“a student, a congressman, a professor and a dean

speak to health care reform”

On
Monday November 30 The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University will
host a roundtable discussion “Health Care Reform: What are the
Politics?” from 3-4:30 at Andrews Hall. Part of the 2009-2010 Paul
Levinger Health Care Reform Roundtable Series, this edition has a panel with
potential for interesting debate on health care reform.

Participants
include the Hon. Patrick Kennedy Cong. 1^st district, Edward Wing,
MD, Dean of the Warren Alpert Medical School, Professor of Community Health
Vincent Mor and Medical Student Erin Kelly ’11. Moderated by the Dean the
panel has a mix of the Past, Present and Future, with a dash of government,
academia and practicing doctors. This event also provides an opportunity for
the audience to engage the panelists as they express their views.

This
event is free and open to the public, for more info: http://med.brown.edu/news/levinger/

Somebody get this guy a more ergonomic bench. Brown University organist, Mark Steinbach, will perform works by Bach, Gounod, Schumann, and others on the school’s face-melting 1903 Hutchings-Votey organ in Sayles Hall. Come in costume and bring pillows or blankets in lieu of traditional seating.

(This image may or may not be Mr. Steinbach.)

11:55pm, Saturday, Sayles Hall, Brown University Main Green

Ah, modesty: a Providence Daily Dose co-founder avoiding mention of his appearance in a video (uploaded to YouTube by RI Future) of an anti-greed Brown protest that’s been lighting up my Facebook feed. Hide no more, Representative.

We can only hope that renowned architect Daniel Liebeskind will be able to offer some insight for the vacant lot at 110 Westminster. In any case, he will be at Brown tomorrow night to discuss his “architectural philosophy,” and other topics. Prof. Dietrich Neumann, an esteemed Providencephile, will lead the discussion.

Wednesday, 4pm, Salomon Center for Teaching, DiCiccio Family Auditorium. Booksigning to follow at Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage, 357 Benefit St.

Officials at Brown will neither confirm nor deny the rumor, but according to The Providence Journal actress Emma Watson will be attending Brown University this fall (perhaps she has confused the Black Arts with Black Studies). No matter, at Brown she can create her own curriculum, maybe some post-racial geek-friendly amalgam.

Visit www.brownser.org

Join Brown University’s Students for Education Reform and SIGN OUR PETITION to END TEACHER “BUMPING” in Providence public schools. The Rhode Island Department of Education has ordered the Providence school district to fill teacher vacancies based on TEACHER QUALITY and STUDENT NEED, not just seniority.

Teacher “bumping” forces QUALITY teachers out of the classroom. Research has shown that principals need the authority to hire teachers based on TEACHER QUALITY and STUDENT NEED to help students succeed.

The Providence Teachers Union will likely sue to protect seniority. SIGN OUR PETITION to send a message to the Providence Public School Department that we support any effort they take to END TEACHER “BUMPING,” and that we will hold them accountable for doing so.

Join the debate over elitism at Brown, Obama’s earmark-laden spending bill, and John Edwards’ snoozefest of a speech…

Visit www.browncontemporary.org to stream and download the latest Brown Contemporary PODCASTS! Our Political Roundtable podcasts feature the Contemporary staff and guests commenting on the latest campus, local, and national news.

The Brown Contemporary, Brown University’s only progressive political magazine, publishes twice a semester. Look out for our March/April issue!

Join us as we view this 55-minute documentary portrait of the Hmong community from 1982 followed by a talk and discussion with co-director Peter O’Neil as he explains his recent work documenting his subjects over 20 years later.

The film explores the challenges of several Hmong individuals and shows some of their involvement with the local community. It documents how weddings, funerals, shamanic ceremonies, rock bands and soccer games were done during the early phase of Hmong settlement in the United States.

This is week two of a four-week series called, “Common Threads: From Vietnam to Iraq”, co-sponsored by The Office of Public Engagement of RISD and The Swearer Center of Brown University. The event is hosted by The Genesis Center. Click here to see photos from last week’s pandau exhibit at RISD. For more info contact Mike Ritz at mike@gencenter.org

Free screening and discussion, 6:30pm to 8:30 pm, Thursday, Jan. 29th, Center for Integrative Technology, 169 Weybosset Street

Most Biggest Snowman: Kat and Katie provide scale, and cuteness. (Lincoln Field off Thayer, Brown.)

more »

To open the student-curated exhibition Jews and American Comics: The New Generations, noted comic artist and director of the Center for Cartoon Studies, James Sturm, will give a keynote address and participate in a panel discussion that will explore Jewish themes in comics strips and comic books, and the ways that Jews have shaped this popular American art form. The panel will also include Jason Lutes, a 1991 RISD graduate and artist of the renowned “Berlin Series,” and Sara Rosenbaum* class of 2000, comic artist and former Providence Journal staff writer.

