Mentioned in an earlier post, iFLIP4 is an upcoming site developed by experienced entrepreneur Alan Bornstein and Brown student David Ellmann (currently on leave in order to develop the site) as a brand and network for people who care. Ellmann describes it as a “LinkedIn for charities; a causal network.” With ways to discuss and support causes that inspire you, and by offering a philanthropic brand with half its profits donated to charities, iFlip4 is set to revamp the ways in which we give.

Interested in getting involved? Stop by the Main Green today and learn more about the startup at Brown’s official iFlip4 launch event. Led by the iFLIP4 team of “ambassadors,” the event seeks to create a friendly, casual space in which to discuss charitable causes and global initiatives for change. As Ellmann puts it, “you wouldn’t normally bring up how much you just gave to a charity in a place like the Ratty, but the idea is behind iFLIP4 is to create a space for that kind of dialogue.” Visit the event table to create a profile on the site, discover thousands of new non-profits, get t-shirts, and begin “flipping” for the causes you believe in. The event will also feature soccer, frisbee, and a green-wide capture-the-flag game.

The event marks the start of a iFLIP4 launch campaign that is also occurring in multiple other high schools and colleges across the nation, including Bryn Mawr College, Colorado College, and the University of Maryland. The events, part of a “guerrilla marketing campaign set to evolve into a global force for good,” will promote iFLIP4 as a tool to help educate students who want to make a difference in world issues but may not know how.

Sound appealing? Get started by learning more on the Main Green today from 12-4 p.m.

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Brown Divest Coal will be holding their final rally of the school year at 1 p.m. They have been working all year to get the Corporation to actually vote on divesting from the so-called “filthy fifteen” coal companies, but President Paxson recently hinted that such a vote likely would not take place in May. Participants in this rally hope to change that. Brown Divest Coal has held a couple of rallies before, and their year-long efforts have yielded a 3,000-signature petition supporting divestment and endorsements from UCS and billionaire hedge fund manager Tom Steyer.

As it’s their last public event of the year, it’s your last chance to make your presence felt if you support the cause. If you don’t support it, well, go about your day as planned. With few classes still meeting during Reading Period, you can probably expect a big crowd on the Main Green (as of Thursday night, 117 were listed as attending). For more information, check out the rally’s Facebook event or Brown Divest Coal’s web site.

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Avoid dark clothing and bring a lint brush because these pups are back and ready to snuggle! Come to the Main Green today, April 30 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. for Heavy Petting (Ed.-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) with Brown faculty members and their pups. Prepare yourselves for some good ol’ fluffy fun. If you can’t make it, enjoy this corgi on stilts. We’ll see you there!

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Late this morning, students lay head to toe across the Main Green as part of Brown’s leg of the national movement to divest from sporting goods giant Adidas due to unfair labor practices. Otherwise known as “badidas” (get it?), this national movement, which has successfully led to divestment from Adidas at Oberlin and Cornell (with several more having agreed to cut contracts), was formed in response to Adidas’ refusal to pay $1.8 million in severance owed to workers in Indonesia, among other offenses.

According to the Brown Student Labor Alliance website, though University administrators have addressed Adidas about its violations of the University’s vendor code of conduct, Adidas has not made any changes, and no definitive action has been made to cut Brown’s contract.

Decked out in workout gear, students held up signs reading slogans protesting Adidas’ practices, and encouraging the University to take action and terminate its contract with the company. And while most students might have other things on their mind in this week of weeks, you can learn more about “Brown Cut Adidas” and take a look at its petition here.

Wondering why every sort of statue in the general vicinity of the Main Green from Bruno the Bear to the creepy, hand-holding statues (a.k.a. “Circle Dance”) on the Waterman Street lawn were covered in party hats and cardboard signs today?

This random act was the latest public demonstration by Brown Divest Coal. To celebrate the fact that the university’s advisory committee has formally recommended that Brown divest from the U.S.’s 15 largest coal companies, members of BDC decorated statues across campus with slogans encouraging members of the corporation to vote yes to divestment at the corporation’s next meeting in May.

BDC may very well have reason to celebrate: to date, the corporation has always taken the advisory committee’s recommendations on divestment. If the corporation follows suit on this issue, whatever guerrilla artistic insanity Brown Divest Coal does to celebrate will probably be worth seeing.

A cadre of VISA0100 students has launched the “Right to Wipe” campaign to convince the University to divest from upgrade all toilet paper from 1- to 2-ply. Are they serious? Yes! This shit is serious. The campaign’s slogan? “Tissue is an issue!” Well, yeah it is.

They’ll be gathering on the Main Green at 5 p.m. Wednesday to let their (surely innumerable) voices be heard. Funny thing is, this actually worked at Duke, so it might be worth coming out for. The question is, will students be willing to stomach the tuition hike necessary to finance the change? Only time will tell. Check out the Facebook event for the rally here.

If you haven’t noticed, there are a lot of red flags on the Main Green outside of Faunce. They’re meant to symbolize the loss of Syrian lives as a result of the crisis there. The U.N. estimates that 70,000 people have been killed there to date, so each flag represents 233 deaths.

If you’re interested in learning more, there will be a student led teach-in on the issue tomorrow, Tuesday March 19 at 8 p.m. in Wilson 301. Additionally, there is a table set up near the flags where you can read about specific instances of torture in Syria, and where, if you want, you can sign letters against it.

You know the drill by now. Check out our Facebook album here and tag your friends frolicking in the snow.

This is why we love Brown.

Here’s something I didn’t consider in my college decision: adventurous romps through the wilderness of the Main Green. This first priceless snapshot, taken by your intrepid reporter, depicts an animal species that my research indicates was a “bird” eating another animal species that my research indicates was a “small rodent.” By my own admission, after seeing more pictures taken by people with better phone cameras and/or who weren’t too scared to go closer to this rapacious beast, I will admit that my initial diagnosis of “dead rabbit” would more accurately be put as “dead squirrel.” Here’s a better picture, taken by someone who probably had a real camera:

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