Thursday, October 27, 2011

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vol. cxlvi, no. 95

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Thursday, October 27, 2011

Since 1891

Marathon hearing addresses pensions Hundreds turn out to weigh in on reform

By Kate Nussenbaum Contributing Writer

More than 150 state employees, teachers and municipal employees addressed lawmakers at the first of three public hearings of the joint

city & state Rhode Island House and Senate Finance Committees on pension reform legislation Wednesday. The hearing, which lasted nearly 11 hours, concluded around 10 p.m.

The Rhode Island Security Act of 2011, proposed by Gov. Lincoln Chafee ’75 P’14 and General Treasurer Gina Raimondo, would

dramatically alter public sector employees’ pensions to reduce the current $9.4 billion shortfall in state and municipal pension systems. The bill’s supporters say it is necessary to avoid sharp tax increases and budget cuts to statefunded programs.

The bill would freeze cost-ofliving-adjustments for 12 or 19 years depending on the value of a pension and raise the retirement age from 62 to 67. It also would change the state-run system to a new hybrid pension plan, giving retirees both a small, guaranteed benefit and an individual invest-

Dan Jeon / Herald

continued on page 3

Some critics of the Chafee-Raimondo bill argue it limits retiree buying power and disproportionally burdens female public employees.

Pension reform draws competing rallies

By Dan Jeon Staff Writer

With a new pension reform bill now under consideration in the General Assembly, competing groups converged on the State House rotunda Wednesday to make their voices heard.

city & state The public employee union opposing the bill — Council 94 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees — and EngageRI, an advocacy

group backing the legislation, held back-to-back rallies. Gov. Lincoln Chafee ’75 P’14 and General Treasurer Gina Raimondo spoke at the EngageRI rally.

Current Rhode Island staterun and municipal pension plans have a combined shortfall of about $9.4 billion.

As the joint House and Senate Finance Committees reached the end of the first of three hearings on the legislation yesterday, Rhode Island Council 94 rallied in opposition to the bill. The union is denouncing the new proposal because it will “eliminate

the retirement security of tens of thousands of Rhode Island working men and women,” according to the union’s press release issued yesterday.

“It’s unfair to everyone,” Rhode Island Council 94’s State Vice President Lynn Loveday told The Herald. “The retirees take a certain hit, and (the state government) is asking people at the worst time in history to take a risk,” she said. Loveday added that she represents over 4,000 state workers, all opposed to pension reform.

The proposed legislation, the

Rhode Island Retirement Security Act of 2011, would freeze costof-living-adjustments and reduce guaranteed benefits paid to pensioners by placing state workers in a new hybrid plan. The plan would combine a reduced defined contribution payment — a defined benefit account similar to a 401(k) — and regular Social Security payments. All state employees, teachers and municipal employees excluding police and fire departments would be enrolled in the plan, which will also continued on page 3

Ne ws in brief

Housing lottery may face overhaul The Residential Council is considering overhauling the housing lottery process and will be holding three forums to discuss possible changes with the student body.

At the forums, ResCouncil will also seek feedback on the possibility of extending gender-neutral housing to first-year students, said ResCouncil’s policy committee member Maggie Tennis ’14.

The board will also discuss modeling a new system off peer universities’ housing processes, Tennis said. Unlike Brown, other schools do not usually allow students to pick their exact rooms, a privilege Brown students may not want to give up, Tennis said.

ResCouncil is also considering moving the lottery process online, but ResCouncil Chair Sam Barney ’12 said such a shift could present “catastrophic problems” if the system crashed.

Tennis said the forums are a step toward increasing the board’s presence on campus. Students may not know they can contact the board directly with housing concerns as an alternative to contacting the Office of Residential Life, she said.

Two panels aimed at rising sophomores will be held Nov. 6 and 10, and a third geared toward upperclassmen will be held Nov. 8, Tennis said. ResCouncil is still determining the locations for the forums.

Barney said ResCouncil is also organizing a survey to gauge student opinion about the lottery process and suggestions for the new housing lottery.

— Caitlin Trujillo

A more learned occupation UCS votes for $72 Professors support activities fee hike Occupy movement by teaching, speaking, signing

By Katrina Phillips Senior Staff Writer

When Professor of Economics Glenn Loury first heard about

Rachel Kaplan / Herald

Over 130 faculty members have pledged support for the Occupy movement.

inside

Occupy Wall Street, he was not surprised. In fact, he was amused.

news........................2 editorial................6 Opinions................7 CITY & State............8

“The first thing I thought was, ‘See, I told you so,’” Loury said.

In an August conversation for video discussion blog Blog-

Post-

misses Prospect & Meeting, goes to dinner with zombies Post-, inside

gingheads.tv, Loury predicted the Occupy protests when he said he continued on page 2

The Undergraduate Council of Students approved a resolution calling for a $72 increase to next year’s student activities fee at its general body meeting last night.

UCS originally suggested a $22 increase, but Jason Lee ’12, chair of the Undergraduate Finance Board, made an impassioned plea for a larger increase.

