Tuesday, December 2, 2014

THE

BROWN DAILY HERALD vol. cxlix, no. 118

since 1891

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

Protest condemns police violence

Monday night march criticizes Ferguson shooting, student disappearances in Mexico

By CARI BONILLA CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Despite cold and rainy weather, more than 100 community members gathered Monday night at Burnside Park in downtown Providence to join a nationwide movement protesting police violence.

The event, advertised on Facebook as a “March Against Police Violence in Solidarity with Ferguson and Mexico,” aimed to protest the militarization of police and recent acts of violence by officers such as the fatal August shooting of teenager Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson in Missouri and the disappearance of 43 students at the Raúl Isidro Burgos Rural Teachers’ College of Ayotzinapa in Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico.

The organizer of the event, Rebecca McGoldrick ’12, executive director of the local nonprofit Protect Families First, reached out to Amy Espinal, a lifetime resident of Providence, to spread the word about the event.

They aimed to advertise the event to residents who were “thrown off by some of the aspects of last week’s demonstration,” when six people were » See MARCH, page 2

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RYAN WALSH / HERALD

Students lie in front of Sayles Hall in solidarity with victims of police brutality, including Michael Brown, the black teenager who was fatally shot by a police officer Aug. 9 in Ferguson, Missouri. Multiple black student groups helped organize events Monday in response to the national outcry.

Students protest Ferguson grand jury decision

By EMMA JERZYK SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Around 200 community members gathered on the Main Green Monday for a “die-in” protest in response to a grand jury’s decision last week not to indict police officer Darren Wilson, who shot and killed Michael Brown Aug. 9 in Ferguson,

Missouri. Alpha Phi Alpha, a historically black fraternity, also held a teach-in on the verdict later in the day.

The Black Board, an organization of black student group leaders, decided to respond to the decision not to indict Wilson, and Black Student Union President Jordan Ferguson ’17 said he brought up the idea of a die-in protest. The students

REVIEW

Powerful portrayals fail to solve ‘Theory of Everything’ Film focuses more on Hawking’s relationship than on his scientific accomplishments

By EBEN BLAKE STAFF WRITER

A former teacher of mine once declared — with appropriate grandiosity — “If God speaks to us at all, he does so in number.”

There’s something strangely appealing in his proclamation. Religious texts? Nonsense. Sworn recollections of miracles and visions? Insignificant.

A deep, unspoken and unapproachable

inside

ARTS & CUTLURE

intuition of something beyond the limits of our perception? Meaningless internal noise. But an ordered set of cosmological data? A numerical deconstruction of the world’s underlying circuitry or an equation that has the power to explain all of existence — well, then you might be getting close.

My teacher taught literature, not mathematics, but he grasped the enchanting power of numbers and, equally so, the people who can read into them.

This approach to James Marsh’s “The Theory of Everything” — ­ a romantic biopic about Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) and his first wife, Jane Wilde (Felicity Jones) — is also an attempt to explain the enduring appeal of films like it. The film is one of two » See THEORY, page 4

lay on the sidewalk and stairs in front of Sayles Hall from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. holding papers with the names, death dates and ages of victims of police brutality.

The group coordinated with the Black Ivy Coalition to time the protest to occur simultaneously with ones at Harvard, Penn and Yale. A protest also took place Monday at Stanford University.

“It’s certainly very moving,” said Evan Reese ’16, who passed the protest on his way to the Blue Room. “I think

that people are very correct in pointing out that we have a deeply racist justice system.”

Gwen Mugodi ’18, who participated in the protest, said, “The main problem isn’t that there’s police brutality. It’s the problems underlying it.”

“When police officers see young black men, they see them only as a danger to society,” she wrote in a follow-up email to The Herald. “After all this, people still » See DIE-IN, page 3

Mayor-elect forum tackles education, budget Citizens bring up power lines, education, tax cuts, affordable housing in Jorge Elorza’s forum

By ELAINA WANG STAFF WRITER

Mayor-elect Jorge Elorza sat on stage with crossed legs for just under two hours at the One Providence Listening Forum Monday at Nathan Bishop Middle School, taking note of Providence residents’ concerns on a range of topics including education, public safety, housing and transportation.

Joining Elorza on stage for the last in the four-part listening forum series — in which residents, rather than Elorza, spoke — were two of his three transition committee co-chairs: Lisa

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Ranglin and Victor Capellan. With 230 community members in attendance, this forum was the most well-attended of all the events, Elorza said.

Mary Frappier, a Highlands resident, raised the issue of burying the power lines on the Providence-East Providence waterfront. National Grid has estimated the project to cost $33.9 million, with just $18 million raised in the last decade, according to a Nov. 24 op-ed by former R.I. Attorney General Patrick Lynch in the Providence Journal.

At community meetings about the power lines, National Grid representatives are “very polite, they’re very well-dressed, they promise to do something,” but nothing ends up happening, Frappier said. “I would like the mayor to put a fire under them.”

Residents at the forum also voiced several concerns about the public education system. Many residents asked

Commentary

R.I. flu vaccination rates are already much higher than national rates going into flu vaccine week

Completion of Kennedy Plaza construction will introduce new, streamlined transport system

Huidekoper: U. strives to be competitive, fair and equitable employer

Papalia ’13: Young alums are angry about the University’s sexual assault policy

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weather

Black student groups organize teach-in, protest against decision not to indict Darren Wilson

for pre-kindergarten education opportunities on the East Side. After the Providence Public School Department shut down the last pre-kindergarten program on the East Side in April, children there had to be bused to the West Side of Providence to attend pre-K programs, one resident said.

