THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013 since 1891vol. cxlviii, no. 72Daily HeraldTHE BROWN

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CITY & STATE, 9 COMMENTARY, 11

Future focusLonergan ’72 lays out his vision for the University as it approaches its 250th anniversary

Smooth sailingAn autonomous vessel has 2,615 miles remaining in its journey across the Atlantic

By STEPHEN ARKSENIOR STAFF WRITER

As a two-year renovation of residence halls and dining facilities nears com-pletion, students still see areas for additional improvement.

The $56 million renovation proj-ect is set to conclude with the rejuve-nation of Andrews Dining Commons, said Senior Associate Dean of Resi-dential and Dining Services Richard Bova. He expects the University to continue large-scale maintenance projects on student facilities start-ing next year.

“We have not deviated from our plan and will not deviate from our budget,” he said of the two-year effort. The entire budget is expected to be used on the renovations.

The Corporation’s investment in campus-wide renovations began with last year’s overhaul of Miller and Metcalf Halls, The Herald previously reported. The University has been updating student living quarters since then in an effort to build common community spaces for each class.

Some students see more work ahead for improving the campus experience.

“In a way, there’s still a lot of space between the two campuses,” JoVaun Holmes ’17 said. “I’ve met a lot of other (first-years) in Keeney (Quadrangle), but I don’t see them that often. It’s close but still far.”

Others said they see continued issues in residence hall facilities. “I’ve been in some nasty bathrooms,” said Christine Mullen ’16. She added that some restrooms in Emery-Woolley Hall are still out of date.

But most major changes will likely not occur until the next phase of renovations. Though the draft of the University’s strategic plan re-leased Wednesday stated that the “Sharpe Refectory and a number of residence halls are long overdue for

renovation,” these projects will begin after the Pembroke campus project is finished, Bova said.

The Gate will be moved from Alumnae Hall to Andrews Dining Commons, where it will be part of a new common area for the Pembroke campus. The area, which Bova said is on track to be completed by its January 2014 deadline, will include a new 24-hour study space.

Another first-year dorm, Keeney, was split into three units with their own entrances. Common rooms and hallways have also been given a face-lift. Minor improvements were made to rooms and bathrooms in Emery-Woolley and Morriss-Champlin

Campus renovations progress, further work aheadAn overhaul to the Sharpe Refectory may be part of a second phase of campus-wide facilities facelifts

By DAVID CHUNG, MATHIAS HELLER AND ELI OKUN

UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITORS

President Christina Paxson offered a framework for the University’s tra-jectory over the next decade with Wednesday’s release of a long-term strategic plan, “Building on Distinc-tion.”

If approved by the Corporation — which is set to review the 11-page document at its October meeting — the plan would orient Brown toward an era highlighting interdisciplinary

projects and continued expansion on College Hill, downtown, online and across the world.

Among the most attention-grab-bing proposals are ideas for restruc-turing the academic year, strengthen-ing doctoral programs, growing the student and faculty populations, mov-ing toward universal need-blind ad-mission and renovating more dorms and the Sharpe Refectory.

But even if they receive Corpora-tion approval, few plans are definite or even have determined parameters or timelines yet.

“This is a strategic plan, not a tac-tical plan,” Paxson said Tuesday in a joint interview with Provost Mark Schlissel P’15.

Following Wednesday’s release,

In strategic plan, first glimpses of U.’s futureThe draft emphasizes curricular innovation, graduate programs and growth downtown

By SAHIL LUTHRASTAFF WRITER

Students offered mixed reactions to President Christina Paxson’s strategic plan — a draft of which was released to the community Wednesday — with many praising certain elements but some voicing concerns that the plan lacked ambition.

The plan, titled “Building on Dis-tinction,” identifies seven interdisci-plinary areas of “integrative scholar-ship” on which the University will focus: the creative arts, brain sciences, environmental sustainability, social justice, the humanities, technological innovation and population health.

Such focuses are “perfectly in sync with the Brown culture of interdisci-plinary scholarship,” said Larry Lar-son, dean of the School of Engineer-ing. “Part of being a great a research university is having a great research environment for our faculty to do great research.”

Though she had not read the

Campus reacts to strategic planBoth students and administrators expressed mixed feelings about the plan’s proposals

By ALEXANDER BLUM SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Though some perceive hookah as a relatively innocuous indulgence,

community or-ganizations and lawmakers are

exploring the connection between increased crime and hookah bars in Providence, as well as the negative health impacts of smoking hookah — a concern shared by the medical community.

As the popularity of hookah bars has increased both locally and nation-ally, there has been rising concern that regulations surrounding their development are not well known and

difficult to enforce. “Certainly the hookah bars are

not a positive development,” said City Councilman Sam Zurier, Ward 2, adding that there is “concern about the types of development in the Thay-er Street area.”

“The general feeling is there seem to be a lot of problems” with the cli-entele that frequent the hookah bars, said Robin Remy, executive director of the Thayer Street District Man-agement Authority. The police “feel very strongly” that the hookah bars attract a younger demographic, which can be problematic for the local area, she added.

“The hookah is absolutely a very distinct component” of the crime increase, Remy said, adding that all measures — within reason — should be considered “to make (Thayer) a safe place to be.”

Installation of surveillance

Officials look to clarify tobacco regulations in hookah bars The institutions attract a younger demographic and have been criticized by communiy organizations

RYAN WALSH / HERALD

Current regulations are poorly understood, but officials have not yet determined how best to address the rising popularity of hookah bars — and their possible connection to recent increases in crime.

CITY & STATE

» See HOOKAH, page 7

EMILY GILBERT / HERALD

The public will be able to voice its feedback on the plan in a Sept. 24 open forum before the Corporation’s October meeting. Herald file photo. » See STRATEGIC, page 2

» See REACTION, page 4» See DORMS, page 5

university news2 THE BROWN DAILY HERALDTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

UNTIL 11:59 P.M.

Last Day of

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Brown Pre-Med Meeting

MacMillan 117

4 P.M.

Brown +1 Info Session

JWW 440

9 P.M.

Brown Stand Up Comics Show

Salomon 001

SHARPE REFECTORY VERNEY-WOOLLEY

LUNCH

DINNER

Mediterranean Orzo, Chicken Helene, Vegan Butternut Squash Soup, “Bake My Day” Special Desserts

Orange Chipotle Glazed Tofu, Fried Rice with Ham, Corn, Baked Tomatoes, Cranberry Apple Crisp

Grilled Vegetables Calzone, Toasted Ravioli with Italian Salsa, Hot Baked Ham on Bulky Roll, Tex-Mex Chili

Eggplant Parmesan Grinder, Gourmet Turkey Sandwich, Vegan Chili, Ham and Bean Soup, M&M Cookies

TOMORROW SEPTEMBER 19 TOMORROW SEPTEMBER 20

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c a l e n d a rthe University will sponsor a com-munity-wide forum for feedback Sept. 24 and solicit responses through the Undergraduate Council of Students, Faculty Executive Committee and other bodies. Though input will likely not change the draft of the plan itself, Paxson said input received could in-fluence the Corporation’s discussion.

Paxson and Schlissel will discuss the plan with UCS members at the Council’s general body meeting Oct. 2, said UCS President Todd Harris ’14.5, adding that the meeting will be open to all students.

The University will engage with the city and state, but most outreach efforts will be targeted at the Brown community, Paxson said.

Paxson added that costs for many of the plan’s recommendations remain unclear and will be contingent on the national economy. She said of the plan, “if we didn’t think this was in the realm of feasibility though, we certainly wouldn’t be putting it out.”

After voting, the Corporation is expected to discuss a future capital campaign to fund the plan’s proposed initiatives.

Curricular changesThe plan identifies seven “inte-

grative” areas of academic focus. The section recommends developing hubs of interdisciplinary scholarship and focusing funding on creative expres-sion, brain sciences, environment and human society, peace- and justice-oriented international studies, the humanities, new technology and population health and disease.

Some of these — such as brain science — have been priorities for years, and most will make use of ex-isting institutions. But Paxson said the administration would “seriously consider” creating a new environmen-tal institute for the environment and human society hub.

“What I did notice from these seven areas is that they were broad in really covering the spectrum of research areas that are going on,” said Professor of Engineering Iris Bahar, who co-chaired the Committee on Reimagining the Brown Campus and Community.

The plan includes a number of undergraduate-specific curricular reforms. For instance, the University intends to revamp science, technol-ogy, engineering and math courses to emphasize hands-on problem-solving. New sophomore seminars would fo-cus on issues of diversity and equity.

The plan urges increased support for data literacy across disciplines among students, faculty members and staff members, though Patricia Ybar-ra, associate professor of theater arts and performance studies and co-chair of the strategic planning Committee on Educational Innovation, said that recommendation would not result in a curricular requirement.

