The Brown Daily Herald F riday, N ovember 7, 2008
Volume CXLIII, No. 108
Brown will not appeal EMS policy
what yo u wa n n a s e e
Since 1866, Daily Since 1891
Their own financial crisis: Co-ops face mounting bills Residents considering buying new houses
By Joanna Wohlmuth Senior Staff Writer
By Chris Duffy Staff Writer
Brown is no longer planning to appeal the newly enforced state policy that requires Emergency Medical Services to transport patients to Rhode Island Hospital on nights and weekends when there is no doctor at Health Services, Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services Margaret Klawunn said. Following an internal audit, the Rhode Island Division of Emergency Medical Services informed the University in July that the state planned to begin enforcing a long-standing regulation which requires ambulances to transport patients to facilities staffed by a physician. The University had planned on appealing the regulation but was told at the end of September that it was not likely to succeed. “The state pretty much said the appeal process would be all for naught,” said Safety and EMS Manager Amy Sanderson. Prior to the changes in enforcement, there was an understanding that legislation had not kept pace with developments in the use of ambulances, Klawunn said. The state had previously approved the policy of trans-
The bills are due, and Brown’s two coops don’t have the money to pay them. The Brown Association of Cooperative Housing, which manages Finlandia and Watermyn houses, is facing more than $10,000 in property taxes, maintenance and utility bills for both houses before the end of November. Board members say BACH funds, which hit a low of $52 recently, are currently short about $7000. Resi-
Compare to your peers at Brown, do you consider yourself overall to be...?
Meara Sharma / Herald Emily Borromeo ’09 and Matt Bauman ’10 in “See What You Wanna See,” a musical inspired by Japanese short stories, opening tonight.
See Arts & Culture , Page 5
Student parking returns to College Hill Administrators returned University parking to College Hill on Oct. 13, saving the University more than $200,000 on security and shuttle services for the Providence Piers lot. New parking was moved near Perkins Hall to Lot 55 on Young Orchard Avenue and to Lot 56 on Power Street. Only 28 students had
used the 250-spot Providence Piers lot, which is located over two miles from the Main Green. “While we are still responsible to pay for the lease on the (Providence Piers) property, we have been able to generate significant savings by eliminating the cost of security and the shuttle services for the off campus lot,” Assistant Vice President of Financial and Administrative Services Beth Gentry wrote in an e-mail.
Marisa Quinn, vice president of public affairs and university relations, wrote in an e-mail that the saved money will be used to fund alternative transportation. “Brown has been working to encourage students, faculty and staff to consider alternatives to bringing cars to campus” through initiatives such as providing safeRIDE services, having the Zipcar continued on page 6
Meara Sharma / Herald
The a cappella group Ursa Minors performed last night at Live on Lincoln.
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Chop shop Sarah Doyle Women’s Center has some surprising new interior decorations — car sculpture
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CAMPUS NEWS
Poll: Brunonians think highly of themselves
UCS WHO? Herald poll results show students know less than ever about the undergraduate council
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OPINIONS
consider themselves “somewhat” or “well above average.” While 40.8 percent said they considered themselves “average,” only 6.2 percent said they were below average. Barely one percent thought they were “well below average.” The results don’t seem to make statistical sense — intuitively, more than a small minority of a group must
By Emma Berry Contributing Writer
Average at Brown is pretty good — its students represent the cream of an already ambitious applicant crop. But many Brown students think even more highly of themselves, a recent Herald poll found. According to the poll, which asked students to rate themselves “overall” against their peers, 40.5 percent of Brown students
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SPOTLIGHT
Universal ordination for those who surf the Web By Sarah Husk Contributing Writer
li v e ly li n col n
ARTS & CULTURE
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THE HERALD POLL
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By Dan Alexander Contributing Writer
dents are struggling to raise money before the end of the month and are considering selling one or both of the houses. What exactly has caused the financial crisis at the co-ops is a matter of some debate. “The reality is you’re going to get a thousand different answers from a thousand people,” said Ben Biller, a student at Wheaton College and a Finlandia resident. Finlandia is located at the corner of Waterman and Brook streets, and Watermyn is on the corner of Waterman and Governor streets. “No one’s accountable because no
One afternoon this September, Mike Bohl ’11 went out on a bike ride, got a call from his old roommate and came home an ordained minister. His roommate ordained him online through the Universal Life Church. The church’s site, www. themonastery.org allows individuals to become ministers with the click of a button — really. Applicants need only fill out basic information like name and address, and then hit “ordain me.” Bohl is not alone on campus. Several Brown students can now officially add “ordained minister” to their credentials. Ministers ordained through the Modesto, Calif.-based Universal Life Church can legally perform marriages, baptisms and preside over funerals. They are not required to
across the great divide Adrienne Langlois ’10 is sick of running up against stereotypes of the South
195 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island
comply with any formal doctrine, and, according to the e-mail the church sends out to its newly ordained ministers, “Ordination is for life, without price and without question of your specific beliefs.” The only stipulation is that ministers must “always do the right thing.” The e-mail continues, “It is your responsibility to peacefully and sincerely determine the right course of action, and to avoid infringing on the rights of others.” Sid Curry-Broadbent ’11, Bohl’s former roommate, ordained himself online last spring and has ordained “a bunch of people” since then. He was researching cults and obscure religions online when he came across the Universal Life Church. “It’s a little bit absurd,” he said. Like Curr y-Broadbent, Ben
12 SPORTS
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sports weekend preview First-place Bears take on Yale in a crucial Ivy League football matchup — and more
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