1% Strongly disapprove: 6.3% Not familiar enough to answer: 17.1% No opinion: 2.9% Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Faculty Executive Committee (FEC) is handling its job?

Strongly approve: 23.4% Somewhat approve: 37.1% Somewhat disapprove: 5.7% Strongly disapprove: 4.0% Not familiar enough to answer: 21.7% No opinion: 8.0% Do you think the ban on ROTC should be lifted?

Strongly approve: 12.6% Somewhat approve: 25.7% Somewhat disapprove: 13.1% Strongly disapprove: 30.9% Not familiar enough to answer: 10.3% No opinion: 7.4% How does the level of student activism today compare to that when you were in college?

Much higher: 1.7% Higher: 13.6% No change: 17.0% Lower: 24.4% Much lower: 33.0% Not familiar enough to answer: 6.8% No opinion: 3.4% Do you find first-years to be well prepared for academics at Brown?

Very prepared: 30.9% Somewhat prepared: 47.4% Somewhat unprepared: 11.4% Very unprepared: 1.7% Not familiar enough to answer: 8% No opinion: 0.6% Do you approve or disapprove of the University’s newly revised tenure process?

Strongly approve: 19.4%

Somewhat approve: 40.0% Somewhat disapprove: 13.7% Strongly disapprove: 14.9% Not familiar enough to answer: 8.6% No opinion: 3.4% Are you satisfied with childcare resources available to faculty?

Strongly satisfied: 3.4% Somewhat satisfied: 8.6% Somewhat dissatisfied: 12.0% Strongly dissatisfied: 16.6% Not familiar enough to answer: 37.7% No opinion: 21.7% Are you satisfied with spouse support for faculty?

Strongly satisfied: 4.6% Somewhat satisfied: 14.3% Somewhat dissatisfied: 18.9% Strongly dissatisfied: 10.9% Not familiar enough to answer: 31.4% No opinion: 20.0% How long do you anticipate continuing to work at Brown?

Fewer than 5 years: 12.0% 5-10 years: 16.6% Until I retire: 44.0% Unsure: 27.4% How have changes made under the Plan for Academic Enrichment impacted the quality of undergraduate academics?

Strongly improved: 19.9% Somewhat improved: 31.8% No change: 12.5% Somewhat declined: 8.5% Strongly declined: 2.3% Not familiar enough to answer: 22.2% No opinion: 2.8% How much of your work time do you spend on the following? Please rank from most time-consuming (1) to least time-consuming (5).

Most time-consuming: Teaching (including prep time, grading, etc.): 44.0% Research: 42.3% Grant writing: 10.9% Governance (serving on committees, etc.): 7.4% Advising (including office hours: 8.6% Least time-consuming: Teaching (including prep time, grading, etc.): 5.1% Research: 7.4% Grant writing: 34.9% Governance (serving on committees, etc.): 22.9% Advising (including office hours: 8.6%

Campus News 3 Herald poll: Student activism down continued from page 1 science and social science teachers. In the humanities, 67.8 percent stated they spend most of their time teaching, compared to 31.5 percent and 34.1 percent in the science and social sciences, respectively.

Of those on tenure track — assistant professors, associate professors and professors — 39 percent spend most of their time teaching, compared to 81 percent of those not on the tenure track. Forty-seven percent of tenure-track faculty members spend most of their time researching. Of those not on the tenure track, only 9.5 percent stated that they spend most of their time on research.

Members of the science faculty are the likeliest to spend time writing grants, with 15.1 percent stating it takes most of their time and 24.7 percent stating it is their second-largest priority. Humanities faculty members are most likely to be involved in faculty governance, with 30.5 percent indicating serving on committees is their first or second priority. Social science faculty members spend most time advising — 12.2 percent stated advising is their main activity, while 29.3 percent reported it was their second highest priority.

A total of 59.4 percent stated that they approve of the University’s revised tenure process, with 19.4 percent stating they strongly approve and 40 percent stating they somewhat do. Twenty-nine percent disapprove of the new process, with 13.7 percent stating they somewhat disapprove and 14.9 percent that they strongly disapprove.

Sixty-five percent of tenured professors approve of the new tenure process. Of untenured faculty, 46.3 percent stated approval, and 24.1 percent stated they are not familiar enough to answer. About 76 percent of social science faculty members approve of the new procedure, compared to 57.5 percent of science faculty and 50.9 percent of humanities faculty.

