Summer@Brown: Information for Accepted BELL Students
Pre-College Programs at Brown University
We are delighted that you are going to be part of the BELL community! We hope that this information will be helpful as you and your family make travel plans and prepare for your experience with us. If you have any questions, please contact summer@brown.edu and write "BELL" in the subject line. You can also reach us by phone at 401-863-7900. We look forward to meeting you.
Opening And Closing Day Information (2009)
Session Dates
Opening Day Schedule
Parents will not see the actual site on opening day. We hope that all families can join us for our closing programs. The site is 20 minutes southeast of the campus.
Closing Days
Closing Day Schedule
We strongly encourage you to come to our closing day program. This will be an opportunity for you to see our site, hear action plan presentations from the students and meet with the staff. You are welcome to arrive any time after 11:00.
The schedule for closing day:
Closing Day Travel Information
The BELL program is on the Haffenreffer Estate located at 300 Tower Street, off Route 136 in Bristol, Rhode Island. From Providence: Route 195 East to MA Exit 2 (Route 136 toward Newport, RI). Go south on Route 136 for 7.5 miles. Turn left at the Haffenreffer sign onto Tower Street. The Estate is 1.4 miles from Route 136. Park near the main building and look for signs to BELL. Feel free to arrive as early as 11:00.
Early Arrival/Late Departure
Students should arrive at Brown between 9am and 11:30am of our opening day. Students should make every effort to plan their travel to Brown based on a Sunday arrival; however, procedures are in place to accommodate Saturday arrival for those students who are arriving from long distances (greater than 350 miles from campus) and need to accommodate flight schedules. Students who need housing for the Saturday night before their session begins should email leadership@brown.edu to receive permission and make arrangements to stay at Brown overnight.
Students should plan to leave the Haffenreffer Estate around 1:30pm on the Friday that the session ends. If flight schedules and long distance travel plans necessitate a Saturday departure, you must request permission to stay at Brown until Saturday. The residence halls must be vacated and room keys must be returned by 9:00 a.m. on Saturday. Please email leadership@brown.edu to make arrangements.
How can I get to Brown University?
The Office of Continuing Education maintains a detailed website with travel directions, transportation options and accommodations.
BELL staff members will coordinate shared taxis for students to the airport on closing day if their parents are not able to come to the closing ceremony. Students should bring sufficient money for taxi fare.
Program Information
How many students are there? What are they like?
There are between 30-32 students in each BELL session. Usually there are slightly more girls than boys. BELL students come from all over the U.S. and the world, and range from 10th grade to graduated seniors.
What is our schedule?
There will also be several special days when the schedule will be different. These will include:
- A day on the Brown campus exploring the facilities and talking to faculty and students
- Two days of kayaking instruction and exploring nearby salt marshes
- A day on a ropes course
What leadership skills will I learn?
- Identification and analysis of personal leadership style
- Interpersonal communication
- Group problem solving
- Diversity and leadership
- Individual courses may teach additional skills like public speaking
What is the Action Plan?
During your course, you will pick an issue that is important to you and develop a plan for addressing that issue. We encourage you to think about some topics before you come to BELL, but most students don't actually know what their action plan will be until they start working on it in class. Your instructors will help you design an action plan that fits your interests and skills.
What are some examples of Action Plans?
- Writing letters about environmental issues to the school or local newspaper
- Organizing a school awareness day about Hurricane Katrina
- Starting a school community service club
- Convincing a high school to buy sweatshop-free athletic uniforms
- Volunteering for an after-school tutoring program
- Organizing a National Honor Society canned food drive
- Writing a play for Drama Club about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
What is the Symposium on Social Action?
The Symposium is an annual gathering for Leadership Institute alumni. Students meet with local community activists and get support for their action plans. In order to attend, you have to submit an application describing your progress. We select 40-60 students based on the quality of their applications. The event takes place each year on Veterans Day weekend (the second weekend in November) at Brown University.