The resolution calls for raising the total fee to $250.

Student Activities Chair Mae Cadao ’13, a Herald senior finance associate and sponsor of the resolution, said Margaret Klawunn,

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Email privacy policy needs transparency Opinions, 7

weather

By Margaret nickens Contributing Writer

vice president for campus life and student services, had expressed support for an increase.

Cadao said she hopes Klawunn will advocate the increase in her upcoming discussions with the University Resources Committee.

She said Klawunn encouraged her not to “lowball” the increase.

In the past, the URC has often approved much smaller fee increases, so the council determined it would be preferable to ask for more money.

Students at Brown pay far more in student activities fees than their counterparts at wealthier institucontinued on page 4

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2 Campus News calendar Thursday

October 27

12 P.M.

Friday

October 28

8 p.m.

Wind Symphony Concert,

John Hay Library, Lownes Room

Grant Recital Hall 5 p.m.

Poetry Reading by Ed Broberson,

Film Screening: “The Doctor,”

McCormack Family Theater

CareerLAB

menu SHARPE REFECTORY

VERNEy-WOOLLEY DINING HALL LUNCH

Chicken Milanese, Vegan Tacos, Vegan Nuggets with Dipping Sauce, Vegan Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

Chicken Caesar Salad Wrap, Eggplant Parmesan, Vegan Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

DINNER Grilled Marinated Boneless Pork Chop, Tortellini Angellica, Fresh Collard Greens, Carrot Cake

Faculty sign Occupy petition continued from page 1

Napoleon’s Death Mask, 2:30 p.m.

The Brown Daily Herald Thursday, October 27, 2011

Tequila Lime Chicken, Grecian Zucchini Bake, Tomato Basil Infused Rice, Carrot Cake

Sudoku

Crossword

believed it was time for a massive social movement to “get our money back from these suckers.”

One month later, Occupy Wall Street began.

Though Loury may have been the only Brown professor to have publicly prophesied the rise of the movement, others have since rallied to its banner. Over 130 faculty members signed a petition in support of Occupy two weeks ago, and professors have visited the encampment in Burnside Park, spoken at Occupy Boston, participated in a campus teach-in and brought the movement into the classroom.

Rallying the troops

Associate Professor of History Naoko Shibusawa thought up the petition after receiving an email from a former student, Derek Seidman GS, who is now a visiting assistant professor of history at Trinity College. Seidman asked her to sign a faculty petition from the New School supporting the Occupiers. This sparked Shibusawa’s interest in the attitudes of professors closer to home, and she began feeling out her colleagues about the possibility of a similar petition at Brown.

The idea behind the petition was, “Let’s see how we can get involved. Let’s not just sort of be here, up here on College Hill. Let’s see how we can try to contribute towards something that might work towards a greater social good,” Shibusawa said.

Shibusawa said she has circulated many faculty petitions before but has never received such an immediate, positive response.

She said the petition’s reception has led her to believe Occupy “might turn out to become a different sort of moment … in which we can have a more just society.”

Shibusawa’s queries also gave rise to the Oct. 11 teach-in, organized by Vazira Zamindar, associate professor of history.

“We had this great sort of show, which was really wonderful, really sort of exciting,” Shibusawa said of the teach-in, which featured professors and community members. But she said she was disappointed the organizers scheduled community members to speak after the professors had finished their presentations, by

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which time nearly half the audience had already left.

Loury said his name is not on the faculty petition because he was not aware of it until it was too late to sign it. Though he has visited Occupy Boston and discussed the protests in another Bloggingheads.tv video Wednesday, he said he has not seriously discussed the movement with colleagues in the economics department.

Why they signed

Professors cited a variety of motivations for supporting the Occupy movement, though many pointed to increasing inequality as their primary concern.

As students at an elite university should be aware, education is a facet of American life especially characterized by inequality, and Zamindar said he hopes the movement will work toward making educational resources more widely accessible.

Professor of Sociology Patrick Heller, who spoke at the teach-in and signed the faculty petition, pointed to political inequality in America, saying the wealthiest 1 percent “exerts undue influence over the political system.”

Though some have claimed the movement lacks direction, Heller said its amorphous nature makes historical sense. “No movement in its infancy has a platform.

Movements start as reactions to something,” he said. “Maybe over time, as they consolidate and as they organize, they may start to generate specific proposals.”

Lynne Joyrich, associate professor of modern culture and media, said she signed the petition and spoke at the teach-in because she believes the movement is trying to deal with the integration of many issues, including gender, race and class disparities. Joyrich has also visited the Occupy Providence encampment in Burnside Park to show her support.

She said the media has oversimplified the Occupy protests in order to sell a product.

Some media only give a story serious consideration “if it can be quickly encapsulated into a sound bite,” Joyrich said. “The fact that (the Occupy movement) does not do that means that people dismiss it by saying, ‘Oh, it doesn’t have a message.’”

