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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016
VOLUME CLI, ISSUE 120
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Zionism divides Hillel members Class differences Relationships to Brown shape journeys home chapter affected by standards of international Hillel organization
Disparities between home, Brown inform relationships with parents, friends post-matriculation
By KASTURI PANANJADY SENIOR STAFF WRITER
This is the second of a two-part series that explores how students and faculty members engage with the Israel-Palestine conflict in their work and social lives on campus.
By KASTURI PANANJADY AND ALEX SKIDMORE SENIOR STAFF WRITERS
CLASS ON CAMPUS
DIVIDED DISCOURSE
Last semester, a petition asking Janet Mock to disaffiliate her talk from Brown/ RISD Hillel characterized Hillel as a proIsrael space. Brown/RISD Hillel Director Marshall Einhorn said he believes the term ‘pro-Israel’ is too reductive to fully encapsulate the nuance with which Brown/ RISD Hillel engages with Israel on College Hill. Brown/RISD Hillel’s website describes it as the “center for Jewish life on campus,” and in that capacity, “Hillel has a connection to Israel as the Jewish homeland, as a place of deep meaning to the Jewish people,” he said. Brown/RISD Hillel is not a center set up through the University but rather a chapter of Hillel International. Hillel International states that its member Hillels “will not partner with, house or
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Hillel International mandates that member Hillels do not partner with groups that “delegitimize” or “demonize” Israel. host organizations, groups or speakers that as a matter of policy or practice” deny Israel’s right to exist, “delegitimize, demonize or apply a double standard to Israel” or support boycott, divestment and sanctions on Israel, according to Hillel International’s website. Several student groups fall under Brown/RISD Hillel’s umbrella and receive funding and support from it, which means those groups are also affected by any regulations to which Brown/RISD Hillel is subject. “Hillel unequivocally supports the continued existence of the state of Israel: For us, however, this support can include critique as well,” reads Brown/
RISD Hillel’s website. Not every student involved in Brown/RISD Hillel engages with Israel, and many of those who do so approach Israel through a critical lens, Einhorn said. “Hillel is not just a space or a building. It’s a community,” he said. “So much of the work we do happens in coffee shops, as well as on campus,” he said, adding that students have considerable freedom in deciding what they want Brown/RISD Hillel to stand for. But there is no clear consensus among the student groups housed within the organization — or the Brown/RISD » See HILLEL, page 2
This story is the third in a three-part series about socioeconomic status at Brown. The series, through interviews with five students, examines the way socioeconomic status shapes students’ relationships to Brown in three stages: the application process, adjusting to life on campus and going back home after living and studying here. This story chronicles how being at Brown has affected life at home, specifically in the way students are perceived in and perceive their hometowns, their relationships with their parents and their plans for life post-graduation. Seeing home in a new light “College as a whole just changes you, and then you go back, and then your parents slowly start realizing that you’re not the same person that you were when
you left the house and were living in the house 24/7,” said Chinenye Uduji ’19, a sophomore from Philadelphia. During Molly Sandstrom’s ’17 freshman year, Fox News journalist Jesse Watters asked her if her parents knew that she was participating in Nudity in the Upspace. She looked into the camera and said, “I guess they know now!” In truth, Sandstrom told her parents about her decision to participate in Nudity Week. But she wasn’t fully prepared for how shocked her community back home in Lindstrom, Minnesota would be when watching the broadcast. “Of course I wanted to be interviewed,” she said, explaining that she was keen on presenting herself as a liberal Brown student who questioned stereotypes about body image. “As soon as I finished the interview, I was so proud. But I felt a sinking feeling afterwards.” While Sandstrom entered college eager to experience an environment more diverse and progressive than the small town in which she grew up, Kimberly Davila ’20 was shocked to see just how different Brown is from her community back home in Montebello, California. “Back in my community, there’s gangs, and there’s drug dealing on the street. When people die, they put » See CLASS, page 2
U. scientists express concern Decaul GS brings veterans into theater New workshop teaches with Trump administration playwriting, caters to Dismissal of climate change, lack of scientific expertise among appointees worry some By ELENA RENKEN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Throughout his campaign, PresidentElect Donald Trump made many misleading and false statements about science. “It’s almost a political strategy to ignore the facts, make up his own facts and then backtrack on them when it’s expedient,” said Barry Connors, chair and professor of neuroscience, adding that Trump seems to exhibit a “general lack of respect for information, data (and) expertise.” Trump’s 2012 tweet denouncing climate change as a hoax perpetuated by the Chinese has attracted attention and frustration among scientists. Most people Trump has appointed thus far are climate change deniers, Connors added. But his stances on such issues have also varied. In 2009, he and other business
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leaders took out an advertisement in the New York Times asking President Barack Obama to negotiate a strong climate treaty in Copenhagen and to push Congress for binding laws to limit climate change, said Stephen Porder, associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and of environment and society. “My personal take is that the President-Elect hasn’t really thought about it and doesn’t really care,” he said. “I hope that I’m wrong.” As president, Trump will hold sway over science in the United States, affecting issues from funding to public belief in scientific consensus. Though his course in political action regarding science remains to be charted, widespread concerns exist as to his effects on research. Since he has never served in government before, the public lacks a political record of Trump’s decisions on which expectations can be based, said James Head, professor of earth, environmental and planetary sciences. “We’re entering an era of uncertainty.” » See CONCERN, page 4
military community across East Coast By REBECCA ELLIS
ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR
The men and women who flock to the South Providence Library each Wednesday evening for Maurice Decaul’s GS class have fought in wars spanning the past half-century. They have been Army nurses in Vietnam, Navy sailors in the first Gulf War and Marine soldiers during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. But Wednesday evenings, they are all Decaul’s students, learning the intricacies of playwriting through the Theatre Communications Group’s new Veterans and Theatre Institute Program. The program is the latest in Decaul’s long, winding list of creative endeavors, which began with a bachelor’s in creative writing at Columbia in 2012 and has culminated with his pursuing a master’s in fine arts in playwriting at Brown. It is the resume of a writing aficionado, peppered with pieces in the New
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Maurice Decaul GS teaches playwriting to veterans every Wednesday. York Times and Newsweek. But during his five years as a Marine, writing occupied a different domain, far removed from the world of combat. Brought up in a family of pragmatists, he deemed prose impractical, a contradiction to his upbringing in a family that only read “things that are factual.” “My father, he bought the
encyclopedia, so we read that,” he said. Writing for writing’s sake felt fruitless. But in his first year out of the military, writing became a lifeline. After returning to the United States from Iraq, Decaul’s military unit split. “The community really broke down,” he said. Isolated from his fellow soldiers, » See DECAUL, page 3
WEATHER
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016
NEWS Office of Global Engagement seeks to expand offerings, presence under new leadership
NEWS Native American and Indigenous Studies at Brown initiative seeks new director, releases class list
