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By Kate nuSSenBauM Contributing Writer
the Brown
Herald
Since 1891
Ne wS iN BRief
Some critics of the Chafee-Raimondo bill argue it limits retiree buying power and disproportionally burdens female public employees.
With a new pension reform bill now under consideration in the General Assembly, competing groups converged on the State House rotunda Wednesday to make their voices heard.
group backing the legislation, held back-to-back rallies. Gov. Lincoln Chafee 75 P14 and General Treasurer Gina Raimondo spoke at the EngageRI rally. Current Rhode Island staterun and municipal pension plans have a combined shortfall of about $9.4 billion. As the joint House and Senate Finance Committees reached the end of the first of three hearings on the legislation yesterday, Rhode Island Council 94 rallied in opposition to the bill. The union is denouncing the new proposal because it will eliminate
the retirement security of tens of thousands of Rhode Island working men and women, according to the unions press release issued yesterday. Its unfair to everyone, Rhode Island Council 94s State Vice President Lynn Loveday told The Herald. The retirees take a certain hit, and (the state government) is asking people at the worst time in history to take a risk, she said. Loveday added that she represents over 4,000 state workers, all opposed to pension reform. The proposed legislation, the
Rhode Island Retirement Security Act of 2011, would freeze costof-living-adjustments and reduce guaranteed benefits paid to pensioners by placing state workers in a new hybrid plan. The plan would combine a reduced defined contribution payment a defined benefit account similar to a 401(k) and regular Social Security payments. All state employees, teachers and municipal employees excluding police and fire departments would be enrolled in the plan, which will also continued on page 3
A more learned occupation UCS votes for $72 Professors support activities fee hike Occupy movement
by teaching, speaking, signing
By Margaret nicKenS Contributing Writer By Katrina PhilliPS Senior Staff Writer
Over 130 faculty members have pledged support for the Occupy movement.
The first thing I thought was, See, I told you so, Loury said. In an August conversation for video discussion blog Blog-
gingheads.tv, Loury predicted the Occupy protests when he said he continued on page 2
The Undergraduate Council of Students approved a resolution calling for a $72 increase to next years student activities fee at its general body meeting last night. UCS originally suggested a $22 increase, but Jason Lee 12, chair of the Undergraduate Finance Board, made an impassioned plea for a larger increase. The resolution calls for raising the total fee to $250. Student Activities Chair Mae Cadao 13, a Herald senior finance associate and sponsor of the resolution, said Margaret Klawunn,
vice president for campus life and student services, had expressed support for an increase. Cadao said she hopes Klawunn will advocate the increase in her upcoming discussions with the University Resources Committee. She said Klawunn encouraged her not to lowball the increase. In the past, the URC has often approved much smaller fee increases, so the council determined it would be preferable to ask for more money. Students at Brown pay far more in student activities fees than their counterparts at wealthier institucontinued on page 4
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THURSDAY 12 P.M. Napoleons Death Mask, John Hay Library, Lownes Room 2:30 P.M. Poetry Reading by ed Broberson, McCormack family Theater 5 P.M. film Screening: The Doctor, CareerLAB OCTObER 27 FRIDAY 8 P.M. wind Symphony Concert, Grant Recital Hall OCTObER 28
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SHARPE REFECTORY Chicken Milanese, Vegan Tacos, Vegan Nuggets with Dipping Sauce, Vegan Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies VERNEY-WOOLLEY DINING HALL LUNCH Chicken Caesar Salad wrap, eggplant Parmesan, Vegan Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
which time nearly half the audience had already left. Loury said his name is not on the faculty petition because he was not aware of it until it was too late to sign it. Though he has visited Occupy Boston and discussed the protests in another Bloggingheads.tv video Wednesday, he said he has not seriously discussed the movement with colleagues in the economics department. Professors cited a variety of motivations for supporting the Occupy movement, though many pointed to increasing inequality as their primary concern. As students at an elite university should be aware, education is a facet of American life especially characterized by inequality, and Zamindar said he hopes the movement will work toward making educational resources more widely accessible. Professor of Sociology Patrick Heller, who spoke at the teach-in and signed the faculty petition, pointed to political inequality in America, saying the wealthiest 1 percent exerts undue influence over the political system. Though some have claimed the movement lacks direction, Heller said its amorphous nature makes historical sense. No movement in its infancy has a platform. Movements start as reactions to something, he said. Maybe over time, as they consolidate and as they organize, they may start to generate specific proposals. Lynne Joyrich, associate professor of modern culture and media, said she signed the petition and spoke at the teach-in because she believes the movement is trying to deal with the integration of many issues, including gender, race and class disparities. Joyrich has also visited the Occupy Providence encampment in Burnside Park to show her support. She said the media has oversimplified the Occupy protests in order to sell a product. Some media only give a story serious consideration if it can be quickly encapsulated into a sound bite, Joyrich said. The fact that (the Occupy movement) does not do that means that people dismiss it by saying, Oh, it doesnt have a message. She said she hopes the movement will push the media to reWhy they signed
