Thursday, February 20, 2020

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020

VOLUME CLV, ISSUE 20

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Paxson and Locke reflect on ‘Building on Distinction’

U. celebrates success of first half of decade-long strategic plan, aims for future excellence

BY AUBREY LI SENIOR STAFF WRITER Following the midpoint of the 10year strategic plan “Building on Distinction,” President Christina Paxson P ’19 and Provost Richard Locke P ’18 discussed the plan’s accomplishments and steps the University must take in the next five years to reach the outlined goals.

“Building on Distinction” aims to facilitate the growth and development of the University’s academics, community and campus. Paxson presented the strategic plan at the Corporation’s first formal meeting in 2013 and the plan was launched in 2014, The Herald previously reported.

Achievements of the first five years The BrownTogether campaign, a fundraising effort under the strategic plan to enhance investment in educa-

tion, research programs and campus development, garnered $2.26 billion of the $3 billion goal by Dec. 5, 2019, according to the campaign’s website.

The University’s endowment grew to an “all-time high” of $4.2 billion at the end of FY19, according to a Brown news release.

Grant funding for education and research in the past five years exceeded the $800 million goal laid out in the plan, as the University expended $860 million toward research in the humanities and sciences.

Major gifts have also enhanced the University’s research programs and opportunities, as annual research expenditures were increased to $196 million in FY19, according to the University news release. Raising funds for the Carney Institute for Brain Science was “one of the strategic areas we highlighted” for the plan, Paxson said.

BrownTogether has also helped establish 75 endowed chairs toward their goal of 123, Locke said.

To increase academic and career opportunities, Wintersession was

SEE PLAN PAGE 4

BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM

SPORTS

Tutors seek to meet athletes’ needs U. athletes look to student-tutor program, some struggle to find sufficient support

BY MAISIE NEWBURY SENIOR STAFF WRITER The University’s long-standing student-athlete tutoring program, which grants individualized scheduling and attention for students juggling athletics and academics, has grown in recent years to best accommodate athletes’ unique demands.

The program has the best interests of students in mind, said Student-Athlete Services Coordinator Victoria Flowers. “We want to allow our student-athletes to be students and not have to sacrifice any part of themselves. We want them to do everything they can while they are here at Brown.”

The program makes this possible because it “provides additional support for athletes to be successful in the classroom and to better understand the work,” said Carolan Norris,

senior associate director of athletics and student-athlete services. “They put a lot of hours into academics, as well as athletics, and (the program is) a support system that can help with confidence as they sit in the classroom.”

The tutoring program matches athletes with student tutors who understand the time commitment required for varsity athletics. “It’s super

MADDY CHERR / HERALD

helpful connecting athletes with other athletes because they understand the scheduling conflicts and time management issues we face,” said Katie Klein ’22, a member of the water polo team.

But Sara Syed ’22, a member of the squash team, said that the program has not always met her academic needs.

SEE TUTOR PAGE 4

METRO

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Redistricting reform bill faces ‘uphill’ battle

UCS discusses fall poll, committee projects

Redraw RI campaign seeks to create independent redistricting commission

Committee chairs give project updates, Council discusses constitution

BY BENJAMIN POLLARD SENIOR STAFF WRITER A movement to create an independent redistricting committee to help fix heavy partisan gerrymandering in Rhode Island is likely to face opposition from legislative leadership who currently control the redistricting process, said John Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island.

Common Cause Rhode Island is spearheading the Redraw RI campaign in support of a proposed state constitutional amendment to create an independent redistricting commission.

“I think the legislative leadership is very skeptical and won’t want to give up their power,” Marion said. The state legislature currently oversees its redistricting process. This system, Marion added, “distorts democracy.”

The Ocean State has long been racked by issues of gerrymandering.

The Rhode Island maps were found to be partisan gerrymanders in 1972,

BY JACK BORRIS SENIOR STAFF WRITER

SUMMER ZHANG / HERALD

1982, 1992 and 2002, according to two measures of partisan gerrymandering from PlanScore data.

A study from the University of Chicago Law School found that Rhode Island’s 2012 House of Representative plan was the most robust case of Democratically partisan gerrymandering in the nation, using the “efficiency gap” metric. This metric is a standard for measuring partisan gerrymandering, and was a significant factor in Common

Cause’s transition from a watchdog role to a more hands-on approach with Redraw RI, Marion said.

The amendment specifically calls for a 15-member independent commission, representing both major political parties along with unaffiliated voters.

According to the campaign website, the commission would be driven by criteria such as population equality and

SEE REDRAW BACK

The Undergraduate Council of Students discussed its 2019 Fall Poll results, committee project updates and modifications to its constitution at its general body meeting Wednesday evening.

UCS member Ricky Zhong ’23, who led the Council’s poll in the fall, presented significant results to the general body and compared it to polls conducted in previous years.

Zhong specifically noted this year’s high student turnout. 2,670 students — 37.9 percent of the undergraduate student body — responded to questions on the 2019 Fall Poll, compared to 1,929 in 2018 and 898 in 2017, The Herald previously reported.

Zhong highlighted certain poll results that reflected student priorities and concerns.

As in previous fall polls, students

A&C

Film Review

Commentary

Commentary

Artist Erin McKeown joins Ali Momeni as a Professor of the Practice this semester.

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“To All the Boys” sequel presents a romantic story lacking depth and resonance.

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Gross ’20.5, Shapiro ’22, Hall ’20: Brown’s climate action lacks practicality.