COMMENTARY Papendorp ’17: Teaching assistants deserve to be paid equal to amount they work
COMMENTARY Kumar ’17: Americans worried by presidential election should recognize own political power
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» HILLEL, from page 1 Hillel Board of Directors — as to what the organization should espouse. Officially, J Street U Brown, one group under the Brown/RISD Hillel umbrella, supports a two-state solution and considers itself anti-occupation, proIsrael, pro-Palestinian and pro-peace, said current J Street U Brown co-chair Andrew Marmor ’18. The group considers a multiplicity of narratives from the many parties involved in the IsraelPalestine conflict, he added. As a result of its Brown/RISD Hillel affiliation, JSUB’s events are co-sponsored by Brown/RISD Hillel. This sponsorship takes the form of assistance with funding and marketing, Marmor said. This Brown/RISD Hillel affiliation also means that Brown/RISD Hillel approves JSUB programming, which has led to tension in the past when the group has come up against Hillel International’s Standards of Partnership, said Harpo Jaeger ’15, co-founder of JSUB. The Standards of Partnership guidelines are interpreted by the Brown/RISD Hillel Board of Directors, Jaeger said. Joe Hollander ’81, president of the Brown/RISD Hillel’s Board of Directors, did not to respond to multiple requests for comment. When Jaeger was working to bring
» CLASS, from page 1 flowers on the side of the street and candles. That has become very normal to me,” she said. Hearing about other Brown
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a representative of the Palestinian Liberation Organization to Brown, he was asked to structure the event such that equal time would be given to a pro-Israel speaker, he said. Jaeger referred to the idea as “ridiculous,” adding that a representative of the PLO had as much of a right to speak on his own terms as an Israeli ambassador does. After a few “false starts,” JSUB eventually succeeded in bringing Maen Rashid Areikat, chief representative of the Palestinian government to the United States and to campus to deliver a talk at Metcalf Auditorium with the co-sponsorship of Brown/RISD Hillel. In May, Sophie Kasakove ’17.5 coorganized a screening of three short films produced by the Israeli nonprofit Zochrot, which seeks to “educate Jewish Israelis about the Palestinian understanding of the Nakba,” she said. The Nakba is the Arabic term for the displacement of Palestinians upon the founding of Israel in 1948. Originally, the event was to be held in Brown/RISD Hillel and was to be co-sponsored by a broad coalition of Brown Jewish groups housed in the space. Two days before the screening, one of the co-sponsoring groups, Brown Students for Israel, withdrew its support for the event, according to a statement released by the event’s organizers. In the
absence of unanimous student group support, Brown/RISD Hillel withdrew its endorsement of the event, too, the statement said. Hillel International later released a statement deeming the event “inconsistent with Hillel’s mission and values,” the Forward reported. Einhorn characterized the sequence of events surrounding the Nakba screening as “disappointing” because “students had worked over the course of the semester to plan the event,” and their collective vision very nearly came to fruition. About 70 students gathered to watch the films at Brown/RISD Hillel despite the lack of sponsorship from Brown/ RISD Hillel, according to a statement released by the event’s organizers. BSI’s decision to withdraw support for the event centered on the role of Hillel on campus. Kasakove said the event was about introducing diverse narratives to Hillel. “Conversations around the Palestinian right of return, (the) bi-national state and other narratives, which tend to be associated with … BDS” are generally not addressed adequately in Brown/ RISD Hillel programing, she said. “It’s important to us that Jews have this conversation — but not only just have this conversation over coffee, but in the space designated for Jews on campus
in the space where Jews are investing their money and energy,” she added. But President of Brown Students for Israel Ben Gladstone ’18 said BSI withdrew its support for the event based on the event’s location in Brown/RISD Hillel. “We were and are interested in having critical conversations about Israel,” he said. But “the integrity of (Brown/ RISD) Hillel as a physical space is very important to us,” Gladstone said, explaining that in his view Brown/RISD Hillel should serve as a safe space for Zionists on campus in addition to its role as the center for Jewish life. Jewish students who oppose Israel’s right to exist “are also free to express their anti-Zionism in history classes, university programs, existing student groups and public spaces on campus in ways that Zionist students — even those of us who are frequently critical of the policies of the current Israeli government — often are not,” Gladstone wrote in an op-ed he co-authored with Jared Samilow ’19 in the Forward. Gladstone said that a safe space for Zionism “allows for students to speak against dominant narratives and actually, in the long term, serves to encourage free speech.” Gladstone added that he believes Brown/RISD Hillel should be the safe space for Zionists on campus because
Hillels exist “to protect and be a space for Jewish students to gather in a safe space.” He believes that “today, the targeting of Jews is geared towards Zionism and sometimes goes beyond Zionist students.” In the incident of the Janet Mock petition, Jewish students involved in a Hillel-affiliated organization were immediately considered to be furthering Zionism irrespective of their personal beliefs on Israel, Gladstone said. Kasakove’s understanding of her Jewishness is inextricably linked to her questioning of Zionism, she said. “Being critical of Israel, questioning not only the policies but also the ideology behind it is really critical to my Jewish identity,” Kasakove said. “If that’s a part of what Judaism is to me, then I want to be able to do that in a Jewish space, and I should be included in the Jewish space because I am Jewish. I connect much more deeply and much more strongly to that than to ritual.” Kasakove added that people have questioned her Jewish identity based on her views on Zionism in the past. “I think there are many Jews on this campus who are not Zionists and that Hillel needs to make space for everyone — anti-Zionists, non-Zionists, Zionists — without discriminating that anyone is more validly Jewish than the other,” she added.
students’ pre-college experiences led Davila to see these elements of her childhood environment in a new light. “Why is that I’ve come to see this as normal, and kids in my community have come to see this as normal when
it really shouldn’t be normalized that way?” she said. “Why do people in my community have to take that path?” These reflections illuminated for Davila the disparities between the resources with which she grew up and
those some families of Brown students command, she said. Ahmed Ashour ’19 often edits his accounts of his experiences at Brown when talking to his parents in Bahrain. Ashour has not told his parents that he has started drinking, has woman friends or friends who do not identify with the gender binary at all. His sexuality is also a secret from his parents; while at Brown, Ashour began to explore his sexuality in the supportive environments of his a cappella group and his theater troupe. Sandstrom, too, grappled with defining her sexuality in college but felt empowered to “come out” as queer in a long Facebook post while in college. She also texted her parents, but it felt very “low stakes,” she said. “I had a good sense my family wouldn’t disown me and that my social circles wouldn’t change. I wonder if it would have (been) more high stakes if I had stayed back home and was still connected to my social network,” she added. “It sort of sucks that I’m not forward about it or confronting this notaccepting culture I’m from,” Ashour said. “But for the very short time I’m back home, for me, I just want to avoid being asked like five million questions about one thing and it spiraling into a huge conflict. I just want to enjoy the three weeks, four weeks I’m there.” Being openly gay in Bahrain is not a possibility, Ashour said, but the realities of being a gay man in his country do not necessarily rule out his return, he added. While he always thought he would like to work in the United States after graduation, his future here feels uncertain under a Donald Trump presidency. “It was a moment of reflection for me, just thinking about my future in this country as a Middle Easterner and if I can ever feel truly, truly welcomed in this society.”
