Wednesday, September 10, 2014

THE

BROWN DAILY HERALD vol. cxlix, no. 64

since 1891

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

Teach-in Fung, Raimondo to face off in governor’s race Raimondo claims explores Gina 42 percent of vote, defeating Angel Taveras in Ferguson Democratic primary aftermath

By ALEXANDER BLUM SENIOR STAFF WRITER

By LINDSAY GANTZ SENIOR STAFF WRITER

INSIDE

Hundreds of snaps rang throughout Salomon 101 in support of speakers’ messages of directly confronting racial tensions during a teach-in Tuesday about the events surrounding last month’s fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by a white policeman in Ferguson, Missouri.

The teach-in was a way of “stimulating an honest conversation,” said Richard Locke, director of the Watson Institute for International Studies, who moderated the panel.

James Morone, director of the Taubman Center for Public Policy, began the discussion by assessing the social anxiety brought on by changing demographics in the United States.

“Great change brings great anxieties, great status anxieties, for an awful lot of people,” he said, citing some whites’ concerns related to the rising non-white share of the U.S. population.

“What we’re seeing in Ferguson, Missouri is the United States looking in the mirror and confronting this great change,” Morone said. But he added that he thinks the future is “optimistic” and that dialogue about racial tension will ultimately lead to positive change.

Anthony Bogues, director of the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice, said the events in Ferguson — which include a sustained series of violent and nonviolent protests of the police action — “represent a flashpoint” illuminating “things that are typically hidden.”

“Flashpoints are about everyday experience,” he said, referring to daily social constraints faced by blacks. “Ask a mother who cannot sleep until her black son comes home safely.”

Marcia Chatelain MA’03 PhD’08, assistant professor of history at Georgetown University, addressed social media’s role in the controversy. She started the hashtag, “FergusonSyllabus” on Twitter, which she said has motivated many teachers to include a conversation about the Ferguson events in their classrooms.

“When you’re a teacher, sometimes it’s very isolating,” Chatelain said. But racial conflict linked to Ferguson is an “opportunity to have a conversation across disciplines.”

Chatelain said she included » See FERGUSON, page 3

Following a heated summer of campaigning — during which the candidates spent a combined total of more than $10 million — Rhode Island General Treasurer Gina Raimondo beat out Providence Mayor Angel Taveras and Clay Pell for the Democratic nomination for governor. With 42 percent of the vote, Raimondo pulled out ahead of Taveras and Pell — who received 29 percent and 27 percent of the vote, respec-

METRO

COURTESY OF GINA RAIMONDO FOR R.I.

If elected in November, Rhode Island General Treasurer Gina Raimondo would become the state’s first female governor.

Lost Museum resurrects long-discarded artifacts Rhode Island Hall biological display features Albatross skull, sheath of reptile skin

By ALBERT ANDERSON STAFF WRITER

The typical museum seeks to preserve a part of the past so that future generations may learn from its artifacts. The Lost Museum, a recently opened installation in Rhode Island Hall, takes a slightly different approach, preserving a museum itself so that visitors can draw conclusions from the objects collected over a century ago.

The museum in question is the Jenks Museum of Natural History and Anthropology, which was opened

SCIENCE & RESEARCH

DAVID DECKEY / HERALD

The Lost Museum displays artifacts once housed in the University’s natural history museum, which closed in 1915.

in 1871 under the guidance of John Whipple Potter Jenks, a member of the class of 1838 and professor of zoology, but closed in 1915. Most items in its extensive collection of preserved animals and anthropological curiosities were simply thrown out years later or scattered among various institutions.

Now, part of the old museum’s collection has been resurrected in Rhode Island Hall in the form of the Lost Museum, thanks to the work of the Jenks Society, a group of academics founded for this mission.

The exhibit is divided into three parts: one which displays surviving relics from the museum’s collection, the second which serves as a replica of Jenks’ office and a third packed with artistic recreations of some of the museum’s many lost objects.

According to Professor of American » See MUSEUM, page 4

Elorza wins Democratic mayoral nomination Republican Daniel Harrop ’76 MD’79, Independent Buddy Cianci also on ballot

By ZACH FREDERICKS AND KERRI COLFER SENIOR STAFF WRITER AND STAFF WRITER

Former Housing Court Judge Jorge Elorza beat out City Council President Michael Solomon with 49 percent of the vote in a tight Democratic mayoral primary Tuesday night. Chris Young received 5 percent of the vote, while Brett Smiley — who dropped out of the race in August — received 3 percent.

Elorza will face Republican Daniel Harrop ’76 MD ’79 and Independent

METRO

Buddy Cianci in the general election.

Cianci previously served as mayor of Providence from 1975 to 1984 and again from 1991 to 2002, resigning both times following criminal charges.

Cianci’s late entry into the race in June sparked a flurry of speculation among voters and motivated Democratic candidates to strategize in order to avoid splitting the vote in Cianci’s favor during the general election. Brett Smiley dropped out of the race, endorsing Elorza in hopes that the Elorza campaign would present a strong challenge to Cianci during the general election, the Smiley campaign wrote in a press release.

Nellie Gorbea captured the Democratic nomination for Rhode Island Secretary of State over Guillaume de Ramel. Gorbea will compete with » See MAYOR, page 2

University News

HERALD FILE PHOTO

Former Democratic mayoral candidate Brett Smiley endorsed Housing Court Judge Jorge Elorza, above, after dropping out of the race.