She said she hopes the movement will push the media to re-

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consider the definition of “meaningful conversation.”

In addition to signing the petition, Bianca Dahl, postdoctoral fellow in anthropology and population studies, discussed the movement in class with students.

During her lecture, she presented articles, statistics and anthropological theories published about the Occupy movement. By sparking an in-class discussion about the media portrayal of Occupiers, Dahl said she hopes students will apply the theoretical tools they have learned in class to gain a better understanding of the protests.

As of last Thursday, Dahl said she had not yet visited an Occupy encampment.

“In some sense, (lecturing about the movement) is the strongest vote of solidarity that I can give,” Dahl said.

Beyond the Hill

Mark Blyth, professor of political science, has also lectured on the movement — not in a classroom, but at Occupy Boston.

Blyth, who hails from Scotland, told Occupiers he immigrated to the United States in search of a “multi-cultural, exciting society” that no longer exists.

“This isn’t the place I joined 20 years ago. This is Brazil in the 1960s. This is Mexico in the 1970s. This is the income distribution of a developing country,” Blyth said in his speech. The Congressional Budget Office issued a report Tuesday confirming that income inequality and the relative affluence of the top 1 percent of earners continues to grow.

Professors at other schools, including Columbia, Oberlin College, the University of California at Berkeley and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, have also signed petitions supporting the Occupy movement.

Ania Loomba, a professor of English at Penn, organized a faculty petition in support of the movement at her school to promote “greater consciousness about what is the problem in America,” she said. The petition received over 100 signatures, mostly from humanities professors. A few Penn students expressed discontent with the wording of the petition. In an Oct. 16 editorial in the Daily Pennsylvanian, senior Brian Goldman wrote that Loomba’s petition expressed a number of political beliefs, such as anti-war and anti-Medicaid sentiments, that he believes are unrelated to the Occupy movement. Goldman told The Herald he feels the professors are imposing a “democratic wish list” on a financially focused movement.

Across the board, professors expressed a desire to see more campus engagement with the movement.

“We, as scholars, as researchers, as students, have a particular burden to pay attention, to engage more, to learn more from a movement like Occupy rather than judge it at a distance,” Zamindar said.

The Brown Daily Herald Thursday, October 27, 2011

City & State 3

Public workers wary Rallies critique, support pension reform of ‘draconian changes’ continued from page 1

continued from page 1 ment account that would contribute to their income.

Witnesses represented a diverse array of organizations, including the AARP and prominent public employee unions such as the National Education Association of Rhode Island — the state’s largest teachers union — and Council 94 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Rhode Island’s largest public employee union.

Public school teachers and retirees — almost all of whom spoke against the proposed bill — comprised the majority of witnesses.

Phil Keefe, president of the Service Employees International Union and a member of the pension advisory group tasked by the governor and treasurer with examining reform options, was the first witness to address the finance committees. He stressed the importance of ensuring that reforms avoid “draconian changes” and provisions favoring special interest groups.

“The bill has failed miserably on both accounts,” he said. He explained that the bill would not force the highest wage earners into the hybrid program, and that only the “serfs” would suffer. He added that though the current budget shortfall is a serious problem, claims that it is a crisis requiring immediate action are exaggerated.

Maureen Martin, director of political activities for the Rhode

Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals and secretary-treasurer of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, addressed the increase in the amount of work hours per week required to be eligible for a pension. The increase from 20 to 35 hours would significantly hurt female employees, who make up the majority of workers depending on low-wage, part-time jobs, she said.

One witness claimed it would reduce retirees’ buying power and ultimately hurt the state’s economy.

Others said it was unfair to health care workers who took state jobs for less pay than they could have received elsewhere in exchange for retirement security and argued that it undermines the value of work in unfair and inequitable ways.

“The bill has been characterized as a math problem, but right now, it’s a civil and human rights problem,” said Frank Flynn, president of the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals.

The speakers were not all against the bill. More than 20 individuals signed up to testify in favor of the reforms, including many small business owners.

The hearings will continue tomorrow and next Tuesday. Public safety employees, correctional officers, state police and judges will address the committees during the second hearing, and the third hearing will focus on independent pension plans that are not included in the Municipal Employee Retirement System.

increase the retirement age from 62 to 67 for workers born during or after 1960.

Joe Cassady, a teacher at Portsmouth High School, stressed that reform is a drastic step.

As a teacher, he said he felt the legislation would significantly reduce his pension benefits. “I want them to work with us, not around us,” he said.

EngageRI held its own rally shortly after Rhode Island Council 94’s. With roughly 150 people, EngageRI outmuscled the last

remnants of the union rally. Holding signs featuring slogans such as “Save R.I.,” “Fix my Future” and “Youth for Pension Reform,” ralliers called for immediate pension reform for the sake of all Rhode Islanders. EngageRI supports pension reform in order to sustain services, such as education and transportation, according to its website.

Chafee made an appearance and asked EngageRI ralliers for their support to pass the bill.

