Friday, January 29, 2021

Page 1

SINCE 1891

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Friday, January 29, 2021

VOLUME CLV, ISSUE 37

UNIVERSITY NEWS

UNIVERSITY NEWS

University eligible for $6.9 million in COVID-19 aid Administrators undecided on whether to accept federal funding BY MIA BARZILAY FREUND SENIOR STAFF WRITER The University has not yet decided whether to apply for or accept the nearly $6.9 million of funding for which it is eligible under a new Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA) signed into law by former President Donald Trump Dec. 27. This funding comes as the latest installment in a timeline of stimulus funding offered to institutions of higher education amid financial challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, the Trump administration approved its Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act, known as the CARES Act, under which the University was originally entitled to $4.8 million in relief funding, The Herald previously reported.

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“These rounds of federal funding are intended to support students across the country adversely impacted during this pandemic, as well as the critical needs of colleges and universities arising from the coronavirus,” Vice President for Communications Cass Cliatt wrote in an email to The Herald. “We feel it is important that our community can benefit from this support.” The University applied in spring 2020 for the portion of CARES Act funding designated for emergency financial aid grants to students, since the portion of the Brown-specific stimulus package unrelated to emergency aid grants had spending rules and limitations attached to it, Cliatt wrote. As a result, the University only applied for $2.4 million of the original CARES package. According to Cliatt, the University is obligated to direct 100 percent of the $2.4 million freed up by the CARES Act to supporting students. “The University plans to make a de-

SEE STIMULUS PAGE 8

U. discusses COVID-19 vaccine timeline

ELISE RYAN / HERALD

Patient-facing medical students and campus first-responders have all begun receiving the COVID vaccine.

First doses administered, broader distribution as soon as mid-semester BY LIVIA GIMENES UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR The broader undergraduate population could receive their first dose of the

UNIVERSITY NEWS

COVID-19 vaccine as early as the end of this semester, supplies permitting, Associate Vice President for Campus Life and Executive Director of Health and Wellness Vanessa Britto MMSc’96 speculates. As part of Phase 1 of the Rhode Island Department of Health’s vaccination plan, staff at both University Health Services and Department of Public Safety have already received

at least the first dose of the vaccine, which requires two doses spaced out by about three weeks. According to Britto, patient-facing staff at Health Services “have virtually all been vaccinated,” totaling approximately 60 to 70 staff members. Patient-facing students from the Warren Alpert School of Medicine, as well as members of Brown Emergency

SEE VACCINE PAGE 5

METRO

Dining Services navigates meal planning, prep, pickup as campus quarantines

Rise in off-campus student housing sparks concern

Dining Services distributed 7,000 meals daily during Quiet Period

Some concerned about affordable housing, students pushing out local residents

BY JACK WALKER SENIOR STAFF WRITER Gail McCarthy, a beloved Brown Dining Services cashier, found herself doing much more than her typical role of swiping ID cards and doling out smiles during the spring semester’s unusual start. McCarthy, along with a number of Dining Services staff, worked to prepare and bag the 7,000 meals produced daily for hungry students over Quiet Period. McCarthy works from 6:30 to 10:30 a.m. each day prior to cashiering. “There’s just so many bags, everybody has to do it of course,” she said. “It’s more work involved for everyone.” With only four of the University’s dining halls open for the spring semester per the University’s Plan for a Healthy and Safe 2020-21, Dining Services has had to prepare the large output of meals using reduced facilities, Director of Dining Programs George Barboza wrote in an email to The Herald.

To decide which dining halls would open for the spring, Dining Services partnered with other University offices to factor in “things like functionality of the space, proximity to student housing and most importantly, student and staff safety,” he added. Students living both on and off campus in Providence were eligible to pick up meals at assigned locations during assigned time slots beginning Jan. 9.

spring, many intermittent employees, including some Dining Services workers staffed through external agencies, could not continue their assignments remotely and were terminated, The Herald previously reported. During Quiet Period, the culinary staff cooked the day’s meals while McCarthy and other Dining Services members worked to ensure bags contained utensils, sides, condiments and

RYAN RHEW / HERALD

DIning Services culinary staff cooked each day’s meals, while other staff members worked to prepare thousands of bags every day.

BY LAURA DAVID CONTRIBUTING WRITER In a housing market that was already struggling to keep up with demand, the University’s expansion of off-campus housing permission amid the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered concerns among both locals and some Brown students that an influx of students into nearby Providence neighborhoods will push out families looking for affordable housing. “People have increasingly been priced out of (College Hill and Fox Point) because they can’t compete with students,” said Director of Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere Dhruv Gaur ’21. “What we’re afraid might happen is that landlords will see … a much more lucrative opportunity of renting for students, and no longer want to rent to Providence families,” Gaur added. While students are able to split rent with friends to manage the pric-

Dining Services has also been operating with fewer employees. Following the initial closure of campus in the

anything else students would need for their meals.

News

Sports

Arts & Culture

Commentary

Brown’s Public Education Committee discussed the PPSD amid the state’s takover. Page 2

As University shifts to Modified Activity Level Two, athletics remain restricted. Page 3

Queen’s Gambit provides a glamorous portrait of a tortured prodigy’s journey in the chess world. Page 3

Jha: Continued vigilance with COVID-19 safety measures will ameliorate pandemic burden Page 7

SEE DINING PAGE 4

es, Gaur noted that most Providence families “just don’t have that kind of purchasing power.” Despite the challenges that Providence residents are currently facing, Gaur pointed out that “Brown has basically offered off-campus permission, not only to all seniors, but … to all juniors in its student body.” An influx of college students exacerbates a pre-existing housing supply shortage, according to Brenda Clement, the director of HousingWorks RI at Roger Williams University. “Prior to the pandemic, we already had a housing shortage in the city and throughout the state,” Clement said. “We need to be producing thousands of units per year in order to keep up with demand, so … obviously it’s a kind of basic economic issue when supply is limited, but demand is steady or growing.” Quynh Tran ’21 said that since Brown didn’t let many students know about the status of their off-campus permission requests until the summer, there was “a huge scramble to move off campus.” She was able to move to a three-story house near Power Street which has been converted to an apartment, and she said that all of the

SEE HOUSING PAGE 2

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Friday, January 29, 2021 by The Brown Daily Herald - Issuu