tuesday, november 5, 2013

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013 since 1891 vol. cxlviii, no. 104 D aily H erald THE BROWN 60 / 50 TOMORROW 51 / 36 TODAY WEATHER ARTS & CULTURE, 4 ‘Other Half’ e Herald spoke with Sadia Shepard to learn about her new documentary INSIDE SPORTS, 5 COMMENTARY, 7 Raise your voice e Brown ISO argues for more student action similar to the Ray Kelly protest Golden goal e men’s soccer team seized a late victory over Penn at home By MAGGIE LIVINGSTONE SENIOR STAFF WRITER e University launched the Environ- mental Change Task Force — a com- mittee composed of faculty members, administrators, undergraduates and graduate students — Monday, Pro- vost Mark Schlissel P’15 wrote in a community-wide email. e group is charged with identify- ing issues pertinent to climate change on which the University can act at local and national levels, said Leah Vanwey, the task force’s chair and an associate professor of sociology. ough the Corporation — the University’s highest governing body — decided at its meeting last month not to divest endowment assets from coal companies, the task force was not es- tablished in response to recent campus debate over divestment, Schlissel said. He added that divestment would not be on this task force’s agenda because other University committees, like the Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investment Policies, have already researched the matter. Discussing it further would “go over the same ground,” he said. e task force was conceived last spring, when issues of potential di- vestment first arose and President Christina Paxson felt the University needed a more formal way to address climate change, Schlissel said. He said he took recommendations from the Of- fice of the President, the Undergradu- ate Council of Students, the Faculty Executive Committee and his own office before selecting the members of the task force. Schlissel said Vanwey was selected to chair the committee because of her involvement with the Environmental Change Initiative, an interdisciplinary research initiative created to “tackle significant problems in environmental change,” according to the initiative’s website. “I’m hoping that we’re going to come up with a robust suite of things that we can do within Rhode Island and locally, and then nationally,” Van- wey said. Kelsey Ripp MD’16, the only Alpert Medical School student on the task force, was invited to join because she founded the Med School’s Environ- mental Change and Health Interest Group, she wrote in an email to e Herald. She added that though she does not yet have specific goals for the task force, she hopes to continue dialogue on how the medical community “can be in- volved in this discussion of Brown’s role regarding environmental change.” No members of Brown Divest Coal are on the task force, though Schlis- sel initially invited them to apply, said Tammy Jiang ’16, a member of Brown Environmental task force to address climate change e committee will present its findings to top administrators in the spring By KATE KIERNAN AND MAGGIE LIVINGSTONE SENIOR STAFF WRITERS Though President Christina Pax- son’s strategic plan “Building on Distinction: A New Plan for Brown” has identified general objectives for University growth, formal plans for the allocation of University resources to accomplish these goals have yet to be formulated. The Corporation approved the strategic plan the weekend of Oct. 26 and will soon convene a committee of key administrators to determine how to distribute resources for individual initiatives within the plan, said Pro- vost Mark Schlissel P’15. The com- mittee will then structure a capital campaign, a formal fundraising effort that will be launched to support the goals of the strategic plan. Building on Distinction does not include estimated costs of imple- menting each initiative, partly be- cause the University “did not want to make promises it can’t keep,” Schlissel said. In the aftermath of the 2008 finan- cial crisis, the University announced losses on the endowment that com- promised its ability to fulfill com- ponents of former President Ruth Simmons’ strategic plan, the Plan for Academic Enrichment. The goals of Paxson’s strategic plan, which include physically re- vamping the campus, increasing financial aid, expanding research, establishing a “virtual campus” and growing the size of the faculty and student body, “will need significant philanthropy,” Schlissel said. “We wanted to craft a plan that could be fulfilled in a financially responsible way in very uncertain times,” Schlissel said. Though Building on Distinc- tion offers many broad visions, the University’s immediate projects will be contingent upon the bounds of its upcoming capital campaign — and those initiatives that promise Strategic plan initiatives hinge on financial uncertainties e focus and success of an upcoming capital campaign will influence Brown’s direction By ELI OKUN UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR SAC Capital Advisors L.P., the once- powerful hedge fund created and owned by Corporation Trustee Steven A. Cohen P’08 P’16, has reached a nearly $1.2 billion settlement with federal prosecutors, pleading guilty on five charges of insider trading, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern Dis- trict of New York announced Monday. e guilty plea marks the first instance that SAC has admitted sus- tained wrongdoing, as well as the first time in decades that a firm of its size has confessed criminality. e hedge fund already paid out $616 million in separate settlements this summer, and the total $1.8 billion in plea deals sets the record for insider- trading charges, the New York Times reported. University administrators have repeatedly declined in the past to comment on the proceedings or whether they might affect Cohen’s role on the Corporation, beyond Chancellor omas Tisch ’76 saying in a statement in March that “there has been no pressure on Steve — or Trustee’s hedge fund settles with prosecutors Steven Cohen’s P’08 P’16 firm paid a record- breaking sum and pled guilty to insider trading By MARIYA BASHKATOVA SENIOR STAFF WRITER Ken Block announced last week that he will run in Rhode Island’s 2014 gubernatorial election, com- peting against Cranston Mayor Allan Fung — who announced his candidacy Monday — for the Republican nomination. Block announced his candidacy last May, when he was a member of the Moderate Party. Block also ran for governor in 2010 and came in fourth with 6.5 percent of the vote as the Moderate Party candidate. Pressing issues “My 100 percent focus is educa- tional and economic issues as they pertain to the state of Rhode Island,” Block said. To alleviate some of the state’s fiscal problems, Block will redirect “wasted” funds to beneficial pro- grams if elected, he said, adding that he wants to improve the state’s business climate. Business owners can currently choose to operate in neighboring Connecticut or Massachusetts, where costs are lower, Block said. e state’s education system, es- pecially in urban districts, is “bro- ken,” and “the way to fix it is not high-stakes testing in high school,” Block said. “What that tells us is that we’re failing,” he added. “What it doesn’t do is address, identify and fix the problem.” He said he hopes to enact edu- cation reform by restructuring K-3 education to identify children who face systemic disadvantages early on. By providing specialized instruction, Block said he hopes students can catch up with their peers. Block also said specialized schools with curricula designed to teach English language skills to English-language-learners and recent immigrants would benefit everyone. e state’s economic problems outweigh concerns for social issues, Block said, adding that the governor has a responsibility to deal with more pressing economic issues first. “e social issues are an aſter- thought for most Rhode Islanders, especially those without jobs,” he said. Block said he also wants to engage in government reform. “e way Rhode Island governs itself is silly,” Block said. He added that he would like to rework the way the General Assembly functions and give the governor the power to line- edit the state’s budget — a power governors have in all but six states. In Rhode Island, the governor can only approve or veto the entire budget. Block has never held an elected office but said his professional ex- perience as president of Simpatico Soſtware Systems has informed his platform. “My company helps identify and find waste and fraud in social service spending programs for state govern- ments,” Block added. Ken Block enters Republican gubernatorial primary e long-time Moderate Party candidate will run as a Republican in the 2014 gubernatorial race ALEXANDRA URBAN / HERALD Several proposals in Paxson’s strategic plan, including the physical expansion of Brown’s campus, will require significant fundraising efforts. CITY & STATE The second in a four-part series » See SAC, page 5 » See BLOCK, page 3 » See TASK FORCE, page 4 » See PLAN, page 2

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The November 5, 2013 issue of The Brown Daily Herald

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Page 1: Tuesday, November 5, 2013

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013 since 1891vol. cxlviii, no. 104Daily HeraldTHE BROWN

60 / 50

t o m o r r o w

51 / 36

t o d ay

wea

ther

ARTS & CULTURE, 4

‘Other Half’The Herald spoke with Sadia Shepard to learn about her new documentaryin

side

SPORTS, 5 COMMENTARY, 7

Raise your voiceThe Brown ISO argues for more student action similar to the Ray Kelly protest

Golden goalThe men’s soccer team seized a late victory over Penn at home

By MAGGIE LIVINGSTONESENIOR STAFF WRITER

The University launched the Environ-mental Change Task Force — a com-mittee composed of faculty members, administrators, undergraduates and graduate students — Monday, Pro-vost Mark Schlissel P’15 wrote in a community-wide email.