remain nonpartisan. May has been judged by her mother in the past for some of her political views, which would be considered politically incorrect by Brown standards, she said. May laments the pressure she feels at Brown to espouse positions that adhere to predominating campus views. “I hit all the marks of privilege, so anything I say will come out as racist or any of the ‘isms’ or ‘ists’ because my opinions will not necessarily line up completely” with the apparent consensus at Brown about what constitutes an acceptable opinion. “As the oppressor, I therefore have no right to an opinion,” she said. On the other hand, she feels much more comfortable sharing her opinions with family back home, where she feels that her racial and socioeconomic privileges do not impede her ability to participate in conversation. “In my family, everyone grew up together, but everyone has a different point of view. And we’re all able to engage and discuss on the same playing field. No one can claim, ‘Oh, your opinion is invalid because I’ve experienced this and that.’” For Sandstrom, discussing politics with her family can be a challenge after being steeped in Brown’s rhetoric of social change. “My parents joke that they cancel each other out. My dad leans conservatively, and my mother leans liberally,” Sandstrom said. “Two years ago, I got into a big fight with my parents because I was being too academic and not willing to listen to them. But we’ve had some good conversations since.” Talking to her mother about offensive statements she has made is particularly difficult because she is so well-intentioned, Sandstrom said. “Sure, my parents aren’t overt racists, but the way they talk about race is probably not so great. It’s hard to know how to name that and talk about it in a way that is productive,” she said. “Through the work I do, I don’t necessarily believe in creating space for those who don’t know or hold beliefs that are racist or sexist,” she said. But she recognizes the need to “meet people » See CLASS, page 3
Parents, politics and the election Before the election, Charlotte May ’17 met Trump at a TIME Magazine gala to which her mother had been invited. May’s mother, a TIME Magazine editor, does not vote in elections in order to
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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 • PAGE 3
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Office of Global Engagement seeks to build community, student resources Under new leadership, OGE hopes to foster community among international students By SIMRAN ARORA CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Following Shankar Prasad’s MA’03 PhD’06 appointment to the role of associate provost for global engagement in July, the Office of the Provost tapped Shontay Delalue, adjunct assistant professor of American studies, for the position of assistant provost for global engagement in October. Delalue’s appointment marked an expansion for the Office of Global Engagement, which is tasked with thinking “about how Brown partners with various institutions around the world to promote opportunities for faculty research and student learning,” Prasad said. Prasad’s role involves addressing the University’s different needs pertinent to “internationalization,” he said. The internationalization that the OGE is working to expand is threefold. The first aspect is seeking and
» CLASS, from page 2 where they’re at.” The problematic political stances of her family and how Sandstrom addresses them can be difficult to discuss on campus as well. She sometimes feels torn between condemning her parents’ political views in stark terms and being lenient. These issues are “tough to talk about at home, tough to talk about here,” she said. While watching the second presidential debate, Sandstrom became increasingly uncomfortable with the way some of the Brown students around her reduced Trump and his supporters to a joke, she said. In part, she traced her discomfort to the fact that she was not sure if her father planned to vote for Trump. “I wouldn’t deny that Trump embodies many things I’m concerned about, like racism and sexism and all that. But making supporters into a joke writes off the South, the Midwest, poor rural communities,” she said. “Especially from a bastion of privilege like the Ivy League, to turn people into a joke furthers class divides. It makes people like my father a joke, and it fails to recognize some of the concerns that someone like my father might have.” Fitting in with friends After beginning college, some of the students felt distant from their friends back home. When Ashour goes back to Bahrain, he is unable to openly discuss some topics, such as social justice issues, like he does on campus. Additionally, he left Bahrain in the middle of his high school career and has lost touch with his friends back home because he left so long ago, he added. Uduji feels he has personally changed more than some of his high school friends who stayed in Philadelphia for college, he said. He has not communicated much with his friends from home since he came to campus, he added. Davila also noted differences with some friends who attend college closer to home. The class privilege and number
maintaining partnerships with other institutions to learn how Brown can engage with the world outside of Providence and how students can conduct various types of research abroad. The second is the services and opportunities the OGE provides to create support for international community members. The third is the office’s own Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, which aims to foster a feeling of inclusiveness among international students, Prasad said. The OGE is now focusing on the collective needs of international students and the structural issues that impact them by trying to create a sense of belonging among students and working toward attaining “comprehensive internationalization,” Delalue said. The office is employing various methods to identify areas of the international student experience that the University could help to improve. The University has conducted focus groups with international students and has created an international advisory board, Delalue and Prasad said. Some of the latest developments involve “more strategic programming for students,” Delalue said. The OGE is
trying to connect with student leaders of existing international student organizations on campus and provide “specific programming based on (grade) level.” For example, a first-year undergraduate international student may be in need of different sorts of assistance than a sophomore who is in the process of selecting a concentration and getting an internship in the United States. Another step toward improvement includes “centralizing all requests,” Prasad said. Students are often confused about where to go and whom to contact for a particular problem. “The goal is to take that question and quickly identify who’s the right office so the student doesn’t have to struggle,” Prasad added. Through the OGE, the Office of the Provost hopes to identify ways the University can learn “from the international community on how to improve their experiences,” wrote Provost Richard Locke in an email to The Herald. Facilitating dialogue between the administration and the international community has involved creating the Global Brown Community and Support service, which “acts as a one-stop shop” for international students with questions
of students from prep schools at Brown are greater than what her friends encounter at some of the University of California schools, she said. Davila was one of the very few students who left the state from her high school. Before she had even come to campus this fall for her first semester, one of her friends asked: “Do you think you’re better than us now because you go to Brown?” She predicts she will not talk about campus much to her friends over winter break.
» DECAUL, from page 1
Post-graduation plans As students think about their professional plans for life after Brown, class continues to shape the career paths they are interested in pursuing and the urgency they feel about finding work. May has already secured a job in New York City at Goldman Sachs. She will be working at Goldman Sachs’ office of corporate engagement, rather than the investment banking branch of the bank. She was never “worried” about finding a job, acknowledging that her family is “well-connected.” Some feel pressure to secure work immediately after graduation. While some of Sandstrom’s friends have suggested taking a gap year between graduation and entering the workforce, that is not a financial possibility for her, she said. For a financial cushion between graduation and her first paycheck, Sandstrom is diverting money from the five jobs she currently works to save for a couple months’ rent, she said. As a first-year, Davila already has a vision for her plans in 2020. She intends to attend law school and possibly run for office to address some of the difficulties in her community that she has come to understand differently since arriving at Brown, she said. With a Brown degree and access to the University’s resources, she will have the power to increase opportunities for people back home, she added. Though her experience at Brown has illuminated just how great the disparity is between the resources in her hometown and those in particularly wealthy circles, Davila has become “very optimistic about things.”