“You are all paying for that,” she said, pointing to the crowd. “You’re paying to bus my child across town.”

The issue is related to “brain drain,” a phenomenon in which young people leave a city in search of opportunities elsewhere. Part of the reason people move away from Providence is because of the bureaucracy surrounding the city’s public education system, the same resident said.

Jonathan Howard, a 30-year-old Providence resident and nonprofit consultant, advocated for a city program that would bring nonprofit groups » See ELORZA, page 2 t o d ay

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

» MARCH, from page 1 arrested after protestors forced officials to temporarily close off Route 95 North, Espinal said.

“We meant to have something that was more peaceful, so that those who did have an issue with certain aspects of (last week’s demonstration) would perhaps listen and understand our grievances,” Espinal said.

Espinal said she believes the protest would have unfolded differently had protesters worked with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Urban League and Drug Abuse Resistance Education beforehand.

Espinal called on the organizations to provide “constructive criticism” of inexperienced protestors, she said.

Police officers patrolled along the protesters’ paths and guided oncoming traffic during Monday’s march, which covered a little under a mile and ended at the Statehouse with no one harmed or arrested.

“Like my mother says, you get more with honey than with vinegar, so this is my attempt at that,” Espinal said.

Reuters reported Nov. 26 that more than 400 people have been arrested at similar protests around the nation. The protests in Ferguson were reported to have included looting and arson, which led Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon to deploy 2,200 National Guard troops to surround the area.

Though Maya Finoh ’17 does not support the violent acts that may occur during protests, she said she believes they are “manifestations of frustrations of black people” that should be heard.

“Since the onset of this country,

JOSE ROCHA / HERALD

Protesters took to the streets Monday to condemn the militarization of U.S. police forces and what they called Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto’s corrupt government in the aftermath of the disappearance of 43 Mexican students in September. black people have been labeled as three-fifths of a person,” Finoh said.

“Black people for the past 400 years have been systematically oppressed, and we’re more worried about black people expressing the pain and policing that pain than the greater system of racism.”

Finoh said people should worry less about these “manifestations of frustrations.” Instead, “let’s worry about mass incarceration, let’s worry about police brutality, let’s worry about how every 28 hours an unarmed black person is murdered by the police.”

Julio Aragon, president of the Mexican-American Association of

Rhode Island and the Cesar Chavez Committee of Rhode Island, marched in solidarity with the families of the 43 Mexican students who went missing at the beginning of September and their families to “send a message to the Mexican government to end brutality,” he said.

Aragon joined in criticizing Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto for waiting too long to comment and act on the disappearances.

“He needs to make a lot of changes inside his government because the corruption is really too much,” Aragon said.

Protesters in Mexico have signed petitions calling for Peña Nieto’s resignation, but Aragon believes a resignation would only cause more turmoil and Mexicans “aren’t ready for that,” he said.

Aragon said the police brutality in Ferguson was “the same but on a different level” than that in Mexico, he said. “On both sides they kill people.”

“At least here we have real legal representation. In Mexico, we are forgotten,” Aragon added.

Providence resident Jared Paul sported a “#FilmThePolice” t-shirt at Monday’s protest. He marched for both causes because of what he believes to

be an “epidemic of folks of color being stopped, frisked, detained, harassed, beaten, maimed, jailed, imprisoned, tortured and killed by police,” he said.

“There is an inherent and systemic racism that most white people aren’t even aware exists,” Paul said.

Paul attributed the power of recent movements to social media, which “has been dominating and democratizing the news, so the world is getting more reminders” of these incidents, he said.

“I want to impress upon people that it’s not enough for white people to not be racist,” Paul said. “You have to be actively anti-racist.”

» ELORZA, from page 1 together to support each other. He also said that social accounting — increased transparency of the city’s financial relationships — should be imposed on the University to justify the “millions of dollars” it enjoys in tax privileges as a nonprofit organization.

Residents raised other issues including streamlining public transportation for commuters and people with disabilities, increasing transparency in City Hall, keeping youth actively involved in the community and making the city more business-friendly.

Several groups used the forum as an opportunity to bring attention to their organizations’ causes.

Raymond Watson, executive director of the Mount Hope Neighborhood Association, asked that more people from the East Side — the community with “the most resources” — give the Mount Hope neighborhood not a “hand out,” but a “hand up.”

A spokesperson for the advocacy group Direct Action for Rights and Equality raised the issue of housing availability for low-income people.

“The word ‘affordable’ is always thrown around, but affordable to whom?” the representative asked.

Audience members expressed satisfaction overall with the listening forum.

ELAINA WANG / HERALD

Mayor-elect Jorge Elorza listened to citizens’ concerns Monday at Nathan Bishop Middle School during the last of four listening forums, in which city residents had the opportunity to raise issues with Elorza prior to the start of his tenure.

The forum “was excellent,” Frappier said. “You got to hear other people’s concerns.”

At the foot of the stage, a woman took notes on each resident’s concerns on a large notepad for audience

members to see throughout the event.

“I think the fact that they were taking notes — listening and not speaking

— really showed a lot of respect for the citizens,” Howard said. “It’s unusual in a political gathering.”

Got something to say? Leave a comment online!

Visit www.browndailyherald.com to comment on opinion and editorial content.

