Daily
Herald
the Brown
vol. cxxii, no. 32
Monday, March 12, 2012
Since 1891
Senator talks partisan politics, SNL Student By Morgan Johnson Senior Staff Writer
Former Saturday Night Live cast member and current junior United States senator Al Franken, D-Minn., proved that his comedic chops are still fully intact Sunday afternoon. Franken, who accepted the Brown Democrats’ 2012 John F. Kennedy Jr. Award for inspiring youth in politics, spoke about policy and his experiences in a divided Congress to a crowd in MacMillan 117. Franken touched on some of his successful initiatives that passed during a difficult legislative term for Democrats. Franken authored a health care provision requiring insurance companies to adhere to a minimum medical loss ratio, which would designate
wages increase 3 percent
at least 85 percent of premium payments to be used strictly for medical care in large group plans. The provision passed and has already helped lower the cost of large-group insurance plans, in some cases by as much as 10 percent, according to Franken. “There is plenty to celebrate,” Franken said of recent legislative action, citing the overturn of the ban on stem cell research and the conclusion of the war in Iraq, but he added that Democrats need to significantly step it up in the future to push legislative goals. “Every minute we stop pushing … is a minute Republicans spend pushing in the other direction,” he said. continued on page 2
By Maddie berg Staff Writer
grams have focused on greening the local environment through urban gardens and forests, reducing energy use through stricter standards and increasing walkability and bikeability within the city. “The eds and the meds are something that we focus on here to allow us to do better than most regions, if you look at our unemployment rate, which is far below the state average and the national average,” Ravenstahl said. Ravenstahl went on to discuss the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, which has been an engine of the city’s growth and
The wages of on-campus student employees will increase by 3 percent starting the next fiscal year, based on a recommendation the University Resources Committee approved last month. The wage increase — a routine activity to ensure students are being paid as much as possible — makes it easier for students on financial aid to fulfill their work-study expectations or campus employment programs while only working eight to 12 hours a week, said James Tilton, director of financial aid. The increase also responds to both state and federal minimum wages, which can increase from year to year. “We like to be ahead of the curve with that,” said Tracy Frisone, senior assistant director of financial aid. Currently, the University’s minimum wage is $8.45 per hour, while Rhode Island’s is $7.40 per hour and the country’s is $7.25 per hour. Mark Schlissel P’15, provost and URC chair, said the committee decided to approve this request as education grows more expensive. “Students are being called upon to contribute more and more to either the cost of their education or
continued on page 3
continued on page 3
Hilary Rosenthal / Herald
U.S. Senator Al Franken, D-Minn., addressed the Hill’s benefits and drawbacks.
Students Conference tackles sustainable urbanism petition U. to increase pay to city By Aparaajit Sriram Senior Staff Writer
Roughly 60 students delivered a petition with more than 600 signatures from students, staff, faculty and alums to the University Friday, demanding Brown increase
city & state its payments to Providence. The group, Brown for Providence, advocates increasing the University’s financial support to the city to rebuild the relationship. The group entered University Hall just after noon Friday to present the petition to President Ruth Simmons. Since Simmons was not in her office, they gave it to an administrator, who promised the president would receive it. “I think this petition demonstrates that there is a growing feeling the University is not doing enough to support its city,” said Zack Mezera ’13, who helped organize the petition. Brown contributed more than $4 million last year in voluntary and tax payments to the city. The protesters have previously asked Brown to approximately double its voluntary payments with an
inside
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news.....................2-3 ARTS...........................4 Features.................5 editorial................6 Opinions.................7 SPORTS.....................8
BrownBares uncovers student bodies for student body By Jordan Hendricks Assistant Features Editor
It has been called a microcosm of Brunonian culture, a “Craigslist for Brown” and an inspiration for students and alums to pose nude on the roof of the GeoChem Building,
feature
Courtesy of BrownBares.com
Students post self-pictures, some playful and others explicit, to a public website.
Big band
Wind symphony branches out in semester’s first show Arts & Culture, 4
in Faunce House, in Sayles Hall, in Steinert Practice Center and in Salomon Center. While much of the hype of BrownBares.com on campus has died down, the site remains active months after its creation in mid-November. BrownBares is a “subreddit” of reddit.com, a site that allows users to submit photos and comment
Homeless Dear Paxson New homeless day center supports needy
News, 5
Johnson ’14 calls on new president to innovate
Opinions, 7
weather
By Adam toobin Senior Staff Writer
The urban studies department hosted a two-day conference on sustainable urbanism this weekend, highlighting new challenges cities face to become cleaner, healthier, greener and less socioeconomically stratified. The conference, titled “The City off the Hill: Working Together for Sustainable Urbanism,” took place in MacMillan 117 and included six panels and a video-streamed keynote speech by Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl Friday. With panels like “Transportation Alternatives,” “Greening the Urban Environment” and “Afford-
able and Efficient Housing,” the conference brought together experts from various fields to tackle the issue of sustainable cities from many angles. Ravenstahl, 32 — who became mayor of Pittsburgh at the age of 26 — spoke in his keynote address about programs he has implemented to transform Pittsburgh from a declining steel town to what Forbes Magazine called “America’s most livable city.” These initiatives have focused on diversifying the economy with the help of “eds and meds” — educational institutions and hospitals — to bring in industries like biotechnology, information technology and alternative energy. Other pro-
on others’ submissions under selfcreated usernames. While certainly not the only site of its kind, BrownBares is one of the only “not suitable for work” subreddits exclusive to a university. With approximately 1,000 to 2,000 unique hits every day, dozens of users and nearly 300 subscribers, “the place in which Brown bares all” has occupied a unique niche in Brown’s culture of sexual positivity. Submissions feature Brownrelated humor and cultural references — one user posed with his cyclohexane model from organic chemistry, and other posters have censored their faces with photoshopped images of Bruno logos. continued on page 5
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