Wednesday, October 8, 2014

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BROWN DAILY HERALD vol. cxlix, no. 84

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2014

Students Former Chilean president forecasts economic growth Lagos cites technology, trade and political establish free regulation as variables in Black Ivy Latin American growth Coalition

By ALON GALOR STAFF WRITER

New group aims to spread awareness about ongoing racial prejudices, focuses on dialogue and activism

By JOE DIEHL CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Responding to the recent deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner and Ezell Ford at the hands of police, student activists on Ivy League campuses have mobilized to coordinate a response.

Armani Madison ’16, president of Brown’s National Association for the Advancement of Colored People chapter, and Jordan Ferguson ’17, president of the Black Student Union, have teamed up with two students from each of the Ivy League schools to form the Black Ivy Coalition.

The coalition, established last month, released a statement encouraging people to take action and demand the end of injustice toward people of color in a Sept. 22 Huffington Post article. “The whole idea of the article was to compel American society to revalue black lives,” Ferguson said.

Denzel Cummings, a student at Penn, initially contacted Ferguson with the idea to write an Op-Ed to the New York Times. As Black Student Union president, Ferguson said it was important for him to get involved, and he brought Madison into the fold. “We really work in tandem,” Ferguson said. » See COALITION, page 2

“We are closing a political, economic and social cycle in Latin America, and therefore, we are about to begin a new way of looking at things,” said former Chilean President and Professor-atLarge Ricardo Lagos in a lecture Tuesday night entitled “Quo Vadis, Latin America? What Lies Ahead for the Region” at the Watson Institute’s Joukowsky Forum.

“Many of the tools we learned from the past are not going to be as useful … because the region is different,” he said.

Lagos is known for his series of landmark free-trade agreements,

contributions to healthcare and education legislation and efforts to confront the crimes of Augusto Pinochet’s military regime. Since leaving office, Lagos founded the Foundation for Democracy and Development — where he serves as president —, acted as a special envoy on climate change for the United Nations from 2007 to 2010 and currently serves as vicechair of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based think tank.

Lagos opened the lecture by presenting his thesis: Latin America’s transition into a new political, social and economic cycle results from the impact of technological changes on political institutions and the establishment of what he deems a new world order.

Politically, though strong and accepted democratic processes exist in the region’s countries — evidenced by increased gender and racial » See LAGOS, page 3

ORLANDO LUIS PARDO LAZO / HERALD

Former Chilean President and Professor-at-Large Ricardo Lagos argues governments must do a better job representing and protecting citizens.

Faculty, Paxson discuss response to Ray Kelly report Censorship of dissenting views, University endowment and deficit also inspire debate at faculty meeting

By EMMA HARRIS SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Faculty members and administrators debated the University’s response to the Reports on the Events of October 29 at Tuesday’s faculty meeting. Attendees also discussed the University’s fiscal performance, the renaming of the Watson Institute for International Studies and a possible new classification for distinguished lecturers.

After citing her response to the Reports on the Events of October 29, which was released on Sept. 24, President Christina Paxson said faculty members have frequently asked what disciplinary action was taken against student leaders of the protest that shut

down a lecture last October by former New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and whether or not they were “punished.”

Both University rules and federal law stipulate that the process is “confidential” and will be “handled like the hundreds of incidents” that go through the disciplinary process every year, Paxson said.

Faculty members expressed widely varying reactions to the University’s process of dealing with the fallout from the protest — while some commended Paxson for her response to the aftermath and events of October 29, others voiced concerns.

Professor of Biology Kenneth Miller ’70 P’02 objected to the Brown

community being “left in the dark” over what was transpiring between the University and students. The fact that a disciplinary process is happening is not confidential, Miller said, adding that the community was inexcusably uninformed after a senior administrator told to The Herald that there would be no disciplinary actions taken.

Other faculty members said they were disappointed in the lack of information on possible consequences, saying they wanted to see efforts to educate the community about collboratively dealing with controversial events as opposed to punitive results. Paxson responded that the Student Code of Conduct will undergo its review this spring — a process that happens every five years — with the exception of sexual assault policies, which are currently under review.

Paxson said she worries about “chilling the campus” in considering how to respond to the Kelly controversy, as she does not want community members to stop inviting controversial speakers or invited speakers to decline invitations.

The meeting also addressed faculty disagreements over the reports submitted by the Committee on the Events of October 29. The reports categorize the events that transpired as “protests,” though some faculty members questioned the events’ disruptive nature, suggesting that shutting down an event should not be labeled as a protest.

“The Student Code of Conduct supports protests as long as they don’t censor speech,” Paxson said. The protests to Kelly’s lecture escalated and led to censorship on campus, she said, and that is “something we don’t do.” » See FACULTY, page 2

External review prompts budgeting process reform

By LINDSAY GANTZ SENIOR STAFF WRITER

INSIDE

After an external review of the administrative structure last spring found widespread dissatisfaction among faculty, staff and departmental agencies, the Office of the President has launched new initiatives to rethink the structure of the budgeting process to advance the goals of President Christina’s 2014 strategic plan, “Building on Distinction.”

