April 25, 2012 Issue

By MADDIE BERG
SENIOR STAFF WRITER

While Brown students may be stereo-
typed as hippies who wear Birken-
stocks and fowy skirts, this image
tends to be far from the truth. Tere
is no single uniform on campus, and
there is no shortage of fashion aware-
ness. Now that the second annual
Fashion Week has arrived on cam-
pus events started Tuesday the
members of Fashion at Brown hope
students will tap into and appreciate
this fashion consciousness.
Inaugurated last year, Fashion
Week consists of activities that
celebrate the creativity of Brown
students. Te three-day-long fes-
tival culminates in a fashion show
Tursday night.
Yesterday the group worked
with the Vault, Browns student-run
consignment shop, to host a do-it-
yourself workshop, allowing people
with little or no creative experience
to make something of their own and
familiarize themselves with the de-
sign and creation process. Attendees
used old t-shirts to make unique and
redesigned blouses.
Tonight there will be a business
panel for people who might not be
fashion-world or style-oriented,
said Mia Zachary 14, director of
Fashion at Brown. Te panel features
designers such as Jonathan Jo-
seph Peters of the seventh season of
Project Runway as well as local
store-owners and business founders.
A mixed closet
Fashion at Brown considers
Fashion Week an outlet for Brown
students to share both their talents
and love for fashion, particularly to
celebrate and be aware of the fashion
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THE BROWN
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59 / 41
TODAY
NEWS....................27
CITY & STATE........89
EDITORIAL............10
OPINIONS.............11
FEATURES............12
I
N
S
I
D
E
CITY & STATE, 9
Robin Hood
Costumed Occupy protesters
support R.I. tax raises
Moat 13 calls for
student engagement
OPINIONS, 11
W
E
A
T
H
E
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Apathy
By LUCY FELDMAN
NEWS EDITOR

When Associate Professor of
Anthropology Dan Smith asked
students in his class ANTH 0300:
Culture and Health to indicate
if they thought they were lower-
class, very few students raised their
hands. Te same happened when
he asked if students considered
themselves upper-class. But when
he asked students if they thought
they were middle-class, nearly all
the roughly 200 students shot their
hands into the air.
Talking about class, even rais-
ing the notion were anything but
middle-class, is considered very
socially unacceptable, said Takeru
Nagayoshi 14.
I feel like everyone says theyre
middle-of-the-road, said Ben
Piepert 13.
When President Ruth Simmons
took omce in 2001, she vowed to
make fnancial aid a focus of her
presidency. During her tenure,
Simmons created a need-blind
admission policy and championed
Lets (not) talk about class
President Ruth Simmons will serve
her last day in opce June 30. With the
semester drawing to a close, Simmons
sat down with Te Herald for one
fnal interview to discuss her legacy,
her post-opce plans, her popularity
among students and what the future
may hold for Brown.
Herald: How has Brown changed
over the last 11 years?
Simmons: (Sighs)
Well, I think it hasnt changed
in any fundamental way, thats for
sure. Te kinds of foci that Brown
has had for decades remain. I would
say weve spent a lot of time in the last
11 years trying to strengthen various
programs and initiatives that Brown
has been known for for some time.
I think that I certainly believe that
when I came to Brown, I came with
a mandate from the campus to do
certain things. For example, when I
was being recruited, I was given to
understand that the Graduate School
was a singularly important strength
that needed a lot of attention. So
weve paid attention to the graduate
school, but I would say it hasnt been
a change. Its been something that the
faculty had been concerned about for
a long time, and the only question
has been whether or not wed spent
enough time and enough focus to
address some of the concerns that the
faculty and graduate students had.
Similarly, with the (Alpert Medi-
cal School), I remember the frst, very
frst days at Brown, I heard from
medical students. And they talked
about they, along with adminis-
trators at the time talked about
the need for a home for the medical
school. And that had been certainly
contemplated and sought for a very
long time. Te fact that there is a
home for the medical school now is
really not so much I dont regard
it as a change.
I think its just the actualization of
the eforts of people over a very long
period of time to bring it to fruition.
So I think in the last 12 years, I would
say weve spent a lot of time trying
to implement things that have been
really in the works for a long time.
Tere are some new programs, its
true, but compared to the core pro-
grams at Brown, I would say for most
universities of our type, relatively few
new programs in this period of time
just because we had so much to
do in terms of implementing those
ideas that had been on the books for
a long time.
Exclusive Q & A: President Ruth Simmons parting words
By ADAM TOOBIN
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Former Mass. Governor Mitt
Romney won the Rhode Island
Republican primary last night
with 63 percent of the vote. Rep.
Ron Paul, R-T.X. finished second,
netting 23 percent of the votes.
Romney will bring 13 delegates
from Rhode Island to his partys
convention in August, and Paul
will take three.
Nineteen delegates will rep-
resent Rhode Island at the Re-
publican National Convention
in August, three of which are
unpledged.
Romney also won Republican
primaries in Connecticut, Dela-
ware, Pennsylvania and New York
last night each by substantial
margins. He cast last nights vic-
tories as a turning point in the
nomination process in his victory
speech in New Hampshire.
After 43 primaries and cau-
cuses, many long days and more
than a few long nights, I can say
with confidence and gratitude
that you have given me a great
honor and solemn responsibility,
and together we are going to win
on November 6, Romney said to
the crowd.
Former Speaker of the House
Romney
wins R.I.
Republican
primary
Students attempt to bring socioeconomic status
and underlying tensions out of the shadows
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Private,
Tuition > $25,000
Private,
Tuition < $25,000
Public (Regular)
Foreign (Private)
Womens squash team by high school type
75
10
10
5
Percent of team

H
i
g
h

S
c
h
o
o
l

T
y
p
e
Emily Polk / Herald
Sports like squash are often dominated by students from higher socioeconomic
backgrounds due to limited accessibility before college.
continued on page 4
continued on page 3
continued on page 2
CITY & STATE
FEATURE
continued on page 2
Fashion Week celebrates
student style and creativity
BI G DI PPER
Meia Geddes / Herald
With 100 species of animals, the Roger Williams Parks zoo is known for its
conservation eorts. See page 12 for the full story.
that exists here on a daily basis, said
Eve Blazo 12, the model coordinator
and stylist.
So many people who you would
not expect to have a style, just from
the stereotype you would apply to
them, do have this very interesting,
unique style, said John White 14,
designer coordinator and former
Herald copy editor.
It is this sense of personal style
that Fashion Week hopes to high-
light.
Obviously people think about
what theyre wearing and think about
their social identity and how fashion
contributes to that, Blazo said. But
people (at Brown) generally know
whats going on in fashion and know
whats trendy.
Because fashion and style afect
everyone, the group tried to make
the activities equally accessible to
students from diferent social groups,
which White said was one of the
founding principles of the organiza-
tion. We dont want it to be exclusive
or isolating, he said.
Strutting their style
Te group hopes the show draws
a diverse crowd consisting of friends
of the models and designers as well
as students who have not explored
the world of fashion at Brown before,
White said. I hope they not only get
out of it that there is so much talent
around them, but that they can do
it too, he added, pointing to the fact
that two of the designers who will
be displaying their works have not
taken formal classes or created gar-
ments before.
Te show, which last year only
ran once and contained 18 looks by
eight designers, will take place twice
this year and has expanded to fea-
ture 14 Brown designers showcasing
about 35 looks.
Its not about what is trendy for
next spring or whats hip at Brown,
but more like this is what inspires
me, Blazo said, explaining how
the designs represent the individual
styles and infuences that make the
fashions at Brown so diverse.
Whats going to be shown is not
whats on the pulse or on the pages of
magazines or even Brown style, but
it is extremely varied, White said.
Some designers attempted to
make their designs eco-friendly by
using recycled materials such as zip-
pers and metro-cards, while others
looked for cultural inspirations.
Ramya Mahalingams 14 collec-
tion was inspired by her attachment
to multiple cultures her parents
are both from India, while she is
American. Another designer, So-
fa Ruiz 14, is showing shirts made
to spread awareness for her charity
Hands for Latin America, exempli-
fying how fashion can be used for
socially-conscious causes. She will
provide information on how to pur-
chase these shirts, and profts will go
to the charitys mission of improving
the quality of life for children in Latin
America.
Te hair, makeup, lighting and
sound are also completely student-
run. Tey are really on top of their
game, said model Alisa Currimjee
14 of the designers and coordina-
tors of the show. Tey know exactly
what they want from each of us and
are very professional. As a model,
Currimjee got ftted by her designer
and attended two run-throughs to
practice her walk.
Te models also exhibit Browns
diversity, with varying heights and
ethnicities. One model, Genevieve
Moss-Hawkins 14, is only 54
short compared to traditional mod-
els.
Modeling is the last thing my
friends would expect me to do,
which is why Im so excited to do
it, she said. Its very empowering
being one of the shortest people in
the show because most girls are not
super tall its fun to represent that
demographic and show that average-
sized girls can still model clothes.
Fashion forecast
While Fashion Week has grown
and is much better organized this
year, according to Blazo, the group
still faced challenges in the planning
process.
We had really ambitious plans,
and some fell through, White said,
discussing how they had hoped for
more industry guests and wider news
coverage. It was also dimcult to mo-
bilize everyone involved in the show
for planning and rehearsals.
But despite these setbacks, the
coordinators are generally pleased
with the prospects for the week.
Its so awesome to work with a
group of people that really care about
this, are passionate about it and actu-
ally see it through, Blazo said.
In the future the group hopes to
grow in number, get more funding
from the University, receive wide-
spread news coverage and host a
more diverse set of events to make
the week even more accessible to all
types of students.
Tere are only so many people
that can or are willing to design
clothes, but there are a lot of people
willing to get involved in the busi-
ness aspect or the advertising aspect,
said Amy Kallman 14, a coordinator.
We can pull from diferent commu-
nities at Brown. People who may not
be just directly interested in fashion
design will be important in years
to come.
Claire Peracchio, President
Rebecca Ballhaus, Vice President
Danielle Marshak, Treasurer
Siena DeLisser, Secretary
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4 P.M.
Student Leadership Awards
Faculty Club
7 P.M.
Senator Russ Feingold Lecture
Salomon Center 101
7 P.M.
Brown Fashion Show
Grano Center for the Creative Arts
7:30 P.M.
Take Back the Night
Faunce Arch
SHARPE REFECTORY VERNEYWOOLLEY DINING HALL
LUNCH
DINNER
Vegan Jamaican Jerk Tempeh, Beets
in Orange Sauce, Castle Hill Inn Pork
Spare Ribs, Fudge Bars
Roast Beef Au Jus, Mashed Red Bliss
Potatoes with Garlic, Broccoli Pasta
Alfredo, Fudge Bars
Vegan and Beef Tacos, Sticky Rice
with Edamame, Sweet Potato Fries,
Chocolate Krinkle Cookies
Bualo Wings, Crudite Platter,
Vegan Garden Chili, Caesar Salad
Pizza, Italian Marinated Chicken
WEDNESDAY APRIL 25 THURSDAY APRIL 26
CROSSWORD
SUDOKU
MENU
CALENDAR
continued from page 1
Newt Gingrich and Sen. Rick San-
torum, R-P.A. who suspended
his campaign April 10 each
garnered 6 percent of the votes.