The group is charged with identify-ing issues pertinent to climate change on which the University can act at local and national levels, said Leah Vanwey,

the task force’s chair and an associate professor of sociology.

Though the Corporation — the University’s highest governing body — decided at its meeting last month not to divest endowment assets from coal companies, the task force was not es-tablished in response to recent campus debate over divestment, Schlissel said. He added that divestment would not be on this task force’s agenda because other University committees, like the Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investment Policies, have already researched the matter. Discussing it further would “go over the same ground,” he said.

The task force was conceived last spring, when issues of potential di-vestment first arose and President

Christina Paxson felt the University needed a more formal way to address climate change, Schlissel said. He said he took recommendations from the Of-fice of the President, the Undergradu-ate Council of Students, the Faculty Executive Committee and his own office before selecting the members of the task force.

Schlissel said Vanwey was selected to chair the committee because of her involvement with the Environmental Change Initiative, an interdisciplinary research initiative created to “tackle significant problems in environmental change,” according to the initiative’s website.

“I’m hoping that we’re going to come up with a robust suite of things that we can do within Rhode Island

and locally, and then nationally,” Van-wey said.

Kelsey Ripp MD’16, the only Alpert Medical School student on the task force, was invited to join because she founded the Med School’s Environ-mental Change and Health Interest Group, she wrote in an email to The Herald.

She added that though she does not yet have specific goals for the task force, she hopes to continue dialogue on how the medical community “can be in-volved in this discussion of Brown’s role regarding environmental change.”

No members of Brown Divest Coal are on the task force, though Schlis-sel initially invited them to apply, said Tammy Jiang ’16, a member of Brown

Environmental task force to address climate changeThe committee will present its findings to top administrators in the spring

By KATE KIERNAN AND MAGGIE LIVINGSTONE

SENIOR STAFF WRITERS

Though President Christina Pax-son’s strategic plan “Building on

Distinction: A New Plan for Brown” has identified general objectives for University growth, formal plans for the allocation of University resources

to accomplish these goals have yet to be formulated.

The Corporation approved the strategic plan the weekend of Oct. 26 and will soon convene a committee of key administrators to determine how to distribute resources for individual initiatives within the plan, said Pro-vost Mark Schlissel P’15. The com-mittee will then structure a capital campaign, a formal fundraising effort that will be launched to support the goals of the strategic plan.

Building on Distinction does not include estimated costs of imple-menting each initiative, partly be-cause the University “did not want to make promises it can’t keep,” Schlissel said.

In the aftermath of the 2008 finan-cial crisis, the University announced

losses on the endowment that com-promised its ability to fulfill com-ponents of former President Ruth Simmons’ strategic plan, the Plan for Academic Enrichment.

The goals of Paxson’s strategic plan, which include physically re-vamping the campus, increasing financial aid, expanding research, establishing a “virtual campus” and growing the size of the faculty and student body, “will need significant philanthropy,” Schlissel said.

“We wanted to craft a plan that could be fulfilled in a financially responsible way in very uncertain times,” Schlissel said.

Though Building on Distinc-tion offers many broad visions, the University’s immediate projects will be contingent upon the bounds of its upcoming capital campaign — and those initiatives that promise

Strategic plan initiatives hinge on financial uncertaintiesThe focus and success of an upcoming capital campaign will influence Brown’s direction

By ELI OKUNUNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR

SAC Capital Advisors L.P., the once-powerful hedge fund created and owned by Corporation Trustee Steven A. Cohen P’08 P’16, has reached a nearly $1.2 billion settlement with federal prosecutors, pleading guilty on five charges of insider trading, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern Dis-trict of New York announced Monday.

The guilty plea marks the first instance that SAC has admitted sus-tained wrongdoing, as well as the first time in decades that a firm of its size has confessed criminality. The hedge fund already paid out $616 million in separate settlements this summer, and the total $1.8 billion in plea deals sets the record for insider-trading charges, the New York Times reported.

University administrators have repeatedly declined in the past to comment on the proceedings or whether they might affect Cohen’s role on the Corporation, beyond Chancellor Thomas Tisch ’76 saying in a statement in March that “there has been no pressure on Steve — or

Trustee’s hedge fund settles with prosecutorsSteven Cohen’s P’08 P’16 firm paid a record-breaking sum and pled guilty to insider trading

By MARIYA BASHKATOVA SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Ken Block announced last week that he will run in Rhode Island’s 2014

gubernatorial election, com-peting against

Cranston Mayor Allan Fung — who announced his candidacy Monday — for the Republican nomination. Block announced his candidacy last May, when he was a member of the Moderate Party.

Block also ran for governor in 2010 and came in fourth with 6.5 percent of the vote as the Moderate

Party candidate.

Pressing issues“My 100 percent focus is educa-

tional and economic issues as they pertain to the state of Rhode Island,” Block said.

To alleviate some of the state’s fiscal problems, Block will redirect “wasted” funds to beneficial pro-grams if elected, he said, adding that he wants to improve the state’s business climate.

Business owners can currently choose to operate in neighboring Connecticut or Massachusetts, where costs are lower, Block said.

The state’s education system, es-pecially in urban districts, is “bro-ken,” and “the way to fix it is not high-stakes testing in high school,” Block said.

“What that tells us is that we’re

failing,” he added. “What it doesn’t do is address, identify and fix the problem.”

He said he hopes to enact edu-cation reform by restructuring K-3 education to identify children who face systemic disadvantages early on. By providing specialized instruction, Block said he hopes students can catch up with their peers.

Block also said specialized schools with curricula designed to teach English language skills to English-language-learners and recent immigrants would benefit everyone.

The state’s economic problems outweigh concerns for social issues, Block said, adding that the governor has a responsibility to deal with more pressing economic issues first.

“The social issues are an after-thought for most Rhode Islanders, especially those without jobs,” he

said.Block said he also wants to engage

in government reform. “The way Rhode Island governs

itself is silly,” Block said. He added that he would like to rework the way the General Assembly functions and give the governor the power to line-edit the state’s budget — a power governors have in all but six states.

In Rhode Island, the governor can only approve or veto the entire budget.

Block has never held an elected office but said his professional ex-perience as president of Simpatico Software Systems has informed his platform.

“My company helps identify and find waste and fraud in social service spending programs for state govern-ments,” Block added.

Ken Block enters Republican gubernatorial primaryThe long-time Moderate Party candidate will run as a Republican in the 2014 gubernatorial race

ALEXANDRA URBAN / HERALD

Several proposals in Paxson’s strategic plan, including the physical expansion of Brown’s campus, will require significant fundraising efforts.

CITY & STATE

The second in a

four-part series

» See SAC, page 5» See BLOCK, page 3

» See TASK FORCE, page 4

» See PLAN, page 2

Page 2: Tuesday, November 5, 2013

leaving a legacy?2 THE BROWN DAILY HERALDTUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

5 P.M.

“Arguments with Gandhi”

Joukowsky Forum, Watson Institute

7 P.M.

Debate Night in Rhode Island

Salomon 101

6 P.M.

LGBTQ Dating Forum

Third World Center

7:30 P.M.

“How to Make Money Selling Drugs”

List 120

SHARPE REFECTORY VERNEY-WOOLLEY

LUNCH

DINNER

Ratatouille with Cheese, Italian Beef Noodle Casserole, Peas with Mushrooms, Washington Apple Cake

Italian Meatloaf, Vegan Siena Roasted Couscous, Roasted Vegetable Melange, Washington Apple Cake

Vegan Black Bean Tacos, Turkey Tacos, Baked Potato Bar, Corn Mexicane, Vegan Rice, Whoopie Pies

Honey Mustard Chicken Sandwich, Vegetarian Pot Pie with Biscuits, Yellow Beets, Whoopie Pies

TODAY NOVEMBER 5 TOMORROW NOVEMBER 6

c r o s s w o r d

s u d o k u

m e n u

c a l e n d a rsuccessful fundraising will direct Brown’s long-term priorities.

