Daily Herald the Brown
vol. cxliv, no. 83 | Tuesday, October 13, 2009 | Serving the community daily since 1891
BDS workers, U. extend negotiations Simmons takes another voluntary salary cut By Alexandra Ulmer Senior Staff writer
The fate of a new contract for dining workers remains uncertain after workers and University officials negotiating over the long weekend agreed to extend a Monday deadline. The University accepted Brown Dining Services workers’ request that
their current labor contract — which was due to expire Monday at midnight — be extended for 48 hours because the parties were unable to resolve key differences, chiefly a disagreement over employees’ health care contributions. A federal mediator will assist the parties during the next round of negotiations on Wednesday, said Roxana
Rivera, the chief negotiator for the Service Employees International Union, Local 615, which represents the workers. Rivera said negotiations collapsed on Monday when the University issued a new proposal, offering a 1 to 2 percent wage increase coupled with continued on page 2
Rally against ‘Fall Weekend’ takes on U.’s name change By Alex Bell Contributing Writer
“This is another example of political correctness, and it’s wrong,” local radio talk show host John DePetro said during Monday’s rally for Columbus Day, a demonstration against the University’s decision last spring to change the name of the holiday weekend to Fall Weekend. DePetro’s rally, hosted on the Main Green in conjunction with the Brown College Republicans and the conservative and libertarian magazine the Brown Spectator, drew an audience of about 50 — mostly community members — along with Department of Public Safety officers, who stepped in at least once to calm protesters.
Alex Bell / Herald
DPS Sergeant Kevin Pepere steps in to calm 2006 Providence mayoral candidate Chris Young during a heated exchange at Monday’s pro-Columbus rally.
“As the ultimate politically correct move, the naive, arrogant, haughty Brown faculty last year decided to side with American Indians, less than 1 percent of Brown’s student body,
and change the name of Columbus Day weekend to Fall Weekend,” said Keith Dellagrotta ’10, president of the Brown Republicans, in a speech continued on page 3
Researchers find link between ‘killer cells’ and immunity By Anita Mathews Contributing Writer
inside
Brown and McGill University researchers have discovered an important relationship between cells of the immune system — a finding that might someday benefit patients receiving bone marrow and organ transplants. T-cells — named for the thymus, where they mature — attack pathogens in the body but can sometimes harm healthy tissue. Natural killer cells, or NK-cells, were previously known to respond to viral illnesses by destroying infected cells, but have now been found to also play a key role in regulating T-cells by secreting a protein that controls inflammation. Because NK-cells prevent the immune system from over-activating, controlling the cells’ growth could help prevent organ rejection. Professor of Medical Science
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Christine Biron, who has been working with NK-cells for more than two decades and was senior author of a paper on the discovery, said the finding, published in last month’s Journal of Experimental Medicine, was somewhat unexpected. “The relationship hinted at in the paper is surprising and novel,” Biron said. “It helps explain a lot of observations that were difficult to explain in the past.” Still, there is much to be done before the finding affects patient care, said Biron and Seung-Hwan Lee, a postdoctoral research associate and first author of the team’s published paper. “To tell you the truth, we are doing very basic immunology,” Lee said. “To see a translation might take some time.” Before medical procedures can continued on page 2
By Sydney Ember Senior Staf f Writer
With administrators scrambling to cut costs in a difficult financial climate, President Ruth Simmons is trying to do her part. Simmons requested and received a roughly 10 percent reduction in her annual compensation this past year and will temporarily forgo contributions to her deferred compensation plan, according to Chancellor Thomas Tisch ’76 and top administrators. Simmons stands to make about $536,000 for the fiscal year ending this summer, down from her approximately $600,000 salary in the previous 12 months, officials said. This is the third straight year in which Simmons’ salary declined. According to the University’s most recent public tax filings, she received $636,158 in salary in the 12 months ending June 2008, with an additional $182,304 in benefits and deferred compensation. Combined, that made Simmons’ total compensation of $818,462 during the 2007-2008 academic year her highest ever, even though her salary declined. Data on any benefits and deferred compensation Simmons may receive have beyond her salary last year, or may this year, are not yet available, officials said. Tisch, the University’s top offi-
cer, said Simmons initially had the instinct to request a decrease in her salary several years ago when she noticed that the University had a growing revenue gap — a steep increase in financial aid grants was not being offset by a comparable increase in tuition. Tisch said he saw the president’s request as “a statement of recognition of a new financial paradigm.” The Corporation agreed to Simmons’ initial request in late 2007, Tisch said. “She had a very early instinct that there were going to be some tougher times ahead,” he said. Simmons’ “recognition and world view,” he added, “allowed the administration to operate through the cataclysms of last fall in a very measured way.” The president’s leadership in asking for a salary reduction has inspired many other top administrators to do similarly, Tisch said. “The president sets some awfully good standards,” he said. “It’s a great statement as to her character and her leadership.” He declined to provide further details on the number of officials who made such requests. Simmons declined to comment on her request to reduce her compensation. “I don’t feel continued on page 3
d rin k to c olu mb u s
Frederic Lu / Herald
The 11th annual Columbus Day festival was held on Federal Hill this weekend. Above, a vendor offered Italian spirits to the celebratory crowd.
Sports, 2
Metro, 5
Opinions, 7
holy smokes The Bears’ aerial assault overwhelmes the crusaders in the final seconds
hey — recycle that! Local politicians seek to increase the city’s recycling rate with a new change
not a solution Tyler Rosenbaum ’11 says criminalizing drugs is an ineffective strategy
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