Daily
Herald
the Brown
vol. cxxii, no. 33
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Since 1891
Students commemorate Japanese earthquake By Alison Silver Senior Staff Writer
To mark the one-year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan March 11, the Japanese Cultural Association invited students to place a crane on the Main Green Sunday to show solidarity with victims of the tragedy. The installation kicked off the Japan Earthquake Commemoration Series, a month of events that will commemorate the disaster, which had a profound impact on students with family in Japan and several undergraduates who were studying abroad in Japan at the time. “I had friends (in Tokyo) that I haven’t heard from since, and it still affects me until this day,” said Tyler Mantaring ’12, a member of the JCA whose study abroad program in Kyoto, Japan was cut short because of the natural disaster last spring. The aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami is “still affecting
Actress Streep donates $10,000
friends and family. I know people here who were severely affected by it,” he said. Mantaring was one of three students studying abroad in Kyoto about 450 miles away from the quake’s epicenter. Though Kyoto residents did not feel the direct effects of the earthquake, the program board decided to cancel classes and ultimately evacuated the students from Japan. The students were required to move out of their host families’ homes and return to the United States immediately following the decision. “It made sense that they made all the students go back,” said Helen Diagama ’12, though “at the time, I was really disappointed.” The Brown students in the Columbia University-facilitated program went directly home upon returning to the U.S., where they finished the remainder of their classes online, continued on page 2
A bill that would require women to get an ultrasound before having an abortion was introduced this January in the Rhode Island House of Representatives. The bill is being sponsored by Rep. Karen MacBeth, D-Cumberland, who said she has introduced a similar bill every year for the last four years.
After winning an Academy Award for Best Actress last month, Meryl Streep donated $10,000 to Segue Institute for Learning, a public charter school in Central Falls, R.I., in honor of fellow nominee Viola Davis, a Central Falls native whose niece attends Segue. The donation boosted the school’s effort to raise enough money to buy the building it currently occupies, which the bankrupt city
Under the legislation, physicians would face a civil penalty of up to $100,000 for a first offense and up to $250,000 for subsequent offenses for failing to perform
city & state an ultrasound on a patient seeking an abortion. The physicians would also be required to display ultrasound images to a patient and provide a medical descrip-
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Admin turnover may mark presidential transition By Eli Okun Senior Staff Writer
With President Ruth Simmons’ impending resignation and Executive Vice President for Planning and Senior Advisor to the President Richard Spies’ subsequent plans to step down, the University will see significant administrative turnover in the upcoming year. Such senior-level turnover
is selling as part of its financial recovery plan. Segue Institute hopes to buy the plot of land containing both the school’s current building and a recreation center next door, said Angelo Garcia, founder and director of the school. The recreation center would provide additional classroom space and serve as a center for performing arts. Garcia said he hopes Streep’s donation will serve as a “springboard to find continued on page 3
inside
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Jane Hu / Herald
Students placed cranes on the Main Green one year after the tsunami in Japan.
city & state
news....................2-3 CITY & State........4 SPORTS..................5 editorial............6 Opinions.............7
tion of the images, including “the dimensions of the embryo or fetus and the presence of external members and internal organs.” But the bill explicitly states that it would not require a woman to look at her ultrasound images. MacBeth characterized the bill as “pro-information for women.” She said that she was motivated to introduce the bill by her own
Despite going undefeated in slalom all season, the women’s ski team was a “major” underdog at the United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association National Championships last week, said Head Coach Michael LeBlanc. But the squad defied the odds and kept its streak going to the very end, winning the slalom team title — Brown’s first ever national skiing championship. Though the skiers dominated slalom all season, LeBlanc said the squad did not expect to beat the favorite, Sierra Nevada College, based in Lake Tahoe, Nev. — a prime skiing locale, especially when compared to Providence. Defeating Sierra Nevada “was sort of the women’s collegiate skiing version of the US beating Russia in the 1980 Olympics,” LeBlanc said. Sierra Nevada edged out the Bears in the giant slalom in a field of 20 schools, but Brown got the best of them in the slalom finals. Captain Kia Mosenthal ’12 said the team did not feel pressure to keep
News Analysis
Herald file photo The presidential transition phase may involve significant administrative turnover.
New policy Grad students to have more control over dissertations campus news, 2
Call to arms Leigh Thomas ’15 urges feminists to stand up opinions, 7
is consistent with the University’s history of presidential transitions, current and former administrators said, and the University is working to ensure a smooth transition between leadership. Senior-level administrators are often implicitly tied to working with the president who chooses them, said Marisa Quinn, vice president for public affairs and
Medicinal
Medical marijuana compromise reached
city & state, 8
weather
By Sarah Perelman Contributing Writer
Ski team secures national title By ashley mcdonnell Sports Editor
Bill would require ultrasound before abortion By Sinclair target Contributing Writer
Skiing
University relations. Presidentelect Christina Paxson will be meeting with members of the senior staff over the coming months to determine the best path forward for the University, Quinn said. “Senior staff at Brown, or anywhere else frankly, are selected to be part of a particular president’s administration,” Quinn said. A frequent reason for high turnover at the time of a presidential transition is the need for incoming presidents to assemble teams that can best realize their goals for the University, Quinn said. “Leading the University is a significant responsibility, and it’s essential for a president to have an administration that understands, appreciates and can implement the vision established by that leadership,” she said. Presidents sometimes create continued on page 4 t o d ay
tomorrow
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