Science & Research

U. officials attribute drop in U.S. News ranking to administrative ‘oversight’

Faculty yield rate drops from previous year, hires slow to maintain department sizes

Students flapped and clucked as they participated in a virtual simulation

Study exposes lack of adherence to government suggestions to minimize sports concussions

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WEATHER

Speakers analyze ‘typically hidden’ social structures, racial tensions after Ferguson shooting

tively, with 96 percent of precincts reporting as of press time.

Cranston mayor Allan Fung won the Republican nomination over businessman and former Moderate Party leader Ken Block.

Having selected their nominees who will go head-to-head in November’s election for Rhode Island’s next governor, the parties now face the challenge of uniting to raise support for their candidates among divided factions. This year’s general election is scheduled for Nov. 4.

Incumbent Gov. Lincoln Chafee ’75 P’14 P’17 announced his decision not to run in September 2013, opening up the field to other candidates.

Up until the primary, political analysts considered the Democratic race to be close, with Taveras and » See GOVERNOR, page 2

T O D AY

TOMORROW

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2 university news » MAYOR, from page 1

SAM KASE / HERALD

Students expressed disappointment over the closing of the restaurant, one of the only sports bars near Thayer Street.

After eight years on Angell Street, Spats to close doors Restaurant and pub will likely be replaced by Chinese restaurant in coming weeks

By RILEY DAVIS SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The popular Thayer Street restaurant Spats will soon close its doors, according to multiple reports from wait staff. The restaurant and pub, which has inhabited its location at 182 Angell Street since April 2006, is known for its affordable fare, latenight service and themed nights, including Sunday karaoke and Monday trivia.

Many students were saddened to learn of the restaurant’s closing, especially those of or nearing drinking age.

The closing of Spats means “one less place to watch football once you’re 21,” said Jack Olson ’16. “I was kind of looking forward to doing that.”

Mikala Murad ’16 said that though the Graduate Center Bar is a good bar option for students 21 and over, Spats is the only venue in the area that exclusively airs sports games. Murad added

that she thinks closing Spats “will change the whole atmosphere of that spot.”

Sophia Sepulveda ’15 started a Facebook event titled “Spats going away tanks,” where anyone who has fond memories of Spats can purchase a tank top with the phrase, “We are the Spats generation.”

“I’ve seen the way that people feel like Spats is such a part of their experience here,” Sepulveda said. “It made me think that it would be great if there was a tangible product to commemorate it.”

Wait staff have not been informed of the restaurant’s official closing date, Spats waitress Lizzy Keagen said. “We heard rumors, but they’re not going to tell us anything for sure,” she said. “Right now we’re just playing it by ear.”

Restaurant owner Andrew Mitrelis declined to comment on the closing of the restaurant, adding that he is currently in negotiations with a potential buyer.

According to multiple wait staff members, the alleged buyer will replace the pub with a Chinese restaurant.

-With additional reporting by Camilla Brandfield-Harvey

Republican John Carlevale in the general election.

Following Gina Raimondo’s decision to leave office as General Treasurer and run for governor, two Democrats — Frank Caprio and Seth Magaziner ’06 — campaigned for the office. Thirty minutes after the polls closed, Caprio ceded the nomination to Magaziner, the Providence Journal reported.

Before the polls opened, a WPRI survey found that Magaziner led with 42.7 percent of the vote while only 30 percent of voters were in favor of Caprio. Magaziner will face the uncontested Independent Ernest Almonte in the general elections.

Incumbent U.S. Representative David Cicilline, D-RI, won the nomination for his seat over Matt Fecteau, while Cormick Lynch won the Republican nomination for the seat over Stan Tran.

Voting booths at Hope High School received 500 to 600 voters on the day of the primary, said Alfred Grimes, the location’s official election supervisor. The booths at Salomon Center saw very little voter traffic — most of the turnout came from Brown students registered to vote in Rhode Island. At Vartan Gregorian Elementary, people held signs supporting candidates as voters entered the polling site. Voters expressed satisfaction with the ease of voting and the lack of lines around mid-morning.

“I voted for the one who I thought had the best chance of keeping Buddy out,” said Don Keefer, a Rhode Island citizen, as he exited the voting booths at Hope High School, adding that he cast his vote for Elorza.

Many voters leaving Salomon said they came to the polls to support specific issues like same-sex marriage and specific candidates like Stan Tran.

“I definitely am not wholly satisfied with state representation, but I don’t feel informed enough to be overly critical,” said Tom Baker ’15.5.

Other students expressed similar sentiments.

Brian Murphy ’15, a Rhode Island resident, said he voted for Clay Pell .“I voted for Clay Pell because I agree with his education reform plans,” he said.

@the_herald

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

This Week in Higher Ed

BY MICHAEL DUBIN, UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR

Harvard gets record gift for School of Public Health Harvard has received a $350 million donation — the largest in its 378year history — for its School of Public Health from a foundation managed partly by Harvard alum and billionaire investor Gerald Chan, the university announced Monday.

The school’s new designation as the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, after Chan’s father, marks the first time the institution has renamed one of its schools to acknowledge a gift, the Harvard Crimson reported.

