Tuesday, February 10, 2015

SINCE 1891

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2015

VOLUME CL, ISSUE 15

Alums work with undergrads on Groupies

Severe snow challenges campus accessibility Student, SEAS communication ‘lost in translation’ amidst backto-back storms

By EMMA HARRIS UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR

App provides social groups with way to connect, as four undergrads market it on campus

By SUSANNAH HOWE SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Think Tinder, but for groups socializing: That’s the pitch for Groupies, a new mobile app aimed at young adults founded

by Rob Gillett ’12, who serves as chief executive officer of the company. The startup team includes co-founder Austin Truong and fellow alums Marc Howland ’11 and Lisa Lansio ’12. In an innovative partnership, four Brown undergraduates have jumped on board ­— three as part of an independent study and one as an intern — to perfect the app before its launch in early April, Gillett said.

The idea for Groupies originated from Gillett’s personal experience searching for an effective way to connect with » See GROUPIES, page 2

WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM

ASHLEY SO / HERALD

The University closed twice in two weeks due to historic snowfall. Open days are filled with obstacles for students with accessibility concerns.

Despite great efforts by Student and Employee Accessibility Services and Facilities Management to make campus accessible, intense winter conditions still present challenges to students with mobility concerns, and many University efforts have been thwarted by unforeseen circumstances.

Though SEAS is “incredible” in creating a plan for snow accessibility and being in frequent communication with students, the implementation of their strategy this winter has proved more difficult, said Ruben Graml ’17.

Graml, who uses a motorized scooter to navigate campus, said, “Theoretically, everything should work,” but often, even three or four days after snow has fallen, not everything is cleared.

Plans are “lost in translation.”

When University operations were canceled Jan. 27, Graml said he had to stay inside all day. The next morning, his plan was to get a ride with the SEAS shuttle from his dorm to his

class, but when he tried to leave the building, Graml found the sidewalk outside of Barbour Hall was “not even cleared enough to get to the shuttle.”

After calling Catherine Axe, director of SEAS, and Patrick Vetere, grounds superintendent, the two administrators came to the dorm and evaluated the conditions. Because of the snow, Graml did not go to class that day.

The following Thursday through Sunday, Graml said he had limited mobility around campus, using the SEAS shuttle and getting help from friends.

But after more snowfall on Monday, Feb. 2, he said he was “stuck inside” for days.

After that same storm, Callum Nelson ’17 also had difficulty getting outside. Nelson wears a full-leg brace, as part of recovery from ACL surgery, and just stopped using crutches. While attempting to attend classes Feb. 2, Nelson slipped and fell on the steps outside Olney House. Walking around campus was “too risky,” he said, adding that ACLs can re-tear under certain circumstances. Though Nelson can walk through a few inches of snow, ice is too dangerous, he said. After his fall, Nelson did not attend classes that day.

When there is intense snow, Graml said he spends the majority of his days » See SNOW, page 4

Grant awarded to fund physical therapy research $2.5 million, five-year grant to fund multiinstitution research and new scientist training

By FRANCES CHEN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

A new University physical therapy initiative is set to be founded after the awarding of a $2.5 million grant from the Foundation for Physical Therapy. The initiative — called the Center on Health Services Training and Research — will provide funding for new studies and the training of physical therapy health services researchers. The Foundation for Physical Therapy is a collaboration among Brown, Boston University and the University of Pittsburgh aimed at training researchers to deliver optimal health care.

Health services research is important for learning how to improve health service delivery and policy, said Linda Resnik, associate professor

SCIENCE & RESEARCH

INSIDE

of health services, policy and practice and director of the new center. The center — CoHSTAR — was founded with the hope of creating a supportive environment for new scientists and supplying the necessary funding for their research. Most physical therapy researchers focus their work on clinical interventions and rehabilitation science, but health services research requires a different type of training, Resnik added. The new grant will enhance this training by providing funding for four areas: post-doctoral fellowships, visiting scientists programs, summer institutes on research methods and pilot studies, she said.

The new center has already begun recruiting trainees and has selected the first three research projects to earn seed grants, according to a University press release.