Beyond College Hill, the plan en-visions a set of “Brown in the World” courses that would connect on-cam-pus classes with abroad experiences. These would fall under the umbrella of the Program in Engaged Scholar-ship, which combines coursework with internships, Undergraduate Teaching and Research Awards and other off-campus opportunities.

The plan also calls for expanding the student body, as well as increasing the size of the faculty to maintain stu-

dent-to-faculty ra-tios and class sizes.

“Brown will be better if it’s a little bit bigger,” Pax-son said, though she added that the growth would be “modest to mod-erate” over many

years.A shake-up of the academic year

could also be in the cards. Though administrators are still brainstorming, Paxson said changes could include altering scheduling to have larger course blocks, lengthening winter break so students can take full courses and creating a new summer session.

Schlissel and Paxson said none of these changes would be definite or immediate, and the community will be able to contribute to further discussions.

Financial aidOn one of the most high-profile

topics of campus debate — adopting a need-blind policy for international, transfer and Resumed Undergradu-ate Education applicants — the plan is noncommittal, and the University will “work toward” the goal, according to the draft.

But Paxson, who described herself as a “huge advocate” of universal need-blind admission, said the change is a matter of when, not whether.

“I’m sure that we can reach it,” she said. But “we’re in a world now, a financial world, where we can’t make promises to do anything — whether it’s going need-blind or building a new building — until we’re sure that we can do it in a financially respon-sible way.”

Susan Harvey, professor of reli-gious studies and co-chair of the stra-tegic planning Committee on Finan-cial Aid, said the plan’s nature lends itself to ideals rather than details.

“It is not the work of this plan to put forward the exact steps of how to get from here to there,” she said, adding that it would be up to the com-munity to realize that goal.

The plan calls for making Brown more affordable for middle-class stu-dents, introducing annual financial aid reassessments for international students, increasing financial summer support for low-income students and bolstering outreach to underrepre-sented groups such as veterans.

Starting with the class of 2018, international students who receive financial aid will have their demon-strated need annually reassessed, said Director of Financial Aid Jim Tilton, who chaired the Committee on Finan-cial Aid. The University will intensify efforts to reduce out-of-pocket con-tributions for families, particularly those with incomes between $100,000 and $150,000, Tilton said.

Graduate educationPaxson’s strategic plan proposes

an imprecise yet extensive framework under which the University will aim to expand and enhance graduate offerings, making them more com-petitive for recruitment and career placement.

The plan calls to “increase dra-matically the fraction of doctoral programs that are ranked in the top tier,” a metric Paxson said would be assessed internally.

Schlissel said the University’s graduate programs could be com-pared to those at other institutions by analyzing acceptance and yield rates and the students’ success in obtaining jobs, especially academic positions at elite institutions of higher learning.

“What is a tier? Is it the top 20 percent? 30 percent? It’s hard to tell,” said Bernard Reginster, co-chair of the Committee on Doctoral Educa-

tion and profes-sor of philosophy. “The way to read this is that we want to just work harder at making our doctoral pro-grams better.”

To distinguish the University’s postgraduate offer-ings, the plan proposes an incentive system under which high-performing programs and students would receive increased support through stipends and fellowships.

The plan calls for increased atten-tion on developing doctoral students as teachers. Most doctoral students pursue academic careers, Reginster said, but recent nationwide studies have revealed that doctoral students are well prepared as researchers but not instructors.

The Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning already provides op-portunities for graduate students to hone teaching skills and has boosted its efforts in this area in recent years, he said. But the center is considering further expanding its offerings dedi-cated to teaching, he added.

Under the plan, the postgradu-ate student body would grow as the number of master’s degree and medical school students increase. The

» STRATEGIC, from page 1

» See STRATEGIC, page 3

“This is a strategic plan, not a tactical

plan.”

Christina PaxsonPRESIDENT

“Brown will be better if it’s a little

bit bigger.”

Paxson

university news 3THE BROWN DAILY HERALDTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

Strategic plan recommendationsAcademic development:

▶ Seven interdisciplinary themes for scholarship ▶ Continued development of pre-medical and STEM education ▶ Increasing accessibility of STEM courses to non-concentrators ▶ Encouraging undergraduates to learn to use data ▶ Sophomore seminars focusing on issues of justice, equity and identity ▶ Incorporating new technologies into teaching and learning ▶ Expanding global academic opportunities ▶ Strengthening and expanding postgraduate offerings, including master’s programs ▶ Improving resources for faculty research

Community development: ▶ Increasing the size of undergraduate and graduate student body ▶ Continuing efforts to increase faculty diversity ▶ Maintaining a goal of universal need-blind admission

Campus development: ▶ Developing the University’s presence in the Jewelry District ▶ Maintaining College Hill as the hub of the undergraduate experience ▶ Fostering the development of a virtual community ▶ Renovations to dorms and the Sharpe Refectory

University would look to expand ex-isting master’s programs and consider establishing new ones, Paxson said, though the specific details remain to be seen.

Academic quality and excellence remain the priorities behind these programs, Paxson said, but she added that new master’s programs could serve as an addition-al source of revenue for the University.

Though there is room for improve-ment , do c tora l programs must be developed through “careful, focused in-vestments,” she said.

“We have to make sure the ones that are already in existence have what they need and can excel,” Reginster said.

Faculty incentivesThe plan highlights three facul-

ty-related goals: furthering research programs, incentivizing outside-the-classroom scholarships and diversify-ing the faculty ranks. Administra-tors aim to build a “pipeline of young scholars” from diverse backgrounds, the plan stated.

Recruiting a diverse range of postdoctoral fellows and other young scholars will move the University in “the right direction,” said Bahar, who is also the current chair of the Faculty Executive Committee.

To make the University’s sabbatical policy more competitive with other elite institutions, administrators will consider changes to course scheduling and the academic calendar to increase “blocks of time” for faculty members to conduct research, according to the plan.

A new sabbatical policy would give recently tenure associate professors 100 percent of their salaries while they conduct research during their semes-ters out of the classroom, said Dean of the Faculty Kevin McLaughlin P’12, who chaired the Committee on Fac-ulty Recruitment, Strategic Develop-ment and Retention. Tenured faculty members on sabbatical currently earn 75 percent of their salaries while away, McLaughlin said.

T h o u g h t h e plan incentivizes a stronger research e n v i r o n m e n t , McLaughlin said he saw “no distinction” between support for both teaching and research in the plan.

“The document is very good about this because it focuses on integration” of both duties, he added.

Bahar said she believed most fac-ulty members will view the plan as a document that values both enhancing teaching and promoting research.

‘Reimagining the Campus and Community’

The plan lays out campus develop-ment plans that emphasize investing

in College Hill while further develop-ing the Jewelry District.

Though the plan states that “Col-lege Hill will remain the core of un-dergraduate education and faculty research,” the Jewelry District takes a prominent place in the campus de-velopment strategy.

Administrators hope to preserve College Hill’s “walkable, intimate

campus,” Paxson said, adding that the Jewelry District will be used for more research-intensive programs, especially biomedical research.

Along with shift-ing research pro-grams, the Univer-sity aims to integrate residential facilities

for medical and graduate students, administrative offices and retail space into the Jewelry District, according to the plan. College Hill would remain devoted to “undergraduate-focused departments and programs,” accord-ing to the plan.

The Admission Office’s move to the Jewelry District — which allowed the office’s former location at 45 Prospect Street to house the Department of Philosophy — was one such effort toward transitioning offices “that are nonessential to undergraduate education classrooms” downtown, Bahar said.

College Hill will remain the base teaching undergrads and grad stu-dents, Bahar said.

Collaboration with the private sec-tor will be necessary to achieve the University’s vision for Jewelry District growth, the plan states.

Administrators will work to imple-ment a “comprehensive transporta-tion plan” to improve transit between College Hill and the Jewelry District, while administrators will aim to use technological innovations in and out of the classroom to better connect the campus with the global community, according to the plan.

The University will create a new technological education office — to be called the Laboratory for Educational Innovation — within the Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, the plan stated.

Expanding online learning “un-tethers people from campus,” Paxson said, adding that digital course mate-rial provides more flexibility to study abroad.

Though the Uni-versity is in the final stages of a two-year, $56 million dorm renovation project,

Paxson highlighted a future overhaul of the Ratty — which she called “long overdue” — and continued renova-tions to residential halls.

Administrators have not finalized which residence halls will be renovat-ed or the specific changes that will be made to the Ratty, Bahar said. But she said this part of the plan is a “nearer-term goal” that will likely be com-pleted in the next two or three years.

What’s next?

Sept. 18

President Christina Paxson releases a draft of her strategic plan, a document expected to shape her tenure at Brown.