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Reed ’21: Democrats can’t beat Trump by only discussing far-left priorities Page 7

prioritized increasing the amount of on-campus student jobs available and addressing the high cost of school materials, Zhong said. In addition, students’ desire to see composting return to Andrews Dining Hall remained a consistent theme across the last three years of the poll.

The results also indicated that 92.4 percent of respondents supported the creation of the Disability Justice Cultural Center, and roughly three quarters of respondents said that they would utilize free airport shuttles if provided by the University, both issues in which UCS is involved this semester.

In addition, 59.1 percent of respondents expressed that they were uncomfortable with drinking the tap water in University residence halls, and half of the students surveyed without swipe access to the Keeney Quad’s Bigelow Facility stated that they would use the gym if given access.

Various committee leaders also presented updates at the meeting.

Chair of Student Wellness Shivani Nishar ’20 detailed proj-

SEE UCS BACK

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020

ARTS & CULTURE

Professors of Practice cross disciplinary borders through BAI BAI’s program brings artists Erin McKeown ’00, Ali Momeni to mentor students

BY MINE KOVAVISARACH SENIOR STAFF WRITER What is it like to be a working artist?

What does it take? What is their creative process? These are some of the questions that the Brown Arts Initiative aims to answer for students through the professor of the practice program, an initiative that has brought professional artists to campus since 2016. Singer-songwriter Erin McKeown ’00 is BAI’s most recent appointment. She began teaching this semester and will be working alongside fellow PoP and digital artist Ali Momeni.

McKeown, described as a “musician, writer and producer known internationally for her prolific disregard of stylistic boundaries” on her website, most recently produced, composed and co-wrote “Miss You Like Hell,” which details the road trip of a teenage Mexican girl and her undocumented immigrant mother. “I’m really interested in dramatic storytelling through song,” said McKeown, who is currently teaching a course on musical storytelling, TAPS 1251A: “Making the 21st Century Musical.”

Since graduating, McKeown “kept a regular relationship with Brown over

the years.” Her time at the University “encouraged (her) creatively,” though she remarked that “a major part of (her) education as an artist occurred off campus at AS220.”

The artist community in downtown Providence “remains near and dear to my heart. … I’m really excited to bring some of that to the BAI,” she said.

The BAI approached her about the position of PoP after a songwriting workshop she held on campus in 2018. “It’s always been important to me to have teaching be a part of my own artistic practice. … What I’m doing as a professor of the practice at Brown is a more formalized extension of the kind of teaching I’ve been doing for years,” she said.

McKeown hopes to teach students that “creativity is not a precious practice” and to create a class environment where students can “explore and practice and try things.”

Creativity “is something we will do, we have done and we do in the present moment,” she elaborated, “it’s not something to get hung up on.”

Momeni expressed similar sentiments to McKeown in regards to encouraging a strong interdisciplinary mindset within students. “I find that as a professor of the practice I’m able to bring a perspective to the classroom that’s quite different from someone who may be a career academic,” he said.

As the co-founder of IRL Labs, a startup that aims to integrate virtual reality and other storytelling tools into educational program-

COURTESY OF BROWN UNIVERSITY

Erin McKeown (left) joins Ali Momeni (right) as a Professor of the Practice this semester, as appointed by the Brown Arts Initiative. McKeown will be teaching a course on musical storytelling. ming, Momeni’s appointment as a PoP occurred in conjunction with the Data Science Initiative, extending his time at the University from one to two years.

Having taught MUSC 1205: “Reality Remix - Experimental VR” last semester — a joint collaboration between the music and data science departments — Momeni will return to the Granoff Center for the Creative Arts this semester to install an interactive multimedia exhibition that is “a reflection of death and dying and the afterlife.”

The PoP position appealed to Momeni because of its opportunity “to stay connected to academia and to learning and to youth. … The commitments I have in (industry work) don’t allow me to really service as a full-time

faculty person,” he added.

As someone whose “work is so much at the intersection of science and art,” Momeni was excited about the versatility and flexibility of the position, and its ability to “link” the BAI and the DSI. “I hope that there are other opportunities for other professors of the practice to cross these departmental borders,” he added. “People that slip into disciplines and work cross-functionally tend to face a lot of challenges in academia. … The professor of the practice position really protects you.”

PoPs are appointed as a result of departmental nominations, interviews with the artists themselves and a decision from the BAI executive committee.

The appointments engage artists as professors for two semesters: one for

teaching students on campus, and another for research where “they continue their work in a connected way” to the University, said Program Manager Sophia LaCava-Bohanan MA’15.

BAI’s professor of the practice program intends to provide students with “greater exposure of what it looks like to be a practicing working artist,” LaCava-Bohanan said. “We had been hearing a lot from students about this desire to know what it is to be an artist in the world,” she added, emphasizing the position’s ability to facilitate the BAI’s interdisciplinary vision.

“I highly recommend that everyone shop a professor of the practice class at some point,” she continued. “They have incredible access in ways that are not possible otherwise.”

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

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FILM REVIEW

‘To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You’ fails to woo viewers Netflix’s lackluster love story falls short of ‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’

BY KAITI YOO SENIOR STAFF WRITER On Feb. 12 — just two days before Valentine’s Day — Netflix released “To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You,” the sequel to the sensational 2018 rom-com “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.”

The film adaptation roughly parallels the second book of author Jenny Han’s trilogy “To All The Boys” and picks up right where the original Netflix installation left off.