Decaul’s war experience was left unprocessed and unverbalized. Despite fearing it was a poor use of time, Decaul enrolled in a creative writing workshop for veterans hosted at New York University. Surrounded by veterans from the Afghanistan, Iraq and Korean wars, Decaul found the words for his wartime experience. “I had never thought about the war,” Decaul said. But suddenly, “it was all about the war.” Sensing the power prose could have over veterans, Decaul created a similar workshop at Columbia. Now, as the Theatre Communications Group’s first artist-in-residence, the essays are becoming plays, as he brings a new adaptation of the workshop to Providence, focused exclusively on theater. Playwriting in Providence The goal of VTI is simple: create demand for theater in a community that often feels estranged from it. For Decaul, this means getting veterans’ fingerprints on all aspects of the playhouse. For students interested in playwriting, Decaul assigns readings, which students then reinterpret through pieces of their own. Though the veterans are free to write about anything, many feel the military experience is “the story that feels most urgent to tell,” said Anne Flammang, a Coast Guard retiree who has been with the class since its inception. With modern combat at the forefront of the playwrights’ minds, the classics are revamped, and ancient Greece becomes Afghanistan, Ajax morphs into the commanding officer, and the chorus gets filled with junior marines. For veterans less interested in reinterpreting the canon, VTI hopes to teach the technical aspects of play production. “I’m of the mind that if the Marine Corps has taught you how to build a bridge, … we can teach you how to build a set,” Decaul said. Down the road, he sees gunnery sergeants molded into stage managers, parsing their motivational skills onto a new
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With the appointment of Shontay Delalue and Shankar Prasad, the Office of Global Engagement has continued to internationalize the University. or concerns, as well as launching the Global Brown Coordinating Committee to improve coordination among the different “global-facing offices,” he added. The OGE is also working closely with CareerLAB and the Office of Alumni Relations to assist students with visas in identifying career opportunities and connecting with other international students who are staying and working in the United States after graduation, Delalue said. Delalue’s overall vision for the office
involves viewing “international affairs in the context of diversity and inclusion.” For example, she hopes to counter the myth that all international students are wealthy, she said. Twelve percent of undergraduates at Brown are international students, compared to just 5 percent at most other institutions. With this in mind, domestic students “should be taking advantage of what it means to be (attending) a global institution,” Delalue said. — Additional reporting by Alex Skidmore
target. “That’s the mission: getting the play staged and getting to opening night,” Decaul said. “We’ll teach them not to yell at the actors.” Decaul’s course is the first in what he hopes will be series of veteran theater initiatives, each taking root in a city densely populated with veteran and active military personnel. In three months, VTI’s North Carolina program will begin in Fayetteville, North Carolina, directly to the east of Fort Bragg, the largest military base in the world by population. Around the same time, VTI will branch into the La Jolla Playhouse on the University of California’s campus in San Diego — a city where veterans constitute one-tenth of the residents. Compared to cities like Fayetteville and San Diego, Providence’s military population is minuscule. According to the latest census, the entire state of Rhode Island holds a little over 70,000 veterans, only slightly more than the military personnel on Fort Bragg alone. But Decaul said he doesn’t need hundreds of thousands of veterans. He needs 10. “It’s about social support,” Decaul said. “We’re actually building something in the size of a squad again.” VTI is not intended to be therapeutic. “I’m not a therapist,” Decaul said, and creating a healing space for veterans “wasn’t the idea or the intent” of the initiative. Yet after monitoring the group for four months, he now believes the program has the potential to address issues involving posttraumatic stress disorder. When a community of men and women who have seen combat come together week after week, “there’s trust in the room,” he said. This intimate military community appealed to Jonathan Hagedorn ’19, the program’s only Brown undergraduate. After spending three and a half years in Afghanistan as a Marine, Hagedorn enrolled at Brown and quickly found himself immersed in the arts, performing in productions by Brown Motion Pictures and the Department of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies. But despite feeling welcomed by Brown’s theater
community, Hagedorn said he still found himself monitoring his work when writing for an audience that hadn’t seen combat. Decaul’s course was an opportunity to continue pursuing creative writing sans censorship. “There’s definitely an aggressive Marine version of myself that I kind of try and reign in when I’m around people that weren’t in the military,” he said. In the room of veterans provided by Decaul, his “Marine voice” finds an audience. Veterans and thespians It’s easy to reduce veterans and theater to two different domains, one rigid and regulated, the other freeflowing and expressive. But some veterans see this divide slowly crumbling. “There’s definitely a movement nationwide for artistic events for veterans,” said Katherine McNeil, the program director for the Office of Student Veterans and Commissioning Programs. With theater performances popping up at military bases through actor Adam Driver’s Arts in the Armed Forces initiative and the VTI’s new pilot programs, Hagedorn, too, sees the buildup of a “huge form of expression that (veterans) just never had before.” But at Brown, home to only 12 undergraduate veterans, Hagedorn fears effectively meshing the theater and veteran communities may take longer. They’re “two completely different worlds,” Hagedorn said. “I feel like I’m part of a very large community just in the theater community, … and I’m the only veteran they know here on campus.” Meanwhile, among Brown’s small veteran population, he’s noticed less interest in the arts and more of an emphasis on politics and international relations. But as Brown’s body of student veterans expands past a dozen members, the collision between the worlds of veterans and the arts should happen naturally, he said. Until then, Hagedorn is pleased to have the VTI program bridge the gap. “The experience is incredible,” he said. “There’s no other real outlet for this.”
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PAGE 4 • THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Incoming Trump administration provokes unease from R.I. lawmakers Politicians uncomfortable with President-Elect’s policies on immigration, reproductive rights By KYLE BOROWSKI SENIOR STAFF WRITER
With the proposed policies and staff of President-Elect Donald Trump’s administration becoming clearer by the day, the nature of the new leadership is appearing more and more at odds with the progressive tint usually attributed to Providence politics. From the office of Mayor Jorge Elorza, there has already been robust action to counteract Trump’s anticipated policies. “I am more convinced than ever that the work we do at the local level is essential to safeguarding the values that define us as a community,” Elorza said in a press release Nov. 14. “We cannot stand idly as members of our community are bullied, targeted and scapegoated on the national stage.” That declaration accompanied the announcement of Elorza’s new One Providence Initiative. As part of the program, the Mayor’s office will announce a new policy or event every week up until Inauguration Day to “give reassurance to the city’s most vulnerable and marginalized residents that the city will continue to support them,” he added in the release. Nov. 22, the office announced the creation of a Muslim-American Advisory Board to represent the concerns of Muslims from the Providence community. A press release states that the five-seat board will “help guide Mayor Elorza’s policy decisions that affect Muslim-Americans in Providence,” as well as “enhance the understanding of the religion of Islam.” The release also
» CONCERN, from page 1 To fund or not to fund “What we saw during the Bush administration — which I would say is looking very moderate compared to the incoming administration — was a systematic defunding of any sort of climate change research,” Porder said. “While I would hope that would not be the case moving forward, I certainly think that earth and environmental sciences are likely to take the biggest hit.” If funding decreases, the overhead collected by the University will decrease, and it may have to make up for a budget shortage, Porder said. Much of the funding for environmental studies comes from the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, said Baylor FoxKemper, associate professor of earth, environmental and planetary sciences. “Changes of administration have changed the priorities of those agencies pretty substantially in the past,” he said. “Environmental sciences are not in the safest position.” But Trump’s focus on supporting innovation may include science and research, Fox-Kemper said, adding that if the new administration wants “to spark innovation, funding may go up across the board.” Connors noted the recent passage of the 21st Century Cures Act in the Congress, which will significantly bolster certain areas of the National Institutes of Health. But its budget
