THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2013 since 1891vol. cxlviii, no. 106Daily HeraldTHE BROWN

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INSIDE

Post-A package full of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s cankles

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UNIVERSITY NEWS, 3 COMMENTARY, 7

Food failDelaney ’15 criticizes the variety and quality of on-campus food

Shots, shotsMore students have been vaccinated against the flu in recent years

By MAXINE JOSELOW AND MOLLY SCHULSON

SENIOR STAFF WRITERS

“Brown University occupies a unique educational position. It is set apart

from all but a very small group of institutions by the fact that it is a

university-college,” wrote former President Henry Wriston in “The University College,” a 1946 pamphlet from the Corporation to alums.

More than 60 years later, the term

remains a buzzword in conversations about Brown’s academic identity, and the question of Brown’s university-college status shaped much of the discourse surrounding “Building

on Distinction,” President Christina Paxson’s strategic plan. The plan was approved by the Corporation at the end of October.

Plan surfaces tensions around U.’s academic focusBrown’s ‘university-college’ model will underlie discussions about future academic initiatives

By MOLLY SCHULSONSENIOR STAFF WRITER

President Christina Paxson will form a committee to review actions surround-ing the cancellation of New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly’s Oct. 29 lecture after protestors halted his speech, Paxson wrote in a community-wide email Wednesday.

The Committee on the Events of October 29th will also address how to effectively maintain a “deep commit-ment to the free exchange of ideas,” Paxson wrote.

After an initial review of the event, the committee will determine wheth-er students who protested will face disciplinary action, as protests that “infringe upon” the free exchange of ideas are banned in the Code of Stu-dent Conduct.

“Halting a lecture, debate or any public forum is an unacceptable form of protest,” the Code of Student Con-duct states.

Paxson, the Faculty Executive Committee and “relevant student groups” will help appoint members to the committee, which will include five faculty members, two undergraduate students and one graduate student.

The University will likely announce committee members within the next week, wrote Marisa Quinn, vice presi-dent for public affairs and University relations, in an email to The Herald.

Graduate Student Council Presi-dent Keila Davis GS and Dean of the Graduate School Peter Weber will each nominate two graduate students for the committee, Davis said at Wednes-day night’s GSC meeting. Provost Mark Schlissel P’15 will have the final say on which graduate student serves.

Undergraduate Council of Stu-dents President Todd Harris ’14.5 said he has communicated with adminis-trators about how to determine which undergraduates should serve on the committee, though he did not have information on how those students would be picked.

At the GSC meeting, Vice Presi-dent for Campus Life and Student Services Margaret Klawunn said it remains to be seen whether students who protested Kelly’s lecture will be allowed to serve on the committee.

The committee’s composition “will be very telling of what this committee

U. to create committee in wake of Kelly protestThe group is charged with determining whether the protesters will face disciplinary action

DAVID DECKEY / HERALD

Undergraduate education has historically been a key academic priority for the University.

» See ACADEMICS, page 2

The fourth in a

four-part series

By MAXINE JOSELOWSENIOR STAFF WRITER

The Undergraduate Council of Stu-dents grappled with the Third World Center’s name and role on campus in a conversation with Mary Grace Almandrez, TWC director and assis-tant dean of the College, at the UCS general body meeting Wednesday.

The center recently embarked on a strategic planning process, un-affiliated with President Christina Paxson’s strategic plan, that will guide its agenda over the next five years, Almandrez said.

The center’s potential name change dominated early discussion in the meeting. The name change was recommended in a recent pro-gram review report, which took into account feedback from the center’s staff members and external con-sultants, The Herald previously reported.

Many students are “turned off by the name” or do not understand it, said Malikah Williams ’16, chair of the UCS Campus Life Committee.

Some first-years do not par-ticipate in the Third World Transi-tion Program — a pre-orientation program that seeks to explore race, class, gender and other issues — because of its name, Williams said.

The center should change its

name to the Third Way Center, said Krishan Aghi ’15, who is not a UCS member but attended the meeting to share his views.

The phrase “would still carry the same history” connoted by the term “Third World,” he said, noting that both terms originate from Frantz Fanon’s 1961 book “The Wretched of the Earth,” which identifies a “third world fighting systems of oppression.”

Council members also discussed the center’s role in helping students consider issues of race and free speech in the wake of a lecture can-celed last week to be given by New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. At the event, protesters stood up and shouted objections to Kelly’s enforcement of the “stop-and-frisk” policy, leading administrators to shut down the lecture.

Following the protest, many students “felt like they didn’t know where they belonged in this con-versation, and that created a lot of tension and emotional turmoil,” said Todd Harris ’14.5, UCS president.

“We want students to know that whatever they’re feeling, whether pride or anger, there are staff here to listen,” Almandrez said. “We try to create spaces where we can agree or disagree respectfully.”

The center does not take sides in disputes but rather aims to support all students, Almandrez said.

Council members also suggested new programs the center could offer.

The center should run a program

TWC’s name, direction assessed at UCS meetingThe center’s director addressed issues of race in the wake of the Kelly lecture cancellation

By JILLIAN LANNEY SENIOR STAFF WRITER

A recent Providence ordinance aims to reduce nuisance complaints about

local student “party houses” by m ar k i ng

them with orange stickers, which could potentially affect Brown stu-dents living off campus.

As part of the orange sticker program, also known as the “‘Party House’ Ordinance,” bright orange

stickers are affixed to doors of hous-es that have exhibited “disruptive and dangerous behavior,” wrote Sean Creegan, assistant city solici-tor for Providence, in an email to The Herald.

The policy was implemented through a collaboration between the City Solicitor’s Office, the City’s Nui-sance Task Force and the Providence Police Department. A similar policy is already in place in Narragansett, Creegan added.

Once a house is marked with a sticker, tenants face a $500 fine every time police officers respond to ad-ditional noise complaints, and they must maintain the sticker and keep it visible or risk a $100 fine. The policy

‘Party house’ ordinance targets noisy residencesPart of the orange sticker program, houses deemed ‘disruptive and dangerous’ will be issued larger fines

COURTESY OF THE PROVIDENCE POLICE

Orange stickers will be placed on “party houses,” residents of which will subsequently receive larger fines for any future complaints.

» See COMMITTEE, page 4 » See PARTY HOUSE, page 5 » See UCS, page 4

CITY & STATE

launching a legacy?2 THE BROWN DAILY HERALDTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2013

7 P.M.

Domestic Surveillance in the U.S.

