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vol. cxlv, no. 46 | Monday, April 12, 2010 | Serving the community daily since 1891
in sealed case
Tickets for Saturday’s Gala went including a $5,000 deposit that has
back on sale Sunday after being put already been made to the hotel. The
on hold Thursday, a few days after University’s lawyers were pursuing
Student Labor Alliance members the matter, he said. 2006 ouster was result
informed the event’s organizers Brown’s Vice President and
of claims of unfair labor practices General Counsel Beverly Ledbetter of false rape charge,
made by workers at the Westin said she was not the attorney from case alleges
Providence hotel, the previously the Office of the General Counsel in
scheduled location. charge of the Gala contract, but said By Ben Schreckinger
The Gala will instead be held in that in cases like this, at least the Metro Editor
and around Andrews Dining Hall deposit would be non-refundable,
and on the terrace above it, accord- and possibly more. A sealed civil case has been filed
ing to Neil Parikh ’11, president “It would be up to the Westin and in federal court accusing the Uni-
of the 2011 Class Board. He said any goodwill they wish to bestow on versity, President Ruth Simmons,
a tent will cover the terrace and the students,” Ledbetter said. The Provost David Kertzer ’69 P’95 P’98,
other areas to prevent a repeat of attorney from her office responsible Senior Vice President for Corpora-
Phoebe Neel / Herald
last year’s muddy Gala. for the case could not be reached tion Affairs and Governance Rus-
Protestors rally against Westin Hotel’s treatment of employees.
“It was kind of a last-minute de- Sunday night. sell Carey ’91 MA’06 and several
cision, but I think we got lucky,” added. according to Parikh, though the According to an unfinalized other University employees of “acts
Parikh said. The organizers have The event is organized by the total cost to put on the event is not draft of the contract obtained by tantamount to criminality,” false im-
received assistance from Brown’s Class Boards and the Key Society. yet known. The Herald, the only situations in prisonment, fraud and conspiracy to
catering services, who put them in Ticket prices for the new venue He said the on-campus event which the agreement could be nul- defraud, libel and 10 other counts of
touch with the company that caters will be reduced by five dollars to should cost about $20,000, adding civil misconduct.
alumni functions on campus, he $20 in advance and $25 at the door, that he was not sure whether the continued on page 2 The claims stem from a Septem-
ber 2006 incident in which a former
member of the class of 2010 was ac-
Shortz spells it BrandingBrown cused of raping a female student.
The female student and her fa-
out, students
Second in a five-part series
ther are accused in the complaint of
are puzzled Honesty is tour guides’ policy extortion, fraud and conspiracy to
defraud, libel and four other counts
of civil misconduct. The Herald is
By Max Godnick managers, admission officers, Office. withholding her name because she
By Alicia Chen Staff Writer architects, Web designers, stu- “We are not tr ying to sell may have been the victim of a sex
Senior Staf f Writer dents, faculty and staff all play a Brown to people,” said Chris- crime.
Red brick buildings, wide campus crucial role in crafting and promot- tiana Stephenson ’11, tours co- A complaint obtained by The
As other students relaxed outside greens, the New Curriculum, the ing the way Brown sells itself to coordinator for the Bruin Club Herald and filed in Rhode Island
in the sun Saturday afternoon, Van Wickle Gates: these ideas the world. and The Herald’s alumni relations Superior Court last September on
Brown’s puzzle fans gathered in represent Brown to the outside The first on-campus experi- director. “We are trying to show behalf of the plaintiffs — William
MacMillan Hall 117 to compete in world. ence a prospective applicant has people what our lives are like here McCormick III and his parents — al-
the second annual Brown Cross- Brown’s image, and how it pro- at Brown likely comes in the form at Brown.” leges that pressure from University
word Tournament for fame, glory motes that image to prospective of a tour or an information ses- Tours are the primary method employees and the female student’s
and puzzle books by Will Shortz, applicants, is carefully tailored to sion, which are coordinated by used to show what campus and stu- friends over several days led her
the event’s host. Shortz is the New cast the University in its desired the Bruin Club, a student group,
York Times crossword editor and light. Administrators, facilities in partnership with the Admission continued on page 4 continued on page 2
puzzle master on National Public
Princeton, Cornell
in the tournament, said event co-
organizer Natan Last ’12. A puzzle
constructed by co-organizer Jonah
Kagan ’13 will be published in the By Chan Hee Chu the other three games, defeating
Times on April 14 and Last, who Contributing Writer Princeton, 17-4, and Cornell, 13-6
will intern with Shortz this summer, and 15-4.