“I’ve asked Vicki Colvin to work with the (University Resources Committee) to reform the budgeting process so that thoughtful decisions can

be made about the best way to adjust our operations to strengthen our financial position and support the goal of the strategic plan,” Paxson wrote in a letter sent to faculty and staff Aug. 15.

“People feel disappointed by the results” of the budgetary process, said Beppie Huidekoper, executive vice president for finance and administration. “I think people are frustrated because they make requests for additional resources and very frequently don’t get them,” she said, adding that the University is “tight on resources.”

The last academic year’s budget deficit was $8.8 million.

The review was conducted by an outside consultant to analyze the organizational structure in light of the goals of the new strategic plan, Huidekoper said. “I think (the president) made it more explicit that the provost is ultimately responsible for developing and advising on overall budgetary issues.”

Provost Vicki Colvin said that she has three main goals for improving the budgeting process: introducing a new culture of planning that includes focusing on long-term considerations, encouraging organizational units to rethink approach to resources and changing the structure of the URC meetings — a group that meets several times a year to discuss the budget.

“What our faculty need today is

Science & Research

very different from what they may have needed ten or twenty years ago,” Colvin said, citing a new electronic system for managing financial transactions and a need for social media staff as examples of the developing areas of investment.

Colvin has changed the structure of URC meetings to “create an active discussion,” she said, adding that she accomplished this by reducing presentation time and making meetings more interactive.

A recent meeting was held in a computer lab to familiarize committee members with budget models, Colvin said. “I gave them challenges for how they would balance the budget in three years, five years,” she said.

“There’s been a pretty dramatic

Commentary

Study explores the origin of dark patch “Oceanus Procellarum” on the western face of the moon

Researchers idenitfy a correlation between high blood pressure and living near highways

Ingber ’15: Ruth Simmons should weigh in on the Ray Kelly debate

Brown University Friends of Hong Kong: Brown must divest from Chinese investments

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WEATHER

Provost Colvin introduces new initiatives to improve structure of URC meetings, approach to resources

change in the way our meetings are running,” said committee member Gregory Chatzinoff ’15. “Most of our discussions last year were focused on what next year’s budget was going to be, now we’re focused on what the budget will be in five years.”

While committee member Justice Gaines ’16 said that the committee was “very interactive throughout the whole meeting and (was) able to make more productive conversation,” he added that the committee still feels “separated from the rest of the rest of the University community.”

Huidekoper said that while the URC is “very influential,” “it is not the final decision making body,” adding that the President ultimately determines the finalized budget.

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2 university news » COALITION, from page 1 “It was essential for black student leaders to get involved with (these) civil rights issues,” Cummings said.

Though the coalition’s statement was never published by the Times, the Huffington Post article raised awareness of the coalition, resulting in further publicity from BET. com and Black Enterprise, among other outlets. The media attention has sparked the interest of other schools, such as the University of California at Los Angeles and the University of Tennessee, to get involved, Ferguson said. “We want to figure out the best way to get other schools (and people outside the Ivy League) involved.”

Since the coalition is in its formative stages, its primary goal is to spread awareness about ongoing racial prejudice. “There’s this misconception that civil rights ended racism, but that’s not necessarily the case,” Ferguson said.

The coalition is “primarily focusing on activism through policy reform,” Cummings said, adding that group members will focus on publicizing their ideas during the fall semester and executing events during the spring semester.

Though creating dialogue remains its primary goal, the coalition also has some concrete goals for the year.

Madison said it will fight against police brutality in the upcoming year by pursuing legislation requiring officers to wear full-body cameras.

Madison said he and Ferguson will work to bring the coalition’s ideas back to campus. Brown’s NAACP

chapter will attempt to reflect the ideas the coalition represents by engaging the community through political advocacy, social media awareness and coordinated demonstrations, Madison said.

“We represent something larger than Brown,” Ferguson said, adding the coalition will form committees at each Ivy League university to communicate with the larger organization.

He cited the recent Ferguson Teach-in as a positive example for future events, while Madison said he would work to improve relations between the Department of Public Safety and students.

“We want to provide a space for students of all backgrounds,” Madison said.

Moving forward, the coalition has great potential, but figuring out its next steps will require diligent thought, Ferguson said.

“We want to do something, but we want to do it right,” he said. “You want to make sure the message you want to convey is really clear.”

This movement is an exciting opportunity for college students across the country to engage in dialogue, Ferguson said, adding that it also lets students tackle issues of racism and prejudice.