Sept. 24Administrators will hold a campus-wide forum to solicit community input about the plan.

Oct. 2Paxson and Provost Mark Schlissel P’15 will speak about the plan and take questions at a

meeting of the Undergraduate Council of Students.

Oct. 24-26The Corporation will hold its October meeting, at which it is expected to vote on the plan.

» STRATEGIC, from page 2

“College Hill will remain the core

of undergraduate education and

faculty research.”

“Building on Distinction”

“What is a tier? Is it the top 20 percent?

30 percent? It’s hard to tell.”

Bernard ReginsterPROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Looking to read more coverage of the strategic planning process?

thebdh.org/plan

university news4 THE BROWN DAILY HERALDTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

report, Miriam Langmoen ’17 ex-pressed support for the inclusion of the creative arts as one of the major focus areas. “There’s obviously a wish among students to do performing arts,” Langmoen said, citing the high ratio of a cappella groups to students on campus.

The report specifically identifies the goal of improving space for the creative and performing arts, a move that Daniel Ramirez Montero ’16, who also had not read the plan, said he supports.

“The orchestra performs in Sayles, but the acoustics there are not the best,” he said.

Though she also had not read the plan, Solveig Xia ’17 said she likes the pro-posal to develop new technolo-gies. “Technology definitely is a field that is creating a new paradigm of how we’re learning and teaching,” Xia said.

Beyond the seven areas of integra-tive scholarship, the report also iden-tifies graduate studies as an area that needs significantly more support and suggests expanding career services for graduate students and develop-ing a merit-based stipend system for high-performing students.

Though he said he has not yet reviewed the plan in detail, Gradu-ate Student Council Secretary John

Mulligan GS wrote in an email to The Herald that this merit-based system stood out to him at first glance.

“There is an emphasis on reward-ing perceived excellence over increas-ing broad-based support, which is potentially incongruous with the sense of intellectual community this University is known for,” Mulligan wrote.

The Building on Distinction plan also describes a commitment to new teaching strategies and programs in the Brown undergraduate curriculum, a focus Dean of the College Kather-ine Bergeron called “a very good sign for the future.” Bergeron chaired the Committee on Educational Innova-tion, one of six committees whose

interim reports and research helped develop the strategic plan.

A m o n g the changes proposed is r e v a m p i n g courses in sci-ence, technolo-

gy, engineering and math, collectively known as STEM fields, and making them more hands-on, particularly at the introductory level. Though he had not read the plan, Eric Han ’16 said he appreciates this initiative, as many of his friends found their introductory math courses difficult.

Marguerite Joutz ’15, a leader of the Brown Conversation, a group that aims to promote dialogue about Brown and the Open Curriculum, said she supports the proposal to prioritize

STEM education. “There could be a lot more re-

sources for first-year students coming into Brown who don’t have a strong background coming into STEM but are nevertheless passionate about STEM,” she said.

The University will also launch a Laboratory for Educational Innova-tion through the Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning to explore new methods of pedagogy and determine which forms are most effective.

While it is important to devote resources to educational innovation, doing so is “not radically going to change the face of campus,” Joutz said. “But it could incrementally change the way professors teach here, or even the conversation about teaching on campus.”

The report also suggests creating sophomore seminars focused on di-versity, an idea Ramirez Montero said he finds exciting. As a sophomore, he said taking classes with juniors and seniors can feel “a little bit in-timidating.”

Right now, “there are a lot of cool classes for first-years, and a lot for juniors and seniors. The classes for sophomores are the lamest ones,” he said.

Reaffirming a long-standing goal of Paxson’s, the plan emphasizes the importance of global education, which Daniel Chiou ’16 said he appreciates. “The world is becoming more world-oriented, and we should become more world-oriented,” Chiou said.

The report includes plans to de-velop “Brown in the World” courses, which would allow students to pur-sue independent learning experiences away from College Hill. Chiou said he is hesitant about these courses, adding that he would personally find it difficult to learn the skills needed for a global project while on the job.

The report also reaffirms the Uni-versity’s commitment to collaborating with the city and state. Laurie White, president of the Providence Chamber of Commerce, said she is pleased by the University’s goal of continuing to working with the city and particularly excited about the emphasis on ex-panding neuroscience research.

But some students said they were disappointed by the plan on a broad level, calling the proposals incremen-tal and not innovative.

“It just seemed like a march ahead as opposed to a new chapter in Brown’s narrative,” Joutz said, adding that many other members of the Brown Conversation shared her viewpoint. “Someone texted me the hashtag ‘unimpressed.’”

Brown for Financial Aid President Alex Mechanick ’15 said he was struck by the “lack of any substantive com-mitment” to increasing financial aid, calling it “an incredible dereliction of

duty.” The report suggests the Uni-versity “work toward Brown’s long-standing goal of becoming fully need-blind” but does not propose a specific timeline.

The strategic plan also calls for annually re-evaluating the financial situations of international students, a move Mechanick called “a no-brainer.”

Langmoen and Xia, both Norwe-gian international students, said they supported the move.

As a Norwegian international student, Langmoen said she receives financial support from the Norwegian government, though support is mostly in the form of loans. While parents in the United States often save up money to send their children to college, it is “not normal” for families in Norway to do the same, Xia added.

Mechanick said he is disappointed the University did not identify finan-cial aid as one of the major compo-nents of the strategic plan, adding that Brown is squandering an opportunity by not making a strong commitment in advance of the capital campaign designed to raise funds to implement the plan. Making such a commitment now would result in “an incredibly effusive outpouring of support” from alums, Mechanick said.

Though the plan calls for an expan-sion of summer support for students, it does not commit to a reduction of the summer earnings expectation, a change that Brown for Financial Aid has been advocating since January.

“Plans usually commit to action,” Mechanik said. “As a strategic plan, it’s not very strategic, and it’s not much of a plan.”

But Joutz said she was not sur-prised by the report’s treatment of financial aid.

“It’s quite clear that Brown simply does not have the financial resourc-es to support complete need-blind admissions without making some serious sacrifices,” she said. “That’s something Paxson wants to accom-plish by the time she leaves Brown, but that’s highly dependent on the University’s ability to increase revenue and donations.”

— With additional reporting by Mathias Heller, Maxine Joselow, Eli Okun and Adam Toobin

» REACTION, from page 1

“As a strategic plan, it’s not very strategic, and it’s not much of a plan.”

Alex Mechanick ’15PRESIDENT,

BROWN FOR FINANCIAL AID EMILY GILBERT / HERALD

President Christina Paxson’s strategic plan includes proposals for new classes in STEM fields, as well as sophomore-only seminars on diversity-related topics. Herald file photo.

university news 5THE BROWN DAILY HERALDTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

University of Virginia to study school’s connection to slavery

The University of Virginia announced last Thursday the formation of a new Commission on Slavery and the University to investigate the school’s historical ties to the slave trade and the role of slave labor in constructing important university sites and buildings.

UVA President Teresa Sullivan created the commission — which includes 27 faculty members, staff members, students and community members — to further “the effort of many members of our university community who have worked to raise awareness of the university’s relationship with slavery and to commemorate the role of enslaved persons in appropriate ways,” she said in a UVA press release.

In addition to unearthing the past, the commission is tasked with creating a framework to educate members of the UVA community about the school’s ties to slavery. Its formation comes after a report last year from the school’s Office for Diversity and Equity that compiled various initiatives and attempts to engage with the university’s history regarding slavery.

Among the slavery-related revelations in recent years was the discovery last fall of a site next to the UVA cemetery that contained 67 unidentified grave shafts, which are thought to have been for slaves.

Brown was at the vanguard of a wave of universities confronting their past ties to slavery when former President Ruth Simmons appointed a Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice in 2003. Many of the committee’s report’s recommendations, released in 2006, lingered in limbo for years until Professor of Africana Studies Anthony Bogues was named director of the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice in May 2012.

At Alabama, anger erupts over sororities’ refusal to integrate

The University of Alabama became a center of controversy last week when the Crimson White, the school’s student newspaper, reported Sept. 11 that alums had forced several traditionally white sororities to reject an otherwise qualified applicant because she was black.

None of the white sororities have offered a bid to an applicant of color since 2003, the New York Times reported.

Melanie Gotz, a member of the Alpha Delta Gamma sorority, openly questioned her chapter’s decision at a meeting when members who expected to vote on several applicants were told that round’s cuts were already finished.

“Are we really not going to talk about the black girl?” she asked, according to the Crimson White article.

Members of multiple other sororities anonymously told the Crimson White that alums or rush advisers had forced students not to consider the candidate in question, with a source from one sorority telling the newspaper that alums threatened to cut funding to the chapter if they accepted the black student.

The ensuing fracas reached state government, with Gov. Robert Bentley, a University of Alabama alum, publicly criticizing the Greek system’s lack of integration, the Times reported.