Ralliers greeted Raimondo, who spoke after Chafee, with thunderous applause. She expressed her

gratitude to every person at the rally for “coming for the future of the state.”

“We owe it to you to pass this bill and provide the action you demanded,” Raimondo said. “We will rally to the finish line until this bill is passed.”

About 15 Brown Democrats attended the EngageRI rally. Shawn Patterson ’12, the club’s president, said failing to address the pension shortfall could have consequences for all Rhode Islanders.

“Social services will be cut, and taxes will be raised,” he said.

“Something needs to be done.”

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4 Campus News UCS approves increase to student activities fee continued from page 1 tions such as Harvard, Princeton and Yale, where most funding comes from the administration.

UCS President Ralanda Nelson ’12 said student activity funding will continue to lag until the student activities endowment reaches its $17 million fundraising goal.

Lee, the UFB chair, told the council that UFB can currently only fund student groups’ budget requests up to 60 percent. He said a larger fee could bring about an increase in the $25 publicity limit for larger events, funding of coaches for competitive groups such as debate and chess and larger travel allowances. He also said more funding would improve the quality of Fall Concert and Spring Weekend.

UCS Vice President David Rattner ’13 said the $72 increase request is “as much a statement as it is anything.” He said it should send a message to the URC that this is something students are

passionate about and referenced the 2007 budget debate, when UCS requested a $54 increase and only received an increase of $18. A higher student activities fee would not raise tuition but instead would divert funds from the total tuition increase already set by the URC. Representatives from the Fall Ivy Policy Conference — held this year at Brown — and the Brown Mock Trial team spoke during community time, expressing their support for an increase and their frustration with the limited funds available for travel and event hosting.

Bonnie Kim ’12, Ivy Council policy chair, said last weekend’s policy conference had a budget about 10 percent the size of those for Ivy Council policy conferences hosted at other universities.

Following the passage of the resolution, the council held its semiannual vote of confidence in Rattner and Nelson, before which council members unanimously praised their leadership.

The Brown Daily Herald Thursday, October 27, 2011

Total paid to DPS and Facilities Management by all student groups

Past requests approved by UCS to increase the Student Activities Fee

Anna Migliaccio and Julien Ouellet

5

The Brown Daily Herald Thursday, October 27, 2011

Ghouls abound on school’s grounds

By Ana Colon BlogDailyHerald Staff Writer

Have you ever wondered why some places on campus are so creepy?

Here are speculations about places on campus that may or may not be haunted.

News from Blog Daily Herald blogdailyherald.com

rial’s history stems from a love story. Rush Hawkins, devastated by the death of his wife, and granddaughter of Nicholas Brown 1786, Annmary, built a mausoleum for her remains to rest in peace. Now, both of them are entombed at the very end of the memorial, which also houses an exhibit of European and American paintings from the 17th to the 20th centuries.

Why it’s probably haunted: It’s a tomb. There are skeletons underneath the stone floors. That’s the first sign of ghosts roaming around.

Keeney Tunnels

93 Benevolent St.

Officially named Edward Bannister House, it served as the main residence for Edward Bannister and his wife, Christiana, from 1884 to 1899. The building was purchased and renovated in the 1930s

by Euchlin Reeves, who turned it into a museum that housed his personal collection of antiques. Brown bought the property in 1989, and it had a brief stint as a rental property for student housing. It was closed in the mid-1990s and subsequently fell into severe disrepair.

Why it’s probably haunted: If you have ever walked down Benevolent Street at night, it is hard to ignore the chilling aura of its barred windows and boarded up entrance. The spooky house has a mysterious appeal worthy of an R. L. Stine series.

Annmary Brown Memorial

The Annmary Brown Memo-

The underground tunnels that connect many University buildings are not limited to Keeney and Wriston quadrangles. The oldest ones are on Pembroke campus, right underneath Andrews Hall.

Though the tunnels were originally intended to be used for maintenance and convenient access to important buildings when the weather was rough, they were converted into bomb shelters in the 1960s in the midst of the Cold War. Why it’s probably haunted: Many have tried to stealthily sneak down to the tunnels, only to be disappointed by the obstacles impeding the journey. The spook factor of the Keeney tunnels is one of those first-year thrills that will never get old. And with rumors of muggings, rape and other illegal behavior, one cannot help but wonder what really went down underground after hours.

Herald file photo

As the first building constructed on campus, University Hall has a better-than-average chance of being haunted.

Machado House

Built for the family of Ellen Dexter Sharpe in 1912, the house became an extension of RISD after Sharpe’s death in 1953. Brown got its hands on the house shortly after, in 1955, making it an all-female dormitory. An extension, known as the New House, was added in 1975 to accommodate more students into the building. Then in 1989, the Sharpe residence’s name was officially changed to Antonio Machado House, in honor of the Spanish poet. A bust of Machado that now sits comfortably on the front entrance driveway was originally in the Annmary Brown memorial but was moved for the renaming of the building.