The turnout for Rhode Is-
lands contest was low around
14,000 voters came out in favor
of Republicans. The states 2008
primary was over a month earlier,
which corresponded to a higher
turnout more than twice as
many voters came to the polls four
years ago.
President Obama did not face
any challengers in last nights
Democratic primary.
Both Romney and Paul have
paid visits to Rhode Island over
the past two weeks. Rhode Island
was the only state holding a pri-
mary yesterday that awarded its
delegates proportionally. Such
states are crucial for candidates
like Paul, who are not expected to
win any states outright but who
are trying to secure delegates.
Romney optimistic about
wins despite low turnout
Student fashion designers explore cultures
QA wi1u Simmos 3
So with regard to hnancial aid
specihcally tell me more about
what it was like to go need-blind.
Why did you make that a priority?
First of all, in the lead-up to my
joining Brown, I heard from many
Brown alumni and members of the
Corporation and others who were in-
volved with Brown that for Brown to
be virtually the only institution in the
Ivy League that was not need-blind
was very unsatisfactory to many. It
was seen by many as a kind of a stain
upon the profle and reputation of the
University. But that was perhaps not
even the most important element of
it. Te most important element of it
was sort of a deep conviction among
Brown alums and current students
and others who just believed that
need-blind was the only thing that
Brown could do to ensure that it
didnt become merely the province
of the wealthy. And as a protection
against becoming that, the idea was
that Brown needed to be able to ofer
sumcient fnancial aid to any student
who needed it, so that a familys eco-
nomic ability was never the decisive
element of a decision of whether to
come to Brown or not. So mostly for
those two reasons.
And I have to say that from a com-
petitiveness standpoint, that was also
very important. To be a university
unlike our peers in our ability to of-
fer fnancial assistance to the poorest
students just seemed to set us apart in
a very unfair way, because among our
peers, Brown is probably the institu-
tion that cares most about matters of
equity. Certainly if you look at our
progressive claims claims to be-
ing a progressive institution its
probably more important for Brown
to be need-blind than probably any
other institution, which doesnt, for
example, claim to care very much
about that. So it was inconsistent
with our identity, inconsistent with
our goals for the future. And all of
those reasons combined to make it
seem like the most important initial
decision for us to make.
Could you tell me a little bit
about some of the advice that you
got that you found useful?
Well the frst advice I got, and this
is mostly from the Corporation lead-
ership and search committee, which
is really those are the frst conver-
sations I had about Brown and
that was that I needed to act quickly,
that stasis had set in at Brown. Tere
were lots of aspirations, many goals.
But there was some dissatisfaction
with our recent history in getting
those things done. So I was told not
to take much time, to come up with
a plan pretty quickly and enact that
plan. So move fast is what they said.
Of course, if I had more knowledge
about Brown, I defnitely wouldnt
have done that. So thank goodness
I didnt know much about Brown
because I acted on that, and prob-
ably some of the best things we did
were the consequence of not having
enough information about Brown.
Is there anything specific in
mind that you think of?
Tat would have made it harder?
Well, take need-blind for example.
Lets say that we had done that in the
typical Brown way. We would have
had endless debates within the com-
munity about whether or not need-
blind was the right thing to do. We
would have had people poring over
our fnancial statements and arguing
that we couldnt aford it. We would
have people suggesting that it was
not a good use of resources because,
afer all, we had other needs, and so
instead of spending the money on
fnancial aid, since there were enough
students who could aford to come
to Brown, just let the market solve
the problem and let people pay what
they could. Tere would have been
hundreds of reasons for delaying the
decision and probably hundreds of
reasons for, in the end, not doing
it. Because there would have been
so many questions about it that it
wouldnt have been a clear decision
as to whether to do it or not. And
for some people today, its still not a
clear decision. So thats what I mean.
I think it would have taken us we
would have taken a good deal of time
to debate it, we would have perhaps
held open forums on it, we would
have done all the manner of things,
and in the end, ambiguity would
have remained. And ambiguity is a
kind of death sentence sometimes in
these kinds of organizations because
if you dont think you have a mandate
ofen people are afraid to imple-
ment decisions without a mandate.
So probably if I had known at the
time as much as I know now about
such matters, there probably are lots
of things I wouldnt have done.
A recent Herald poll found that
81.1 percent of students said in
some way you had contributed to
their Brown experience in a positive
way. Why do you think there has
been such positive support for you
over the years, and is there anything
youve done to make yourself acces-
sible to students?
Im completely puzzled by that.
I have no idea. And I wouldnt even
speculate about it.
So as far as your cult status, with
the Ruth T-shirts
(Shakes head) You know, I have
no idea. I think that had I guessed
what it would be, I defnitely would
not have made that call. And maybe
I dont my own self-awareness is
so low that I dont have a way to
understand it. But heres what my
self-awareness tells me. Im a pretty
plain person. I like to say what I mean
and do what I say. I like to be fair,
even-handed and honest. None of
that recommends one to be popular,
frankly. And you know, Ive sort of
lived with that throughout my career
and never thought of it as something
that recommended me in particu-
lar for pictures on T-shirts. So its a
puzzle to me. I do have to say that I
have enormous afection and regard
for Brown students for the ways in
which they contribute. And the fact
that I do might make a diference.
Tere are some people who regard
students as more a nuisance than
anything else I dont.
Tere are ways in which I think
whatever we have done over the
past years has been has repre-
sented an immense contribution
from students. Because some of the
ideas that they have come up with,
frankly, have been extraordinarily
well-researched, extraordinarily well-
considered and ofen their ideas are
just well, frst of all, their ideas
are bountiful, and secondly, theyre
ofen excellent ideas. So Ive regarded
students in this process as partners
in a very challenging and important
endeavor. And perhaps partly my
respect for students and the role that
they play is understood. Perhaps. But
otherwise, I cant tell you.
Aer you leave, when do you
expect to come back to Brown, and
in what capacity? I know youve said
you might like to
Teach. So I have a leave coming,
and I actually have not had time to
make all my plans about what Ill be
doing during my leave, but I have a
couple of book projects that Ill be
working on and trying to make some
progress on. So the main thing is re-
ally to get back to what I set out to
do when I committed myself to this
profession. And that is to thinking,
to refecting, to doing some research,
to writing, to sharing my ideas. Tats
what I want to spend some time do-
ing, and having time to do that will
be an amazing thing, frankly, given
the years in which Ive basically had
every day flled and every evening
virtually flled and every weekend
flled and so forth. So I also hope
during that time to think about what
I want to teach, and that will also be
a big part of it.
Youve talked about going to
France as well. Is that still
Yeah. Not for the entire year
because I have certain obligations
for the fall that will keep me in the
(United) States. But the most impor-
tant thing for me, at least initially,
is to completely disappear so that
Im not second-guessing the next
president. One of the worst things
in the world is to hang around and
then every time something comes
up, for Te Herald to call me or for
somebody else to call me and say,
What do you think of this? Tat
would be the most horrendous
thing. I would never do that to the
next president. So my frst goal is to
completely disappear and not put
anybody in a position of asking me
to second-guess or anything that a
new president is doing.
No forwarding address will be
lef. (Laughs)
Tere has been a lot of talk about
internationalization and making
Brown a more global university.
How do you think internationaliza-
tion might be a good thing, how
do you think Brown has become
a more global university and how
would you would want Paxson to
promote that?
Well, I wont give a message to her.
I can tell you unabashedly that my
conviction that deeper and deeper
international focus and foci at Brown
is an absolute must for this institution
to be competitive well into the fu-
ture. Teres no question in my mind
about that. Te only question is how
one does that. And there the policies
and approaches undertaken by one
president versus another can be dif-
ferent. I chose to focus on an omce
that develops policy and to support
initiatives of all kinds in the interna-
tional area. But a new president could
decide that there are several diferent
things to do in this arena.
Tere are well-educated people in
this country who believe that if you
speak with an accent that you have a
problem, that you are less intelligent
than other people. Tere are people
who make decisions about hiring
people based on whether they have
an accent. Now the stupidity of that
is so compelling because if youve
studied a language, you will never
believe that again. Because funda-
mentally you will understand that
everybody has an accent.
But that very basic thing is some-
thing that I think underlies human
relations to a signifcant degree and is
something that is compelling enough
for us to say that it should be a part
of our education, that we learn that
fundamental issue. But for somebody
else, it could be, for example, that
everyone has to learn about inter-
national fnance and international
economy. Some people might think
thats very important. So Im less
concerned about the institutional
manifestation of the policy for an
era than I am about whether or not
it continues to be one of the most
important things that we think of
doing, provided that we continue
to bring students from around the
world to Brown and then we con-
tinue to send students from Brown
around the world, provided that we
support initiatives in the curriculum
to teach about areas of the world that
will play a very important part in our
lives. If we do not have at Brown a
very substantial ofering on India, for
example, or China, in my view, thats
a very big mistake. So this is an area
I have very strong views about.
Is there anything you want to
add to a new president or our read-
ers?
Well, one of the things Ive tried
not to do is to judge myself. But Im
perfectly comfortable with the way
that other people feel free to do that.
But I do feel comfortable judging our
university its quality, its breadth,
its relevance, its place on the interna-
tional stage. All of that I feel perfectly
capable of doing. And I guess the
main thing I would like, as I leave, for
people to do is not to settle for some
precious little place that serves our
precious little needs that Brown
is important enough to be on the
world stage. If we believe in what we
do, then we also have to believe that
its important for us to care about the
child in Africa who might come to
Brown and fnd something unique
and take it back to their country.
If we care about what we do and
believe in what we do, then we ought
to be able to acknowledge that a new
degree program is appropriate for
us to do, that there are graduate de-
grees that are so important precisely
because they are at Brown and they
carry the Brown message. So for
example, people have come to us
repeatedly and said, Why doesnt
Brown do at the graduate level what
it did at the undergraduate level with
regard to the open curriculum? No
other university will do it. Only
Brown can do that. Why wouldnt
Brown do that? So I think that we
have to continue to look ahead to
what can preserve the best of Brown,
but at the same time, not be afraid to
embrace the fact that Brown could
become a more and more important
institution in the future. I think thats
what alumni seek, I think when you
graduate from this place, thats what
you inevitably want.
And so if you happen to be from
Turkey and you go back to Turkey
and nobody knows what Brown is,
thats a problem for you. So visibility
on the international stage is going to
be important in the future. We dont
have to do it the way that others do
it I dont think the idea of having
a campus in some far-fung part of
the world is vital to our interests at
this juncture, but I think it is vital to
our interests to be known around the
world. And we have to get better and
better at fnding ways of doing that.
Sahil Luthra
See www.browndailyherald.com
for the full interview.
6LPPRQVUHHFWVRQKHUSUHVLGHQF\ORRNVWRWKHIXWXUH
Emily Gilbert / Herald
Simmons will step down from her position June 30.