The tenure revisions — approved by faculty vote last spring — changed how letters of support are reviewed and altered the timeline for when junior faculty come up for tenure review.

While 37.7 percent stated they are not familiar with childcare resources available to faculty, 28.6 percent expressed some level of dissatisfaction. Twelve percent stated they are “somewhat dissatisfied” with childcare resources, while 16.6 percent are “strongly dissatisfied.” A total of 12 percent expressed satisfaction.

Fifty-two percent stated that changes made under the Plan for Academic Enrichment — a cornerstone of Simmons’ presidency — have improved the quality of undergraduate academics, compared to 10.9 percent who think it has lowered the quality of academics.

A majority of faculty members stated that first-years are prepared for Brown academics, with 30.9 percent stating students are “very prepared” and 47.4 percent stating they are “somewhat prepared.”

Eighty-six percent of humanities

faculty members find students prepared, while 78 percent of social science faculty and 71.3 percent of science faculty do. But 14.6 percent of social science faculty indicated they think students are underprepared, compared to 13.7 percent of science faculty and 11.9 percent in humanities.

Sixty-one percent of the faculty approve of the Corporation’s governance of the University, with 16 percent expressing strong approval and 44.6 percent stating they somewhat approve. Seventeen percent stated they are not familiar enough to answer the question.

Sixty-one percent of faculty members approve of the Faculty Executive Committee’s execution of its job, while 21.7 percent stated they are not familiar enough with the committee. Those who have worked at the University longer are more likely to approve of the FEC — of those who have worked at the University longer than 20 years, 71.8 percent approve of the committee, compared to 41 percent of those who have been here five years or fewer.

A majority of faculty members also stated the level of student activism has decreased since they were in college — 57.7 percent think activism has declined, while 14.8 percent think it has increased. Of those who have worked at the University 20 or more years, 82.6 percent stated it has declined.

Thirty percent of faculty expressed dissatisfaction with spouse support, while 18.9 percent of faculty members stated they are satisfied.

Thirty-one percent indicated they are not familiar enough to answer.

Forty-four percent of faculty anticipate working at Brown until retirement, while 16.6 percent stated they will stay for five to 10 more years and 12 percent plan to stay fewer than five more years.

Methodology

Online questionnaires were sent to personal accounts of 902 faculty Sept. 25 and advertised on the faculty Morning Mail Sept. 27, Oct. 4 and Oct. 7. Only faculty that “teach, advise or interact with undergraduate students” were invited to respond.

The poll has a 6.6 percent margin of error with 95 percent confidence. The margin of error for the subset of males is 8.0 percent and 12.0 percent for the subset of females. The margin of error is 11.3 percent for the subset of faculty focusing in the humanities, 10.5 percent for the subset of faculty focusing in science and 14 percent for the subset of faculty focusing in social science. The margin of error is 9.0 percent for the subset of full professors and 6.7 percent for the subset of tenure-track faculty.

The sample polled was demographically similar to the University teaching faculty population as a whole.

The sample was 68.6 percent male and 31.4 percent female. Full professors made up 50.9 percent of the sample.

Adjunct professors, assistant professors, associate professors and visiting professors made up 43.4 percent of the sample, and lecturers made up 5.7 percent. Tenure-track faculty — professors, associate professors and assistant professors — made up 88.1 percent of the sample. Of those polled, 33.7 percent focus in the humanities, 41.7 percent in science and 23.4 percent in social science. Thirty-two percent of those polled have worked at Brown five years or fewer, 20.6 percent between six and 10 years, 21.1 percent between 11 and 20 years and 26.3 percent for 20 or more years. Statistical significance was established at the 0.05 level.

Senior Editors Nicole Friedman ’12 and Julien Ouellet ’12, Managing Editor Brigitta Greene ’12 and News Editor Alex Bell ’13 coordinated the poll.

Find results of previous polls at thebdh.org/poll.

4 Campus News

The Brown Daily Herald Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Canadians note different cultures Walkers make continued from page 8 she said.

Canadians also hold different cultural attitudes towards alcohol.

Because Canadians can legally purchase alcohol at 18, “most young people make their mistakes earlier, which does have an impact on the general maturity,” said Nick Shulman ’14 of Montreal.

In America, students who have never had experience with social drinking are just “going wild with opportunity,” he said.

Big differences

Cultural differences extend past social life. Most Canadian students choose a program of study before entering college, which does not allow for the same degree of freedom as American colleges, students said.

