THE BROWN DAILY HERALD F RIDAY, F EBR UAR Y 9, 2007
Volume CXLII, No. 13
Grad School applicant numbers at all-time high
Two students challenge Asian American admission discrimination BY IRENE CHEN STAFF WRITER
BY OLIVER BOWERS SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The number of applicants to the Graduate School has jumped over 60 percent since the 2001-2002 academic year, and though this year’s applications are not fully tallied, their number already surpassed last year’s figure of 6,282 by about 200, according to data gathered by the Grad School. The Grad School has become more selective over the same period, with its acceptance rate falling from 27 percent to 17 percent. “The single factor I’d point to as being the most important … is the Plan for Academic Enrichment, which has brought a new faculty influx at Brown,” said Dean of the Graduate School Sheila Bonde. Applications climbed 27 percent, from 3,811 to 4,844, in the 2002-03 academic year — the first class after the University launched the Plan for Academic Enrichment. The following year, the applicant pool grew by an additional 25 percent to 6,079. Andrew Foster, professor of economics and chair of the department, echoed Bonde. “Brown’s (economics department) has become more visible in certain circles,” due in part to acclaimed additions to the faculty, he said. But, he noted, it is not clear how many applicants are aware of that change in such a short period of time. Bonde also cited a 40 percent rise in stipends paid to doctoral candidates who become teaching assistants, research assistants or join fellowships as another factor attracting more grad students. “We went very quickly from continued on page 4
Since 1866, Daily Since 1891
Christopher Bennett / Herald Even though it opened in October, most students don’t notice the Sidney Frank Hall for Life Sciences.
LiSci passes by almost unnoticed BY EVAN BOGGS STAFF WRITER
It’s the most expensive building in University history and one of the largest on campus, but the Sidney Frank Hall for Life Sciences now goes ignored by most students. Throughout the day, many students follow the planned pathway of the Walk — the greensward that will eventually link Lincoln Field with the Pembroke campus — and cross beneath the skywalk that links the two wings of the LiSci, which opened in October and houses the departments of neuroscience and molecular biology, cell biology and biochem-
istry. But few students actually enter the building. “It still seems like people are still discovering it as a work space and a study space,” said Paul Krueger ’07 as he waited to meet with his thesis adviser in the LiSci. “It may look lonelier than it really is, obviously, because a lot of the space is lab space,” said Richard Spies, executive vice president for planning and senior adviser to the president. “The real life of the building is in the labs where students and faculty are working.” “If you know where to look, there’s quite a lot of activity,”
Many may pass over the question without a second thought, but identifying race or ethnicity on Brown’s undergraduate admission application has become a concern for Neil Vangala ’09. Vangala has started a group on campus called Asian Equality in Admissions, which will address discrimination in admission against Asians and Asian Americans. Vangala and Jason Carr ’09 started the group last month after learning of a recent case of supposed discrimination against Jian Li, currently a freshman at Yale University. Li filed a civil rights complaint against Princeton University, alleging that the university had discriminated against him during the admission process. “Stereotypes are ingrained in the admission process,” Carr said. “Like (Asians) are too studious, or they lack extracurricular activities.” “I think we have a right to know if (admission officers) discriminate against us after reading our names,” Vangala said. “On paper, simply because they’re Asian, you assume certain things about them.” Carr said many students at Yale think Li shouldn’t complain about where he ended up. “(Li) was such a good student, so he got into one of the Ivies that he applied to,” Carr said. “We fully realize that his complaint won’t
fully change anything.” “We think this is indicative of a trend,” Vangala said. “Jian Li is tr ying to identify a trend, but the response is that Asians should accept less.” This general ambivalence towards Li’s case was reflected in an op-ed published in the Daily Princetonian, the school’s student newspaper. The op-ed mocked Li’s complaint against the university, stating, “I so good at math and science. Perfect 2400 SAT score. Ring bells? Just in cases, let me refresh your memories. I the super smart Asian. Princeton the super dumb college, not accept me.” Chanakya Sethi, the editor in chief of the Princetonian when the op-ed was published, wrote in an e-mail to The Herald, “The piece should be judged in context with due consideration of its intent. It was run in a joke issue full of parody and satire, and our intent was to mock stereotypes.” “It’s not appropriate. It doesn’t matter who perpetuates the stereotypes,” Carr said. Vangala and Carr’s concern follows in the footsteps of a 1983 report conducted by various student groups at Brown, including the Latin American Students Organization, the Asian American Students Association and the Organization of United African Peoples. The groups used information given to them by the admission office to conclude in a continued on page 6
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Fuentes remembers three close friends D.C., during the time of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, which was a series of programs instituted to bring relief and reform to the nation during the Great Depression. For Fuentes, in a time when the rest of the world was turning to militarism and fascism, “the New Deal meant a great deal. The initiatives in themselves did not address the problem directly, but what Roosevelt did was overcome the worst effects that could have come of the Depression.” Those were the times in which economist Galbraith and authors Miller and Styron lived. According to Fuentes, by invoking the era he also invoked the three men
BY CHRISTIAN MARTELL STAFF WRITER
Tai Ho Shin / Herald Author Carlos Fuentes spoke at Hillel yesterday afternoon about three of his friends and former colleagues.
INSIDE:
3 ARTS & CULTURE
Author Carlos Fuentes praised three of his closest friends Thursday afternoon in a lecture titled “In Memoriam: John Kenneth Galbraith, Arthur Miller, William Styron,” delivered in Hillel’s Wickenden Chapel. Fuentes, an eminent Latin American political novelist who once served as Mexico’s ambassador to France and is now a professor-at-large at Brown, spoke in English a day after he delivered a lecture on his own work in Spanish, also at Hillel. Fuentes was introduced by Professor of Hispanic Studies Julio Ortega. Fuentes began by recounting his years living in Washington,
IN DA “CLUB” Sarah Doyle Gallery hosts Liz Nofzilla’s site-specfic art installation “Club,” which will blend in with the gallery for the rest of the month
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5 CAMPUS NEWS
RISD PRES TO STEP DOWN RISD President Roger Mandle will step down in 2008 following growing tensions between his administration and the faculty
Tai Ho Shin / Herald Neil Vangala ’09 (left) and Jason Carr ’09 started a new group called Asian Equality in Admissions, which confronts questions of discrimination against Asians in the admission process.
11 OPINIONS
195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island
POINT-COUNTERPOINT The Herald’s columnists debate an issue pressing to our time: What is the most effective timetable to pursue for the invasion of Fiji?
12 SPORTS
W. ICERS DOWN UCONN The women’s hockey team came away with a 2-1 overtime win against UConn, led by Savannah Smith ’09, who scored both goals
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