The donation, from the philanthropic Morningside Foundation, is the sixth largest to any university in the history of American higher education, the New York Times reported based on a list compiled by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Harvard President Drew Faust characterized the gift as “transformative,” and Julio Frenk, dean of its public health school, called its unveiling a “a magical moment for the school,” the Crimson reported. Frenk cited four areas of public health where the gift will allow the school to make a difference: pandemics, hazardous environments, humanitarian crises and subpar health care systems.

Princeton considers shift in sexual assault policy A Princeton faculty committee has suggested a series of changes to the university’s policies governing sexual misconduct allegations, Princeton announced last week.

The committee’s most significant proposal would lower the standard of proof from requiring “clear and persuasive evidence” to needing “a preponderance of evidence” — the threshold used by the rest of the Ivy League — in order to find a student guilty of sexual misconduct.

Another proposed measure recommends that the university hire trained investigators to decide sexual misconduct complaints, the New York Times reported. Currently, volunteer members of Princeton’s Faculty-Student Committee on Discipline resolve such cases. Parties to cases would now be permitted to attend hearings with legal counsel, and the university would grant the right to appeal to the alleged victim, whereas previously only the accused perpetrator was allowed to do so, the Times reported.

Princeton is one of more than 75 postsecondary institutions under federal investigation for Title IX violations in its handling of sexual assault cases.

“It became clear that we needed to modify our sexual misconduct policies and procedures to become fully compliant with current Title IX requirements, and that in the interest of fairness to all members of our community, we should make these changes as promptly as possible,” announced Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber, the Times reported.

The faculty will vote on the package of proposed policies Sept. 15.

Yale reverend resigns after penning controversial letter Rev. Bruce Shipman resigned as priest-in-charge of the Episcopal Church at Yale last week after a letter he wrote to the New York Times attracted criticism for alleged anti-Semitic statements, multiple news outlets reported.

Shipman’s Aug. 21 letter asserted that growing anti-Semitism in Europe could be traced to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, its military actions in Gaza in recent years and the stalled peace negotiation process. He concluded that “the best antidote to anti-Semitism would be for Israel’s patrons abroad to press the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for finalstatus resolution to the Palestinian question.”

The letter was a response to a Times essay by Deborah Lipstadt, professor of modern Jewish history and Holocaust studies at Emory University, titled “Why Jews Are Worried.”

In a subsequent letter to the editor of the Yale Daily News, Shipman apologized to Yale students, saying, “Nothing done in Israel or Palestine justifies the disturbing rise in anti-Semitism in Europe or elsewhere.”

» GOVERNOR, from page 1 Raimondo taking turns holding the lead. The latest WPRI poll in early August showed Raimondo leading Taveras by 5 percentage points and Pell by 6 percentage points, but Taveras and Raimondo alternated leading five previous polls conducted over the past year by the Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions and Fleming and Associates. The Republican primary was especially hard to predict, due to the small sample size of Republican voters in Rhode Island.

Following the primary results, Chafee issued a statement of support for Raimondo, the Democratic nominee.

R.I. Lieutenant Governor Catherine Taylor won the Republican nomination against Kara Young, while Cumberland Mayor Daniel McKee beat out Rhode Island Secretary of State Ralph Mollis and State Rep. Frank Ferri, D-Warwick, for the Democratic nomination. In the race to determine the successor of current Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Roberts — who cannot seek re-election, having served two consecutive terms — Taylor and McKeewill be joined by Libertarian Party nominee Tony Jones and the Moderate Party’s William Gilbert. Rhode Island’s lieutenant governor is charged with assuming gubernatorial duties if the governor is unable to do so.

university news 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

U. slips two spots in U.S. News rankings Falling to 16th from 14th, U. attributes drop to ‘administrative oversight’ in reporting

By PHOEBE DRAPER FEATURES EDITOR

Brown slipped from 14th to 16th place overall and plummeted from 12th to 39th place in selectivity in the 2015 edition of the U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges rankings, released at midnight Sept. 9.

University officials are attributing these drops to an administrative “oversight” in which one question on the 550-question long survey, which is used by U.S. News to calculate its rankings, was left blank, said Marisa Quinn, vice president for public affairs and University relations.

“Our selectivity was miscalculated,” Quinn said late Monday night.

University officials from various administrative departments electronically complete the survey distributed

by U.S. News each year, providing important statistics like finances, class size and the average SAT score of accepted students.

“This year we neglected to provide an answer to one particular question,” Quinn said of the accident.

But this small mistake may have had big consequences: The oversight, administrators think, caused Brown to drop two slots in the overall ranks and led to a major 27-rank fall in the more specific selectivity category.

This slip in selectivity ranking is not reflective of the reality of Brown’s admission trends, Quinn said. While the drop would seem to indicate that admission to Brown has become less competitive, the trend is the opposite: This year the acceptance rate dropped from 9.2 to 8.6 percent, while SAT scores of admitted students and the fraction of admitted students in the top percentile of their high schools remained relatively stable compared to previous years, she said.

The selectivity ranking — which comprises all those metrics — constitutes 12.5 percent of an institution’s overall ranking on U.S. News’ Best Colleges list.

Brown’s overall score — a numerical value based on “16 indicators of academic excellence,” according to U.S. News’ website — dropped from 87 to 84, “and if you look deeper, many of the elements remained unchanged,” Quinn said, citing high school guidance counselor ranking and peer assessment as evaluative areas that stayed on par with rankings from previous years.

