T U E S D A Y MARCH 22, 2005
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXL, No. 37 THE LITTLEST STUDIO CITY Rhode Island offering come-hither tax credits to TV and filmmakers to consider production in Lil’ Rhody METRO 3
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891 THE CASE FOR THE FACE(BOOK) Adam Nelson ’06: Thefacebook.com is the new lifestyle accessory, and you are not too cool to use it O P I N I O N S 11
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Porter will be first black chief in R.I. BY ERIC BECK SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Diversity in Rhode Island law enforcement passed a new milestone Friday with the University’s appointment of Mark Porter as Brown’s chief of police and director of public safety. When Porter begins his duties in April, he will become the first black police chief at Brown — and the first in Rhode Island. “He is the first black police chief this state has ever seen. … This is a pivotal point for the entire Rhode Island police community. It is history in the making,” said Lt. Charles Wilson of the Rhode Island College Campus Police. Wilson is the president of the Rhode Island Minority Police Association and vice president of the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers. Upon hearing of the University’s selection of Porter, Wilson informed national minority law enforcement leaders. Officers from around the Northeast are planning to travel to Brown for Porter’s swearing-in, he said. Wilson said Rhode Island law enforcement agencies have fewer minorities than those of other states, but Brown’s force is unusually diverse. Of the 75 Department of Public Safety employees, 21 are minorities, including 18 who are black. Four of the 10 sworn line supervisory officers — holding the rank of sergeant, lieutenant, captain or colonel — are minorities, according to DPS. By comparison, Wilson said, he is the only racial minority on RIC’s 22-person force. The Community College of Rhode Island has two black officers, and the University of Rhode Island has none. Statewide, about 300 of Rhode Island’s 6,500 law enforcement officers are racial minorities, and only 11 are in leadership positions above the rank of sergeant, he said.
“It is most important that the police department be reflective of the community it serves,” said Capt. Emil Fioravanti, DPS interim chief. “Where it has not been reflective, it has caused problems.” The diversity at DPS “has typically been above the mainstream,” Wilson said. Porter said he sees the makeup of the DPS force as evidence of the University’s effort to improve diversity in the department. “Diversity is always an issue. It is a challenge to recruit law enforcement minorities — especially women and officers of color,” he said. “Brown really works hard to ensure that they have a diverse pool” for hiring DPS employees, Porter said. “Clearly Brown is doing something right, and the numbers reflect this.”
“(Having a diverse police department) lends credibility with the minority community if there were issues of bias,” Fioravanti said. Wilson stressed the importance of having minorities in police forces, especially in administrative positions. “Every agency will benefit from hiring officers of color. … When you have people who look like you, come from the same places as you and have the same experiences as you, the community as a whole is well-served,” he said. “We look for honesty and commitment to professionalism and community,” Wilson added. “In law enforcement leaders of color, we look for their commitment not only to professionalism but for their commitment in making law
Art Street, a Boston-based organization aimed at using art to bring communities together and inspire social change, held a recruiting meeting Monday night in the Lower Blue Room. Although there were only about a dozen attendees — most women — Robert “Sidewalk Sam” Guillemin said he was impressed by their creativity and enthusiasm. Guillemin, a graduate of Boston University who also attended Boston College, became “Sidewalk Sam” after being a copyist at the Louvre, where he said reproducing “Mona Lisa” made him feel like he “climbed Everest.” Since then, he has traded the world of the studio for the sidewalk so he can use art to connect with ordinary people. “Something is wrong when artists become egomaniacs. Art needs to be there in order to serve others. … Artists have to sink down to day-to-day meetings with people and let art become a way to
see ART STREET, page 7
see VOLUNTEER, page 4
Gabriella Doob / Herald
Ariane Helou GS gave a solo performance on the recorder with the Brown Chamber Chorus Monday night as part of Henry Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas.”
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BY HANNAH MILLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
they get a chance to just create. The sidewalks just ruminate with energy,” Guillemin said. This is just one of the projects this summer for which Guillemin was recruiting Brown students. With help from the city of Boston and sponsorships from various companies, Gullemin hopes to see this project spread to cities outside New England. “The city of Boston helps to get these ordinary persons to celebrate their own creative genius. That’s what we need. We need to shift art’s focus from a few high priests as creators to where everyone can create,” Guillemin said. Guillemin, whose work has been featured on the “Today” show and “Good Morning America,” has also gained international attention. Art Street Warszawa in Poland was inspired by the Boston-based program and “creates multilingual community art and music projects to bring together our growing global world,”
see POLICE, page 4
SPRING SING
find solutions for society’s ills. I’m here to help kids launch their own careers (by doing) astonishing things with art,” Guillemin said. Guillemin hopes students at Brown will be involved with Art Street’s summer programs in Boston, and possibly implement similar community initiatives in Providence. Art Street’s projects range from environmental advocacy and promoting racial harmony to simply making art more accessible to local communities, Guillemin said. During the third week of August, Art Street holds “Chalk One Up,” an event where various corporations get together with Boston non profit organizations and create chalk drawings together on the sidewalk. “We give hundreds of corporations the most gorgeous box of pastels and have (their) accountants, lawyers, secretaries, CEOs and interns get down and draw on the sidewalks. These are the quiet people who do not get to express themselves, but
Brown, R.I. volunteerism down, surveys say The Princeton Review characterizes the Brown University population as a “Birkenstock-wearing, crunchy, granolaeating, non-flushing, tree-hugging crowd,” and calls Brown “an ‘activist’ place where ‘everyone wants to change the world.’” But has Brown been living up to its reputation? A survey of recent graduates conducted by the Career Development Center indicates that participation in volunteerism at Brown has decreased, according to Peter Hocking, an assistant dean of the college and director of the Swearer Center for Public Service. Only 51 percent of respondents from the Class of 2003 indicated they participated in community service while at Brown, compared to 65 percent of the Class of 2002. Hocking suggested that any decline reported by the CDC might simply reflect the conservative mood of the country. “I suspect it’s a national trend,” he said. “President Clinton really pushed public service,” said Hocking — there was a spike in volunteerism under Clinton, who in 1994 became involved in the development of AmeriCorps, a network of national service programs that engage more than 50,000 Americans each year in intensive service to meet critical needs in education, public safety, health and the environment. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Bush administration has proposed cutting funding for AmeriCorps next year. Hocking also said that in his 17 years at the University, he has never noticed a decline in student volunteerism, emphasizing that students are continually energetic and motivated to help the community. Participation in Swearer Center programs has been consistent for the last 10 years, with about 900 to 1,000 students actively involved in community service initiatives through the Center every semester, he said. The Swearer Center maintains ongoing relationships with approximately 200 community organizations. Hocking noted that the data collection methods used by the CDC have changed over the years, perhaps influencing their figures. Allison Lombardo ’05, who coordinates a mentoring program called Citygirls through the Swearer Center, said she has not felt a change in students’ willingness to volunteer their time, and added that as Citygirls has developed, the coordinators have become even better at recruiting volunteers. Other student coordinators of Swearer Center programs noted similar experiences. While Hocking believes the conservative politics of the 21st century may have dampened volunteer efforts, others say they feel the opposite — that if anything, President Bush’s reelection has brought on a surge of community involvement, inspiring people to get on their feet and help the disenfranchised. Associate Director of the Swearer Center Claudia Decesare said she
Art Street organization hopes to democratize art BY STEPHEN NARAIN STAFF WRITER
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