But Canadian schools are

free and generally easier to apply to than American ones, which means the decision to come to America for college is a deliberate choice.

Many Canadian students boast of hanging a national flag in their rooms, but not all of our neighbors to the north plan to return home after graduation. Students said they would go wherever jobs take them after Brown.

Halpern is applying to the one law school in Canada, the University of Toronto, and many law schools in the U.S., but does not feel attached to one or the other, she said.

Jack Maclellan ’12, who hopes to play professional hockey when he graduates, said he would not mind ending up in the U.S. “They have grown on me,” he said.

Some students, like Anna Rotman ’14, feel more pull to return

“It’s a funny category of international student.”

Innessa Colaiacovo ’12 Prime Minister of the Canadian Society at Brown home. She said she will definitely go back to Montreal.

They certainly do not all say “eh” or love Tim Hortons, but at least one stereotype appears to hold true at Brown — about half of the women’s hockey team and nearly one-third of the men’s hockey team hails from Canada.

— Additional reporting by Elizabeth Koh

student safety ‘fun’ continued from page 8 to paid service has ensured a full staff, Willner said. Two teams work each shift, except from 10:15 p.m. to 11 p.m. — the service’s busiest time — when two shifts overlap and eight Safewalkers are on the streets.

Though some students may feel that Safewalk is usually used only when walkers have friends on duty, Safewalker Adaeze Nwakobi ’14 said that is not the reality. “Most of the people that we walk, I’ve never seen them in my life,” she said.

But not all students see the service as an essential component of campus safety. On Monday at 12:45 a.m., Noa Nessim ’13 and Gideon Loevinsohn ’12 were among those who turned down a Safewalk offer as they walked home from the Sciences Library. Nessim said if she were alone, she might have accepted but not because she would have felt unsafe. “I think it’s a fun way to get from point A to point B,” she said.

“For me personally, I don’t find (Safewalk) necessary to be safe.”

One of Safewalk’s greatest attributes is its ability to mitigate danger without frightening students, Willner said. “We don’t want to scare people into being safe,” she said.

“We’d rather do that in a positive way, so instead of having more officers and surveillance, we’d rather depend on other students.”

The program has come a long way from its inception in 1988, when it was established as a volunteer program to protect women’s safety on campus. Now, the service is a paying campus job that works to make all walkers feel safe at night, Willner said.

Besides providing an extra set of safety monitors for DPS on campus, Safewalkers make students feel more comfortable through either their companionship or their presence, Macfarlane said. “Even if they brush us off,” he said, “In their head, they see two people with yellow vests on, and they’re reminded that they are in a city, and they should be aware of their surroundings at night.”

The Brown Daily Herald Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Campus News 5

Lifetime email plan encounters logistical problems continued from page 1 efits students who are continuing their research after graduation, said Stephanie Obodda, assistant manager of communications and computer education. All documents, emails and information remain with the account.

Lifetime email will improve alumni relations as well, Andrews wrote. Under the previous system, the University lost contact with some alums because it did not have an active email address on file, he wrote.

The Undergraduate Council of Students passed a resolution Sept. 26 in support of lifetime email, which

marked a significant step toward the implementation of the project. CIS is currently handling conversion for the class of 2011. By the beginning early 2012, the 20,000 alums who currently use the email forwarding service will be transferred to the alumni.brown.edu domain as well.

Class of 2012 accounts, and those of all future classes, will be transferred in the September following the Commencement of each class.

Despite the future benefits, lifetime email has encountered logistical problems in its implementation stage. “The programming to bring about the lifetime email service has been very complicated and has required CIS to put in many, many

Higher ed ne ws roundup

by K at Thornton senior staff writer

Professors support Occupy movement Occupy Wall Street has gained new support with the announcement of “solidarity” from the American Association of University Professors, according to a press release posted on the association’s website Oct. 7. National wealth disparities, rising costs of education amid budget cuts and faltering support for collective bargaining were among the main reasons the association voiced its support.

Both the group’s Bargaining Congress and national Council announced support for the movement, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.

California adopts Dream Act In-state university tuition and state-sponsored scholarships are now open to illegal immigrants in California. Gov. Jerry Brown signed the second half of the California Dream Act into law Oct. 8. The law is the second half of a “legislative package” first signed in July that also allows undocumented students to apply for loans and private scholarships, according to the New York Times. To qualify, students must prove residency and be on track to obtain legal immigration status, according to the Times.