Smith-Buonnano 106

8 P.M.

A Streetcar Named Desire

Stuart Theatre

8 P.M.

Brown Ballroom Masquerade Ball

Sayles Hall

9 P.M.

Starla and Sons Improv Show

MacMillan 117

SHARPE REFECTORY VERNEY-WOOLLEY

LUNCH

DINNER

Beef Stew, Baked Stuffed Chicken Breast, Red Potato Frittata, Rice Pilaf, Brownie a la Mode with Hot Fudge

Cajun Chicken Pasta, Tofu Parmesan, Yellow Beets, Green Beans, Antipasto Bar, Onion and Dill Rolls

Hot Turkey Sandwich with Gravy, Wisconsin Ziti with Four Cheeses, Veggie Stew, Mashed Potatoes

BBQ Beef on a Bun, Cheese Tortellini, Curly Fries, BBQ Navy Beans, Baked Spaghetti Squash, Sugar Cookies

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 7 FRIDAY NOVEMBER 8

c r o s s w o r d

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c a l e n d a r

The plan includes several un-dergraduate-focused initiatives, including the development of new sophomore seminars and revamp-ing introductory courses in science, technology, engineering and math-ematics. But simultaneously, the proposals outlined in the document must navigate tensions Wriston’s vi-sion may not have anticipated: those between the liberal arts and profes-sional studies, the humanities and the sciences, and the College and the Graduate School.

As the University moves forward with the final version of this plan, it must work to maintain its traditional strengths while pursuing new areas of interest. If the University devotes too little attention to graduate and scientific offerings, it risks falling behind its peers in key areas. But if the University focuses too much on expanding graduate and science programs, it risks losing its unique historical emphasis on undergradu-ate excellence.

And as Brown implements parts of the strategic plan that will affect academic programs, its stewards and constituents will find themselves faced with another question: What about Brown’s identity as an institu-tion of higher learning is subject to change, and how can campus dis-course shape Brown’s future?

Academic identity

The specific phrase of “universi-ty-college” dominated initial campus reaction to the plan — specifically, students and faculty members criti-cized the draft for the term’s absence.

The phrase, included in the Uni-versity’s mission statement, has been used to understand Brown since the turn of the century, when then-Pro-fessor of Religious Studies Henry Fowler wrote in the Brown Alumni Magazine: “The college is so far the central and principal part of Brown that I would style her a ‘college,’ and yet the college is so dominated by the university spirit that one must put ‘university’ as a qualifier before that name.”

Fowler celebrated Brown’s union of the intimacy of a liberal arts col-lege with the academic opportunities of a larger institution with a graduate population. He rejoiced in the fact that Brown did not have professional schools, unlike competitors such as Harvard and Yale.

But Brown no longer resembles the university-college Fowler and Wriston imagined, a change Pax-son noted at an open forum held to solicit feedback about the plan. Three professional schools — the Alpert Medical School, the School of Engineering and most recently the School of Public Health — have been added, partly to help the University compete with its peers.

“Building on Distinction” will likely expand upon that professional education, introducing new master’s programs and offering more profes-sional training for those students.

Students and faculty members voiced discontent about the “uni-versity-college” term’s absence in the week following the plan’s release. At a meeting of the Undergradu-ate Council of Students, Paxson said she would revise the plan to add the term, “university-college,” a change that was put in place by the time the Corporation approved the document.

“That was a concern that genu-inely took me by surprise,” Paxson told The Herald.

Though the plan did not original-ly mention the “university-college,” it remained committed to the term’s ideals, she said.

Several sourc-es said they were pleased Paxson revised the draft, though others questioned the significance of the change.

“I was happy to see that Paxson took conversation seriously,” said Peggy Chang ’91, director of the Cur-ricular Resource Center.

Marguerite Joutz ’15, member of the Brown Conversation, which aims to promote dialogue about Univer-sity issues, asked Paxson at the open forum about the term’s absence.

“Upon reflection, I have some mixed feelings,” Joutz said. “While I think it’s incredibly important that it’s in the plan, what does just hav-ing the word in the plan mean in the grand scheme? Is this just ac-knowledging that people want this, or is this going to be an overarching principle?”

A university divided?

The plan’s focus on improv-ing graduate education has raised questions about whether increased

attention could pull from under-graduate education, the caliber of which is a hallmark of Brown.

“It’s been our competitive strength that we can offer a better undergraduate experience than the schools we compare ourselves with,” said Barrett Hazeltine GP’15, profes-sor emeritus of engineering.

Brown’s attention to undergradu-ates is “unusual for major research universities,” said Matt Gelfand ’08, president and executive director of the Open Jar Foundation, an organi-zation dedicated to promoting cur-ricular freedom. Brown sometimes “ends up categorized among some of the liberal arts colleges” for its dedication to undergraduate teach-ing, he said.

Several proposals in “Building on Distinction” would grow graduate programs. In addition to creating new master’s programs, the plan calls for developing “a set of met-rics to track the quality of doctoral programs.”

Though the plan will grow Brown across the board, Paxson said the number of master’s students will in-crease at a faster rate than will other University constituencies. The plan will grow the undergraduate student

body at a rate of about 1 percent per year and will grow the faculty at a rate that would keep the student-faculty ratio constant.

Joutz said many u n d e r g r a d u at e s have expressed con-cern that the plan

could emphasize graduate students at the expense of undergrads. But she added that understanding may not account for how changes on the graduate level could benefit under-graduate programs as well.

“I’ve been puzzled … by this per-ceived tension between undergradu-ates and graduate students — the idea that if one group gets more, the other group gets less,” Paxson said. “This is not a zero-sum game.”

Several initiatives mentioned in Building on Distinction — for in-stance, an emphasis on “data fluency” and plans to implement technology-based teaching strategies — could af-fect both undergraduates and gradu-ate students, the document states.

Graduate and undergraduate edu-cation are not part of a pie where,

DAVID DECKEY / HERALD

Tensions between liberal arts and more preprofessional education have arisen from President Christina Paxson’s strategic plan, with some worrying that the liberal arts could be neglected in coming years.

» ACADEMICS, from page 1

» See ACADEMICS, page 3

“If Wriston could see what Brown is doing now, he would be happy.”

Christina PaxsonPRESIDENT

university news 3THE BROWN DAILY HERALDTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2013

if the graduate slice grows, the slice dedicated to undergraduates neces-sarily shrinks, said Ken Miller ’70 P’02, professor of biology and mem-ber of the strategic planning Com-mittee on Financial Aid.

Undergraduates can benefit from higher caliber graduate students who serve as teaching assistants, research-ers, Graduate Writing Associates and mentors, said Keila Davis GS, presi-dent of the Graduate Student Council.