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

Spread of influenza activity, Nov. 15-22 In the week ending Nov. 22, Rhode Island and Virginia were the only states to report no influenza activity. All U.S. regions except the Pacific Coast reported more than sporadic activity in at least one state. In Alaska and Louisiana, activity was widespread.

WIDESPREAD REGIONAL LOCAL SPORADIC NO ACTIVITY

TODAY IN UNIVERSIT Y HISTORY

BY C AMILLA BR ANDFIELD-HAR VE Y, SENIOR STAFF WRITER

1898 A student athlete penned a column concerning “the great growth of interest” in football since its inauguration in the United States.

As of the close of the 1897 football season, between 25,000 and 30,000 people played football in the country, the student wrote. He added that the growing number of players served as “proof of the universal interest in a noble game” and that “football is not confined to college and school circles, but is becoming a game of the people.”

Finally, the sport’s growth is an “unanswerable argument for those to refute” who consistently criticize “the gridiron as a scene of physical injuries,” he wrote.

1960

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention AVERY CRITS-CHRISTOPH / HERALD

State gears up for flu vaccine week Rhode Island boasts high influenza vaccination rate due to sustained free vaccination efforts

By KATE TALERICO STAFF WRITER

Fevers, runny noses, body aches, coughing classmates — these are all signs of the flu season descending on the country. In Rhode Island, health officials are taking measures to provide last-minute vaccinations. As of the latest update from the state Nov. 22, there was no reported influenza activity in Rhode Island.

To gear up for the flu season, which usually strikes mid-December, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will promote its annual National Influenza Vaccination Week Dec. 7 to Dec. 13, a campaign to raise flu awareness and encourage vaccination nationwide. Though RIDOH will not host any special event as part of the vaccination week, it will maintain its continuous vaccination efforts, said James McDonald, the department’s chief administrative officer.

RIDOH has hosted free flu vaccine clinics throughout the state since Nov. 15, and the department will continue to run the clinics throughout the 2015 season as it continues to add more clinic sites, McDonald said.

The clinics will be set up in

» DIE-IN, from page 1 say this isn’t about race, and yet there are many ways in which race overtly and subconsciously shapes our lives.”

“Race matters just as much as it did 50 years ago, maybe even more, because people aren’t willing to talk about it,” she said.

“We shouldn’t only know about the Trayvon Martins and Michael Browns,” Ferguson said, encouraging those who participated in the protest to search the names on the signs they held. “They all have powerful stories, and these aren’t isolated incidents.”

Students will also recognize racial injustices with a day of silence today.

schools throughout Rhode Island communities. Vaccines are free and available even to those without health insurance, McDonald said.

“Last year we gave over half a million flu vaccines,” McDonald said.

“We’re on pace to do the same this year.”

Fifty-seven percent of Rhode Islanders were vaccinated against the flu in the 2013-14 season, which is higher than the national average of 46.2 percent, according to the CDC. McDonald said RIDOH would “prefer that 90 percent of people get the vaccine in order to achieve herd immunity” — a situation in which enough of the population acquires immunity so the disease cannot spread throughout the state. He added that there is a sufficient supply of flu vaccine available.

“Last year, 33 people died from the flu in Rhode Island. There were more hospitalizations than that, mostly people who are elderly,” McDonald said, adding that the vaccine is essential to prevent hospitalizations or death.

“The group of people less likely to get vaccinated are those aged 25 to 49,” McDonald said, adding that over 80 percent of children get vaccinated annually.

“We can’t predict how serious it’s going to be,” said McDonald of this season’s strain of flu.

Vaccines work by stimulating B

cells, which produce antibodies, said Amanda Jamieson, assistant professor of molecular microbiology and immunology. These antibodies recognize the virus, neutralize it and later “help the body react to the virus quicker” when they detect it in the body, she said.

“The surface of the virus is controlled by genes which mutate every year,” said Professor Emeritus of Immunology Paul Knopf, adding that some of these mutations make the proteins change to a point where the immune system can no longer recognize or fight off the virus.

Scientists must make “an educated guess as to which vaccine to use for the new season,” Knopf said. They look for the strain that appeared late in the previous season, which is a precursor of the virus likely to appear in the next season.

Jamieson said that while some people claim they get the flu even after receiving a vaccine, what they catch is usually not the true influenza virus. “‘Flu’ is a common term,” she said.

“Most people don’t recognize the difference between a cold and influenza.

The stomach flu, also, is not actually the flu.”

The CDC estimates that flu vaccines prevented 13.6 million flu cases, 5.8 million medical visits and nearly 113,000 flu-related hospitalizations in the United States from 2005 to 2011.

Ferguson said he invites participating students to identify themselves by wearing all black. He said he is sending an email to administrators so they can inform faculty members of students’ decisions to be silent.

Around 30 students attended the teach-in and discussed the backgrounds of both Wilson and the case’s prosecutor, Robert McCulloch, as well as the evidence surrounding the Aug. 9 shooting that was presented to the grand jury.

While the fraternity originally planned after the verdict was announced to hold a forum on another topic as a part of its “Alpha week,” fraternity alums convinced members to hold an open, campus-wide discussion about it, said

Godwin Tsado ’16, a frat brother who spoke at the teach-in.

“This is something so important to document, especially because we’re a historically black fraternity whose goal is to raise up young black men,” he said.

