W E D N E S D A Y NOVEMBER 13, 2002
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVII, No. 112
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
www.browndailyherald.com
President’s office will give $17K to special event funding
Office of finance and planning announces $1M deficit
BY JULIETTE WALLACK
BY LISA MANDLE
President Ruth Simmons told the Undergraduate Council of Students that her office will make up for the Special Events Committee’s $17,000 budget deficit and support events like last year’s Spring Weekend Pool Party, Van Wickle Gate Birthday Party and the Carberry Music Festival. The infusion of $17,000 into SPEC’s existing $30,000 budget almost brings the group’s finances to the organization’s $50,000 expected budget. Simmons’ contribution is a one-time cash influx, said David Greene, assistant to the president. Simmons made no commitment beyond this year, Greene told The Herald. Though she has not committed funds yet, Simmons told members of UCS’ executive board in a Friday meeting that she would make up for this year’s budget shortfall and repeat the gesture next year if a shortage occurs. After next year, Simmons plans to include SPEC’s costs in the University’s operating budget, said Justin Sanders ’04, chair of UCS campus life committee. Sanders said SPEC now gets funding through the Undergraduate Finance Board, but a series of miscommunications and the restructuring of SPEC left the committee short of the $50,000 its budget asked for. SPEC was responsible for last weekend’s Live on Lincoln. Anna Stern ’03, founder of SPEC, said the events the group is considering are similar to last year’s Spring Weekend Pool Party, Van Wickle Gate Birthday Party and Carberry Music Festival. Greene said Simmons did not make a financial commitment for coming years. “(Simmons said) she would do this for them this year with the understanding that they would be able to find some regular source of funding. They’re trying to find a way to bridge a gap in the programming they want to do,” Greene said. Stern said she is excited about the budget increase that matches SPEC’s original request. “I think that it’s really important that the University shows its support for campus events by giving us funding,” Stern said. “I think that’s a great move.” SPEC’s next step is to think of new program ideas for which the money can be used, Stern said. In addition to augmenting SPEC’s funding for the current year, on Dec. 6 Simmons will see a short list of student life initiatives prepared by UCS and the Office of Campus Life. Sanders said UCS submitted its version of the list to Janina Montero, vice president for campus life and student services.
At Monday’s Advisory Committee on University Planning meeting, Executive Vice President of Finance and Administration Elizabeth Huidekoper announced the office of finance and administration is facing a $1 million deficit and requested additional funding in Fiscal Year 2004 for enhancing public safety and increasing staff compensation. The meeting was closed to the Brown community and to the press. Assistant Provost Brian Casey and Associate Vice President for Budget and Planning Susan Howitt reviewed Huidekoper’s presentation with The Herald on Tuesday. Huidekoper told ACUP that the office of finance and administration is running a $1 million deficit for this year’s $67.3 million see DEFICIT, page 4
Marion Billings / Herald
A panel of professors spoke Tuesday night about affirmative action in the United States.The event was part of Asian American History Month.
Putting the focus on race Professors argued Tuesday that affirmative action in admission and public policy should focus on race, not class BY JULIA ZUCKERMAN
Admission officers and policymakers should focus on race in affirmative action and find other ways to address class inequalities, professors said in a panel discussion Tuesday evening. The U.S. government designed affirmative action policies to rectify inequalities racism created, not class inequalities, said Evelyn Hu-DeHart, professor of history and director of the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America. She called affirmative action “a conservative policy,” because it extends equal consideration only to people who fit specific criteria: originally, underrepresented racial groups and women. Affirmative action as an experiment “has not succeeded,” said Paget Henry, professor of sociology and Africana studies. He cited racial stereotypes, criminalization of youth of color, job discrimination and residential segregation as evidence of persisting racial inequality.
But with people now perceiving affirmative action as “reverse discrimination,” policymakers are dismantling affirmative action programs even though the initiatives have not accomplished their goals, Henry said. Gail Cohee, director of the Sarah Doyle Women’s Center, said white women and Asian Americans are the objects of “over-achieving” stereotypes because they appear to have benefited the most from affirmative action. Affirmative action helped white women because they shared most of the same privileges as white men, HuDeHart said. Asian Americans benefited because post-1965 immigration laws favored highly educated immigrants with professional backgrounds. As a result, those aided have in large part been from middle-class backgrounds, Hu-DeHart said. “We cannot get rid of (affirmative action), but we need to fix it,” she said. She suggested that affirmative action should not include women and Asian Americans and should focus only on blacks and Latinos. Henry agreed that affirmative action programs should only consider race. “There is a history of oppression that is unique” to blacks and Latinos, he said. But the professors said other pro-
After long wait, List Art close to granting 24-hr student access BY AKSHAY KRISHNAN
After a long campaign, visual art and art history students appear to be close to getting 24-hour access to the List Art Center. The visual art faculty and the List Building Committee will recommend to Dean of the College Paul Armstrong that he grant students 24-hour access beginning the end of this week, concentrators told The Herald. “Under right conditions of safety and security, there is a consensus to have the building open,” said Richard Fishman, chair of the visual art department. “In theory, when we have the CS, MCM and music buildings open 24 hours for students to practice, it only seems right to have the List open too,” Fishman said. Bell Gallery Director Jo-Ann Conklin said the ball is now in the University’s court. “A letter from this committee along with the faculty will reach the dean’s office by the end of this week or next week at the latest,” Conklin said. “It’s up to the dean’s office and the University to take it from there.” The safety and security of the displays inside the art center remain a sticking point for all parties, Fishman said. The faculty, building committee and the Department of Public Safety want to have sign-in access through the lobby rather than key card access, he said. But students
see AFFIRMATIVE, page 4
see EVENTS, page 4
see ACCESS, page 4
I N S I D E W E D N E S D AY, N O V E M B E R 1 3 , 2 0 0 2 Psych Prof Gregory Fritz wins $3M grant to study asthma in minorities page 3
Brown, neighbors at odds over University’s institutional zoning status page 5
Over 100 students attend leadership summit to network, exchange ideas page 5
TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Brett Cohen ’03 says Democrats need to adopt a “Total Security” platform column, page11
Women’s hockey beats Vermont, gets chilled by Dartmouth to start ECAC schedule sports, page 12
rain high 49 low 36