cited a recent rise in hate crimes against Muslim-Americans nationwide as urgent reason for the board’s creation. At the inaugural Nov. 12 meeting for political community organizing group Resist Hate RI, Elorza was even more adamant in his promises to the community. Before a packed crowd at Hope High School, Elorza promised action on municipal IDs, welcome centers for new immigrants and paid paternal leave for all city workers. Elorza also promised to pass the Providence Community Safety Act, an ordinance that seeks to limit instances of police brutality. “Between now and Inauguration Day, I will be introducing the CSA to the Providence City Council and will be working to make sure it gets passed,” he said. Meanwhile, the Providence City Council has intensified efforts to pass the act in the weeks following Trump’s election, according to Micaela Antunes, press secretary for the Providence City Council. Most notably, Elorza vowed during the Resist Hate RI meeting to essentially transform the city of Providence into a sanctuary city. “While I am mayor, the Providence Police Department will never enforce immigration policies,” he said. “While there is no commonly used definition of ‘sanctuary city,’ Providence is committed to being an inclusive and welcoming community to all,” wrote Emily Crowell, director of communications for the Mayor’s Office, in an email to The Herald. Such a forceful declaration from Elorza could put city finances in jeopardy, as opposing the policies of the federal government can sometimes result in a loss of federal funding. Trump has given these fears weight, pledging in a Sept. 1 speech to “cancel unconstitutional
executive orders and enforce all immigration laws.” He added that “cities that refuse to cooperate with federal authorities (on immigration) will not receive taxpayer dollars.” “Currently, the Providence Police Department cooperates with federal immigration authorities by holding anyone with a detainer who is charged with a crime and will continue to do so,” Crowell wrote. Representatives from the Providence Police Department did not respond to a request for comment. Even though city-level action could provoke a reduction in funding from the national government, it might be the only level of resistance to be found in the Ocean State. “Even before the election, significant numbers of my Democratic colleagues in the (state) House and Senate were opposed to driver’s licenses for immigrants and funding for Planned Parenthood,” said Rep. Edith Ajello, DProvidence. “And on top of that, Trump won a lot of districts in the state.” Ajello said she was doubtful as to whether or not Democrats in the state’s General Assembly would be willing or even capable of countering Trump in the way Elorza plans. For her part, Ajello said she’s focused on securing the future of reproductive rights in Rhode Island, one that has become unclear in the wake of Trump’s election. U.S. Rep. Tom Price, R-GA, Trump’s pick for secretary of health and human services, has received a 0 percent rating from Planned Parenthood for his opposition to federal funding for the organization as well as to the practice of abortion itself. In an interview with the Blaze July 21, Trump himself said Planned Parenthood “absolutely should be defunded.” “If Planned Parenthood was
MARIANNA MCMURDOCK / HERALD
Donald Trump’s election has some Rhode Island lawmakers concerned that changes to reproductive policy could limit abortion coverage in the state. defunded by the federal government, I would hope (Gov. Gina) Raimondo would try to find state funds to earmark,” Ajello said. “I have talked with my colleagues and advocates about introducing legislation around abortion rights.” Convincing Democrats in the statehouse to fund the organization independently at the state level would be an uphill battle, she added. “But it’s an easier road than it would’ve been 10 years ago.” Codifying the Roe v. Wade decision remains the most critical task for Ajello, who is currently sponsoring a bill in the Statehouse looking to do just that. If a Supreme Court staffed by conservative Trump appointees ultimately reverses the landmark decision, Rhode Island could be subject to a number of legislative changes. Several Rhode Island laws still on the books but deemed
unconstitutional by virtue of Roe, could potentially be reinstituted. Rhode Island’s spousal notification law, for instance, requires that a woman inform her spouse if she plans to receive an abortion. While that piece of legislation is currently unenforceable, future Supreme Court decisions could render it valid once more. “I’m inclined to be a little cautious about saying we’re going to do this or that because it’s potentially setting up an adversarial situation,” Ajello said of professed state and local efforts against the policies of a Trump presidency. But she added that community members and elected officials should still voice concern over policy changes when warranted. “Whether you’re a woman or a minority or an immigrant, we’re all in this together,” she added.
would need to be renewed each year, he added. Head emphasized that the path from electing Trump to his effects on funding is far from linear. “There’s no way to predict. But most people worry that things are more likely to get tougher than better, at least in terms of research and dollars,” Connors said. Cabinet choices Many of the president-elect’s appointments have generated widespread concern. “History has shown that the best administrations and cabinet-level officials are those that have a significant level of knowledge, understanding (and) experience in the field,” Head said. “Administrations appointed for political or ideological reasons have typically done more damage than good.” Trump picked U.S. Rep. Tom Price, R-GA, as secretary of health and human services, a role that oversees the NIH, Food and Drug Administration and Center for Disease Control. He opposes embryonic stem cell research, as well as federal funding for anything related to birth control, Connors said. “Given the appointments — or at least the people chosen to lead the transition so far — there is no representation of the science community as far as I can tell,” Porder said. Trump also has the right to select a new director of the NIH, which controls a significant portion of funding for biomedical scientific research,
ROLAND HIGH / HERALD
Connors said. Endangered science “One of the things that really worries me is the availability of student and professional visas for students to come to the (United States),” Fox-Kemper said. Foreign students contribute significantly to U.S. academic activity, and many move permanently to the United States, bringing their talents with them. “I’m very concerned that it will become more difficult to get those visas,” he said. Following the events of Sept. 11, 2001, such immigrants have been scrutinized much more closely, which has had a clear impact on research, he added. Many research labs rely heavily
on “the free flow of scientific talent,” Connors said. Those in the scientific community who lack U.S. citizenship are particularly vulnerable to Trump’s choices, but they are not the only ones. Science will be damaged most at schools that lack Brown’s wealth, Porder said. “My biggest concern is actually not for Brown — (though) we will certainly feel effects — but for people who are less affluent and less privileged than the general community at Brown, who are going to feel the effects of decreased funding and decreased support much more painfully than we are.” Political discourse Trump’s disdain for evidence and expertise has created a new standard
for presidential candidates, which has already altered the course of political discussion, Connors said. “The fallout is already clear,” he added. “It can’t be good for the general degree of trust and respect that science and scientists get.” “If an individual looks at major scientific issues from an ideological or political basis, this often tends to discredit or demonize science,” Head said. “This can’t be good for the future of the country, so I hope this doesn’t happen.” Fox-Kemper expressed concern about Trump’s lack of scientific expertise and dismissal of scientific consensus. “On the other hand, scientists are often seen as one of the most trustworthy groups in society — certainly more trustworthy than politicians.”
TODAY
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 • PAGE 5
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
menu
memorial lecture
SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS
Pizza: Na’cho Pizza, Spicy Five Cheese and Garlic, BBQ Bam Bam Make-Your-Own Pasta Station JOSIAH’S
BLUE ROOM
Make-Your-Own Quesadillas
Turkey Chili, Fire Roasted Veggie Chicken Kadhai
DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH
DINNER
Shepherd’s Pie, Grilled Chicken Alfredo Sandwich, Chocolate Chunk and Pretzel Cookie
Beef Pot Pie, Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Pasta, Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting
VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH
DINNER
Ham and Bean Soup, Nacho Bar, Mexicali Macaroni Bake, Raspberry Crumble Bar
Pot Roast Jardiniere, Ham Fried Rice Bowl, Baked Cheese Manicotti, Banana Cream Pie
sudoku
HUAYU OUYANG / HERALD
Gerry Altman, a professor at the University of Connecticut, came to campus Wednesday to deliver the Michael S. Goodman ’74 Memorial Lecture. Altman spoke about the challenges of event cognition.