If Brown were a purely undergrad-uate institution, it would be unable to recruit certain faculty members who rely on skilled graduate students to advance their research, Miller said.

Elliot Maxwell ’68 P’06, one of the architects of the Open Curriculum, said he thinks the University has so far done “a good job of getting a bal-ance” between pursuing undergradu-ate and graduate priorities.

Though he was concerned in the 1970s that adding a medical school “would shift the center of gravity of the institution in a way that was fundamentally threatening to the un-dergraduate experience,” Maxwell said his fears have not materialized.

Paxson said she appreciates the need for an “appropriate balance,” given Brown’s character as an institu-tion “that focuses on undergraduate education but is very much a uni-versity, too.”

“If Wriston could see what Brown is doing now, he would be happy,” Paxson added.

Finding a focus

Historically, Brown has empha-sized liberal arts education and earned renown for strong humanities programs. But some worried Building on Distinction’s focus on the sciences could detract from these priorities.

Engineering, once a part of the College, was moved three years ago into a separate School of Engineering. The plan proposes adding “incre-mental” new building space to engi-neering and calls for “enhancing the study of sciences, engineering and technology,” strengthening STEM of-ferings by focusing on “integrated, problem-based learning” and improv-ing introductory courses.

Some voiced fears that the plan’s focus on science and engineering would lead to an emphasis on pre-professionalism, detracting from Brown’s traditional academic focus.

“If you’re not highlighting the lib-eral arts in the report, and you’re just assuming it will be a priority because we’ve always focused on it, there’s a danger that it won’t be a priority anymore,” Joutz said.

“I do worry a little about the role of the liberal arts,” Hazeltine said.

But others said they were not con-cerned, saying the liberal arts remain a hallmark of the undergraduate ex-perience.

Brown is “very strong in the

liberal arts … in the wider world and in the Ivy League,” said Joseph Pucci, associate professor of classics and comparative literature.

Even engineering students are “perfectly positioned to have a great liberal arts education,” said Lawrence Larson, dean of the School of Engi-neering.

The plan also introduces new sophomore seminars, which would replicate the small, discussion-based courses currently designed specifi-cally for first-years — a move that could bolster liberal arts and specifi-cally humanities curricula at Brown.

Still, many feared the plan’s at-tention to STEM could endanger the humanities, which have recently faced declining popularity and enroll-ment at Brown and beyond while STEM fields have grown.

“There is a feel-ing in the minds of some people that the pendulum might have swung too far in the STEM direc-tion,” said Arnold Weinstein, profes-sor of comparative literature.

But the focus on STEM is intended to address an existing need for more students interested in those disciplines, Reginster said.

“Attention is self-contained within STEM,” he said. “It has nothing to do with the humanities and shouldn’t be read as posing a threat.”

Paxson delivered a speech at the Annual Meeting of the National Hu-manities Alliance in Washington this March, a gesture Pucci said suggests there is no need to worry about the fate of the humanities at Brown.

Some stressed a symbiosis be-tween the humanities and STEM fields.

“A lot of the STEM education that we’re talking about is actually making medical education more humanistic,” said Patricia Ybarra, associate profes-sor of theatre arts and performance studies and co-chair of the strategic planning Committee on Educational Innovation.

“Science needs the humanities and humanities need the science,” Miller said.

A constant commitment

Some highlighted the Open Cur-riculum and commitment to dialogue as enduring hallmarks of Brown that should remain intact as the University implements changes proposed in the strategic plan. But questions remain about how prevalent dialogue is on campus — and about how influential that dialogue is.

When the Open Curriculum was created, “Brown immediately got into the top tier” and became one of the most competitive Ivy League schools, Weinstein said. Since then, “it hasn’t

given up anything, and it’s still there.” The curriculum was born of cam-

pus-wide conversation about how students should approach and engage with higher education. “When we were recommending the New Cur-riculum, we thought the process of talking about education at Brown was as important as the answers,” Maxwell said.

Commitment to campus-wide dis-course was cited by students, alums and faculty members as integral to Brown’s culture.

“That is what is uniquely Brown. People are willing to engage in this dialogue, come to the table and have an opinion,” Joutz said.

Some said the strategic planning process demonstrated the University

has maintained that commitment.

Paxson and Pro-vost Mark Schlis-sel’s P’15 requests for feedback at multiple campus forums showed the “administration is really serious about gathering (student) input,” Miller said.

But recent data suggests a lack of broad student en-gagement with the

plan. A poll conducted by The Herald Sept. 30-Oct. 1 revealed that about two-thirds of undergraduates either had no opinion on the strategic plan or had not heard of it. About half of undergraduates indicated they were aware of the plan but not enough to form an opinion, while 16 percent did not know the plan existed.

And recent events may suggest student input does not always sig-nificantly influence administrative decisions. In a poll conducted Mon-day, about 42 percent of students in-dicated they believe their opinions have little to no influence over Uni-versity policy. Only about 7 percent of students reported believing stu-dents strongly influence University decisions.

Professor of Computer Science John Savage P’88 P’95 P’03 P’05 GP’17 said that though students were included in the process of creating Building on Distinction, he ques-tioned how much influence they actually had.

Still, dialogue could play an im-portant role in determining the plan’s implementation. Though the plan was approved at the end of October, specifics of how its initiatives will be pursued remain to be decided.

Whether and how conversations about the plan develop in coming years could affect the scope and spe-cifics of major changes to Brown, and could in turn shape what legacy Paxson’s tenure ultimately leaves.

—With reporting by Michael Dubin and Kiki Barnes

» ACADEMICS, from page 2

By STEPHEN ARKSENIOR STAFF WRITER

The number of flu vaccinations admin-istered by Health Services has more than doubled in the past five years, with 3,100 shots this year compared to 1,475 administered in the 2008-2009 academic year, said Infirmary Coor-dinator Monica Kunkel.

The increase could be the result of changing attitudes about the flu fol-lowing the 2009 H1N1 outbreak, said Lecturer in Biology Richard Bungiro. Before the H1N1 pandemic, which dis-proportionately affected young people, it was widely believed that the elderly were most vulnerable to the virus.

The vaccination is “almost the cheapest kind of insurance you can buy,” Bungiro said, adding that a serious case of the flu can send a patient to the hospital and seriously harm a student academically.

Vaccinations cost the University about $10 each and are covered by the $690 annual health services fee, Kunkel said.

Bungiro said a large publicity cam-paign and the fact that flu shots are free have helped them become more popular in recent years.