Crafting a campaignFinancial resources have long

posed a challenge to the University as it strives to maintain its reputation and compete with peers that possess greater assets.

The current endowment is about $2.86 billion — the smallest in the Ivy League.

Brown’s revenue comes princi-pally from tuition and fees, feder-ally sponsored funding, the endow-ment and annual giving, said Beppie Huidekoper, executive vice president for administration and finance. These funds support the University’s big-gest expenses: faculty salaries and benefits, student support, research and maintenance, Huidekoper said.

The University’s small endow-ment can be partially attributed to a weaker “culture of giving” among al-ums compared to that found at other Ivy League schools, Huidekoper said.

Economic uncertainty and height-ened competition to build prestige and attract the best students are changing the “endowment model” that top institutions use to finance both everyday operations and top fundraising priorities. Endowments were originally composed of gifts but have over time expanded through financial planning and investments, according to a report issued by the Center for Social Philanthropy and Tellus Institute last year.

Growing an endowment poses a distinct challenge: It requires balanc-ing planning for long-term invest-ments — like the objectives outlined in the strategic plan — and account-ing for more immediate expenses, according to a July 2010 report from CNN on university endowment strat-egies.

Because of Brown’s compara-tively limited endowment and lack of a strong alumni donor base, the upcoming capital campaign will play a key role in fulfilling goals outlined in the strategic plan.

In turn, the campaign’s success will partially depend on national economic conditions, which are cur-rently unclear, Schlissel said.

Brown’s last major capital cam-paign — the largest in its history — was the Campaign for Academic Enrichment, which ran October 2005 to January 2011 and helped fund Simmons’ 2004 Plan for Academic

Enrichment. The campaign raised $1.61 billion, exceeding its initial goal by more than $200 million.

But some objectives from the Campaign for Academic Enrichment were unfulfilled due to unforeseen endowment losses that stemmed from the 2008 financial crash.

The University will have to bal-ance fundraising for the plan’s long-term objectives with its constant goal of increasing the endowment and maintaining its short-term com-mitments. The University aims to raise $225 million for the next fiscal year, as well as $37 million for the Annual Fund — goals that have been determined independently from any plans for a capital campaign, said Pa-tricia Watson, senior vice president for University advancement. Watson will help oversee the University’s next capital campaign when it is launched.

Brown must proceed while recog-nizing and accounting for potential decreases in other sources of revenue, particularly federal funding, Wat-son said, adding that the amount of federal funding received will affect how much money administrators pull from existing sources to fund the strategic plan’s goals.

The University will pursue other means of increasing its fundraising abilities, like bringing in new staff to the Division of Advancement, Watson said.

The University will also use its upcoming 250th anniversary celebra-tion as a “springboard” for initiating donor interest in the strategic plan and fostering pride in Brown’s legacy, she added.

Simultaneously, increasing the number of students in graduate and master’s programs could be a posi-tive way for the University to grow its “constituent base,” Watson said.

The University must also consider how to “match donor interest” with the priorities outlined in the strategic plan, Watson said.

Paying for proposalsThe initiatives outlined in Build-

ing on Distinction, which include financial aid, physical developments and academic programs, will incur steep costs over the years and require increasing the University’s fundrais-ing efforts, Huidekoper said.

Some undergraduate-specific ar-eas identified in the strategic plan — “need-blind admission,” “summer support” and “diversity of experience” — relate to financial aid, a long-term priority the University has historically

struggled to balance with its other ambitions.

In addition to maintaining the need-blind status already afforded to most domestic students under Simmons, the plan proposes extend-ing need-blind admission to inter-national, Resumed Undergraduate Education and transfer students, all of whom are currently admitted on a need-aware basis.

But Schlissel said the University cannot commit to a firm timeline to achieve universal need-blind aid.

“I would feel very guilty saying that in three years we’ll be going need-blind for internationals, and then in three years can’t do this,” Schlissel said.

The University draws between 55 to 60 percent of the need-blind financial aid budget from the en-dowment, said Ken Miller ’70 P’02, professor of biology and a member of the strategic planning Committee on Financial Aid.

Tuition will contribute to the capital needed to implement a fully need-blind program but will not cov-er the entire cost, Huidekoper said. Fundraising related to the endow-ment and the Annual Fund would also play a part.

Tuition has risen steadily, nearly 12 percent over the last four years. But increasing tuition does not solve the problem of insufficient revenue, because fewer people are able to pay higher prices and more students need financial assistance, said Ronald Ehrenberg, director of the Cornell Higher Education Research Institute.

As part of its goal to offer sum-mer support to students on aid, the University, following the Corpora-tion’s approval of the plan, committed $500,000 to “defray summer earnings expectations” for low-paying intern-ships, Paxson wrote in a community-wide email Oct. 27.

In addition to improving financial aid, Paxson’s plan proposes increasing the undergraduate population by 1 percent every year. This change could be accommodated without any addi-tional cost by granting more juniors permission to live off campus, said Richard Bova, senior associate dean of residential and dining services.

The next step in accommodat-ing the proposed growth would be renovating existing residence halls as opposed to building new structures, Bova said.

Such residential developments will likely be funded through “a

» PLAN, from page 1

» See PLAN, page 3

Page 3: Tuesday, November 5, 2013

leaving a legacy? 3THE BROWN DAILY HERALDTUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

combination of funding, tuition and new revenue,” Klawunn said.

Later this year, the committee plan-ning the capital campaign will help craft the budget for renovations and construction as part of a proposed ex-pansion of the physical campus, said Vice President for Facilities Manage-ment Stephen Maiorisi.

Other projects in the plan include new classroom space, buildings for professional and graduate schools, renovations to the Sharpe Refectory, space for performing arts, student ac-tivity space and new athletic facilities.

The strategic plan provides a “framework going forward” for how to make the campus more efficient and sustainable, Maiorisi said.

Building “green” allows Brown to save on operational costs, which are steeper investments in the long term than is initial construction, Maiorisi said. The University has spent approxi-mately $18 million in the past year renovating utilities to make buildings more environmentally friendly, as out-lined in Facilities Management’s annual sustainability report.

Academics-related proposals in the plan include increasing the size of and support for faculty and staff while also providing “competitive compensation and academic resources.”

Faculty growth — a priority outlined under the plan — must be balanced with the expenses of current faculty and staff salaries, health benefits and retirement benefits, Huidekoper said.

As other universities offer new op-portunities for teaching other than the traditional tenure track, universities like Brown must pursue ways to shrink their administrative costs, Ehrenberg said. Northwestern and Duke univer-sities have created teaching positions that are “professorial rank” but do not provide tenure or stipulate research, which attract skilled professors at lower costs, Ehrenberg said.

Building on Distinction asserts that increases will be made in “sti-pend levels and summer support for the most promising applicants” to doctoral programs. Graduate students have historically voiced concerns over the summer stipend level, which has remained stagnant at $2,500 for the past four years.

Profiting from the planWhile many of the plan’s proposals

call for new or increased fundraising

efforts, some may prove profitable themselves.

Building on Distinction proposes increasing the number of the Uni-versity’s master’s degree programs, in part as a source of revenue for the University, Paxson told The Herald.

Expanding programs and funds for more advanced degree programs — particularly those in the life and physical sciences — enables uni-versities to train people in “socially important” fields without spending as much money, since many profes-sional degrees offer little financial aid, Ehrenberg said.

The plan’s proposal to expand the “virtual campus” could also generate alternative revenues.

The University offers not-for-credit online courses for high school students and “blended learning” un-dergraduate and master’s courses with both classroom and online compo-nents, in addition to massive open online courses, said Laurie Ward, director of finance and adminis-tration in the Office of Continuing Education.

For University-developed on-line and “blended learning” classes, technology and faculty members are the largest expenses, Ward said. The costs vary depending on the type of course and faculty members’ individ-ual knowledge of the platforms, said Instructional Designer Ren Whitaker.

Students pay a fee to take online pre-college courses, which currently “pay for themselves,” Ward said.

Funding an online course costs about the same as funding a tradi-tional course with similar content, and online courses could eventually become profitable, Ward said.