Ferguson said he was encouraged to see students from all eight Ivies combine forces and resources. “As the Ivy League, we are always pitted against each other in terms of rankings and socioeconomic status. … It’s nice to see us all working together to one common goal.”

» FACULTY, from page 1 John Tomasi, professor of political science and director of the Political Theory Project, questioned the extent of inclusivity of viewpoints at Brown.

A member of the Brown Republicans came to Tomasi after class recently to tell him that after attracting about 25 interested students, the student and a few of his peers decided to set up a table on the Main Green, Tomasi said. Shortly after group members set up their table, another student approached them and called them “racist,” he added. The remark disrupted the students’ work, and they disbanded soon after.

“What do we mean by ‘inclusive’?”

Tomasi said. “We should aspire for, at minimum, the confidence that students may sit on the Main Green without being called racists.”

Richard Locke, director of the Watson Institute, said he thought Paxson’s response to the Kelly controversy was “terrific.”

“The proof is in the pudding,” he said, adding that controversial speakers have come to campus since last October and provoked protests and backlash without students’ breaking of the Code of Conduct.

The capital campaign for Paxson’s strategic plan, “Building on Distinction,” and the University’s endowment were other prominent issues raised at the meeting.

With $600 million raised so far, the University is now in the “nucleus phase,” or “silent phase,” of the campaign, Paxson said. The University will continue in this early phase until next fall, she added.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2014

Addressing the endowment’s growth, Paxson said the University’s 16.1 percent return on its investments in fiscal year 2014 was a “good” performance.

Chief Investment Officer Joseph Dowling said the University normally targets a 8.5 percent return on the endowment’s investments, so compared to this benchmark, “the last two years have been good to Brown.”

Though two peer institutions have yet to publish their investment records for the previous fiscal year, Brown’s endowment fared better than Harvard’s 15.4 percent return but worse than Yale’s approximately 20 percent return, Dowling said. Last year, Brown had the second-highest return in the Ivy League, he added.

When faculty members inquired what tactics the Investment Office used that were similar to or different from peer institutions, Dowling said his office is mimicking no one. “We are not following anyone. We are leaders forging our own path.”

The endowment currently stands at $3.2 billion, with $185 million in operating funds, Dowling said. The endowment supports 16 percent of the operating budget, he added. In fiscal year 2014, the Investment Office made $455 million and distributed $146 million to the University, he said.

In the last two years, investment profits totalled $780 million, Dowling said, a figure larger than the entire endowment in 1996.

In the last five years, the endowment has increased by $1.1 billion, and $675 million of this growth has gone to the University’s budget, Dowling said. “That comes out to about $17,000 per student, including graduate students,” he said.

But the fiscal situation is a“mixed message,” Paxson said. Though the endowment is doing well, the University is working with an $8.7 million budget deficit, which was larger than the expected a $4.4 million budget deficit for fiscal year 2014, she said. “This is due to an unexpected increase in financial aid and a decrease in federal funding.”

If University spending stays at this

pace, the deficit could be $13.8 million, and the unrestricted reserves could decrease to zero in three years, Paxson said. “We have three years to get this under control.”

The deficit is structural, Provost Vicki Colvin said, meaning that “it won’t go away on its own.” Following Yale’s example by mandating departmental and organizational 1.5 percent budget reductions is “not the Brown way of doing things,” she said.

Calling the deficit a “shared responsibility,” Colvin said faculty members need to “examine assumptions on how (they) work.”

Twelve faculty members, one graduate student and two undergraduates will form the upcoming Deficit Reduction Committee, whose membership is currently undecided, Colvin said. She asked the faculty to contact her for interest in becoming members or for input on the committee’s focus.

Colvin said she wants to work to increase middle-class financial aid, increase socioeconomic diversity among students and boost “underfunded” graduate education.

James Morone, director of the Taubman Center for Public Policy and chair of the Faculty Executive Committee, said the complete report on the merging of the Taubman Center under the Watson Institute’s “umbrella” will come next month, adding that one of the notable parts of the merger will be the name change of the Watson Institute. It will be called the “Center for International and Public Affairs,” he said.

The University is also considering creating a third tier of lecturers — currently there are only lecturers and senior lectures, though tenure-track professors have three tiers, Morone said.

The qualifications, name and possible pay increase for this third tier are still under deliberation, said John Stein, senior lecturer in neuroscience and FEC member.

Faculty members also read two memorial minutes for George Borts, professor emeritus of economics, and Gerald Guralnik, professor of physics, both of whom died this year.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2014

science & research 3

Science & Research Roundup

BY ISOBEL HECK AND SARAH PERELMAN, SCIENCE & RESEARCH EDITORS

Researchers increase speed of bone production by sorting fat A team of Brown researchers, led by Hetal Marble GS, recently developed a new system for sorting fat tissue based on cells’ ability to become bone, according to a University press release. The team also applied to patent this new method.