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consider the definition of meaningful conversation. In addition to signing the petition, Bianca Dahl, postdoctoral fellow in anthropology and population studies, discussed the movement in class with students. During her lecture, she presented articles, statistics and anthropological theories published about the Occupy movement. By sparking an in-class discussion about the media portrayal of Occupiers, Dahl said she hopes students will apply the theoretical tools they have learned in class to gain a better understanding of the protests. As of last Thursday, Dahl said she had not yet visited an Occupy encampment. In some sense, (lecturing about the movement) is the strongest vote of solidarity that I can give, Dahl said. Mark Blyth, professor of political science, has also lectured on the movement not in a classroom, but at Occupy Boston. Blyth, who hails from Scotland, told Occupiers he immigrated to the United States in search of a multi-cultural, exciting society that no longer exists. This isnt the place I joined 20 years ago. This is Brazil in the 1960s. This is Mexico in the 1970s. This is the income distribution of a developing country, Blyth said in his speech. The Congressional Budget Office issued a report Tuesday confirming that income inequality and the relative affluence of the top 1 percent of earners continues to grow. Professors at other schools, including Columbia, Oberlin College, the University of California at Berkeley and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, have also signed petitions supporting the Occupy movement. Ania Loomba, a professor of English at Penn, organized a faculty petition in support of the movement at her school to promote greater consciousness about what is the problem in America, she said. The petition received over 100 signatures, mostly from humanities professors. A few Penn students expressed discontent with the wording of the petition. In an Oct. 16 editorial in the Daily Pennsylvanian, senior Brian Goldman wrote that Loombas petition expressed a number of political beliefs, such as anti-war and anti-Medicaid sentiments, that he believes are unrelated to the Occupy movement. Goldman told The Herald he feels the professors are imposing a democratic wish list on a financially focused movement. Across the board, professors expressed a desire to see more campus engagement with the movement. We, as scholars, as researchers, as students, have a particular burden to pay attention, to engage more, to learn more from a movement like Occupy rather than judge it at a distance, Zamindar said.
Beyond the hill
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Public workers wary Rallies critique, support pension reform of draconian changes
continued from page 1 ment account that would contribute to their income. Witnesses represented a diverse array of organizations, including the AARP and prominent public employee unions such as the National Education Association of Rhode Island the states largest teachers union and Council 94 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Rhode Islands largest public employee union. Public school teachers and retirees almost all of whom spoke against the proposed bill comprised the majority of witnesses. Phil Keefe, president of the Service Employees International Union and a member of the pension advisory group tasked by the governor and treasurer with examining reform options, was the first witness to address the finance committees. He stressed the importance of ensuring that reforms avoid draconian changes and provisions favoring special interest groups. The bill has failed miserably on both accounts, he said. He explained that the bill would not force the highest wage earners into the hybrid program, and that only the serfs would suffer. He added that though the current budget shortfall is a serious problem, claims that it is a crisis requiring immediate action are exaggerated. Maureen Martin, director of political activities for the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals and secretary-treasurer of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, addressed the increase in the amount of work hours per week required to be eligible for a pension. The increase from 20 to 35 hours would significantly hurt female employees, who make up the majority of workers depending on low-wage, part-time jobs, she said. One witness claimed it would reduce retirees buying power and ultimately hurt the states economy. Others said it was unfair to health care workers who took state jobs for less pay than they could have received elsewhere in exchange for retirement security and argued that it undermines the value of work in unfair and inequitable ways. The bill has been characterized as a math problem, but right now, its a civil and human rights problem, said Frank Flynn, president of the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals. The speakers were not all against the bill. More than 20 individuals signed up to testify in favor of the reforms, including many small business owners. The hearings will continue tomorrow and next Tuesday. Public safety employees, correctional officers, state police and judges will address the committees during the second hearing, and the third hearing will focus on independent pension plans that are not included in the Municipal Employee Retirement System.