The grand jury’s decision not to indict Wilson elicited protests across the country. A group called End Police Brutality PVD organized a march of about 400 people Nov. 25 protesting the verdict, WPRI reported. Many protesters climbed over a fence and ran onto highway I-95 near Exit 20. Five were arrested for disorderly conduct and held overnight at the state police department’s Lincoln barracks, WPRI reported. The five suspects faced charges in court Nov. 26.

At an engineering colloquium, John Pierce of Bell Telephone Laboratories claimed that communication via satellite could not replace ground transmission, at least not until the cost of launching and maintaining a satellite could be reduced, The Herald reported at the time. Pierce, who worked with NASA on Echo I — a communications satellite launched into orbit in 1960 — said he could envision a system of 30 satellites located between large cities around the world that “would enable telephone and television communication.” Pierce added that NASA was continuing to consider “sturdier” materials for the satellite and to experiment with higher and lower altitude systems with varying effects of radiation.

1986 Vice President for Computing and Information Services Brian Hawkins proposed a three-year plan to update the University’s mainframe computing system, which, at its then current capacity, would “be unable to meet student and administrative computer needs” by the end of the subsequent year, The Herald reported at the time. Hawkins presented four reasons for a system overhaul: the University’s operating system was inadequate; its mainframe computer IBM 3801 had reached its capacity; large administrative programs could be completed only early in the morning, since the system was inefficient and unreliable; and the University should purchase new hardware in planning to move to the Center for Information and Technology in 1988. Hawkins added that though students owned personal Macintosh computers, they still wanted to use University computing services. “You give people a taste of something and they want more,” he said.

4 arts & culture » THEORY, from page 1 this season to explore British geniuses in the middle of the 20th century.

Redmayne might find a companion in Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays Alan Turing in “The Imitation Game.”

And with Michael Caine’s enigmatic scientist in “Interstellar,” it seems brilliant Brits with esoteric equations and troubled personal lives are having their cultural moment.

“The Theory of Everything” follows Hawking’s life, starting when he first meets and falls in love with Wilde as a graduate student at the University of

Cambridge. This comes shortly before he is diagnosed with an Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis-related motor neuron disease and is told he has a life expectancy of two years. It ends when he meets the queen, shortly after his divorce from Wilde after 25 years of marriage. Along the way, he ponders black holes and space-time, searching for the Maltese Falcon of the film’s title — the theory that would bridge the chaotic world of quantum mechanics with general relativity.

Considering the imaginative nature of Hawking’s theories, “The Theory of Everything” seems too grounded in

the traditional arcs of a biographical film, content to play through his life’s greatest hits while exploring little else.

Though enjoyable and certainly inspiring in an intentionally mundane way, the film remains fairly conventional.

For a movie about a man famous for making theoretical physics accessible in his popular science book “A Brief History of Time,” it is a shame that the film does not attempt to depict or elucidate any of his cosmological concepts and remains content to let old white men in tweed tell of his genius rather than showing it firsthand.

“The Theory of Everything” reaches

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

its best when it commits to its most basic story: the relationship between two people as one physically deteriorates.

Jones and Redmayne carry the movie, depicting the affection and despair between a couple thrown into tragedy.

While Redmayne’s portrayal of a body in decline will receive its well-deserved praise — he captures the terrible pathos of a man struggling through every motion — Jones’s nuanced performance gives the film its spirit. Her role may include several clunky lines, but she manages to turn what could have been a one-dimensional representation of a supportive spouse into a complex

portrayal of duty, love and disappointment.

One of Hawking’s most famous theories centers on the idea of multiple universes — that the uncertainty of quantum mechanics creates separate realities. Anything that is possible, he supposes, becomes realized in some form. Perhaps somewhere, in some alternate universe, Stephen Hawking’s life has been represented fully, portraying the genius of the man, the tragedy of his life and the philosophical implications of his marriage. Somewhere ­­­— but unfortunately not in “The Theory of Everything.”

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

menu

social democracy?

SATELLITE DINING JOSIAH’S Gourmet Grilled Cheese BLUE ROOM Mango Chicken Curry with Seasonal Vegetables, Cauliflower and Potatoes Makhani Soups: Organic Butternut Squash, Turkey, Sausage and Kale, Three Bean Chili ANDREWS COMMONS Pasta: Meatball, Mac and Cheese

DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH DINNER Hot Turkey Sandwich, Potatoes Chicken Curry, Vegan Chana Italienne, Vegetarian Cajun Masala, Grilled Lemon and Pasta, Cream Cheese Brownies Pepper Chicken, Carrot Cake VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH DINNER Chicken Sandwich, Vegetarian Roast Turkey, Bread Stuffing, Pot Pie with Biscuits, Wax Beans, Mashed Potatoes, Green Peas, Cream Cheese Brownies Roasted Beets, Carrot Cake

sudoku

RYAN WALSH / HERALD

At a Joukowsky Forum event Monday, panelists ponder the question, “Is European Social Democracy Dead?”