Having just DTR-ed (“defined the relationship”), Lara Jean (Lana Condor) and Peter (Noah Centineo) embark on a slew of endearing firsts — first real date, first family dinner, first awkward conversation about sexual boundaries. But in the midst of this happy honeymoon stage, the couple starts to face their first real problems. These problems, however, fall flat in their portrayal: they fundamentally lack the deep stakes that a story must have to make the audience care, scoot to the edge of their seats or dig their fingernails into their skin.

As a newbie to the girlfriend role, Lara Jean cannot stop comparing herself to Peter’s ex-girlfriend (and her ex-BFF) Gen — an issue which causes her to second-guess her own relationship repeatedly. In the midst of her insecurity and uncertainty, Lara Jean unexpectedly receives a letter from one of her formerly unrequited lovers.

The letter is a reply to one of the love

letters Lara Jean had written — and that Kitty, Lara Jean’s younger sister, had secretly mailed out in the first movie.

This act sparked Peter and Lara Jean’s eventual relationship. The new reply comes from John Ambrose McClaren, Lara Jean’s former sixth-grade Model U.N. partner (and crush), and its timing could not be worse for the couple, who is encountering the typical bumps in a new relationship. While Lara Jean tries to ignore the letter, John Ambrose proves to be unavoidable, as they coincidentally begin volunteering at the same nursing home. From there on out, an awkward, blushing, but ultimately boring love triangle commences.

To begin, the film grossly glosses over many problematic aspects within Peter and Lara Jean’s relationship, including the lack of open communication and surplus of secrets regarding their past and present romantic relationships. These problems are barely addressed between the two lovers, and the film skips over these difficult and emotional discussions, symbolically implying by omission that they are not necessary components of a healthy romance. The absence of these conversations conveys an inaccurate picture of what a working relationship looks like, even one between high schoolers. This airbrushing is all the more amplified by the film’s rushed ending — when Lara Jean ultimately chooses Peter over John Ambrose, with very little justification for why she arrived at such a decision.

The abrupt introduction and subsequent rejection of a secondary romantic interest also seems to be a trend in the “To All the Boys” series, as we saw with Josh (Israel Broussard) in the first film installation and now with John Ambrose McClaren in the second. Although the

COURTESY OF BETTINA STRAUSS / NETFLIX

Adapted from the second book in Jenny Han’s “To All the Boys” trilogy, the sequel released two days before Valentine’s Day disappoints viewers after the success of the first movie. plot paints his reentry into Lara Jean’s life as a pure coincidence, it does so in a choppy, unconvincing way. John Ambrose’s character comes off as more of a screenwriter’s tool to insert drama and tension between the two main romantic protagonists instead of an opportunity to build an intricate storyline of his own. John Ambrose is made out to be a sweet, gentlemanly and intellectual figure, but his screen-time is ultimately intercepted by the all-reigning Peter who swoops up for Lara Jean once again.

The filmic elements that did manage to impress were the cinematography, set

design and score. Every scene and shot was saturated with deep teals, vintage mustard yellows, bright reds and neon pinks that naturally demanded the audience’s attention and appreciation.

Many scenes involve Lara Jean thinking and brooding in her own head, and the song choices implemented to convey her inner dialogue were pleasantly spot on. This audiovisual synchronization did go overboard at one point, however, when the film bizarrely became like a music video during which Lara Jean stares directly at the camera while emotionlessly lip-syncing to the back-

FROM THE ARCHIVES: THIS DAY IN HERALD HISTORY

Feb. 20, 1977: ‘The Final Curtain at Trinity?’

BY ROSE HOUGLET AND NICK MICHAEL SENIOR STAFF WRITERS This article describes a piece published in the Feb. 20, 1977 Brown Daily Herald.

On this day in history in 1977, Magee Hickey ’77 wrote “The Final Curtain At Trinity?” — an article covering the potential closing of Trinity Square Repertory Company, a theater organization known today as Trinity Repertory Company. The Company’s plight arose amidst a wave of similar financial crises for repertory companies across the country.

Following a Providence January plagued by snowstorms and ice, the Company faced immense losses in box office sales, threatening the jobs of 30 actors and many crew and administrative staff members.

The responsibility to reconcile the box office losses fell on an affiliated fundraising group, the Friends of Trinity; this group had replaced the Foundation for Repertory Theater in Rhode Island the summer prior in response to fundraising failures and a threat by the Foundation to oust a Com-

pany-affiliated director from the Lederer Theater.

Consisting of a core group of 40 fundraisers who also served as board members, Friends of Trinity was headed by Dr. Mayer Levitt — a Providence dentist — who previously served on the board of the Foundation for four years.

Hickey wrote that “Dr. Levitt believes the formation of ‘Friends of Trinity’ was the best thing that ever happened to Trinity Square (Repertory Company).” In order to increase community awareness of and involvement in the Company, Dr. Levitt urged Rhode Islanders to join fundraising efforts for the theater company.

The first fundraising event set for Jan. 10 — an evening of performances by Rhode Island artists — was canceled because of the snow. As Hickey noted, “How ironic that the snow may now cancel Trinity Square for a while!”

But this cancellation turned out to be a relief for the Company, since negligent publicity and scheduling resulted in low ticket sales. At the time of the article’s publication, the Company had already reported higher numbers

in ticket sales for their new fundraising date of March 19.