5 pm, Thursday, Salomon Center, room 001. Reception and exhibit opening follows immediately at 6:30 pm at the John Nicholas Brown Center, 357 Benefit Street

*Sara and I went to see the Darkness at Lupo’s four years ago, and despite the fact that I was nearly crushed to death, and nobody cared, and I almost totally died, it was a lot of fun.  She dashed off this piece to memorialize the physical challenges she faced that night.

Are we cool with this?  I am always suspicious when Brown University starts making alterations to the landscape.  Why are they cutting down perfectly healthy trees on Arlington Avenue?  Is this to give residents a better view of the eye-poaching Kleig lights that go nova for sporting events? Do they have evil designs on this side of the historic Dexter Asylum wall since their plans to destroy the Hope Street side were foiled?  I am particularly suspicious since they have recently planted some 10-foot trees in the area and they will say they have ‘replaced’ the mature trees they are cutting down.  How far down the wall are they going? Aren’t we trying to increase the tree canopy in the city?

(Update: City Councilman Cliff Wood has looked into this and put my fears to rest (this was just a couple of trees). He has spoken with City Forester Doug Still who speaks highly of the Brown University tree program, so that is reassuring.  My thanks to both Mr. Still and Mr. Wood for the quick response.)

Brown’s Focus On Africa series is packing it in this week with a lunchtime screening at The Watson Institute for International Relations. South African documentarist and filmmaker Khalo Matabane, who’s mini series When We Were Black, screens at 12pm (pt.1) and 6pm (pt.2), will conduct a discussion of his work at 7pm following the second screening in the Institute’s Joukowsky Forum at 111 Thayer St.

This evening Brown’s Department of Africana Studies continues its post-election week run of free public events with contemporary Black intellectuals and artists. Shola Lynch, a young filmmaker who in 2004 completed a documentary on the legendary Shirley Chisholm, will be joined by Ray Watson of the Mt. Hope Neighborhood Association and renowned professor of Africana Studies, and author of the seminal Black Noise, Tricia Rose. It all goes down for FREE at Salomon Hall on Brown’s main green at 7pm.

The complete schedule is here.

Monday, November 10th
Convocation: “We Have Every Right to Be Against this War”

Salomon 001, 7-9 pm
Pre-convocation Dinner Faculty Advising Fellow Home 22 Benevolent Street, 5-6:30 (RSVP to miles_hovis@brown.edu)

Chhaya Choum of CAAAV (Organizing Asian Communities in New York City) speaks about her experience as a war refugee in the US and why people of color, especially Southeast Asians, must be at the forefront of the anti-war movement.

Tuesday, November 11th
YELLOW, BROWN, and BLACK: Resisting Xenophobia, Fighting Raids and Deportation

Panel (6-8pm) Salomon 001, 6-9 pm
Action Meeting (8-9pm) Faculty Fellow Home on 38 Charlesfield

A two part event: First, a cross-cultural panel of immigrants’ rights organizers, lawyers, anti-deportation activists, and family members of deportees in order in a dialog about our country’s increasing xenophobia and anti-immigrant legislation. Second, a student immigrant organizer leads an action meeting to begin organizing Brown students against Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Thursday, October 23rd, 7:00pm

Join urban grower RJ Ruppenthal for an evening workshop and talk. Author of Fresh Food From Small Places: The Square Inch Gardeners Guide to Year-Round Growing, Fermenting, and Sprouting, Mr. Ruppenthal will talk from over 30 years of experience growing fresh food on rooftops, window sills, garages, and everywhere in between. Combining traditional methods and creative space-saving techniques, Ruppenthal will demonstrate how you can grow up to 20% of your fresh food, even if you live in a city appartment!  Come find out how:

Thursday, October 23rd, 7:00pm
Brown University: Smith-Bounanno Hall, Room G18
95 Cushing St. Providence, RI (off Brown St.)

*Sponsored by the Brown Sustainable Food Initiative