The Brown Daily Herald M onday, N ovember 5, 2007
Volume CXLII, No. 103
New pre-law advising draws mixed student reviews By Michael Skocpol Senior Staf f Writer
The quality of pre-law advising has been disappointing since a long-serving dean in charge of the program left as part of a larger restructuring of the Office of the Dean of the College, several pre-law students told The Herald. But others, including the copresidents of the Pre-Law Society, said they and other students have been pleased with the quality of advising since the change. This year, pre-law advising is the joint responsibility of Andrew Simmons, associate dean of the College for health and law careers, and Linda Dunleavy, associate dean of the College for fellowships and prelaw. Simmons and Dunleavy’s prior experience lies in pre-med and fellowship advising, respectively, and both are new to the pre-law field. The duo replaced long-serving prelaw adviser Perry Ashley, formerly executive associate dean of the College and now an executive associate dean in the human resources department. Simmons and Dunleavy are not alone in filling new or unfamiliar jobs. The Herald reported last month that, since Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron took her post in July 2006, a high rate of turnover in the office and the departure of a number of long-serv-
ing deans — some due in part to displeasure with the restructuring — has left the current staff of the office stretched thin, with deans taking on new responsibilities in many cases. Sources told The Herald last spring that Ashley was one of two experienced deans forced out of their posts as part of the restructuring, which was announced in Februar y by Bergeron following an external review of her office by Princeton Dean of the College Nancy Malkiel and Stanford University Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education John Bravman. Bergeron has denied that Ashley was fired. Five of eight juniors and seniors contacted by The Herald who have sought pre-law advice in individual meetings or at pre-law office events this semester expressed var ying degrees of displeasure with the advising they received. Most students contacted by The Herald said they felt Simmons and Dunleavy were working hard to learn more about pre-law advising, but several also said the new advisers’ inexperience has left them unable to answer some questions and reduced students’ confidence in the office. “I just don’t feel as though we are getting the appropriate pre-law continued on page 6
By Hannah Mintz Contributing Writer
Courtesy of Andy van Dam
Before September, Randy Pausch ’82 was relatively unknown outside of the computing world. Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, was recognized as a ground-breaking researcher in the field of computer science, particularly for founding Alice, a program for animating 3-D objects. In 2006, Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Despite tests that showed him to be free of cancer earlier in the summer, in August doctors told him that the disease had returned and was terminal. Pausch had perhaps three to six months to live. In late September, in front of a full auditorium, Pausch delivered his last lecture at CMU, titled “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.” His talk, however, had little to do with illness. Rather, for more than an hour, 400 of Pausch’s students, colleagues and friends laughed, cried and applauded at a speech that was equal parts funny, inspiring and bitterly sad. In the weeks since, footage of the lecture has been viewed more than a million times online, articles on the talk have appeared in newspapers across the country and Pausch has appeared on “Good
Carnegie Mellon Professor of Computer Science Randy Pausch ‘82, shown here during his graduation from Brown.
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ARTS & CULTURE
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CAMPUS NEWS
Tropical Storm Noel brought rain and wind to New England this weekend, but the storm didn’t prevent students interested in combating climate change from gathering on and off campus. Some students rallied in Providence for environmental activism, and others attended a weekendlong summit on global warming in Maryland. A subdued rally was held Sunday morning in front of Faunce House. Approximately 40 students gathered to listen to speeches and raise awareness about environmental issues. Around half of those students then boarded a RIPTA trolley — rented by the group for the afternoon with the help of President Ruth Simmons, according to Shane Easter ’10 who helped organize the event. The group headed for a rally to fight climate change in Rhode Island at the Roger Williams Park Zoo. Easter, who helped organize the rally at Brown, said he was happy with the turnout. “Because it was more intimate,” he said, “it made the messages go deeper.” Easter said it was more important for the rally to make a big impact on fewer people
Meara Sharma/ Herald Saturday’s Awaaz-a-palooza featured performances from more than a dozen campus groups. The event was sponsored by Awaaz, the South Asian journal of arts, and BOMBS.
By Sam Byker Contributing Writer
INSIDE:
Global warming rallies heat up
A w aa z - a - pal o o z a
Pausch ’82 finds audience for last lecture
‘On the road’ The Student Creative Arts Council’s annual MESH party paid homage last Thursday to Jack Kerouac’s novel.
Since 1866, Daily Since 1891
OFFSETTING CARBON Some student activists want the University to spend a recent gift on local carbon offsets
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OPINIONS
195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island
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The ins and outs of UCS’ parliamentary procedure By Franklin Kanin Senior Staf f Writer
This Wednesday, student group leaders eager to take part in the debate over an increase in the Student Activities Fee may attend their first Undergraduate Council of Students general body meeting. As the debate drags on, students may spend their first several hours in Petteruti Lounge wondering why questions are introduced with a “point of inquiry” and why discussions are structured with speaker lists. These terms are par t of UCS’ parliamentar y procedure, a longtime staple of the council intended to make meetings run more smoothly and give members equal time for discussion. Many find the procedure only serves to complicate, while others think it ensures fairness. “The purpose of the procedure is to make sure UCS does things fairly and openly,” said UCS Student Activities Chair Drew Madden ’10, who serves as parliamentarian pro tempore. “Everyone knows the rules we’re playing by.” UCS Communications Chair Gabe Kussin ’09 said parliamentary procedure provides a framework necessar y for r unning smooth meetings. “I’ve seen what On random hookups Sam Loomis ‘10 offers a spirited examination of John Stuart Mill and his relevance to hooking up.
happens when you suspend the rules, and it can get pretty crazy, so having a framework is important.” UCS President Michael Glassman ’09 said he can see the benefits of parliamentary procedure, but a strict focus on rules can prove frustrating. “It’s supposed to help things run smoothly and instead of having a crazy free-forall debate, it gives it some structure and organization,” he said. “Sometimes it gets really annoying and frustrating — when you’re voting on whether to vote, and everyone’s confused.” Some of the procedures do not seem necessary, Glassman said, and he usually does not worr y about whether or not every aspect of procedure is followed. “When someone wants to ask a question, and they have to say ‘point of order’ or ‘inquiry,’ ... it gets a little ridiculous,” he said. “I try not to stick to that too heavily. If you have a question and you don’t say the right thing, I’ll call on you if you have a question.” Procedure can be frustrating for members sometimes, Glassman said. He noted a time when UCS took a straw poll — a noncommittal vote where members
12 SPORTS
continued on page 4 Field hockey wins After 16 straight losses, the field hockey finally pulled out a win Saturday in their final game at Yale.
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