BY ELI OKUN, UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITORTHIS WEEK IN HIGHER ED

C A R E E R P E E R S

BROCK LOWNES / HERALD

Students congregated in their business casual attire on the Main Green to learn about job and internship opportunities and meet potential employers at the Fall Career Fair yesterday.

Halls.Some sophomore and upperclass-

men dorms were also refreshed.Rooms in Hope College were given

a fresh coat of paint, and new appli-ances and cabinets were installed in

the basement kitchen. Partial or full bathroom renovations were completed in Minden Hall, according to an Office of Residential Life document Bova gave to The Herald.

Emma Funk ’16 said she hopes future improvement plans will in-clude more suites and singles for

underclassmen and a large-scale re-vamp of Perkins Hall and Graduate Center. “Everyone hates to live in Perkins,” she said.

Further details about a second in-stallment of residence hall renovations will be released after the Corporation meets at the end of October, Bova said.

» DORMS, from page 1

BROCK LOWNES / HERALD

“In a way, there’s still a lot of space between the two campuses,” said JoVaun Holmes ’17. “I’ve met a lot of other (first-years) in Keeney (Quadrangle), but I don’t see them that often. It’s close but still far.”

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university news6 THE BROWN DAILY HERALDTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

By EMILY PASSARELLI STAFF WRITER

Three out of Brown’s five pre-orienta-tion programs — Excellence at Brown, The Third World Transition Program and Catalyst — saw increases in the number of applicants this year. While 80 students enrolled in Excel-lence at Brown four years ago, 135 out of the 200 freshmen who applied en-rolled this year. TWTP had a waiting list of students this year after 205 were chosen to participate, compared to the 198 freshman who applied and were accepted in 2011. A larger number of students also applied to Catalyst, though program directors did not provide specific numbers. Directors of the University Community Academic Advising Partnership did not report an increase in the number of applicants.

Why apply?“I’m not sure why so many people

are attracted because it is an intense program,” said Douglas Brown, di-rector of writing support programs and founder of Excellence at Brown. Students attend academic classes and have to write an essay each day with feedback from Writing Fellows. Ex-cellence received its endowment two years ago from an anonymous donor, which is put toward buying food and paying participating faculty members.

Hannah Braun ’14 — one of the co-coordinators of Excellence this year — said she chose to participate in the program as a first-year because,

while she felt her writing was strong in comparison to her high school peers, it wasn’t strong enough for Brown.

For Alaska native Sirena Turner ’17, pre-orientation posed a chance to come early to campus and adjust to life at Brown. She applied to Excel-lence more for the chance to settle in than for the opportunity to learn to write, she said.

David Hernandez ’16 said he chose to apply to Catalyst to ease his tran-sition into taking science classes at Brown. “I wanted to be prepared for them,” he added.

Joseph Browne, director of the new science program, said that in-creased interest in Catalyst may be a result of changes in the program’s structure — Catalyst originally fo-cused on student-faculty mentoring and on developing skills students would use in STEM classes, but it has grown to include academic lectures and an online portion for students to complete before arriving on campus.

TWTP became a fully endowed program in 2012 with help from a $100,000 fundraising campaign led by Jason Sperber ’98 and his wife Michelle Quiogue ’96 MD’00 as part of the Alumni of Color Initiative. Another $50,000 was contributed this year, and the Alumni of Color Initiative has pledged to raise another $40,000 for the program in the cur-rent fiscal year in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Minority Peer Counselor Program.

Takeru Nagayoshi ’14, co-coordi-nator and former attendee of TWTP, said the connection between topics students address during the program and recent world news could have sparked increased student interest in TWTP. Topics of discussion range from rape culture and social class dis-tinctions to marriage equality laws, he said.

Shane Lloyd MPH’11, assistant director for first- and second-year programs, added that social network-ing might have also played a role in TWTP’s popularity this year. TWTP was highly discussed on the class of 2017 Facebook page over the sum-mer, he said.

“TWTP felt like a very safe envi-ronment — one that I liked,” said Julia Watson ’17. Taylor Michael ’17 said that she chose to participate because TWTP offered a network where she could talk about sensitive, difficult issues.

Director of Advising and Com-munity Collaborations Alan Flam said there are “no neon signs” advertis-ing UCAAP — the program attracts enough first-years who want to in-corporate their service interests into their academics to fill the 50 spots available. The Swearer Center allows the program a “pretty modest budget” annually, Flam wrote in an email to The Herald.

Entering Brown as a varsity ath-lete, Sazzy Gourley ’16 said he applied to UCAAP because he expected he wouldn’t have a lot of time to explore areas outside his sport and his classes once his schedule was set. “I wanted to have the chance to expose myself to a lot of Brown communities and see where I wanted to get involved,” he said.

Peak participationStudents who participated in

pre-orientation programs said their experiences were rewarding both aca-demically and socially in the short and long term.

Turner said she only thought she could write before attending Excel-lence.

Braun said students develop an understanding of their strengths and weaknesses as writers while in the program and typically return to the Writing Center throughout their

Brown career. “I personally still use the Writing

Center all the time,” Braun said. Braun said she also met her best friend, who is now the program’s other co-coordi-nator, as a first-year in the program.

Turner said she was grateful for the chance to make a close group of friends before her whole class arrived. “I would have felt so alone if I had come when everyone else came,” she said.

Now a senior, Nagayoshi is still close with friends he made as a first-year in TWTP. He said the discussions he had with other participants during pre-orientation activities influenced the courses he took at Brown, his choice of concentration and his de-cision to be involved with the Third World Center throughout his four years on campus.

“Catalyst made me aware of the mentoring and resources available to me,” Hernandez said, adding that his participation was crucial in con-necting him to the people he needed to know in order to participate in summer research at Brown as a rising sophomore.

UCAAP participant Danielle Phan ’16 said she came to Brown expecting to be more involved in Providence than on campus, and UCAAP pro-vided her the resources to do so. She started work with the Brown Refu-gee Youth Tutoring and Enrichment program.

“I ended up putting all of my time into an organization that I had nev-er even heard of,” she said. “I think UCAAP was a very significant factor in what I decided to do here.”

Pre-orientation programs see increase in student interest, fundsProgram attendees said their experiences influenced both their academic and social paths at Brown

COURTESY OF SHANE LLOYD

Both Excellence at Brown and the Third World Transition Program have received increased funding in recent years, Excellence from an anonymous donor and TWTP from fundraising campaigns.

COURTESY OF SHANE LOYD

Already Brown’s largest pre-orientation program, the Third World Transition Program accepted 205 applicants and had a wait list of students hoping to participate this year.

city & state 7THE BROWN DAILY HERALDTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

By EMMA JERZYKCONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Marijuana Policy Project, an or-ganization focusing on drug policy reform, has set its sights on legaliza-tion in 10 new states including Rhode Island, following major victories in Colorado and Washington during the 2012 election.

The MPP hopes Rhode Island will legalize marijuana through its legislature, said Karen O’Keefe, the group’s director of state policies, in a Washington Post article. Legalization in Colorado and Washington passed through popular vote.

A marijuana legalization bill has been introduced during the last three sessions in the Rhode Island General Assembly, with the most recent intro-duced in the 2013 session. Though the legislature adjourned before voting on the bill, the legislation could have legalized the sale and consumption of

marijuana. The proposed bill included regulations on the sale of marijuana for adults ages 21 and over.

“There just seems to be a great coalition of support and a lot of mo-mentum in the legislature,” O’Keefe told the Post.

The bill is supported in the House by the chair of the Judiciary Commit-tee, Rep. Edith Ajello, D-Providence, and about 50 percent of the committee supports marijuana legalization, said Robert Capecchi, deputy director of state policies at MPP.

Capecchi said the state already has a good medical marijuana program in place, and the decriminalization law that went into effect in April 2013 makes Rhode Island a good candidate for marijuana legalization.

Rhode Island became the 15th state to decriminalize marijuana when the legislation passed last year. Under current law, possession of one ounce of marijuana by adults 18 or over

will result in a $150 ticket. Before the decriminalization bill was passed, offenders faced a $500 fine and up to one year in prison.

Popular support for marijuana legalization among state residents matches its support in the legislature. According to a January 2012 survey by Public Policy Polling, 52 percent of Rhode Island citizens support taxing and regulating marijuana like alco-hol. This number is comparable to national statistics — a Pew Research Center poll found that 52 percent of Americans support marijuana legal-ization. The bill that decriminalized marijuana passed with the support of 65 percent of Rhode Islanders, ac-cording to the PPP.

Capecchi said that the path to marijuana legalization in Rhode Is-land will be different from those in Washington and Colorado, adding that lawmakers’ focus will be on con-stituent support.