The panel featured Robert Kuttner, Peter Gourevitch, Sigris Quack and Mark Blyth.

comic P-Branes and Bosons | Ricky Oliver ’17

RELEASE DATE– Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle c rNorris o s sandwJoyce o rNichols d Lewis Edited by Rich ACROSS 1 Netherlands export 5 “500” initials on Wall Street 10 Important time periods 14 Outfielder Crisp nicknamed for a cereal box character 15 Acting award 16 Night in Nantes 17 Modest abode 19 Armory supply 20 Galena or hematite 21 Currier’s partner 22 One in a congregation 24 Winnebago owner, briefly 25 Defendant in a defamation case 26 More orderly 29 Weak 30 Grads 31 Tusked porcine animals 32 Spot for rest and relaxation 35 Gimlet fruit 36 Urge forward 37 Help to withdraw 38 Neighbor of Isr. 39 Attorney general under Reagan 40 Map out 41 Seize, as a chance 43 Grab greedily 44 __ City: Oz locale 46 Tiny energy source 47 Title for Bovary and Butterfly 48 Landed 49 ROTC school near D.C. 52 Good buds 53 Windblown desert plant 56 To be, to Bizet 57 Prop for Picasso 58 Inland Asian sea 59 Like Easter eggs 60 Gin berries 61 Lock maker

DOWN 1 Reverberate 2 Sullen 3 Top 4 Unruly group 5 In any way 6 Peter of Peter and Gordon 7 Cpls. and sgts.

8 Aswan or Hoover 9 Opening night showing 10 Tooth cover 11 Folding feature of an old roadster 12 Actress Anouk 13 Put away for the future 18 Exists 23 Recedes to the sea 24 Hoarfrost 25 Sailor’s time off 26 Hard to believe, as a story 27 Nastase of tennis 28 Hogwarts headmaster 29 Force unfairly (on) 31 Naan, for example 33 Jardin du Luxembourg, par exemple

34 Lit. collection 36 Seriously reduces 37 “Kapow!” cousin 39 Respectful address 40 100 bucks 42 Wiped off the board 43 Motion picture frames 44 Fix firmly

45 Title role that won Borgnine a 15Across 46 “Tiny Alice” dramatist Edward 48 “Are not” retort 49 Wang known for wedding gowns 50 Supper, e.g.

51 Out of a job 54 Delta rival: Abbr.

55 Method

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

calendar TODAY 2:30 P.M. POETRY READING

Poet Sandra Doller, famous for her poems “Oriflamme” and “Leave Your Body Behind,” will read a selection of her poetry as part of the Writers on Writing Reading Series.

McCormack Family Theater, 70 Brown St.

Gaelle Desbordes, an instructor in radiology at Harvard Medical School and researcher at the Center for Biomedical Imaging at the Massachusetts General Hospital, will discuss “perspectives from affective science and brain imaging.”

Smith-Buonanno 106

Brown/RISD Hillel’s Social Committee will host a night of fun for students looking to find new friends or partners.

Petteruti Lounge, Stephen Robert ’62 Center

By Bernice Gordon ©2014 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

12/02/14

12/02/14

4 P.M. LECTURE: ‘ON GAINS AND LOSSES, MEANS AND ENDS’

Alexandra Freund, professor of psychology at the University of Zurich, will speak about motivational changes across adulthood. This lecture will be part of the Michael S. Goodman ’74 Memorial Lecture Series. Metcalf Auditorium

5:30 P.M. COMPASSION MEDITATION

8:45 P.M. SPEED DATING AND FRIEND FINDING

xwordeditor@aol.com

TOMORROW

7 P.M. CLASS BOARD HOLIDAY PARTY

Each class will help in festivities including hot chocolate, card decorating and more. The Underground, Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center 7:30 P.M. GHANAIAN MUSIC CONCERT

The Ghanaian drumming and dancing ensembles will perform with a guest appearance from dancer Kwabena Boateng. Grant Recital Hall

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

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

EDITORIAL

Embrace Sex Week The new and improved Sex Week is slated for mid-March — you should get involved.

The Sexual Health Education Empowerment Council and its co-chairs — Anna Hendrickson ’16, Alexandra Sepolen ’16 and Lytisha Wyatt ’15 — have been working hard to plan and promote 2015’s Sex Week.

SHEEC, created by Brown students six years ago, seeks to empower and promote healthy sexual experiences in all walks of life. The slogan for next year is “Will you DV8 from the norm for Sex Week 2015?” “DV8 isn’t linked to one type of difference. Our hope is that people feel their differences are celebrated,” Sepolen explained, with an ironclad emphasis on respect and acceptance.

Creating an honest platform for discussing sex is notoriously difficult.

Yet for the past five years, Sex Week has succeeded in building many spaces in which students feel comfortable — such as Strong Sexy Words, a sex poetry and music event, and the Masculinity Panel, a talk in which male students answered questions about their masculinity.

There are still many surprises to be unveiled, but we are most excited about Late Night Confidential, a series of informal student-facilitated discussions with stringent requirements of respect and confidentiality. The topics of the talks will be chosen by students and will include asexuality, abstinence, race, LGTBQ issues, politics, sexual practices, role play and more.

Each talk will be, in Sepolen’s words, a “space for individuals who have had different experiences, from different communities to tell their stories.” Confidentiality and respect are essential. “It’s about them being supported and heard,” she said. It’s as important to understand as it is to be understood.

Opportunities to share experiences in this sphere remind us that sex ought not be a source of shame. And in sharing narratives of one’s sexual life, we see that “narratives change and develop over time,” Sepolen said.

“Sex Week highlights that sex interests change, that it’s okay to have boundaries, okay to explore their boundaries when we talk about sexual narratives, and that we need active, enthusiastic and overt consent.”

We agree. As long as there is clear consent between individuals and no violence — that is, physical or emotional harm — every sexual practice is normal. It’s great. Go right ahead. That’s a Sex Week that everybody deserves to have.

