Daily
Herald
the Brown
vol. cxlvi, no. 114
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Since 1891
Is the University suffering an identity crisis? 20 strike on Main Green to protest UC Davis crackdown
President Ruth Simmons has turned the undergraduate Ivy into a sprawling, global research University. This series examines how the institutional shifts of the last decade impact undergrads and Brown’s future. By Nicole Friedman Senior Editor
Mission drift? Part 1 of a 4-part series
The University mission statement grew out of its charter, a document bold enough to create a governance structure for a school with no home, professors or students. The motley crew of New England Baptists and in-
tellectuals that gathered in Newport in 1764 — the original Corporation — had their charter signed by the Royal Governor of Rhode Island, who was appointed by King George III. They could never have foreseen the Watson Institute for International Studies, Alpert Medical School, the Ivy League, celebrity students or the sprawling, global institution the University has become. The majority of the University’s nearly 250-year history would be unrecognizable to students today. At the beginning there was not only no University Hall, there was no College Hill — Brown, called Rhode Island College before 1804, was located in
Herald file photos
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Though Henry Wriston championed Brown’s identity as a “university-college,” Ruth Simmons has departed from that model and pursued rapid expansion.
By Elizabeth carr Senior Staff Writer
About 20 students and faculty members met on the Main Green at 10 a.m. yesterday in a walk-out supporting the Occupy movement at
city & state
of $118,000 — more than half of the $222,320 awarded in total — was used to purchase Texas Instruments calculators for public school math classrooms in 2009. Members of the committee that oversees the fund said the company’s relationship with Simmons, who currently sits on its board, allowed the fund to take advantage of a steep discount on the calculators. The steering committee designated providing financial support for local schools particularly important given the troubled state of the Provi-
the University of California at Davis, where campus police used pepper spray against protesters last week. The meeting was part of a national day of action as students and professors at 58 colleges across the country refused to attend class. The day of action included a series of soapbox speeches in the afternoon. “We cannot stand for the fact that other students who are peacefully protesting are being attacked by the police,” said Luke LattanziSilveus ’14, addressing 15 students on the Green. “Their struggles are our struggles.” “That’s just the kind of violence the system spits out on people every day,” said Lindsay Goss GS in another a speech. “I’ve never really seen a moment like this,” Professor of English William Keach said, referring to the protests that have cropped up across the
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Local schools fund struggles for money Writer combines fiction and city & state history By Sahil Luthra Senior Staff Writer
Ha Jin’s rule for writing is straightforward: Make the story “interesting.” Applying that rule is more complicated. The author — whose real name is Jin Xuefei but who has, per Chinese tradition, adopted a pen name — spoke to a crowd of nearly 100 last night in Martinos Auditorium as part of the Year of China. Jin read from his latest novel, “Nanjing Requiem,” and described his writing process. For Jin, inspiration hit after he arrived in the U.S. as a graduate student. Though he had learned about the Rape of Nanjing when he lived in China, the role of Westerners had been downplayed. One historical figure in particular — Minnie Vautrin, an American missionary who served as the dean of Jinling Women’s College — captured his attention. Vautrin played a key role in establishing a refugee camp at the college, and Jin decided to make her the focus of his novel. But the road to writing the novel was not easy. Jin, a profes-
inside
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news....................2-4 CITY & State............5 editorial...............6 Opinions................7 SPORTS....................8
Two years after becoming the first black president of an Ivy League university, President Ruth Simmons appointed a committee to investigate the University’s formative ties to the Atlantic slave trade. In 2007, responding to the report submitted by the Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice, which singled out the University’s need to address enduring inequalities in public education due to racial segregation, Brown committed to raising “a permanent endowment
in the amount of $10 million to establish a Fund for the Education of the Children of Providence.” As Simmons prepares to step down this June, efforts to raise money
for the fund that bears her unmistakable imprint have stalled, sidelined by other development projects in a difficult fundraising climate. The fund’s current value of $1.26 million has not grown since 2009 and lags far behind its original $10 million goal. The fund’s largest grant payout
Students fall short of sex expectations By Alexandra Macfarlane Staff Writer
Despite the widespread attention Brown has garnered as the home of the infamous SexPowerGod party, the University is less sexually freewheeling than its reputation suggests. Poll results reveal Brunonians
the herald poll may be having less sex than their peers across the country: Most students have only had one sexual partner or none at all this semester. According to a recent Herald poll, 37.5 percent have not had any sexual partners this semester, and
36.4 percent have had one. A small percentage — 9.3 percent — had two partners this fall and an even smaller percentage — 5.3 percent — had three to five. Meanwhile, 44.5 percent of college students nationwide had one sexual partner and 29.2 percent had none in the year spanning spring 2010 to spring 2011, according to the American College Health Association’s National College Health Assessment. The poll’s findings are consistent with the estimates made by Health Education, a division of Health Services , said Naomi Ninneman, health continued on page 5
New Programs Too Soon The University is expanding its summer abroad offerings
campus news, 2
How many sexual partners have you had so far this semester?
The New Curriculum may be overly free for first-years opinions, 7
Kyle McNamara / Herald
No Charter A proposed academy stirs local controversy City & state, 8
weather
By Morgan Johnson Senior Staff Writer
t o d ay
tomorrow
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