Many of the bill’s supporters point to the possible economic benefits of marijuana legalization. Rhode Island currently spends money to enforce

marijuana prohibition yet does not reap the tax benefits of its sale and consumption, Capecchi said, adding that the decriminalization bill helped to decrease the cost of enforcement but did not eliminate it.

The legalization bill proposed a $50 per ounce excise tax at the whole-sale level, as well as a sales tax that would increase the state’s revenue. Marijuana legalization could also build up an industry and create jobs, which would generate more income taxes. Capecchi said the overall eco-nomic benefits would be “varied and positive.”

On the other hand, Smart Ap-proaches to Marijuana, a project with-in a drug policy consulting company that opposes the legalization of mari-juana, claims legalization would only create another “Big” industry, similar to “Big Tobacco” or “Big Alcohol.”

But Capecchi said that regulating a legal marijuana industry, even if it is a big industry, is still better than giving business to criminals, adding that the current bill would only allot a fixed number of wholesale licenses.

“I think that fear is blown out of proportion,” Capecchi said. “Let’s not forget there’s still a federal prohibi-tion.”

Three weeks ago, the U.S. Depart-ment of Justice allowed Colorado and Washington to implement their mari-juana legalization laws. Though the department’s memo maintains the il-legality of marijuana at the federal lev-el, it sets out priorities for the DOJ in states that have legalized recreational marijuana. These include restrictions on sales to minors and on inter-state distribution, as well as measures to prevent violence in the cultivation and distribution of marijuana.

Federal legalization of marijuana is unlikely given the strict provisions set out in the 1961 United Nations treaty, Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.

Despite this, the Obama admin-istration has previously stated that it will not send DEA agents to states that have legalized marijuana as long as those states maintain a “tightly regu-lated market,” according to an article on Slate.com.

R.I. legislators to consider marijuana legalization billThe bill, which would legalize the sale and use of marijuana in the state, has strong support in the state

cameras on Thayer Street was a “high priority item” at Tuesday’s TSDMA board meeting, Remy said, adding that the College Hill Neighborhood Association and local police support the measure.

Allison Spooner, president of the College Hill Neighborhood Asso-ciation, said the group supports the proposal because their “concern is public safety on College Hill.”

But not all members of the com-munity perceive hookah bars nega-tively.

“It doesn’t seem shady from the outside,” said Kate Robards ’15, add-ing that though she has never been to a hookah bar, she would be indiffer-ent to stricter regulations for them.

“I don’t really have any negative perceptions,” said Victor Vergil ’14. “I’ve been to (a hookah bar) and I had a pretty good experience,” he said, adding “it wasn’t shady — people were cool.”

Regardless of how they feel about hookah bars, few people are clear on the existing regulations.

“I do not know the specific regula-tions,” Zurier said, but Remy said the opacity of the regulations is one of the barriers the TSDMA faces.

Very little is known “about what licenses are required (to sell hookah),” Remy said. “That’s actually one of the things we are trying to figure out.”

“I think people are confused about it,” said Arthur Salisbury, president of the Jewelry District Association.

“We’d like to see some clarity in regulation,” Spooner said.

“There should be an effort to educate people about local laws,” said Ryan Paine ’17, adding that he thinks the lack of understanding is problematic. “Whatever laws are cur-rently in effect should be enforced,” Paine added.

Despite the confusion, clarity can be found in the 2004 Smoke Free Work Places Act, which bans smoking

in restaurants and other public places, but exempts smoking bars — includ-ing hookah bars.

Such bars are considered legal under the condition that “revenue generated from the serving of to-bacco products is greater than the total combined revenue generated by the serving of beverages and food,” the law says.

“Checking that the law is being adhered to would require an audit,” said Karina Wood, policy director for the American Lung Association of Rhode Island. To find out whether the majority of a hookah bar’s rev-enue is actually from tobacco sales, bars would “have to be audited on a regular basis,” said Wood, adding that this is not a practical option.

Unlike liquor laws that can be easily enforced by police officers checking identification, audits are not simple or convenient, which discour-ages the enforcement of the existing law, Wood said.

“The American Lung Association would like to see a smoke free work-place act with no loopholes,” Wood said, adding that it is important to have clear laws with regulations that can be easily enforced.

Some states have reformed their tobacco laws to include fewer exemp-tions for hookah bars. Michigan and North Carolina have prohibited the smoking of hookah in any establish-ment that serves liquor or food, ac-cording to a study published by the American Lung Association. Boston and Maine have changed their laws to prohibit the smoking of hookah indoors, the study said.

In comparison to New York and New Jersey, where establishments are exempt from smoking bans if only 10 percent and 15 percent of their sales respectively comes from tobacco products, Rhode Island’s 50 percent benchmark is seemingly high.

Hookah is a “novelty that is prolif-erating,” Wood said. “A hookah bar is offering something that seems exotic

and different to people.” There is a general misconception — especially among young people — that hookah is less harmful than smoking ciga-rettes, she added.

“That is not true at all,” she said, estimating that though variable, a half-hour session of smoking hookah could be roughly equivalent to smok-ing ten cigarettes.

“Hookah carries the same health risks as cigarettes,” and there are other negative health effects associated with the charcoal, Wood said.

Sharing water pipes with multi-ple users carries its own set of risks, namely the spread of “infectious dis-eases such as tuberculosis, herpes, influenza and hepatitis,” according to the ALA study.

“We would like to see hookah bars disappear,” said Wood. She said the first step toward decreasing their popularity is educating people about the risks associated with smoking hookah because “once people learn how harmful it is to your lungs,” it will “take the allure away.”

Remy said that the TSDMA is interested in better understanding and verifying a correlation between hookah bars and crime rates, as well as their legal regulation.

“We have to respect the rights of the businesses,” Remy said, adding that though there seem to be a lot of unknown variables surrounding hookah bars, it is important to study the issues at hand.

For now, changes in hookah bar regulation do not seem likely.

New tobacco laws are scheduled to go into effect in Providence Jan. 3, Zurier said. “The ordinance tar-geted flavored tobacco products” that were being marketed toward youth, he added.

The city’s website says the laws ban “flavored tobacco products and the redemption of tobacco industry coupons and multi-pack discounts.” Hookah bars and smoking bars are exempt from the new laws.

» HOOKAH, from page 1

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city & state 9THE BROWN DAILY HERALDTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

By DREW WILLIAMSCONTRIBUTING WRITER

The autonomous vessel Scout is cur-rently in transit across the Atlantic Ocean, leaving its seven creators from Tiverton, R.I. waiting to see if it will break world records.

Scout, a 12-foot-long boat lined with solar panels to power its voyage, is currently 798 miles off the coast of Rhode Island — 2,615 miles away from Sanlucar de Barrameda, Spain — with the goal of becoming the first autonomous surface vehicle to com-plete a trans-Atlantic crossing.

That Scout is autonomous means “we literally have no control” over the vessel’s voyage, Flanigan said. The crew receives email updates every

20 minutes but cannot change the vessel’s course, which is determined by a computer program on the ship. Team members Dylan Rodriguez, Ryan Muller and David Pimental built the program that keeps Scout on track. Solar panels power Scout’s motor, storing energy in a 40-Ampere battery so the boat can run at night as well.

What would soon become a world record attempt began in 2010 when Max Kramers, leaving to study in Spain for a year, joked to Rodriguez and five other childhood sailing friends that sending a boat back and forth with a message would be easier than using a bottle. The group of engineering and computer science students decided to give it a shot,

working until 3 or 4 a.m. most nights over the summer after getting off of work to prepare their ship for launch.

Dan Flanigan, one of the mission’s engineers, said the success of Scout could “have a big effect on the envi-ronmental industry.”

Scout is laden with sensors pick-ing up data, and Flanigan envisions “10 of these boats motoring around an oil spill taking samples” as a cheap alternative to current manned ex-peditions.

Flanigan estimated the mission cost between “$6,000 and $7,000, all through donations.” The crew does not currently have an expected date of arrival for Scout, as the progress of the boat varies due to weather, sun-light exposure, sea debris, shipping traffic and the ship’s potential to flip. “Once she’s out there, she’s out there, so you roll the dice,” Flanigan said.

The crew programmed Scout’s

course by giving it GPS points across the Atlantic, providing it with a route to Spain. Spectators can view Scout’s progress on a live tracking application on the team’s website.

As a result of a programming glitch that has the ship skipping checkpoints — leaving the next one 1,000 miles away — the tracker often appears to show the vessel veering off course, Flanigan said. “However, it hasn’t swung more than 20 or 40 miles off its run line, so we’re incred-ibly happy.”

Scout is the team’s fourth vessel created to traverse the Atlantic. The group holds the motto “failure is the mother of all success,” which can be found on a fortune cookie stored in-side Scout’s hull. The launch date was delayed twice this summer — due first to fog and then to a motor failure — before it successfully embarked Aug. 24.