Several students at the University of California at Los Angeles told the Daily Bruin, UCLA’s student newspaper, that the new law will allow them to return to college or pursue graduate school. The California Dream Act “will make it more likely that I will not have to take a quarter off,” UCLA student Mariana Vega told the Daily Bruin.

But groups like the Federation for American Immigration Reform have voiced concern over the “misuse of California taxpayer funds,” spokesperson Kristen Williamson told the Daily Bruin.

France aims for its own Ivy League Three universities in France have begun receiving money from a national investment scheme aimed at raising select universities to an internationally competitive level, according to Inside Higher Ed. The 7.7 billion euro Initiatives d’Excellence fund, which will eventually be awarded to five to seven “Sorbonne League” schools, is part of an effort driven by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to create a hierarchical system of education.

The plan signals a change in the relationship between universities and businesses. Funded universities must “work more closely with business to commercialize research and form spin-off companies,” according to Inside Higher Ed. The plan is “vital” for French universities to be top players in international education, Edouard Husson, vice chancellor of the universities of Paris, told Inside Higher Ed.

hours of programming and troubleshooting,” Andrews wrote.

“There is a slight distinction between what UCS initially asked for and what CIS was able to deliver,” said John Spadaro, director of technical architecture and outreach. UCS wanted students to maintain the exact addresses of their brown.edu accounts forever, but concerns rose about how the University would distinguish between current students and alums.

To solve the problem, alumni accounts will be distinguished by the alumni.brown.edu domain name.

If someone tries to contact an alum at their old brown.edu address, an automatic email response will indi-

cate the address has been modified to alumni.brown.edu.

Another problem arose with graduates who remain directly affiliated with the University, either as graduate students or staff. Because these individuals are both alums and current University community members, their domain placement remains ambiguous. Spadaro refers to these individuals, who represent approximately 10 percent of each class, as “edge cases.” The transition to alumni.brown.edu is currently not so clear-cut for these accounts.

CIS is still working to find an automated solution to the problem, but Spadaro said he is confident in CIS’s ability to face these challenges.

“We’re plumbers,” he said. “We just make it work.”

The project will require continued costs related to customer service, including a new Help Desk staff to handle questions from alums.

Though the project has garnered significant support from students, others are critical of the University’s allocation of resources. “CIS should probably focus more on things that immediately impact us, such as Banner not crashing when I’m trying to register for classes,” said Lorin Smith ’15.

But “when you have both UCS and the Office of Alumni Relations saying they want this, it becomes a CIS priority,” Spadaro said.

Program deadlines too early for some continued from page 1 full-year American students were much better integrated into the student body than those who came for only one semester. Being there for the entire year allowed her to make lasting friendships, she said.

But for other students, a year abroad is too long. Ethan Reed ’12, said he “can’t imagine” not having attended Cambridge during the spring semester of his junior year, but his decision to study abroad was dependent on the semester option. He said he would not have gone for a full year because students

returning to Brown after an entire junior year abroad “hit the ground running and immediately have to start thinking about jobs.”

The November deadline to apply to study abroad for the full year at Oxford or Cambridge is too early for some students considering the year-long commitment. Currently, students hoping to study at Oxford or Cambridge in the following spring semester need to apply by May. “You need to give people the opportunity to discover themselves,” said Mica Fidler ’12, who studied at Cambridge spring semester of her

junior year. “The desire to study abroad came late for me, and I got the best of it.”

Students in favor of the semester option also said it is more difficult for double-concentrators to spend an entire year abroad because they have more requirements to fulfill at Brown.

The London School of Economics and Political Science, Imperial College London and the University of Durham also only offer year-long study abroad programs. The Office of International Programs still offers semester-long programs at 25 other institutions in the United Kingdom.

comics Cabernet Voltaire | Abe Pressman

Fraternity of Evil | Eshan Mitra, Brendan Hainline and Hector Ramirez

The Unicomic | Eva Chen and Dan Sack

6 Editorial & Letter Editorial New leadership for new challenges When Brown last went searching for a new president, it sought a clean break with the unpopular, authoritarian Gordon Gee. Now, the University faces a much different challenge — finding a successor to one of the most beloved and respected of its 18 presidents. As with any organization seeking to replace an icon, Brown cannot seek President Ruth Simmons’ carbon copy. As the Undergraduate Council of Students prepares to name the student representatives to the Campus Advisory Committee, we would like to add our voice to the campus discussion about the kind of leader we would like to see.