Huidekoper said it is unclear what the long-term financial benefits of this expansion could be.

But if Ivy League degrees be-come more attainable, universities will have “to be careful not to dilute their brands,” Ehrenberg said. In us-ing the virtual campus as an alterna-tive revenue source, the University must consider how to maintain the distinctiveness and market value of a Brown education.

The economy’s impactAnd as the University determines

its long-term strategy for financing objectives outlined in the plan, it must also consider the role borrowing

plays in paying for various projects. The University is highly ranked

in both short-term and long-term credit ratings by the standards of the Moody’s Corporation, an indepen-dent credit agency. These ratings are based on Brown’s competitiveness as an Ivy League university, its fundrais-ing capabilities — particularly the $1.6 billion raised from the Campaign for Academic Enrichment — and its distribution of revenue among vari-ous expenses, according to Moody’s.

Following the 2008 financial cri-sis, universities across the country cut costs but still had to take on debt to sustain themselves, The Herald previously reported. Though univer-sities’ finances are still recovering from this debt, borrowing remains an important aspect of their long-term financial plans.

Universities may take on debt to finance construction projects that are designed to attract top students and help the institutions remain competi-tive, according to a Dec. 13 New York Times article.

Brown’s debt has increased over the last decade, with nearly $800 mil-lion in fiscal year 2012 compared to $115 million in 2000.

If the United States falls back into a recession, the feasibility of any fu-ture capital campaign could be com-promised, Schlissel said.

“In a strong economy, there are many things you could accomplish,” Schlissel said. “Things outside of our control will have a tremendous effect on the plan.”

As the University plans for grow-ing its assets, campus and programs, it will consider how to work within its current means and bolster its brand, issues key to its future success.

Only after the University an-nounces its fundraising priorities derived from the strategic plan will the “real goals of Brown’s future” be evident, Miller said.

As the University looks to finance new projects on College Hill, it will also examine its place in Provi-dence, identifying projects that could strengthen Brown’s presence in the city. The next story in this series will analyze how the strategic plan could shape Brown’s relationship with and role in Providence and the city’s Jew-elry District.

—With reporting by Molly Schulson

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.Yesterday: 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.Today: Today’s story examines 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.Wednesday: Wednesday’s story explores 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.Thursday: Thursday’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.

‘Block Party’With his decision to enter the Re-

publican primary, Block has stepped down from his role as leader of the Moderate Party.

“I don’t imagine that (the party) is going to do anything but shut down at this point,” he said.

Scott MacKay, political analyst for Rhode Island Public Radio, said he and other reporters “used to refer to (the Moderate Party) somewhat irrever-ently … as the Block Party,” because it was “Ken’s child and his vision seemed to motivate the party.”

Block said he was not politically active until 2007, when he had a “po-litical awakening.” He said he decided to establish the Moderate Party as a venue to enact change from the middle of the political spectrum but eventu-ally learned “it’s not a great vehicle for change because ultimately people can’t put their head around a new political party — anywhere.”

That is why he decided to run for governor on the Republican ticket, he added.

“The Moderate Party was just a reaction to this kind of right-wing Republican southern-base party that’s happened in the last 15 to 20 years,” MacKay said. It is very difficult to get votes for a third party anywhere in the United States because the nation has a polarized two-party system where vot-ing for a third party candidate consti-tutes a “leap of faith” for the candidate, he added.

Primary hope When the Taubman Center for

Public Policy and American Insitu-tions asked voters to indicate a prefer-ence among the four projected guber-natorial candidates in early October, only 9 percent of voters picked Block, while 19 percent picked Fung, his op-ponent in the Republican primary. General Treasurer Gina Raimondo collected 27.3 percent of the vote with the remaining 20.7 percent supporting Mayor Angel Taveras and 24 percent

indicating they remain undecided. The poll was conducted before Block announced he would run as a Repub-lican.

“Fung has a much greater chance of winning” in the primary because he has a strong Republican base in the state and a good record in Cranston, “including being a fiscally responsible mayor who has supported education reform and also has been able to nego-tiate a pension reform with the unions in the city,” said Justin Braga ’16, chair-man of the College Republican Federa-tion of Rhode Island.

Fung is well-known to college Re-publicans across the state, Braga said. He added that he has not seen much support for Block among students.

Because of Fung’s strong base of supporters, “Block’s got some work to do with the kind of rank-and-file Republicans who traditionally vote in that primary,” MacKay said.

Block may have more luck with independents and should focus on per-suading them to vote in the Republican primary, since unaffiliated voters can vote in either of the state’s primaries, MacKay said.

Block faces a disadvantage in the primary because he is relatively un-known to party members and has never held elected office, MacKay said. But with the election about a year away, Block “has plenty of time to turn it around,” he said.

“That’s why we have campaigns,” MacKay added.

To succeed, Block must work on becoming a known personality, rais-ing money and spreading his message to the state’s Republicans, he added.

If Block wins the primary, he would have a fair chance in the general, even though Rhode Island is considered to be a safe blue state in national politics, MacKay said.

“When the Democrats have nasty primaries, when they just kick the stuffing out of each other … voters are much more likely to look at a Republi-can alternative, particularly someone who’s perceived as being moderate,” he added.

» BLOCK, from page 1

A four-part series

Page 4: Tuesday, November 5, 2013

arts & culture4 THE BROWN DAILY HERALDTUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

By CAROLINE KELLYCONTRIBUTING WRITER

In her recent film “The Other Half of Tomorrow,” author and director Sadia Shepard examines the lives of Pakistani women determined to foster change in their homeland. In advance of her Nov. 6 appearance at Brown for the screening of her film, Shepard spoke to The Herald about her experiences making the movie — working with a range of collaborators, exploring the lives of Pakistani women and gaining a new perspective first-hand.

The Herald: You clearly made a point to draw from a variety of differ-ent fields of cultural expression and empowerment in choosing which women to portray in the documentary. What drew you to these individual women?

When my team and I began the cast-ing process, we knew that one of our goals was to try and give some sense of the breadth and diversity of women’s experiences in Pakistan. … With 10 or 12 short portraits, you’re never going to be able to tell the story of an entire country, but we hoped that with our selections, we might be able to give you a glimpse of the range.

So we spent three months on the ground in Pakistan traveling all over the country and meeting with women leaders, educators, politicians, activ-ists, non-governmental workers, health workers, artists, and began to … ask them what they thought that the main issues that women are engaging with in Pakistan in order to try and make Pakistan work better. …Some of those were maternal health, women’s educa-tion and empowerment, creative expres-sion, political engagement, security and a safer Pakistan. …

It was a combination of trying to

identify issues that we could then find protagonists that would help us to rep-resent those issues and working with organizations that would help us iden-tify people that we should work with.

You’ve discussed in previous talks how there are many cultural voices pres-ent in Pakistan, despite the perception that it’s a hegemonic culture. What dif-ferent perspectives would you say you were trying to capture?

We, in the United States, tend to see Pakistan through a national security lens, and … parts of the culture that don’t fit into some of our prescribed notions about what it means to be Paki-stani and what it means to be a Pakistani woman don’t always get told.

Pakistan is an incredibly complex and often contradictory place. This is a country that has had a female prime minister, but also activists in Pakistan are fighting draconian rape laws. … So how do you try and represent that kind of diversity, even within a single family, was one of our challenges.

We quickly realized that it would be, we felt, impossible to make a sin-gle film. … There was no one single story.

What was the process of contact-ing, interviewing and working with each woman like?

The film’s aim was to prioritize women telling their stories in their own words, and the process with each one was we would spend as much time as we could kind of getting to know each person spending time with them, see-ing how their daily life worked, who are the major players in each of their lives, and get to know their families and colleagues. That would then help us to figure out how to anticipate what the story might look like and how we might want to tell it.

What links did you see or try to show between these different perspectives coming from very different places, as you continued with the interviews?