will have his puzzle published April It was the kind of scenario that
30. Kagan and Last create weekly baseball players act out in back- Brown 17, Princeton 4
crosswords for The Herald. yards from the time they were little In the first of two against the Ti-
Though Shor tz also hosts leaguers. Josh Feit ’11 stepped up gers, the Bears received a quality
crossword tournaments at other to the plate in the bottom of the outing from starter Kevin Carlow
colleges, he noted that Brown ninth with two runners on and two ’13 on the mound.
has the most student crossword “It was important for Kevin to
constructors. He hopes to have a SPORTS go deep in the game especially
week of puzzles entirely created by with the wind blowing. We knew
Brown students in the Times next outs. With the score tied, 12-12, we were going to need our reliev-
September, he said. Feit fell behind in the count. But ers later,” said Head Coach Marek
Participants were divided into he battled back and lined a single Drabinski.
three categories: pairs, Brown to right, giving Brown the series After a shaky first in which he
undergraduates and non-Brown sweep over Princeton. gave up a run, Carlow settled down
competitors. All competed in the That was the only close game of and limited the Tigers’ offense
the weekend for the Bears. They Jonathan Bateman / Herald
continued on page 6 rolled over their opponents in continued on page 8 Brown defeated two Ivies this weekend with ease.
inside
News.....1–4
Arts........5–6
News, 3 Arts, 5 Sports, 7 Opinions, 11
Sports.....7–8 mad science we are all geniuses BRown beats penn Religious prejudice
Editorial....10 Brown researchers have In his new book, Shenk ’88 The men’s lacrosse team Manas Gautam ’12 argues
Opinion.....11 raked in more than $28 discusses “how people get beat Penn 12-9 to improve that religious people should
Today........12 million in grant funding good at stuff” to 5-4 on the season not be treated differently
C ampus N EWS
Accused of rape, former student seeks damages from U. Andrews
Dining Hall
continued from page 1 munity,” causing it to disregard its The complaint states that despite son and Margaret Klawunn, now
own policies and the well-being of the female student’s resistance to vice president for campus life and
to make a false accusation of rape the plaintiff. pursuing the matter, she eventually student services, who collectively
against the plaintiff.
The complaint states that
The plaintiffs allege that the
female student’s father was “in
acceded to pressure from University
employees to divulge McCormick’s
compelled him to leave campus. It
states that Carey handed the stu- to host Gala
though an accusation of rape — regular contact with the adminis- name, an act which compelled her dent a one-way plane ticket home.
which can carry a sentence of up tration, including calling defendants to file a written complaint. Klawunn, who is named as a continued from page 1
to life in prison in Rhode Island — Russell Carey and Ruth Simmons McCormick was then served defendant, declined to comment
had been made, law enforcement directly.” a “no-contact order” by Associate and said she had no knowledge of lified are “acts of God, government
officials were never notified of the The complaint alleges that, un- Dean of Student Life Terry Addi- the matter. authority, disaster, strikes, civil dis-
matter. der pressure from friends and Uni- son, according to the complaint, After McCormick’s return orders, or other emergencies, any of
This series of events has alleg- versity officials, the female student and “in violation of Brown policies, home, University officials alleg- which make it illegal or impossible
edly aggravated McCormick’s pre- eventually escalated initial “exag- he was not provided a copy of the edly “actively interfered” with his to provide the facilities and/or ser-
existing seizure condition. He and gerations and half-truths” about complaint, nor was he told the sub- “ability to expose the truth and ex- vices” for the event. The Westin’s
his parents are seeking unspecified her relationship with the plaintiff stance of the allegations.” onerate himself,” by obstructing his management did not return repeated
damages from the defendants. to a false allegation of rape. The plaintiffs allege that the fe- access to documents and witnesses, requests for comment.