During the Program: Logistical Information
Where is BELL? How do we get there?
BELL takes place at the Haffenreffer reserve, which is an historically and ecologically important property owned by Brown University. It is located in Bristol, RI, a 30-minute drive from Brown. On opening day, your parents will drop you off at Brown and you'll travel to Bristol by school bus.
Where do we sleep?
Students sleep in large (16x 24') waterproof canvas tents set off the ground on wooden platforms. There are between 8-10 students per tent, sleeping in bunk beds. Students bring sleeping bags or their own linens.
What are the Haffenreffer facilities like?
Haffenreffer is certainly rustic, but there are hot indoor showers and toilets located in the multi-purpose building, just a short walk from the tents. The building also houses our classroom, living room and recreational space. In addition, we have a well equipped kitchen and outdoor areas for all types of sports.
What should I bring?
Please see the enclosed equipment list for what to bring and what to leave at home. Please remember that there is limited storage in the tents: bring only what is on the enclosed equipment list. Extra items will only create additional stress in the tents! We store most personal belongings under the bunks; soft-sided bags are best for squeezing underneath the beds.
Will I be able to do laundry?
There are no laundry facilities at BELL.
Will we be able to swim?
The beaches here are rocky, but there are two places to swim. You MUST bring surf shoes, old tennis shoes or Tevas to wear on the beach, which is also required by our kayaking instructor during the kayaking activity. Flip-flops are not acceptable for swimming or kayaking as they will not stay on your feet. We have a certified life guard and the necessary safety equipment. There are strict guidelines about when and where we can swim. All students and staff will wear life jackets when we are kayaking. If you are a weak swimmer, you may be required to wear a life jacket whenever you are in the water.
Will we spend time on campus?
We will spend one full day on campus. Our goal is to expose students to the broad array of resources—libraries, labs, residence halls, dining halls, recreational facilities and classrooms. Students will have opportunities to meet with faculty and undergraduate students to learn about the curriculum and life at Brown and with Admissions officers to learn about the process of applying to Brown. We will spend some time talking about what to look for in a college or university, how to research your options, and what factors to think about in considering an institution of higher education.
How much money should I bring?
All of your meals and entertainment are covered in your program fee, so you won't need money while you're at BELL. However, students usually spend between $10 - $50 on snacks and souvenirs when we visit Brown. Bring enough money for your travel and whatever you think you'll need during your free time on campus.
Contacting us during the session
During the day: Parents may contact the Office of Summer and Continuing Studies and staff will relay a message to us. Contact the Office at (401) 863-7900 and say you need to relay a message to a BELL student.
At night: If you need to get an emergency message to your student or the staff, you may contact Brown Department of Public Safety at (401) 863-3322 and they will relay your message to us.
Policy on cell phones, portable music players and email
For the first four days of BELL, we don't call out and we ask families not to call in unless it is an emergency. This gives us time to form a community. We want to focus on getting to know each other. On Thursday of the first week, students will have an opportunity in the evening to utilize their cell phones. The following Monday, when they are on campus, they will again have access to their phones. There may be other limited opportunities to use these. We also have one pay phone on the property that students can utilize at designated times. Students do not have access to email except during the day that they are on campus.
When students arrive at BELL, we will also ask to secure their personal music players for them. There is certainly music at BELL; we sometimes play CDs or music from students' personal collections, but only at the discretion of the staff. In general, we don't use such devices because we want students to stay tuned in to each other and to our natural surroundings.
You may send mail to your student at:
(Student's Name)
BELL PROGRAM
Haffenreffer Estate
300 Tower Street
Bristol, RI 02809
Note: It is VERY IMPORTANT to address to the attention of BELL Program
Release and Waiver Forms
Enclosed in this packet are several release and waiver forms required by the University and by the organizations that will be providing us with programmatic services. All of our partner organizations have excellent reputations for high quality and safe educational work with students. A checklist is enclosed to help you make sure all your forms get to us.