Brown, along with thousands of other institutions across the country, participates in the U.S. News rankings’ survey each year, Quinn said.

“There are a plethora of rankings that are available to students and families when making this important choice,” she said, adding in an email to The Herald that U.S. News is “perhaps one of the better known” lists.

“This is one of many tools that students and families use in determining their college choices,” she said, citing college visits as another way prospective students make judgments about an institution’s fit.

But for students and families who place heavy emphasis on an institution’s official rank, Brown could appear a less selective, and perhaps a less attractive, option.

“We certainly want to ensure that for those students and families who use it as a tool in their decision-making, the information is complete and accurate,” Quinn wrote.

University officials have not yet determined where exactly in the survey process the oversight occurred, Quinn said.

“We just got this information” Monday, she said, adding that University officials will look into what led to the oversight to ensure a mistake like this does not occur again.

Faculty yield rate falls to 65 percent After an abnormally high 97 percent faculty yield in 2012-2013, rate drops back to typical level

By EMMA HARRIS SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Sixty-five percent of applicants offered faculty positions at the University accepted their positions during the 2013-14 academic year, a percentage known as the faculty yield rate, said Dean of the Faculty Kevin McLaughlin. This figure represents a decrease from the previous year, which saw an unusually large 97 percent yield rate.

This yield rate normally hovers between 50 and 75 percent, so the 97 percent reported during the 201213 academic year was anomalous, McLaughlin said.

Budget constraints also led to a “deliberate attempt to decrease the size of the faculty,” McLaughlin said. “Of requests for searches to fill vacancies, only 50 to 60 percent were approved,” and hiring in some departments is being frozen for the time being, he added.

“Many fields don’t need to be bigger. They just need better people to make them better, and we’re hiring the best people we can,” McLaughlin said. The University is “reallocating positions to fields that are stronger, have more research opportunities and have more student interest,” he said.

There were relatively more hires in the social sciences and humanities

this year, McLaughlin said, attributing this to the growth of the Watson Institute, which included the hiring of four faculty members in political science and one in sociology.

Last year, the majority of University hires were in the physical and life sciences.

McLaughlin said this year’s new faculty members were mostly hired at the assistant professor level, because his office is trying to “push down the age of the faculty.” Hiring at the assistant professor level contributes to the high faculty yield rate because new hires don’t already have positions at other institutions, and “Brown is a good place” to work, he said. Departments usually get their first choice of candidates, McLaughlin added.

“There is a higher percent of assistant professors because departments need to think about replacing themselves with people better than us,” said John Savage, professor of computer science, adding that young hires will improve Brown’s faculty and quality of education offered.

According to data from the Dean of the Faculty’s website, there were 40 departures of faculty members in the 2013-2014 academic year and 29 arrivals. Of the 29 new faculty, 17 — or 60 percent — were assistant professors. Nine are from underrepresented minority groups — five are Asian American, two are black and two are Latino.

Faculty retention was also fairly strong last academic year. Thirteen faculty members received offers from

other institutions and subsequent counteroffers from Brown. Of those, 10 were successfully retained, while three decided to leave the University, McLaughlin said.

While the Office of the Dean of the Faculty is “holding off ” on making big hiring pushes, they are thinking ahead to the goals of President Christina Paxson’s strategic plan, McLaughlin said. “We are taking a few steps back now to jump forward later.” One goal of the plan is to increase the diversity of the faculty. “We have to keep pushing to move toward finding a more diverse pool,” McLaughlin said.

The University currently has in place the Targets of Opportunity Program, which aims to hire diverse candidates whenever possible. The program has reserves of potential vacant positions so that, if a department comes across a strong minority candidate for a position, they can borrow a position from the TOP to hire that candidate. The department will later on have to refrain from hiring for another position, such as when a faculty member retires. “We want to be able to take advantage of hiring even when there is no vacancy in that field,” McLaughlin said.

In science fields, there are still too few women, Savage said. “We have some very distinguished women in computer science, but not enough,” he said, referring to both faculty members and undergraduate concentrators.

And though the diversity of the faculty has been improving over the years, it is still a “major problem,” he said.

www.browndailyherald.com

ORLANDO LUIS PARDO LAZO / HERALD

Richard Locke, James Morone, Anthony Bogues, Marcia Chatelain and Stefano Bloch discuss the events at Ferguson at a teach-in yesterday.

» FERGUSON, from page 1 discussions about Ferguson in both her history and food culture classes.

Stefano Bloch, a postdoctoral fellow in urban studies, said the militarized equipment and dress of police officers contributes to violence.

“Fashion and style do in fact matter, and have dire consequences for peace and justice,” Bloch said. “Simply having officers dressed in everyday uniforms” may lead to more peaceful encounters, Bloch later said in response to an audience question.

“The public framing of what happened has turned into a very microscopic view of the event,” said Tricia Rose, director of the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America. She criticized the way the media has focused on “individual circumstances” of the case rather than the larger social context.

While open racial discrimination is no longer legal in the United States, the country is still plagued by more subtle forms of racism, Rose said.

“We have no more racists, but we have enormous amounts of structural racism,” Rose said as she advocated for “anti-racist education.”

The question-and-answer session

following the panel featured so many queries from audience members that a large number were turned away due to time constraints.

