Thursday, September 18, 2003

RISD

T H U R S D A Y

NEWS INSIDE

SEPTEMBER 18, 2003

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVIII, No. 74

An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891

Residents have mixed feelings about College Hill neighbors

ayo ’94 poised to make it big on the art scene BY DANA GOLDSTEIN

damali ayo ’94 is the next big thing on the art scene — in Portland, Ore. If you haven’t heard about her yet, you will soon. With reviews of her work appearing in the Village Voice, Ms. Magazine, Harper’s Magazine and ARTnews, ayo, who prefers to see her name in lowercase for aesthetic reasons, is receiving the kind of underground and mainstream attention most young artists only dream about. Amid all the press coverage, it’s difficult to predict whether ayo’s name will become associated with creativity or controversy. After launching the Web site rent-anegro.com in April, ayo was flooded with laudatory and angry reactions from around the globe. The satirical site presents itself as a service for white people looking to increase their “social clout” by appearing in public with a “creative, articulate, friendly, attractive and pleasing African American person.” The Web site extends the joke to include an online payment form for services such as “touch her hair,” “help! I need a black opinion” and public appearances — with a higher price for “high question volume” from whites. A lifetime of frustration as the token African American in numerous social, professional and academic situations, according to ayo, inspired her to create rent-anegro.com. Before coming to Brown, ayo graduated from Washington’s exclusive Sidwell Friends Academy. At Rent-a-negro.com she writes, “As a child (ayo) introduced black perspectives into her school, expertly answering persistent questions about black history, hair, culture and politics. This work continued throughout her adolescent and adult life and today she continues to be a resource.” But ayo insists on being seen as an individual, not a resource for white people to exploit. She said she turned to art partly because it was a medium in which she could educate people about race without “having to always be in conversation, which is how I always ended up in other roles.” At Brown, ayo double-concentrated in American civilization and public policy, work which she described as “a very natural progression of who I had been as a child and an adolescent growing up … a perfect bridge from that to my adulthood.” An active volunteer at the Swearer Center for Public Service, ayo said she helped develop the Women’s Prison Project, which has received national acclaim. Upon graduation, ayo won a grant to start an education program, but decided to give the money back. “I thought I’d be always working in issues of diversity and education and race and gender and sexual orientation and class. I thought I’d be writing,” ayo said. “When I left (Brown) I went though a transition and eventually discovered art.” In addition to planning an actual rental with her rent-a-negro.com project, ayo recently opened two shows in Portland — one featuring found art and the other, with her theater company, defunct theatre. see AYO, page 4

BY SARAH LABRIE

Thayer Street with more fresh produce, it would be a benefit to the entire Brown community,” said Ryan Levesque ’04, who left the market with a bag full of large green peppers. The constant stream of students and University staff members kept the vendors busy. Steve Cory, owner of Portsmouthbased Cory’s Kitchen, was pleased with his first experience selling goods at Brown.

An early September party in Fox Point where students walked on cars and urinated in neighbors’ yards did nothing to endear a new generation of students living off-campus to their College Hill neighbors. Two weeks later, the party was still a point of contention at a Wednesday dinner and meeting of the College Hill Neighborhood Association. “What happened in Fox Point is not an isolated incident,” said CHNA President Tom Goddard. “There isn’t a Sunday morning that goes by that I don’t pick up beer cans.” He said he receives one or two complaints each month about parties held by Brown students. Goddard said he usually chooses not to call the police when noise levels get out of hand, but resents the lack of consideration many students show their neighbors. Still, he said he agrees with a number of other residents that “the great majority of Brown students are good people.” Many residents depend on Brown students as tenants or hired help or simply to “keep the neighborhood interesting,” said 30-year College Hill resident Sara Bradford. Amy Greenwald, an assistant professor of computer science at Brown and resident of Benefit Square Park, agreed that Brown students do not always detract from the neighborhood’s quality. “When I moved in I was warned there was an issue with Brown and RISD students, but I’ve never noticed a problem,” she said. But Ed Bishop ’54, a landlord who rents housing to students, said some of the students who rent from him have caused trouble. “Frats are the worst,” he said. “They demolish the house every year.” Bishop — who has been a landlord for

see FARMERS, page 4

see CHNA, page 4

Michael Flaxman / Herald

The first campus Farmers Market, featuring seven Providence-area farmers, attracted students to fresh produce on Wriston during lunch hours.

Outdoor Brown Farmers Market draws a crowd BY MICHAEL RUDERMAN

Students didn’t have to steal apples and pears from the Ratty Wednesday. Instead, the first campus Farmers Market, featuring seven Providence area farmers, attracted students to fresh produce on Wriston during lunch hours. The market was part of Brown University Dining Services’ Community Harvest Program, designed to provide students with fresh produce and to support area farmers. All crops were grown in Rhode Island. “We’ve always had quality ingredients, just not local (ones),” said Associate Director of BUDS Virginia Dunleavy, who has been organizing the event since August. The dining halls have featured more locally grown produce, but Dunleavy wants this new trend “to be pervasive throughout the whole program.” Students who are not on meal plan found the market convenient. Teresa McRann ’06 said the produce was fresher than most of what is normally available at stores near the University. She was happy to be supporting local farmers, she said. Julian Drix ’06 bought several bags filled with peppers, apples, beans and other fruits and vegetables to cook for his Art House food co-op. “You can get things directly from the people who made it, as opposed to getting it filtered through the system,” Drix said. He said the produce he bought was of a higher quality than what he would get through BUDS. “If we had an option like this on

UCS finishes internal elections BY KRISTA HACHEY

The Undergraduate Council of Students wrapped up internal elections and tended to routine business in its Wednesday night meeting. UCS elected positions in the Undergraduate Finance Board and Campus Life Task Force after hearing candidates present their platforms and respond to questions. Council members elected John Nichols ’04 to the UFB, a 10-member governing body responsible for allocating funds to student organizations. Andrea Abramoff ’04, Nathaniel Smilowitz ’05 and Ryan Roth ’04 were elected as student representatives to the Campus Life Task Force. Current undergraduate members of the task force include UCS President Rahim

I N S I D E T H U R S D AY, S E P T E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 0 3 With an imprisoned coach and colorful mascot, RISD ice hockey makes a comeback RISD, page 3

RISD and Brown collaborate on interfaculty programs and interinstitutional centers RISD,page 3

www.browndailyherald.com

Research in neurorobotics leads to top innovator award for Brown med student page 5

Kurji ’05 and UCS Campus Life Committee Chair Ari Savitzky ’06. The Campus Life Task Force contributes to the planning of long-term projects and ensures they address issues relevant to the undergraduate population, Savitzky said. “Sometimes it’s tough for the administration to see why certain issues are important and must be dealt with,” he said. The task force grapples with issues ranging from modernizing campus libraries and dining halls to creating a student center, he said. The group considers many of the ideas that are part of the University’s master plan, created by New York architect and planner Frances Halsband. see UCS, page 4

TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Alexandra Toumanoff ’06 says John Kerry changes positions faster than Ron Jeremy column, page 11

See how the Bears are gearing up for the season and what future the fall has in store sports extra

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