Why it’s probably haunted: New house members are forced to sleep with one eye open by haunting tales of whispers in the dark, mys-

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

terious screams coming from the hallways and supernatural forces that seem to inhabit Old House rooms.

University Hall

University Hall was the first building on campus, constructed in 1770. During the Revolutionary War, the hall was used as barracks

for American troops and then converted into an army hospital.

According to Providence Ghost Tours, the contorted face of a soldier can be seen out a second-floor window.

Why it’s probably haunted: Every hospital has its horror stories.

And it’s also the oldest building on campus.

6 Editorial & Letter Editorial

The Brown Daily Herald Thursday, October 27, 2011

Editorial cartoon

by andre w antar

Maintaining med students’ mental health Medical students studying pathology are often warned not to self-diagnose, lest they find themselves suffering from full-blown hypochondria. Yet one area of illness that is too often overlooked by medical students is deterioration of one’s mental health. Though rates of depression and anxiety among students upon entering medical school are comparable to that of their peers, medical students suffer disproportionate increases in prevalence of depression during the course of their education. Students often fall into patterns of chemical dependency to cope and must conceal their behavior to avoid damaging their chances of advancement in the field. Moreover, left unaddressed, depression and burnout have serious adverse effects during postgraduate years on empathy and rates of medical error.

There is an unfortunate irony in the fact that those charged with the duty of caring for the health of others do so to the detriment of their own well-being. Given the taxing nature of training for a career in medicine, it is up to schools and policymakers to ensure medical students have the resources they need to prevent and remedy unhealthy ways of dealing with mental distress. The Journal of the American Medical Association recently published a study indicating that the majority of medical schools do not offer adequate insurance coverage for mental health and substance abuse treatments. Furthermore, according to an Inside Higher Ed article, many plans send students to providers within the institution, meaning mental health professionals available to students are the same individuals who are preceptors and academic advisers for them, posing a threat to confidentiality.

Considering that students may already lack motivation to seek help for fear of punishment or stigma, the added disincentive of financial burden associated with treatment must be mitigated. Elevated need among medical students warrants an extended provision of access to treatment for this population, and it is crucial that medical schools take steps to ensure adequate support for their students.

It is heartening to know that here at Brown, Alpert Medical School has instituted a Student Health Council to address many of these issues. The explicit mission of the council is to help students address issues of distress and chemical dependency without fear of repercussion. It is organized such that impaired students can seek help from the faculty or other medical students on the council without having their identity known. Decisions to seek treatment are recommended by and accessible to only council members, and penalty through the Dean of Medicine’s office only arises when treatment is refused. We find this an exemplary program, and we hope it takes root at other institutions.

Given the serious nature of mental health needs among medical students, we encourage Alpert and other medical schools to make it a priority to share the financial costs of seeking treatment. Expanding insurance coverage for mental health care for students may incur costs, but the costs of not adequately supporting future physicians is certainly greater. There is a demonstrated deficiency of resources for medical students seeking to maintain their emotional well-being, and we hope medical education administrators actively seek to redress it.

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

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le tter to the editor ROTC decision inspires Brown pride To the Editor: While I strongly, but respectfully, disagree with the editorial pleading for ROTC’s reinstatement on campus (“A plea for ROTC’s reinstatement,” Oct. 20), I do agree that respecting people from different backgrounds is integral to Brown’s identity. This is exactly why I do not believe that Brown should reinstate ROTC. ROTC is a discriminatory, disrespectful institution. Allowing it back on campus sends a message to transgender students that we do not view them as worthy of the same respect as those who possess cisgender privilege. The discriminatory institution of ROTC essentially states that transgender students are inherently flawed, defective human beings who are too damaged to serve their country. While I believe that students should have the opportunity to pursue

whatever they choose, I do not believe that this should supersede the right of all Brown students to basic human dignity.

Transgender people are arguably the most marginalized individuals on this campus. Their human rights and dignities are often ignored and pushed aside, even by the most liberal. The debate on this issue begs the question: Would we even be having this conversation if ROTC discriminated against women or people of color? I doubt it.

Personally, I’m glad that President Ruth Simmons takes discrimination against transgender individuals as seriously as she would any other, more prominent minority. Simmons’ well-reasoned and noble stance makes me even more proud to be a Brown student.

Kyle Albert ’15

quote of the day

“The first thing I thought was, ‘See, I told you so.’”

— Glenn Loury, Professor of Economics See occupation on page 1.

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Opinions 7

The Brown Daily Herald Thursday, October 27, 2011

Reform Brown’s email privacy policy

By Ian Eppler Guest Columnist

The University’s “Emergency Access to Accounts and Information” policy grants University administrators and law enforcement officers unfettered access to seemingly private information stored in student, faculty and staff email, calendar and document accounts, and does so with an alarming lack of transparency.

