W E D N E S D A Y SEPTEMBER 11, 2002
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVII, No. 69
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
www.browndailyherald.com
Full day of events scheduled in memory of Sept. 11 attacks BY ANDY GOLODNY
A variety of University events will commemorate the oneyear anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001. “The staff of the College and the Office of Campus Life who have worked on the schedule of events have wanted to make a diversity of kinds of events available to students so that they could choose how to remember last year’s tragedy,” said Dean of the College Paul Armstrong. “Students will no doubt want to respond to this anniversary in different ways: some by attending the memorial service, others by going to the many academic events that are planned for the week,” he said. Some professors say they will modify their lectures and discussion topics slightly on the anniversary of the worst terrorist attacks in the country’s history. Assistant Professor of Political Science Paul Kellstedt said he won’t “fundamentally re-orient” his class around Sept. 11, 2001, but he will discuss “the tension between the rights of individuals and the rights of the collective citizenry to make decisions that can infringe upon the freedoms of individuals.” Armstrong said he sent a letter to the faculty asking “if it is appropriate to consider spending some time in class to discuss the events of a year ago.” Professor of Sociology Frances Goldscheider said she has “integrated the Middle East more thoroughly in the demographic questions we raise” in her class on population. “We look at the ways rapid population growth in the context of rising but frustrated expectations has been problematic,” Goldscheider said. Other professors, such as Associate Professor of Sociology Gregory Elliott and Assistant Professor of History Michael Vorenberg, have not yet made up their minds about how to handle the anniversary. “I remain uncertain about exactly what I will do,” Vorenberg said. Last year, the University chose not to cancel classes on Sept. 11. Armstrong said the University did so because “we thought that students would find it useful to have the benefit of conversation with faculty to help assimilate and make sense of the tragic events. “I know a number of faculty who are teaching courses in areas relevant to those events plan to spend class time on discussions like this,” Armstrong said. Herald staff writer Andy Golodny ’03 is a news editor. He can be reached at agolodny@browndailyherald.com.
Grading system won’t change — at least for now, admins report BY LANIE DAVIS
University administrators considered adding “pluses” and “minuses” to Brown’s grading system last fall, but despite strong faculty support for the change, officials now say the current grading system is here to stay. In a Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning survey last November, 82 percent of faculty and 85 percent of graduate student TAs said they thought the University’s A, B, C or NC grading system needed pluses and minuses. Not only did professors say they wanted change, but most said they informally used pluses and minuses. Ninety-eight percent of faculty and 97 percent of TAs said
Seth Kerschner / Herald
David Cicilline ’83 greets supports at Roger Williams Park after the announcement of his victory in the Democratic mayoral primary Tuesday. Cicilline staved off a challenge from former Mayor Joseph Paolino to win the nomination.
Cicilline wins In a tight gubernatorial primary, unofficial tallies showed Myrth York edging out Sheldon Whitehouse for the Democratic nomination BY ADAM STELLA
David Cicilline ’83 cruised to victory with 53 percent of the votes in the Democratic mayoral primary Tuesday to beat out three challengers and put himself in a strong position to become the next mayor of Providence. “This election marks a new beginning for Providence,” Cicilline said in his victory speech. He made changing the city government a central issue in his campaign, a message that apparently resonated with Democratic voters. Cicilline defeated former mayor Joseph Paolino, who received 33 percent of the vote; State Sen. David Igliozzi, who received 11 percent; and lawyer Keven McKenna, who received 3 percent. Cicilline garnered much support from East Side residents and particularly members of the Brown community. In fact, Cicilline had a Brown student, Chris Bizzacco ’03.5, run his now-successful campaign. Ryan Goldberg ’05, a member of the College Democrats who attended Cicilline’s victory celebration at Roger Williams Park, said he supported
Cicilline in part because he is a Brown alumnus, but was mainly impressed by his message and commitment to all sectors of the community. Goldberg praised Cicilline, who spoke to the Brown College Democrats late last week, while other Democratic candidates only sent representatives. “He knows how important the college vote is,” Goldberg said. “He really got college kids in the campaign.” Polls leading up to the Democratic primary had Cicilline 8 to 10 percentage points ahead of Paolino. The fact that Cicilline earned a majority of Democratic votes in the primary bodes well for his chances in the general election in heavily Democratic Providence. Cicilline will face Republican David Talan, Independent Christopher Young and Green Party candidate Greg Gerritt on Nov. 5. The next mayor will take over a city still smarting from the highly publicized corruption of former mayor Vincent Cianci’s administration. A federal judge sentenced Cianci to 64 months in prison last Friday for racketeering. Cianci, who must report to prison Dec. 6 barring a successful appeal, served as a political commentator for Channel 6. “Tonight people are looking for a change,” Cianci said. Arriving at Cicilline’s victory party shortly after the see CICILLINE, page 6
see GRADES, page 4
I N S I D E W E D N E S D AY, S E P T E M B E R 1 1 , 2 0 0 2 Professor of German Studies Carol Poore aims to bring disability studies to Brown page 3
Dept. of Public Safety welcomes officer James Massey to the campus police force page 5
On anniversary, students remember the emotional impact of Sept. 11, 2001 page 5
TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Alex Schulman ’03 says we must be careful in choosing how we teach Sept. 11, 2001 column,page 11
Nick Gourevitch ’03 wonders ‘what is the place of sports on a solemn day?’ sports column,page 12
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