What all of the women in “The Other Half of Tomorrow” have in com-mon is a deep love for their country and a strong sense that things are only going to get better with their active and personal engagement in creating social change. These are women from … different socioeconomic and social backgrounds, but who are united in this feeling that “something has to change and it begins with me.” And that was something that was enormously … surprising and often very inspiring ... — most of them, of course, didn’t know each other, but there was somehow this sort of strong core of social responsibil-ity that was linking them all. …

Each one of the female protagonists … has supportive men in their lives — fathers, brothers, husbands, uncles — who have supported and encour-aged these women to pursue their goals and to fight for something better. And that went against I think many of our preconceived notions about pervasive stereotypes regarding both Pakistani

women and Pakistani men.

You mentioned on your website that your mother, artist and author Samina Quraeshi, and husband, cin-ematographer Andreas Burgess, were very heavily involved in the project. How has working with your family influenced the creative process?

Because Pakistan is so difficult for foreigners to travel to right now, it’s a place where you do find a fair number of Western print journalists … but there are not a lot of documentary filmmakers from the West. …

Samina Quraeshi, my late mother, was a Pakistani-American artist and author and was someone who spoke multiple South Asian languages. (She) was able to best explain the mission of our project and why we wanted to do it. So suddenly we were recognizable as a family unit, and then we were wel-comed as you might welcome a family of friends to your home.

That was pretty universally our experience, and we were enormously fortunate. ... Pakistanis are famously hospitable, and we were lucky to make some great friends in the process.

Q&A: Pakistani director unravels creative processSadia Shepard described her documentary about women striving for female empowerment in Pakistan

COURTESY OF SADIA SHEPARD

“The Other Half of Tomorrow” explores issues in Pakistan, including maternal health, women’s education and how to achieve a safer Pakistan.

Divest Coal. She said the mission of the task force remains “nebulous” and that a truly “bold move” in response to climate change would be divesting from coal companies.

Sophie Purdom ’16, a member of the task force, said the group was created before the decision not to divest and that the timing of the committee’s launch is just “ironic.”

She added that campus members dwelling on coal divestment “should look to channel those sentiments into new initiatives moving forward.”

Purdom worked this summer on the “Sustainable Providence” environmental change plan, which highlights six key environmental initiatives the city hopes to address in the coming years. She said she hopes to align the work she has done with the city with that of the task force.

The task force will meet several times throughout the academic year. In the spring, it will present a report on its recommendations to the Brown University Community Council.

The BUCC, a forum composed of top administrators, faculty members, several Corporation members, under-graduates and graduate students, will then discuss the recommendations, Schlissel said.

» TASK FORCE, from page 1

By JILLIAN LANNEYSENIOR STAFF WRITER

The following is an account of crime events that took place last week and this

weekend, reported to The Herald by Deputy Chief of Police for the De-

partment of Public Safety Paul Shanley:

Thursday morningTwo students reported an incident in

which an unknown individual opened their Emery-Woolley Hall dorm room door while they were sleeping. Both stu-dents woke up when they heard the door, at which point the intruder closed the door and left. DPS officers do not know if the intruder intended to enter the room.

Saturday nightTwo MacBook laptops were reported

stolen from residence hall rooms. The first theft allegedly occurred in Olney House between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. and the second occurred between 10 p.m. and 12:50 a.m. in Diman House. Neither room was locked.

Other recent eventsThere have been four reported inci-

dents of larceny in the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center since Oct. 24, the most recent of which on Oct. 29. Items stolen include personal belongings, such as an iPhone that was taken while its owner was playing basketball. The individuals responsible may have entered through the back of the gym, Shanley said. He added that DPS is “working with the OMAC” to apprehend those respon-sible and raise awareness of the issue to encourage students not to leave their belongings unattended. No suspects have been identified.

Weekend Crime Update: Oct. 31- Nov. 2

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Page 5: Tuesday, November 5, 2013

sports tuesday 5THE BROWN DAILY HERALDTUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

Class Notes | Philip Trammell

Let’s Talk | Nava Winkler and Regine Rosas

c o m i c s

By SAM WICKHAMSPORTS STAFF WRITER

Bruno earned a dramatic double-overtime victory Saturday at home against Ivy foe Penn.

The Bears (6-6-3, 2-1-2 Ivy) snatched the winning goal in the 105th minute to down the Quakers (6-8-1, 3-1-1) and earn their third win in a row. The team is now tied with Yale for fourth place in the Ivy League after the victory with two games left to play.

Bruno controlled play in the game’s opening minutes, and its dominance in midfield led to the first scoring chance of the match.

Voltaire Escalona ’14 received the ball outside the 18-yard box and quickly fired a shot across goal into the bottom corner, putting the Bears up 1-0. Bruno outshot the Quakers eight to seven in the half.

“The first goal is very important, especially when you’re at home,” said Head Coach Patrick Laughlin. “It’s great to come out and set the tone.”

Penn emerged with a vengeance in the second half, pressuring Bruno’s backline with four corner kicks in the

first 15 minutes of the period. The Bears defense blocked shots on mul-tiple occasions throughout the half to protect Josh Weiner ’14 in goal and keep the lead alive.

“In the second half, we came out flat,” Laughlin said. “We weren’t able to play as well as we would have hoped, so credit to Penn because of their pressure.”

The Quakers’ perseverance paid off in the 78th minute when a shot from Duke Lacroix found the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1. Penn outshot Bruno 10-1 in the period, but neither team could find a way to break the deadlock before the end of regulation.

The two sides remained level for the first overtime period, despite a shot from Escalona and three shots from Penn.

The Bears notched the game-win-ner in the 105th minute. An assist from Tariq Akeel ’16 found Daniel Taylor ’15, who launched a shot into the side-netting to give his team a 2-1 victory.

Bruno looks to keep its winning streak alive against Yale (4-9-2, 2-1-2) Saturday in New Haven.

“We’re concentrating on putting in a good performance away, which has been difficult for us,” Laughlin said. “They’re a tough opponent, but we know we can come out and play well.”

Goal in extra time gives Bruno key Ivy victoryThe win keeps the Bears in contention for the Ivy title, while diminishing Penn’s chances

By BRUNO ZUCCOLOSPORTS STAFF WRITER

The men and women’s cross country teams struggled Saturday at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships hosted by Princeton, with both teams claiming bottom-table finishes. The women’s squad placed seventh out of eight schools with a score of 174, while the men came in last with a score of 253.

Dartmouth won the women’s race with 38 points and was led by Abbey D’Agostino, who took first place with an impressive 40-second lead over the second-place finisher. Columbia took home the men’s gold with 48 points, placing three of its runners in the top five.

“As a team, we definitely did not have a perfect day,” said Heidi Caldwell ’14. “But I think everyone went out there and did the best they could under the circumstances.”

Caldwell was the Bears’ highest-placed runner, finishing 11th at 20 minutes, 59 seconds. Leah Eickhoff ’15 was the next Bruno runner to fin-ish the race, completing 6 kilometers in 21:41 to secure 29th place.

This weekend was Caldwell’s fourth and last time running the Ivy meet. “I just wanted to go out there and give everything I could one more time,” she said. “There’s something really special about the Ivy League meet that no other meet really has.”

Bruno placed two runners in the top 50 of the men’s 8-kilometer race. Mark McGurrin ’15 placed 46th with a time of 24:50, and Colin Savage ’14 finished 48th with a time of 25:03.

The men’s team not only finished last but was also more than 50 points

behind seventh-place Cornell, which scored 181.

“There’s not a lot of positive things to take away,” said Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Tim Springfield.

“It was obviously kind of a dis-appointment. That’s not where we wanted to be,” Savage said.

But Savage noted some positives outcomes from the meet. “We did have some of the underclassmen step up,” he said. “It wasn’t a complete disaster.”

Caldwell said the team has “a lot of potential.”

“A lot of our team doesn’t have that much experience yet in big races,” Caldwell said. “This season was really the growing season to help people gain that experience.”

The next race for the Bears will be in two weeks, when they travel to the Bronx for the NCAA Northeast Regional. The competition will be a much larger meet with more than 30 schools competing.

Teamwork will be one of the main focuses in upcoming weeks, Eickhoff said. “It’s really good to have a pack of runners who are running with you rather than doing it alone,” she said.

“We have two weeks to fine tune some things and be better prepared than we were this past weekend,” Caldwell said.