Morv Mz11rvs 4
the Plan for Academic Enrichment,
a road map for the Universitys ad-
vancement that included increased
investment in fnancial aid.
But Simmons work to make
admission need-blind for domes-
tic frst-years and recent eforts by
groups such as Brown for Financial
Aid have not cracked the shell sur-
rounding discussion of socioeco-
nomic status on campus. Students
said they experience a tension be-
tween the desire to act middle-
class and the efects their fnancial
realities have on conversations, re-
lationships and demographics. At
an institution one student deemed
an emblem of privilege, class dis-
parities present a social minefeld
Brunonians must navigate when
making friends, fnding love and
engaging in academic and extra-
curricular life.
Dissecting demographics
Of the nearly 60 students Te
Herald interviewed, the majority
agreed amuence is alive and well
on Browns campus.
Its easy to think that youre
not that well-of when youre at a
place like this compared to some
other people, said Alex Fleming
12. But I think its very, very rare
that you have a student at an Ivy
League university that isnt pretty
comfortable fnancially.
Despite fnancial aid programs
designed to make the University
afordable to lower-income appli-
cants, many students pointed to
various selection biases that infu-
ence access to the University.
Te least academically-talent-
ed students in the upper income
quartile go to college at the same
rates as the most academically-
talented students in the lowest in-
come quartile, and students from
the lowest income quartile have
been underrepresented at Brown,
Dean of Admission Jim Miller 73
previously wrote Te Herald.
To combat inherent inequal-
ity, the University has embraced
programs such as the Questbridge
consortium, which helps the Ad-
mission Omce recruit low-in-
come, primarily frst-generation,
college-bound students, Miller
wrote.
Even so, private schools are fre-
quently billed as an avenue to the
Ivy League. Many students were
accepted to the University be-
cause they received a private high
school education, ofen bankrolled
by family wealth, or have a par-
ent who attended Brown, which
also suggests a more privileged
upbringing, said Tyler Rice 14,
who attended a private high school
in the Virgin Islands.
Tis bias can lead to tension
when students arrive at Brown.
When it comes to students from
these lower economic back-
grounds, theyre just not as pre-
pared as students from these more
prestigious high schools. I dont
blame Brown at all, said Bryan
Payton 15, a Detroit public high
school graduate.
Students who did not attend
private schools can feel disadvan-
taged. Robert Bentlyewski 13 said
he felt underprepared when he frst
arrived at the University. Id never
been graded alongside someone
who went to a $20,000-a-year pri-
vate school who has been trained
to be good at academics, he said.
Bentlyewski also pointed to the
SAT as an unfair entry barrier, call-
ing it more a test of preparation
than of ability. My score was con-
sidered great at my school and one
of the lowest that Ive heard here,
he said, adding that he did not have
access to SAT tutoring or classes.
Quiet on the green
Despite the perceived ubiquity
of wealth, students ofered mixed
opinions about whether peers
socioeconomic statuses are truly
visible.
Chris Moynihan 14, whose fa-
ther is the chief executive omcer of
a leading U.S. bank and a Corpora-
tion trustee, said his upbringing
in an monied Massachusetts town
makes it dimcult not to read into
the material indicators of status.
Its hard not to come from a so-
ciety like that and restrain those
judgments, he said.
Its not like people are walking
around in sneakers, even guys,
said Katharine Grimes 14.
Nestor Noyola 14, who said
he identifes as lower-class, sees
Bear Bucks account balances with
an average in the hundreds and
up to $5,000 at his job behind the
counter at the Campus Market. It
shocks me a little, he said. Its a
lot of money ... to just spend on
food and snacks.
Ryan Hoskins 12.5 said though
he hears about students who come
from particularly wealthy back-
grounds, he does not think status
is obvious.
People can also act in a way
that does not refect their fnancial
realities, Rice said. Regardless of
how much money a student has,
if youre the alpha male, youll
get up to the bar and act like big
moneybags, he said.
Most students agreed that
conversation surrounding socio-
economic class is uncomfortable,
especially when brought up with
people outside their own statuses.
When you hear statements
like, Some of us actually have
to pay for our education, Bryan,
you think, are you upset because
your parents can aford to have
a stable life and pay for a Brown
education? said Payton, who re-
ceives fnancial aid. I fnd myself
sometimes questioning this envi-
ronment where people of so much
privilege can interact on this level.
Noyola said he has noticed stu-
dents from lower socioeconomic
strata coding their language. I was
just talking to a girl about her plans
about spring break, and she just
said, Oh, you know, I cant do that
Im not like other students. She
wasnt very explicit, but she got the
point across, he said.
Grimes cited job opportunities
as another subject students side-
step in conversation. Ive never
heard anyone say they couldnt
do an unpaid internship Ive
heard them say they want a paid
internship, Grimes said. Whether
a person can aford to complete an
unpaid internship or needs to earn
money over the summer is one way
to infer something about a peers
status, she said.
Yancy Rodriguez 14 said he is
more open about his fnancial situ-
ation when speaking with students
who are also on fnancial aid.
Students who perceive them-
selves as less wealthy are very hesi-
tant to talk about it, said Alexander
Mechanick 15. Tey just want
to be like everyone else, he said.
But some students perceive
others as bragging about their f-
nancial aid, as if receiving aid is
associated with an academic talent.
Its odd how some people I hear
almost take pride in the amount
of aid that they get, Bentlyewski
said, describing the attitude as My
parents dont make much money
Im here because of me.
While some students who do
not rely on fnancial aid said they
share their status openly, others
said they try to keep quiet about
their wealth.
Its never something I would
hide, said Libby Stein 15, who
does not receive fnancial aid. If
somebody asked me, I would tell
them in a heartbeat.
But Stephanie Harris 14 said
she thinks privilege comes with
discomfort. Some students with
more wealth can be made to feel
bad for what they have, she said.
Tey dont want to come of as
sounding like theyre spoiled or
dont understand having to strug-
gle through life.
People who are on the wealthi-
er end dont want to believe theyre
better-of, Mechanick said.
Fleming said he has seen stu-
dents treat their wealth in both
extremes. Some students are in-
credibly wealthy and want to be
seen as upper-class citizens, he
said, while others try to separate
themselves from the perception of
wealth by pointing out others who
are wealthier.
Whos at the table
A recent Herald poll revealed
the student population is split on
whether they believe their friends
are of their same socioeconomic
status. Students who do not re-
ceive aid are more likely to say
their friend groups include people
of diferent statuses, according to
the poll.
I probably hang out with kids
whose parents it might take them
30 years to make what my dad
would make in two. But it doesnt
afect my relationship with them
at all, said Hoskins, who does not
receive fnancial aid.
Te international community
is frequently considered to be
wealthier due to the Universitys
need-aware admission policy for
internationals, said Darien Rosa
15. In terms of socioeconomics,
theyre just on a diferent plane
than everyone else, and they end
up staying together.
But what a person can aford to
participate in afects their social
circle, said Noyola, who receives
fnancial aid. Because we end
up staying on campus, we end up
eating on campus, so we end up
spending more time together, he
said.
If Im a (Resumed Undergrad-
uate Education) student, chances
are Im on fnancial aid, and if Im
a veteran, chances are Im on fnan-
cial aid, said David Salsone 12.5, a
veteran and a RUE student. Tose
are the groups that are going to
stick together, he said.
Students can feel lef out or
hard-pressed to participate in the
activities that seem easily aford-
able to friends.
Moore said her friends some-
times choose to go out to restau-
rants out of her price range. While
they ofen choose another place so
she can join, sometimes theyll
say Okay, well were still gonna
go anyway and youre just gonna
miss out, she said.
On the weekends my friends
and I like to go out to eat, and
sometimes people are more reti-
cent and like, Oh, I have a meal
plan why would I go out and
spend money? Stein said.
Meal plans are fnancial bur-
dens to some. Vanessa Flores-
Maldonado 14, a member of the
womens rugby team, had to switch
down to Flex 330 from Flex 460
because the price was too high and
said she is not satisfed with the
number of credits and points the
new plan allots her. Meal plan and
I are not best friends right now,
she said.
Sometimes I feel a little bit
cheated, Rosa said. Like I could
have gotten more food for the same
amount of money somewhere else.
For most, meal plan is the most
cost-efective. I use the Ratty for
all its worth whenever I can, Bent-
lyewski said.
Living and loving
Freshman year includes a lot
of experiences that highlight so-
cioeconomic status, said Clay
Tibodeaux, a Meiklejohn and
co-founder of Social Classmates, a
semester-long workshop that aims
to provide a safe space for students
to discuss class. When frst-year
advisers take their groups to the
traditional Faculty Club lunch,
social class becomes apparent,
he said. You can tell whos re-
ally comfortable with eating out
of other peoples paycheck, and
people who use the diferent forks,
he said.
Freshman move-in is a time
when there is a lot of consciousness
around socioeconomic status be-
cause of the types of things people
are bringing into their rooms, said
Margaret Klawunn, vice president
for campus life and student ser-
vices. Its one of the times when
youre really conscious of whether
youve entered a world that feels
immediately comfortable or one
youre going to have to fgure out
your place in, she said.
When Kishan Patel 15 arrived
on campus in the fall, his room-
mate had already moved a sofa, a
plasma TV, a video game console
and an air-conditioning unit into
their double. Socioeconomic status
is assumed, based on what people
bring, he said.
Even afer freshman year, so-
cioeconomic status can play an
uncomfortable role in housing.
Noyola said he selected quiet
housing to avoid the risk of be-
ing placed in on-campus housing
with the $1,200 apartment fee in
summer assignment. Most of my
friends chose quiet housing with
me for the same reason, he said.
But some students are lef out of
living with their friends when only
some members of a housing group
can aford to pay the apartment
fee. Hannah Jones 14 went into
the lottery with four friends who
all wanted to live in a suite, and the
plan was for Jones to fnd a single
away from the group. Her socio-
economic status became more no-
ticeable during the process, she
said. I dont know if my friends
are indicative of Brown, but theyre
Private,
Tuition > $25,000
Private,
Tuition < $25,000
Public,
Magnet, exam or
audition
Public,
Traditional

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Emily Polk / Herald
Only 50 percent say they stick with peers of the same class
continued on page 5
I nd myself sometimes questioning this en-
vironment where people of so much privilege
can interact on this level.
Bryan Payton 15
Morv Mz11rvs 5
all like, $1,200? Sure, thats fne
I spent that over spring break,
she said.
Te Omce of Residential Life
only encounters a few requests
for aid in paying the suite fee each
year, and these are handled on a
case-by-case basis, said Richard
Bova, senior associate dean of resi-
dential and dining services.
Though many students said
they have friends who do not share
their status, most said they think
people tend to date within their
social class.
Moynihan said dating might be
the biggest factor he perceives in
how socioeconomic status afects
relationships at Brown, adding that
he typically dates within his socio-
economic class.
Jones is in a relationship with
someone of a socioeconomic status
higher than hers. Im kind of a
free spirit hippie, and hes like the
one percent, she said. Her boy-
friend ofen ends up paying for
things she wishes she could pay
for herself, which makes her un-
comfortable, she said. Sometimes
I wish I was dating someone thats
more on my level, she added.
