At Wednesday night's Undergraduate Council of Students meeting, three representatives introduced a resolution supporting same-sex marriage in Rhode Island. UCS will vote on the resolution at its next meeting, on April 7.
UCS also discussed President Ruth Simmons' comments at last week's question-and-answer session regarding the Third World Transition Program and upcoming opportunities for the student body to talk with Department of Public Safety officers about interactions between students and police.
At the end of the meeting, UCS President Rahim Kurji '05 announced he will not seek a second term and will instead work on campus issues in tandem with Simmons and Interim Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services David Greene.
The same-sex marriage resolution was introduced by Campus Life Chair Ari Savitzky '06, Class of 2005 Representative Schuyler von Oeyen '05 and Class of 2007 Representative Sarah Saxton-Frump '07.
The resolution, which von Oeyen read aloud at the meeting, supports Rhode Island Senate bill S2705, which would legalize same-sex marriage in the state. In the resolution, the authors state that because the UCS Constitution pledges to support the rights of Brown students, UCS should support the LGBT population of the University by adding its voice to the chorus calling for legalization of same-sex marriage.
The resolution also references the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the Rhode Island Constitution and the Rhode Island General Laws on Domestic Relations in order to argue that marriage is a right that cannot be withheld from any couple.
Seth Magaziner '06, a member of the Brown College Democrats Subcommittee on Gay Rights, appeared before UCS to urge expediency in supporting the resolution. Because the Rhode Island General Assembly meets for only five months every year, legislators push through their agendas quickly and may have already voted on same-sex marriage by the end of spring break, Magaziner said.
"It would raise a lot of eyebrows if word got out that Brown UCS had considered this issue and not acted," he said, pointing out that the Student Senate at the University of Rhode Island recently attracted media attention by supporting a similar resolution.
Student Activities Chair Rob Montz '05 asked the authors of the resolution if they knew of any precedent of a UCS decision affecting the state's General Assembly. Von Oeyen responded that it would be impossible to note definitively what effect the resolution would have, but that passing it would send a message that UCS is serious about defending the rights of Brown's LGBT population.
Eric Neuman '04 asked the authors of the resolution if they had polled the University's LGBT students on whether they supported same-sex marriage. Savitzky said they had not.
In a discussion about UCS's meeting last week with Simmons, Kurji urged UCS members to consider how they could work on issues of diversity. At last week's meeting, Simmons announced her support for an integrated TWTP.
Michael Serill '06 told UCS he knew of a white first-year who called TWTP organizers last summer to ask to be admitted to the program but was told TWTP was closed to white students.
The Herald reported Thursday that the University decided prior to the Fall 2003 semester to allow all students to attend the program, but continued to invite minority students only to TWTP. Associate Dean of the College Karen McLaurin-Chesson, director of the Third World Center, told The Herald last week that if a white student in the Class of 2007 had requested to attend TWTP, he or she would have been admitted.
Secretary Joel Payne '05 said he believes there is now an application process for TWTP and said the program will probably be changing in many ways.
"It would be helpful if over the next few weeks, we got all our facts straight," he said.
Savitzky announced that on April 14 at 6:30 p.m., there will be a roundtable discussion with the Department of Public Safety where students can discuss police protocols and procedures and work toward establishing trust and respect between officers and students, especially in light of recent bias-related crimes on campus.
Director of Public Safety Paul Verrecchia is considering establishing "community policing" on campus, so that particular officers regularly patrol certain areas, Savitzky said.
UCS also discussed ongoing projects, including negotiating with the administration on summer storage space, ironing out policies for club sports, bringing more student art to public spaces on campus, working with Computing and Information Services to improve the Brown Online Course Announcement and organizing an April 13 conference to discuss the Diversity Perspectives program.
The Swiss Association was constituted as a Category I student group, the Brown Pre-Law Society as a Category II group and Watershed magazine, which will focus on writing and artwork about the outdoors, as a Category III group. According to the UCS Code, a publication must produce one issue before it can become a Category III group, but because Watershed needed the funding in order to produce their first issue, UCS voted to make an exception.