The money included in the grant comes from a $1 million gift from the American Physical Therapy Association, as well as gifts from physical therapists, foundations and corporations nationwide, according to a press release from the Boston University School of Public Health.

ASHLEY SO / HERALD

Certain foods, such as dark leafy greens and tomatoes, are marketed to the general population as “superfoods” for having more nutritional value than other foods, but some researchers question their health benefits.

Scientists question superfoods’ superiority Nutrition researchers examine public perception, claimed benefits of superfoods

By FRANCES CHEN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Superfoods, such as blueberries, kale and chia seeds, have become a nutritional craze over the past few years — one that has even touched ground on campus. Some nutrition pundits have

praised their alleged health benefits, but the truth behind these claims has sometimes been seen as scientifically questionable.

“I am not a fan of the term ‘superfoods’, though we do have a term called ‘functional foods,’” said Mary Flynn, associate professor of medicine. The word superfoods is misleading because it elevates these foods to seem better than all other foods, Flynn said.

A functional food is one that has some health benefit beyond what is

normally anticipated, such as antiinflammatory, antioxidant or memory-boosting properties, said Joshua Bomser, associate professor of human sciences at Ohio State University.

Foods typically categorized as superfoods often have a lot of phytonutrients — natural chemicals derived from plants — that have been shown to have various health benefits upon consumption, Flynn said. A diet high in phytonutrients can decrease a person’s risk of chronic diseases, » See NUTRITION, page 2

WEATHER

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2015

METRO The Herald analyzes 8 percent gender pay gap in Governor Raimondo’s office

SCIENCE & RESEARCH “The Imitation Game” details Alan Turing’s role in breaking German World War II code

COMMENTARY Gonzalez ’18: Hillary Clinton’s potential presidential candidacy should excite campus Democrats

COMMENTARY Isman ’15: Marc Peters’ role as men’s health coordinator will make campus safer for all

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TOMORROW

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UNIVERSITY NEWS PAGE 2 • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2015

BEST program propels aspiring admins Graduate student administrator hopefuls hone skills with help from academic sponsors

By CLARISSA CLEMM STAFF WRITER

In its fifth year, the Brown Executive Scholars Training Program is a oneof-a-kind experience offered to 10 graduate students interested in learning more about university administration.

The 12-week program, which began Jan. 20, includes weekly seminars and roundtable discussions. Participants are assigned academic sponsors to help further their academic pursuits.

“No one has developed a 12-week, or semester-long, program that is designed to prepare students for leadership roles in administration. It is the only program structured and formalized this way,” said Jabbar Bennett, associate dean of the graduate school, who founded the program and has run it since its inception.

In mid-November, applicants sent in their resumes, personal statements and letters of recommendation from their individual departments, ranging from American Studies to Neuroscience. The 10 selected scholars began attending seminars at the start of the spring semester.

Each weekly meeting involves an hour-long talk given by a chosen speaker, which is followed by a 30-minute roundtable discussion during which participants ask clarifying questions and discuss what they learned, Bennett said. “(We’re) getting to hear and see the individual and personal perspective from these administrators,” said Jonathan Sozek GS. “That’s not just stuff you can get on a website. You’re not looking at a description but you’re hearing from administrators willing to share their own struggles and successes.”

Some participants said they felt one of the most valuable parts of the BEST experience is the roundtable discussions.

“Everyone is from a different background, and great minds come together to create fresh, innovative ideas,” said Mariam Irshad GS. Other scholars said they felt the ability to do hands-on work and get individualized attention from their

academic sponsors is the most beneficial part of the program.

“It’s an opportunity for us to engage with graduate students. It is an opportunity for them to see and imagine the possibilities,” said Liza Cariaga-Lo, vice provost for academic development, diversity and inclusion and an academic sponsor for a BEST participant this year. “We are a window into the pros and cons of these types of career trajectories,” she added.

Arielle Nitenson GS said, “It’s not just the passive having people talk to you, but having someone who’s there for you and is a resource for you. Having a sponsor means having someone who’s actually going to pay attention to you, someone to say ‘Where do you want to go? Let me help you get there.’”

Participants have the option of working on a practicum with their academic sponsor. But the support participants receive does not come from the sponsors alone.