Audience members started a “FergusonTeachIn” hashtag on Twitter during the dialogue that featured compelling quotes from speakers and commentary on the exchange.

Responding to a question about how attendees could learn more about the dialogue, Rose cited classes in the Department of Africana Studies, the Department of Ethnic Studies and elsewhere that are available to students seeking to deepen their understanding of such issues.

Anne Prusky ’18 said she attended the discussion to “involve” and “educate” herself, adding that the teach-in met her expectations. “I expected to feel very slightly uncomfortable, in a growth-ishappening kind of way,” she said.

“I definitely think that this is a great starting point,” said Maya Finoh ’17. But she said she would like to see a teach-in on structural racism in the future.

Throughout the semester, Locke said students can look forward to other events being planned with the intention of increasing literacy on racially charged issues.

4 science & research » CHICKEN, from page 8 and squawk. The simulation uses only computer-generated images and carefully avoids any graphic images of slaughter or animal abuse. Rather, it focuses on what ultimately amounts to three short vignettes in the life of a free-range chicken as its captured, caged and brought to the gate of the slaughterhouse.

The journey begins in a green pastoral setting, with the guest — as the

simulated chicken — looking at his reflection in an abandoned hubcap.

Compelled to follow the chicken’s “best friend” through a thicket of tall grass and over a puddle, the chicken wanders with his fellow bird. He lives the sort of lifestyle that coincides with what Marta Holmberg, the director of peta2, described as ideal for the birds in a recent press release, writing that the animals wish to spend their days “in peace with their family and friends.”

But this bucolic scene doesn’t last for long, as two farmers arrive and begin to capture chickens for slaughter.

After a brief foray on the back of a truck bed in a small crowded cage, the participant ascends on a conveyor belt to the slaughterhouse while watching freshly butchered birds descend nearby. The simulation ends as the chicken/ participant reaches the summit of the belt, signaling the end of his life.

PETA’s exhibit provided an opening for the organization to share its message. After the simulation, volunteers shared some sobering facts about animal treatment, including the fact that over a million chickens are slaughtered every hour in the United States.

Several students expressed their continued reluctance to give up meat, even after enjoying the simulation.

Upon emerging from the virtual reality, Bella Okiddy ’15 said she “liked the wow factor of seeing life through a chicken’s eyes,” but added that she remained wary “of (the activity’s) ability to continue to raise awareness.”

» MUSEUM, from page 1 Studies Steve Lubar, who spearheaded the project, part of the goal was “bringing the history back to life,” but not necessarily the history of the individual objects. The museum helps to show visitors “what museums save and how that changes over time,” he said.

Rebecca Soules GS, one of many who helped put together the museum, said her favorite artifacts were the execution knives. If one visits the museum to see these gruesome tools for themselves, they’ll likely also notice the carved Mapuche wooden stirrups, albatross skull and mysterious “unidentified reptile skin” next to the “eggs of sharks.”

Soules emphasized that the artifacts are “exhibited not preserved,” allowing visitors to see the natural decay of the objects since the museum’s closure.

The artifacts on display are but a small fraction of the original collection, and in some cases only the labels — written by Jenks himself — are all that remain. Lubar said these are his favorite artifacts.

“We don’t know what those things really were, we just have the names,”

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

Lubar said. “It makes us think of why some objects survive and some don’t.”

Jenks’ recreated office, designed with the most meticulous details in mind and emanating an air of welcoming dishevalry, appears as though the slightly eccentric professor has just stepped out for lunch and will be returning shortly to finish preparing his latest taxidermic specimen.

The artistic renderings of lost objects, organized by artist Mark Dion and featuring offerings from more than 80 artists, hauntingly recreate the ghosts of the Jenks collection. All three components create a fascinating portal into the past.

“I was surprised by how much I like it as a whole,” said Jessica Palinksi GS, who also worked on the project.

“It comes together in a cohesive way despite being three distinct parts.”

As for what people should take away from the exhibit, “we really intended the installation to provoke thought and contemplation, and reward curiosity,” Palinski said.

The Jenks Society will be organizing guided tours and programs as part of Brown’s 250th anniversary celebration through May.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

university news 5

6 today

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

MENU SHARPE REFECTORY

RACE TO THE FINISH VERNEY-WOOLLEY

LUNCH Spinach and Arugula Saute, Pepperoni, Spinach and Feta Calzone, Sweet baby beets in orange sauce

Tacos, Roasted Corn Chowder with Bacon, Italian Marinated Chicken, Vegan Six Bean Soup

DINNER Teriyaki Salmon, Orange Veggie Pad Thai, Seasoned Pork Chops, Yellow Beans with Teriyaki Sauce

Turkey Cutlet with Veloute Sauce, Cheese Ravioli, Mashed Sweet and White Potatoes, Fagioli Soup

JOSIAH’S

THREE BURNERS

QUESADILLA OR GRILLED CHEESE

Tacos

Grilled Cheese

BLUE ROOM

SOUPS

DINNER ENTREES

Hearty Country Vegetable, Tomato Florentine, Baked Potato

Mediterranean Pockets

SUDOKU

JUSTINA LEE / HERALD

Rhode Island voters cast their ballots for the state’s mayoral and gubernatorial primaries in Salomon Center yesterday. Republican Alan Fung and Democrat Gina Raimondo won gubernatorial nominations.