Fat tissue cells are capable of turning into fat, cartilage or bone, and adeptness to become bone is marked by the expression of a gene called ALPL. Through a process of fluorescently marking cells expressing this gene and sorting the cells based on whether they glowed, the researchers were able to separate out the cells capable of becoming bone.

The new method, detailed in this month’s issue of the journal Stem Cell Research and Therapy, sorted out more than double the number of cells with the potential to create bone than any previously developed method, according to the release.

Once sorted, these cells produced over twice as much of the tissue required for bones to solidify as unsorted cells and nearly four times as much bone-forming tissue as cells not expressing the ALPL gene.

“Approaches like this allow us to isolate all the cells that are capable of doing what we want,” Marble said in the release.

Despite the advancements, the current four-day long sorting process needs to be shortened significantly to be of practical use.

One solution may be to sort the cells based on another gene that is expressed earlier in the sorting process than ALPL, said Eric Darling, assistant professor of molecular pharmacology, physiology and biotechnology and senior author of the paper, in the release.

The researchers said in the release that they hope their method will help decrease the time needed for bones to heal. “If you can take the patient into the (operating room), isolate a bunch of their cells, sort them and put them back in that’s ideally where we’d like to go with this,” Darling said in the release.

New research explains origins of the moon’s dark patch The origin of a mysterious dark patch on the moon’s western face has been a source of contention among planetary scientists for some time. New research suggests that lava oozing from the center of the moon is responsible for the large indent.

Previously, many scientists believed that flying craters could have caused this deformity in the moon’s surface, according to the study, which was coauthored by Professor of Geological Sciences Jim Head and published this month in the journal Nature. Older research has shown that crater impact followed by pooling lava created some of the other hollowed-out basins on the moon.

But this large western patch — called Oceanus Procellarum — has particularly intrigued lunar scientists because it differs in appearance from the moon’s other dark areas, most of which are round. The rectangular shape of Oceanus Procellarum does not match the impact that craters would likely have made.

Using data from a NASA mission, the researchers were able to analyze the origins of the large western patch. Maria Zuber PhD ’86, vice president for research at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology, led the NASA mission. In 2012, her team fired a spaceship into the moon’s orbit to collect data about the moon’s gravity.

“Everything we see suggests that internal forces were critical in the formation of Procellarum,” Head said in a University press release, explaining that the moon’s outer crust originally formed when molten magma that had once covered the whole moon cooled.

Oceanus Procellarum likely cooled more slowly than other regions because it contains a large concentration of certain heat-producing radioactive elements, he said.

The recent study shows the remarkable way in which internal forces can completely change the appearance of a planet, Head said in the release.

» TRAFFIC, from page 8 study. “We looked specifically at the women who had been recruited from the San Diego metropolitan area. In those women, we were able to then calculate the distance between where they lived and the nearest major roadway. In this study, major roadways included freeways, freeway ramps and major arterial roadways.”

The researchers then looked at which of the 5,400 women had hypertension — which the researchers defined using blood pressure data and physician diagnoses — when they were recruited by the Women’s Health Initiative, Wellenius said.

To determine the effects of living near roadways on hypertension, the researchers used models that adjusted for multiple caridovascular risk factors, including age, race, smoking history, alcohol consumption, education, household income, marital status and certain markers of neighborhood socioeconomic status. Wellenius added that additional analyses “adjusted for body mass index, diabetes, physical activity and total cholesterol” and yielded comparable results.

Modern computing technology made conducting these large-scale analyses relatively easy, said Melissa Eliot, the data manager for the University’s Center for Environmental

» LAGOS, from page 1 integration —, governments must do a better job of being more representative and protecting consumers from monopolistic powers, Lagos said.

Lagos said he believes technology historically has played a major role in political progress, citing the domino effect created by Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press, which he argued led to the rise of democracy in the West.

Referencing the power of the young generation to bring democratic change, Lagos said “For the new generation, dictatorship is history.

Therefore they expect much more of democracy.” He cited Twitter and Facebook as examples of ways to distribute information quickly and effectively, explaining that technology has the potential to generate awareness and change in political institutions.

But Lagos also warned that political change should be gradual. “Look at Egypt — the transition was too quick and therefore, the military returned in a coup.”

Lagos said that a converging growth rate and the lessons learned

Health and Technology.

Despite the researchers’ adjusting their models to control for multiple variables, Michael Marmor, a professor of population health and environmental medicine at New York University’s School of Medicine, said the researchers’ results “may be affected by what is called ‘residual confounding.’”

For example, Marmor said, in real estate, location determines property value. It is possible that San Diego properties of slightly lower value may be located closer to major roadways, so people of lower socioeconomic status might live there. Looking at this factor, the results might not clearly show whether hypertension correlates with proximity to roadways or socioeconomic status.