Q U O T E O F T H E D AY
RELEASE DATE– Monday, February 6, 2012
Los Angeles Times Puzzle c r o sDaily s w oCrossword rd Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 PC screens 5 Bumbling types 9 Washer or dryer: Abbr. 13 Banister 14 “Deck the Halls” syllables 15 Cuba, to Castro 16 *Start of a Jackie Gleason “Honeymooners” catchphrase 19 Capone associate Frank 20 Political satirist Mort 21 Pale 23 “Be right with you!” 25 Moe, Curly or Larry 28 Space-saving abbr. 29 *Vivaldi classic, with “The” 33 Pot-scrubbing brand 34 Fencing sword 35 King with a golden touch 36 *Cat’s blessing, so it’s said 39 Brainstorms 42 Company with a “swoosh” logo 43 “The Racer’s Edge” 46 *Tennessee Ernie Ford hit about coal mining 49 Musician’s asset 50 Big name in tea 51 New Orleans university 53 Orch. section 54 Coarse file 58 Pantyhose that came in a shell 59 What the starred answers start with 63 Upscale hotel chain 64 Potatoes’ partner 65 Post-Christmas retail event 66 Bog fuel 67 Hwy. accident respondents 68 Managed care gps.
36 NHL part: Abbr. 47 Brontë’s DOWN 37 “Understood” “Jane __” 1 Chums 38 Dryer outlet 48 “Star Trek” 2 Met by chance helmsman 39 Followers: Suf. 3 Men’s wear 52 Dog restraint 40 Low-cal soda accessories 41 Radical 55 Zenith 4 Bandits in 43 Company 56 Goblet feature Vegas? associated with 57 Jr.’s exam 5 More than the alcoholic “7” 60 Cell occasionally, to a in a “7 and 7” “messenger,” bard 44 Citrus hybrid briefly 6 Oohs’ partners 45 Gets the creases 61 Tailor’s concern 7 Circus insect out of 62 Fourths of gals. 8 Scout uniform component ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: 9 Help 10 Free TV ad 11 Layered building material 12 Layered ristorante offering 17 Feudal estate 18 “Do it, or __!” 22 Loch of legend 24 Filmmaker Ethan or Joel 26 Domesticated 27 Suffix with psych 30 Ivy League sch. in Philly 31 Got going again, as a fire 32 Fancy watch 02/06/12 xwordeditor@aol.com
“Whether you’re a woman or a minority or an immigrant, we’re all in this together.” — Rep. Edith Ajello D-RI
See lawmakers on page 4.
EDITORS’ NOTE Today’s issue marks the final Herald of the semester and the last produced under the 126th Editorial Board. The Herald will publish breaking news updates online during finals and over winter break, and regular publication will resume Wednesday, Jan. 25. We hope you continue to engage with The Herald next semester as the 127th Editorial Board takes the reins. Thank you for reading.
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Troy Henikoff ’86 Lunch 12:15 P.M. Rockefeller Library, Patrick Ma Digital Scholarship Lab
SAC’s Holiday Party 4:00 P.M. Sayles Hall, Auditorium
Meiklejohn Information Session 7:00 P.M. Salomon, 003
Confidential: Queerness and Religion 7:00 P.M. Campus Center, 321
TOMORROW Grad Student LinkedIn Photoshoot 10:00 A.M. CareerLAB
The Transition of Power From Obama to Trump 12:00 P.M. Watson Institute
#NoDAPL Teach-In 12:00 P.M. MacMillan Hall, 115
Chorus Concert 8:00 P.M. Sayles Hall, Auditorium
COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Comments Re: Gantz ’17.5: “Mid-year graduation ignores medical leave-takers” (Dec. 6) While I appreciate your effort to render the mid-year graduation ceremony more inclusive, I doubt this kind of attention to medical leave would accomplish that task in a meaningful or sensitive way. As a transfer student and point-fiver myself, I can tell you that there is significant crossover (far more than you’d imagine) between transfers and medical leave. Many students transfer to Brown because of traumatic experiences at their previous colleges, seeking the opportunity to start fresh at a new school. Transferring to Brown is not always about finding a better “fit”; often it is a means of escaping whatever discomfort or trauma we faced beforehand, and this doesn’t preclude the many transfer students who ALSO take medical leaves both before and during their time at Brown. Transfer or not, medical leave and histories before Brown are not always cathartic experiences and tales of growth, and perhaps some mid-year graduates would like to get through a two-hour graduation ceremony without revisiting them. You say “No component of the ceremony acknowledged that medical leave-takers often do not want to take time off, and some are forced to take a leave involuntarily.” While this is undoubtedly true, I can’t imagine why Paxson ought to explicitly mention it at graduation. The mid-year ceremony is intended to celebrate our unique journeys at Brown, despite whatever obstacles we may have encountered along the way. Few universities even offer a mid-year ceremony, and I for one was pleased to see Paxson acknowledge these journeys are equally important, meaningful and valuable without delving into the specifics. She didn’t need to mention my manic depression and the extra six months it took me to graduate for me to feel included. To argue that “Brown is essentially affirming that individuals who are mentally and physically ill do not conform to the vision of what it means to be successful at Brown” is a blatant misrepresentation of what Paxson conveyed in her narrative. If anything, her “bump in the road” narrative stresses the value in completing one’s education according to their unique timeline. I can agree that I would’ve like to see more diverse student speakers (not just those who crafted their own concentration or took extra courses), but I have no desire whatsoever to indulge the various horrors that resulted in an unnecessary extension of my education. This op-ed seems like unnecessary picking at both Paxson and a genuinely well-intentioned ceremony that brings a little joy to us point-fivers.
K I M B E R LY S A LT Z
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COMMENTARY THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 • PAGE 7
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
TAs are underpaid CARIN PAPENDORP staff columnist When I accepted a position as an undergraduate teaching assistant this fall, I assumed that I would be paid in accordance with the hours I worked, like any other job. So imagine my surprise when I received an email from an administrator in the department of neuroscience, informing me that I would be paid for a maximum of 84 hours over the semester, or six hours a week. Between attending class, meeting with other TAs, preparing for section, leading section, holding office hours, answering questions on Piazza and grading exams, I can easily spend 12 or more hours a week — double what I’m paid for — on TA duties. I am sure that in some other classes the gap between the hours for which TAs are paid and the hours that TAs are expected to work is even greater. In 2010, The Herald reported that the department of computer science had moved from a stipend system to hourly pay for TAs. At the time, there was an uproar: A group of head TAs objected that “TAs have historically willingly accepted a flat stipend throughout the semester for their work, viewing the rewards of shaping course development and impacting students’ learning processes as more important than monetary compensa-
tion.” Similarly, faculty members in the department worried that the move toward hourly pay constituted “social engineering” that would destroy the special role of TAs in computer science classes. But paying undergraduate TAs fairly for the work they do isn’t “social engineering” — it’s just the way wages are supposed to work. TAs are certainly privileged to work closely with students and professors. But at the end of the day, being a TA is a job, not some sort of magical experience that tran-
mer, having the freedom to spend up to 25 hours a week motivated me to be a better TA. Knowing that I would be compensated for my time, I held more office hours, created original practice exams and study guides and spent extra time reviewing the material with struggling students. In contrast, with the six-hour cap, I’m forced to make tough decisions about balancing my TA responsibilities with classes and my other jobs. The 2010 statement from CS TAs
mum, maybe it was because he was being paid the bare minimum. Ironically, despite all the uproar in 2010, effectively nothing has changed. After all, hourly pay with a cap on hours is mathematically no different from a flat stipend. This problem with wages also stems from a larger lack of organization and accountability surrounding undergraduate TAs. For example, though undergraduate TAs are sometimes included on course evaluations, this feedback is too little, too
At the end of the day, being a TA is a job, not some sort of magical experience that transcends monetary compensation.