COMICS Class Notes | Philip Trammell ’15

CROSSWORD

Mind Grapes | Willa Tracy ’17

CALENDAR TODAY

SEPTEMBER 10

7 P.M. LEAN IN KICK-OFF

Professor Barrett Hazeltine will be speaking on gender equality at the opening event of the Brown chapter of Lean In, a national group created by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandburg to encourage and empower women. Salomon 101 9 P.M. STUDENT GOVERNMENT INFORMATION SESSION

The Undergraduate Council of Students is holding an information session on how to get involved with student government during the 2014-2015 school year. Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center, Room 229

TOMORROW

SEPTEMBER 11

6:30 P.M. “STAGES” BY CLARA LIEU: OPENING RECEPTION

The Sarah Doyle Gallery is presenting an art exhibit by Clara Lieu, who explores depression and anxiety through the human face. Lieu will be attending the opening. Sarah Doyle Women’s Center 8 P.M. ATHLETES IN ACTION PRIME TIME

Brown athletes come together for a night of communal teaching, discussion and fun as Athletes in Action hosts its welcome-back event. Pembroke Field House

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

Restore the Pell Grant

EDITORIAL

John Hay well worth it The shape of campus undoubtedly influences the character of the student experience. We applaud the work of the University in renovating the John Hay Library, an effort that visibly enhances the vibrancy of academic life on campus. We contend — and many students will agree — that the addition of a more accessible reading room helps distribute the burden on the traditional study locations, like the Rockefeller Library and the Sciences Library, and provides both an inspiring and historically profound space for scholarly work.

The Hay also presents a unique opportunity for students in the collections it holds. Other common study spaces such as the basement of the Rock and the Friedman Study Center are largely isolated from the source material they house. While the University recently relocated much of the Hay’s archival material to Cranston, the library showcases an intriguing selection of primary sources and artifacts, allowing students to engage with original, and often invaluable, objects. This concerted effort to provide students with a heightened level of accessibility — with regard to both space and resources — is incredibly refreshing and should be mirrored across the University, though we indeed understand the current financial constraints.

In echoing the underlying sentiment of Monday’s editorial, (“Ra ra Brunonia?”, Sept. 8, 2014), the University must continue to bolster and perpetuate a sense of tradition, and the rehabilitation and improvement of historical spaces on campus is an important component of this endeavor. The renovation of the Hay was justified not only for the building’s historical significance but also because the enhanced 4,400 square foot reading room redirects students away from contemporary dormitories and study spaces into a building more steeped in Brown’s history. The implications of this renovation transcend the monetary value of the building. Efforts to further engage students with the history of the campus, particularly where multi-million dollar renovations are not necessary, should be a priority going forward. Our campus is not without historical buildings like the John Carter Brown Library and the Ladd Observatory, which was recently nominated to be a local historical landmark, that the University should seek to better incorporate into students’ academics and daily lives.

The University is faced with the constant challenge of using College Hill effectively and keeping up heavily trafficked buildings as they age. The renovation of the John Hay Library is an efficient and lasting victory in this fight.

Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board, led by Alexander Kaplan ’15 and James Rattner ’15. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Editorial on textbooks raises important issue To the Editor: The Herald’s editorial on Sept. 9 (“Stop Charging for Books,” Sept. 9, 2014) raises a good issue. As a scholarship student as an undergrad, I found it useful to buy printed copies of final exams from previous years, with the names of the examiners on them, from our in-house bookshop to help define what to prepare for in each course. A later observation was that in Europe,

technical textbooks have often been sold in flexi covers, whereas in the United States, the same books are more likely to be on better paper, hardbound and twice the price. My alma mater had very good and easily accessible subject librarians.

Peter Richardson Professor of Engineering and Physiology

ADAM KEMERER OPINIONS COLUMNIST

At both an institutional and a personal level, current and formerly incarcerated people are consistently dismissed when they ask for help — for some people, it seems fair that they deal with the consequences of their actions on their own.

But what about consequences that go above and beyond what we consider to be just punishment? What if some people in some groups must always face these consequences while members of others are seldom punished for the same actions?

Injustice for incarcerated people is often discussed in terms of mandatory minimum sentencing for drug-based offenses, but the consequences of a prison sentence extend far beyond the length of the sentence itself.

Following release from prison, former inmates find that employers will not hire them, colleges and technical schools will not admit them and many public agencies will refuse to assist them. Faced with no chance at a new life, many of these inmates return to crime — and back to prison.

Decades of research have demonstrated that this phenomenon is preventable. Studies have shown that education in prison — especially higher education — can reduce recidivism rates among prisoners and improve their employment prospects upon release.

Some states have been able to fund college programs for inmates. But the federal government must restore Pell Grant eligibility to incarcerated students for educational programs to be adequately funded nationwide.

Pell Grants originated with the late Rhode Island Senator Claiborne Pell, who hoped the grants would “equalize educational opportunity across income classes,” calling it a “G.I. Bill for everybody” that would provide the support necessary for capable poor students to get the same level of education provided to wealthier students. The grant functioned, and continues to function, as an unofficial entitlement program: Anyone below a set level of income qualifies for a grant, and the grants have always been

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fully funded no matter how many students receive them. Up until 20 years ago, the program included incarcerated students.

In 1994, Congress passed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which provided $9.7 billion for new prison construction and made incarcerated students ineligible for Pell Grants no matter their income level.

Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, a chief proponent of the bill, said that Pell Grants for incarcerated students were “not fair to the millions of parents who work and pay taxes and then must scrape and save and often borrow to finance their children’s education,” and frequently mentioned children of police officers who would be unable to receive Pell Grants because of prisoners. But after the passage of the bill, non-incarcerated students did not receive any additional financial aid — rather, the bill simply cut the 0.6 percent of Pell Grant

and lower overall costs for corrections departments. A recent meta-analysis conducted by the RAND Corporation think tank found that, on average, inmates who participated in correctional education programs had 43 percent lower odds of recidivating than inmates who do not participate in such programs. Additionally, the odds of obtaining employment were 13 percent higher for inmates who participated in education programs versus those who had not.

The analysis estimated that savings from lower incarceration rates due to lower recidivism alone would average out to between $8,700 and $9,700 per inmate educated. Even if every prisoner educated received the maximum Pell Grant of $5,730, states would still save $3,970 per prisoner educated. Given that the average Pell Grant given to inmates was only 57 percent of the maximum available grant in their last year of eligibility in 1994, the savings from reduced recidivism alone would likely be even higher than that. These numbers do not even take into account reduced spending on public assistance for inmate families, higher future tax payments from employed former inmates and lower costs for police, courts and victims of crime.

Correctional education is clearly a sound financial investment. But aside from cost, it is especially important to consider the people who lose the opportunity to improve themselves and the lives of their families without Pell Grant support. With black and Latino men disproportionately arrested, convicted and incarcerated and with half of inmates having dependent children, it is too often marginalized people and their families who find themselves without a second chance. For inmates who want to hold themselves accountable and move on from past mistakes, the Pell Grant provides an opportunity at a new life.

Reduced access to correctional education comes in spite of strong evidence that education programs in prison reduce recidivism, increase employment and lower overall costs for corrections departments.

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funding that went to inmates. Senator Pell himself countered Hutchison’s account, saying, “The child of a police officer would not be denied a grant in favor of a prisoner. If both are eligible, both would receive grants.” With no additional education funds and increased spending on prisons, cutting inmates out of the program was clearly neither about better education for non-incarcerated students, nor about saving money. Instead, diatribes on the Senate floor demonstrated that it had much more to do with punishing prisoners and escalating the War on Drugs.

The elimination of Pell Grants devastated the correctional education system. Within three years of the bill’s passing, the number of college programs in prison had dropped from 350 to eight.

Without Pell Grants, state corrections departments have been forced to rely on nonprofits, inmate self-funding and state grants for college programs, none of which have been consistent enough for most colleges to justify the cost of operating programs in prison.

Reduced access to correctional education comes in spite of strong evidence that education programs in prison reduce recidivism, increase employment

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Adam Kemerer ’15 invites you to attend the Restore the Pell Grant Symposium on Sept. 16 at 6 p.m. to discuss the possibility of Pell Grant restoration with formerly incarcerated students and other experts in the field.

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

THE

BROWN DAILY HERALD science & research Science & Research Roundup

BY ISOBEL HECK, SCIENCE & RESEARCH EDITOR

Grad student determines best way to see through cells

COURTESY OF PETA

The virtual reality simulator “I, Chicken,” brought to campus by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, enables students to experience the life of a chicken headed for slaughter to increase empathy for the birds.

Students play ‘Chicken’ in Faunce

PETA brings ‘I, Chicken’ simulator to Brown, students live briefly as virtual poultry

By EBEN BLAKE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Students got to experience life from the eyes of a chicken they may have eaten during a virtual reality simulation hosted by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Monday and Tuesday in the basement of Faunce House.

The exhibit, “I, Chicken,” stopped

on campus during a countrywide college tour. Its creators hoped to use the visceral experience of a virtual reality simulation to increase human empathy for the bird. PETA’s innovation department developed this program, which will pass through over 150 colleges over the course of the next year.

Sam Simon, the co-creator of “The Simpsons” and a noted philanthropist, helped fund the campaign, which ultimately cost around $300,000 and is currently run by PETA’s youth division, peta2.

“This is really at the intersection of emerging technology and morality,” said Ken Montville, PETA’s senior

college campaign strategist. “We think there’s something very cutting-edge about the project. We’ve based it on recent research about virtual reality psychology, which suggests that even from just a two-minute glimpse into a new perspective, a bit over 20 percent of all participants continued to have strong feelings of empathy with the subject long after the simulation.”

Users have the opportunity to test out the virtual reality simulation, which allows them to wander, look around and move as a chicken — after waiting in a short line and watching other guests flap their wings, squat » See CHICKEN, page 4

Law to reduce concussions lacks impact Four years after passage, legislation to minimize concussions implemented only in select schools

By ISABELLE THENOR-LOUIS STAFF WRITER

In recent years, sports-related concussions — especially in young athletes involved in high-impact sports — have become a topic of widespread discussion and concern. Responding to growing worries about student concussions, the Rhode Island General Assembly passed the School and Youth Programs Concussions Act in July 2010. But several years later, how well are schools actually taking measures to minimize concussion risk?

Interested in addressing this question, reserchers at the Alpert Medical School conducted a statewide assessment of high school adherance to the SYPCA. Their analysis appears in the current issue of the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery.