“Socioeconomic status is especially important for this study, as socioeconomic status may be associated with obesity and general health status, and those, in turn, may be associated with high blood pressure,” Marmor said. “I question whether a statistical model like the one used by the investigators can adequately adjust away all possible confounding due to socioeconomic status.”

The researchers plan to broaden the scope of their study with future work. They plan on “looking at this at the national level to see if the effects of

living very near a major roadway are similar in other parts of the country,” Wellenius said.

Though the study provides insights about how roadways may impact health in postmenopausal women, other demographics have not yet been examined, Wellenius said.

“I think what you have to keep in mind is that this particular study was in postmenopausal women that were all 50 and older, so whether this is of concern to younger individuals or men of any age is really an open question,” he said. “Additional studies will be needed to clarify what other segments of the population are also at risk.”

But, Wellenius added, “I think there’s increasing evidence that the urban environment can have effects on your health, and whether that be from living near toxic wastes or living near roadways with their traffic,” adding that his study about traffic is only “a small piece” of the larger issue of how a city environment impacts the body.

People who live near major roadways and who are concerned about negative impacts on their health should “lower their baseline risk of hypertension” by exercising, maintaining a healthy diet and weight, listening to advice from doctors and not smoking, Wellenius said.

from the Great Recession place Latin America in a strong economic position moving forward.

“Because we have had a history of many financial crises, we have developed an improved financial system that was better able to better weather the most recent crisis,” Lagos said, adding that the importance of stronger government regulations have entered mainstream thinking post-2008.

Lagos argued that the region is on a trajectory toward a critical level of per capita gross domestic product.

Once countries reach this critical point, government policies promoting equitable income distribution will be necessary to continue to improve quality of life in the region, he added.

Latin American countries should follow the advice of a recent report by the International Development Bank, highlighting the role of the state in industrial policy. Countries should be “picking the winners” and supporting them, he said.

The decline in the ratio of Latin American to U.S. productivity since the 1970s, which has suffered a drop from 80 to 50 percent, is another

important factor to consider when evaluating Latin American growth, Lagos said. “Many people would argue it is because of red tape, poor education, poor infrastructure (and) lack of private sector competition.”

Creating trade agreements and integrating better with international partners outside Latin America could also facilitate the discussion over drugs and immigration, he said.

At the end of the lecture, Lagos named a host of social issues to be addressed in the future: public education and the role of government subsidies, the transformation of health from a right to a guarantee, the importance of environmentally-friendly planning and the political integration of minority cultures.

Circling back to his thesis, Lagos concluded with his perceptions of the “new world order.” Post-Cold War, there were ideas of a new order that now have been proven false given the rise of the Islamic State and annexation of Crimea, he said.

There is no world order today, Lagos added. “Where is the numberone today when it comes to national security?”

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2014

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MENU SATELLITE DINING JOSIAH’S Hummus Plate BLUE ROOM Mediterranean Pockets Soups: Hearty Country Vegetable, Tomato Florentine, Baked Potato Soup ANDREWS COMMONS Po’ Boy Sandwiches

DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH

DINNER

Polynesian Chicken Wings, Organic Red Rice with Papaya and Pineapple LUNCH

Baked Stuf fed Pollock, Knockwurst, Pretzel Rolls, German Bratwurst

VERNEY-WOOLLEY

Tacos, Vegan Roasted Veggie Burrito, Roasted Corn Chowder with Bacon

DINNER

Chicken with Sundried Tomato and Garlic Crust, Mashed Sweet and White Potatoes

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ZEIN KHLEIF / HERALD

Rep. David Cicilline ’83, D-R.I., who is running for a third term in Congress, returns to campus to speak with the Brown Democrats, the group he co-founded as an undergraduate, at their meeting Tuesday night.

COMICS Class Notes | Philip Trammell ’15

CROSSWORD

Mind Grapes | Willa Tracy ’17

CALENDAR TODAY 10 A.M. SOCIAL SCIENCES DATA FAIR

Find out how to take advantage of social sciences data and software tools available for research with training sessions from vendors such as the Roper Center and Oxford Economics. John D. Rockefeller Library 5 P.M. ISRAEL AND THE U.N.: A DISCUSSION

A brief student presentation will precede a discussion on how Israel relates to the United Nations and the progression of current Middle East events. J. Walter Wilson 303

TOMORROW 12 P.M. ETHICAL INQUIRY LUNCH: IS THE BEST LOVE UNCONDITIONAL?