“I would not get one at all if I had to pay for it,” said Josue Crowther ’15, adding that though he received a flu vaccination his freshman year at a clinic in the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center, he has not had time to receive one since.

The benefits outweigh any

inconvenience, said Natalia Perecki ’16. “You have a better immunity if you have it in your system, so why would you not want to take advantage of that?” she said.

Nine clinics have been held so far this year in the campus center as well as one at the Alpert Medical School, where all students working in health care are required by Rhode Island law to receive vaccinations, Kunkel said.

Bungiro said he receives a flu shot in front of his immunology class every year. Health service employees attend the class and offer students the vac-cinations on-site.

The health services fee also covers HIV testing. Last year, 1,137 HIV tests were performed, a slight increase from approximately 1,000 administered last year. Health Services offers HIV screen-ings when a patient receives a routine physical or gynecological exam, The Herald previously reported.

Director of Health Services Edward Wheeler said these measures fit into a broader trend emphasizing the impor-tance of preventative care.

“The big push in medicine is to think of an HIV test as a regular screen-ing test that you would do periodically,” Wheeler said. “If you’re getting your cholesterol tested, you can get your HIV test at the same time.”

Kunkel said the de-stigmatization of HIV has made screenings more pop-ular on campus since she joined Health Services in the late 1990s. “We have so many treatments and medications now that it is no longer looked upon the way it was when it was first discovered,” she said. “So the sooner you’re diagnosed, the sooner you can get into treatment and live without further interruption.”

“I think that message has gotten through to people,” she added.

U. flu vaccination rate rises over last 5 yearsMore than 3,000 flu shots were administered on campus by Health Services this fall

ALAN SHAN / HERALD

Flu vaccines are covered by the yearly health services fee, as is HIV testing. More students are using both services.

This four-part series examines the broad impacts President Christina Paxson’s strategic plan could have on the University and its implications for the next decade. Read it online at: thebdh.org/legacy.Monday: Monday’s story compared Paxson’s strategic plan to that of former President Ruth Simmons, analyzing how developments on and off College Hill have affected the ambition and scope of Building on Distinction.Tuesday: Tuesday’s story examined the financial strategies the University may use to support the strategic plan’s proposals and endeavors while assessing how financial realities determine what projects Brown can undertake.Yesterday: Yesterday’s story explored how Building on Distinction could shape Brown’s presence in the Jewelry District, looking at the effect that presence may have on academic culture and the broader Providence community.Today: Today’s story analyzes how the strategic plan could impact Brown’s status as a “university-college,” navigating tensions between the liberal arts and preprofessional programs, humanities and sciences, and undergraduates and the Graduate School.

“There is a feeling in the minds of

some people that the pendulum

might have swung too far in the

STEM direction.”

Arnold WeinsteinPROFESSOR OF COMPARATIVE

LITERATURE

4 THE BROWN DAILY HERALDTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2013

CORRINE SZCZESNY / HERALD

Students discussed the role of the Third World Center in helping students understand the implications of the cancellation of the Ray Kelly lecture at Wednesday’s UCS meeting. Herald file photo.

aims to do,” said Marguerite Joutz ’15, a leader of Brown Conversation, which hosted an event Saturday night about both the protests and the role free discourse plays at Brown.

Incorporating input from faculty members, staffers, undergraduates and graduate students is important, said Iris Bahar, chair of the FEC and a professor of engineering. “This should really be a process that involves several constituents.”

The committee will seek advice and may host a forum soliciting com-munity input, she added.

Some students at the GSC meeting voiced concerns over a lack of repre-sentation because only one graduate student will be on the committee.

Once committee members are cho-sen, they will begin the first of two phases of recommendations. In the first phase, the committee will “re-view the activities and circumstances

related to” Kelly’s lecture and “identify issues that may have contributed to the disruption,” Paxson wrote. The second phase will allow the commit-tee to discuss the role of free expres-sion and dialogue on campus, Paxson added.

The University hopes to complete this phase relatively quickly while still allowing time for sufficient discussion, Quinn wrote.

“The decision to form the task force is about taking into consid-eration the fact that there’s a broad context for understanding everything that happened,” Klawunn said.

The committee must review ev-erything, ranging from how the event was organized to its title, she added.

“There are some things that are unclear and not everyone knows all of the circumstances,” Bahar said.

In the days following the event, there was “a lot of discussion with students of color who felt not totally integrated into the community,” said

Rebecca Millstein ’16. She added that she thinks trying

to fix this by formulating a committee is a “really great idea.”

Other students were critical of the decision.

“How many committees is Paxson going to create? There are so many,” said Ayane Ezaki ’13.5. “Is that the way she’s going to run the Univer-sity? Relegate every sensitive topic to a committee?”

Though a majority of students supported protesters’ actions outside Kelly’s lecture or petitioning to have the event canceled, about 73 percent indicated they did not approve of protests causing the event to be shut down, according to a poll The Herald conducted Monday. About 71 percent of students supported petitioning, and about 80 percent of students favored outside protests.

Paxson sent out two letters on Wednesday — one to undergradu-ates and another to the entire campus

community. In the first email, Paxson said she wanted to write to under-graduates separately and shared with them what her next letter, to the entire campus community, would entail.

Paxson “felt strongly about writ-ing directly to undergraduates” after spending a “great deal of time this last week” speaking with undergradu-ates in forums and smaller gatherings, Quinn wrote.

Paxson’s emails argued for the importance of free expression and protest, as long as they occur under “acceptable means.”

But, Paxson wrote, the means by which protesters stopped Kelly’s lec-ture were unacceptable and a violation of the code of conduct students agree to before arriving on campus.

Joutz said she hasn’t read through the entire Code of Student Conduct and thinks most students have not read it either.

“I don’t think administrators can disregard policy, though,” she added.

Disciplining protestors would be “unfair,” said Johanna Thompson-Westra ’14.

After completing the initial review of events, the committee will see “if any further follow-up is appropriate” for those individuals who participated in the protest, Klawunn said.

“That decision will be made out of an examination of all of the cir-cumstances,” she said. There is no “predetermined outcome” for code violation, she added.

If the University chooses to take disciplinary action, it “shouldn’t be su-per harsh,” said Nicola Malakooti ’16.

Diego Arene-Morley ’16 said that while meeting Kelly with such force was not effective, neither is meeting students with force.

“I don’t think that punishment is going to make us feel any better about the problems,” he added.

—With reporting by Isobel Heck and Maggie Livingstone

» COMMITTEE, from page 1

similar to TWTP available to all stu-dents, not just a limited number of first-years, said Sam Rubinstein ’17, a UCS general body member.