Harris, a Minority Peer Coun-
selor, proposed (S)hes Out of My
League, a workshop on social class
and dating at Brown. Around 20
students attended the workshop
in February, she said, adding that
there were few participants who
identifed as wealthy. Most people
who had dated outside their socio-
economic class stated it had been
a struggle to do so, she said, citing
one students comment about the
dimculty navigating paying for
things in his same-sex relation-
ships.
(S)hes Out of My League was
just one of an increasing number
of programs focusing on how stu-
dents deal with issues surround-
ing socioeconomic diversity. Te
workshop Social Classmates has
seen 51 total participants over four
semesters, Tibodeaux said. Te
Tird World Transition Program,
First Generation College Students
group and MPC events also pro-
vide opportunities for students to
engage with these issues.
Work-study
When fnancial aid and schol-
arships are not enough to fund
tuition, or when students want
extra pocket money for personal
spending, many seek on-campus
employment. Roughly 1,500 stu-
dents work jobs on campus, said
James Tilton, director of fnan-
cial aid, basing his statistic on the
number of students who receive
a paycheck through the Omce of
Student Employment each month.
People with lower socioeco-
nomic status will just take any job,
but other people are more picky,
said Patricia Rojas 15, who works
for Brown University Dining Ser-
vices to supplement her fnancial
aid package.
Tere might be a perception
that people join Dining Services
because they need money, and its
not something they really want to
do, said Anthony Calcagni 13,
BuDS general manager. BuDS
currently employs 333 students,
he said, adding that most workers
continue working for BuDS from
semester to semester.
But not all students can fnd
the time for jobs. I just fgured Id
bite the $6,000 bullet for now and
fgure it out down the road, said
Bentlyewski, who relies heavily on
loans for his living expenses.
Pressure to reconcile academics
and extracurricular responsibilities
with looming fnancial anxieties
can take a serious toll on student
life for those who cannot aford
not to work.
Whenever I do take on volun-
teer opportunities, Im constantly
cognizant of the fact that I could
use this time to be making money
to help support myself or raising
money to help myself in future
years when I need it, said Destin
Sisemore 15. He said his fnancial
situation does not allow him to
participate in all the extracurricu-
lars he would like to and that he
has to think about which activities
he will eventually need to drop in
favor of making money.
Benjamins and brotherhood
Greek life ofen comes up in
conversations about wealth and
how students spend their time.
Membership in Greek organiza-
tions totals around 400 students,
according to the Omce of Resi-
dential Lifes website, which is less
than 10 percent of the undergradu-
ate population. Te University is
home to six all-male fraternities,
two all-female sororities and two
co-ed fraternities.
Many students pointed to fra-
ternities, historically bastions of
white male privilege, as comprising
wealthier students.
Students who paid full tuition
for their Brown education might
be more willing to spend their
time in a fraternity, contributing
to Greek lifes reputation for in-
cluding mostly wealthy students,
said Moynihan, who is a member
of Delta Tau.
I think the lurking variable
there though is that its more likely
that if you worked your way in
here and were on a fnancial aid
package, then maybe youd be ad-
vised against going into the frats,
Moynihan said.
Rahil Rojiani 13, president
of Phi Kappa Psi, said he thinks
most fraternities at Brown can be
described as pretty upper-class,
heterosexual, tend to be pretty
privileged males, basing his rea-
soning on the alcohol budgets and
membership dues the brothers in
other fraternities pay. In contrast,
he said most of his brothers in Phi
Psi come from pretty underprivi-
leged, marginalized backgrounds.
Dues, as an institutionalized
expenditure required of members,
may contribute to perceptions of
wealth, said a Sigma Chi brother
who asked to remain anonymous
because he did not wish to speak
for the fraternity. He drew the
comparison between dues and
the amount students outside fra-
ternities spend on social activities
anyway, but he added that not ev-
eryone spends an amount compa-
rable to dues demanded by Greek
organizations.
You want everyone to pay your
dues. Otherwise you cant party
and have a good time and buy al-
cohol and fund events, Moynihan
said. But at the same time, you
cant just go around calling people
saying, You should pay, you need
to pay, you need to pay. Because
some of these kids cant pay. So
weve been tiptoeing that line all
semester.
Many students perceive Delta
Phi and Sigma Chi as having par-
ticularly wealthy members. Sigma
Chi brothers pay roughly $1,000
per year in dues, said Peipert, a
member of the fraternity. Delta
Phi brothers pay around $700 per
year, said Rice, a member of the
fraternity, adding that the exact
amount fuctuates.
Rice described the attitudes
surrounding dues within Delta
Phi as mostly cavalier. Tey just
say, Hey dad, Im part of DPhi, I
need this amount of money right
now, and theyre like, Okay, and
send you a check. Tats most of
the kids, he said. But the frater-
nity does not exclude or penalize
brothers and prospective brothers
who cannot pay. Tey can help
you out a little here and there and
not make you pay all of it, he said.
Most fraternities have programs
that allow brothers not to pay their
dues in full if their fnancial situa-
tion prevents them from doing so.
Phi Psi national whose dues,
Rojiani said, run between $750 and
$800 a year ofers its members
merit-based scholarships based
on essays brothers submit about
aspirations for the future, said
Pierre Arreola 13, a member of
the fraternity.
Sigma Chi ofers formalized
fnancial aid through its alumni
association, in which brothers pay
dues relative to the fnancial aid
package allotted to them by the
University. Twelve out of around
100 Sigma brothers are current-
ly on fnancial aid, said another
member who asked to remain
anonymous because he did not
wish to speak on behalf of the or-
ganization.
The hurdle to access
Athletics can attract students
who, without their sports back-
grounds, may not have known
about or gained admission to
Brown, Klawunn said. A recent
Herald poll found that athletes and
non-athletes are equally likely to
be on fnancial aid, though athletes
are more likely to take out loans.
Athletics is kind of like a great
equalizer, said wrestler Teodoro
Popolizio 12.
Tere are people on the team
who wouldnt be in college if it
wasnt for wrestling, Popolizio
said, adding that most of the wres-
tlers at Brown come from lower so-
cioeconomic backgrounds. Tat
blue-collar attitude that wrestlers
have is really special.
But athletes also feel the efects
of class disparity. Since the Univer-
sity does not ofer athletic scholar-
ships, athletes at Brown participate
out of passion, not because they
needed a scholarship to get here,
Popolizio said.
Brown struggles to recruit
middle-class athletes who cannot
aford the amount of tuition not
covered by fnancial aid, Te Her-
ald reported last April.
Many students pointed to spe-
cifc sports teams as dispropor-
tionately wealthy, since certain
sports are more frequently ofered
at private schools or clubs and
therefore draw a more privileged
demographic.
Fleming, a co-captain of the
crew team, noted that several Ivy
League crew teams would ft the
sports elitist stereotype Wheres
the money at? Right there, he
said. But thats not the Brown
crew team. Forty-six percent of
the current crew team attended
private schools with a tuition over
$25,000, while 33 percent attended
public school. Tese calculations
do not take into account scholar-
ships students might have received
at their high schools.
People on the ice hockey team
tend to be wealthier than those in
other sports, said Aubree Moore
14, a member of the womens ice
hockey team. Te equipment is
so expensive and just to be able to
aford that, you have to be able at
least in the upper- or middle-end
the spectrum, she said, adding
that she thinks the socioeconomic
diversity of the hockey team might
be slowly increasing. Sixty-three
percent of the current womens
hockey team attended private
school before coming to Brown.
Unfortunately, one of the best
ways to be good at golf is to play
a lot of golf, and if your parents
are footing the bill for a private
country club where you can play
unlimitedly, you get a lot better,
said Hoskins, a member of the golf
team. Out of the seven members
on the mens golf team, fve at-
tended private school.
Football, by contrast, is a more
accessible sport that is ofered at
most high schools, said Donald
Sproal 14. Fourteen percent of
the current football team attended
private schools with tuition over
$25,000, while 54 percent attended
public school.
Te Universitys recruitment
methods have also shifed to at-
tempt to alleviate this problem.
Ten years ago, recruiters would
fnd athletes from specifc schools,
said Director of Athletics Michael
Goldberger. In the past, where lets
say Harvard would go to (Phillips
Academy) Andover and get the
captain of their swim team, it tends
not to work that way anymore, he
said. Instead, he said, camps and
clubs have served as the focal point
in recent years.
But recruiting out of camps and
clubs players pay to participate in
comes with its own selection prob-
lems. More and more high school
lacrosse players have been joining
club teams in the last decade, said
Keely McDonald 00, head coach
for womens lacrosse. At this point,
kids are basically paying for expo-
sure, she said.
Tensions surrounding class do
not disappear when students leave
College Hill. Graduation presents
a looming obstacle: fnding a job, a
search that some worry places con-
nections and credentials on equal
footing. Many will strive to pay
back loans and cope with the de-
mand to achieve greater fnancial
self-sumciency as socioeconomic
concerns persist, just on a larger
playing feld. Te fourth and fnal
part of Te Heralds series will dis-
cuss how class and privilege afect
life afer Brown.
With additional reporting by
David Chung, Elizabeth Koh, Kate
Nussenbaum, Alison Silver and Kat
Tornton
0 10 20 30 40 50
Mens crew team by high school type
Percent of team
46
4
2
2
31
14
Private,
Tuition > $25,000
Private,
Tuition < $25,000
Public,
Exam, magnet or
audition
Public (Regular)
Foreign (Private)
Private (Other)

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0RQH\RQWKHPLQGLQKRXVLQJVRFLDOH[WUDFXUULFXODUFKRLFHV
You can tell whos really comfortable with
eating out of other peoples paycheck, and
people who use the dierent forks.
Clay Thibodeaux 12
Czmvcs Nrws 6
FURRY FRI ENDS
Rachel Kaplan / Herald
Students ocked to the Main Green yesterday for the ever popular Heavy Petting.
By LUCAS MORDUCHOWICZ
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
BodyRox, a dance party ftness pro-
gram, took home frst place at Brown
Entrepreneurship Programs 15th
Annual Startup Competition April
14. Te BodyRox team won $12,000
and a number of in-kind services
such as free meetings with lawyers,
designers, venture capitalists and
other professionals useful to startups.
Second place went to the Fund for
America team, which won $5,000
and in-kind services, and third went
to the NBA Math Hoops team, which
won $3,000 and in-kind services.
A panel of judges made up of ven-
ture capitalists, entrepreneurs and
other experts from the Entrepreneur-
ship Programs wide alumni network
and advisory board chose the win-
ners from a pool of 24 applicants. In
the frst round, contestants submitted
a three to fve page summary of their
business along with a PowerPoint
presentation. From there, 10 fnalists
prepared an in-depth eight-minute
pitch followed by a fve-minute ques-
tion and answer session.