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UCS approves increase to student activities fee
continued from page 1 tions such as Harvard, Princeton and Yale, where most funding comes from the administration. UCS President Ralanda Nelson 12 said student activity funding will continue to lag until the student activities endowment reaches its $17 million fundraising goal. Lee, the UFB chair, told the council that UFB can currently only fund student groups budget requests up to 60 percent. He said a larger fee could bring about an increase in the $25 publicity limit for larger events, funding of coaches for competitive groups such as debate and chess and larger travel allowances. He also said more funding would improve the quality of Fall Concert and Spring Weekend. UCS Vice President David Rattner 13 said the $72 increase request is as much a statement as it is anything. He said it should send a message to the URC that this is something students are passionate about and referenced the 2007 budget debate, when UCS requested a $54 increase and only received an increase of $18. A higher student activities fee would not raise tuition but instead would divert funds from the total tuition increase already set by the URC. Representatives from the Fall Ivy Policy Conference held this year at Brown and the Brown Mock Trial team spoke during community time, expressing their support for an increase and their frustration with the limited funds available for travel and event hosting. Bonnie Kim 12, Ivy Council policy chair, said last weekends policy conference had a budget about 10 percent the size of those for Ivy Council policy conferences hosted at other universities. Following the passage of the resolution, the council held its semiannual vote of confidence in Rattner and Nelson, before which council members unanimously praised their leadership.
Have you ever wondered why some places on campus are so creepy? Here are speculations about places on campus that may or may not be haunted.
rials history stems from a love story. Rush Hawkins, devastated by the death of his wife, and granddaughter of Nicholas Brown 1786, Annmary, built a mausoleum for her remains to rest in peace. Now, both of them are entombed at the very end of the memorial, which also houses an exhibit of European and American paintings from the 17th to the 20th centuries. Why its probably haunted: Its a tomb. There are skeletons underneath the stone floors. Thats the first sign of ghosts roaming around. The underground tunnels that connect many University buildings are not limited to Keeney and Wriston quadrangles. The oldest ones are on Pembroke campus, right underneath Andrews Hall. Though the tunnels were originally intended to be used for maintenance and convenient access to important buildings when the weather was rough, they were converted into bomb shelters in the 1960s in the midst of theCold War. Why its probably haunted: Many have tried to stealthily sneak down to the tunnels, only to be disappointed by the obstacles impeding the journey. The spook factor of the Keeney tunnels is one of those first-year thrills that will never get old. And with rumors of muggings, rape and other illegal behavior, one cannot help but wonder what really went down underground after hours.
Keeney tunnels
Herald file photo
Officially named Edward Bannister House, it served as the main residence for Edward Bannister and his wife, Christiana, from 1884 to 1899. The building was purchased and renovated in the 1930s by Euchlin Reeves, who turned it into a museum that housed his personal collection of antiques. Brown bought the property in 1989, and it had a brief stint as a rental property for student housing. It was closed in the mid-1990s and subsequently fell into severe disrepair. Why its probably haunted: If you have ever walked down Benevolent Street at night, it is hard to ignore the chilling aura of its barred windows and boarded up entrance. The spooky house has a mysterious appeal worthy of an R. L. Stine series. The Annmary Brown Memoannmary Brown Memorial
As the first building constructed on campus, University Hall has a better-than-average chance of being haunted.
