F R I D A Y NOVEMBER 1, 2002
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVII, No. 104
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
www.browndailyherald.com
UDC trial ends in probation for one student Student alleges homophobia played a role in Sept. 15 altercation in which two students were injured, one hospitalized BY CARLA BLUMENKRANZ
Jason White / Herald
DRESSING UP Students performed their own version of trick-or-treating last night across campus to celebrate Halloween.
A call to Asian American activism Author Helen Zia kicked off Asian American History Month by calling on activists to take a stand against the ‘demonization’ of racial groups in the United States BY JULIA ZUCKERMAN
Asian Americans, historically demonized as “evil,” must take a stand against the demonization of others, said activist and author Helen Zia Thursday evening at the Asian American History Month convocation. Zia titled her speech “Gooks, Geishas and Goblins: Asian Americans and Other Evils that Go Bump in the Night.” She said citizens and the U.S. government have targeted Asian Americans as “evil,” viewing them as a threat to national security. She spoke about the “parallel universes” that exist, where significant contributions of Asian Americans are not reflected in history books and popular culture. “Our task is to collapse these parallel universes,” she said. Asian Americans’ contribution to history has been largely ignored, Zia said, describing a phenomenon she called “MIH,” or “Missing in History.” Zia is the author of “Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People” and a former executive editor of Ms. magazine. She grew up in New Jersey during the 1960s, when she was regularly asked, “Where are you from? … No, where are you really from?” a question she said was likely familiar to Asian Americans in the audience. During the Civil Rights Movement, friends told her she had to decide whether she was black or white, not allowing for the possibility that she was something else, she
said. After college, Zia spent two years in medical school before leaving to become a community organizer, working as a construction laborer in Boston. When she got involved with the lesbian community, members of other groups confronted her and refused to work with her if she was a lesbian. Zia did not come out until after she moved to Detroit, where she worked on an auto assembly line and continued her community activism. She helped spearhead Asian American activism in 1982 when Vincent Chin, a Chinese American, was killed in Detroit at a time when the public was suspicious of Japanese Americans. Chin’s murder became a galvanizing event for Asian Americans from all backgrounds. The U.S. government’s imprisonment of nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee is a more recent example of the same phenomenon, drawing together “people of conscience” of all ethnicities, she said. Zia urged the audience to engage in activism. “Twenty years ago, there was nothing. … Today, an entire infrastructure of change has come into being,” she said. “It’s your voices that are going to make a difference.” In their introductory remarks, Asian American History Month programmers Christopher Yee ’04 and Paul Pasaba ’03 described the difficulty of finding a theme for the month to encompass all Asian Americans — students of East Asian, South Asian and Southeast Asian descent involved in at least 10 student organizations. The month, titled “Asian American: The Struggle to Define Asian America,” aims at “examining the privileges and oppressions that bind us to each other,” Pasaba said. Zia’s speech was preceded by a performance by spoken-word artists Vincent Chong ’03 and Ammala Donangsavanh, a student at the University of Rhode see ZIA, page 4
I N S I D E F R I D AY, N O V E M B E R 1 , 2 0 0 2 University Organist Mark Steinbach performs traditional Halloween concert page 3
UCLA prof offers a literary reading of Eli Wiesel’s ‘Night’ at Thursday lecture page 3
Visiting S. African king urges Americans to consider alternative government structures page 5
A University Disciplinary Council investigation of an altercation between two students has resulted in a oneyear probation for one student and a Dean’s Hearing for his fraternity, Theta Delta Chi. The conflict, which occurred at about 2 a.m. on Sept. 15, involved Theta Delta Chi brother Lawrence Rubida ’04 and Matthew Lueders ’05. It took place in Lueder’s single in Chapin House, which also houses the fraternity. Both students had been drinking, they said. Following the incident, Lueders accused Rubida of assault, discrimination based on sexual orientation and entering his room without permission, Rubida said. The University charged Rubida with underage drinking, Rubida added. Rubida said he received a bloody nose. Lueders said he sustained a concussion and bruising to his ribs and face, and spent the night in a local hospital. James Stascavage, associate dean of Student Life, refused to confirm or deny that the incident occurred or that the University took any disciplinary action. On Oct. 21, the UDC heard the charges against Rubida and put him on probation for one year, Rubida said. On Wednesday, the Office of Student Life held a Dean’s Hearing with Theta Delta Chi leadership regarding the incident, said Penny Billington ’03, Greek Council chair. see UDC, page 8
Two Brown students approached, one assaulted Thursday Three subjects approached two male Brown students and assaulted one of them in separate incidents a few blocks apart around the same time early Thursday morning, according to Department of Public Safety reports. At approximately 12:58 a.m. on Thayer Street at the intersection of George Street, a white vehicle with three males inside approached a student who was walking alone. The student reported that the driver called him over to the vehicle and seemed nervous. The student reported feeling uncomfortable and fled in the opposite direction. The vehicle then continued south on Thayer Street. Moments later, another male student was walking alone east on Power Street when he heard someone run up behind him. A subject struck the student twice in the back of his head, and the student saw three males run away and enter a new model white SUV with dark tinted windows and a ski rack on the roof. The subjects drove away south on Thayer Street, the wrong way on the oneway street. DPS and the Providence Police Department responded and searched the area but did not locate the suspects. — Herald staff reports
TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Barron Youngsmith ’06 says media coverage of the Russian hostage affair was abysmal guest column, page 11
Women’s soccer drops hearbreak to Boston College on a last second goal sports, page 12
showers high 55 low 26