The TWC should “co-sponsor events about what it means to be a minority on campus” with other organizations, such as Brown RISD Hillel, said Alex Drechsler ’15, UCS Student Activities chair.

The Council also started its cat-egorization process of student groups. Six groups earned Category 1 status, including Design for America and Recess Journal. Three groups were approved as Category 2, including Brown Unheard and Wubapella, and two groups became Category 3.

Council members engaged in sev-eral minutes of debate before approv-ing the International Socialist Club as a Category 3 group.

L e i l a Ve e r a s a m y ’ 1 5 ,

Undergraduate Finance Board chair, expressed concern that the Interna-tional Socialist Club had requested funding for international speakers, which the board does not fund.

The club also sought funding for national speakers and travel to con-ferences, Drechsler said.

“The whole topic of free speech has come up a lot recently, and it’s good that a group so controversial would get funding,” said Ian Cossenti-nos ’17, a UCS general body member.

The Council also approved seven groups’ requests for $200 of base-line funding from the recently cre-ated Service Group Funding Board. Seven groups out of 20 applied and received funding, including Active Minds, Interfaith Exchange, Nourish International, Carefree Clinic, Brown University Sexual Health and Em-powerment, Rainwater for Human-ity and Making Moves, said Noelle Spencer ’14, chair of the board.

» UCS, from page 1

university news

city & state 5THE BROWN DAILY HERALDTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2013

Turkey bans mixed-gender university housing

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared in a speech Tuesday that he will not allow male and female university students to live in the same dorms, the Wall Street Journal reported this week.

Mixed-gender university dorms and private houses will be forbidden under the new restrictions. Erdogan said Turkish intelligence services will use surveillance to detect violations and report them to regional governors.

Erdogan argued the change will better align colleges’ housing accommodations with Turkish values, but liberal opponents lambasted the announcement as excessive state interference that forces Islamic principles on all Turks.

The ban comes after significant national unrest following protests in Istanbul’s Gezi Park that rocked the country this summer. Protesters’ grievances against the government began with concerns over razing a public park but grew to encompass demands that Erdogan ease up on his increasingly conservative and Islamic policies.

The Turkish constitution contains both a guarantee of individuals’ rights to privacy and permission for the government to breach those rights in certain scenarios, including protecting “public morality,” the Journal reported.

Erdogan said the shift to eliminate mixed-gender university housing in Turkey is about three-quarters complete.

‘Blurred Lines’ stirs controversy in United Kingdom

Roughly 20 British universities have banned Robin Thicke’s hit pop song “Blurred Lines” from their student union bars over concerns that the song promotes rape culture and sexist messages, the Telegraph reported Wednesday.

Many high-profile universities, including the University of Edinburgh, have either banned the song explicitly or asked bars not to play it.

The University of Exeter did not ban “Blurred Lines,” but its Students’ Guild issued a statement condemning it.

“A song that implies a woman is ‘an animal’ and who ‘wants it’ because of the way she is dressed is not acceptable,” the statement read. “The language within the lyrics and the images within the promotional video are utterly degrading to the female subject. Any song that expresses an author’s frustration at ‘being sick of blurred lines’ is beyond unacceptable.”

Thicke has said publicly that people who think his song endorses rape are misconstruing its intent, and some commentators have argued that a different reading of the lyrics could actually show them to be feminist.

BY ELI OKUN, UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITORTHIS WEEK IN HIGHER ED

is designed to encourage both tenants and landlords to take responsibility for disturbing the peace or throwing unsafe parties, Creegan wrote.

“It reminds me of … ‘The Scarlet Letter,’” said Michele Narbonne ’15, who received off-campus permission this year. Like the scarlet “A” of the novel, the stickers serve as visible markers of bad behavior, she said.

Since the sticker system was in-augurated in September, four houses in Providence have been marked and two residents have been fined “for failure to adequately maintain the stickers,” Creegan wrote. Police have not yet had to return to any of the stickered houses to respond to noise complaints.

Individuals already affected by the policy include students from Bryant University and Johnson and Wales University, the Providence Journal reported. But since the ordinance ap-plies to the entire city, stickers could be applied to the off-campus homes of Brown students as well.

Providence Police officers fre-quently team up with Department of Public Safety officers to address disturbance complaints, said Paul Shanley, deputy chief of police for DPS. Often, party-throwers will only receive a warning or be asked to lower noise levels. But if parties are deemed unsafe because of issues such as over-crowding or underage drinking or

if noise is excessive, the Providence department will issue fines, usually around $200, Shanley said.

DPS and Providence are “really trying to keep the peace between Brown students and their neighbors,” said Hannah Mack ’14, who rents a house off campus.

While the Office of Residential Life has not yet dealt with any off-campus student residences affected by the sticker policy, administrators would respond in a manner similar to how they currently respond to re-ports of students disrespecting their neighbors, said Richard Bova, senior associate dean of Residential Life and Dining Services. The University al-ready works with students who have chronic issues with neighbors or the police, Bova added.

Of the about 1,300 students who live off campus, around 1,200 live in houses owned by landlords unaffiliat-ed with Brown, Bova said, adding that students must complete an online tu-torial that includes information about being respectful neighbors and good tenants before receiving off-campus permission.

“The vast majority of students who live off campus are great members of their community,” he said.

If an off-campus complaint is re-ported to DPS, the incident is for-warded to ResLife and administrators work with students to “develop an action plan” to prevent future dis-turbances, Bova said. Off-campus

behavior that results in the issuance of local citations can be considered a breach of the Student Code of Con-duct, which could result in more seri-ous administrative review or judicial action.

Complaints from neighbors or neighborhood associations can also reach ResLife and spur administrative action, he added.

Many students living off campus had not heard of the policy and ex-pressed discomfort with the idea of marking certain residences as party houses. Andrew Silverman ’14 said he is concerned the policy would create difficulties because of the short times-pan of student rentals, meaning the party house label may not be accurate year after year.

Though the stickers could be an effective deterrent to throwing par-ties, Mack said, they could also create tensions among students, landlords, neighbors and the police.

It is too early to know if the policy effectively deters raucous parties, but some students suspect it will, Silver-man said, adding that students might begin holding more exclusive parties, rather than larger events.

But other students said they be-lieve the policy will not affect notori-ous party houses, instead influencing only students who are already cautious about throwing large, noisy parties.

“Houses that have huge parties are not all of a sudden going to stop,” Narbonne said.