Friends of Trinity continued to fundraise for the Company through a Valentine’s Day car raffle which boasted a 1977 Cadillac along with various cash prizes. The fundraising group also hoped to raise more money throughout the spring with a benefit piano recital, testimonial dinner and membership offerings to the Company. While actors worried about potential unemployment, Dr. Levitt and Friends of Trinity continued to focus on negotiating the lease to the Lederer Theater, which the Foundation still held.

The Company successfully weathered the winter and financial tribulations. Since Hickey’s 1977 article, Trinity Repertory Company has continued to entertain Rhode Islanders by showcasing regional talent and, starting in 2002, partnering with the University in a three-year MFA program.

Magee Hickey ’77 went on to become an Emmy Award-winning reporter and continues to work as a broadcast journalist in New York.

ground song “Moral of the Story.” This unusual creative choice causes a brief rift in the story’s flow.

Ultimately, “P.S. I Still Love You” attempts to explore what it means to stay in love after falling in love, and the desperate, peculiar measures humans will go to do so. In showcasing the bumbling and the awkward as well as the sweet and cinematic, the Netflix original keeps the rom-com genre alive to see another day, but fails to escape the genre’s saccharine, inconsequential qualities.

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PLAN FROM PAGE 1 launched in January 2017, which currently allows students to enroll in courses on campus or online, or to study abroad with professors through destination courses. The Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship, which received a $25 million gift from Jonathan Nelson ’77 P’07 P’09, was launched in 2016 and offers programs and summer opportunities for students interested in working in start-up companies.

New initiatives established under the strategic plan include the Brown Arts Initiative, the Brown Institute for Translational Science and the Data Science Initiative. The Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs and the School of Engineering were also expanded.

Since the launch of the 2016 “Pathways to Diversity and Inclusion: An Action Plan for Brown University” as part of the strategic plan, the number of faculty from historically underrepresented groups was increased by 34 percent, The Herald previously reported.

“I am most proud of the DIAP,” Locke said, while acknowledging that there is still work to do to make the University more inclusive.

Through the DIAP, the University is committed to doubling the number of faculty and graduate students who self-identify as members of a historically underrepresented group by 2022.

In the first two years of the DIAP,

TUTOR FROM PAGE 1 When she emailed to ask for a tutor in the fall for APMA 1650: “Statistical Inference I,” “they kept pushing it off,” Syed said. “Eventually, I gave up trying.” This lack of support surprised her because she previously had positive experiences with the program. In her freshman year, she “was paired with a tutor for (MATH 0100: ‘Introductory Calculus’) right away and he was very responsive and helpful,” she said.

The Office of the Dean of the College is currently responsible for setting all non-athletes up with group tutors.

Flowers explained that the student-athlete tutoring service works on “a firstcome-first-serve basis … and follows a similar process to the Dean’s office in terms of how we match our students.”

But challenges can arise when demand is high. “We can get close to 1,000 athletes at any given time with only 150 to 200 tutors,” Flowers said. “We can take about 300 to 400 requests each semester.”

Syed also described an experience her teammate had in which she was matched with an unresponsive tutor.

“She reached out to the tutor to try and set up a meeting and never heard back,” Syed said. “When she asked to be re-assigned, they kept pushing her

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020

the percentage of graduate students from HUGs increased from 16.4 in 2016 to 22 in 2018, according to the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity’s website. There were slight decreases in enrollment among first generation college students and among students who identify as American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, according to the DIAP 2019 Annual Report.

Ongoing challenges and future plans The next five years of “Building on Distinction” will address issues that have arisen and work towards the ultimate goals of the plan.

In order to promote the interdisciplinary approach to education in the Open Curriculum, several departments merged into more expansive programs.

The new International and Public Affairs concentration, which merged the International Relations, Development Studies and Public Policy degrees, prompted debates among students and faculty, some of whom were concerned about the change, The Herald previously reported.

“How to balance the work that takes place in disciplinary departments and those in interdisciplinary” centers is one of the challenges that the University needs to navigate, Locke said.

Locke noted that funding for graduate student fellowships poses another challenge. “It’s usually harder to raise money for graduate student fellow-

ships than it is for undergraduates,” he said. Convincing a community of mostly undergraduate alumni “that it’s worthwhile for them to also support our graduate program and (convincing them of) how important these graduate programs are at a world-class research university” remains difficult.

While “Building on Distinction” also raised the idea of implementing need-blind admission processes for international, transfer, undocumented or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival students, Paxson said that it would be difficult to predict when

funds would be sufficient to implement a fully need-blind process for these students.

Moving forward, the University plans to expand financial aid packages to current students and aid available to undergraduate student veterans, Locke said. Since the launch of the strategic plan, the University has awarded $927 million in scholarship aid and replaced student loans in undergraduate financial aid packages with grants through the Brown Promise initiative.

Renovations to dormitories will also continue as construction of a

off until she stopped trying.”

Jasmine Lee ’23, a member of the gymnastics team, noted that the demand for non-athlete-specific group tutoring is similarly high. “I’d like (the tutoring program) to be a little more accessible,” she said. “I know there are very limited time slots available for groups. I tried to get in for chemistry but all the slots were while I was traveling for meets or at practice,” she said.

Athlete tutoring is not unique to Brown. “This is an NCAA-sponsored event,” Norris said. “That means it isn’t funded by the University. That’s an important distinction.” The NCAA funds programs such as this one at every school under its purview.

Similar programs at Dartmouth and Columbia are known for their comprehensiveness and responsiveness, Syed said, adding that their programs have particularly positive reputations among collegiate athletes.