Last year neither team qualified for nationals — the men’s team fin-ished 11th and the women’s eighth. If the Bears have a similar race this time around, it will be the last of the season.

Springfield said an important part of the next two weeks will be “mostly motivating (the team) to get back out and demonstrate that we can perform a lot better.”

“I’m confident in our team’s abil-ity to go regionals and do well there,” Savage said.

Bears finish at bottom of Ivy League at HepsIn her final Ivy League race, Heidi Caldwell ’14 led both teams with an 11th place finish

MEN’S SOCCER CROSS COUNTRY

To, on the other hand, continued to plow through the field. He derailed Bry-ant University’s top player in the second round to earn himself a spot in the final against a Harvard foe. He won the match after just a set and a half of play, as his opponent was forced to retire. To fin-ished the tournament as the A singles flight champion after his three victories in the invite.

“I’m really happy with the way I played,” To said.

With a tournament win the trio re-turned to Providence, where the rest of the team had been resting all weekend.

The fall tennis season has ended for the Bears, but the team has begun plan-ning for the rest of the year.

“The spring season gets pretty in-tense, so we’re going to continue to stress fitness over the next couple months,” Nath said. “That’s one of our key attri-butes — we want every guy to out-hustle his opponent and have the stamina to compete at his highest level for an entire match.”

Aside from the overall team aspira-tions, individuals have their own goals for the break between fall and spring seasons.

“I’m definitely going to hit the weight room and try to keep getting stronger. I know I need to keep working on being more aggressive, and definitely work on my serve a lot,” Nath said.

“Everyone has their own ways of staying on top of their game,” To said. “We’ll hit with whoever is in our area back at home. We all come back early, before school starts, and train for a good week-and-a-half to two weeks before we have our first match of the new season.”

Despite the month the team will spend apart over winter break, players expressed optimism that everyone will be ready to compete at a high level and act as a complete team come spring.

We had some guys who were injured, but they’re all starting to look healthy,” Nath said. “Our two freshmen have been really solid and are motivating everyone to do well.”

“We have a lot of guys who played at a high level all fall,” To said. “We’re a really tight team, we’re really focused, and we’re all looking to make an impact when the spring season rolls around.”

» M. TENNIS, from page 8

the Corporation — for him to leave his seat.”

Marisa Quinn, vice president for public affairs and University relations, wrote Monday evening in an email to The Herald that she had nothing further to add.

The securities fraud counts against the firm encompassed in-sider trading charges against eight SAC employees whose alleged mis-deeds occurred from 1999 to 2010. Six of those employees have pled guilty, including Richard S. Lee ’01, while two remain pending trial.

Along with the fine and plea, SAC will be on probation for five years and will be barred from man-aging outside client assets. The lat-ter condition will have minimal impact, as most outside investors pulled their funds from SAC during the escalating federal investigation over the past year.

Instead, SAC is expected to downsize to manage Cohen’s per-sonal funds, which still total about $9 billion. At its peak, the firm man-aged about $15 billion.

“We take responsibility for the handful of men who pleaded guilty and whose conduct gave rise to SAC’s liability,” SAC spokesman Jonathan Gasthalter wrote in a state-ment emailed to The Herald. “The tiny fraction of wrongdoers does not represent the 3,000 honest men and women who have worked at the firm during the past 21 years. SAC has never encouraged, promoted or tolerated insider trading.”

A civil suit remains outstanding against Cohen, filed this summer by the Securities and Exchange Com-mission on charges of “failing to supervise” his employees accused of insider trading. Potential penal-ties from that action could include permanently banning Cohen from managing outside money anywhere.

And the threat of further crimi-nal action still looms: The Times reported that he and others remain under investigation. Prosecutors have had trouble in the past con-necting Cohen directly to insider trading schemes or proving he had knowledge of their existence.

Under the deal announced Monday, SAC would have to add a government-approved compli-ance monitor to ensure no further violations if it wants to continue taking part in the securities trade, the Financial Post reported.

The hedge fund’s guilty plea caps several years of federal efforts to crack down on improper trading on Wall Street, of which SAC has been at the center.

Before insider-trading charges began swirling around the com-pany, SAC had been known as one of the greatest success stories on Wall Street. Over the past two de-cades, its average annual returns have approached 30 percent, the Times reported.

Despite Monday’s deal, SAC will likely remain in business as a family office. Its assets were not frozen, and prosecutors voiced their support for other firms to continue doing business with SAC.

» SAC, from page 1

www.browndailyherald.com

Page 6: Tuesday, November 5, 2013

commentary6 THE BROWN DAILY HERALDTUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

Students at Brown are quick to support a cause, and their plea for coal divestment is no exception. On Oct. 27, President Christina Paxson wrote an email informing the Brown community that the Corporation would not divest the University’s endowment from major coal companies. “The existence of social harm is a necessary but not sufficient rationale for Brown to divest,” she wrote.

Paxson’s announcement was met with surprise, disappointment and anger from much of the community, led by members of Brown Divest Coal. They condemned the Corporation’s decision for its lack of a democratic process and its prioritization of profit over social good. Anger with the Corpora-tion’s decision even made its way to news sources like the Huffington Post and the Providence Journal. Though Brown’s social awareness should be celebrated the outrage many community members have directed toward the Corporation overemphasizes the amount of money actually invested in coal and the impact divestment would have.

As a whole, the University invests minimally in coal companies — with holdings making up less than 0.1 percent of the University’s investments, The Herald previously reported. Divestment would have virtually no actual impact on the environment, but could pull funding from the University that could be used for financial aid or other priorities.

Community members condemned the University for prioritizing Cor-poration members’ financial ties in their decision. They have pointed to trustees like Steven A. Cohen P’08 P’16 and Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan ’81 P’14, who have huge financial stakes in coal. Though these members of the Corporation should have recused themselves from the discussion to avoid the appearance of impropriety, Paxson’s email indi-cates their presence ultimately didn’t matter: The body generally opposed divestment, anyway.

The University’s endowment is far smaller than those of other Ivy League institutions with which Brown must compete for students. Compare Brown’s $2.86 billion endowment with that of Harvard, which reported a 2012 endowment of $32 billion. Brown can use its investments in coal to fund other important functions — for example, attracting brilliant students and faculty members and funding cutting-edge research. If we can build up the University’s research capacity, we could enhance the technology needed to use different forms of reusable energy and eventually make coal obsolete. In fact, the University has already demonstrated its intent to work toward a healthier and more sustainable environment in Paxson’s strategic plan.

Ultimately, the events of the past week have demonstrated that there seems to be confusion among the student body regarding the power struc-ture of the University and the voting power of students. Student activism and student voices are a significant part of campus discourse, and they have time and time again proven to bring about meaningful reforms on campus. But structurally, Brown is not governed by the student body. Unlike in the case of the faculty, the student government’s votes do not shape policy. It is fair to be disappointed with this decision, but we must remember Brown answers to more than just student voices. The University does an admirable job of welcoming suggestions and taking into account community members’ opinions. But when push comes to shove, it cannot always answer to student outcry — though it can and should consider those responses as it fomulates its broader vision and ideas. As much as it is an academic institution, Brown is also an economic institution, and it must make decisions to strengthen all of its roles.

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 [email protected].

Rationalizing the divestment decision

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IVAN ALCANTAR A

E D I T O R I A L

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

“The way Rhode Island governs itself is silly.” — Ken Block, 2014 gubernatorial candidate

See block, page 1.

Coal divestment op-ed misses nuance of debateTo the Editor:

I understand the harms coal creates. I support moving away from coal as an energy source. But I cannot support Brown Divest Coal. The letter the campaign submitted to The Herald on Monday (“An open letter to President Paxson and the Corporation,” Nov. 4) felt melodramatic, hair-brained and all-around detrimental to the group’s sup-posed cause. It seems the campaign has no desire to even acknowledge that, unlike tobacco or racial segregation, coal has an inherent value and is a useful commodity. This is not a one-sided case, and such comparisons are unlikely to elicit a positive response.