McCormick’s parents declined According to the complaint, the male student “felt that the Deans according to the complaint. Sheetal Sehgal ’10, co-president
to comment and said their son could plaintiff and the female student were ‘yelling at her’ ” and “press- In an e-mail to The Herald, of the 2010 Class Board, said near
not be reached for comment. came to be on friendly terms dur- ing her to add to complaints about” Marisa Quinn, vice president for the end of ticket sales Sunday that
The case was originally filed ing the first days of their freshman McCormick. Friends of the female public affairs and University rela- about 500 tickets had gone. The ca-
Sept. 4, 2009, in Rhode Island Su- year. But friends of the female stu- student then allegedly confronted tions, wrote, “Matters related to pacity of the event will be determined
perior Court, but according to a dent allegedly referred to him as her and, despite her denials, con- students and former students are Tuesday by the fire marshal. Based
source familiar with the matter, the her “stalker.” cluded that she had been raped, private and confidential.” on that estimate and the weather,
defendants removed it to the United The roommate of the female according to the complaint. Kertzer declined to comment in she said, tickets may sell at the door
States District Court for the District student allegedly encouraged her The complaint states that the fe- an e-mail to The Herald. Simmons, Saturday as well.
of Rhode Island. to express her concerns about a male student stated in a subsequent Carey, Bova, Ward, Hansen and Sehgal and Key Society Secretary
The source requested anonym- “ ‘creepy’ guy” to their Residential conversation with the friends and Addison did not return requests Mayra Reyes ’10, who were selling
ity because there is an order from a Counselor — a member of the class the Residential Counselor that she for comment. tickets Sunday, said very few guests
federal judge sealing the case and of 2009 — though the female stu- had been raped. The complaint alleges that the raised concerns about the venue
the source was worried about po- dent did not provide McCormick’s The female student and resident female student and her father were change. In fact, many guests that
tential legal consequences. identity at that time. The RC alleg- advisor then met with Jonah Ward, complicit in “extortion” of the for- The Herald interviewed Sunday af-
In an unusual move, the federal edly then referred the matter to now senior associate dean for stu- mer student “by threatening to ternoon were pleased with the new
case, number 09-474-S, has been the Community Director on-call dent life, and Richard Bova, now accuse (McCormick) of a crime location.
placed completely under seal. No at the time. senior associate dean of residential or other offense with the intent to Jing Xu ’10 said she was excited
publicly available record of that The Community Director then and dining services, according to compel him to sign an agreement about the outdoor venue and happy
case, or the case originally filed referred the matter to Carla Han- the complaint. The RC allegedly to waive his rights and sacrifice to not have to travel to the Westin.
in State Superior Court, number sen, associate dean of student life, spoke on behalf of the female stu- his scholarship and Ivy League “It’s just so fresh,” she said.
09-5213, exists. who, according to the complaint, dent at the meeting and wrote the education.” “Dance parties are always inside
The complaint alleges that “fi- convinced the female student to University claim alleging rape on J. Scott Kilpatrick, the Provi- and it gets so hot.”
nancial self-interest” guided the meet with a special victims advo- her behalf. dence lawyer listed as the author of Kelly Glaser ’10 and Patrick
University’s handling of the inci- cate at the Department of Public The complaint states that, “in the complaint, acknowledged that Corey ’10 said they were conflicted
dent because the female student’s Safety. violation of its own policies, Brown he is the McCormicks’ attorney when they found out about the labor
father, an alum, “has donated and Hansen, the advocate, and Di- accepted (the female student’s) new but said that, under the present dispute at the Westin because they
raised ver y substantial sums of rector of Public Safety Mark Porter allegation of rape as true and re- circumstances, he could neither did not want to miss Gala their se-
money for Brown.” are all named as defendants in the fused to provide of a copy of the confirm nor deny the existence of nior year but wanted to support the
It asserts that the University was case. In a phone interview with The complaint to” McCormick. Ward, any case. boycott. After buying their tickets
“desirous of keeping (the female Herald, Porter denied any knowl- Bova and the RC are all named as According to the source familiar Sunday afternoon, they could not
student) content in the Brown com- edge of the case. defendants in the case. with the case, there will be some say whether they would have bought
The complaint alleges that the type of proceeding before District tickets if the event were held at the
sudoku plaintiff was detained unlawfully Judge William Smith at 11 a.m. Westin, but agreed the venue change
at the Office of Student Life for Monday. Smith’s calendar, posted made the decision much clearer.
several hours the next day. The on the district court’s Web site, Nathaniel Ford ’11 said he put
complaint states that McCormick does not include an item at that his decision to attend Gala on hold
then met with Carey, Ward, Addi- time. when he went to buy his ticket last
week in J. Walter Wilson and saw the
Student Labor Alliance’s sign about
the Westin’s labor dispute.
“It gave me enough pause that I
didn’t take immediate action to buy
a ticket,” he said. Instead, he bought
his ticket Sunday, after the venue
change was announced.