Te prize money is all raised by
students, said Elizabeth Weber 14,
co-president of the Entrepreneur-
ship Program. Members of the group
reached out to over 600 alums as well
as their advisory board to ask for
donations. Tough the contest has
been called the 50K Startup Compe-
tition, this year there were $20,000
in cash prizes and $50,000 worth of
in-kind services at stake. Tough the
cash was given out in proportion to
placement in the contest, the in-kind
prizes were more equally distributed,
according to Weber.
Te winners are already using
these prizes to help expand their
businesses. Khalil Fuller 14, chief ex-
ecutive omcer of NBA Math Hoops, a
nonproft that develops math-based,
sports board games, said he plans to
use the money to help his business
expand into 500 classrooms across
the nation. Fund for America, the
second place winner, is developing
a crowd-funding model to enable
anyone to fund startups, not just ven-
ture capitalists or qualifed investors.
Te judging criteria simply put
is about half size of opportunity and
half likelihood to succeed, though a
small portion is based on audience
vote, Weber said. Size of opportunity
is the magnitude of the issue tackled
by the venture and how well their
solution fts the problem, according
to the groups website. Te creation
of the criteria, spearheaded by Jo-
seph Hong 15, included input from
several alumni venture capitalists
and entrepreneurs, members of the
Entrepreneurship Program advisory
board and written sources, such as
books and articles about similar
competitions.
A robust judging criterion was
useful this year because this round
of presenters was particularly im-
pressive, Weber said. Many of the
judges and alumni said the group of
presenters, regardless of who won,
were the most impressive that they
had seen in many years.
Te competition was tough, said
Sadie Kurzban 12 of the BodyRox
team. Te other teams were re-
ally prepared, and there were some
great ideas out there. We felt very
fortunate to win. Another aspect of
the competition that was better than
previous years was attendance. About
125 people came to the competition,
making this year one of the best at-
tended contests yet. Weber was par-
ticularly pleased with the number of
students who came to see the pitches
and support their friends.
Tough this years competition
was a great success for the Entrepre-
neurship Program, the organization
is already looking ahead to see what
they can improve for next years com-
petition. Weber and others at the
program are looking to increase the
size of the prizes in order to better
compete with other startup competi-
tions around the country, as well as
work more on the criteria to give
a better chance to companies that
are still in the initial stages of their
development.
Weber sees the increase in at-
tendance and the greater caliber of
the contestants this year as signs of
a growing entrepreneurial commu-
nity at the University and hopes that
the Entrepreneurship Program can
become more institutionalized by
acquiring more faculty, space and
presence on campus.
BodyRox wins entrepreneurship competition
Czmvcs Nrws 7
By MARK RAYMOND
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
At its monthly meeting yesterday,
the Brown University Community
Council discussed the status of the
Swearer Center for Public Service
as well as the Plan for Academic
Enrichment and refected on the
progress that has been made under
President Ruth Simmons.
Dean of the College Katherine
Bergeron gave a presentation about
the future of the Swearer Center on
behalf of Roger Nozaki MAT89,
the centers director and associate
dean of the College for commu-
nity and global engagement. Te
presentation touched upon ways
the centers goals coincide with
Browns mission, as well as goals
for the center going forward.
Universities are in a position
to ofer a wide range of solutions
to social problems, Bergeron said.
Fostering this kind of engagement
has never been more important
than it is today.
She highlighted the New Cur-
riculums emphasis on community
engagement and said students have
embraced service through projects
such as A Better World by Design,
emPOWER and Education With-
out Borders.
Bergerons presentation also
cited the Universitys emphasis
on usefulness and reputation,
as mentioned in the Universitys
charter, and said this description is
still central to defning a students
role at Brown.
Te presentation boasted the
Swearer Centers success in estab-
lishing 4,000 partnerships across
the state.
Going forward, the centers
goals are to strengthen and sus-
tain long-term community part-
nerships, enhance curricular in-
tegration and research, advance
University impact and build as-
sessment capacity, according to
Bergerons presentation.
Ralanda Nelson 12, president
of the Undergraduate Council of
Students and member of the coun-
cil, asked Bergeron whether the
University is considering making
service a requirement for under-
graduates.
Bergeron said the University is
not specifcally planning any such
measure, but stated her support for
faculty encouragement of students
to engage with the community
through research and teaching. She
cited a chemistry student working
with a professor to construct syl-
labi for a local high school class as
an example.
Following Bergerons presen-
tation, Richard Spies, executive
vice president for planning and
senior advisor to the president,
delivered what he described as a
retrospective on the Plan for Aca-
demic Enrichment.
Te plan was initiated by both
Spies and Simmons in Febru-
ary 2002 when Spies presented
an eight-slide PowerPoint to the
Corporation, the Universitys high-
est governing body, detailing the
Universitys most pressing needs.
Tis outline later became the Plan
for Academic Enrichment, which
the Corporation approved in Feb-
ruary 2004.
Te plan has really been a tre-
mendous asset for us, Simmons
said.
But the plan was not always
seen in such a positive light, ac-
cording to Simmons. She said
upon frst presenting the plan to
faculty, she was told by one faculty
member that he did not believe a
word she was saying.
Te dimculty in executing such
a bold plan was the root of this
skepticism, Simmons said. She said
past plans had not fully come to
fruition and that a sense of ur-
gency was needed for the new plan
to be successful.
Spies detailed the challenges
the University faced when Sim-
mons tenure began, which in-
cluded a need for more faculty,
a need-blind admissions process
and increased support for gradu-
ate students.
In 2001, Brown was a little bit
stalled, he said. We were not as
strong as we could be.
Since the plan was approved in
2004, the Universitys faculty has
expanded, and graduate stipends
have increased to be competitive
with those at peer institutions, ac-
cording to Spies.
Te plan succeeded because it
addressed real issues with real
resources in real time, he said.
It was able to evolve as new chal-
lenges were presented, and it was
aspirational in its nature.
Simmons said the University
still faces challenges going for-
ward but said the Plan for Aca-
demic Enrichment put in place
a groundwork for the University
that was not there when she came
into omce.
Tere are many unmet needs,
and there are many insumciently
funded items, she said, adding
that she hopes funds in the com-
ing years can be directed towards
strengthening existing programs
rather than simply investing in
essentials such as faculty and in-
frastructure.
Simmons added that she be-
lieves the University can continue
tapping into an aspirational fer-
vor amongst alums and the Brown
community to continue making
progress.
Brown is a unique kind of
place where people believe in its
mission and believe its possible
to do extraordinary things here,
she said.
$GPLQVGLVFXVV6ZHDUHU&HQWHU3$(SURJUHVVDW%8&&PHHWLQJ
By RIA MIRCHANDANI
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The University has extended an
offer to a candidate for the per-
manent position of director of the
Office of Institutional Diversity,
said Provost Mark Schlissel P15.
The director bears the respon-
sibility of ensuring that Brown
continues to promote diversity on
campus through faculty, students
and staff, he said.
Professor of Anthropology
Lina Fruzzetti became the in-
terim director last fall following
the departure of director Valerie
Wilson, and a search committee
was appointed to find a perma-
nent director. The committee was
chaired by Lundy Braun, profes-
sor of medical science, and in-
cluded faculty, undergraduates
and graduate students.
Schlissel originally told The
Herald last fall that he hoped the
position would be filled by Janu-
ary, but the process organizing
a committee, interviewing can-
didates and deliberating took
time, he said.
We needed to make sure we
had a strong pool of candidates,
said Mary Grace Almandrez, di-
rector of the Third World Cen-
ter and a member of the search
committee. There has been a
lot of transition in general with
senior leadership (at the Univer-
sity). We wanted to make sure we
were thoughtful, gaining broad
endorsement for candidates.
The committee received al-
most 70 applications for the
position, which was advertised
broadly through the Universitys
networks, wrote Deputy Provost
Joseph Meisel in an email to The
Herald. The committee made rec-
ommendations to Schlissel and
President Ruth Simmons last
month, bringing its formal du-
ties to an end, Almandrez said.
The top candidates were
brought to campus and inter-
viewed by senior leadership, in-
cluding Schlissel, who is currently
at the stage of extending an offer.
Ive made a selection of the best
qualified person, and Im in the
process of convincing them to
join us, Schlissel said.
The committee looked for
candidates with experience in
promoting a diverse university
environment, he said, adding that
they sought candidates who had
university experience and exper-
tise in writing grant proposals to
help attract resources for various
projects.
We wanted to make sure can-
didates had experience recruit-
ing and retaining faculty of color,
as this is a high priority for the
University, Almandrez said. We
wanted someone who could build
bridges across campus and de-
partments and could help diver-
sify our faculty in different ways.
Having someone who understood
Browns culture and who related
well to faculty, students and staff
were also important consider-
ations for the search committee.
The new director will face
many challenges upon entering
office.
We have not done an adequate
job making sure Browns faculty is
as diverse as our society. We need
to promote a learning environ-
ment where students can learn
from many different points of
view, said Schlissel, who believes
the biggest challenge for the new
officer will be working with the
administration to recruit diverse
faculty. Almandrez said diversify-
ing faculty is a national challenge.
From the standpoint of the
(Diversity Advisory Board), I ex-
pect the new (director) to pro-
vide leadership for long-range
planning and an increase in (the
boards) involvement in Univer-
sity affairs relating to diversity,
said Anita Zimmerman, profes-
sor of medical science and vice
chair of the advisory board. The
(board) gradually has been tak-
ing a more active role, and this
growth is expected to continue
with leadership of the new OID
director. She said integrating dif-
ferent University efforts that focus
on various aspects of diversity
into a more cohesive approach
will be one of the major challenges
for the new director.
Almandrez said she will sup-
port the new officer fully in her
capacity as director of the Third
World Center, recognizing the
work at hand is important and
challenging. There is some ex-
citement in seeing someone step
in full time, she said.
President Ruth Simmons es-
tablished the Office of Institu-
tional Diversity in 2003 to create
initiatives that enhance campus
diversity. Some of the offices most
recent publications include a re-
port on plans to increase women
and minority presence through
hiring decisions and a plan for
extending outreach to disabled
individuals and veterans, accord-
ing to the offices website.
8RIIHUVXQQDPHGFDQGLGDWHGLUHFWRUVKLSRIGLYHUVLW\RIFH
Ci1v S1z1r 8
By SONA MKRTTCHIAN
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Following Providence Mayor Angel
Taveras proposed budget address
Monday, two city council com-
mittees the subcommittee on
pension sustainability and the or-
dinance committee unanimously
recommended that the city council
pass Taveras Providence Pension
Protection Plan, which would sus-
pend cost-of-living increases for
all city retirees. Te council is set
to vote on the measure tomorrow
night.
Te plan would save $16 million
in the next fscal year, according
to a press release from the mayors
omce. Te savings from the mea-
sure are already incorporated into
the proposed budget, which would
reduce the citys operating budget
by almost $3 million, Taveras said
at the address Monday.
Te plan would incorporate a
freeze on all COLAs for city retirees
until the system is at least 70 percent
funded. Te current system is only
funded at 32 percent, the Provi-
dence Journal reported yesterday.
Te suspension would reduce the
citys unfunded pension liability by
more than $236 million, according
to the Taveras administration.