The tutoring department at Dartmouth College, for example, is called the Academic Skills Program and is divided between professional “academic coaches” and student tutors. Academic coaches are college graduates, some with professional degrees, who are trained to help with issues such as time management and learning disabilities.

“At whatever level of schooling or type of school, students can be encouraged to think, read and write effectively and intentionally, and it is our task as teachers to use one or more research-based approaches to accomplish that task,” said Carl Thum, director of the academic skills program and adjunct assistant writing professor at Dartmouth College.

Thum noted that while the practice of academic coaching is relatively unique to Dartmouth, its peer tutoring program bears many similarities to that of the University, as they also match student requests with tutors for one-on-one appointments. But their athletic tutoring department, while separately funded, is not distinct from their central Academic Skills Program — the umbrella tutoring service under which both athlete requests and other student requests are handled. Student athletes are generally given the same options as other students, with some special attention to scheduling around practice times.

This connection between regular tutoring services and those directed at athletes is something the University hopes to continue to improve. “The Dean’s office has been incredibly supportive in what we do to better support our student athletes,” Flowers said.

“When you look across the country, all students need some type of support,” Norris added. Flowers and Norris explained that the program has improved as a result of support from and collaboration with the Office of the Dean of the College.

Syed expressed a similar interest in consolidating resources for athlete tutoring and group tutoring. “Group tutoring at Brown is really great and I find that these tutors are very welltrained and accessible. Maybe these two programs could be merged a bit more,” she said.

Klein sees the lack of special accommodations given to athletes as a benefit.

“Brown does a good job of making it so student-athletes feel like they are just regular students and don’t have a ton of accommodations ... It’s different from other schools that way,” she said.

Looking to the future, the athletic tutoring program is continuing to improve its support of student-athletes for both their academic and athletic wellbeing, Flowers and Norris emphasized.

“If you are excelling in the classroom, you will be able to excel in your sport.

We care about them as individuals and students as well as athletes,” Flowers said. “This program, ideally, will allow us to support them wholly.”

BENJI TORUNO / HERALD

The University’s 10-year strategic plan was launched in 2014 by President Christina Paxson P ’19. new health and wellness center and residence hall is set to be completed by 2021, and another residence hall is slated to open by the 2022-2023 academic year. “As we develop new dormitories, it will also offer opportunities to renovate existing dormitories,” Paxson said.

“I am really proud of the fact that the plan has actually worked,” she said.

“Many things have changed at Brown as a result and it’s due to the work of a large number of people working in a very collaborative way.”

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | TODAY

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Careers in the Common Good in New York 12:00 P.M. CareerLab

What Do the Winners from Climate Change Owe? 4:00 P.M. Salomon 001

Effective Interviewing 4:00 P.M. CareerLab

Reading: Novelist Jamil Jan Kochai 5:30 P.M. McCormack Family Theater

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Global Independent Study Project Philosophy Colloquium Information Session 3:30 P.M. 12:00 P.M. Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center Page-Robinson Hall

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Fusion Dance Company 37th Annual Spring Show 7:00 P.M. Alumnae Hall

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S U D O KU

“Many things have changed at Brown as a result (of Building on Distinction) and it’s due to the work of a large number of people working in a very collaborative way.”

—President Christina Paxson P ’19 SEE PLAN PAGE 4

WAT E R YOU D OI N G ?

CR O S SWO R D RELEASE DATE– Monday, April 8, 2013

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 Eva or Juan of Argentina 6 “Taking you places” premium movie channel 11 Suffix for hero 14 ’60s-’70s Twins great Tony 15 Nest on a cliffside 16 “Friends” actress Courteney 17 Many a coffee shop, vis-à-vis Internet access 19 Corner PC key 20 Subj. for immigrants 21 Synagogue 22 Cowpoke’s seat 24 Flightless South American bird 26 Scottish hillside 28 “... believe __ not!”

29 Hairstyling immortal Vidal 31 “Ship out” alternative 34 Humble home 35 1980s secretary of state Alexander 36 False show 37 “No need to hurry, is there?”

41 “__ ’nuff!”

42 Move, in Realtorspeak 43 “In __ Shoes”: Cameron Diaz flick 44 Meddles (with) 46 “Pretty please ...”

50 GPS choices 51 Pinnacle 53 Geologic periods 54 Extensive property 57 Sorrowful cry 59 Slangy “OK” 60 “Wheel of Fortune” purchase 61 Genderdetermining heredity unit 64 Mauna __: Hawaii’s highest peak 65 Harbor cities 66 ESPN analyst Garciaparra 67 Bachelor in personals, briefly 68 Early stage 69 Extends across

DOWN 1 __ that be: authorities 2 Inventor Otis 3 Remington weapons 4 Egg: Pref.

5 Casual turndowns 6 Second-largest planet 7 Physicist Nikola 8 Dadaism founder 9 Spanish rivers 10 Greek letter that seems like it should be last 11 Summer refreshers 12 Hardly an amateur 13 Quote in a book review 18 “How frustrating!”

23 Chip go-with 25 Pale as a ghost 27 “La Bamba” co-star Morales 30 Very strange 32 Car headlight setting 33 Strike a bargain 35 “The Newsroom” channel 37 Request for the latest update

38 The Twins, at Minneapolis’s Target Field 39 “Born Free” lion 40 Press for 41 Windex targets 45 Free TV ad 46 Words before “Can you give me directions?”

