Friday, October 25, 2013

Page 1

Daily

Herald

THE BROWN

vol. cxlviii, no. 97

since 1891

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2013

Body of undergraduate found in Peru Friends remembered Michael Dawkins’ ’13.5 warmth, musicality and community involvement By ADAM TOOBIN CITY & STATE EDITOR

The body of Michael Dawkins ’13.5 has been found in Peru, said Leslie Goodman ’02, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in Peru. The circumstances surrounding Dawkins’ death remain unclear. He was seen on campus last week, but University officials and police officers could not confirm further details.

Dawkins, originally a member of the class of 2012, was born in Baton Rouge, La., and was concentrating in Middle East Studies, according to an email President Christina Paxson sent to the community Thursday evening. As the news of his death emerged Thursday afternoon, Dawkins’ friends — from members of the Brown University Unitarian Universalist Church to fans of his classical piano playing — reacted with shock and devastation. Amanda Labora ’13, a close friend of Dawkins who studied abroad in Egypt with him for a month before they were evacuated at the start of the 2011 revolution, recalled a “generous”

friend. “If you were one of Michael’s friends, he would do anything for you. He would go to bat for you,” she said. Dawkins enjoyed discussing issues ranging from gender and sexual identity to the history and politics of the Middle East to the subtleties of classical music, she said. “If you asked him for his opinion, you better be ready for it,” Labora said. Labora said that in Egypt, she hated that curfews and the threat of sexual assault required her to bring a male escort whenever she wanted to go outside. Dawkins was the only one “of the men on the trip who was really

in tune with that and how humiliating that could be,” she said. “Michael was my protector and my companion,” Labora said, adding, “he never made me have to ask.” Because the two of them had taken a pledge to speak Arabic exclusively while abroad, a requirement of the Middlebury College study abroad program they were both enrolled in, Labora remembered “talking to each other about the implications of the revolution in broken Arabic over cappuccinos.” After returning to campus following the evacuation, Dawkins tried to transition back into the normal » See DAWKINS, page 5

Taveras to announce bid for governor

Trustee faces controversy as Corp. meets

The Providence mayor slightly trailed his expected opponent Gina Raimondo in a recent poll

As the Corporation convenes this weekend for its triannual meeting, most of its 52 fellows and trustees have arrived on Brown’s campus. They range from President Christina Paxson to power players who make the news almost daily, like Brian Moynihan ’81 P’14, president of Bank of America. But one Corporation trustee has garnered more than his share of recent headlines: Steven Cohen P’08 P’16, renowned art collector and erstwhile Wall Street kingpin whose hedge fund, SAC Capital Advisors LP, is reportedly on its way to paying out more than $1 billion to settle federal charges of

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Mayor Angel Taveras will formally announce his candidacy for next year’s gubernatorial election at an event Monday, his campaign spokesman Peter Baptista confirmed Thursday night in an email to The Herald. Baptista said the details of the announcement are still being determined and will be announced when they are available, the Providence Journal reported. Taveras will likely run in a Democratic primary against General Treasurer Gina Raimondo — who has yet to formally announce any plans to enter the gubernatorial race despite extensive fundraising. According to a poll released this month by the Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions, Raimondo would have a slight lead over Taveras in the anticipated primary. Forty-two percent of respondents answered that they would vote for Raimando, while 33.6 percent reported a preference for Taveras, according to the poll. Raimondo also leads in campaign finances with about $2 million in a » See TAVERAS, page 5

inside

CITY & STATE

By ELI OKUN UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR

insider trading. In an email to The Herald, Marisa Quinn, vice president for public affairs and University relations, wrote that though she expected “strong participation at the October meeting,” she did not know whether Cohen would be in attendance. She added that 90 percent of Corporation members are expected to attend this weekend. Federal prosecutors have charged eight current or former SAC employees with improper trading in the past few years and thus far have received six guilty pleas. SAC as a company was also charged this summer with insider trading. If it pans out, the settlement would likely result in the downsizing of SAC to manage just Cohen’s personal fortune, which currently stands at roughly $9 billion — a sharp fall from SAC and Cohen’s former dominance in the hedge fund world. But though the alleged insider

trading at SAC has landed Cohen in hot water with prosecutors, who charged him in a civil suit this summer with “failing to supervise” his employees, University administrators have been nearly silent about how, if at all, his legal woes might affect his status on the Corporation. “Steve Cohen is a valued and involved trustee of Brown, and the University has been strengthened by his engagement,” Chancellor Thomas Tisch ’76 said in a statement in March. “There has been no pressure on Steve — or the Corporation — for him to leave his seat.” Though prosecutors have since brought civil charges against Cohen, Quinn referred to Tisch’s statement when asked for comment this week. Pamela Bernard, vice president and general counsel at Duke University and an expert on university governance, said some university » See TRUSTEE, page 3

A HAZMAT team searched the building after an unidentified substance was found in an envelope By EMILY BONEY CITY & STATE STAFF WRITER

One person has been hospitalized following exposure to an unidentified substance found in an envelope opened Thursday afternoon in Graduate Center Tower E, which houses administrative offices and the Bear’s Lair. Eight additional people have reported symptoms of “respiratory irritation,” including watery eyes and runny noses, said James Mirza, deputy assistant chief of the Providence Fire Department. Providence Police arrived on the scene at 4:11 p.m., blocking off Thayer Street between Grad Center and Vartan Gregorian Quadrangle with yellow “hazardous substance” tape and evacuating the surrounding areas. “The objective was to treat and remove victims and isolate the contaminated areas,” Mirza said. The envelope was sealed and taken from the scene by HAZMAT crew members, Mirza said. Its contents will be evaluated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation at the state laboratory, he said. Testing suspicious materials can take “a few days,” said Greg Comcowich, a spokesman for the Boston bureau of the FBI. » See SUBSTANCE, page 3

Hope St. Asian restaurant serves a dish for all Apsara Palace Restaurant combines tastes from China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand By ELI OKUN UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR

On a crowded Saturday night at Apsara Palace Restaurant, a steady stream of

patrons winds its way through tables of diners to the counter in the back corner, where a smiling woman forks

over bags of food and tells other hungry customers to come back in 45 minutes for a table. Variations on “Sorry about the wait, honey” are her friendly refrain, but most accept the delay willingly, congregating by the front door with friends and bring-your-own beers. It’s a telling encapsulation of this intermittently delicious and exceedingly economical pan-Asian hub on Hope Street, mingling bustle with elegance and a keen sense of familiarity. Patterned cloths adorn the tables, but only underneath sheets of paper. And goldframed portraits of Chinese vistas look down on a dining room that straddles the intersection of neighborhood carryout joint and sit-down restaurant. » See APSARA, page 7

DAVID DECKEY / HERALD

The restaurant’s variety of entrees and warm hospitality overshadow faults in some of the dishes.

Toilet troubles

Jump up

D&C

Most students support converting some bathrooms to gender-netural

Researchers studied jumping bullfrogs at a Calaveras County competition

Bridget Bourne coerces her printer and gets a diamond — find out why!

UNIVERSITY NEWS, 2

SCIENCE & RESEARCH, 4

COMMENTARY, 10

weather

By KATHERINE LAMB

Steven Cohen’s P’08 P’16 hedge fund SAC Capital was charged with insider trading this summer

Substance prompts Grad Center investigation

t o d ay

tomorrow

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