Our pension system is unsus-
tainable and blocking our path to
progress, Taveras said in the press
release.
Taveras plan also includes a
measure to cap pensions at one and
half times the average Rhode Island
household income and a new man-
date requiring workers to contribute
to their pensions yearly until they
choose to retire, the ProJo reported.
Paul Doughty, president of the
Local 799, a chapter of the Inter-
national Firefghters Union, said
he was astonished by how quickly
the council is pushing the measure
forward.
While the media has spotlighted
the few high pensions that the city
awards some retirees, Doughty
said the average annual pension
is around $25,000. He added that
these families are especially depen-
dent on the COLAs.
I will readily admit that the top
tier needs to be addressed, but this
is not a one-size-fts-all solution,
Doughty said. I think were run-
ning headfrst into a disaster.
Te unions have been attempt-
ing to negotiate with the city on the
issue but the city is not giving us
the chance (to negotiate). Doughty
said he wants to see a plan where re-
tirees receiving the lowest pensions
are able to maintain their COLAs.
But if the current plan is passed
Tursday, the unions will inevitably
bring the city to court, Doughty
said. If (the plan) is overturned
in court, it would almost guarantee
the city is pushed into bankruptcy.
Members of the city council
were unavailable to comment on
the issue.
Two city committees approve freezing COLAs for retirees
By EUNICE KIM
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Experts from a variety of felds
came together yesterday to dis-
cuss solutions to the problem of
homelessness in Rhode Island.
University faculty, policymakers,
community advocates and home-
lessness service providers partici-
pated in the event a Roundtable
Luncheon on Research, Housing
Policy and Homelessness in Rhode
Island held at the Faculty Club.
On any given night, over 1,100
Rhode Islanders are homeless, ac-
cording to the Rhode Island Hous-
ing Resources Commission. Te
goal is to make Rhode Island the
frst state to fnish homelessness,
said Benjamin Eichert, coordina-
tor of the event, eliciting loud ap-
plause among the guests.
Te roundtable event was or-
ganized to provide a space for ex-
perts working in diferent areas to
share their ideas and knowledge
and to take the frst steps toward
collaboration, Eichert told Te
Herald.
Te main event of the luncheon
was a presentation of a new strate-
gic plan to prevent and end home-
lessness, called Opening Doors
Rhode Island.
Te challenges Rhode Island
faces are the states poverty rate
and its rent burden rate both
the highest in New England as
well as national budget cuts on
programs such as Community De-
velopment Block Grants, which
give communities the resources
to tackle issues they encounter.
But Opening Doors Rhode Is-
land suggests that homelessness is
solvable and preventable.
Te current approach to solving
homelessness, which focuses on
putting people into shelters and
transitional housing, is inemcient
and overly costly because the cost
actually surpasses the cost of put-
ting people into apartments, said
Eric Hirsch, professor of sociology
at Providence College.
Homelessness can be solved
through providing immediate re-
housing to people without homes
and short-term help on rent or
mortgage, Hirsch said. Statistics
show that this strategy is less costly
than putting the homeless into
shelters, he said.
Hirsch also suggested that hav-
ing job opportunities, job training
and access to welfare programs
will help prevent homelessness.
Te plan also emphasizes the
need to improve health and hous-
ing stability and increase access
to stable and afordable housing,
economic security and civic col-
laboration.
Opportunities for receiving
funding and support for home-
lessness-related research were later
discussed by Vice President for Re-
search Clyde Briant. Eichert said
this demonstrates the Universitys
willingness to adjust its priorities
as a research institution to meet
community needs.
The roundtable event was
sponsored by the Omce of the
President, the Swearer Center for
Public Service and Housing Op-
portunities for People Everywhere,
a student group that addresses
homelessness in Rhode Island.
([SHUWVGLVFXVVVROXWLRQVWR5,KRPHOHVVQHVV
Ci1v S1z1r 9
Fraternity of Evil | Eshan Mitra, Brendan Hainline and Hector Ramirez
COMI CS
the quality is like in some butch-
ers shop in Kansas City, he said.
This way Ive seen it, stamped
it, cut it I can account for that
meat until you get it yourself.
Jonathan Sit 15 said he was
impressed the Ratty had its own
butcher shop, but in the end he
said he does not care where his
meat comes from. I mean, if you
eat Burger King, you already have
pretty low standards, he said.
Most of the rest of the cooking
happens in a central area filled
with large machines for cooking
food in bulk. Barboza pointed out
nine steamers, eight convection
ovens, one combination oven,
eight 60-gallon steam kettles, one
100-gallon steam kettle, one tilt
skillet and six frialators. (The
frialators) are for the chicken
fingers, Barboza said.
Serving and Disposal
Barboza said food is cooked
progressively throughout the
day.
Barboza referred to the central
area of the Ratty as the core,
which he further divided into
the inner core and the outer
core. Much like the refrigerators
on the kitchen level, a series of
hollow cabinets divide the inner
core from the outer core, so that
food can be put in at one end and
taken out to serve at the other.
Barboza said extra trays of food
are kept in the cabinets, which
can act as either refrigerators or
warmers.
Barboza said the kitchen tries
to cook just enough food for each
day. Its a good day when there
are only a couple of potatoes
left, he said. By using statistical
information gathered through
card-swipes, he said they were
able to predict with some accu-
racy how much food they need
throughout a day.
Of the food that is thrown
away, Barboza said most of it
ends up as compost or is fed to
the pigs at Two Village Farm. But
he said sometimes plastic trash
ends up in the food waste bin,
which forces Dining Services to
dispose the entire bag, as Two
Village Farm wont accept it. He
pointed out that the food waste
bags are transparent so they can
be inspected for contamination.
Dave Thomas 15 said he is
usually careful to separate his
trash properly, as he knows that
food waste goes to a pig farm.
But he feels Dining Services does
not make it clear enough how
easy it is to contaminate the food
waste bin.
They should put up a sign,
saying that if you put one piece
of trash in there they cant use
it, he said.
Even the food left on dirty
plates is scraped off and made
into compost after the plates are
taken downstairs to the dish-
washing line. As they are scraped
clean, the food slides down a
groove into a Somat machine,
which grinds the food and any
paper waste into small bits, Bar-
boza said. Though Dining Servic-
es currently hasnt found anyone
to buy this compost, Barboza said
they are still looking.
Lillian Mirviss 12, another
sustainability intern for Dining
Services, said composting is diffi-
cult in Providence. Its challeng-
ing to start our own (compost)
network here because of the many
barriers the city provides.
But she said measures to de-
crease food waste in the first place
such as the switch to tray-less
dining made in 2008 have been
very successful. According to the
Dining Services website, tray-less
dining usually reduces food waste
by over 25 percent.
Barboza said if the kitchen
makes too much food one day,
the food that can be served later
is stored. The food that will not
last is put into a small, conven-
tional refrigerator in the receiv-
ing bay. The food then goes to a
charity called We Share Hope in
Warren, R.I., which provides food
to other organizations feeding the
poor and homeless, Barboza said.
The tour concluded near the
offices of Dining Services where
pictures of the Ratty from the
1950s the dining halls early
years line the walls. In one of
them, groups of eight men sit at
tables waiting patiently for their
food to be brought to them. Wait-
ers stand patiently, ready to serve
the students once their food is
ready. But waiters have not served
food in the Ratty since 1966, Bar-
boza said.
The tables havent changed,
he said. But we do things very
differently now.
Tour reveals Rattys
efforts to reduce waste
By ELIZABETH KOH
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
About 10 members of Occupy Prov-
idence dressed in Robin Hood hats
and tunics marched to the Rhode
Island State House yesterday afer-
noon, joining a crowd of more than
80 who attended the House Finance
Committees hearing on fve bills
that would raise taxes on the top 1
or 2 percent of earners in the state.
Members of Occupy Providence
gathered to support the proposed
tax increases, but many do not ex-
pect the bills to pass.
Richard Robison, a former social
worker from Cranston, felt pessi-
mistic about the bills chances of
success.
I think it has a chance, but I
wouldnt bet on it, he said.
Teres still so much to fght,
Occupier Mariah Burns said. To-
day I just want to accomplish a little
annoyance.
I like to do this, Burns said,
demonstrating her outstretched
middle fnger. Its better than sit-
ting at home and not doing any-
thing.
Burns, from South Providence,
said she feels jaded about changing
anything politically. (Te bills) are
not going to pass, she said. I wish
they would. Te least we can do is
just go in and tell them how we feel.
Before the meeting began, the
committee voted unanimously to
hold all bills for further study. Te
collection of fve bills prompted
eight pages worth of witnesses who
signed up to speak, not all of whom
could give testimony.
We were reducing taxes on
the people that could aford to pay
them, and we were placing that bur-
den on the people we represent,
said state Rep. Scott Guthrie, D-
Coventry, co-sponsor on each of
the bills, about state tax breaks that
were passed in 2010. We were led
to believe if we dont give breaks
for the people that make the most
money, the job creators, theyre go-
ing to leave.
Te only people that are leav-
ing Rhode Island are the people
that are on fxed income, because
they can no longer aford to live
here, he said, prompting audience
members to hold up signs proclaim-
ing, Where are the jobs? and If
tax cuts worked, Rhode Islanders
would be working!
Te lowest 20 percent of earn-
ers in our state pay about 11.9
percent of their income in taxes
while the top 1 percent pay just 5.6
percent of their income in taxes,
said state Rep. Maria Cimini, D-
Providence, co-sponsor of all fve
bills, prompting slight gasps and
boos from the audience. We must
raise revenue in a fair way.
Occupy member Randall Rose
said the bills attempt to solve a long-
standing problem.
Nobody thinks that were doing
better now than 16 years ago, he
said. Everyone agrees the economy
is doing much worse.
Rose attacked the argument that
tax breaks would make Rhode Is-
land more competitive.
Cutting taxes makes (Rhode
Island) a place where people dont
want to be, he said. Tats the real
efect of cutting taxes it harms
our reputation. He said people
from other states think only of
bankruptcy when they think of
Rhode Island.
Rose also attacked the commit-
tees decision to hold the bills for
further study. Its never going to
leave the foor, and thats just what
happens to these tax bills all the
time.
But Rose said he expected
change to be a long-term process.
I didnt come there expecting to
change the committees mind, Rose
said. I just came in there to show
partly the politicians but also people
in general that Occupy Providence
realizes that theres a lot of problems
with the system.
Occupiers march for tax hikes on rich
Eui1ovizi 10
CORRECTI ONS POLI CY
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submitted up to seven calendar days afer publication.
COMMENTARY POLI CY
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EDI TORI AL CARTOON BY SAM ROSENFELD
People who are on the wealthier end dont want to
believe theyre better o. Alexander Mechanick 15
See SOCIOECONOMIC on page 1.
EDI TORI AL
Her face adorns many of our t-shirts, and her strong but sof voice is
instantly recognizable. She is an icon to Brown students, just like Gail is
to Sharpe Refectory-goers and Louis is to insomniacs. President Ruth
Simmons or just Ruth to many has had a pioneering tenure as
the leader of Brown. Simmons has made great strides during her 11 years
here, spearheading improvements in Browns physical and human capital.