The Philosophy DUG hosts an event to explore the validity of the concept of conditional love. Free Kabob and Curry will be provided. Wilson 101 7 P.M. ADVANCE SCREENING OF MEN, WOMEN, CHILDREN

The film, which will be shown before becoming available to public audiences, follows the Internet’s effect on the lives of high school teenagers and their parents. Avon Cinema

5:30 P.M. CRYSTAL PARIKH LECTURE

7:30 P.M. DESCEMER BUENO AND KELVIS OCHOA

In light of increased dialogue on the topic of human rights, New York University English Professor Crystal Parikh will discuss the perpetrator character prevalent in contemporary writing. 70 Brown St. 315

The Brown University Jazz Band will perform with awardwinning Cuban performer Bueno, who toured with Enrique Iglesias, and singer songwriter Ochoa. Granoff Center for the Creative Arts, Martinos Auditorium

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2014

EDITORIAL

What we should learn from Emma Watson’s U.N. campaign On July 8, Emma Watson ’14 was named a United Nations Women Goodwill Ambassador. While the first few months of her involvement with the program were tumultuous at best — she crashed the U.N. website and used Twitter to publicly denounce a sexist politician in Turkey — her recent speech at U. N. headquarters delivered a crucial message about international women’s rights.

Shared more than five million times, Watson’s speech went viral. Despite what many critics have claimed, this reaction stems from more than just her cultish fame and star appeal.

In her Sept. 20 speech, Watson officially launched the “He for She” campaign, the purpose of which is to create “a solidarity movement for gender equality that brings together one half of humanity in support of the other half of humanity.”

More bluntly, Watson said, “Women’s rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating.” Feminism has become an “unpopular” word that is stigmatized and associated with anger and aggression.

Undoubtedly, Watson’s speech makes harmful assumptions and overlooks many key factors of gender discrimination. For example, Watson’s premise that men simply need to be “invited” to care about feminism completely ignores the reality that many men may in fact be reluctant to join the movement, because they benefit from gender discrimination in an economic, political and social manner. Additionally, Watson’s assertion that men can also be discriminated against, while undeniably true, seems to necessitate using men’s suffering as a justification for addressing sexism. This insinuates that the women’s cause does not merit a universal movement on its own.

While Watson’s claims are easily deconstructed or dismissed by those who have studied the nuances of feminism, they are nonetheless an important departure from past U.N. Women campaigns. She serves as a much-needed critical voice against the gender discrimination that still pervades today’s world. Watson’s public denouncement of the stigma and stereotypes surrounding feminism signals a significant deviation from past U.N. Women’s Rights campaigns that have largely focused on the implementation of small-scale projects to aid women without any analysis of the need for feminism — an analysis that Watson, at the very least, attempts to bring to the forefront of global discussion.

Despite the obvious flaws in Watson’s argument, the sexual threats she received after her speech only further demonstrate the importance of her words. Watson is only one among many women who have been threatened by sexual terror over the last few years. Feminist writers, female journalists and other women acting in public spaces around the world face constant pressure to either alter their public behavior or face the threat of sexual violence. These incidents, and the larger pervasiveness of violence against women, show why we must listen to Watson, even though we may critize the nuances of her argument. Though Watson may still be refining her feminist arguments, if her “He for She” campaign is successful, it will do tremendous good for the global coalition fighting for women’s rights.

I VA N A L C A N TA R A

Q U O T E O F T H E D AY

“The proof is in the pudding.”

— Richard Locke, Director of the Watson Institute

See CONDUCT on page 1.

Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board: Natasha Bluth ’15, Alexander Kaplan ’15, Katherine Pollock ’16 and James Rattner ’15. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.

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commentary 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2014

The value of President Simmons’ voice ZACH INGBER OPINIONS COLUMNIST

The Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice is bursting onto the scene this semester, organizing various educational events and programs that have already reached wide audiences on campus.

In coordination with the University’s 250th celebration, the center has shed light on important themes surrounding the founding and development of this university since 1764.

In more recent years, these themes have been the subject of increasing debate, and that debate has in turn changed the perception of racial issues the University faces. Various lectures have connected race to discussions over the environment and federal grant money, while others, such as the Ferguson Teach-in, have tackled modern-day issues of race directly. But on Oct. 24, the center will have its biggest event to date: a grand opening and dedication, featuring a keynote address delivered by former President Ruth Simmons.

My goal here is not to editorialize on the significance of race in the University’s development but rather to consider the importance of Simmons’ return to campus as it relates to the topics of race and freedom of expression. It has been a few years since Simmons’ last hurrah, and it goes without saying that a lot has happened on campus — especially surrounding issues of race.

What is the role for a past presi-

dent on campus? Especially one who is extremely popular amongst students? As Simmons’ last batch of first years, the class of 2015, inches slowly toward graduation, will her mystical aura start to fade? This question is especially tricky to answer given the vastly contrasting styles and personalities of Presidents Simmons and Paxson. More than a year ago, I wrote a piece outlining the need for the Brown community to allow President Christina Paxson to impact our university without being

League president and the first female leader of Brown.