» PARTY HOUSE, from page 1

Thanksfor

reading!

commentary6 THE BROWN DAILY HERALDTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2013

This week, The Herald has run a four-part series — “Launching a Legacy?” — exploring the influences shaping President Christina Paxson’s recently approved strategic plan and analyzing how the plan, entitled “Building on Distinction: A New Plan for Brown,” will shape the University’s trajectory over the next decade and beyond. The final article, running today, questions how Brown’s undergraduate core will fare as the graduate program continues to garner increased attention and funding. We believe stronger graduate programs are not necessarily mutually exclusive with maintaining and ex-panding Brown’s excellent undergraduate education, but we are certain that, as Building on Distinction is implemented, more can be done to reward and prioritize student and faculty commitments to Brown’s undergraduate core.

Tenure reforms implemented under former President Ruth Simmons have not attracted much student attention, but they have changed the incen-tives of faculty members, many of whom feel pressured to pursue research — perhaps at the expense of teaching responsibilties. One of the wonderful opportunities present at Brown is the option to take courses with professors who are renowned in their fields and can present their research to their students. But in their current state, these courses are often most successful when taught at an advanced level. As was indicated in the plan, introductory education must be improved, particularly in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Though introductory-level science classes may not be as headline-generating as upper-level seminars taught by professors who discovered the mechanisms in question, the latter cannot exist without the former, and the University should provide resources for faculty members who want to take either path.

Last month, The Herald reported that part of the implementation of the strategic plan would include “post-tenure sabbatical policy, changes to the academic calendar and streamlined research reporting procedures” — initia-tives that appear focused on research. Alongside these changes, we would urge specific allowances to be set aside for faculty members who wish to pursue curricular improvements or reform. We would also oppose any further changes to the tenure process that would emphasize research over teaching.

Many of us chose to attend Brown because we sought the opportunity to receive college-level liberal arts teaching while benefiting from the in-creased resources that characterize large research institutions. It is evident that the recent strategic plan was created with the aim of emphasizing the latter part of the equation, but we cannot overemphasize the extent to which we value the first. Even researchers pursuing the highest levels of scientific inquiry require a strong undergraduate foundation to build upon. Brown’s historical commitment to undergraduate education is both the intellectual and emotional root of this institution. The education that one receives here as an undergraduate can catalyze later study and drive the course and pur-pose of life after Brown. Brown will certainly continue to expand, but we do believe it is possible to preserve its core — the College — and we hope this principle will be respected.

While Building on Distinction will be associated with Paxson, just as the Plan for Academic Enrichment remains connected with Simmons, the two plans articulate virtually the same vision and are ideologically continuous. Taken together, the two envision an institution that differs incredibly from the Brown of the past. Students may feel the plan does not affect them directly, but we all have a stake in this institution’s future.

Organizations such as the Brown Conversation provide a welcome op-portunity for students to voice their thoughts on Brown’s course. We urge students to attend these events — and have conversations of their own — and we hope Paxson and the administration will take note of student-driven recommendations.

Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board: its editor, Rachel Occhiogrosso, and its members, Daniel Jeon, Hannah Loewentheil and Thomas Nath. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.

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E D I T O R I A L

Q U O T E O F T H E D A Y

“Science needs the humanities, and the humanities need the science.” — Ken Miller ’70 P’02, professor of biology

See academics, page 1.

Paxson’s letter misses the point of discourseTo the Editor:

I just received a letter from President Christina Paxson. I understand that as an administrator tasked with the orderly functioning of the University, Paxson disagrees with the tactics used by the protesters at the New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly lecture. However, I’m disappointed because this is the third letter sent out to the entire Brown community in which she argues her point and gives the protesters no opportunity to defend their actions or articulate their vision — it’s telling that in this letter she links to her own writing twice. This is a missed

opportunity: Paxson could have shown how much Brown truly cares about open dialogue and debate and make the point that the best ideas will win out in an open forum.

I was taught at Brown that if my idea truly is better, I should feel comfortable matching it up against the best possible form of my opponent’s argument. Instead, Paxson has proved the protesters’ point that those with privilege and power have plenty of available platforms to advocate for their ideas, while others are limited to “persistent interruption.”

Remy Fernandez-O’Brien ’12

L E T T E R T O T H E E D I T O R

On Sept. 22, 2011, I thought I killed someone. We were hiking in a group in an extremely rural part of India’s northern border. We were supposed to stop to camp. I strongly advocated that we continue. Eventually, I con-vinced our daily leaders of the merits of continuing.

One person never made it to the campsite I pushed us toward.

He fell off a cliff and shattered my 18-year-old psyche on the jagged gran-ite edge of guilt.

I cried to the point of stomach cramps a few times. Then I tried to move on. For the longest time after Tom Plotkin plum-meted, I thought I was okay. You know those pesky colds where you don’t realize you are sick until you feel better? Well, my guilt and Tom’s fall birthed that virus inside me. I grew so accustomed to this mental state that I didn’t even remember I ever had been a better, happier person. It wasn’t until this summer, nearly two years later, that I knew I had been sick — and more importantly, that I had been cured.

Our societal prescription for men-tal healing is that “it just takes time.” And to an extent, it is true. As the neural connections that formed your memory of the event fade, the pain should dull slightly. This is good news because in the brain, as in the body, the healing process starts automati-cally. But I learned that time cannot do all the work.

The more serious the mental trau-ma, the more hardwired that nega-tive representation is in your brain. In my generation, there is a huge stigma against seeing a mental health thera-pist. I used to be one of the millions in my generation who was too proud to see a psychiatrist. I viewed it as: “I don’t need some weird old person to tell me what I am feeling or thinking. They can’t know me. I am not that weak.”

But then I actually saw a therapist. And over several months of incredibly frank and honest conversations, she helped return me to my regular state of happiness. It was an incredible relief to tell someone all the petty thoughts and weaknesses I had bottled inside

myself and hear her say I was not a monster but a completely normal per-son. Luckily, my mental infrastructure was not as bad as Providence’s roads and bridges.

The first lesson I learned through my sessions was that I am an insecure person. The second was that I assume too much responsibility for things out-side of my control. The third was that literally everyone suffers from both of these symptoms, but almost everyone is afraid to admit it.

To be accepted to Brown, you have to structure yourself so that your losses and shortcomings fade under the glare of all the little gems in your character. You shine the light just right, and you are in the Ivy League. A lot of our lives are structured in this way, because in order to succeed, you need people to

trust you. And for people to trust you, they need to see the right side of you.

The only prob-lem is that I became so used to this rep-resentation that I began to ignore much of the 99 per-cent that does not glisten in the sun of other people’s

adoration, especially those parts that brought back painful memories.