47 Cellist who performed at Steve Jobs’s funeral

48 Like a singleperformer show 49 Leads, as to a seat 52 Garçon’s handout 55 AutoCorrect target 56 Keynes’s sci.

58 Male heirs 62 Appt. book rows 63 Soak (up), as gravy

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

xwordeditor@aol.com

04/08/13

REBECCA HO / HERALD

By C.C. Burnikel (c)2013 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

04/08/13

Go with the flow and take a sunset stroll along Providence’s local landmark: the Providence River. The recently-finished Pedestrian Bridge provides the scenic view of downtown Providence skylines.

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | COMMENTARY

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020

It’s Time for University to Cut Ties with Climate Deniers

BY BENJAMIN GROSS ’20.5, AVI SHAPIRO ’22 AND GALEN HALL ’20 OP-ED CONTRIBUTORS AND STAFF COLUMNIST Brown is an outlier when it comes to mobilizing on climate change — but not always in a good way. While we have an ambitious plan to reduce our campus emissions, we lag behind other universities and institutions in many other matters that count. Our Corporation rejected divestment from coal in 2013, we host relatively few courses on the climate crisis and could commit far more resources to related research and most importantly, we all but ignore the climate crisis as a factor in our business and community relations. As members of Brown Climate Action Now, we know that Brown can do better. The University’s actions should reflect the concerns of its students, who overwhelmingly view the climate crisis as the most important current issue. It should work with its neighbors in Providence to help carry out the city’s Climate Justice Plan. However, to find long-term success in any of these endeavors, we need to start by cutting ties with climate deniers.

Brown depends critically on Providence’s public infrastructure, from its roads to its electric grid. These systems will have to be transformed in the coming decades as the city decarbonizes. Providence’s Climate Justice Plan acknowledges this fact, and demands that the coming changes benefit historically marginalized communities since they will bear the brunt of climate change impacts. Meanwhile, Brown has no publicized commitment to work alongside this plan.

The communities that will be most affected by climate change are some of the least well-connected to public resources. Without intervention, climate change threatens to worsen long-lasting divides in Providence, including but not limited to, racial, ethnic and institutional segregation, health inequalities, gaps in education and unequal employment. These social inequalities disproportionately expose frontline communities of color to the burdens

of environmental hazards. As an integral institution in the city, Brown has the opportunity to simultaneously combat these inequalities while promoting a just post-carbon transition for Providence. Conversely, if we wall ourselves off and focus inwards, we will fail to address Brown’s full impact on the climate crisis.

Brown cannot claim to contribute to climate justice efforts if it ignores the welfare of the most vulnerable communities. As one of the largest employers in Rhode Island, Brown has real power to shape the state’s decarbonized future. We have not wielded that influence well in the past. For decades, Brown was powered by the Brayton Point coal power

“If Brown is to become a bold leader on climate change, it must sever ties to organizations that will hold us back.”

plant. Generations of Brown students and faculty benefited from this cheap source of electricity, even as its fumes caused over 28,000 asthma attacks annually. Yet, when the plant was shut down in 2017, hundreds of workers lost their jobs, and the city of Somerset lost a major source of revenue. As one of the major institutional purchasers of power from Brayton Point and a key player in Providence development, Brown could have done more to ensure a just transition for the workers at the plant.

Instead, Brown has prospered while Rhode Island’s most vulnerable communities have suffered first from toxic industrial pollution and then a failure to transition fairly to a more sustainable energy source.

What does it mean for Brown to consider the community in its plans? Ceasing our de-

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pendence on fossil fuels will require a massive expansion of electricity, and that will require significant investment in grid infrastructure in Rhode Island. A large proportion of the costs are expected to fall on ratepayers, many of whom already struggle to pay utility bills. We believe Brown needs to consider the ways it can support Providence residents by taking on some of these costs, especially when it plans on undertaking massive infrastructural changes itself which may have financial implications for the surrounding community. For example, Brown’s proposed Sustainability Plan includes a timeline for switching our central heating plant to electricity, which will require the creation

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of significant new transmission lines. Will the costs of this change fall on ratepayers, or can this infrastructure benefit others on College Hill and beyond? Without knowing the specifics it is difficult to say, but codifying work with the community into our plans needs to be the next step of Brown’s engagement with the climate crisis.

Cutting University ties with climate deniers is a necessary condition for success on any serious climate plans. It will not be possible for Brown to meet bold long-term sustainability goals while it maintains relationships with companies and organizations working against progress. These consist of the networks of corporations, business groups and think tanks who have halted political progress on climate change for decades and systematically under-

mined public confidence in climate change research. Throughout history, many significant progressive changes have come from institutions and regions insulated against the direct influence (financial and social) of regressive forces. For example, abolition, civil rights and women’s suffrage all expanded outwards from what movement historians call “free spaces,” in which members could converse and collaborate unrestrained by the dominant and opposing social forces.

As Brown is an institution of higher education and research, one might think it would already steer clear of any connections with the organized forces of climate denial and obstruction. But avoiding these bad actors entirely is surprisingly difficult. For example, Brown still allows ExxonMobil, one of the most nefarious promoters of climate change disinformation, to recruit on campus, donate to our departments and advertise in our yearbook. Furthermore, through the Political Theory Project, we are the top beneficiary of Koch network money in the Ivy League — money which has also supported some of the worst climate denial efforts in the country. If Brown is to become a bold leader of combating climate change, it must sever ties to organizations that will hold us back.