Built for the family of Ellen Dexter Sharpe in 1912, the house became an extension of RISD after Sharpes death in 1953. Brown got its hands on the house shortly after, in 1955, making it an all-female dormitory. An extension, known as the New House, was added in 1975 to accommodate more students into the building. Then in 1989, the Sharpe residences name was officially changed to Antonio Machado House, in honor of the Spanish poet. A bust of Machado that now sits comfortably on the front entrance driveway was originally in the Annmary Brown memorial but was moved for the renaming of the building. Why its probably haunted: New house members are forced to sleep with one eye open by haunting tales of whispers in the dark, mys-
Machado house
terious screams coming from the hallways and supernatural forces that seem to inhabit Old House rooms. University Hall was the first building on campus, constructed in 1770. During the Revolutionary War, thehallwas used as barracks
university hall
for American troops and then converted into an army hospital. According to Providence Ghost Tours, the contorted face of a soldier canbe seen out a second-floor window. Why its probably haunted: Every hospital has its horror stories. And its also the oldest building on campus.
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Administrators now have access to calendar items stored in Google Calendar, documents produced in Google Docs, even photos in Picasa and articles in Google Reader. Brown operates with many of the trappings of the criminal justice system including a police force and a disciplinary process and should offer similar protections. In the real world, police would need a search warrant from a judge prior to accessing similar information. There is no analogous requirement for independent authorization at Brown. While we recognize that the unique circumstances of a university environment may necessitate less stringent protection, the current system gives no protection. interests in providing a secure community and managing its resources. One of the primary challenges in researching this policy was the sheer lack of transparency related to it. Community members have only very limited information on the policys history of use and mechanism of operation. The University should publicly provide basic, non-identifying narratives on all instances of email access by administrators at the conclusion of every semester. This requirement would not be difficult to implement. CIS already records these non-identifying narratives in its help desk system. This reporting mechanism is also analogous to the one used by the Universitys disciplinary apthe context of the Brown community, because we do not operate a judicial system analogous to the state or federal systems. In addition, a requirement to seek a warrant may create unnecessary hurdles in contexts where protections are not warranted, such as invocation of the email access privilege at the request of a student who forgets his or her password. In order to provide the protections of the warrant system while preventing unnecessary hassle for administrators, attempts to use the email access privilege for purposes that may lead to disciplinary proceedings should require authorization by the University Disciplinary Council. Since the privilege is apparently rarely used in disciplinary proceedings, it should not be too onerous to seek authorization in the rare instances where violation of privacy may lead to substantial consequences for a community member. If the University were to implement the aforementioned reforms, it would be the first of its peers to do so. The fact that Brown would be unique should not dissuade reform, however. Instead, it should be incentive to pursue it. Brown is no stranger to novel reform that has improved the lives of its students. From its founding as the first nondenominational university in America to its introduction of the New Curriculum, Brown has consistently pursued potentially controversial innovation. University Hall should continue this tradition and implement a fair email privacy policy. ian eppler 13 is the president of the Brown chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU meets Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. in wilson 106.
The Universitys Emergency Access to Accounts and Information policy grants University administrators and law enforcement officers unfettered access to seemingly private information stored in student, faculty and staff email, calendar and document accounts, and does so with an alarming lack of transparency. Although public information on this privilege is limited to a Herald article from last semester (University officials read Brown e-mails, Feb. 25), a vague description on the CIS website and a few sentences buried in a July email to the student body, here is how we believe the policy operates. A department head may send an access request to the chief of public safety, the directors of Health Services or Psychological Services, the vice president for campus life and student services, the assistant vice president of human resources, the provost or the vice president of administration. One of those administrators then has complete discretion to order CIS to grant access to data. That is all. The policy includes no guidelines for use of this privilege against students, no requirement that students be notified when their data has been accessed and no provision for community oversight. Additionally, the expansion of Browns electronic services with the migration to Google Apps puts even more private data under the purview of this policy.
fortunately, some simple reforms would produce a privacy policy that balances important privacy protections with the schools interests in providing a secure community and managing its resources.