Although public information on this privilege is limited to a Herald article from last semester (“University officials read Brown e-mails,” Feb. 25), a vague description on the CIS website and a few sentences buried in a July email to the student body, here is how we believe the policy operates. A department head may send an access request to the chief of public safety, the directors of Health Services or Psychological Services, the vice president for campus life and student services, the assistant vice president of human resources, the provost or the vice president of administration. One of those administrators then has complete discretion to order CIS to grant access to data. That is all.

The policy includes no guidelines for use of this privilege against students, no requirement that students be notified when their data has been accessed and no provision for community oversight. Additionally, the expansion of Brown’s electronic services with the migration to Google Apps puts even more private data under the purview of this policy.

Administrators now have access to calendar items stored in Google Calendar, documents produced in Google Docs, even photos in Picasa and articles in Google Reader.

Brown operates with many of the trappings of the criminal justice system — including a police force and a disciplinary process — and should offer similar protections.

In the real world, police would need a search warrant from a judge prior to accessing similar information. There is no analogous requirement for independent authorization at Brown. While we recognize that the unique circumstances of a university environment may necessitate less stringent protection, the current system gives no protection.

interests in providing a secure community and managing its resources.

One of the primary challenges in researching this policy was the sheer lack of transparency related to it. Community members have only very limited information on the policy’s history of use and mechanism of operation. The University should publicly provide basic, non-identifying narratives on all instances of email access by administrators at the conclusion of every semester. This requirement would not be difficult to implement. CIS already records these non-identifying narratives in its help desk system. This reporting mechanism is also analogous to the one used by the University’s disciplinary ap-

Fortunately, some simple reforms would produce a privacy policy that balances important privacy protections with the school’s interests in providing a secure community and managing its resources.

The University wields a great deal of power over its students, who can be arrested by the Department of Public Safety. The administration can expel students from the University. With this degree of power, some level of due process and oversight is warranted.

The administration defends the policy by asserting that it is infrequently used. Because there is so little transparency, we just cannot be sure. Regardless of frequency of use, this power is still an egregious violation of students’ privacy.

Fortunately, some simple reforms would produce a privacy policy that balances important privacy protections with the school’s

paratus and DPS, so it is certainly not unprecedented. With the implementation of this reporting system, community members would be able to monitor the privilege’s use, which would help to preclude any possible instances of inappropriate use.

As stated above, analogous searches by local, state or federal law enforcement would require the acquisition of a search warrant, which requires law enforcement to justify a need for a search to a judge. The process of acquiring a warrant helps to prevent unjustified invasions of privacy by requiring independent authorization. It would be difficult, however, to implement a warrant system in

the context of the Brown community, because we do not operate a judicial system analogous to the state or federal systems. In addition, a requirement to seek a warrant may create unnecessary hurdles in contexts where protections are not warranted, such as invocation of the email access privilege at the request of a student who forgets his or her password.

In order to provide the protections of the warrant system while preventing unnecessary hassle for administrators, attempts to use the email access privilege for purposes that may lead to disciplinary proceedings should require authorization by the University Disciplinary Council. Since the privilege is apparently rarely used in disciplinary proceedings, it should not be too onerous to seek authorization in the rare instances where violation of privacy may lead to substantial consequences for a community member.

If the University were to implement the aforementioned reforms, it would be the first of its peers to do so. The fact that Brown would be unique should not dissuade reform, however. Instead, it should be incentive to pursue it. Brown is no stranger to novel reform that has improved the lives of its students. From its founding as the first nondenominational university in America to its introduction of the New Curriculum, Brown has consistently pursued potentially controversial innovation. University Hall should continue this tradition and implement a fair email privacy policy.

Ian Eppler ’13 is the president of the Brown chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU meets Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. in Wilson 106.

Across the strait: Chinese, Taiwanese or both?

By Jan Cao Opinions Columnist

Last Thursday night, students almost overflowed Salomon 001 to hear a speech by Justin Lin, the current chief economist and senior vice president of the World Bank. The title of his talk was “Demystifying the Chinese Economy.” It was a very insightful and inspiring speech, but I find Lin’s personal story even more interesting. This expert on China’s economy was actually born in Taiwan.

Before coming to mainland China, Lin was a captain in the Republic of China Army, which is part of the Taiwanese military. But he saw the mainland as his motherland and wanted to go back. When he was 27, he swam across the Taiwan Strait from the island of Kinmen to Xiamen, which is in the Fujian province of the People’s Republic of China. With only two basketballs as flotation devices, Lin swam 8 kilometers to the other side of the strait. Soon after, he went to Beijing to get a master’s degree in political economics at Peking University. The Taiwanese military, unable to track him down, declared him missing after one year and compensated his family.

Lin has stated that “based on my cultural, historical, political, economic and military understanding, it is my belief that returning to the motherland is a historical inevitabil-

ity. It is also the optimal choice.” Lin and his family gave up a lot for this belief. He went to mainland China to pursue his personal aspirations, but because of his identity, his decision could not stay personal.

His story proves how difficult it is for someone from Taiwan to assert his Chinese identity. The gap between the two identities is definitely wider than a 8-km swim in bitterly cold water and life-threatening danger.