Simmons will leave a distinctive legacy at Brown. Her ambitious Campaign for Academic Enrichment expanded the size of the faculty, increased research support, made the College need-blind and improved facilities. At the same time, her national standing has benefited Brown by increasing its profile and attracting donors. We judge her tenure a success to be sure, though not an unqualified one.

There have been real trade-offs associated with Simmons’ agenda.

The increased focus on research has come at the cost of the traditional emphasis on undergraduates, the element that distinguishes Brown as a university-college. Big plans to improve facilities have distracted from small quality-of-life issues that should take weeks, not years, to address.

Simmons’ extensive travel has also diminished her presence on campus, making her a remote — if universally admired — figure.

These are three essential concerns we hope Simmons’ successor will address. First, we would like a president who prioritizes the undergraduate experience, while consolidating Brown’s gains as a research institution.

This means an emphasis on faculty members’ undergraduate teaching, advising and mentorship, as well as increased support for undergraduate students’ research, projects and organizations. We cannot let the pressure to compete with our “peer institutions” distract us from Brown’s unique and vital undergraduate focus.

Second, we hope the next president will have a greater presence on campus. A president actively engaged with student and faculty life will energize and enrich the community. It is important that the next president play a more visible role in Brown’s day-to-day life.

Third, student life is an essential priority for our next president.

Though new dorms will benefit future students, they will do little to improve the lives of current students. We hope the student representatives to the committee address everyday, quality-of-life issues. If students do not emphasize these modest but significant concerns — replacing gym equipment, ensuring that long-term renovation and construction does not come at the expense of current students’ experiences, making meal plan more economical — who else on the committee will?

Simmons answered the challenges of her time extraordinarily well.

Now, Brown is a different place facing different demands. It thus requires a leader with different priorities. We could not have asked for a person of better character to lead us — Simmons’ gravitas, inspirational personal narrative, warmth and thoughtfulness are qualities we seek in her successor. People of such stature are rare — we have been lucky to have her and hope the University’s next president will be equally outstanding.

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

t h e b r ow n da i ly h e r a l d Editors-in-Chief

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Editorial cartoon

by pao l a e i s n e r

le tter to the editor Redefining the security issue To the Editor: Using the term “security” when one means “event management” is inaccurate (“Possible security shift rankles some,” Oct. 5). This critical challenge can be more accurately defined as undergraduate activities’ “event management,” not “security.” The Department of Athletics and Physical Education initially and later the Student Activities Office employed Green Horn

Management to assist them in managing undergraduate games and functions, not security. The Department of Public Safety has always been available for security.

Undergraduate games and undergraduate-sponsored events continue to need the quality event management services they have been receiving. Please redefine the issue and then move forward.

Phil O’Hara ’55

quote of the day

“I don’t talk a lot about role models. Because the principle of it, I just don’t believe in.”

Office Manager Shawn Reilly

Directors Aditi Bhatia Danielle Marshak Margot Grinberg Lisa Berlin

The Brown Daily Herald Wednesday, October 12, 2011

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Managers Justin Lee Collections Collections Sam Plotner Nicky Robbins Invoice Staff Kevin Lynch Daniel Slutsky Analytics Jared Davis Sales and Communications Alumni Engagement Nikita Khadloya Emily Simmons Ad Relations Human Relations James Eng Angel Lee Business Development Owen Millard Business Development Gregory Chatzinoff Web Relations Post- magazine Editor-in-Chief Sam Knowles Editor-in-Chief Amelia Stanton BLOG DAILY HERALD David Winer Editor-in-Chief Matt Klimerman Managing Editor

— Ruth Simmons See simmons on page 1.

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Opinions 7

The Brown Daily Herald Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Remembering Steve

By Gabe Paley Guest Columnist

Last Wednesday, the world learned of the passing of Steve Jobs — entrepreneur, visionary and long-time CEO of Apple. Few in the history of mankind have dared to alter the way the entire world lives their daily lives, and even fewer have succeeded. In his 56 years, Jobs changed the way we interact with each other, the way we learn, the way we listen to music, the way we play and quite frankly, the way we think. As President Obama said on the evening of Jobs’ death, “There may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented.” I can only imagine what he would have accomplished had he lived even one more decade.