The sustainability plan we have is a strong start and appears satisfying in its quantifiability. Yet the greatest impacts Brown can have are not the easily quantifiable ones. As an institution of learning, research and local influence, we need to reform our efforts in all three of those areas. We need to make room for ourselves to grow into this role by cutting ties to the climate deniers exerting pressure against progress. If we do this, we can more truthfully claim to “educate and prepare” students to meaningfully address the challenges of our time, and we set Brown up to be a leader in the coming decades.

Benjamin Gross ’20.5, Avi Shapiro ’22 and Galen Hall ’20 are members of Brown Climate Action Now. Hall is also a Herald staff columnist. They can be reached at benjamin_gross@brown.edu, avi_shapiro@ brown.edu and galen_hall@brown.edu.

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | COMMENTARY

7

Democrats’ far-left gambit will gift Trump the White House

BY ANDREW REED ’21 STAFF COLUMNIST In the aftermath of the 2012 presidential election, a punch-drunk Republican party, having twice gotten its clock cleaned by the Democrats and Barack Obama, performed something of an autopsy on the Romney campaign. The result was a 100-page report titled the “Growth and Opportunity Project.” The report detailed demographic changes in the American political landscape and the need for Republican candidates to speak to a swath of the electorate that they failed to reach in 2012 — primarily women and minority voters. Following this 2013 report, indications pointed to a more inclusive Republican message in 2016.

Needless to say, that didn’t happen. Donald Trump took the “Growth and Opportunity” report, doused it with lighter fluid and rode the wave all the way to the nomination.

Trump’s campaign featured the most derogatory, tone-deaf messaging — if you can even call it that — to women and minorities that we’ve seen, at least in my lifetime. Trump’s greatest hits of off-the-wall, cringeworthy and downright loathsome comments included suggesting women be punished for having an abortion, labeling Mexicans who crossed the border “rapists” and calling for the now-infamous Muslim ban.

Given Trump’s victory in 2016, it may seem wise, or at least not politically suicidal, to take a small-tent, ideologically narrow strategy. And indeed, it appears that Democrats have chosen to ignore the lessons of 2016 and double down on the cultural identity politics that got Donald Trump elected in the first place.

Unfortunately for those of us who want to beat Trump in 2020, it’s not working. One year ago today, the betting markets — our best, if imperfect indicator of Trump’s chances of being reelected — had his chances of winning at 32 percent. On the day of the first Democratic debate, it was 40 percent. Today that number is 58 percent and Trump is enjoying some of the highest approval ratings

of his presidency.

Perhaps even more alarming is the timing of this surge of support for Trump. Over the last few months, like most of the last three years, every network not named Fox News has pummeled Trump with a barrage of negative media, the most recent being coverage of Trump’s impeachment in the House and tri-

of speaking to working-class voters who overwhelmingly went for Trump in 2016, they’ve made the gap wider than ever. So, for those of us who want to get Trump out of the White House as soon as possible, it’s time to sound the alarms.

The focus of the Democratic primary thus far has been debating a series of far-left pol-

“Rather than addressing the issues that working class voters actually care about, progressive Democratic candidates like Bernie Sanders are trying to counter ‘Make America Great Again’ with ‘actually, America was never really that great to begin with.’ Let’s just say that the latter is harder to print on a hat.”

al in the Senate. If there was ever a time for Trump’s poll numbers to take a hit, it’s now.

Instead, they’re higher than ever.

But the Democrats’ problems extend far beyond Trump’s approval rating. Net-Democratic Party identification (percent Dem or Dem-leaning minus percent Rep or Rep-leaning) is down 10 percent since October. Republican Party favorability is up to 51 percent, a jump of eight points since September and the highest rating since 2005. Conversely, Democratic Party favorability dropped three points since September; it is now at 45 percent.

Clearly, since the primary campaign began, Democrats’ chances of retaking the White House in 2020 have markedly decreased. And it’s primarily because they have done nothing to address the failures of the 2016 race. Instead

icies and casting those who disagree with them as being in some way morally inferior, uncaring or behind-the-times. Rather than simply swapping out the current president for a steady hand to guide the already humming economy, the progressive wing of the Democratic Party has been talking about structural change — how the current society is a system of oppression and must be destroyed. Rather than addressing the issues that working-class voters actually care about, progressive Democratic candidates like Bernie Sanders are trying to counter “Make America Great Again” with “actually, America was never really that great to begin with.”

Let’s just say that the latter is harder to print on a hat.

But even more alarming is that this far-

left faction, their aggressive (to put it mildly) supporters and the media have forced every other Democrat to play defense. Rather than engage in a discussion of the merits of their own plans, every issue has been framed in the binary: for Medicare for All or against it, for the Green New Deal or against it. Moderate candidates have spent more time defending their opposition to these plans than actually articulating their own. Consequently, many of those candidates decided early on that moving to the left was a far easier strategy than constantly fighting off the ad hominem attacks of keyboard-wielding Bernie Bros.

All of this has benefitted President Trump — who, I’m sure, sits gleefully in front of the television as he watches Sanders rail against every industry known to man: Wall Street, pharma, gun manufacturers, the fossil fuel industry, defense, Big Tech — the list goes on. Is this the kind of big-tent, tolerant politics-of-addition that liberals have long claimed to embody? These kinds of lines may play well on college campuses — but where the Dems actually need to secure support, particularly in the suburbs of the post-industrial Midwest, they fall on deaf ears.