For Sex Week to address and represent our concerns, to coax us toward truly healthy sex, sexual practices and relationships, students must actively participate. “Sexuality is a conversation that crosses all different identities. It’s important to have the community see that sexual behavior is being done by a human person,” Sepolen said. As such, we recommend that all who are interested or have a story to share go onto bit.do/SHEEC and click on the “apply now” tab on the main page.

Whether as a facilitator or as a participant, we hope everyone will participate in Sex Week. Know that you will need to be respectful and attentive, but go in receptive, and it may surprise you. You might find some relief, acceptance and affirmation. You might even find something you like.

“We shouldn’t only know about the Trayvon Martins and Michael Browns.”

— Jordan Ferguson ’17, president of the Black Student Union

See die-in on page 1.

Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board: its editors, Alexander Kaplan ’15 and James Rattner ’15, and its members, Natasha Bluth ’15, Manuel Contreras ’16, Baxter DiFabrizio ’15, Manuel MontiNussbaum ’15, Katherine Pollock ’16 and Himani Sood ’15. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

Perspectives on library union negotiations ELIZABETH HUIDEKOPER guest columnist

The Brown community of students, faculty members and staff members is unique in its commitment to advancing fair, supportive and just treatment for all. It is this quality that has inspired interest in the current negotiations taking place between the University and the library union. The interest and concern are appreciated and important, and it is in this spirit that I am providing some context and information.

People are central to every aspect of Brown’s mission. Therefore, we seek to attract and retain talented faculty members, students and staff members to engage in teaching, research and service at the highest level. For our students, this requires exceptional academic and campus life experiences, a safe and supportive environment and substantial financial support. For faculty and staff, it means providing competitive salaries and benefits, facilities and resources to support changing needs in the advancement of education and knowledge creation and offering opportunities for skill development and professional growth. With close to 4,000 employees and 8,500 students at Brown, we are always assessing our policies and practices to ensure that we are being fair, equitable and current, while at the same time being sensitive to the fact that most of our expenses are covered by students and their families.

The role of Brown’s library is to support the University’s educational and research mission. It serves as the local repository for and the principal gateway to current information and the scholarly record. It serves as a collection, connection and classroom, primarily for the University’s current and future students and faculty members, and it serves other colleagues in the University community and our regional, national and global communities of

gotiation resulting in some significant — but not enough — progress, both parties agreed to invite in a mediator to help find common ground. The mediator has been at work for a few weeks.

During this period, information about the issues being discussed in these negotiations — including compensation, like salaries and benefits, as well as union positions, training and respect — has been distributed around the community and requires clarification.

ongoing training and staffing needs.

We have been discussing an increase in health care premium contributions, which are now at 12 percent. Comparably paid non-union employees at Brown contribute 15 percent for individual plans and almost 20 percent for family plans.

One area of interest is the actual number of union positions. Over the last 10 years, there has been a decline in both union and non-union library

We absolutely do value our union employees and seek to provide an environment that supports ongoing growth and professional development. learning and scholarship. It operates through providing access to books, databases, e-journals, e-catalogues, remote storage, space and technology and — most importantly — through its people. The way in which the library achieves its mission is constantly evolving, as illustrated in the Brown video on the 21st-century library that I encourage viewing.

There are 123 staff positions in the library. Of those, 61 are union and 62 are non-union. All provide valuable support to the Brown community. We are currently negotiating with the library union to extend the most recent contract, which expired Sept. 30, with some changes to both parties’ address concerns and the University’s academic needs.

After more than two months of ne-

As noted above, across the board, we seek to be competitive in the marketplace as well as fair and equitable.

The library union has six levels of workers. For each level, the average salary of the Brown library union employee is above the average of the Ivy Plus peer group and significantly above regularly surveyed nationwide college-level peer groups.

To be fair and equitable to all other campus employees, we are trying to balance union contract increases with how we are positioned in the marketplace among library workers and with all other employee groups at Brown.

In terms of benefits, we have already agreed to enhanced professional development, access to the childcare subsidy program and the establishment of a labor management committee to discuss

staff positions. It is noteworthy that over the same period, the total number of union positions in public safety, facilities and dining has increased. These shifts reflect a changing environment and evolving needs. The decline in library positions is largely a reflection of the changing nature of library materials and their use. Since 2007, book circulation has dropped by 30 percent, resulting in less shelving, lending and transactional work. Over the same period, access to electronic collections, journals and search tools has exploded, requiring different skills to respond to changing user needs. University libraries everywhere are changing the way they work in response to the evolving information landscape.

We know that this pace and type of change will continue, and Brown will

need the flexibility and capacity to respond. The union has asked Brown to commit to having no fewer than the current number of union positions into the future. It would be irresponsible for the University to lock in any number of any type of positions anywhere on campus given the dynamic environment. Moreover, such a quota of positions is a prerequisite not held by any other part of the Brown workforce — not by faculty members, administrators, Brown’s other unions nor the general non-unionized staff.

Most troubling has been the inference that the University does not value our union employees. We absolutely do value our union employees and seek to provide an environment that supports ongoing growth and professional development. In this negotiation, in addition to ensuring fair and equitable compensation, we have committed to establishing a labor management committee to provide more training and development opportunities.

Brown is dedicated to being an employer of choice, offering the compensation and environment that are attractive and supportive and advance our mission as an exceptional institution of teaching and research. We hope to reach a resolution with the library union soon in a manner that is consistent with our values of being balanced, fair and respectful.