“The biggest challenge of a project like this is just failure over and over and over again,” said Flanigan. “(Until you are successful) it’s hard to know if it’s ever going to work.”

Other groups have previously attempted this feat, but Scout has already beaten the Pinta’s 61 mile record for a truly autonomous sur-face vessel. The Pinta’s 2010 launch was the work of students of computer programming at Aberystwyth Uni-versity in Wales.

If the endeavor is successful, the team promises to fly out to “Spain, Portugal or really anywhere across the Atlantic” to celebrate, Flanigan said, before shipping Scout home.

Scout has inspired “conversations about starting a business or working in this industry” among the group members, but the fact that some are still in school has placed future plans on hold, Flanigan said.

Developers send solar-powered boat on attempted transatlantic trek‘Scout,’ the RI-native, completely computer-operated machine heads for Spain at record-breaking speed

By KATHERINE LAMB SENIOR STAFF WRITER

At least 30 hotel workers, labor allies and community organizers gathered yesterday at the Renaissance Hotel, chanting, drumming and shaking pebble-filled water bottles in loud protest of the hotel’s mistreatment of its employees.

“There are two different fights — one for no more tax breaks, and one for better treatment of workers,” said Andrew Tillet-Saks, an organizer from Unite Here Local 217.

Over 75 percent of the current Renaissance staff signed a petition to unionize, but the company refused to allow it, he said.

“Our rights are not guaranteed if there is no union,” said Auro Rodri-guez, a Renaissance Hotel worker, through a translator.

Unionizing would allow people from all different levels of employ-ment — from housekeepers to main-tenance people to management — to negotiate on “equal footing” with the owners, said Stephanie Medina ’14, a member of the Brown Student Labor Alliance.

Santa Brito, a housekeeper at the Renaissance Hotel, said, through a translator, she “started fighting be-cause less than a year ago the com-pany fired (her) right after (she) gave birth,” adding that she had worked right up until the birth of her son. “Nobody else in this hotel should have to go through what I went through,” Brito said.

She chanted on the megaphone, “Escucha, escucha! Estamos en la lucha,” which translates to “Listen, Listen! We’re in the fight.”

When some Renaissance hotel workers came to campus to talk to members of the SLA, “one worker came and told us that the chemicals in

the cleaning supplies she used while working at the hotel caused health problems and caused her to have a miscarriage,” said Mariela Martinez ’14, an SLA member. Because the ho-tel is in such close proximity to the University, “it’s our responsibility,” Martinez added.

The Renaissance currently re-ceives a tax exemption from the city, which over the next 12 to 14 years could be valued between $8 and $10 million, the Providence Journal re-ported. The 10-year-old agreement was made to assist a previous owner, Sage Hospitality Resources, convert the Masonic Temple, which had been vacant for some 70 years, into a lux-ury hotel. When The Procaccianti Group purchased the hotel in 2012, the tax breaks carried over.

“It was very powerful to hear di-rectly from the hotel workers about the abuses they’d experienced,” said Shelby Mack ’14, an SLA member. “I don’t think the Procaccianti Group deserves that tax break.”

Shelby Maldonado, a candidate for City Council, said, “These are people I know, maybe not directly, but through their experience and where they’re coming from.”

As the protest grew, Tillet-Saks began to encourage people to move the picket line closer to the hotel.

“At the first picket we tried to confront hotel management but they refused to meet us,” Martinez said, adding that the management asked the police to supervise the protest in what she called an intimidation tactic, but “we’re in our legal right.”

Chris Cook, an employee of the nearby Omni Hotel, said he supports reform for the employees, whether or not it is through union organiza-tion. Cook said he is concerned that conditions at the Renaissance could set a dangerous standard for the city’s hotels.

Jobs with Justice Rhode Island sponsors a picket of the Renaissance on the third Wednesday of every month to raise awareness about the issue, Tillet-Saks said.

Prohibited from unionizing, hotel workers protest Protesters demanded better employee treatment and ending tax breaks for the Renaissance Hotel

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commentary10 THE BROWN DAILY HERALDTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

Yesterday, President Christina Paxson emailed the community with the proposed strategic plan that, if approved, will guide Brown’s trajec-tory for the next decade. We urge all who are interested in the University’s future to read the plan in its entirety and to attend upcoming community forums in which students can share their thoughts. We, too, will offer sig-nificant coverage in the coming weeks and months, detailing and decon-structing the plan. Paxson’s plan pres-ents much to discuss and digest, but we hope the discussion that surrounds it reinforces and builds upon one of Brown’s key principles: commitment to undergraduates and an apprecia-tion for the university-college.

This plan will inevitably be com-pared to its predecessor, the ambitious Plan for Academic Excellence, which, accompanied by the Campaign for Academic Enrichment, brought in significant capital that provided the resources to grow the endowment, fund significant faculty growth, and transition to need-blind admissions for domestic first-year students. These goals were specifically outlined in the original plan. Its ambitious

fundraising campaign produced re-cord donations that funded a new medical school, a new campus center and a new athletic center. Applica-tions to the University skyrocketed, and the PAE was widely seen as hav-ing raised the University’s overall stature.

In contrast, the new plan, titled “Building on Distinction,” appears to be more cautious and certainly more vague. The PAE included firmer language, promising that students “will benefit from a faculty which is significantly larger in size” and that “will be, across the board, better sup-ported in terms of salaries and start-up packages that are truly competitive with our peers.” In contrast, the new plan offers precious few firm com-mitments.

Memorably, the previous plan in-cluded a commitment that “students who attend Brown 15 years from now will be better supported financially as well. Brown will offer need-blind admission for all undergraduates,” — a promise that, with the exception of transfer, international and Resumed Undergraduate Education students, came to fruition. While the student

group Brown for Financial Aid gained significant traction on campus last year, pushing for full need-blind ad-mission, many students will be dis-heartened to see that there are no concrete plans to accomplish this goal in the immediate future.

It is likely this plan will feed the perception of Paxson as a careful steward of the University’s wealth and stature. We are in a very differ-ent economic climate than we were 10 years ago, and federal funding and prodigious fundraising are less certain. As many Brown students and their families struggle with the aftermath of the economic downturn, it seems appropriate to forgo flashy expenditures in favor of a focus on sustained economic stability.

Indeed, the renewed commit-ment to master’s programs, along with a moderate increase in the stu-dent body, and the plan’s suggested emphasis on online learning seem targeted toward increasing Univer-sity revenue. While more ambitious projects are also included — such as a commitment to expansion into the Jewelry District — the potential for private partnerships could render

these projects less of a financial bur-den on the University itself.

It is important to remember that though the Plan for Academic En-richment was itself controversial for its emphasis on growing Brown and expanding its graduate programs, it declared that “Brown’s self-defini-tion as a university-college must be a continuing feature of all plans to im-prove Brown.” Brown’s commitment to undergraduate teaching through its status as a university-college has always been one of its defining fea-tures as well as one of its major selling points. This phrase is not mentioned at all throughout the new plan, and its absence is conspicuous. Though the plan suggests many initiatives aimed at undergraduates — specifically, the creation of sophomore seminars, renovations to the Sharpe Refectory, and an expansion of undergraduate research — most of the plan appears to be focused on improving graduate programs and improving conditions for faculty. The complete absence of the term “university-college” in the new plan begs the question of whether our administration is transitioning away from this status into a more

typical university mold.While increased expenditures on

the graduate program and faculty re-search of course affect undergradu-ates, we are concerned with the notion that expanded online courses could eventually become a substitute for in-person faculty-student interaction, or at least prove to be a major distrac-tion. Though Brown is a famously progressive institution, it remains conservative in key aspects — spe-cifically, in its historic commitment to undergraduate education.

As we look forward to upcoming discussions about the strategic plan and the future of the University, we wish to reiterate that the heart of the University has always been its focus on undergraduate teaching. We hope that any expansions to other facets of the University will remain mindful of its literal and figurative center — the undergraduates on College Hill.

Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board: its editor, Rachel Occhiogrosso, and its members, Daniel Jeon, Hannah Loewentheil and Thomas Nath. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.

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E D I T O R I A L

Q U O T E O F T H E D A Y

“I’ve been in some nasty bathrooms.” — Christine Mullen ’16

See renovations, page 1.

Strategic plan draft places insufficient emphasis on reforming financial aidTo the Editor:

The strategic plan released yesterday by President Christina Paxson is woefully inadequate. While committing to freely spend on yet more master’s programs and building renovations, the report does not make a single commitment to increase financial aid.