scends monetary compensation. The unrealistic cap on hours was particularly surprising to me because I had worked as a TA at Brown over the summer, and I was encouraged to log and be paid for 15 to 25 hours a week. Of course, summer courses are more condensed than typical fall and spring classes. But because summer TAs are funded by the School of Professional Studies rather than the departments themselves, the policies about wages are completely different. Over the sum-
claimed that “a policy that requires TAs to be paid hourly directly impacts the amount, and quality, of work that TAs can do and will have an adverse effect on the way students learn in computer science classes at Brown.” Actually, I would argue that the opposite is true, both from my personal experience and drawing on basic economics. With a flat (and inadequate) stipend, undergraduate TAs have no financial incentive to do a good job. If you’ve ever felt like your TA was doing the bare mini-
late. Without regular evaluations, undergraduate TAs operate with very little oversight, and the value that they add to the course can vary drastically. Furthermore, Brown should evaluate not only individual TAs themselves but also the effectiveness of an undergraduate TA program. Maybe if the system were under central administration (like it is during the summer), rather than left to individual departments, there would be more consistency and accountability. At the very least,
there should be common guidelines, pay structures and evaluation systems across all departments. Until the undergraduate TA program is more organized, other departments could take a cue from the department of computer science. For example, the department has established an endowment to fund undergraduate TA positions and gives undergraduate TAs the option of taking a half-credit course to offset the time commitment of serving as a TA. CS TAs are also trained extensively before the semester, unlike TAs in many other departments. These exact policies may not make sense or be financially feasible for every department, but it is crucial that each department take a realistic look at the role of TAs in its courses and pay them accordingly. I urge Brown to review its policies on paying undergraduate TAs and make sure they are consistent and fair. At the very least, Brown should be more transparent about the fact that TAs in many departments are still effectively receiving a flat stipend rather than pay that accurately reflects the time they spend supporting professors and students. The University must decide whether undergraduate TAs are a vital part of the “University-College” learning experience; if so, we need to pay them fairly.
Carin Papendorp ’17 can be reached at carin_papendorp@brown.edu.
American messiah NIKHIL KUMAR staff columnist The Brown University Chorus will perform the first part of George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah” Friday evening in Sayles Hall. I plan on attending. Even though I’m not religious, the music of the two-and-a-half hour oratorio moves me every time I have the pleasure of hearing it. As I look ahead to tomorrow’s concert and the spiritual sentiment of the holidays overall, I feel inspired to reflect upon the various messiahs of modern society — secular messiahs, that is. During this time of global transition — with jolting elections from the United States to the United Kingdom, France and Italy — I, along with many others, am searching for answers about the present and the future. To whom can we turn to assuage our fears and steady the rocking ship on which we find ourselves? Outgoing Vice President Joe Biden revealed Monday that he may run for president in 2020, though like any good politician, he’s not making any promises he can’t keep. Upon hearing this piece of “news” I immediately rolled my eyes in exasperation. It seems that the media, caught in a desperate clickbait race for viewers and subscribers, has already transitioned to the next presidential election — even as recounts for the latest contest are still underway. Biden can be forgiven for contemplating his future during this period of personal and public upheaval. But it’s ridiculous to think that disappointed voters who did not support PresidentElect Donald Trump might take comfort in the fact that Biden will swoop in to save the country. Biden is not the American messiah.
Trump is not the messiah either. Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and even U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-VT, too, could not have filled that role. During the election, people on both sides pinned their hopes and dreams, fears and prejudices on their chosen candidate. If our candidate could win, we thought, all would be right with the world. Perhaps this is an exaggeration — voters were well aware of the flaws of both candidates and the obstacles they would face in implementing their respective platforms. But
fice in 2008 with the slogan “change we can believe in.” If ever there were a messianic message for a candidate, that was it. But the zealotry displayed by supporters of Trump and Clinton during this cycle seemed to exceed anything with which I, at least, am familiar. Christian news sites have written that Trump was elected “by divine intervention.” Conversely, Clinton supporters devastated by the election results are still struggling to remain optimistic about the future, as if the destruction of their candidate’s political aspirations meant the destruc-
Regardless of the real power wielded by the president, the mythology of the highest office in the land has transformed the leader of the executive branch into the supposed savior of the country.
the fever pitch of the campaign and the urgency felt by both Trump and Clinton supporters reflect the enormous weight American society places on the symbolic value of the presidency. Regardless of the real power wielded by the president, the mythology of the highest office in the land has transformed the leader of the executive branch into the supposed savior of the country. This phenomenon didn’t appear out of thin air in 2016. President Barack Obama ran for of-
tion of everything they believe in. To some extent, Americans are right to invest so much energy and faith in the presidency. It is, after all, a position of incredible power, combining in one head of state, head of government and commander-in-chief of the world’s largest military and economic power. The president’s actions affect, to a greater or lesser degree, people of all backgrounds in all aspects of their lives in all countries of the world. But that power derives from the office of
the presidency and not the supposedly messianic characteristics of the person who inhabits it. All presidents who have preceded Trump have been humbled by that office and, in turn, by the voters who placed them there. Regardless of Trump’s inclination to ignore democratic values — namely, the freedom of the press and freedom of expression — he, too, will ultimately be humbled by the grave responsibility that he must bear for the next four years. In the end, a president is limited by his own flaws and desires. He is not a king by divine right, nor the savior of his people. He — or she, hopefully, one day — is an elected official to whom we have entrusted some of the most challenging decisions for our country. Whether you’re rejoicing or despairing over the outcome of this election, bear in mind that power is all around. It lies with our senators and representatives, our governors, our state legislators, our mayors and our city councils. But it also lies with all of us, who have the capacity to shape in big and small ways the present and the future we experience together. At this pivotal moment in time, let’s seize every opportunity we have to define our own world and to empower those around us to do the same. In doing so, perhaps we can cure some of the social ills that have only worsened as we have fallen ever deeper into the trap of presidential worship. We cannot hide behind a figurehead to avoid owning up to the power that we wield over ourselves and our neighbors. If you’re looking for a savior, look no further than the mirror. This holiday season and beyond, be your own secular messiah.
Nikhil Kumar ’17 can be reached at nikhil_kumar@brown.edu.
NEWS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Crosstown rival Friars blow out Bears in annual matchup Providence led 20-3, 5018 en route to 38-point victory to snap Bears’ four-game win streak By BEN SHUMATE SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Looking overmatched and undersized, the men’s basketball team was run out of the Dunkin’ Donuts Center Tuesday, falling to Providence College 95-57. Brown (5-5) came into the contest as the winner of four straight games but fell victim to a hot Friars (7-2) team coming off a win over No. 21 University of Rhode Island Saturday. Providence handled Bruno on both ends of the court, shooting 61 percent from the field while keeping Brown’s top scorers in check on defense. “A lot of credit to them, but I don’t think they saw our best effort or our best performance,” said Head Coach Mike Martin ’04. “We’ve seen some progress defensively, but obviously tonight we didn’t show the progress that I’ve felt like we’ve been making.”