Beppie Huidekoper is the executive vice president for finance and administration.

An open letter to President Paxson: Young alums are angry JESSIE PAPALIA guest columnist

President Paxson, I am writing to you on behalf of young alums. I am not speaking for all young alums, but for the many recent graduates from the classes of 2012, 2013 and 2014 whom I know well and speak to frequently. We are angry. We take the issue of campus sexual assault seriously. Lena Sclove’s ’16 case last spring brought to light a highly dysfunctional university bureaucracy that gives perpetrators who are found guilty of sexual assault dangerously limited repercussions for their crimes. Women’s safety on Brown’s campus is not improving.

On my first day of pre-orientation at Brown, I was warned about sexual assault on campus.

A sophomore advised me to avoid Phi Kappa Psi parties because “they’re known for roofieing girls’ drinks.” Several of my friends from the class of 2013 were given the same advice by other Brown women. In a recent Herald article (“Undergrad sexual assault forum draws few attendees,” Nov. 12, 2014), a current Brown senior stated that, as first-years, her friends were also informed of which fraternities on campus use date-rape drugs. Six weeks ago, two female Brown students reported that they had been roofied at a Phi Psi party. One of those students tested positive for GHB, a common date-rape drug, and a test for the other student is still pending. One of these two students reported that she was sexually assaulted on the same night. Five years have passed, and yet women remain unsafe in the same campus spaces as when I began my time at Brown.

Has nothing changed since 1990, when Brown women had to write the names of known rapists on bathroom stalls to protect one another? It is

outrageous that women must pass on knowledge by word of mouth in order to know where they can safely have a drink on campus without fear of being roofied and sexually assaulted. Beyond that, it is completely unacceptable that there are any places on Brown’s campus where women cannot safely have a drink.

Last month, I attended a Brown Women’s Leadership Council event, where a panel of successful and influential Brown alums who graduated in the 1970s spoke to an audience predominantly composed of two groups: young alums in their 20s and early 30s and older alums in their 50s and 60s. During the question-and-answer session, a young alumna asked the panelists about their thoughts on the issue of campus sexual assault. One of the first responses to this question was from a panelist who said, “There was no rape at Brown in the ’70s. That just didn’t happen.”

Nods of agreement came from other older alums.

Older alums cited “alcoholism” and “more women having sexual intercourse in college” as possible causes for sexual assault on campus.

Shockingly, one panelist even stated that the rate of campus sexual assault made her wonder, “Were parietal rules really such a bad thing?” She then explained that parietal rules were residential regulations that existed at Pembroke College to “protect” women — for example, prohibiting men from female dorms after 9 p.m. and mandating that women’s doors be open “a matchbox wide” whenever there was a male visitor in the room.

At a certain point, a member of the WLC stepped in to say that you, President Paxson, are very concerned about the issue of sexual assault and have asked the WLC to advise you on this issue. She concluded by asking the audience to take a moment to acknowledge Brown for not being under federal investigation under Title IX over the University’s handling of sexual assault. As you know, she was incorrect: Brown was added to the

list of universities under federal investigation for possible Title IX violations in July.

These comments sparked impassioned responses from young alums in the room and prompted a heated discussion. Many older alums seemed completely uninformed about the critical nature of the issue of sexual assault on college campuses. Even some members of the WLC seemed uninformed about sexual assault occurring on our campus. Considering that more than 50 of the 59 members of the Women’s Leadership Council graduated from Brown more than 20 years ago and no members graduated within the last 10, it is not surprising that some of them are disconnected from the reality of women’s lives on our campus today. These prominent alumni voices do not speak for all of us. Young alums feel differently about this issue than many alums who graduated decades ago, and our voices should be heard as well.

There is far too much at stake to allow people who may be uninformed about sexual assault and campus life to advise on how to address sexual assault at Brown. In order for the University not only to fulfill the minimum federal Title IX requirements but also to serve as a leader among American universities in addressing the sexual assault epidemic, you must hear the voices of people who understand the reality of campus life for Brown women today. Those people include current students and young alums, none of whom serve on the WLC. It is true that a few members of the Task Force on Sexual Assault are current students. But in a recent Herald article (“U. delays sexual assault task force report, Title IX compliance,” Nov. 4, 2014), a student member of the task force expressed frustration at the limited baseline knowledge held by faculty and staff members who had to be educated on current policy and procedures and student sentiment about sexual assault after being selected to serve on the task force. The

student asserted that this ignorance has slowed the task force’s process, which has resulted in the delay of the release of its report by three months until March. Statistically speaking, numerous sexual assaults will occur on our campus during that three-month period and no changes will have been made to our University’s responses to such assaults. Continued inaction on this issue has dire consequences: affecting students’ lives.

President Paxson, I am writing to inform you that young alums are angry and ashamed. We are ashamed that Brown is under federal investigation under Title IX over our university’s handling of sexual assault. We are ashamed that a perpetrator on our campus was found responsible for sexual misconduct and received a one-year suspension in Sclove’s case. We are ashamed that two women were apparently roofied at a fraternity party on our campus just six weeks ago and one reported being sexually assaulted. We believe that Brown is better than this.

Brown can be a leader in addressing sexual assault among universities in this country. We expect no more delays to the task force’s report. We expect that the University will take the maximum steps possible in response to the task force’s recommendations not just the minimum necessary to meet federal requirements. We expect that all of the people informing your decisions and advising you on this issue understand the reality of sexual assault on campus today and include experts in the field.

