T H U R S D A Y APRIL 17, 2003
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVIII, No. 53
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
www.browndailyherald.com
Annual BOLT outdoor trip delayed due to budgetary cutbacks BY JULIETTE WALLACK
Administrators announced at a Tuesday night meeting with BOLT leaders that the program’s annual wilderness trip will not occur in August, as previously planned. Dean for Campus Life Margaret Jablonski told those gathered that, because of budget cutbacks in the Office of Student Life, a staff reorganization makes an August trip impossible. Fran Lo ’97, who went on the Brown Outdoor Leadership Training trip before her sophomore year at Brown, has overseen the activity since August 2002. But at the end of June, Lo’s duties will expand to include supervision of the Women’s Peer Counseling program. The current supervisor, Assistant Dean Amy Graham, is either leaving the University at the end of June or may remain involved, though in “other ways,” said Director of Student Life Jean Joyce-Brady. Lo’s new responsibilities with the WPC program require she be on campus during August for WPC training, meaning she will be unable to go on the BOLT trip when it is currently scheduled, both she and Joyce-Brady said. Instead, BOLT leaders and administrators are working to find another time to offer the trip, according to Lo. Currently, the alternate time most favored is the three-day Columbus Day weekend, according to Lo and student leaders. Although “a lot of responsibility and functions have been given to the students” who lead the trip, Lo said it is still necessary for an administrator to be on the trip because of liability issues. And, she said, since the program’s inception under Director of Leadership Robin Rose, an administrator has always been part of the activity. The changes to the BOLT program are a byproduct of the larger budget and organization plans the University is working on, Joyce-Brady said. That bigger picture makes it impossible to provide a dollar figure that the University will save by increasing Lo’s duties and changing or eliminating Graham’s position, Joyce-Brady said. In light of the need for budget cuts, the Undergraduate Council of Students interviewed students and compiled lists of recommended programs to protect and programs to cut. Although BOLT was not placed on the “protect” list, it was excluded from the cut ones, which included groups such as faculty fellows and the Residential see BOLT, page 6
Jason White / Herald
BACK IN ACTION After months of inactivity, the Main Green was filled with activity during the recent warm spell.
UCS penalizes Rehmani ’04 for campaign violations BY JONATHAN ELLIS
Ahmad Rehmani’s campaign for president of the Undergraduate Council of Students got off to a rocky start last night, as the UCS Election Board cut his campaign budget in half for breaking campaign rules. Rehmani sent e-mails to the leaders of Friends of Israel, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Alliance and the Organization of United African Peoples seeking their endorsement in the election, slated for Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. UCS election policy prohibits the use of e-mail in a campaign for any reason. The rule is designed to prevent candidates from sending massive amounts of promotional e-mail, said UCS Representative Andy Golodny ’03, a member of the Election Board. “We want to keep the election as fair as possible for all the candidates,” Golodny said. “Ahmad Rehmani was brought before the elections committee for a violation of the election rules involving the use of email,” the Election Board said in a statement to The Herald last night. “The result of the deliberation was that his campaign budget should be docked by half.” Election Board proceedings are closed to the public and press. Each candidate for any UCS post receives 10 fake dollars to use in the campaign so candidates will not attempt to outspend one another. For example, a banner costs three fake dollars, while a flyer costs
10 fake cents. The candidate pays the realworld expense of the promotional material. “We decided to take the action that we did in order to ensure the fairness of the election and the enforcement of election rules,” said UCS Corporation Liaison Tarek Khanachet ’03, a member of the Election Board. “We still consider Ahmad Rehmani to be a viable candidate for the position of UCS president.” Rehmani told The Herald he was unaware that e-mail could not be used under any circumstance. His lack of intent apparently factored into the decision of the Election Board, which could have disqualified him from the race. “I think (the Election Board decision) was fair enough,” he said. “I made a mistake, and I’m aware of it.” Rehmani said he would have to cut back on the number of banners he planned to hang on campus, but he said he would go door-to-door on election day to try to secure votes. In a copy of Rehmani’s e-mail obtained by The Herald, he requests the endorsement of the student groups, saying, “I genuinely believe that I can work closely with your organization in doing my best to resolve any issues that you may face in the future. Basically, I will be your strongest advocate sitting on UCS, if elected!” In the e-mail, Rehmani mentioned the names of his two opponents — UCS members Rahim Kurji ’05 and Justin Sanders ’04
John Jay College prof tells students how to spot a sex murderer early in life page 5
Brett Cohen ’04 points out the hypocrisy unveiled by America’s easy victory opinions, page 11
Environmental damage from Israeli forces is severe, activist Reese says BY MARIA DIMENTO
Devastating environmental damages are being inflicted on Palestinian lands by Israeli forces in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, hydrologist and activist John Reese told an audience at Beneficent Church on Weybosset Street Wednesday night. During his slideshow presentation, “Palestine: It’s Hell,” Reese talked about the seven months he spent last year traveling through Gaza and the West Bank. Reese visited all of the region’s major cities and roughly 100 villages, taking more than 12,000 photographs along the way. He worked with the International Solidarity Movement, a Palestinian–led organization of international activists, and the Palestinian Hydrology Group, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and developing water resources in Palestine. Using slides of decimated Palestinian cities, villages and farms and a map showing current see REESE, page 4
see UCS, page 9
I N S I D E T H U R S D AY, A P R I L 1 7 , 2 0 0 3 Harvard’s early action experiment is declared a failure after one year of operation campus watch,page 3
METRO SPECIAL
TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Hanne Eisenfeld ’06 can’t find a decent bottle of water in this town opinions, page 11
Ian Cropp ’05 wouldn’t spend the day with Jose Canseco if you paid him sports, page 12
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