But after the events surrounding the Ray Kelly lecture last fall unfolded, I was disappointed with Simmons’ silence. Between the swastikas drawn on the event’s posters and the actual occurrences inside List 120 that day, I expected more from a past president whose legacy has very much centered on defending freedom of expression. In 2001, as a new president, Simmons delivered quite possibly the most inspiring

us, the path must remain passable, even when the dishonorable must pass upon it also.”

Where was this sentiment last fall?

If anybody in University history has the authority and legitimacy to weigh in on the Ray Kelly incident, it would be Ruth Simmons. But she was nowhere to be found — or heard. Her commitment to free inquiry has not faded — something evidenced by her commencement address last spring at Smith College, in which she harshly criticized the

If Simmons truly wants to have a lasting legacy at Brown, she must continue speaking up for the rights and freedoms she so admirably defended while in office. compared side-by-side with Simmons.

I still believe this whole-heartedly. But as we welcome Simmons back to campus, we must fully appreciate her legacy and her continued ability to impact this campus.

Simmons did great things for Brown. She expanded the faculty, created the Office of Institutional Diversity and physically connected parts of campus with various walkways and paths — something I believe to be hugely important to Brown’s contiguity and cohesiveness. Her hugs were magical and her prose poignant. Her words carried more weight than I could have imagined as a first-year listening to her convocation address. Importantly, she was an exceptional leader who broke down walls as the first African-American Ivy

speech I have ever come across. After a controversy surrounding an advertisement that ran in The Herald, which many believed contained unacceptable racial content, Simmons delivered a convocation address in which she affirmed the importance of the exchange of ideas, even when those ideas lead to discomfort.

“By entering this university, each of you has also become a guardian of free expression. Your task will be onerous, I’m sure, for you will be tempted many times in your life to close off the route to free expression because there will be brigands who are adept at using this path for nefarious purposes,” she said. “If we are to safeguard our current freedom and the means to restore that freedom when it is wrested from

segment of the Smith student body that forced International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde to back away from her commitment to speak at graduation. If Simmons truly wants to have a lasting legacy at Brown, she must continue speaking up for the rights and freedoms she so admirably defended while in office. Her guardianship of this right, to pull from her speech, did not end when she left her official post.

Right now, we need Simmons more than ever. As Ray Kelly is once again the talk of the town, demonstrated by Paxson’s recent report and Professor of Biology Ken Miller’s most recent column, Simmons has a unique opportunity to use her platform to uphold the freedom of expression she cherished while at the University. While I understand that she

may not want to infringe on Paxson’s administrative responsibilities, it remains true that her voice is valued and respected on this campus.

Coming to terms with the University’s deep connection to the slave trade is quite difficult for the many members of this community who idealize this university and everything that it offers.

That acknowledgement of responsibility is a crucial step for the University.

And so is a united front from two University leaders with regard to the need to keep open the path of free expression, for it is that path that allows better arguments to prevail and truth to be grappled with. Simmons knows better than anyone the value of facing these challenges head-on and handling the discomfort maturely in order to move forward.

After a quiet few years, I think it is time for Simmons to remind us how important it is to confront opinions that infuriate or challenge us. I think it is time for Simmons to echo these words from that timeless speech: “I won’t ask you to embrace someone who offends your humanity through the exercise of free speech. But I would ask you to understand that the price of your own freedom is permitting the expression of such opinions.” I cannot think of a better time to hear this sentiment than at the dedication of the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice.

Zachary Ingber ‘15 can be reached at zachary_ingber@brown.edu

Brown should divest from China BROWN UNIVERSITY FRIENDS OF HONG KONG GUEST COLUMNIST

This past week, tens of thousands of students in Hong Kong took to the streets to claim their fundamental right to suffrage. They were met with tear gas and billy clubs, as well as the passive assent of parts of the international community — including institutions like Brown — that benefit from investments in China. As China prepares to take broader control over governance of Hong Kong in 2017, it has shown its unwillingness to compromise with the city’s culture of democratic and liberal traditions, a violation of its obligations under Hong Kong basic law. As long as we, as a school, continue to invest in the regime in Beijing, we share responsibility for the further collapse of free institutions in Hong Kong. But with no prospects for democratic reform forthcoming, we demand that Brown divest itself of all investments benefiting the government of China. The students of the United States must refuse to play realpolitik with the lives and freedoms of a people demanding democratic self-determination.

Since the opening of China to direct Western investment in the 1970s, academic institutions within the United States have agreed to abide by a policy of appeasement and cooperation with the Communist Party leadership. This exchange has brought tangible benefits to both countries, but it has also come at the expense of a willingness among politicians and students to challenge the conditions the Communist Party imposes on its citizens. We should not be content with a policy that promises a dim light at the end of what could be a century-long tunnel, during which time more

than a billion people must live without basic freedoms, like access to the international community. After all, the struggle for democracy in Hong Kong is intimately linked to the decades of democratic agitation on the mainland.