There is too much at stake for inaction or uninformed action. Act swiftly and appropriately.

Hear our voices, and take immediate steps to address this issue.

Jessie Papalia ’13 is a teacher in Washington, D.C. and can be contacted at jessica_papalia@alums.brown.edu.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2014

THE

BROWN DAILY HERALD university news Paxson’s online office hours to commence in spring UCS Facebook page will facilitate half-hour virtual chat sessions with Paxson every few weeks

By ALEKSANDRA LIFSHITS STAFF WRITER

In an effort to increase interaction between students and the administration, President Christina Paxson is preparing to hold virtual office hours next semester. The virtual access will provide an additional opportunity for “students to engage with President Paxson using a different platform,” said Kimberly Roskiewicz, assistant to the president.

Paxson will hold the virtual office hours every few weeks for half-hour sessions in the early evening in addition to her regular office hours in University Hall, Roskiewicz said. This semester, Paxson has held office hours in University Hall once every three weeks for an hour and a half and has held other meetings with students upon request.

The virtual office hours will be hosted through the Undergraduate Council of Students Facebook page, which UCS uses to spread information about its events and other projects on campus.

UCS President Maahika Srinivasan ’15 said one of the council’s primary

goals is to give the student body access to administrators. Though the council has attempted to make administrators more available by hosting in-person forums, when approached with the virtual office hours idea, UCS leaders “thought it would be a great way to open up more innovative channels of accessibility,” she said.

The original plan was to start virtual office hours this semester, but due to structural and planning issues the initiative was pushed back to the spring, Roskiewicz said. “We are still trying to figure out how to exactly implement it,” she added.

Students expressed mixed reactions to the virtual office hours.

Lupita Rios ’17 said she thought they would be an efficient way to offer feedback, adding that with her busy schedule she would prefer reaching out to Paxson online rather than walking to her office.

But both Anthony Daoud ’18 and Michael Wicks ’17 said email would be an easier avenue than social media for contacting Paxson with concerns. “Social media seems like a strange, casual platform to talk to President Paxson,” Wicks said.

If the office hours are a success, the format may be altered to reach a broader base, including alums, Roskiewicz said.

ARJUN NARAYEN / HERALD

President Christina Paxson will pilot virtual office hours through the Undergraduate Council of Students Facebook page next semester. Some students, though, said they would prefer access in person or via email.

Kennedy Plaza renovations aim to reduce congestion Revamped transportation hub will feature fewer stops, electronic schedules, pre-pay ticket options

By LAUREN ARATANI CONTRIBUTING WRITER

After almost five months of construction, the redesign of Kennedy Plaza is coming to a close. The $2.4 million renovation ­— funded by the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority and city bond money — is estimated to be completed by the end of December, said Robert Azar, Providence director of current planning.

Kennedy Plaza will be a renewed space for public use, Azar said, adding that a large area will be available for a variety of events, such as concerts and festivals. “It will be a new public park programmed like any park you can have,” Azar said. “It’s really up to everyone’s imagination.” Azar added that he is “confident that the space will be used by a lot more people.”

The city teamed up with RIPTA to make sure the project would “enhance the rider experience” by providing more open spaces in the plaza and increasing efficiency, Azar said.

“The plaza will still function as a bus hub,” he said, adding that “RIPTA will still have a strong presence in the area” despite a decrease in the number of bus stop lanes from four to two.

“The old berths were narrow, so during peak time, there was less room for people to wait for their bus,” said Barbara Polichetti, RIPTA’s director of public affairs. “Now there will be space for them.”

The renovations include a decrease in the number of stops from 16

METRO

ALEXIA DELHOUME / HERALD

Following a $2.4 million investment and five months of construction, Kennedy Plaza renovation work will come to a close at the end of December.

Rerouted bus lines and service disruptions prompted complaints from RIPTA riders, but the new design aims to combat former congestion problems. to around 10 in the plaza, but these changes will not decrease walk times for passengers, Polichetti said. “From our standpoint, there are congestion issues, and this will make that a little easier and hopefully a little safer for riders.”

One stop will be eliminated entirely, while others will move from Kennedy Plaza to Exchange Terrace or East Approach, the Providence Journal reported Nov. 14.

“Our goal was a combination of creating a better transit center in the

heart of Providence and adding some practical improvements,” Polichetti said.

Electronic signs with real-time information will be at all bus stops in the plaza, and ticket vending machines will be introduced so riders can prepay their fares, according to RIPTA’s website.

Polichetti said the revamped Kennedy Plaza will also include features such as improved bus shelters, new signage and additional bike racks.

There will be “a direct enhancement”

to the aesthetic of the public space, including new trees and lighting that will give Kennedy Plaza the look of a “city square,” Polichetti said.

RIPTA has received complaints from riders about the temporary bus stops and reroutes. But, Polichetti said, “you can’t really have a project of this length without hearing from your passengers.” During construction, all the bus lines that ran through Kennedy Plaza had to reroute around the construction site. “Whenever you have a

service disruption, there’s definitely some inconvenience to the riders,” she said.

“We’re hoping that this new plaza will make those inconveniences worth it for them,” Polichetti added. “We really appreciate (riders’) patience during the process.”

A $35 million bond was approved on Election Day that will finance bus hubs near the train station and in the Jewelry District, with the train station project as the primary focus, the Journal reported.