Take a look, for example, at when former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, of all people, closed the nationalized coal mines of Britain in the 1980s. To this day, former mining communities across Britain remain centers of unemploy-ment and impoverishment. What does Brown Divest Coal propose we do with all those who rely on coal for their

livelihoods? Should we condemn them to misery, just as Baroness Thatcher did?

As another matter of importance, it seems Brown Divest Coal forgets coal is vital to the production of steel. Steel is made with iron ore and carbon. The form of carbon used is usually coke, a bi-product of burning coal. What does Brown Divest Coal propose we do without steel? Should we stop building bridges and buildings?

As I said, I support moving away from coal as an energy source. But the discussion — and it must be a discussion, not a demand — must be well-informed. Sensationalizing the debate, blowing it out of proportion and ignoring critical gray areas does not accomplish anything, let alone tackle the very real issues of climate change and environmental destruction. Change of this magnitude must be gradual, it must be well-informed and it must be based in a process of consensus. As it stands now, Brown Divest Coal seems to prefer to ignore this reality.

Max Guerrera-Sapone ’14

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

Page 7: Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Last weekend, President Christina Pax-son sent an email to the Brown commu-nity informing us that the University would not divest from coal. This was a setback for Brown Divest Coal, a group that has been working to convince ad-ministrators to remove the University’s endowment assets in various utilities and mining companies. Brown Divest Coal believes coal is damaging to both the environment and human health.

I don’t question the importance of socially responsible initiatives. It’s un-doubtedly important for Brown stu-dents to voice our concerns and actively work to combat inequalities, policy fail-ures or immoral practices. But I’d like to highlight a practice of Brown Divest Coal that I observed — one I seriously hope the organization will reconsider in the future.

On Oct. 23, Bank of America-Mer-rill Lynch hosted an on-campus infor-mation session for its wealth manage-ment and global banking divisions.

As someone interested in the firm, I hoped to use this brief hour and a half to learn more about the firm’s intern-ship program and meet some of the bank’s employees. After the presenta-tion, students were allowed to approach company representatives in what was intended to be a networking session for the internship.

I waited to ask my questions with a group of about six other students sur-rounding the key-note speaker, a client portfolio and market manager. As I stood there, I noticed a stu-dent had begun to ask a question com-pletely unrelated to the internship pro-gram, wealth man-agement or banking. The student prodded the speaker about Bank of America’s energy practices, criticizing its investment in coal and asking what they would do to change their policies moving forward. Quickly thereafter, another student jumped in

and asked about the CEO of Bank of America, Brian Moynihan ’81 P’14, and his investments in coal as a member of the Corporation.

Let me put this in context. At an event designed to engage students in-terested in finance, present job op-portunities and provide information about wealth management and bank-

ing, two “socially ac-tive” Brown students spent several minutes discussing the en-ergy practices of the firm with someone whose only job is to deal with client port-folio management. These students some-how expected an em-ployee of a regional wealth management arm to give a mean-ingful answer as to how a corporation with over $2 trillion

in assets was going to manage its energy investments.

These students frustrated me for several reasons. First, they wasted the representative’s valuable time, when he

could have been answering our ques-tions about working at the firm. In ad-dition, I was ticked off by how self-im-portant they made themselves seem. Why not consider, for a moment, that these employees took the time to co-ordinate an event with the Center for Careers and Life After Brown, made the trip to campus on a week day and set aside time to meet students actually interested in the internship program? Was it really that essential to cause vis-ible discomfort to an employee who has absolutely no operational control of Bank of America and to ruin the friend-ly atmosphere of the ongoing conversa-tion? The obvious answer is no.

I do not intend to disparage Brown Divest Coal’s mission, as out-of-line as those two students’ actions were. But I am trying to point out a broader issue of being cognizant of boundaries and re-ally thinking through what one does in the purported name of good. Two years ago, Goldman Sachs canceled a visit to the University for fear that members of the College Hill Occupy Wall Street movement would disrupt the recruiting session. We are gaining a reputation as a campus that is hostile to anyone from the financial industry.

Completely ignore the fact that it’s disrespectful to both interested students and to recruiters who take time out of their full schedules to travel to Brown. Disregard that it’s absurd for Brown stu-dents to suggest they, in the name of clean energy, have a better idea of how a business as complex as Bank of Amer-ica should allocate its investments and assets than those running the firm. All of this aside, the practice of sabotaging an info session is still a horribly ineffec-tive way to achieving divestment.

Whether it’s for the environment or to reduce executive compensation, pushing your messages onto a few re-cruiters will never encourage social re-sponsibility. I don’t care what sociolog-ical model of change one looks at. No bank will alter its business practices be-cause a few students disturb one of its on-campus events. In addition to being largely useless, these efforts show disre-spect for students who are actually try-ing to connect to firm employees to find jobs in one of the toughest labor mar-kets in recent memory.

Jay Upadhyay ’15 is concentrating in economics.

This past week showed an excitement and vitality that arguably hasn’t existed on Brown’s campus since the struggle for need-blind admission in the 90s. Despite highs and lows and victories and frustrations, the feeling that some-thing important is happening on this campus is undeniable.

This feeling is largely because of two important events on campus: the Cor-poration’s refusal to divest from coal and the protest against New York Po-lice Commissioner Ray Kelly. The for-mer clearly demonstrated that we stu-dents have no power in this Univer-sity through the “proper channels,” no matter how many students support our cause. The latter showed us that the way for students to make a difference on this

campus is through action.What succeeded in the Kelly pro-

test was the time-honored tactic of dis-ruption, like that used in the protests against the Vietnam and Iraq wars, for instance. Similar to the govern-ment-sponsored forums and televised events that promoted these wars, the Kelly event was not going to be a place for equal discourse. Kelly was the one with the mic and the platform, and the other side had neither. We are kidding ourselves if we think the questions we asked would have been new to Kelly, who has spoken about these policies many times before — even if someone asked what we considered to be the per-fect question.

The protest, on the other hand, suc-ceeded in stopping our institution from giving Kelly a platform. It succeeded in allowing those who are never given this platform a chance to speak and be heard campus-wide, if not nation-wide. The mainly black and Latino students and community members who disrupt-ed the events were heard, even if their statements about the policies had rarely

been reported before. Finally, the pro-test disrupted Kelly’s ability to teach the Providence Police force — for whom the two front rows were reserved — how to implement these policies here in Providence.

We need student power at the Uni-versity because we should play a role in deciding how it is run, along with facul-ty members and staff members. We should be able to decide what the University is invested in — after all, it is investing our money. We should also be able to decide how it is run: for in-stance, whether constant renovations are worth continual tuition hikes.

And because the University is a key center of knowledge production, we should have a say in whose voice our institution magnifies. Deciding to give the platform to Kelly or to those who have suffered from racist police policies

— or both — is a political choice. Right now, this choice is made by whoever gives money for lectures. Money equals speech, not only in political campaigns, but also on this campus. Students, faculty members and staff members should decide whose voice we magnify

with our institution, not money.

Universities for the past few decades, at Brown and across the country, have been characterized by increasing tuition but decreasing student power, decreasing pay and tenure rates for faculty members and decreasing pay

and benefits for staffers. This money is being put toward more administrators with higher salaries and toward shiny new sports facilities and dorms. While some sports struggle to obtain funding and varsity status, others bring the Uni-versity prestige and revenue from ticket sales. And dorms help attract wealthier

students who can afford these higher tuition rates. The decisions of this Uni-versity should be based on the priorities of those studying or working here, not on revenue maximization.

We should be fighting for greater say in the University, ways to directly influ-ence the Corporation or greater faculty governance and tenure rates. But our main weapon as students is action.

The Kelly event showed this most recently, but we need only look to the struggles that created need-blind ad-mission, the Africana Studies depart-ment or the Third World Center to see how students can change the campus: through protests, disruptions of events, sit-ins and walk-outs. In the coming weeks, we expect and hope to see strug-gles for student power on this campus, such as the upcoming action by Brown Divest Coal, and we encourage every-one to join them.

The Brown International Socialist Organization can be contacted at

[email protected].

commentary 7THE BROWN DAILY HERALDTUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

Power to the students!