The plan only commits to “maintain need-blind admission” for first-year domestic applicants. What a relief — Brown will continue to only discriminate against some students on the basis of insufficient affluence. These students, who have qualifications

exceeding their richer peers, would strengthen the Brown com-munity. A commitment to prioritize financial aid would increase the caliber of Brown students and the prestige of our university, improve the quality of education for all students and galvanize alumni giving.

Last year, the strategic planning Committee on Financial Aid spent a year of intense work exploring this issue and reached an agreement between administrators, faculty members and students. That committee called for need-blind admission for all, lowering the summer earnings expectation by at least $1,000 per year and capping expected parental contributions.

We call upon administrators to respect the process that they themselves created.

If the Corporation is asked to vote on this plan without substantive changes, it should reject the plan without hesitation. And if our current president is unable to recognize that one of the best investments Brown could be making is expanding financial aid, then the Corporation will be obligated to find a president who can better lead this university.

Alex Mechanick ’15President, Brown for Financial Aid

L E T T E R T O T H E E D I T O R

Brown has made tremendous strides in the past 50 years, moving near the top of the Ivy League ranks in undergraduate and graduate edu-cation. Powered by the reforms of the 1969 Magaziner-Maxwell re-port, Brown chose a new direction, which has differentiated it from oth-er top universities. I believe the Uni-versity now has the opportunity to lead changes in education that are dramatic and far-reaching, requir-ing an effort far more revolutionary than what Magaziner-Maxwell en-visioned. As a Brown and Harvard Business School alum, Silicon Valley entrepreneur and founder of over 10 companies, I’d like to share a new vision of the fu-ture of our uni-versity with you, the students, fac-ulty, administra-tors and alums of Brown.

A new vision for Brown in the next 250 years starts with three first steps. First, the University should find and admit potential Albert Einsteins from the whole world, not just the 30,000 who apply to Brown. The so-called yield rate — the percent of those matriculating after acceptance — is irrelevant. Find the best and the brightest from 7 billion people, not 30,000.

Next, expand on Brown’s impor-tant qualities of close student-pro-fessor interaction by intensifying the experience and further improving the learning process. Brown should compare its education to the finest institutions in the world — includ-ing corporations like Google and Apple — not just the Ivy League.

Third, Brown should offer a spec-trum of opportunities to tens of mil-lions of students to benefit from a Brown education — well beyond the few thousand who are residents of the College Hill campus. The University’s students should be of all ages, all educational levels and across all borders. This would both expand Brown’s “brand” and broad-en its revenue sources.

Brown is doing well, but compla-cency is a real threat.

One of the factors that convinced me to choose Brown was the de-gree of interaction between profes-sors and undergraduate students — far better than at larger Ivy League schools. The centuries-old method of lectures in classes large and small now obstructs one-on-one and small group interactions between teachers and students. New methods, like the Khan Academy model — used for K-12 — can help to flip this relation-ship and reserve professors’ time for richer interaction while enhancing learning.

To the Office of Admission: Why didn’t Albert Einstein go to Brown? Brown had no way of finding him as a potential student. And Einstein had probably never considered or heard of Brown. What if Brown were able to choose from tens of millions of brilliant minds from around the world? What if Brown had a series of “farm teams” along a learning and class spectrum that gave visibility to these outstanding students, be they in the slums of Calcutta or the fave-las in Rio de Janeiro? Just as we need to flip teaching, we also need to flip admissions.

Brown is not getting the best students, globally, to apply. Unfor-tunately, only a bit more than 50 percent who receive admission to Brown decide to matriculate here. Just for comparison, Stanford Uni-versity’s rate is 70 percent.

Why is there only a binary of price options for those wanting a Brown educa-tion — free or very expensive? Students can fly to Providence, study for several years, and leave with a sheepskin after expending $250,000 and four years of op-portunity cost. Or they can take massive open

online courses — MOOCs — from Brown, Massachussetts Institute of Technology and other top univer-sities. There’s no degree at the end, but it’s universally available and free. Brown can and should offer a spec-trum of learning, from MOOCs for tens of millions of people, to test-ing and certificates of attendance, to massive online collaboration, to tu-tored and professor-supported on-line learning.

Both Brown students and pro-fessors should be able to come from anywhere in the world and still be part of the Brown universe. By ex-tending the types of education Brown offers, Brown both extends its reputation and reaches out to find budding Albert Einsteins — and Mahatma Gandhis, Mother Teresas and Martin Luther Kings.

With total U.S. student debt of over $1.2 trillion, students across the country are taking on debt that is unsustainable. Other institutions, and not just universities, are rushing ahead — in many cases, the best ed-ucation is being offered in the corpo-rate environment. The high oppor-tunity cost and direct out-of-pocket costs of matriculating at Brown for a few years is driving many with talent to reconsider their options.

Brown deserves to survive and thrive over the next 250 years.

John Lonergan ’72 is the manag-ing member of MachLabs, LLC in

Redwood City, Calif. He encourages you to engage with these issues at www.brownnext250years.com and

can be reached at lonergan.john@gmail.com.

Coming into sophomore year, I ex-pected to feel a bit of what every-one calls the sophomore slump. But I had no idea what this phrase actually meant. All I knew is that it would hit me hard and fast, a lot like the com-mon cold or stomach flu. I also knew that it would pass, or at least I thought it would — and still think it will.

Now, in my second week of shop-ping period, the slump has taken over my mind and those of many sophomores around me. I caught it as I shopped my first class and intro-duced myself to everyone as Jessica, the sophomore. I had unknowingly stepped into the portion of my un-dergraduate career in which I had to decide on a concentration that would then probably define the rest of my life. No pressure.

That is when the endless thoughts took over my mind: Am I making the right concentration choice? Does this class count as a requirement? What kind of jobs are going to become avail-able to me? Do I want to go to grad-uate school? Do I have an unknown passion in a department in which I haven’t taken a class yet? Why am I not in the Program for Liberal Medi-cal Education?

I don’t just hear these questions in my head, I hear them all around me from friends. People are changing from computer science to English, or pre-med to economics. We are all lost and scared, desperately trying to de-cide what we want to base our under-graduate educations on.

This is the sophomore slump. It is the realization we are not anxiety-free first-years, the fear of failing to discov-er a fascinating field, the pressure to

plan out your life. This is it.During these long two weeks I’ve

been here, I have desperately searched for someone to talk to. I just need someone to help me through what I am supposed to do this year, help me figure out requirements and help me organize my life. My adviser from last year is missing in action, and hon-estly, I don’t think he could help me much anyways. He is in a different department and wouldn’t be able to answer a few simple questions, let alone talk me through my sophomore year. It’s hard to believe that last year at this time, I was a first-year encouraged to take absolutely anything I wanted. This year is differ-ent. This year I have to worry.

With no advising support, I have frantically searched around Brown for someone to talk to. I went to the deans, who are helpful in some areas but completely unhelpful in others. I then went looking into my prospec-tive concentration for those labeled online as “undergraduate advisers,” but found that many were busy or not knowledgeable enough to tell me if my classes this semester fulfilled any of my requirements.

This all happened within the first few days of shopping period. It was not until recently that I met with someone who finally was able to answer every question I had clearly. It was not until two weeks into shopping period, after desperate searching, that I was able to find her.

I am not the only one with an ad-vising problem. I have talked to many students who have the same questions I have and who need guidance. The Open Curriculum — the main reason I came to Brown — is liberating, but it can also be intimidating. It can engulf

you. College in general is overwhelm-ing. It is a place where we are expect-ed to become adults, a place where we are expected to learn what we want to do for the rest of our lives. This is why advising must be effective, especially here.

When I changed my concentra-tion preferences on Advising Side-kick, I should have immediately been matched with a new adviser. Instead, I

am forced to remain with the same one because I didn’t be-come close enough to a professor in my department that I could switch to. When my adviser

realized I had not been to his office in months, he should have emailed me. When I started school this semester, someone should have reached out to me. Just because I’m no longer a first-year doesn’t mean I don’t need direc-tion.

Not everyone feels this way. There are people here who know exactly what they want to do and how they are going to do it. There are also people here with wonderful advisers, ready to tackle any questions they have. And while I do have a vague idea of how to plan my next three years at Brown, it would just be nice to talk it out with someone and received guidance. I know I’ll probably have a great adviser once I declare my concentration, but what am I supposed to do now? I am not saying that I need an adviser to to-tally depend on. All I’m saying is that sophomore year is a wake-up call, one that I found I was not ready to tackle alone. But it seems that I will have to.

Jessica Montes ’16 is a stressed

sophomore thinking about concentrating in everything and can

be reached at jessica_montes@brown.edu.

commentary 11THE BROWN DAILY HERALDTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

Thoughts from a scared sophomore

“Just because I’m no longer a first-year

doesn’t mean I don’t need direction.”