I suspect many of us exercise this type of avoidance. Most of the time it is not that harmful, but if there is a jarring event like the death of a friend, the coping levees we build are not strong enough for the impact. In the worst cases, it manifests itself in heavy drinking and drug use. In the best, it worsens relationships with the people around us. If there weren’t such a stigma behind admitting that we need help figuring ourselves out, this wouldn’t be such a big issue.

If you are struggling, don’t be afraid to use Brown’s Psychological Services or outside services. Don’t be afraid to ask your friends for help. Heck — don’t be afraid to have a good cry as you watch “The Pursuit of Happyness.” Don’t be afraid of people’s judgment — we are all struggling to some ex-tent. We are incredibly lucky to go to a school that offers the resources and support we need to deal with our shortcomings. We shouldn’t be afraid to use them.

Nico Enriquez ’16 dedicates this story to T-Plot and all he contin-ues to teach. Keep smiling broth-

er. Thank you. nenriquez3@gmail.com.

You know what really grinds my gears? Brown Dining Services. For a while now, I’ve been a little tense about how food services are run around here. But when a friend of mine showed me what food is like at Boston University, it pushed me over the edge.

In comparison to BU, Brown does not come close to adequately investing in nutri-tion and good food for its students. Let’s start with the meal plans.

BU offers a far more sensible range of meal plans than Brown does, providing sufficient options for av-erage members of the student body as well as the students at extremes of the spectrum, such as athletes who eat often.

An athlete at BU might subscribe to the “Unlimited” plan. For $4,970, “Unlimited” subscribers receive as many meals as they would like during the week as well as $360 in dining points credit. To compare, Brown’s highest meal plan option costs $520 less but provides only 20 meals a week and $160 less in dining points.

At the other end of the spectrum, students who want to eat less at cafe-terias and more at actual eateries can choose the “250 Plan.” For $4,690 per year, this offers 125 meals and $545 in points credit each semester. Oh, the things I could buy with 545 points. Too bad the only meal plan option for those of us looking to patronize the Blue Room is Flex 460. At $4,420 per year and 250 points per semester, it’s hardly worth it.

But more important than the meal plans are the food options BU provides its students. For one, I got served by an actual chef. I ap-preciate the efforts of students who work with Brown University Dining

Services, but a chef makes better food than an overworked student.

For another, chefs cooked the food right in front of me rather than bringing it out in pre-prepared trays. The quality of food is greatly en-hanced when it is freshly prepared. In many instances at BU, plates are made to order. Picture the quesadilla line at Josiah’s — but for everything.

In addition to the standard din-ing hall options that most universi-ties offer, BU also offers the option for students to eat at an abundance of retail eateries. This includes a food court composed of 11 differ-

ent restaurants, 14 additional restaurants and cafes in vari-ous locations t h r o u g h o u t campus, one f u l l - s e r v i c e food market,

two late-night cafes and a pizza de-livery option provided by Domino’s and Papa John’s.

Holy smokes. Tell me more.It’s important to recognize BU is

in the heart of Boston, with vastly more food places to contract with and about 10,000 more students who eat every day. I’m not saying Brown should build a food court, but there are many benefits that would come from partnering with external food providers.

This type of relationship with restaurants and chains supports businesses that participate in BU’s program. It allows them to expose their cuisines to people who might otherwise avoid eating in certain places because they are too expen-sive to do on a regular basis. This is something from which Brown could strongly benefit. Brown needs to take the initiative and partner with places on Thayer and Hope streets. There is great food around here and it’s ridiculous so many of us can’t take advantage of it because we can’t afford it.

Another benefit would be a Munch Card-like feature that Brown students could access as part of their meal plans to diversify the

food options for students and give Dining Services incentive to up the quality of food.

Right now, Brown doesn’t have to compete with anybody to up the quality of what it serves the students. We can’t use meal credits at the Blue Room until after 4 p.m., and the semi-good food — or at least pre-pared food — served at the Gate and Jo’s isn’t available until dinner. Sure, if the Blue Room took meal credits all the time, nobody would go to the Sharpe Refectory. But why is that? Because the quality of the food is so much better elsewhere. Students can tell the difference. Brown’s dining system works fine if all you eat is dinner. Other than that, you’re sunk.

Brown could also benefit from creating healthy eating programs. One of the most unique aspects of the BU program is what the univer-sity calls the Sargent Choice pro-gram — a healthy options eating program developed in partnership with the Sargent College Nutrition Center. The program partners with BU Dining Services to offer a cus-tom menu of highly nutritional and healthy foods. Dieticians, nutrition students and volunteers work to cre-ate and test recipes using sustain-able ingredients, low-fat options and nutritious foods that are served to students every day. The program ad-vocates managing a healthy weight, strong self-image and academic per-formance and a healthy future.

Food is a crucial aspect of our daily lives, and Brown does not in-vest enough in providing its students with a range of healthy, convenient and affordable options. It needs to make a more committed effort to rectify this because the rewards are great. Diverse and high-quality eat-ing options can improve every single aspect of someone’s life. But if the food’s not there, none of us have a chance.

Let’s recognize the problem and get on it, Brown.

Daniel Delaney ’15 can be reached for comment at

daniel_delaney@brown.edu.

commentary 7THE BROWN DAILY HERALDTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2013

Avoidance is not the answer

A note on dining services

“If you are struggling, don’t be

afraid to use Brown’s Psychological

Services or outside services. Don’t be afraid to ask your friends for help.”

“Brown does not come close to

adequately investing in nutrition and good food for its students.”

NICO ENRIQUEZ

opinions columnist

DANIELDELANEY

opinions columnist

www.browndailyherald.com

Got comments?www.browndailyherald.com/opinions

daily heraldTHE BROWN

city & stateTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2013

By EMMA JERZYK STAFF WRITER

Four transportation companies filed a civil action suit in Superior Court Tuesday against the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission, which drafted and passed legislation last year to allow the commission to set a price floor on public motor vehicle transactions. RIPUC set a minimum charge of $40 for all trips taken in public motor vehicles — car services outside of the taxi industry. The rule will go into effect Nov. 11.

The law was originally drafted “to address a problem that Rhode Island companies were having with rogue companies that were operating illegally,” wrote Greg Pare, director of communications for the Rhode Island Senate president, in an email to The Herald. The bill distinguishes between PMVs, like sedan services, and taxi companies. The law was sponsored by Rep. Teresa Tanzi, D-Narragansett, and Sen. Bill Walaska, D-Warwick, and was signed into law by Gov. Lincoln Chafee ’75 P’14 P’17 last year.