“It’s refreshing to see how accessible the sponsors, the presenting administrators and Dean Bennett have made themselves to us and how willing they are to help us in our development as professionals,” said Pierre Lucien GS, adding that administrators have put him in touch with others who can help advance his career. “There are a lot of folks that I’ve been in contact with because they’ve made the connection for me. It’s an extended support network,” he said.

The BEST program helps participants find positions not only outside of the University but also internally.

The University has hired several past participants, including Sara Emmenecker Santos MA’11, who works as the associate director of Brown Annual Fund’s Annual Leadership Programs, and Oscar Perez PhD’11, who was assistant director for diversity initiatives at the Brown Center for Students of Color, formerly known as the Third World Center.

Many participants emphasized that the program, above all, is a learning experience to see how universities operate and what an administrative role could entail.

“The BEST program is a perfect example of what deans can do to impact their community,” said Lauren Quattrochi GS. “More people should take advantage of it. It’s not something that’s on every campus.”

www.browndailyherald.com

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

» GROUPIES, from page 1 other people looking to socialize. After graduating from Brown, Gillett, who played on the football team, spent several months playing football in Italy. In an unfamiliar environment where few people spoke English, Gillett said that he wanted to meet new people and find more ways to have fun. Last February, while spending time with friends in Los Angeles, he came up with the term “groupie,” to mean group selfie. “That was the ‘aha’ moment that I had,” Gillett said. “The name clicked with what I was going through in Italy.” The next day Gillet started doing research. “The reason why I’m so passionate about it is that it’s actually something that I would use,” he added. “It’s solving a problem that I had.”

Gillett began coding the app in early August. Though he had taken only one computer science course as an undergraduate and had little experience, he was able to build up skills to a point where he could show others his vision, Gillett said.

In mid-November, Gillett connected with other Groupies team members at a Startup Weekend event in Orange County, California. At the event, developers had 54 hours to pitch startup ideas, assemble a team, develop a prototype and business model and receive feedback in hopes of winning the competition.

Groupies took first place.

Groupies aims to provide a platform for groups of people to connect in a relaxed way, Gillett said. “Today’s social media is actually making people more anti-social. People spend more time on their devices than they do on forming strong, in-person relationships. There are apps that attempt to facilitate meetups, like Tinder, for example, but usually people don’t meet up … or if they do, they end up in really awkward one-onone situations,” Gillett said.

To use the app, you take a “groupie” and upload it to the app. Users can then view other groups nearby and “like” those they are interested in meeting up with. If two groups like each other, the app gives users a code to put into their phones to access a group chat and potentially arrange an in-person meeting.

Though there are similar apps available — like Tinder and Grouper — Groupies’ combination of spontaneity and group interaction is unique, Gillett said.

“I think that the biggest competitor

» NUTRITION, from page 1 she added.

Blueberries and kale are commonly hyped up as superfoods, but they may not be the only foods with particular health boosts, Flynn said, adding that blackberries and raspberries probably have similar health benefits to blueberries, and other dark leafy greens have similar health benefits to kale.

Students interviewed for this article expressed mixed opinions on superfoods.

Emma Murray ’16.5, a student who learned of superfoods while working on a farm, believes they are worth the time and money. “Your body is one of the things you truly own, and you should take care of your body,” Murray said, adding that she experiences improved energy levels and heightened happiness when she eats healthily.

Flynn said she has been skeptical of many of the lists of superfoods she

right now for Groupies is Tinder,” said Tiffany Chen ’18, who is in the independent study working on fine-tuning the app. “The thing is, we’re targeting a very different demographic and a different type of person, so it’s not someone who’s looking to date; it’s someone who’s looking to have fun and to be adventurous and to try new things,” Chen said.

In the future, Groupies may be able to provide a more spontaneous alternative to Facebook events, she added.

Once the app gains popularity, the team may sell “premium listings” to businesses who want to be recommended by the app as a group venue, Gillett added.

