To the Editor:
I'm not writing to weigh in on the issue of whether Brown should or should not be more financially supportive of the city of Providence. I am relatively agnostic on this issue, though ultimately I stand with my friends in Brown for Providence.
Nonetheless, what is clear to me is that The Herald's editorial ("Brown is not Goliath," March 21) in large part misses the point of the column written by Tim Syme GS on the issue. While the editorial page board members claim to be "particularly concerned with the argument ... that 'Brown's fundraising efforts appear to be focused on high status building projects' as opposed to 'prioritizing the regeneration of Providence,'" it is clear from their response they don't understand the argument. Repeating the standard University line that "many sizable donations are earmarked for specific projects" is not a response to this argument.
The point is that Brown's fundraising and all of its operations are based on a set of priorities that are, at the end of the day, established by the 54 members of the University's Corporation with the cooperation of the Brown administration. Of course "many sizable donations are earmarked for specific projects" - once Brown has decided that it wants to embark on these projects, it goes out looking for donors. That's what the entire Campaign for Academic Enrichment was about.
The fact that an incredibly small number of people make the decisions about what Brown's priorities should be is not changed by the fact that students are given token positions on a wide range of University committees. Nor does it change the fact that the University has never made any serious attempt to make greater student participation accessible. Consider the fact that the State of Brown address, along with every meeting of the Brown University Community Council, has been held at the same time as the seminar hour. This guarantees that many of the students who have been at Brown the longest - those taking the most seminars - will not be able to participate.
This is but a minor example of many. The question is this: Who should decide what Brown's priorities are, how should they do so and on what basis? The answer to the last question should be clear: on the basis of the University's mission. And I quote, "The mission of Brown University is to serve the community, the nation and the world by discovering, communicating and preserving knowledge and understanding in a spirit of free inquiry and by educating and preparing students to discharge the offices of life with usefulness and reputation."
The goal of this University is to serve the various communities it is part of, and the means is "discovering, communicating and preserving knowledge and understanding." Syme's point, which the Herald editorial misses, is not in tension with this. Indeed, it doesn't hurt that the editors quoted only in part. Syme asked in his column, "Why ... do Brown's fundraising efforts appear to be focused on high-status building projects like the Perry and Marty Granoff Center for the Creative Arts, the swimming pool and the Warren Alpert Medical School, rather than prioritizing the integration of Brown's educational mission with the renewal and regeneration of Providence?"
This question remains to be answered.
Julian Park '12
Former Herald opinions columnist