As an aspiring entrepreneur, I am deeply saddened by this loss. Jobs was a role model to me and to aspiring innovators across the world. He shook off the status quo time and time again, was bold enough to believe that his own vision for the world was the way it should be and was dedicated enough about his dreams to see them through to fruition. As I think about Jobs’ position in global history and the legacy he will leave behind, names such as Gandhi, da Vinci, Einstein and Copernicus come to mind. These are individuals who fought against conventional wisdom, and

we honor them because each ushered humanity into a new era. And I would argue that even these great individuals did not have a direct impact on as many people during their lifetimes as Jobs did during his. Travel to nearly any country in the world and there is an Apple product to be found.

I believe that Brown would have been a natural fit for a trailblazer like Jobs.

He would have embraced the New Curriculum, and he would have found men-

mind he would have.

Jobs would have challenged his Brown classmates to dare to change the world.

I have often been told that schools like Brown look to accept students who demonstrate a commitment to learning and hard work and possess the immense passion and drive to do something with their natural abilities. Jobs would have urged us not to waste these natural gifts and to make full use of the unique opportunity that we have all been given as Brown students, just

Jobs repeatedly challenged the world to ‘think different,’ and at Brown, perhaps more than any other university in the world, we are encouraged to do so.

tors and friends who would have encouraged him to pursue his dreams and to fear nothing, just as I have during my time here. Jobs dropped out of Reed College in Oregon after one semester, but used his newfound freedom to continue attending the classes that intrigued him, such as the legendary calligraphy class that led to the variety of typefaces available on the first Apple computers. Perhaps he could have also found a way to incorporate Ghanaian drumming into one of his many inventions. In fact, there is no doubt in my

as he told the Stanford class of 2005 in a commencement address. He would have taken advantage of the resources to which we have all been granted temporary access, met as many students and professors as he could and taken classes far out of his comfort zone, as he did at Reed. He would have reminded us that four years is not a very long time.

Of all the wisdom Jobs imparted on those Stanford graduates, one point stood out to me above the rest: “You’ve got to find what you love.” This is a message we

are often told by alumni speakers and advisers, but I think it is one worth reiterating. We should pursue the ideas and activities about which we are most passionate or curious, not just those that our friends and relatives might persuade us to pursue due to their own experiences or perceptions. In the absence of a core curriculum, Brown leaves the responsibility for exploration in the hands of its students. This can sometimes feel like a heavy burden, but it demonstrates more faith in the maturity of the student body than the administrations at most other universities would even consider. Like many of you, I chose to attend Brown because I value this independence, so much so that I feel it has become ingrained in me. I hope to follow in Jobs’ path after I graduate and do something about which I am deeply passionate while building upon the many lessons I have learned thus far at Brown.

For all Jobs has given us and all his incredible mind will continue to give us over the coming decades, we owe this to him.

Jobs repeatedly challenged the world to “think different,” and at Brown, perhaps more than at any other university in the world, we are encouraged to do so. We are Jobs’ natural successors, but we will only succeed if we are not afraid to be bold and to take the road less traveled. We must begin our journeys now, as we do not know how much time we will have.

Gabe Paley ‘12 is an economics concentrator from New York. He is co-founder of the Brown Sports Business Club.

In defense of the SciLi

By Camille SpencerSalmon Opinions Columnist In his most recent column (“Rock beats SciLi,” Oct. 7), Chip Lebovitz ’14 asserted that the long communal tables, bustling lobby and group study rooms at the Sciences Library create an atmosphere more conducive to social activities akin to “hanging out” as opposed to true, laserpointed, marathon-session-style studying.

He explains, reasonably, that the Rockefeller Library is more diffuse and has “post-Zombie apocalypse levels of quiet,” making it the best place to study.

Not to knock the Rock, but the SciLi’s where it’s at.

Let’s examine the two libraries. There’s the SciLi, which in its very architecture is ambitious as it reaches up to the sky, though it admittedly comes off as a bit of a brute. The Rock, in contrast, is solidly grounded in the earth, overlooking the side of College Hill and the rest of Providence.

But both libraries are comprised mainly of stacks, which are flanked by islands of study either high up or spread out. So why do we so often hear students assert, “I’m more of a Rock person”? I would suggest that Brown manufacture T-shirts designating their wearers as “Team Rock” or

“Team SciLi,” but that excludes the folks who go both ways. And should we be defining our fellow Brown students by a SciLi-Rock binary anyway? Could it be that other places to study exist? Consider upper Faunce House, where eyes follow as your footsteps echo through the room, coffee places on Thayer Street or, heaven forbid, your own room.