Lin left behind his pregnant wife and a threeyear-old son, only to unite with them after years in the United States. The Taiwanese government has branded him a traitor. He was not permitted to travel back to Taiwan to attend his father’s funeral.

fore culturally related to the Chinese nation.

But Taiwanese history, culture and ancestry are much more complicated than they seem to be. Other than the Mainlanders (waisheng ren), Taiwan has many other ethnic groups, including the Hoklo (fulao ren), the Hakka (kejia ren) and the Aborigines, which includes the Plains and the Mountains. Taiwanese identity has also developed over the decades. Since the political and economic transformations of the 1980s and 1990s, Taiwanese identity has become more inclusive and nationalistic.

On the other side of the strait, the Chinese portray their Taiwanese brothers mainly through imagination. Teachers tell stu-

The gap between the two identities is definitely wider than a 2.3-kilometer swim in bitterly cold water and life-threatening danger.

Does one always have to choose between Taiwanese and Chinese identities? It is already difficult to be a Taiwanese American, but to be Taiwanese Chinese is almost impossible. Between 1945 and 1991, the government in Taiwan claimed that it was the only lawful government for mainland China.

But the One-China policy, supported by the People’s Republic of China and many other countries, asserts there is only one China and Taiwan is part of it. The People’s Republic of China thus disputes Taiwan’s sovereignty by claiming Taiwan is ethnically Han and there-

dents that Taiwan is historically a province of China and all they want is to get it back, while the Taiwanese tend to imagine the mainland as much more underdeveloped and totally authoritarian.

But reality contrasts with these imagined depictions. Chinese travelers find Beijing more modern and attractive after taking in the urban landscape of Taipei. The Taiwanese report similar experiences and sentiments: They sometimes find the mainlanders to not be very civilized and hesitant to follow some rules. The derision runs both

ways.

The way to resolve this problem is through communication. But both groups need a neutral understanding of each other’s cultural and historical background in order to begin the process. Strait Talk, a non-partisan dialogue program founded by Brown undergraduates in 2005, seeks to resolve the conflict by bringing together people from both sides of the strait. The topics of Strait Talk’s speaker panels have included peace and stability, law and society, culture and identity and business.

The program focuses on dialogue rather than on pushing political agendas. Although the Taiwan Strait issue is supposed to be a flashpoint that can trigger confrontation between the U.S. and China, it is not purely political. By maintaining a dialogue, Strait Talk gives participants a chance to stand in each other’s shoes before making abrupt judgments.

The 2011-12 academic year is Brown’s Year of China. The themes of this series of events include China’s cultural production, its place in the world and its future. But before we look at these themes, we first need to understand what we mean by “China.” What is Taiwan’s place in this discussion? Is it possible to be both Chinese and Taiwanese? The Year of China and Strait Talk both provide us an opportunity to reflect on these questions.

Jan Cao ’13 has never been to Taiwan. She loves Taiwanese cuisine, especially o-achian (oyster omelet), san bei ji (three cup chicken) and bubble tea.

Daily Herald City & State the Brown

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Prayer banner case awaits ruling By sarah mancone Staff Writer

The case of Jessica Ahlquist, a junior at Cranston High School West, who demanded to have the prayer banner hanging in her high school’s gym taken down, was argued Oct. 13 in federal court and is under consideration by U.S. District Judge Ronald Lagueux.

Ahlquist filed the case with the American Civil Liberties Union against the city of Cranston and the Cranston School Committee in April, calling the display of a prayer banner in a public high school unconstitutional.

Steven Brown, executive director of the Rhode Island affiliate of the ACLU, said he hopes Lagueux hands down a ruling within the next two months.

The ACLU originally became involved in the case in July 2010, when a parent filed a complaint with the organization about the banner, Ahlquist said.

When the ACLU asked the school to take it down, Ahlquist vocally supported its removal, she said.

According to an April 21 article in The Herald, the case was originally filed by Ahlquist in early April following the Cranston School Committee’s 4-3 vote to keep the banner on display. It was then that the ACLU asked Ahlquist to be the plaintiff for the case.

ACLU members spent the time between the filing of the suit and the court date in October filing briefs, preparing the case and researching the history of the banner, Brown said.

Ahlquist has been a tremendous help during the process, Brown said. “She shoulders this case,” he said, adding that “she is a marvelous example of fortitude and eloquence in defending her position.”

Over the course of the case, Ahlquist has faced harassment, Brown said.

today in Brown History On Oct. 27, 1991 Thirty students marched to the state capitol from Faunce Arch to join protests of the “Gag Rule,” a proposal backed by former President George H. W. Bush to prohibit federally funded health centers from discussing abortion with clients. “It’s really scary that they can control what you say,” said Sarah Heiberger ’95, a student attending the march.

On Oct. 27, 1981 The Undergraduate Council of Students voted 11-7 against supporting disciplinary action for six student protesters charged with disrupting an Oct. 15 lecture by William Casey, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The students interrupted Casey, a speaker in a series of talks on national security issues, with a reading of the nonsense poem “Jabberwocky.”