For the Groupies team, working with college students is a valuable opportunity to get feedback directly from the app’s target audience. The students involved in the partnership will have two major tasks: getting other students’ feedback about Groupies and creating buzz for the app on campus. The students have a demo version of the app on their phones to show to others and will encourage other students to sign up to be beta testers of the app. The beta version will launch in mid-to-late February, with a final version launched right after spring break.

“At the same time I’m also developing, potentially, future employees,” Gillett said. “So say this thing takes off and does very well, I’m going to need to hire people by the end of the semester, full-time, and what better place to hire people than from your alma mater?”

Groupies is also working with business students at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and in the future will recruit “campus ambassadors” at other schools around the country, Gillett said.

For students, the experience of working on an app for class credit is “an opportunity to understand the world as it is now in a way that’s more urgent than having to write a paper on something where it doesn’t really matter whether you’re right or wrong,” said Professor Emeritus of Engineering Barrett Hazeltine GP’15, who oversees the independent study. “Brown needs to have more entrepreneurial outlets and opportunities,” he said, adding that college is “the right age level for adventures.”

But, Hazeltine said, “other schools do it, schools we like to compare ourselves with. This is not breaking incredible ground.”

Gillett took several classes with Hazeltine as an undergrad and said he was “the first person I thought to reach out to” when looking for students to help work on the app. In the fall, Hazeltine sent an email to students in his class ENGN 0090: “Management of Industrial and Nonprofit Organizations,” telling them about the opportunity to work on Groupies, which was also featured on the Brown Student Job and Internship Board. In addition to students’ technical and marketing skills, the company looked for “people that were very social and very excited about the product,” Gillett said.

“It’s a unique opportunity that I didn’t really expect to do in my time here at Brown,” said Diana Walters ’16, one of the students in the independent study. As a business, entrepreneurship and organizations concentrator, Walters said working on the app would be “a great way to get real-world marketing experience.”

“I’m really interested in the startup field and just how a product moves through the different development cycles,” Chen said. “I’m hoping to apply the things I learned in (ENGN 0090) to things that I can do outside of class.”

The biggest issue right now is “the chicken-and-egg problem,” Gillett said.

“In order for this app to be successful, there has to be a lot of people to use the app. And people don’t want to use it if there’s not already a lot of people on it.”

Their major strategy for building the user base is an app launch party, planned for the weekend of March 13. The team will also promote the app through social media, Gillet said.

Gillett’s ultimate goal for Groupies is ubiquity. “I would like to see the term ‘groupies’ to mean ‘group selfies.’ I want that to be in the Oxford Dictionary,” he said.

But his personal career goals are focused on the present. “I need to be invested in what I’m doing right now,” he said. “Right now this is the end-all beall. All my time, effort, energy is focused into my startup.”

Students working on the app are optimistic. “I think (Groupies) has a lot of potential to grow, and I really want to be part of it,” said Shiying Luo ’17, the student intern for Groupies. “I think when we have a larger user base, it will be an even more amazing app,” she added.

has seen, adding that she questions the methods used to classify certain foods as superfoods. It is important that a list of superfoods clearly explains why each food is on the list, Flynn added.

“Focusing too much on one food or one food group takes away from the idea that we should be having ‘super-lifestyles’ instead of superfoods,” Bomser said. It is important that people pay attention to other aspects of their well-being, such as their overall diet and tobacco and alcohol intake, he added.

Much of the craze surrounding superfoods has been spawned by food companies marketing them as a “magic bullet” for good health, Bomser said. In reality, eating superfoods must be supplemented by other lifestyle factors, which the companies do not emphasize, he added.

“Telling people to eat a moderate portion size isn’t sexy,” Bomser said.

“I’ve always been kind of skeptical about the claims,” said Duncan

Weinstein ’17.

People can eat healthy foods in an unhealthy way, such as when a banana is put into a banana peanut butter smoothie with 2000 calories, Bomser said.

The Ivy Room offers customers the option to include kale in their smoothies, but not many people order it, said Peter Tun ’17, who works for Brown Dining Services. Spinach, too, is relatively common at Brown dining halls, he said.

Bomser said more research regarding the underlying mechanisms of functional foods’ effects on the body is required.

To see a special multimedia video accompanying this article, visit our webiste at www.browndailyherald.com.