We will stray from the libraries with such places every so often, but when it is time to hit the books or buckle down

dusty books is unlikely to help you scrape out the extra few points you need to beat that curve.

But back to why the SciLi is better. Its very diversity of study space is its greatest advantage. In the basement alone, one can curl up in a couch facing a window, sprawl out on a communal table or hide away in a corner. Yes, it is not zombie quiet — not even in the holy zero decibel zone. The experience as a whole tends to be, in fact, social.

The SciLi, more reliable than a lover, will hold you for hours.

or roll up your sleeves or put the pedal to the metal or any other idioms for “get learned,” many students prefer the libraries. We want studying to look like itself.

But it probably would not make any difference if we study in a real-world candy land while surrounded by angels sliding down rainbows so long as the angels are not shouting at the tops of their lungs.

Similarly, being surrounded by stacks of

This works because, on a late night, you can easily find yourself a nice corner — there are many — and chug through your work. When the crushing loneliness brought on by the harsh lighting and uncrossed items on your to-do list sets in, you can get up and schmooze with one of the friends you have made over many shared hours of silently freaking out by each others’ side. After talking to another human

being, you will ideally have pushed the existential anxiety away for a bit and will be able to continue trying to have original thoughts — or memorize someone else’s — for a little longer. And if you do need a little more solitude than the lower floors offer, it is not hard to move up to the quiet space on the fourth floor, which resembles a cozier and quieter basement, or the venerable stacks.

Yes, the SciLi is not the Main Green on a sunny and temperate day. You will not read a book in the embrace of that abstract lady statue in front of Faunce. You will not watch people juggle, play frisbee or sunsalute their ways through a glorious afternoon. You will be swathed in concrete. The SciLi, more reliable than a lover, will hold you for hours. But then you will emerge victorious, perhaps a little more fine-lined but also newly aware of what has been going on in your 9 a.m. class.

The SciLi is not, I believe, a Smith-Buonanno Hall body double or a Blue Room replacement — the former having those nice chalkboards and the latter offering great muffins. But it is a place of commiseration with the struggles of one’s classmates, an occasionally splendid view of the sunset for those in the upper floors and, of course, many a late-night cram session fueled by the knowledge that being a student is a shared experience.

Camille Spencer-Salmon ’14 probably spends too much time in libraries.

Daily Herald Campus News the Brown

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Partnership allows PhDs to teach in Spain

By Adam Toobin Contributing Writer

Rachel Kaplan / Herald

Safewalk coordinators hope to expand the service to Friday and Saturday nights but have not yet met success.

Funding stagnant as Safewalk numbers rise

By Eli Okun Contributing Writer

Safewalk has seen a marked surge in walks this semester and is aiming for increased funding to expand to weekend service in the future, said Becky Willner ’12, Safewalk coordinator.

The program completed 60 walks the night of Thursday, Sept.

29, and the following Thursday had 41 walks by 12:30 a.m., said Rory Macfarlane ’14, a safewalker and one of five shift supervisors. Thursday nights last semester averaged fewer than 30 walks, according to a Safewalk internal report compiled last spring.

Though numbers vary by month, weather and time of night, teams

consider 10 walks per two-hour shift to be a good benchmark, Macfarlane said. Safewalk offers walking companions to students traveling alone or in pairs on weeknights from 9 p.m. to 2:15 a.m.

One of Safewalk’s major goals is to offer service on Friday and Saturday nights, but the additional funding necessary has proven elusive, and Willner said it would be difficult to find students willing to work on those nights. Safewalk is currently focused on increasing student use, especially for its call-in service, and augmenting awareness of the program through outreach events, Willner said. A greater presence would help Safewalk convince the Department of Public Safety to grant additional funding, she added.

Currently, DPS funds Safewalk based on a proposal compiled each spring by the Safewalk coordinator and Michelle Nuey, manager of public relations and outreach for DPS. Nuey declined to reveal how much funding Safewalk receives. DPS provides Willner about $1,800 yearly to fund apparel, promotional items, special events and self-defense training, Willner said.

But the department covers payroll, vests and radios directly.

The program employs 60 students regularly, each of whom has a weekly shift with a partner, and 10 substitute walkers. Safewalk pays its workers a starting rate of $8.70 per hour. The shift from volunteer continued on page 4

The International Teaching Fellowship, a joint venture between Brown and the Instituto de Empresa, will provide those who have received a doctoral degree from Brown with an opportunity to teach in Spain starting next September. Organizers of the teaching fellowship at IE, an institution known for its graduate programs and especially its business school, said they hope the influx of Brown PhD recipients will boost the credentials of their fledgling undergraduate program.