Medical Concerns—What if I need medical attention?
Members of our staff have basic first aid training. The local EMS and fire station is located within two miles of the site. The staff will have cell phones for emergency communication purposes. If you have a more routine medical question, we will have access to the University Health Services on campus. If you have special medical concerns or dietary needs, please communicate those on the enclosed Medical Authorization Form.
Is the site secure?
The site for the Brown Environmental Leadership Lab is located on 370 acres of land in Bristol, Rhode Island. There is a gate to the property which is closed every night. The property manager lives on site, close to the gate. Staff sleep in tents very close to the student tents. Students will have clear guidelines regarding where they can go, and they will be expected to stay together most of the time. The property is not impenetrable, but we have taken all precautions to protect our privacy and security. We encourage you to leave valuables at home (see equipment list). We will have a secure place for any items that you do not want to leave in the tent.
Information about Staff
Robin Rose, Associate Dean for Summer and Continuing Studies and Director of Leadership Programs, has a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology and has been employed by Brown for 27 years, having served in the counseling center and as the chief student affairs officer, Dean of Student Life. She directed the Brown Outdoor Leadership Training (BOLT) program for 15 years. Dean Rose has a national reputation among outdoor and leadership educators and has served as a consultant to many programs across the country. She enjoys backpacking, canoeing, gardening, snorkeling and working with and learning from young people.
Lexi Weintraub has served as a research assistant in laboratories at Brown University, SUNY-Stony Brook, and the University of Chicago, and conducted field research in coastal Rhode Island, Maine, Washington and Costa Rica. Her research has included estuarine ecology, salt marshes, tropical plants, and kelp. Additionally, has worked at the Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History, and studies biodiversity in Panama at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
Currently, Lexi taught Science at the Frances Parker High School in Chicago and is currently working on a Junior project related to bicycle power and issues of sustainability. This is her fifth summer with BELL. She has a B.A. in biology from Brown University.
Claire Santoro is a senior in Environmental Studies and Economicsat Brown University. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Claire has worked as a teaching assistantin the Center for Environmental Studies at Brown, andshe studied ecology and sustainable development in Botswana during the spring of 2008. Her work abroad included an analysis of solar energyas amethod of energy security and rural developmentin southern Africa. She is currently finishing her senior year with a research thesisinvestigating the "rebound effect" of Energy Star appliances, trying to figure out whether energy efficiency leads to anincrease inresidential energy consumption.
Kevin Kenji O'Brien is a senior in Environmental Health major at Brown University. Hailing from Davis, California, Kevin taught 8th grade chemistry the last two summers with the Breakthrough Collaborative and he plans to teach high school science after graduation. Kevin is also an Eagle Scout and enjoys backpacking, playing board games, and capture the flag.
Kevin Currey is a senior Environmental Studies major at Yale University. He was an instructor at BELL in 2007, and a student at the inaugural sessions of both BELL sessions in 2002 and 2003. His academic interests include environmental policy and the social science of development and conservation. Last summer, he conducted research in Alaska on the impacts of oil and gas development on Native communities. He is an Emergency Medical Technician and enjoys backpacking.
Kurt Teichert is a Lecturer in Environmental Studies and Manager of Environmental Stewardship Initiatives at Brown University. He teaches courses and advises students on Sustainable Design and Environmental Stewardship. In 1990, Brown established an environmental education and advocacy initiative that links student research and education efforts with university operations to implement programs that reduce the negative environmental impacts. Kurt came to Brown in 1992 to support that initiative. He is a LEED Accredited Professional and has been involved in research, design and construction of high performance educational facilities for 20 years. Teichert serves as a Stakeholder in the Rhode Island Greenhouse Gas Initiative to develop and implement a state climate action plan. Prior to coming to Brown, Kurt served as Research Associate and Facilities Manager at New Alchemy Institute. He holds an M.Sc. in Resource Economics from Oregon State University and a B.A. from Franklin and Marshall College.