Lawmakers claim that the state taxi industry has been suffering as a result of increasing pressure from PMV companies. Terrence Mercer, RIPUC’s associate administrator for motor carriers, said the taxicab in-dustry is more heavily regulated than the PMV industry is in his testimony for a hearing on the rule in August. Taxis have territory restrictions, their fares must be approved by RIPUC and they face vehicle age and mileage restrictions, whereas PMVs do not face similar regulations.

The price floor was set to “elimi-nate the rogue, gray area sedan servic-es that are really acting like taxicabs and, truth be told, stealing the work of taxicabs,” Mercer said.

Tanzi, one of the bill’s sponsors, said that when RIPUC came to her with the drafted bill there was very little opposition in the House. Follow-ing passage in the General Assembly, RIPUC held a standard hearing to address details and concerns over the new minimum charge. There was also a second “unprecedented” hearing to further discuss the change, but “very few people” attended, Tanzi said.

But since its passage, the price floor has been met with increasing opposition from local PMV compa-nies. Uber, a mobile app that works to connect PMV companies with con-sumers, started a petition last week

on change.org to repeal the law, said Meghan Joyce, general manager of Uber Providence. As of yesterday, the petition had garnered over 2,100 signatures.

“It’s not true that (the PMV indus-try) is an unregulated space,” Joyce said, adding that all of the drivers Uber works with are fully certified and licensed with RIPUC.

While Uber is not actually a PMV company, it depends on PMV busi-ness because the app allows con-sumers to find available cars nearby. Uber is attempting to capitalize on the growing trend of PMVs offering high volume, low price rides. In fact, Uber offers several different services to match different cost levels — the company’s website claims that uberX, the lowest-cost option, is “better, faster and cheaper than a taxi.”

Tanzi said she used Uber when she was in Charlotte, N.C., for the Democratic National Convention, and though she enjoyed the service, she found that pricing fluctuated fre-quently. “There’s no price protection for the consumer,” she said.

In an October report published by RIPUC, PMV companies argued their case by explaining that “it is common knowledge that many taxi cab compa-nies refuse to provide short-distance services due to the minimal financial reward.”

“Rhode Island has plenty of room for a healthy taxi system and a healthy PMV system,” Joyce said. “It’s just a matter of providing consumers with choice.”

The four companies filing the joint suit are L.C. Transportation, Rainbow Sedans Inc., Corporate Lim-ousine Services L.L.C. and Dewey’s

Transportation Inc. The suit specifi-cally cites the minimum charge rule and not the entire legislation. The plaintiffs argue that the $40 mini-mum is an “arbitrary and capricious amount” and that RIPUC set the amount “without any sound factual basis, figures or evidence in support thereof,” according to the summons.

Transportation companies sue over regulation on non-taxi car servicesAn online petition to repeal a minimum charge rule has collected over 2,100 signatures

COURTESEY OF UBERThe price floor bill set a $40 minimum charge for public motor vehicles.

By MARCUS SUDACCONTRIBUTING WRITER

A Portsmouth Middle School field trip last week has spurred tense debate on the issue of public funds donated to a subsidiary of the Boy Scouts of America, a group that has previously received negative press for its discrimi-natory policies.

The school’s seventh- and eighth-grade classes attended a program Oct. 28 run by Learning for Life - Rhode Island, which aims to help “youth in kindergarten through 12th grade meet the challenges of growing up in to-day’s society by teaching character and good decision-making skills and then linking those skills to the real world,” according to its website.

While LFL does not discriminate based on sexual orientation, race or religion, it is a subsidiary of the Boy Scouts, a national organization that prohibits gay or atheist leaders. The program the students attended, Chal-lenging Outdoor Personal Experience, includes physical obstacle courses de-signed to build character.

Portsmouth students brought home permission slips for the COPE field trip that asked for a $5 donation the week of Oct. 3. But on the slip, the school “bundled two different trips, (asking for) $25 combined for this field trip and another,” said blogger and parent John McDaid.

After some research, parents in the community found out that their dona-tions were going to a COPE program

established by the Boy Scouts and that LFL, which ran the COPE program, is subsidized by the Boy Scouts.

“We’ve never been supporters of the Boy Scouts,” McDaid said, citing the Scouts’ history of discrimination.

McDaid brought up the issue at a school meeting Oct. 8, asking “the school committee and the administra-tion to consider (the) policy on field trips involving organizations which practice religious and gender discrimi-nations.”

“Our students have the right to learn in an environment free from bias, including field trips,” he said.

In a blog post, McDaid ceded that COPE is actually run by LFL — not the Boy Scouts — but insisted that the school nonetheless collected donations “exceeding $2,000” to be given to a subsidiary of the Boy Scouts.

McDaid and two other families did not permit their children to attend the field trip under the suspicion that public funds were being donated to a discriminatory cause.

It is not clear whether legal issues stem from the Portsmouth case, but the case has not spurred additional investigation.

Courtney Cahill, professor of law at Florida State University, wrote in an email to The Herald that she has a “hunch that the use of public funds to finance a trip sponsored by an or-ganization which itself receives funds from the (Boy Scouts) at most poses an Establishment Clause issue under either the state constitution or federal constitution.”

Rhode Island law does not permit discrimination against sexual orienta-tion in housing, employment, credit or public accommodations.

“To the best of our knowledge, no

one, neither Scout nor Scouter … has been dismissed due to sexual orienta-tion,” the Narragansett Council of Boy Scouts wrote in a statement.

Boy Scouts of America spokesper-son David Preston said that even if COPE were run by the Narragansett Council of Boy Scouts, discrimination would not be a factor in the experience.

“The Narragansett Council was among the very first in the country to seek an open, thorough review of the national membership standards regarding sexual orientation,” Pres-ton said.

Portsmouth parents and adminis-trators are divided on the issue. While many see the Narragansett Boy Scouts as non-discriminatory, others remain opposed to LFL’s subsidiary status. Still more parents have voiced support for the COPE field trip on religious grounds.

“I support the Boy Scouts in that they are a group founded on Judeo-Christian values,” wrote Beth Paolero, a member of the Parents Helping Stu-dents Organization, an association of parents with students at Portsmouth High School, in a message to The Herald.

Local school field trip sparks controversyFunds from a middle school’s field trip went to an organization affiliated with the Boy Scouts

I N L I V I N G CO LO R

EMILY GILBERT / HERALD

Angela Lorenz ’87 signed copies of her folding picture book of watercolors, ‘Mansion of Thought,’ at the Brown Bookstore yesterday.

Providence

Portsmouth

5 mi

JILLIAN LANNEY / HERALD