JESSICAMONTES

opinions columnist

Online housing lottery would improve system

To the Editor:

I understand that liking or dislik-ing the housing lottery is a matter of personal choice. I also think that most students, myself included, de-test the housing lottery just like they detest when there are long lines at Mail Services, that the Blue Room doesn’t always take meal credits and when the stapler at the Rockefeller

Library is broken.The housing lottery as it is now

could be seen as a “necessary evil,” as a Sept. 12 editorial states (“Save the Housing Lottery”), but not a “magical moment in the academic year when students gather together to learn from the past, relish in the present and prepare for the future.” At best, the event is chaotic. At worst, it can end friendships and reduce

people to tears on the steps of Sayles Hall. Any step toward better orga-nizing or streamlining that process should be lauded. Finally, if students truly hold the “tradition” dear, then Residential Life should hold the lot-tery as usual with the option to pick housing online and see if anyone shows up. I won’t see you there.

Walker Mills ’15

How Brown can survive and thrive over next 250

“The University now has the opportunity to lead changes in education that are dramatic and

far-reaching, requiring an effort far more

revolutionary than what Magaziner-Maxwell

envisioned.”

L E T T E R T O T H E E D I T O R

JOHNLONERGAN

guest columnist

Letters, please!letters@browndailyherald.com

daily heraldTHE BROWN

featureTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

By CORINNE SEJOURNESTAFF WRITER

A Swiss police commander, a gutsy fi-nancial adviser, a Serbian civilian who lies to save lives and an Israeli solider are four individuals all incoming first-years became acquainted with this summer as part of the first readings assignment, “Beautiful Souls.”

Students had the opportunity to make another acquaintance — the author Eyal Press ’92 — at a series of events held on campus Tuesday and Wednesday.

“My theme is defiance and moral courage and taking a stand,” Press said at a lecture Tuesday in Salomon 101. Press also participated in a class-room visit and a Faculty Advising Fellows lunch with students as part of his two-day visit.

At the lecture, Dean of the Col-lege Katherine Bergeron introduced Press as a New York-based journalist born in Jerusalem and raised in Buf-falo, NY. His book, which he referred to throughout the lecture, centered around the stories of four separate real-life individuals who chose to defy convention, laws and expectations through acts of moral conscience.

Press said his conception of cour-age has evolved over the 25 years since he was a first-year at Brown. At the age of 18, he thought cour-age relied on the physical qualities of being tough and fearless, “idealized and uncomplicated,” he said. This is the courage society most commonly praises, Press told The Herald. But

Press wanted to write about a differ-ent kind of courage, one he said he found “more remarkable and admi-rable” — moral courage.

Resistance is complex, and all people encounter situations in which they must face “conflicting voices,” he said. During his visit, Press said a student approached him on the Main Green to ask, “Would you do it?” — referring to defying convention. In his lecture, Press said perhaps the more relevant and challenging question is “How would you react if someone else did?”

Press told The Herald his goal in writing “Beautiful Souls” was to write a “compelling” book on a subject that is too often written about in ways that are “sanctimonious,” “honey-coated” and “rose-tinted.” Rather than por-tray the players as heroes, he said he wanted to show their gripping stories were complicated.

The title of the book embodies the complexity of this concept, Press said. He sees “Beautiful Souls” as an-other translation of the Israeli phrase, “yafeh nafesh,” which roughly means “bleeding heart” and often holds a negative connotation indicating ex-cessive and simplistic naivete.

“It is precisely because it carries negative and complicated connota-tions that I chose it,” Press said.

Press subscribes to a self-pro-claimed “arduous” writing process, based on the idea that “writing is rewriting.”

The challenge, he told The Herald, was to write in a way that would “take

the reader on a journey” with him — one that bridged cultures, continents, eras and values. He said compared to his journalistic work, he enjoyed the process of writing novels because in the end, “a book is really yours.”

Press said he had “no idea” he would become a writer when he ar-rived at Brown as a first-year. It was when a professor first lauded his work in an anthropology seminar in his first semester that he began to con-sider the possibility of writing.

“Do something you’re passion-ate about rather than something at which you’re incredibly gifted,” he advised students. Press said it is hard to believe how many years it has been since he was a student at Brown. The opportunity to come back as a

first-readings author, he said, was especially exciting given the oppor-tunity to interact with students.

The first readings program is designed to help orient incoming first-years to class discussion at the university level, said Associate Dean of the College Ann Gaylin. The pro-gram requires first-years to read an assigned book and then write letters to their advisers and meet in semi-nars to discuss the book with other students when they arrive on campus, she said. She added that the chosen book is intended to be both “relevant and thought-provoking” and that they seek books whose authors are willing to visit Brown in order to provide students the opportunity to engage with them.

Jeff Ball ’17 said though he didn’t plan to go to the events, he appreci-ated the first readings program as a strong introduction to the academ-ic process of discussion at Brown. “‘Beautiful Souls’ gave us a lot to think about in terms of heavy issues and served as a good way to evalu-ate ourselves and the way we think,” he added.

Danielle Alvarez ’17 said she would have gone to the events if she had been free, as “it is a very different experience to hear what the author has to say.” She added that she ap-preciated “the broad perspective of issues” the book introduced.

The goal of the program, Gaylin said, is “to get people thinking — to get people talking.”

Author of first readings assignment speaks on courageEyal Press ’92, author of “Beautiful Souls,” discusses his book with students at a series of events held on campus

BRITTANY COMUNALE / HERALD

Visiting campus allowed Eyal Press ‘92 to engage with first-year students, who were assigned to read his book, “Beautiful Souls,” this summer before arriving on campus.

By MAXINE JOSELOWSENIOR STAFF WRITER

The Undergraduate Council of Stu-dents kicked off the year by electing

new members to its executive board — some of whom will help solicit stu-

dent feedback on the recently released draft of President Christina Paxson’s strategic plan — at its first general body meeting Wednesday.

The council elected Alex Sherry ’15 vice chair of the Undergraduate Finance Board — a position that was vacant because no candidates ran for it during last spring’s external elections — over competitors Abeba Cherinet ’15 and Jonathan Padmore ’14. Sherry ran for chair of the board last spring and lost to current UFB Chair Leila Veerasamy ’15.

Sherry said in his speech to the Council that if elected UFB vice chair, he would work to address the “break-down of communication” between UFB representatives and student group leaders.

UCS President Todd Harris ’14.5 also announced that he and UCS Vice President Sam Gilman ’15 had cho-sen five finalists out of a pool of 30 to serve as student representatives on the Dean of the College Search Com-mittee — the committee tasked with finding a replacement for Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron. UCS will recommend the finalists to Provost Mark Schlissel P’15, who will select two or three student representatives and two or three alternates to serve on the committee.

The finalists include Paul Tran ’14, Amelia Armitage ’15, Abi Kulshreshta ’15, Krishan Aghi ’15 and Emma Dick-son ’16.

Harris did not say if there was a clear timeline yet for when a new dean will be named. Bergeron will leave the University at the end of December.

The Council elected Kiera Peltz ’16, a Herald staff writer, to serve as communications chair. Peltz will be responsible for facilitating communi-cation between the Council and the student body.

Peltz said in her speech to the Council that she wants to sponsor “events that link UCS with the student body” this year, such as volleyball on the Main Green and dance parties in the Sciences Library during reading period.

Gilman — who served as

communications chair when he was a first-year — said Peltz would be tasked with gathering students’ input on the draft of the strategic plan, a document expected to shape Paxson’s agenda for the University over the next decade.

Gilman added that Ross Julian ’15, who was elected Corporation liaison, would also have the duty of presenting students’ feedback on the draft at the October Corporation meeting.

The Council also selected Thomas Sudac ’16 to facilitate communication between the Council and UFB as UCS-UFB liaison and Jeff Salvador ’16 to appoint undergraduates to University committees as appointments chair.

Luke Camre ’16 will work to con-nect alums with current undergradu-ates as alumni liaison. The role of alum-ni liaison may carry more weight this year, since Harris has named creating

alumni-student partnerships as one of his top priorities, The Herald previously reported.

The council also elected Thomas Abebe ’16, Raisa Cramer ’16, Sameer Sarkar ’16 and Cherinet as UFB rep-resentatives, Andrea Wistuba-Behrens ’16 as secretary, Ryan Lessing ’16 as parliamentarian pro tempore and Nata-lie Palaychuk ’16 and Luke Camery ‘16 as webmasters.

UCS, UFB appoint new members in first general body meetingThe council has also chosen five student finalists for the Dean of the College search committee

RYAN WALSH / HERALD

Alex Sherry ’15 was elected vice-chair of the Undergraduate Finance Board after losing the election for chair to Leila Veerasamy ’15 last semester. He plans to increase communication between UFB and student groups.

UNIVERSITY NEWS