However, there is still one obstacle to overcome before Simmons cedes
her University Hall omce to President-elect Christina Paxson.
In 2003, President Simmons created a steering committee dedicated to
researching Browns historic association with slavery. In 2006, a report by
the University Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice recommended
that a center for research be instituted. Whether motivated by personal
or academic passion, Simmons, along with the 17 members of the com-
mittee, has spent the past six years trying to bring this idea to fruition.
Te biggest obstacle thus far has been the search for a director of the
center. Over the past couple of years, several worthy candidates have
either declined their ofers or have been rejected. Tankfully, as Te
Herald reported last week, Provost Mark Schlissel P15 has said he hopes
a director will be appointed by the end of the semester. Te establishment
of this center will not only provide a perfect capstone to Simmons time
as president, but its creation will ensure that even as Brown looks ever
forward to the future, it remains able to learn from its past.
We hope that once a director is appointed, he or she will move forward
to implement many of the other unfulflled recommendations of the
Committee on Slavery and Justice. Slaverys implications and repercus-
sions have not completely faded, even at Brown, which is why it is so
crucial for the University to investigate and recognize its role in the slave
trade. Racial awareness can be increasingly realized by implementing
the committees proposal to develop classes that analyze racial issues.
Similarly, a renewed commitment to soliciting donations for the Fund
for the Education of the Children of Providence another committee
proposal languishing too near to the bottom of the Universitys priority
list could not only help remedy tensions between Brown and Provi-
dence, but also ofer a strong recognition of the lasting legacy of slavery
and discrimination on students today.
Brown is an institution that prides itself on its diversity, but it still
struggles to realize the full promise of this diversity. And the racial and
socioeconomic divisions on campus never explicit but too ofen present
nonetheless have tragically deep historical roots. Te centers comple-
tion will allow the University to genuinely back up its commitment to
awareness and sensitivity of these issues. We can be the groundbreaking
institution dedicated to confronting head-on one of the most reprehen-
sible aspects of our countrys past.
Te establishment of the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice
and omcially naming a director may well be some of Simmonss fnal
acts as president. And, for a sharecroppers daughter who became the
frst black president of an Ivy League school, it would be a ftting end to
publicly recognize the institution that made her life story so tragically
uncommon.
Editorials are written by Te Heralds editorial page board. Send comments
to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
A legacy deferred?
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POST- MAGAZINE
Sam Knowles Editor-in-Chief
A bar graph in Tuesdays Herald (Relative to peers, U.s fnancial aid lags behind, April 24) incorrectly stated
that it documented the percentage of students that received fnancial aid in 2010-11. In fact, the numbers
were from the 2011-12 academic year. Te Herald regrets the error.
An article in a mid-Aprils Herald (Museum director promotes collaboration, April 13) incorrectly stated
that the Canada Science and Technology Museum is located in Toronto. In fact, it is in Ottawa, Ontario. Te
Herald regrets the error.
CORRECTI ONS
An article in Tuesdays Herald (Bill hopes to draw flmmakers to R.I., April 24) incorrectly reported that
the budget for flm tax credits would increase from $1.5 million to $4 million. In fact, the bill would increase
the budget from $15 million to $40 million. Te Herald regrets the error.
Tomorrows paper is the
last issue of the semester.
Check www.browndailyherald.com for web
updates over the summer. Thanks for reading!
Oviios 11
May 1 is May Day, International Workers
Day. You might already know that there will
be a march next Tuesday in Providence as
well as a teach-in here at Brown this Friday
in solidarity with workers, immigrants and
the 99 percent. I hope to see an encourag-
ing turnout, but realistically I expect that
fewer Brown students will show up to these
two events than the several thousand that
showed up on the Main Green for the 4/20
smokefest.
Last semester, when the Occupy Wall
Street movement was a trendy concept, most
students were distantly supportive, watching
with hopeful curiosity. I got the sense that
most felt that public outcry and civil disobe-
dience were not only understandable but im-
perative. Yet by January, about the time the
mainstream media stopped talking about it,
Brown students had moved on from the Oc-
cupy fad.
Many folks had problems with Occupy
from the beginning, but, by now, weve all
come up with rationalizations for our non-
participation: Teyre approaching the
problem the wrong way, Teyre too disor-
ganized or Why dont they do something
besides hold signs? For one reason or an-
other, the movement of the 99 percent ap-
parently isnt relevant or intelligent enough
for the average Brown student.
Dont get the wrong impression Im
critical of the Occupy movement, too. For
one, I completely disagree with its osten-
sible commitment to being leaderless. But
supporting Occupy isnt about agreeing on
whats right or how society ought to be re-
structured its fundamentally about bring-
ing attention to whats wrong with the status
quo. Homelessness, classism, sexism, student
debt, bank bailouts, the prison population,
racism, foreign wars, public education, envi-
ronmental destruction, the drug war, veter-
ans welfare, tax reform, the loss of civil lib-
erties and the list goes on these are mas-
sive issues that deserve vastly more attention
than they currently receive, and they lie at
the core of the Occupy movement.
Ethan Tobias 12 (Too busy to care?
April 23) tries to argue that Browns appar-
ent apathy for the Occupy movement refects
the fact that many political issues are com-
plex and ambiguous or are already on their
way to being solved. As he points out with
economic issues, the top Democratic lead-
ership has heard the call and is now pushing
for the Bufett Rule to increase taxes on the
highest earners.
Well thats wonderful the Democrats
will save the day. I guess our work here is
done then, right?
Tobias sentiment captures the sort of
hand-waving we do to defend ourselves from
our moral conscience. We all know that the
Bufett Tax as the Republicans call it
is essentially an empty gesture, since it will
do virtually nothing to mitigate the horrify-
ing levels of social and economic inequal-
ity in this country. It wont stop the wealthy
from moving their money into capital mar-
kets or ofshore investments, where they can
insulate their money from these pesky tax-
es. It wont stop home evictions. It wont stop
public schools from closing.
Te truth is that the Bufett Tax is noth-
ing but a populist campaign ploy. Tat Tobi-
as thinks this is a justifcation for turning our
backs on the Occupy movement is evidence
that were doing mental gymnastics to avoid
the sting of guilt and responsibility. What we
need and must demand is a serious per-
haps uncomfortable conversation about
the values and vision of this country. Tats
why people are taking to the streets, to speak
for the sufering and demand that we have
this conversation.
For the most part, the Brown community
does a terrifc job of making us aware of our
privilege in society. But I want to challenge
us to think about our privilege a little difer-
ently. Most of the time, we acknowledge our
privilege only in order to qualify our opin-
ions and contextualize our point of view.
When I refect on how fortunate I am to have
the opportunity to study here and to be of a
privileged race, gender and economic status,
I ofen feel undeserving why is my life and
my education more valuable than the billions
of other people in the world?
I hope that we can move beyond feeling
guilty and helpless. You will all remember
that great line from Spider-Man: With great
power comes great responsibility. Used vir-
tuously, our privilege can inspire and gen-
erate hope. I say we celebrate and embrace
our responsibility to make the world a bet-
ter place.
Maybe camping outside in public spaces
isnt your scene you can still support the
essential revolutionary spirit. I challenge the
Brown community if you think the Oc-
cupy movement is inept and ill-equipped,
when can we try out your solutions?
No doubt the grave problems facing our
society are tough and complex. But Brown is
a bastion of forward-thinking intellectuals,
artists, leaders and scientists who are we
to back away from a challenge? I say we use
our privilege and infuence to put the future
on a sustainable and dignifed trajectory.
Come be a body in the march this Tues-
day. Stand in solidarity with the oppressed
and show the people of Providence, and the
world, that Brown cares.
Jared Moat 13 is from Jackson, Miss.
He can be reached at
jared_moat@brown.edu.
)LJKWLQJWKHJRRGJKW
Te Brown Democrats would like to respond
to a column by Matt Brundage 15 concern-
ing our recent meeting with Mayor Angel
Taveras (Holding the Brown Democrats ac-
countable, April 17).
Unfortunately, we have to begin with a
quick lesson on tax policy. Municipal govern-
ments control property tax, while state gov-
ernments set sales taxes and other fees, and
the federal government legislates income tax
rates. Property tax is a particularly regressive
tax. People of lower economic means have a
higher proportion of their wealth tied to real
estate, namely their homes. State tax increas-
es can be structured more progressively so
that those who can contribute more do, but
this is an issue to bring up with state elected
omcials, not the Mayor, as Brundage implied
in his article.
We need to start with the main factual
inaccuracy within Brundages article. Two
Brown Democrats did, in fact, speak up in
contention with the points raised by the
mayor. Vice President Taylor Daily 13 ques-
tioned why Brown was being asked to con-
tribute a disproportionate amount of this
potential new revenue. College Democrats
of Rhode Island President Jesse Towsen 12
asked whether the mayors framing the de-
bate around an issue of fairness was creating
a wedge between the University and the city.
To describe the event as riddled with ami-
ability is misleading and inaccurate.
Taveras understands the fnancial plight of
the city better than anyone. By raising prop-
erty taxes you hurt those who are already
hurting. Liberal Democrats elected him may-
or not because he would dramatically cut
funding for public schools, fre all teachers in
the area and refuse to increase taxes on its
more amuent constituents, as Brundage sug-
gests in his piece, but because he was an in-
dividual we knew would make the hard de-
cisions to prevent the city from going bank-
rupt. Taveras and the Brown Democrats have
worked to increase the Universitys payments
to the city, adjust state funding toward the cit-
ies and cut costs where possible.
At the municipal level, I understand that
the mayor cannot wait for state aid that might
never come. He has two options: ask for
greater payments in lieu of taxes from non-
profts or begin dramatically cutting public
services. We as an organization have thought
long and hard about the issues facing the city,
and we understand how to change the status
quo. We do not, however, believe that putting
political omcials on the defensive is a fruit-
ful strategy, nor do we believe that the may-
ors position on this issue should cause one to
question what qualifes him as a Democrat.
Brundage argues for increasing property
taxes on the more amuent members of the
city. I see no more amuent entity in Provi-
dence than Brown. Te mayor is asking more
of those who can aford it. Brundage rightly
calls on us to demand higher taxes, but he
misdirects his concern toward the mayors
policies. Te mayor and the Brown Demo-
crats are seeking increased revenue to avoid
further cuts to public services. We are just
pursuing less regressive means of achieving
them through statewide reforms that can al-
leviate municipalities across the state from
having to make future harsh cuts in health
services and education. If Brundage is not
referring to large nonprofts when he talks
about amuent members, he should be re-
minded that the mayors authority ends at the
citys limits. Besides the tiny pockets of amu-
ence on the East Side, I am unaware of what
untapped revenue he could be referring to.