We must not accept the Communist Party’s narrative, expressed famously in the 1993 Bangkok Declaration, that an individual’s civil and political rights — in particular its right to economic development — must be balanced against a country’s sovereignty. The idea that such balance is

— that the people of Hong Kong be able to exercise universal suffrage to select a leader from a group of candidates nominated by a committee that is “broadly representative” of the city at large.

As it stands, only candidates approved by the 1,200 person Election Committee, many of whom report directly to Beijing, will be able to stand for election. This system is a farce designed to limit the expression of dissent. As long as China is able to flout its obligations to the people of Hong Kong, there is no hope for reform on the mainland. We

The students of the United States must refuse to play realpolitik with the lives and freedoms of a people demanding democratic self-determination. needed affirms conservatives’ struggle against collective bargaining rights and a livable minimum wage. We must always reexamine what conditions people are being told to endure for the sake of national power and prestige. In the case of China, we are participating in a system that jails thousands of dissidents every year, and shrouds a billion more in a ‘Great Firewall’ designed to keep people in and information out. One of the world’s most repressive countries acts with impunity, and still nobody on our campuses or in our elected bodies is listening as students on the street shout, “They cannot kill us all.”

The goal of divestment is to pressure the Chinese government socially, economically and politically to reform its proposal for the election of Hong Kong’s leaders. We must ensure that China honors its promise enshrined in Hong Kong Basic Law — the foundational code of the current relationship between the mainland and Hong Kong

must use divestment to remind the Chinese leadership that we will not be silent just because our political leadership has decided on appeasement over confrontation. As long as there are tens and hundreds of thousands of protesters on the streets of Hong Kong, and millions more huddled in dormitories and chat rooms in China, we must stand in solidarity, as a university and as citizens of the world.

The people of Hong Kong deserve suffrage. If Brown were to condition its investment in China on this basic premise — that citizens of Hong Kong be able to elect a city leader — it would be a resounding and influential endorsement of today’s protesters and their long-term goals. Anything less would be a ratification of the status quo. Last week marked 25 years since Americans and people all over the world watched as the Chinese government massacred nearly 1,000 students in Tiananmen Square and around the country. Without a

serious international movement that can rally the necessary political and social leaders to decry this kind of bloodshed, the future for political dissidents in China, as well as in Hong Kong, appears bleak. Many Americans identify with the symbol of the Tank Man but forget that those tanks will return: to Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai or anywhere in China where state power is threatened.

To doubt this threat is to ignore history and gamble on the fate of Hong Kong.

Divestment from a country as massive and integrated into the global economy as China would certainly prove technically difficult for an institution like Brown. Do we divest only state-run or state–affiliated companies? Those companies that work intimately with the state? Or any organization based or operated in China? These are complicated questions, with significant resonance for how we approach other authoritarian countries around the world, but that does not mean we cannot or should not answer them. We believe that if Brown tackles these issues with its conscience, it will be impossible to avoid doing what is right. Divestment crippled a racist regime in South Africa, and now we must remind the Communist Party that in today’s world, oppression will only lead to isolation.

We must not commit ourselves to participate in a system that we find abhorrent. We should never compromise our most basic values for a short-term pay off. The people of Hong Kong are speaking, and we must echo their voices until they are loud enough to silence tyranny.

Brown University Friends of Hong Kong is drafting a petition. Email bufohk@gmail.com to respond or get involved.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2014

THE

BROWN DAILY HERALD

science & research

Blood pressure runs high near major roadways Study finds correlation between hypertension, proximity to areas with heavy traffic

By AMEER MALIK CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Postmenopausal women who live close to major roadways may suffer from high blood pressure more than do women in less-trafficked areas, according to the findings of a new study that included University faculty and a Brown graduate student among its many authors.

The study was published Oct. 1 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

“We found that women that lived within 100 meters of a major roadway were 23 percent more likely to have hypertension, compared to women who lived more than a kilometer away,” said Gregory Wellenius, an

associate professor of epidemiology and one of the authors of the study.

“There’s been conflicting results in the past regarding the built environment and cardiovascular health, (but) there’s been few studies that have specifically looked at distance to roadway and risk of hypertension,” he said.

The paper’s lead author, Kipruto Kirwa GS, added that this study was done in order to address this “gap in the literature.” Not many scientific studies have examined something “as simple as how far from a major road you reside,” he said. Kirwa said his work was motivated in part by his background as a Kenyan and his interest in examining “pollution and its effects on health both here and in developing countries.”

To conduct their analyses, researchers used data that had already been collected by the Women’s Health Initiative, a national prospective » See TRAFFIC, page 3

ALEXIA DELHOUME / HERALD

Findings from a new study indicate that the likelihood of hypertension for women who live near major highways is 23 percent higher than the likelihood for women who do not live near highways.