Still, some students, like Dave
Gagnon ’10, were not strongly affect-
ed by the change of venue. Gagnon
said he is happy there will be less
“drama” at the new location, but he
just wants to have a good time with
his friends, which he said he could
have done at either location.
In the spirit of reconciliation,
Daily Herald
Gala has even won over a few un-
the Brown
expected guests.
SLA member Rebecca Rast ’13
Editorial Phone: 401.351.3372 | Business Phone: 401.351.3260 said she had considered going, but
George Miller, President Katie Koh, Treasurer decided not to upon learning that
Claire Kiely, Vice President Chaz Kelsh, Secretary the event was scheduled to be at the
The Brown Daily Herald (USPS 067.740) is an independent newspaper serv- Westin. But in light of the location
ing the Brown University community daily since 1891. It is published Monday change, she and fellow SLA mem-
through Friday during the academic year, excluding vacations, once during ber Olivia Singer ’12 bought tickets
Commencement, once during Orientation and once in July by The Brown
Daily Herald, Inc. Single copy free for each member of the community.
Sunday, she said.
POSTMASTER please send corrections to P.O. Box 2538, Providence, RI “We are really appreciative of the
02906. Periodicals postage paid at Providence, R.I. Offices are located at 195 work Class Board and the Key So-
Angell St., Providence, R.I. E-mail herald@browndailyherald.com. ciety put in, and we wanted to show
World Wide Web: http://www.browndailyherald.com.
Subscription prices: $319 one year daily, $139 one semester daily.
that,” Rast said. “I’m excited to go to
Copyright 2010 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved. the Gala, and we’re very happy about
the direction things are going in.”
Monday, April 12, 2010 THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Page 3
C ampus N EWS “I approve, but I am not totally familiar with everything she
does.” — Jessica Feng ’12 on President Simmons
M. LACROSSE
no p l ace l i k e home
In ‘big’ win, Bears topple Penn
By Andrew Braca
Assistant Sports Editor
S ports M onday “We must first and foremost focus on being true to
who we are.” — Head Coach Lars Tiffany ’90
abe pressman
e d i to r i a l
correction
Event ethics
An article in Friday’s Herald (“The Cook recalls the Cuban revolution,”
April 9) misspelled the name of Assistant Director Zach Bleckner ’12. The The annual event Gala will be held this year at There are several ways to avoid situations like
article also misquoted Bleckner as saying the revolution was clouded by Andrews Dining Hall and Terrace — and not the this in the future and also allow issue-focused stu-
political and socioeconomic circumstances. In fact, he was referring to a Westin Hotel — according to an e-mail sent by event dent groups to provide input on event planning.
reality that the play explores, not the revolution itself. The Herald regrets organizers to students April 10. The change comes For one, we’d like to see SLA create a database
the errors. following intense negotiations between organizers of information about ongoing labor disputes in the
and “the Student Labor Alliance, Westin workers Providence area and the labor practices of local em-
and management, University administrators and ployers. This database would allow event organizers
t h e b r o w n d a i ly h e r a l d legal counsel,” The Herald reported April 9. to identify potential conflicts in advance and seek
Senior Editors
We support the compromise that Gala organizers out responsible businesses. Though it may be pos-
Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Deputy Managing Editors
Sophia Li Ellen Cushing and SLA were eventually able to reach. Nonethe- sible for event organizers to find information about
George Miller Chaz Kelsh
Emmy Liss Seth Motel less, the decision clearly was not easy and the event these issues themselves, SLA already has a strong
Joanna Wohlmuth
planners — the 2011 Class Board and the Key So- presence in the Providence community and more
editorial Business
General Managers Office Manager ciety — now face thousands of dollars in potential comprehensive knowledge about labor conflicts.
Anne Speyer Arts & Culture Editor
Suzannah Weiss Arts & Culture Editor Claire Kiely Shawn Reilly losses for breaking their contract with the Westin. Of course, not all controversies pertain to labor
Brian Mastroianni Features Editor Katie Koh In the future, it’s important that issues surrounding practices. For this reason, we believe that other
Hannah Moser Features Editor Directors
Brigitta Greene Metro Editor Kelly Wess Sales off-campus event locations be addressed before issue-focused groups may also have valuable advice
Ben Schreckinger Metro Editor Matthew Burrows Finance commitments are made. for organizations planning large, off-campus events.