Brown led in the contest just once, grabbing a 3-0 lead on a trey from Brandon Anderson ’20 on the Bears’ first possession. Providence subsequently rattled off a 20-0 run over the next seven minutes and didn’t look back. “We’ve been susceptible to runs, and it’s because we’re not where we need to be defensively right now,” Martin said. “So when our offense doesn’t produce or turns it over, it leads to transition. Even in the half court, we’re not where we need to be.” Providence scored from all over the court, shooting 52 percent from three and outscoring Brown 42-26 in the paint. Emmitt Holt was 7-for-7 shooting in the first half, helping the Friars to cruise to a 50-18 lead after 20 minutes. Holt led all scorers in the contest with 20 points. While Brown more than doubled its scoring output in the second half, the 57 points were the lowest for the Bears since an 84-55 season-opening loss to Cincinnati. Coming into the game, forwards Steven Spieth ’17 and Joshua Howard ’20 — Bruno’s leading
scorers — averaged 18 and 12 points, respectively. The pair combined for just nine points Tuesday. “We were very, very nervous in preparing for Brown with respect to Spieth — he’s a great player,” said Providence Head Coach Ed Cooley. “I thought we were really dialed in defensively. Defensively is where we’re going to hang our hat because you’re not always going to throw it in the basket the way we did today.” Obi Okolie ’19 was the lone bright spot for Bruno offensively, scoring 16 points on 6-for-12 shooting. In total, Brown shot just 37 percent overall and 3-for-17 from three. Travis Fuller ’19 added 10 points off the bench. “For whatever reason we weren’t moving, cutting and screening the way we’d like to,” Martin said. “I didn’t think we shared the ball the way we have been.” The Friars used a considerable size advantage inside to out-rebound the Bears 37-27, including a 12-6 advantage in offensive rebounds. Brown will have a chance to bounce back before the winter break, hosting
COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS
Bruno was easily dispatched by the Friars Tuesday night, losing the annual rivalry game 95-57 and falling to .500 on the season. Emerson and Johnson and Wales, both Division III teams, this week. “We have to do more good things at both ends of the court for 40 minutes,”
Martin said. “It can’t be flashes at one end of the court for five minutes. It has to be both ends of the court for 40 minutes.”
Native American and Indigenous Studies at Brown initiative seeks to expand Search for director, plans for undergraduate concentration result from student, faculty efforts By ISABEL GENSLER SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The Native American and Indigenous Studies at Brown initiative, which was launched last spring, is now searching for a director, wrote Provost Richard Locke in an email to The Herald. The group, which consists of 22 faculty members and postdoctoral fellows from across the American studies, history, anthropology, religious studies, archaeology, environmental studies, linguistics, music and theatre arts and performance studies departments, has been working on the project since winter
2015. A list of courses included in the initiative was recently released. The working group behind the initiative consolidated relevant classes that already existed — covering topics including American Indian history, environmental health in Native communities and the history of interactions between Native and European people — and hopes to create new courses, said Mark Cladis, professor and chair of the department of religious studies. Before the initiative began, the University offered courses in these topics, but the courses were “spread out throughout the curriculum so it wasn’t clear what was being taught systematically, and it wasn’t clear what wasn’t being taught,” Cladis said. The initiative emphasizes “certain pressing issues that confront Native American and indigenous communities
and (tries) to bring those issues more to the fore in terms of the attention of Brown, to the area and nationally,” Cladis said. “It was through years of pressure from the indigenous student and faculty community that (this community) influenced the shaping of this new program,” wrote Ruth Miller ’19, co-coordinator of Native Americans at Brown, in an email to The Herald. She added that there is indigenous representation in the faculty and staff within the initiative and that Niyolpaqui Moraza-Keeswood ’16 acts as a coordinator between the initiative and Native Americans at Brown. “Many constructive ideas were advanced by actively engaged students and faculty in conversation with President (Christina) Paxson (P’19) and me during the development of the University’s Pathways to Diversity and Inclusion action plan, which led to the focused planning effort,” Locke wrote. “The NAIS(AB) initiative was developed in conjunction with our DIAP efforts, and it is incorporated into the DIAP’s academic programming objectives.” The Academic Priorities Committee reviewed the plan, and he and Paxson approved it, Locke added. “A great university that’s situated in New England must have a program about Native American studies,” said Geri Augusto, visiting associate professor of international and public affairs and Africana studies. “If not, there’s a great big hole.” “I’m hoping we can use indigenous and Native American knowledge studies as intellectual resources for all the big questions we are always thinking about” on issues of the environment, race relations, political sovereignty and individual identity, Augusto said, adding that the NAISAB initiative “could contribute a lot to research, to teaching and to reflection.” “Indigenous expression and ways of knowing have been historically excluded from mainstream artistic and educational institutions,” wrote Sarah dAngelo, assistant professor of theatre arts and performance studies. “It is encouraging
MARIANNA MCMURDOCK / HERALD
The Native American and Indigenous Studies at Brown initiative plans to develop its program with additional scholarship opportunities. that Brown University is among the few institutions in the United States who recognize (that) indigenous systems of knowledge and creation bring great value to its curriculum and demonstrates a commitment to diverse perspectives and lifeways.” Once established, the program would be of interest not only for students who want to study a certain Native American population but also for those interested in philosophy, politics and the environment, Augusto said. “The plan envisions the development of, among other things, an interdisciplinary NAIS(AB) curriculum, new research initiatives and new engaged scholarship opportunities,” Locke wrote. “Intellectually, an important goal is to promote the incorporation of Native and indigenous knowledge and perspectives in teaching and scholarship across the breadth of the campus. Institutionally, the ambition is for the initiative to be a first step toward establishing a program or center.” The initiative hopes to support postdoctoral researchers, bring on a director and even offer an undergraduate concentration in the future, Cladis said. Faculty members are currently looking into how to build momentum, advertise their courses and determine what courses should be taught, he added. “Institutional issues are not the heart
of a movement or a program, but if those aren’t in place it is hard to have longevity,” Cladis said. Cladis’ course “RELS0260: Religion Gone Wild: Spirituality and the Environment” is included in the NAISAB initiative course list. It is about relationships between humans and the natural world, focusing on Australian aboriginal and Native American approaches to interacting with their environments. He hopes to add a course on Native American religions but is unsure of when exactly it will materialize, he added. Cladis got involved with the initiative about two and a half years ago when an email was circulated asking if any faculty members would be interested in joining, and from there, “It grew organically,” he said. Augusto was also a part of the working groups that came up with the concept and proposal for how NAISAB would work at the University, she said. “What drew me to this field (was) my interest in ways of knowing and ways of being,” Augusto said, explaining that she has a passion for “epistemology and ontologies” — how knowledge is produced and pertains to power and conflict. “I’m interested in the dynamic between indigenous knowledges and other types of knowledges, and that’s what led me to this,” she added.