The teaching fellowship requires that the fellows teach 130 hours in either undergraduate or graduate humanities classes at IE’s campus in either Madrid or Segovia. In addition to teaching in Spain, the fellows will have the option of working at Brown’s Cogut Center for the Humanities for one month. The fellowship lasts eleven months total but could be renewable.

IE’s business school is ranked eighth in Europe, according to the Economist. Its undergraduate school opened in 2009 and has yet to attain the same prestige. Both the undergraduate and graduate programs stress liberal arts, but since the humanities department is young and has few faculty members, Brown fellows will allow IE to expand in scope and content,

wrote Rolf Strom-Olsen, director of humanities at IE, in an email to The Herald.

Michael Steinberg, director of the Cogut Center, said he is excited about the program. IE has always been “very adventurous and forward-thinking,” he said. Steinberg said he thought the teaching fellowship will benefit the fellows as much as the fellows will help IE. “We don’t have a business school — they’re known for their business school,” he said. “We are known for humanities — they’re just building their humanities program.”

Fellows will design a curriculum for one or two classes in their field. Strom-Olsen wrote that IE intends to give the fellows “considerable latitude in designing a class that reflects her or his scholarly interest.”

The collaboration comes on the heels of another partnership between the two universities ­— the IE Brown Executive MBA program, whose inaugural class began courses earlier this year. The joint MBA program holds classes in Spain and Providence, but students do most of the coursework online, allowing them to work while earning the degree. The program combines IE’s business school with Brown’s humanities departments to create a degree that incorporates a liberal arts component into the traditional MBA program.

Canadians give thanks for not-quite-international identity

By Alexandra Macfarlane Staff Writer

Fall Weekend was a time to give thanks — the Canadian way. Canadian Thanksgiving, which falls on the second Monday of October, brought together different heritages, identities and, most deliciously, pie.

Feature For students at Brown, Canadian identity seems to be a different type of classification — neither totally familiar nor totally foreign.

Sunday night, roughly 30 students of both American and Canadian origins gathered in Faunce House to eat and give thanks at an event hosted by the newly formed Canadian Society at Brown.

The iconic maple leaf hung above Faunce Arch, attracting students from as far as Nova Scotia and Vancouver. The flag was later offered as one of the prizes for the Canadian trivia game, which included questions on wide-ranging topics such as Parliament and Canadian lakes.

Like its American equivalent, the Canadian Thanksgiving celebration featured apple and pumpkin pies, apple cider and

whipped cream, because pie is “all that matters,” said Innessa Colaiacovo ’12, prime minister of the Canadian Society.

Up North, eh?

When Colaiacovo first came to campus, she said other students would joke, “Are you even a country?”

“It’s a funny category of international student,” said Colaiacovo.

Canadian students apply through the same process as all international students and are invited to the University’s official international student orientation.

Canada had the fifth largest number of admitted students for international countries for the class of 2015, with 28 admits, according to a University press release. International students have made roughly 10 percent of the student body in recent years, according to the Office of Institutional Research.

Canadian student Lydia Halpern ’12 compared her origins to those of a friend from Hawaii — “cool and unusual, but not different,” she said.

But students stressed that Canada is different — even among the country’s own regions.

Trevor Smyth ’13, who hails

from Alberta, defines himself as from “out west,” where the experience is very different than other parts of Canada.

Canadian students are definitely not the same as American students, said Rayna Chandaria ’14, a fact driven home during the State of the Union address her freshman year. As her whole floor crowded into a small lounge in Littlefield Hall to watch President Obama, Chandaria realized that she was not in Canada anymore.

“Patriotism is so much different in the United States,” she said, adding that “no one” in Canada watches the speech from the throne, their country’s equivalent.

For many, bilingualism and language define many of the two countries’ differences. When Haakim Nairiar ’14 asked to use the “washroom” one of his first nights at Brown, he was taken to the laundry room in the basement, rather than the bathroom, he said.

Halpern remembers the shock she felt after seeing real cheerleaders at her first University football game. Before that, “cheerleaders only existed in movies,” she said.

And Canadian university students call pre-gaming, ‘pre-drinking’,

Elizabeth Koh / Herald

continued on page 4

The maple leaf was prominent on campus last weekend for Canadian Thanksgiving.