On Oct. 27, 1966 The Pembroke College Student Government Association voted in favor of eliminating a rule banning students from staying overnight in hotels and men’s apartments in Providence. The decision was spurred by student complaints over having to “sneak around” the rule by listing a false location in the school’s mandatory evening sign-outs.

On Oct. 27, 1941 Leland Goodrich, professor of political science, delivered a lecture discussing the “consequences of a German victory” in World War II. Goodrich said the United States would be “an island in a hostile world” if the Nazis won and predicted a German invasion of South America that would cut off imports into the United States. Goodrich stated his support for U.S. aid to Britain to prevent German expansion.

Ahlquist said students have written and talked about her and have approached her directly to tell her they think what she is doing is wrong. “The most vocal people are against me,” Ahlquist said. “People who support me are quiet.”

Despite the backlash, Ahlquist said she feels positive about the case.

After the creation of a Facebook group in support of her cause, Ahlquist has received support from over 2,200 group members.

“That is my biggest support group,” she said, adding that it makes her feel she is not alone.

The judge did not give any indication of how much time his ruling would take, Brown said.

For now Ahlquist and the ACLU are “playing the waiting game,” Ahlquist said. Her lawyers have told her that, with the possibility of appeals after the ruling, the case could go on for a year.

Ahlquist’s suit seeks the removal of the banner and damages.

a pro’s prose

Madeline Schlissel / Herald

Author Michael Stein read from The Rape of the Muse, his new novel depicting art world rivalry, at the Brown Bookstore Wednesday.

Ed dept. hosts teachers from China

By Sophia seawell Staff Writer

As part of a program connecting Brown faculty and high school teachers from the Shenzen district in China, 23 teachers from Shenzen visited the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center, a public school in Providence, to observe American teaching and classroom organization styles yesterday.

The program, an eight-week training institute for the visiting teachers, was organized by Kenneth Wong, chair of the Education Department. He said he hoped the program “would allow the education department at Brown to have a global impact.” Wong called the program, which began at the end of September, “an exciting initiative.”

At the start of their visit yesterday, the teachers were welcomed by Dennis Littky, a co-founder of the MET schools, and then split into groups — each with its own student guide — to visit different buildings.

Gripes with pipes

Courtesy of Angel Mojarro

Students on the Main Green protest the Keystone XL proposal, which would expand the existing Keystone pipeline.

One group was taken to the Equality building, where Steven Bartholomew, MET Equality School administrator, gave teachers a tour and explained the building’s layout.

The group was then split up and sent to two different advisories, where they were able to observe classes.

Denise Ramos, a teacher at the school, said she believes the most valuable lesson the visiting teachers could learn from the MET was its focus on teacher-student relationships. “I’m with the same group for all four years,” Ramos said. “The ability to build a relationship with them is the secret.”

The visit was one in a series of seven to a variety of schools, including charter schools, independent schools and public schools.

“They are coming from a system where there is strong standardization,” Wong said of the visiting professors. He cited the higher teacherstudent ratio in Shenzen — about 50 students to one teacher — as another major difference between the schools in China and those in the United States.

Cai Mao Zhou, a professor of Chinese in Shenzen, believes the American and Chinese school systems will “meet in the middle,” he said through an interpreter.

“Chinese schools are looking at American models, and American schools are looking at Chinese models,” he said. “American education encourages the students’ individuality, capability and creativity,” he added.

The program includes two other components. At the beginning of the program, teachers attended a series of 12 lectures by Brown faculty that focused on topics such as using new technology, the history of American education and organizational methods for classrooms and school governments.

“The university professors gave very high-quality lectures,” Zhou said. “They brought theory and prac-

tice together to show us the system of education here.”

The other portion of the program focuses on exposing teachers to American culture. The Chinese teachers have visited museums and other universities in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Teachers also receive English lessons twice a week.

“The cultural activities help us understand U.S. society from a different angle,” Zhou said. “They show on a deeper level how the education system was formed.”

The 23 teachers in the program were chosen from a pool of 4,000 applicants. Those selected were picked based on several factors, such as their communication skills, professional credentials and recommendations from supervisors.

The University also hosted a summer institute for 24 school heads from the Shenzen district in June and July.

Approximately half the visiting teachers are fluent in English, and the rest have varying levels of proficiency. “The teachers organized themselves so people fluent in English are paired with those who are not so they can support one another,” Wong said. An interpreter also accompanied the teachers.

Program administrators chose the Shenzen district for several reasons.

“It’s a district that is very progressive and open to new ideas in terms of improving teaching, documenting and tracking student learning and using technology,” Wong explained.

“This is a good match for us — we are also very innovative.”

Wong said he hopes the program is the beginning of a strong relationship between Brown and the Shenzen district. “We hope it will go on for a few years,” he said.

“There is strong interest from the urban school district to send teachers to get some of the best and most innovative ideas.”