Sydney Ember News Editor Margaret Watson Client Relations
Nicole Friedman News Editor Christiana Stephenson Alumni Relations
Employees at the Westin Hotel, the original All relevant groups should have a chance to provide
Dan Alexander Sports Editor venue chosen for Gala, are upset with the hotel’s their knowledge and expertise to event organizers as
Zack Bahr Asst. Sports Editor Managers management over recent salary cuts and increased well. To this end, we’d like to see the creation of an
Andrew Braca Asst. Sports Editor Arjun Vaidya Local Sales
Han Cui Asst. Sports Editor Marco deLeon National Sales health insurance costs. The worker’s union said it event advisory council, composed of representatives
Aditi Bhatia University Sales has filed an “unfair labor practice complaint” with from any student group that would like to help event
Graphics & Photos Jared Davis University Sales
Trenten Nelson-Rivers Recruiter Sales
the National Labor Relations Board, according to a organizers. The council would provide planners with
Stephen Lichenstein Graphics Editor
Alex Yuly Graphics Editor Maximilian Barrows Business Operations March 17 article in the Providence Journal. information about the conduct of various businesses
Nick Sinnott-Armstrong Photo Editor Jilyn Chao Business Analytics Though the dispute began late last year, the before any final decisions are made.
Max Monn Asst. Photo Editor Danielle Marshak Credit and Collections
Jonathan Bateman Sports Photo Editor Alexander Carrere Special Projects workers did not initiate a boycott until March 18, At the same time, the choice of venue is ulti-
Kathy Bui Staff the Journal reported. By the time the labor issue mately up to those planning the event. We are not
Production
Kelly Mallahan Copy Desk Chief
Opinions became widely known, Gala organizers had already suggesting that SLA or any other group be given
Michael Fitzpatrick Opinions Editor
Marlee Bruning Design Editor Alyssa Ratledge Opinions Editor signed a contract with the hotel, which required a veto power over other groups’ decisions. However,
Anna Migliaccio Asst. Design Editor $5,000 deposit and a minimum $20,000 expenditure in the vast majority of cases, student groups don’t
Julien Ouellet Asst. Design Editor Editorial Page Board
Neal Poole Web Editor Matt Aks Editorial Page Editor on the event, The Herald reported last week. intend to work with businesses that are embroiled
William Martin Board member We applaud the 2011 Class Board and the Key in ethical controversy. Through preemptive infor-
Melissa Shube Board member
Post- magazine Gaurie Tilak Board member Society for their earnest collaboration with other mation sharing and collaboration, student groups
Marshall Katheder Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Topaz Board member groups involved in the issue. Even so, we sympathize can make more informed decisions.
Julien Ouellet, Leor Shtull-Leber, Designers with event organizers for having to navigate the
Zoe Chaves, Kelly Mallahan, Dan Towne, Copy Editors difficult situation, in which they were unsure if the Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board.
Ashley Aydin, Nicole Friedman, Heeyoung Min, Goda Thangada, Suzannah Weiss, Night Editors contract could be canceled without liability. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
Senior Staff Writers Ana Alvarez, Ashley Aydin, Alexander Bell, Nicole Boucher, Alicia Chen, Kristina Fazzalaro,
Sarah Forman, Talia Kagan, Sara Luxenberg, Sarah Mancone, Heeyoung Min, Claire Peracchio, Goda Thangada,
Caitlin Trujillo
Staff Writers Anna Andreeva, Shara Azad, Rebecca Ballhaus, Fei Cai, Miriam Furst, Max Godnick, Anish
Gonchigar, Thomas Jarus, Sarah Julian, Julia Kim, Anita Mathews, Lindor Qunaj, Mark Raymond, Luisa
Robledo, Emily Rosen, Bradley Silverman, Anne Simons, Qian Yin
Senior Sales Executives Katie Galvin, Liana Nisimova, Isha Gulati, Samantha Wong C O R R E C T I O N S P olicy
Sales Associates Roshni Assomull, Brady Caspar, Anna Cook, Siena deLisser, Begum Ersan, Tommy Fink, Ryan
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Fleming, Evan Gill, Rajiv Iyengar, Debbie Lai, Jason Lee, Katie Lynch, Sean Maroongroge, Zahra Merchant,
Edjola Ruci, Webber Xu
tions may be submitted up to seven calendar days after publication.
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Fern The editorial is the majority opinion of the editorial page board of The Brown Daily Herald. The editorial viewpoint does not necessarily
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Zheng
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