The University wields a great deal of power over its students, who can be arrested by the Department of Public Safety. The administration can expel students from the University. With this degree of power, some level of due process and oversight is warranted. The administration defends the policy by asserting that it is infrequently used. Because there is so little transparency, we just cannot be sure. Regardless of frequency of use, this power is still an egregious violation of students privacy. Fortunately, some simple reforms would produce a privacy policy that balances important privacy protections with the schools paratus and DPS, so it is certainly not unprecedented. With the implementation of this reporting system, community members would be able to monitor the privileges use, which would help to preclude any possible instances of inappropriate use. As stated above, analogous searches by local, state or federal law enforcement would require the acquisition of a search warrant, which requires law enforcement to justify a need for a search to a judge. The process of acquiring a warrant helps to prevent unjustified invasions of privacy by requiring independent authorization. It would be difficult, however, to implement a warrant system in
Last Thursday night, students almost overflowed Salomon 001 to hear a speech by Justin Lin, the current chief economist and senior vice president of the World Bank. The title of his talk was Demystifying the Chinese Economy. It was a very insightful and inspiring speech, but I find Lins personal story even more interesting. This expert on Chinas economy was actually born in Taiwan. Before coming to mainland China, Lin was a captain in the Republic of China Army, which is part of the Taiwanese military. But he saw the mainland as his motherland and wanted to go back. When he was 27, he swam across the Taiwan Strait from the island of Kinmen to Xiamen, which is in the Fujian province of the Peoples Republic of China. With only two basketballs as flotation devices, Lin swam 8 kilometers to the other side of the strait. Soon after, he went to Beijing to get a masters degree in political economics at Peking University. The Taiwanese military, unable to track him down, declared him missing after one year and compensated his family. Lin has stated that based on my cultural, historical, political, economic and military understanding, it is my belief that returning to the motherland is a historical inevitabil-
The gap between the two identities is definitely wider than a 2.3-kilometer swim in bitterly cold water and life-threatening danger.
Does one always have to choose between Taiwanese and Chinese identities? It is already difficult to be a Taiwanese American, but to be Taiwanese Chinese is almost impossible. Between 1945 and 1991, the government in Taiwan claimed that it was the only lawful government for mainland China. But the One-China policy, supported by the Peoples Republic of China and many other countries, asserts there is only one China and Taiwan is part of it. The Peoples Republic of China thus disputes Taiwans sovereignty by claiming Taiwan is ethnically Han and theredents that Taiwan is historically a province of China and all they want is to get it back, while the Taiwanese tend to imagine the mainland as much more underdeveloped and totally authoritarian. But reality contrasts with these imagined depictions. Chinese travelers find Beijing more modern and attractive after taking in the urban landscape of Taipei. The Taiwanese report similar experiences and sentiments: They sometimes find the mainlanders to not be very civilized and hesitant to follow some rules. The derision runs both
a pros prose
The case of Jessica Ahlquist, a junior at Cranston High School West, who demanded to have the prayer banner hanging in her high schools gym taken down, was argued Oct. 13 in federal court and is under consideration by U.S. District Judge Ronald Lagueux. Ahlquist filed the case with the American Civil Liberties Union against the city of Cranston and the Cranston School Committee in April, calling the display of a prayer banner in a public high school unconstitutional. Steven Brown, executive director of the Rhode Island affiliate of the ACLU, said he hopes Lagueux hands down a ruling within the next two months. The ACLU originally became involved in the case in July 2010, when a parent filed a complaint with the organization about the banner, Ahlquist said.
When the ACLU asked the school to take it down, Ahlquist vocally supported its removal, she said. According to an April 21 article in The Herald, the case was originally filed by Ahlquist in early April following the Cranston School Committees 4-3 vote to keep the banner on display. It was then that the ACLU asked Ahlquist to be the plaintiff for the case. ACLU members spent the time between the filing of the suit and the court date in October filing briefs, preparing the case and researching the history of the banner, Brown said. Ahlquist has been a tremendous help during the process, Brown said. She shoulders this case, he said, adding that she is a marvelous example of fortitude and eloquence in defending her position. Over the course of the case, Ahlquist has faced harassment, Brown said.