The law contains provisions — some of which are mandatory and others of which are only recommended — to guide school response to student concussions, the researchers noted.

But because the law binds only particular schools, prevention of this injury remains difficult in some areas. Under the law, only schools that are members of the Rhode Island Interscholastic

League are mandated to follow the law’s provisions, said Dina Morrissey, program coordinator for community activities at the Injury Prevention Center at Rhode Island Hospital and one of the authors of this study.

The provisions in place for schools in this league require parents and guardians to sign an information sheet about concussions. Additionally, students must be removed from play if they are suspected of having a concussion, physicians must provide clearance sheets for athletes recovering from concussions and coaches and volunteers must complete annual online concussion training.

“On our website, we have a link to current concussion information and require each athlete and parents to review state law and protocols for the injury,” wrote George Finn, athletic director for Barrington High School, in an email to The Herald.

But the researchers found there was limited compliance with both the required and recommended provisions of the law in some groups of schools.

“If you look at the Rhode Island Interscholastic League schools, they are pretty much doing all of that. But, if you look at the community league organizations, who are not bound by this law, very few give an information sheet and less than half have any requirement that volunteers be trained,” Morrissey said.

And since the Rhode Island Interscholastic League only includes high schools, middle and elementary schools are not following SYPCA guidelines, Morrissey said.

The recommended provisions for the league require school nurses to be trained in managing concussions, schools to write a “return-to-play” protocol and athletes to complete a neurocognitive test before returning to their sports.

These provisions were initially set as mandatory factors but were met with resistance due to many schools’ lack of financial ability to pay for additional training and tests, said Neha Raukar, assistant professor of emergency medicine and an author of both the SYPCA and the study.

“By (schools) not educating nurses and teachers, students could hide injuries from everyone and continue playing. But it’s hard to push recommended provisions onto schools who can’t afford certain resources, such as an athletic trainer at every game,” Raukar said.

In the coming year, the researchers hope to push for more mandatory provisions to prevent injury. Raukar said the focus for the year is to develop a statewide, standardized clearance form. “Return to learn” guidelines specifying the timeline for students who suffer from concussions to return to the classroom will be a focus, she added.

While three-dimensional cell cultures are often more realistic than two-dimensional ones, they are more difficult to view due to their complex, multi-layered structure. This challenge led Molly Boutin GS to set out to determine the best existing technique for viewing threedimensional cultures that does not involve the labor-intensive process of cutting cultures apart, according to a University press release.

Boutin, along with her advisor Diane Hoffman-Kim, associate professor of medical science and engineering, examined and compared three recently released methods for viewing three-dimensional cell cultures, according to their paper published online last month in the journal Tissue Engineering Part C: Methods.

Of the three methods — ClearT2, SeeDB and Scale — Boutin and Hoffman-Kim determined ClearT2 is the optimal method due to its efficacy and maintenance of the original culture’s size, according to the paper. Both ClearT2 and Scale increased visibility of the cells, but only ClearT2 left the size of the original culture unchanged, they wrote in the paper.

ClearT2 was also a more efficient method than the other two. While Scale and SeeDB took three days to work, ClearT2 took only one-anda-half hours, Boutin said in the release.

Christianson syndrome provides link to autism Recently published University research contains both the most complete description of Christianson syndrome as well as the first list of diagnostics for families and doctors, according to a University press release. These advances are detailed in a paper published online in the July 2014 issue of the journal Annals of Neurology.

Through the study, researchers observed the behavior, symptoms and genetic mutations of 14 boys with Christianson syndrome, according to the release.

Some of the symptoms the researchers listed in the paper include intellectual disability, epilepsy, difficulty or inability to talk or walk and autism-like behavior, according to the release.

The researchers hope this work will increase syndrome awareness, said senior author Eric Morrow, assistant professor of biology and psychiatry and human behavior, in the release.

New, higher estimates of the number of boys who have the syndrome — somewhere between one in every 16,000 to 100,000 — were released in the paper. Because the genetic mutations behind the syndrome are linked to the X chromosome, they tend to only be expressed as symptoms in males.

The paper also noted that it is still unclear whether Christianson syndrome limits the lifespan of those who are afflicted.

Research on the disease also provides new avenues for understanding autism — the area on which much of Morrow’s research is centered, he said in the release.

U. research inspires preeclampsia gene database University researchers will release a searchable database of the genes related to the gestational disorder preeclampsia in a few months, impacting future preeclampsia treatment and research. The findings that inspired this database’s creation were published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology in May by a team of University researchers.

Preeclampsia, a disease that occurs during pregnancy and impacts both the mother and unborn child, affects 5 to 8 percent of pregnancies. High blood pressure and a reduced flow of blood through the placenta commonly mark the disease, according to the Preeclampsia Foundation website.

Preeclampsia and similar hypertensive disorders are the leading cause of both maternal and infant deaths, killing at least 76,000 pregnant women and 500,000 unborn children per year, according to the Preeclampsia Foundation.

The researchers closely examined 535 sets of genes belonging to mothers with preeclampsia and their fetuses, taken from 729 journal articles about the disease. The researchers found that different variables related to preeclampsia — including onset time and severity — manifest themselves differently in the genes of both the mother and the fetus, according to a University press release.

These genetic differences suggest that the treatment for preeclampsia should also vary depending on disease presentation, the authors found.