THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 2006
Volume CXLI, No. 40
www.browndailyherald.com
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891 FUELING THE FIRE The liquor license for Club Diesel is currently under review following a series of violent incidents near the night club METRO 3
HIT THE RIGHT NOTE post- scours the Brown music scene to see if the next OK Go is living down the hall INSIDE
Meeting House Commencement tradition in jeopardy
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the last issue of The Herald before spring break. Publication will resume Monday, April 3.
TODAY
TOMORROW
partly cloudy 47 / 32
mostly cloudy 42 / 32
LIVING ON A PRAYER
Corporation to decide this month how to accommodate large senior class BY ALISSA CERNY STAFF WRITER
Due to the large size of the class of 2006 and heightened enforcement of fire regulations, it will be impossible to seat the entire senior class in the Meeting House of the First Baptist Church in America during the College ceremony, which is held on the Sunday of Commencement Weekend. The Brown Corporation is considering two possible solutions to the problem and is expected to make a decision by the end of the month, according to Russell Carey ’91, vice president and secretary of the University. Carey informed seniors of the space constraint in an e-mail sent March 9. Traditionally, the Meeting House, which is located at 75 North Main St., is used for the College ceremony, which includes the singing of the nation anthem, the University chaplain’s invocation, senior orations and the conferring of baccalaureate degrees by the president. The Meeting House was initially built in 1775 to provide a venue for public worship as well as a space for Brown’s Commencement. Since 1776, some portion of all but two Commencement ceremonies has occurred in the historic Meeting House. But the size of this year’s graduating class poses a problem. The class of 2006 is larger than previous classes due to increases in actively enrolled students and what Carey called “inactive termed students” — students who are not enrolled this semester but are nearing completion and may graduate in the spring. The estimated size of the class of 2006 is 1,607 students, Carey said. The Meeting House can accommodate 1,322 students in the lower sanctuary and balcony, while 30 students would be permitted to stand in the back. Even though only 92 percent of students typically participate in the College ceremony, this number would still exceed the capacity of the Meeting House. Carey said he estimates a potential overflow of between 120 and 160 students. It remains uncertain how large the
Jean Yves Chainon / Herald
problem will be because it is difficult to predict attendance for the College ceremony, Carey said. The first possible solution being considered by the Corporation involves seating overflow students in a tent outside the Meeting House in an area usually reserved for Corporation and faculty members, Carey said. Students in the tent would be able to watch the ceremony on video and audio simulcast. In this scenario, senior orations would be delivered on the Main Green during the University ceremony, which is also held on Sunday, rather than in the Meeting House. This would allow all students, parents and faculty to hear the orations in person. Relocating the senior orations would shorten the Meeting House ceremony to approximately 15 minutes. Because it takes almost 40 minutes to seat the entire class, President Ruth Simmons has offered to make brief remarks to extend the length of the College ceremony, Carey said. Students seated in the tent would return to the Main Green first for the University Ceremony so they could receive the best seating, Carey said. The second possibility would have the entire senior class walk through the Meeting House without being seated and return immediately to the Main Green, where both the College and University ceremonies would be held. Last year, the size of the graduating class posed a similar problem when an estimated 1,379 students participated in the College ceremony. This figure exceeded the capacity of the Meeting House by about 20 students. In order to hold the ceremony in the Meeting House, the University must receive approval from the Providence fire marshal. Carey said the fire marshal and other officials from the Providence Fire Department raised concerns about last year’s ceremony. “Last spring we had an issue with the fire department, and we’ve continued to talk to them since,” Carey said. “Through a combination of discussions with the fire marshal and estimating the size of this year’s class it became clear we were going to have to make a change.” Stanley Lemons, chairman of the properties and sexton committee for the church, said church officials have been discussing the issue with University administrators for a few weeks, though he concedes there is not much that church officials can do to remedy the problem. “They won’t change the interior of the church — the pews date back to the 1790s,” Lemons said. “We regret the thought of the University leaving, but it’s their issue and we’ll let them use the building to whatever extent the fire marshals will allow.” Regarding possible solutions, Carey said, “We’re certainly open to other suggestions. But given the time that is left these seem like the most likely solutions to implement.” Carey said he does not anticipate an overflow for the Saturday baccalaureate ceremony. If, however, a tent is neces-
Jacob Melrose / Herald
Students intently watched the progression of last night’s housing lottery.
Major resignations may hinder U.’s plans
Three top posts to be vacated this summer BY ERIC BECK NEWS EDITOR
When Provost Robert Zimmer assumes the presidency of the University of Chicago this summer, he will leave his senior administrative post at the same time that the dean of the college and the vice president for research step down. With the risk that vacancies in three top posts could stall University decision-making and projects, University officials say they aim to quickly name replacements for all three positions. Zimmer leaves the University at a time when the provost’s role is increasingly important. The University is pursuing new initiatives as part of the Plan for Academic Enrichment, and President Ruth Simmons is spending much of her time away from campus promoting a $1.4 billion fundraising drive. “It’s always a challenge when a senior administrator leaves. The timing can be
better or worse depending on the circumstances,” said Professor of Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences Sheila Blumstein, who served as interim president prior to Simmons’ arrival. “This is a wonderful opportunity for (Zimmer), but unfortunately I think the timing is not great for Brown.” Simmons told The Herald Zimmer’s departure will not hurt the University because his role will be quickly filled in order to sustain continuity. “We have a good number of people in place who have the institutional memory to continue the work. We have momentum. Once we appoint someone, we’ll be able to move ahead without skipping a beat,” she said. The details of the search process for a new provost are not yet clear, but Simmons said she is currently soliciting feedback from administrators, departsee VACANCIES, page 9
DTau tries a new move: recruiting non-wrestlers BY AIDAN LEVY STAFF WRITER
Delta Tau, the fraternity traditionally known to attract members of the wrestling team, has broken from tradition this year to include students ranging from lacrosse players to members of the Brown Standup Comics in order to retain oncampus housing privileges in the face of dwindling numbers. Of DTau’s 31 pledges, all are first-years, there is not a single wrestler and the majority of them are not athletes, according to Eddie Chacon ’07 and John Lentini ’07, the fraternity’s copresidents. From at least 2003 until last year, DTau members and alums have had a dispute with Dave Amato, head coach of the wrestling team, since Amato issued an ultimatum that wrestlers would have to choose between Greek life and partic-
The Meeting House of the First Baptist Church in America is not big enough to hold this year’s senior class.
see OVERFLOW, page 5
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ipation on the team, as reported in The Herald last year. Since 2003, no wrestlers have pledged DTau, and the fraternity’s membership has hovered around 10. Of DTau’s 10 current members, two are wrestlers who pledged in 2002 and are graduating this year. Amato declined to comment for this article. DTau’s problems precede the controversy with Amato. In 1997, the University revoked the fraternity’s on-campus housing privileges, due to “unreasonably disruptive” behavior over a half decade, The Herald reported in 1998. The fraternity maintained itself off-campus and returned to campus in the fall of 2002. Amato told The Herald last year he intervened when he was called to give under-oath testimony to the police regarding a September 2003 assault that took place after a party see DTAU, page 7 News tips: herald@browndailyherald.com