Daily
THE BROWN
vol. cxlviii, no. 65
Herald
since 1891
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2013
At teach-in, students grapple with Syrian conflict Assaulted
student continues recovery
The talk closed with a discussion of potential political ramifications for President Obama By SOPHIE YAN STAFF WRITER
The Syrian civil war “is not a clear-cut situation of right and wrong,” said Beshara Doumani, director of Middle East Studies and professor of history, Monday afternoon while introducing a teach-in on the crisis sponsored by the Middle East Studies program. The teach-in, designed to explain and discuss the current turmoil in Syria, began with a moment of silence for victims of violence, not only in Syria but also all over the world. After the teachin, the Office of Chaplains and Religious Life staged a candlelight vigil on the Main Green. A small group of people congregated in front of the Stephen » See SYRIA, page 4
After sustaining injuries in May’s incident, Sharkey ’15 is completing cognitive and physical therapy By JILLIAN LANNEY SENIOR STAFF WRITER
DAN ZHANG / HERALD
Mayssun Succarie, Cogut postdoctoral fellow in international humanities and modern Arab culture and society, spoke first, at Monday’s teach-in on the Syrian Civil War.
Alleged masturbator spotted on John Street DPS officers do not know if the incident is related to past occurrences of public exposure on John Street By JILLIAN LANNEY SENIOR STAFF WRITER
A partially naked male was allegedly seen masturbating on the lawn of a home on John Street near Brook Street by four students just before 10 p.m. Saturday, wrote Paul Shanley, deputy chief of police for the Department of Public Safety, in an email to The Herald. Shira Atkins ’14 was part of the group walking down Brook Street
when she saw a man standing on the grass in front of a friend’s house on John Street. She described the male as having “black hair down to his shoulders” and said he seemed to have something tied around his neck, possibly a scarf or another piece of clothing. The students realized the man was masturbating and ran around the corner to call DPS, Atkins said, adding that officers arrived quickly following the call.
Both DPS and Providence Police Department officers came to the scene, Shanley wrote. The students told police the man appeared to be 20 to 25 years old. After DPS officers arrived, Atkins went with them in a car to attempt to identify a possible subject, but the man they had identified was not the same, she said. DPS officers searched the area but were unable to find the individual responsible, Shanley wrote. The John Street area has seen multiple similar public masturbation incidents in recent years. Officers do not
know if the suspect in this case was responsible for previous incidents. “Both of our departments have deployed numerous patrols to that area in an attempt to apprehend the person(s) responsible,” Shanley wrote. He added that DPS generally receives “one or two” complaints regarding public exposure per academic year. Atkins said DPS officers told her the individual responsible is probably a student or a person who lives in the area. She added that though she was not originally “shaken up about” the incident, it was unsettling in hindsight.
A Brown student who was assaulted on Thayer Street in May has returned home and is recuperating after having spent nearly two months in the hospital with severe head injuries. Joseph Sharkey ’15 had been placed on life support at Rhode Island Hospital following the May 12 assault, which left him in critical condition. He was released from the hospital June 3, according to a CaringBridge.com blog called Joe’s Time his family uses to share updates on his condition. Sharkey is now living at his family’s home in Norwood, Mass. as he completes cognitive and physical therapy. “We are extremely thankful that his recovery is progressing very well,” wrote mother Denise Sharkey P’15 in an email to The Herald. Sharkey was assaulted around 2 a.m. May 12 during an altercation near the intersection of George and Thayer streets, where he was punched by Connecticut resident Tory Lussier, a U.S. Marine Corps reservist, The Herald reported at the time. The blow caused Sharkey to fall back and hit his head » See SHARKEY, page 3
Even Stephens: Alums face off in race for Brooklyn City Council By GABRIELLE DEE SENIOR STAFF WRITER
What do a poker playing-patron of an art and literary magazine and an experienced politician have in common? Apparently, a first name, an alma mater and a desire to win a seat on the Brooklyn City Council. Today, Stephen Levin ’03 and Stephen Pierson ’98 face off for a seat on the Brooklyn City Council in the Democratic primary. But the two alums’ evident similarities have done little to soften the contest’s intensity.
inside
Diverse backgrounds Though both men are currently in
politics, neither pursued political science concentrations while at Brown. Levin, who has held a seat on the council since 2009, studied classics and comparative literature. His concentrations taught him “how to look at the historical perspective on things,” he said. Levin’s interest in politics was sparked by the events of 9/11, which occurred in his junior year, and the war in Iraq that followed. “I became kind of more engaged politically as a result,” he said. “Being involved in an active political environment like Brown” further pushed Levin toward politics, he added. After graduating, Levin moved back to his hometown in New Jersey
and worked as a campaign staffer for former Plainfield, N.J. city councilman Ray Blanco, he said. His father’s cousins, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., “were always encouraging me to get into politics,” Levin said. Unlike Levin, Pierson had an upbringing detached from the political realm. Raised by two high school teachers, Pierson graduated with a degree in modern culture and media, which he described as “a pretty reflective course of study.” The concentration “asks you to constantly examine and be critical of all the things we see and the things we consume,” he added. After graduating, Pierson pursued » See STEPHENS, page 3
COURTESY OF STEPHEN PIERSON FOR CITY COUNCIL
Stephen Pierson ’98 opposes overdevelopment of Greenpoint, a middeclass neighborhood in Brooklyn.
‘Ban the box’
Focused funds
Big Bro-bama
Legislation signed into law will prohibit criminal history queries on job applications with the goal of reducing discrimination
Starting this year, the University will award money directly to Providence high school seniors rather than contribute to broad school grants
Hudson ’14 claims Obama’s higher ed plan threatens academic freedom
CITY & STATE, 3
FEATURE, 5
COMMENTARY, 7
weather
Stephen Levin ’03 and Stephen Pierson ’98 vie in the Democratic primary armed with varied strengths
t o d ay
tomorrow
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