Ahlquist said students have written and talked about her and have approached her directly to tell her they think what she is doing is wrong. The most vocal people are against me, Ahlquist said. People who support me are quiet. Despite the backlash, Ahlquist said she feels positive about the case. After the creation of a Facebook group in support of her cause, Ahlquist has received support from over 2,200 group members. That is my biggest support group, she said, adding that it makes her feel she is not alone. The judge did not give any indication of how much time his ruling would take, Brown said. For now Ahlquist and the ACLU are playing the waiting game, Ahlquist said. Her lawyers have told her that, with the possibility of appeals after the ruling, the case could go on for a year. Ahlquists suit seeks the removal of the banner and damages.
Author Michael Stein read from the rape of the Muse, his new novel depicting art world rivalry, at the Brown Bookstore wednesday.
As part of a program connecting Brown faculty and high school teachers from the Shenzen district in China, 23 teachers from Shenzen visited the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center, a public school in Providence, to observe American teaching and classroom organization styles yesterday. The program, an eight-week training institute for the visiting teachers, was organized by Kenneth Wong, chair of the Education Department. He said he hoped the program would allow the education department at Brown to have a global impact. Wong called the program, which began at the end of September, an exciting initiative. At the start of their visit yesterday, the teachers were welcomed by Dennis Littky, a co-founder of the MET schools, and then split into groups each with its own student guide to visit different buildings.
Students on the Main Green protest the Keystone XL proposal, which would expand the existing Keystone pipeline.
One group was taken to the Equality building, where Steven Bartholomew, MET Equality School administrator, gave teachers a tour and explained the buildings layout. The group was then split up and sent to two different advisories, where they were able to observe classes. Denise Ramos, a teacher at the school, said she believes the most valuable lesson the visiting teachers could learn from the MET was its focus on teacher-student relationships. Im with the same group for all four years, Ramos said. The ability to build a relationship with them is the secret. The visit was one in a series of seven to a variety of schools, including charter schools, independent schools and public schools. They are coming from a system where there is strong standardization, Wong said of the visiting professors. He cited the higher teacherstudent ratio in Shenzen about 50 students to one teacher as another major difference between the schools in China and those in the United States. Cai Mao Zhou, a professor of Chinese in Shenzen, believes the American and Chinese school systems will meet in the middle, he said through an interpreter. Chinese schools are looking at American models, and American schools are looking at Chinese models, he said. American education encourages the students individuality, capability and creativity, he added. The program includes two other components. At the beginning of the program, teachers attended a series of 12 lectures by Brown faculty that focused on topics such as using new technology, the history of American education and organizational methods for classrooms and school governments. The university professors gave very high-quality lectures, Zhou said. They brought theory and prac-
tice together to show us the system of education here. The other portion of the program focuses on exposing teachers to American culture. The Chinese teachers have visited museums and other universities in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Teachers also receive English lessons twice a week. The cultural activities help us understand U.S. society from a different angle, Zhou said. They show on a deeper level how the education system was formed. The 23 teachers in the program were chosen from a pool of 4,000 applicants. Those selected were picked based on several factors, such as their communication skills, professional credentials and recommendations from supervisors. The University also hosted a summer institute for 24 school heads from the Shenzen district in June and July. Approximately half the visiting teachers are fluent in English, and the rest have varying levels of proficiency. The teachers organized themselves so people fluent in English are paired with those who are not so they can support one another, Wong said. An interpreter also accompanied the teachers. Program administrators chose the Shenzen district for several reasons. Its a district that is very progressive and open to new ideas in terms of improving teaching, documenting and tracking student learning and using technology, Wong explained. This is a good match for us we are also very innovative. Wong said he hopes the program is the beginning of a strong relationship between Brown and the Shenzen district. We hope it will go on for a few years, he said. There is strong interest from the urban school district to send teachers to get some of the best and most innovative ideas.