Sanders is currently second in delegates and has overtaken the faltering Joe Biden in national polls. But, if Bernie is the Democratic nominee, he’s in for an uphill battle against Trump, who would welcome an opportunity to run against the self-proclaimed socialist.

Trump may be a political neophyte, but even he knows what apparently Sanders does not — which is that once you say America is “a racist society, top to bottom,” people in middle America no longer care about your 12-point plan to fix the health care system or your position on criminal justice reform. Trump is banking on running against a woke, tear-itall-down Democrat. And, honestly, it’s looking like a good bet.

Andrew Reed ’21 can be reached at andrew_ reed@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald. com and op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.

Opinions pieces published in The Herald — which include columns, op-eds , letters to the editor and editorials — are written independently of news coverage.

8

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

REDRAW FROM PAGE 1 geographical compactness.

If the joint resolution passes for bills S2077 and H7260, the independent redistricting proposal will be on the Nov. 3 ballot, where a majority of voters will also have to vote to create the commission.

If enacted, the new independent commission and an appointed consultant would use the 2020 Census data results to assist with the drawing of legislative districts. The first elections based on the new maps would take place in 2022.

Common Cause has partnered with the Rhode Island chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the League of Women Voters for the campaign. According to Marion, Clean Water Action, Latino Policy Institute and Generation Citizen have all agreed to work with Common Cause, and he hopes to add more groups to the list as the campaign progresses.

Jim Vincent, president of the Providence branch of the NAACP, emphasized the need for a “fair, objective way to draw district lines in light of a recent (population) increase in communities of color.”

Fair redistricting and combatting partisan gerrymandering is a major initiative for the League of Women Voters both nationally and at a state level according to President of the League of Women Voters Jane Koster, who also spoke at the kickoff. “It is about putting the power back in the hands of the people,” she said.

Without the amendment, the Joint Redistricting Committee will continue to lead the redistricting process.

Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello (D - Cranston) and Senate President Dominick Ruggerio (D - Providence, North Providence) currently control the appointments to the JRC. The legislative leadership also wields significant control over the appointment of a consultant who draws the districts. The Joint Committee on Legislative Services, the body that controls the administrative and financial responsibilities of the Rhode Island General Assembly is also in charge of hiring the election consultant who redraws state district maps following the census held every 10 years. The members of the committee include the Speaker of the House who acts as the Chairman, the President of the Senate who acts as the Vice-Chairman, the House Majority Leader, the House Minority Leader and the Senate Minority Leader.

The Speaker is the driving force behind the committee’s decisions, said Representative Brian Newberry (R - Burrillville, North Smithfield). Newberry is a sponsor of the House bill and served as the House Minority Leader from May 2011 to Nov. 2016.

Speaker of the House Mattiello has “not taken a position on the Redraw Rhode Island proposal,” Larry Berman, director of the communications for the Speaker, wrote in an email to The Herald.

For the Senate President, this issue isn’t a priority because redistricting “does not take place until after the Census,” wrote Greg Paré, director of communications for Ruggerio, in an email to The Herald. “This year he is focused on the Census.”

Representative Joseph Shekarchi

(D- Warwick) has not formalized an opinion on the legislation, nor has he heard concerns from constituents about redistricting in the state. “No one has ever brought forward any concerns — right or wrong, good or bad — about the process,” Shekarchi said. “I want to hear all points of view before I form a position on it.”

The amendment to create an independent redistricting committee would strip the legislative leadership of their appointment of both members of the redistricting committee and the ability to choose the redistricting consultant.

Newberry feels that the bills are very unlikely to pass. “I want to be clear I am not (opposing the bills),” he added.

“I support the bill, I am just telling you the reality.”

Current House Minority Leader, Representative Blake Filippi (R - Block Island, Charlestown and parts of South Kingstown and Westerly) agreed that the prediction that the joint resolution will die in committee is “a safe assumption ... but crazier things have happened in this state.” Filippi is a co-sponsor of the House bill.

Representative Jason Knight (D Barrington, Warren), another House co-sponsor, remains uncertain about the proposed amendment’s chance of success. “It is a major paradigm shift for it to be passed,” he said. “And, like every paradigm shift, I think it has an uphill climb that’s going to depend on the strength of the advocacy for it.”

Marion, of Common Cause, hopes to mobilize community support to sway legislative leaders to support the proposed amendment. “We are going to have to convince them this is what their constituents want.”

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020

DANIELLE EMERSON / HERALD

Students prioritized increasing the amount of on-campus student jobs available and addressing the high cost of school materials in the poll.

UCS FROM PAGE 1 ects the Student Wellness Committee has been working on this spring. The committee engaged with the Office of the Chaplains and Religious Life to increase student awareness of prayer rooms and meditation spaces on campus through better advertising.

Expanding on-campus food pantries to include healthier options and improving online information about student support services were also identified as priorities.

The Campus Life Committee has been involved in the search for a new director of the Brown Center for Students of Color, Chair of Campus Life Zanagee Artis ’22 said. He also high-

lighted the committee’s efforts to increase composting on campus and proposed greater UCS involvement in shaping the new extended orientation schedule set to debut in the fall.

Chair of Academic Affairs Livingstone Harriot ’20 described his committee’s hopes to expand University funding for unpaid and low-paying summer student internships.

The Council also discussed amendments to the wording of the UCS constitution in order to address and correct outdated components, such as the stated timing of elections. The majority of the general body supported moving logistical specifics to the Council’s bylaws instead of implementing a full constitutional amendment.

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