Divest Coal: Learning to respect boundaries

“The decisions of this University

should be based on the priorities of those studying or working here, not on revenue maximization.”

“Whether it’s for the environment or to reduce executive

compensation, pushing your messages onto a few recruiters

will not encourage social responsibility.”

JAYUPADHYAY

opinions columnist

BROWN INTERNATIONAL

SOCIALIST ORGANIZATION

Guest columnists

Page 8: Tuesday, November 5, 2013

daily heraldTHE BROWNsports tuesday

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

By HANNAH CAMHISPORTS STAFF WRITER

The Bears continued Ivy season play last weekend, traveling to Harvard and Dartmouth. Bruno (9-12, 5-5 Ivy) already defeated both teams at home earlier in the season. This was the team’s first pair of Ivy wins and propelled it to a three-match conference winning streak.

But the Bears lost 3-1 to Harvard (12-7, 7-3) Friday. Away games at Harvard are difficult because “of the difference in the court and lighting,” said Maryl Vanden Bos ’15. “It’s always hard to not have your fans.”

Harvard seemed to achieve a balance of a powerful and aggressive offense with an unstoppable defense. The Crimson consistently notched a high number of kills in every set, while limiting the Bears’ kill percentage to .142.

The first time Bruno played Harvard, the Crimson’s best outside hitter was in-jured within the first game of play. In this match, a restored offense and position change at libero for Harvard changed

the matchup for Bruno, said Maddie Lord ’15. By switching up the libero — the most skilled defensive player on the team — the Bears were forced to adjust their offensive scheme.

Outside hitters are crucial to a team’s offense, because when a pass goes awry the outside hitters are usually there to try to put the ball down — and usually have the most opportunities for kills. With the return of the team’s strongest outside hitter, Harvard’s offense improved upon an already powerful attack.

The Crimson also had a strong mid-dle attack that proved difficult to coun-ter in this game, Vanden Bos said. All of these changes illustrate the Harvard squad played cohesively.

As the Bears’ offense revved up, the team stayed in the match by narrowly squeaking out the third set 25-23 to force a fourth set. In the third set, they reached a set-high of 14 kills.

Bruno was trounced in the fourth set 25-12.

“The energy wasn’t high,” Lord said. “They had a 10-point run, and that’s always very tough to come back from.”

Brown tried to hold on for the first couple of points in the fourth, but the 10-point winning streak gave the Crim-son a 15-5 lead.

“It had a lot to do with energy and

mental focus,” Vanden Bos said. “We had a talk after the game, and it helped us against Dartmouth the next day.”

The Bears rebounded the next day with a convincing 3-0 win over Dart-mouth, the first time this year Bruno has won an Ivy match in fewer than five sets. Though the Bears shut out the Big Green (10-12, 3-7), the match was close, with two of the three sets forced to extended play.

“We tend to do very well in those close pressure situations. … We are a mature team now because a lot of the players are older, so they handle the pres-sure well,” Lord said.

The Bears played well at pivotal mo-ments and came up with big shots to close out the Big Green. Shannon Frost ’16 stood out with her mental toughness by clinching both the second and third sets with a pair of kills.

“We didn’t lose our cool when they would win points at the end,” Vanden Bos said.

While there were some nail-biting momentum swings, the Bears main-tained sharp focus and positive energy. “Everyone was making a very conscious effort to be vocal and in the game,” Lord said.

This weekend Brown continues Ivy play, hosting Columbia and Cornell.

Bears battle to down Big Green after falling to the CrimsonThough the team had previously defeated Harvard, a revamped offense sunk Bruno

By ALEX WAINGERSPORTS STAFF WRITER

Bruno wrapped up its fall season this weekend at the Harvard Halloween Invite. The Bears sent Justin To ’15.5, Eli Whittle ’17 and Thomas Nath ’16 to compete in the three-day tournament.

To took home the championship for Brown, winning the top flight.

The three players came out firing and swept their opening matches. To and Whittle both knocked off opponents from the United States Military Academy, while Nath, a member of The Herald’s editorial page board, picked up a win against a Crimson player in straight sets.

Day two of the tournament proved less successful, as both Nath and Whittle were eliminated from singles play. The duo also paired up for doubles but did not advance beyond the first round, after a narrow 8-6 loss to Harvard.

“It was a fine way to end the fall sea-son,” Nath said. “It would have been nice to have made it further, but I’m happy with the way I played. We faced some quality teams there in Harvard, Dart-mouth and Army. It felt good to get some last reps in before the winter.”

To ’15.5 takes Harvard InviteThe players plan to use the winter layoff to nurse lingering injuries and tweak their styles of play

By LLOYD SYSPORTS STAFF WRITER

The Bears lost two close home matches last week to Harvard and Penn.The losses drop Brown (8-6-1, 3-2-1 Ivy) to third in the Ivy League behind the first-place Crimson and second-place Quakers.

Harvard 1, Brown 0 (OT)The Crimson (11-3-2, 6-0-0) de-

feated Brown Tuesday afternoon in a designated non-conference match-up. Harvard also won the teams’ confer-ence game two weeks ago.

Neither side managed to score un-til eight minutes into overtime, when Harvard’s Elizabeth Weisman headed in a lob from Erika Garcia.

The Bears had their share of oppor-tunities throughout the match. Back Emily Wingrove ’14 nearly scored in the game’s fifth minute, when she kicked a ball toward the net’s left corner that was saved at the last second by Crimson goalie Cheta Emba.

“We came in knowing we had noth-ing to lose,” Wingrove said. “We wrote them up too much in the first game and never got comfortable.”

In the second half, Louisa Pitney ’14, Kirsten Belinsky ’15 and Ali Mullin ’14 each had a single shot on goal but were continually repelled by Harvard’s Lizzie Durack.

On defense, Annie Gillen ’15 led the Bears, aiding the goalies by mak-ing stops throughout the game and deflecting a Harvard shot away from an empty net.

Wingrove said the team was “very proud” of shutting down Harvard’s freshman sensation Margaret “Midge” Purce, who was a member of the na-tional under-17 women’s soccer team that went to the World Cup in Azer-baijan last year.

“We did a really good job of stick-ing to our game plan on defense,” Wingrove said. “All of us played smart soccer.”

Amber Bledsoe ’14 made five saves in the first half, while Mary Catherine Barrett ’14 saved two shots, continuing the shutout through the remainder of regulation.

Penn 1, Brown 0The Ivy League’s two then-sec-

ond-place teams met Saturday, and the Quakers (11-1-4, 4-1-1) handed a defeat to Brown.

In contrast to the Harvard game, the match’s deciding goal was scored after two minutes, when Penn’s Haley Cooper capitalized on an assist from Brianna Rano.

“When a goal like that happens so quickly, you just really don’t have a choice but to pretend like it didn’t hap-pen,” said captain Mika Siegelman ’14. “If you don’t, the game can turn into a disaster where you make a mistake at every turn.”

Siegelman led the Bears with three shots in the game. Sydney Calas ’17, Kiersten Berg ’14, Jaclyn Alois ’17 and Wingrove each added a shot on goal.

Aside from giving up the opening goal, Bruno’s goalies gave solid perfor-mances, with Bledsoe and Barrett earn-ing three and two saves, respectively.

“Our goalies came up huge,” Siegel-man said. “They made some incredible saves.”

The Bears complete their confer-ence schedule this Friday against Yale

in New Haven, Conn., and then finish the season Sunday with a non-confer-ence game against the Bulldogs.

“The Yale game is as important as

any other,” Siegelman said. “It’s not like it doesn’t matter because we’re not in first or second. We want to go out and finish our careers on a high note.”

Conference losses drop Bears to fourth in Ivy LeagueBruno went winless despite solid goaltending, stingy defense and many offensive chances

KATIE LIEBOWITZ / HERALD

Maryl Vanden Bos ‘15 attributed the difficult match against Harvard to a revitalized Crimson offense and an unwelcome setting for visitors.

JESSE SCHWIMMER / HERALD

Emily Wingrove ’14 nearly scored against Harvard in the match’s opening minutes, but the Bears could not build on the early momentum.

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