M O N D A Y APRIL 22, 2002
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVII, No. 54
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
www.browndailyherald.com
Students join DC rally to protest Israel, World Bank BY ANDY GOLODNY
A contingent of about 60 Brown students joined the thousands of protestors who convened Saturday in Washington, D.C., to oppose globalization, the Israeli invasion of Palestine and U.S. military involvement in wars abroad. Members of a variety of campus groups rode a bus and cars to the capital to participate in the protests, participating students said. The protest attracted an estimated 75,000 people, according to Washington, D.C., police estimates. The protestors said they were objecting to an array of actions, including Israel’s occupation of Palestine and the policies of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund — two organizations that held meetings in D.C. this weekend. “I am not satisfied with what is currently passing for peace and justice, and I wanted to add myself to an exciting and visible action,” said Riana Good ’03, who attended the rally. “We were protesting the war on terrorism in all its forms, including Colombia, Israel and Afghanistan,” said Kenna Stormogipson ’03, who demonstrated in Washington on Saturday. Students said they participated in a march from the Washington Monument to the Capitol Building, walked around the monument and engaged in discussion with other activists. Shaun Joseph ’02, who attended the rally, said the oppression of the Palestinian people was one of the major issues that
Maria Schriber / Herald
‘PROCEED AND CONTINUE TO ROCK THE MIC’ Black Thought of The Roots, right, and Rufus Wainright performed on the Main Green Saturday for Spring Weekend. Students flocked to the concerts on the green, where The Roots,Wainright and Dar Williams entertained on a sunny afternoon.
see RALLY, page 6
Students abroad weather turmoil of Mideast conflict Jury set in Cianci BY JULIETTE WALLACK
With violence escalating in the Middle East, colleges across the country are canceling their study abroad programs in Israel and urging students to return home. But two Brown students studying in Israel are not coming home, even with the safety concerns they face. Danny Wasserman ’03, who has been in Israel since January, does not plan to return home before his originally planned departure date in mid-June, he said. Aviva Zablow ’03, studying at Hebrew University, has been there since the beginning of the school year. Director of International Programs Kirstin Moritz said Brown cannot require its students in Israel to return to the United States because they are not studying through a Brown program, though they do earn credit from Hebrew University which can eventually be transferred to Brown credit. Brown did not approve any study abroad in Israel for the fall, said Kirstin Moritz, director of international programs, but “we have not asked” the two Brown students currently in Israel to return home. Wasserman said he was not able to take
a study abroad leave because the State Department had already issued a travel warning for Israel by the time he went to get approval for his plans last spring. Instead, he said, he took a general leave of absence, which allowed him to enroll at Hebrew University. “We’ve been in touch” with the Brown students, Moritz said. “They are doing fine. They are exercising caution.” The experience is “pretty different” from what other students have when they travel overseas to study, Wasserman said. He and his fellow students get regular security briefings, he said, and most do not travel to downtown Jerusalem or to certain parts of Israel. Also, he said, he avoids taking buses — because of the recent suicide bombings on or near buses — and takes cabs instead. There are now about 50 international students remaining at Hebrew University of the hundreds that usually study there, Wasserman said. Those absent include about 75 University of California students, he said, who faced losing financial aid if they remained in Israel for the rest of the semester against the university’s wishes. Harvard University cancelled its study abroad program April 7, after the State
Department issued its warning April 2, according to the Harvard Crimson. Moritz said Brown does not approve study abroad leaves to any country that faces a State Department travel warning, but right now Israel is the only country in the Middle East that faces such a decree. There are a total of five Brown students in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon, she said, and the University has “been in touch with all of those students,” but they have no plans to return early. Students filed applications to travel to Egypt next year, Moritz said, but no one has applied yet to study in Jordan or Lebanon. Mortiz said the University has not approved any study abroad applications for next year’s programs in Israel because of the State Department’s warning. But, she said, as soon as Brown receives indication from the State Department that it is safe to travel to Israel, the University will begin considering applications. “In the case of Israel,” she said, “we could certainly process late applications.”
Students protest Abercrombie T-shirt, claiming racist stereotyping of Asians page 5
BY CHRIS BYRNES
Jury selection in the corruption trial of Mayor Vincent Cianci came to a close in U.S. District Court Friday as both sides settled on 12 jurors and six alternates. Having identified 31 potential jurors as tentatively qualified, Chief Judge Ernest Torres stopped jury selection and allowed the prosecution and defense to exercise peremptory challenges, eliminating candidates they didn’t like. The jury consists of eight men and four women, most of whom live outside Providence and have little knowledge of the details of Operation Plunder Dome. Juror Paul Metro told Torres that he learned more from Torres’ initial briefing prior to jury selection than he had learned previously from media outlets. He knew the corruption trial had
Herald staff writer Juliette Wallack ’05 can be reached at jwallack@browndailyherald.com.
I N S I D E M O N D AY, A P R I L 2 2 , 2 0 0 2 Mezcla impresses with dance at Saturday night cultural show in Salomon page 3
corruption trial
see TRIAL, page 4
TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Anthony Giunta ’02 considers the United States’ response to Saddam Hussein column,page 11
Kerala Goodkin ’02 advocates the place of emotion in the classroom column,page 11
Men’s tennis overcomes Harvard, claims first ever Ivy League Championship page 12
rain showers high 46 low 37