With those points made, I feel compelled
to address the hints of hypocrisy contained in
Brundages piece. Asking why a group failed
to criticize a policy that you consider too
conservative a point we as an organization
would contest that you yourself were un-
willing to criticize is duplicitous at best. Our
meetings have always been completely open
to the public. Anyone who comes with a con-
cern is willing and able to bring them to the
attention of our speakers and our executive
board. In this instance, however, the mem-
bers acknowledged that the mayors plan was
a legitimate proposal making the best of a ter-
rible situation.
Brundage argued that the Brown Demo-
crats need to be held accountable. I fnd it dif-
fcult to see any way in which this organiza-
tion is not. Our meetings are open to the en-
tire student body, regardless of political amli-
ation. Every student who attends is given full
voting rights in elections, endorsements and
policy decisions.
By painting the members of the Brown
Democrats as self-interested internship-seek-
ing controversy-shirkers, Brundage does a
disservice to the countless hours of hard work
this organization has poured behind progres-
sive issues such as marriage equality, environ-
mental protection and yes, a fair tax policy.
We have spent enough time involved in the
political process to know that elected omcials
are not childish enough to consider spirited
debate a sign of disrespect. Brown Democrats
have turned down jobs running campaigns
and interest groups because they conficted
with our principles any accusation against
these principles is simply wrong.
Our meetings continue to be open to the
public.
Shawn Patterson 12 is president emeri-
tus of the Brown Democrats and enjoys
baking. He can be reached at
shawnpattersonjr@gmail.com.
When political nuance falls on deaf ears
By painting the members of the Brown Democrats
as self-interested, internship-seeking, controversy-
shirkers Brundage does a disservice to the countless
hours of hard work this organization has poured behind
progressive issues.
Last semester, when the Occupy Wall Street movement
was a trendy concept, most students were distantly
supportive, watching with hopeful curiosity.
JARED MOFFAT
OPINIONS EDITOR
BY SHAWN PATTERSON
GUEST COLUMNIST
D H
THE BROWN
Frz1cvrs
By SINCLAIR TARGET
STAFF WRITER
Down in the dimly-lit basement
of the Sharpe Refectory, some-
where roughly two stories below
the salad bar, Joe Barboza, facili-
ties manager for Dining Services,
points to a stack of white boxes
piled up almost to the ceiling.
This is this weeks supply of
French fries, he said. You guys
consume a lot of food.
The Ratty serves thousands
of Brunonians each day. About
123 people work there full-time,
Barboza said, along with 300 or
so part-time student employees.
Work starts at 4 a.m. and contin-
ues until late at night. Barboza
offered The Herald a tour of the
Rattys three levels the base-
ment, where food is stored, the
kitchen level, where it is prepared
and finally, the dining hall, where
it is served.
Delivery
Food arrives at the Ratty from
across the country. The receiving
bay opens out onto Thayer Street
and is connected directly to the
kitchen. Deliveries begin at 6:30
a.m. and continue until noon,
Barboza said.
Though some of the food
comes from places such as Penn-
sylvania and Vermont, Dining
Services is committed to buying
from local, fair-trade producers
whenever it can. Anna Rotman
14, a Dining Services sustain-
ability intern, said currently 36
percent of the food Dining Ser-
vices buys meets or partly meets
criteria set by the Real Food
initiative. Real food is food that
is local, fair, ecologically sound
and humane, she said.
Once it has arrived, the food is
unloaded by a team of four a
lead receiver and three helpers,
Barboza said. Dried and canned
food is then brought downstairs
to the basement via a large eleva-
tor in the receiving bay, while
fruits, vegetables and perishables
go straight into refrigerators on
the kitchen level.
At one end of the basement
there are two large walk-in freez-
ers, which Barboza said were
probably larger than the square
footage of your house. In another
corner is a fenced-off space full
of shelves that Barboza called the
spice cage.
A series of compressors also
hum away in the darkness, chill-
ing the 11 smaller refrigerators
upstairs. Barboza said the com-
pressors were once cooled with
water that was then flushed
straight into Narragansett Bay.
But a year and a half ago, the
Ratty was equipped with a new
system that pumps the water up
to a pool on the roof where it los-
es heat and is then reused in the
compressors. Barboza said that
after Dining Services installed the
new system, annual water usage
fell by 16 million gallons.
It has saved the University
thousands of dollars, Barboza
said.
Up on the kitchen level, the
refrigerators that store perish-
ables resemble long hallways be-
tween the receiving bay and the
kitchen. Barboza explained they
are shaped this way because they
function on a first in, first out
rule. Deliveries come in at one
end of the refrigerator and slowly
move toward the other end as the
older food ahead of it gets used
first, so that food doesnt go bad
before it is served, he said.
Preparation
The kitchen takes up the ma-
jority of the space immediately
below the dining hall and is di-
vided into several different areas.
Each morning cooks are given a
production task based on their
culinary skills, Barboza said.
The first to arrive each morn-
ing are the bakers, Barboza said,
who start work at 4 a.m. They
make all the bread, cookies and
desserts served not only in the
Ratty but also in other dining
halls. The dough for the pizza at
the Gate, he said, is first made
by bakers in the Ratty kitchen.
The only thing we dont make
are bagels and croissants, Barbo-
za said. They take far too long.
The bakers have at their dis-
posal a rotary oven, which can
cook 64 trays of baked goods si-
multaneously, Barboza said.
The kitchen also has a small
butcher shop. Barboza said Din-
ing Services employees cut 90
percent of the meat served at
Brown, which few colleges do
anymore. We dont know what
Ratty tour tracks foods journey from delivery to disposal
Lydia Yamaguchi / Herald
At the Ratty, food is prepared in the kitchen, located directly beneath the main dining hall, throughout the day.
continued on page 9
By ADAM ASHER
and MEIA GEDDES
STAFF WRITERS
With paths weaving through gar-
dens, an award-winning zoo and
historical structures such as the
Temple to Music and an antique-
style Bandstand, Roger Williams
Park makes for a leisurely, whimsical
day of of College Hill. A 15-minute
drive from campus, the park is a
435-acre complex nestled in South
Providences Elmwood neighbor-
hood.
A pair of stately gates and the
Victorian Rose Garden mark the
parks Elmwood Avenue entrance.
Here, it becomes evident that this
park is no tranquil oasis. While there
are plenty of gorgeous, green attrac-
tions to be found within its borders,
the park is intersected by a number
of roads, though some sections are
blocked of to motor tramc.
Gardens and carousels
Down the hill past the colonial
Betsey Williams Cottage, the park
opens up and Roosevelt Lake comes
into sight, as does the old-fashioned
Bandstand on its shore. Accessible
by a short walking path, the Band-
stand is a handsome structure with a
nice view, though it appears in need
of cleaning and repair.
A bit farther along is one of the
parks highlights the Japanese
Garden. Tough small, the garden
features a collection of wooden
footbridges, stone pathways and
ornamental ponds which add to a
tranquil, distinctly Zen feeling. For
old and young alike, the gardens
ofer one of the parks most secluded
and beautiful spots.
Past the Japanese Garden is
a more kid-friendly area of the
park: Carousel Village, featuring a
Victorian-style carousel, snack bar
and playground. But if playgrounds
arent your thing, a short stroll away
is the Tudor-style boathouse, fea-
turing swan-shaped paddleboats
for rent. Despite the chilly weather,
families and couples were happily
paddling away on the parks waters
underneath the various bridges and
waiting in line for the carousel.
Up the hill from the boathouse
is perhaps the parks most striking
attraction: the Temple to Music. On
the shore of Cunlife Lake, the struc-
ture which looks a bit like the
Lincoln Memorial in miniature
sparkles in the sunlight, surrounded
by a small stone theater. Inside, the
names of famous musical minds
including Pythagoras, Haydn and
Brahms are inscribed. Away from
the road, with the breeze blowing
in from the lake, it provides a won-
derful place to sit and relax iPod
optional.
Trouble in paradise
Still, this tranquil spot refects the
parks major downside: on the wall,
right next to the names of medieval
composers, is a mass of black gramti.
Everywhere, it seems, the park is
in need of repair and some places,
like the Bandstand, are on the verge
of collapse. Tis is a shame the
land itself is gorgeous, as are the
structures built upon it. Perhaps it
is refective of Providences current
fscal situation that authorities have
not kept up with maintenance of
the park.
Tis is not to say that the park
is not worth visiting. With green
vistas, shimmering lakes and bril-
liant architecture, the park provides
a welcome retreat from the bustle
of the Hill. Beyond the park itself,
the complex contains an acclaimed
zoo and botanical gardens both
expeditions in and of themselves.
Animal kingdom
On a rainy day, the zoo had an
impressive number of visitors
mostly parents with their children
splashing through puddle-flled
paths to peer at animals as exotic as
African elephants, Masai girafes,
red pandas and Grants zebras. Sup-
ported by about 50 paid staf and
almost 300 volunteers many of
whom are college students the
zoo is home to approximately 100
species of animals, said Susannah
Brooks, manager of volunteer re-
sources at the zoo.
Were very well-known for our
conservation eforts, Brooks said,
noting the zoos work with Karner
blue butterfies, New England cot-
tontail rabbits and timber rattle-
snakes. Te zoo provides a place to
learn and fnd other conservation-
minded people, she said.
Jane Goodall, an advocate of con-
servation, lectured at the zoo and
included its work on the American
burying beetle in her recent book,
Hope for Animals and Teir World:
How Endangered Animals Are Be-
ing Rescued from the Brink.
For those who might not be as
keen on conservation, the zoo ofers
respite to students and visitors from
all over New England, with adult
tickets priced at $14.95. Romantics
might fnd privacy on a secluded
stone bench near the zoos large
pond, grab a bite to eat at one of
the zoos eateries or rediscover the
joys of a quaint farmyard red
barns, chickens and all. I think its
an underutilized place for college
kids to go on dates, Brooks said.
For those who want to see an el-
ephant take a skinny dip, simply stop
in to see Alice, Ginny and Kate, the
zoos three female elephants. Alice,
who likes to swim when it rains,
drew a crowd of excited zoo vol-
unteers as she splashed about and
submerged herself in water just feet
away from the enclosure.
For Ryan Olsen, who came from
Connecticut with his daughter, the
elephants and girafes were the high-
lights. Tis was his frst trip to a zoo
an awesome experience, he said.
Zoo visitors seem to have a
shared passion for animals. We
are obsessed with animals, said Di-
ana Perry, who came with her son,
Tomas Gomez, from Mass. Perry,
who rescues animals, said the zoo
is aesthetically appealing and also
efectively keeps the animals well
being in mind. She explained that
seeing animals mating which she
has witnessed at the zoo signals
that the animals feel they are in a
safe environment. Te zoo also al-
lows visitors to see elephants being
bathed inside, and it is nice to see
the interaction between the handler
and the animal, Perry said.
For Charles Adams, who hails
from Cranston, the zoo is a 15-min-
ute drive away. Adams visits the zoo
almost every weekend, usually for
about three-hour visits, he said.
While some zoos enclosures are
much smaller, Adams said the Roger
Williams Park Zoo provides the ani-
mals with a good atmosphere.
I love the zoo, he said, hold-
ing a camera with a lens over a foot
long.Te snow leopards are my
favorite.
Park offers respite, romance and exotic animals
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