W E D N E S D A Y OCTOBER 16, 2002
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVII, No. 92
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
www.browndailyherald.com
Online course registration will come to Brown, registrar reports BY BRIAN BASKIN
Online course registration is coming to Brown, but students will have to wait until fall 2003 or later for the University to implement the new system, said Registrar Michael Pesta. Online registration would eliminate long lines at the registrar’s office, Pesta said. It would also “give a student a more accurate and quicker reaction to whether they could get in a course,” he said. Tibet Sprague ’04 said he’d never had any problems with the registrar’s current paper-based registration system, but would welcome online course registration. He said the service would be even more useful if it were possible for students to select and register for courses through the Brown Online Course Announcement. First-years might better understand the registration and permission process if online instructions and services are available, said Lia Davis ’05, a woman peer counselor. “It really isn’t that well explained unless (students) read the course announcement,” Davis said. Not all students are immediately willing to make the jump to online registration despite the convenience, Davis said. “With anything done online, there’s that sense of ‘what if it didn’t go through,’” she said. “It’s nice, but University see REGISTRAR, page 6
Kimberly Insel / Herald
Students browsed information Tuesday at a Kappa Alpha Theta workshop that aimed to increase breast cancer awareness among students at Brown.
DPS cops recall Sept. 11 trip to New York Four officers in the University’s Department of Public Safety traveled to Ground Zero for this year’s Sept. 11 memorial events — and returned changed men, they said BY ELENA LESLEY
A month after visiting Ground Zero on the first memorial of Sept. 11, 2001, five Department of Public Safety officers vividly remember the trip, which they say strengthened their faith in humanity and dedication to their profession. Many DPS officers had wanted to assist with relief efforts immediately after the attacks, but were unable to because of logistical problems, said Brown Police Officer Jesse Perez. So when professionals in public service and safety from across the world were invited to attend the day of memorial, five Brown Police officers immediatley formed a delegation. DPS allowed the officers to take a day off work and travel to New York in a University police car. “We spent half a day cleaning and polishing not only our uniforms and shoes, but the vehicle we were taking to represent the department,” said Brown Police Officer Donald Vota. Once they arrived in New York, the officers said they were amazed by the respect given to police officers and firefighters.
Rabbi says modern times should permit women rabbis in all congregations BY STEPHANIE HARRIS
Police work is often a “thankless profession,” but this was a “special day” for those in public service, Perez said. Only official vehicles were allowed near Ground Zero, and all uniformed police officers and firefighters were granted immediate access to the site. When the officers got caught in a traffic jam at one point during their trip, a traffic officer spotted their police car and let them through, Perez said. Near Ground Zero, “when we walked down the street, people would applaud because of our uniforms,” said Brown Police Officer Jason Alexandre. During the event itself, officers said they experienced a range of emotions. “I have a half-smile in the pictures because I was proud to be there as an American, but it was for such a tragic event,” Vota said. “I felt like I was at a cemetary in a sense. I kept expecting a priest to give a eulogy.” Many family members wore pictures of their deceased loved ones around their necks, Perez said. As the names of those who died on Sept. 11, 2001, were read aloud one-by-one, “I saw a few people who heard the names they were looking for,” Vota said. “Every once in awhile you heard sobbing.” Officers said they felt both grief and anger. “There was all this dust blowing around (from the debris), and you got the sense that this was a cremation of heroes,” Vota said. “But with the heroes you had the scum of the earth mixed in. It made me angry — their remains
Women should be allowed to be rabbis in today’s society, said Rabbi Arie Strikovsky, a Jewish educator and faculty member at Pardes Institute in Jerusalem. Strikovsky’s lecture about the possibility of female Orthodox rabbis attracted about 35 people to Wilson 101 Tuesday night. “It is tradition (that only men are ordained as rabbis in the Orthodox community), but there is hope that tradition will be changed,” Strikovsky said. There is only one text that speaks to the idea of female rabbis, Strikovsky said. This passage, which prohibits teachers to be drunk while performing priestly duties or teaching, applies to both men and women — implying that women can be teachers. The term rabbi does not only refer to a spiritual leader of a congregation. In Jewish tradition, a rabbi is a teacher of Jewish law, or Torah, and tradition. Historically, women have not been allowed to teach or even study Jewish law, he said. Strikovsky discussed what Jewish teachings say about the possibility of women teachers. “It’s a mitzvah (obligation) she’s not obligated in,” he said. There are two schools of thought on whether this statement actually prohibits women from filling this role. One says that because a woman is not obligated, there is a greater reward if she does study the law. The other school disagrees, saying that a person “gets more reward if you’re commanded to do it than if you’re not,” Strikovsky said. Since women are not commanded
see GROUND ZERO, page 4
see RABBI, page 4
I N S I D E W E D N E S D AY, O C T O B E R 1 6 , 2 0 0 2 Global e-government study ranks United States fourth among nations page 3
At U., water goes through intensive treatment process before reaching mouths page 5
Underground remains closed pending OSL decision on serving alcohol page 5
TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Brett Cohen ’03 says he embraces his Jewish heritage as a unique link to his past column, page 11
Edu Romaneiro ’03 scores two goals to lift Brown over Providence College sports,page 12
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