T H U R S D A Y APRIL 7, 2005
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXL, No. 44
www.browndailyherald.com
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
LIONS-GATE Publication of Columbia U. report on professors’ bias against proIsrael students gets mixed reactions C A M P U S WATC H 3
GREAT OUTDOORS W. throwers, jumpers a force to be reckoned with at S. Florida meet, the start of track’s outdoor season S P O R T S 12
SPAM POLITICS Nicholas Swisher ’08: John Kerry’s post-election e-mails a depressing window into Democrats’ strategery O P I N I O N S 11
TODAY
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mostly cloudy 64 /47
rain 56 / 38
Robinson ’66 wins Pulitzer for ‘Gilead’
Theologian’s talk kicks off Pride Month BY SUCHITA MATHUR STAFF WRITER
Oppressed peoples should encourage communication within groups to avoid being pitted against each other and taken advantage of by larger institutions, the Rev. Irene Monroe said in Wednesday’s convocation for Pride Month 2005, “Moving Beyond Recognition: Images of Resistance.” Monroe, a religious columnist and black feminist theologian, appeared in front of an audience of approximately 60 in Salomon 101 for a lecture titled “Intersectionality: Our Multiple Identities Searching for a Common Ground.” Monroe engaged the audience through participation and comic irony. Describing the difficulties in reconciling her “multiple identity” of being a lesbian and black, she said, “I came back from Wellesley (College) and I told my then-fiancé, ‘I think I’m gay.’ And he said, ‘You can’t be a homosexual, you’re black.’ ” Other black ministers told Monroe early on that her attempts to fight racism, sexism and heterosexism simultaneously were weakening the black civil rights movement, she said. They were advocating a “hierarchy of oppression,” she said, with racism on top, followed by sexism, classism and heterosexism as successively less important. “People say, if you address other issues (besides racism), you weaken the discourse,” she said. “But when you limit the discourse, you remove three-quarters of the demographic and you have patriarchy.” Monroe suggested people instead view bigotry and prejudice as a “wheel of oppression” that gives each group more space to communicate. “I’m not saying that if you’re a white gay boy you’re as oppressed as a black gay woman,” Monroe said. “What I’m saying is there
Third alum in three years to win award in fiction or drama BY STEPHEN NARAIN STAFF WRITER
Mark Cho / Herald
Black feminist theologian Rev. Irene Monroe spoke about religion’s influence on the public perception of sexual orientation as part of the Gay Pride Month convocation in Salomon Wednesday night.
Admins propose hike in late registration fee at UCS meeting Faith forum to tackle religious intolerance
see PULITZER, page 8
BY LAURA SUPKOFF STAFF WRITER
Dean of the College Paul Armstrong and University Registrar Michael Pesta made a presentation in support of a proposed raise in the late fee for class registration at the weekly Under-graduate Council of Students meeting on Wednesday. The proposed change would increase the charges for late preregistration to $100 and first-time registration during the first four weeks of classes to $150, both from the current $15 students are required to pay. In addition, $50 will be required to add a course after the end of the two-week shopping period. The proposal originated in the
see MONROE, page 7
Registrar’s Office, and has been endorsed by the College Curriculum Council and the Graduate Council. To take effect, the Brown Corporation must approve it, but Armstrong said this raise is something that should not be rushed — it is “something you do very deliberately.” The proposal is in response to the excessive violation of deadlines surrounding registration that occurs each year. According to the Registrar’s Office, 794 students failed to preregister for classes this fall, and there were 2,680 late adds. Currently, three students have not see UCS, page 5
Garlic butternut squash risotto cake medley wins gold Greene urges Iron Chefs to ‘take on Johnson and Wales’ BY ANNA ABRAMSON CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Sharpe Refectory was transformed into a veritable Kitchen Stadium Wednesday afternoon, with about 20 Brown students vying for, among other titles, that of “most original Ratty Iron Chef.” The competition challenged students to utilize a typical selection of dinner food and condiments in the preparation of a unique entrée or dessert. An eight-person panel of judges assessed the dishes on a scale from 1-5 based on factors including taste, texture, appearance, balance, nutritional value and creativity. Awards were given out in the categories of entrée, desert, overall culinary performance and most original. The event was organized by Jonathan Raphael ’08, University administrative dietician Bridget Visconti, Floor Manager Chris Pollock, and Production
Marilynne Robinson ’66 was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction Monday for “Gilead,” her elegiac novel about a dying Congregationalist priest in Iowa as he relates his life in a letter to his young son. Robinson becomes the third alum in as many years to win the award in letters or drama. Boston Globe reporter Gareth Cook ’91 also won a Pulitzer this year, in explanatory journalism for his coverage on the “complex scientific and ethical dimensions of stem cell research,” according to the prize’s Web site. The Pulitzer board praised his “clarity and humanity” in covering the politically charged issue. Cook graduated with degrees in mathematical physics and international
Manager Elizabeth Mersereau. The judges included Executive Chef John O’Shea, Assistant Catering Manager Laura Lee Radtke, Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services David Greene, Assistant Manager of Retail Operations Leanne Evangelist, Assistant Director of Dining Services Claire Sidla and student judges Hari Khalsa ’05 and Michael Ennis ’08. The chiming of a triangle signaled the beginning and end of the 20-minute period allotted for dish preparation. At the sounding of the start signal, contestants, all of whom were wearing traditional white chef’s hats, scattered in all directions. “I had no idea of the energy that was going to be put in (to the food preparation),” Merseau said. Organizers agreed that the students’ enthusiasm and precision exceeded expectations. One student demonstrat-
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see IRON CHEF, page 7
Chris Bennett / Herald
Wednesday evening’s Iron Chef event at the Ratty deemed Josh Ziperstein ’05 the winner of the culinary competition.
195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island
BY JANE PORTER SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The Undergraduate Council of Students is currently working on creating a community-of-faith forum that will discuss the issue of religious intolerance on the Brown campus, an initiative to which some students of faith have responded with skepticism. The forum, spearheaded by Schuyler von Oeyen ’05, UCS’s alumni liaison, will meet for the first time before the end of the month to examine how students in various religious groups can feel better integrated into the overall Brown community. “I feel it is an issue that often does not get talked about,” von Oeyen said. “Many of the people who are the problem aren’t even aware of it. We want to raise awareness through this forum.” UCS members hope that by creating this small, deliberative group, they can begin to identify the issues of religious intolerance of concern to students at Brown. “There are lots of people who feel silenced on this campus,” said Ashley Harness ’05, a member of the Multi-Faith Council, an interfaith student group. “Some feel psychologically marginalized, some feel institutionally marginalized.” On an individual level, religious intolerance is exhibited by inappropriate peer interactions or in classrooms where students may feel they are described categorically or in stereotypical terms, said the Rev. Janet Cooper-Nelson, University chaplain. “I have observed a large territory of ignorance about religion,” she said. see FAITH, page 6 News tips: herald@browndailyherald.com