METRO

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2015 • PAGE 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Gender pay gap observed in Gov. Raimondo’s office

By EMMA JERZYK

Salary comparisons of staffers with same title $150K

Women $143,163 $129,132

120

METRO EDITOR

Special Counsel Source: APRA Request $5,000 a year, bringing down the average female salary significantly. Once Curren was taken out of the data set, there were nearly even numbers of men and women, and only a 4.4 percent wage gap.

When labor economists test for salary discrepancies between genders, they control for occupation, level of schooling and experience, Aizer said.

Controlling for occupation can be complicated because women are sometimes only considered for positions requiring less skill. While “some people could argue that that is a form of discrimination,” it’s different than paying equally skilled people doing equally difficult jobs different salaries, Aizer said.

Looking to control for these occupational differences in skill level, The Herald removed non-technical

80 60 $79,576.25

$89,217.17

Women

Men

20

Source: APRA Request EMMA JERZYK / HERALD

the governor, The Herald found only an 8 percent pay gap between men and womens. Further, “nearly 60 percent of (Raimondo’s) staff (members) are women,” Marie Aberger, press secretary for the governor, wrote in an email to The Herald.

The Herald then cross-referenced the names and titles in the APRA response with the Jan. 6 press release in which Raimondo announced her team.

When focusing on these particular appointments, there is an 11 percent wage gap between the average male and female salaries.

There was a clear outlier in the salary data: Meredith Curren, director of appointments. She is paid only

Constituent Services Associate

Deputy Chief of Staff

Principle Project Manager/Executive Assistant EMMA JERZYK / HERALD

$100K

0

$41,172

0

Average male and female salaries for Raimondo staff appointees

40

$41,172

Donna Dell’Aquilla

30

Kevin Gallagher

60

$93,773.23 Eric Bean

$91,508

Matthew Golderese

$83,910

Emmanuel Traub

90

Mark Dingley

$103,315.20

Andrea Iannazzi

Gov. Gina Raimondo, now a month into her first term, broke the glass ceiling by becoming the first female governor of Rhode Island. Throughout her campaign, Raimondo made promises to forge a path for other women to rise to leadership positions.

In a position paper on her campaign’s website, Raimondo said she would “promote a culture of paycheck fairness” by creating both an anonymous tip line for women to report noncompliance with the state’s wage discrimination laws and an equal pay certification for businesses “that show a commitment to equal pay practices.”

Despite this stated commitment, a 14 percent gender wage gap remains in the governor’s office, GoLocalProv reported.

There are many reasons for salary discrepancies between men and women that don’t necessarily point to gender discrimination, said Anna Aizer, associate professor of economics and public policy. With this in mind, The Herald took a closer look at the salaries of Raimondo’s staffers to investigate the gender wage gap and its relationship to possible gender discrimination.

The Herald obtained the names, titles and salaries of everyone Raimondo has appointed through an Access to Public Records Act request.

Upon analyzing this data, sent by Andrea Iannazzi, special counsel to

Men

Christine DiFillippo

Eight percent discrepancy widens to almost 12 percent when controlled for skill level

jobs such as Office Manager, Scheduler, Protocol Manager and Special Assistant to the Governor, to see what discrepancies between salaries might remain. With three men and two women in such positions, 11 female and nine male staffers were left in the data pool, yielding an 11.7 percent wage gap.

Typically, more women end up in these non-technical positions, Aizer said. As a part of the four-part “Women at Work” series for the New York Times, Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant wrote about the numerous studies showing that women frequently end up doing “office housework” even in high-up positions.

But in the governor’s office, there

were more men doing non-technical jobs than women, which brought down the average male salary and

Aizer said.

But when the inherited members of Raimondo’s team — Donna

Average male and female salaries for new Raimondo staffers $100K 80 60 40

$82,350.14

$95,410.50

20 0 Source: APRA Request

Women

Men EMMA JERZYK / HERALD

made it seem as though the wage gap were smaller. When these nontechnical positions are removed from the analysis, the average male salary goes up by nearly 16 percent, while the average female salary only increases by 7 percent.

The GoLocalProv article that discussed the wage gap points out that, in terms of salary, the “only woman in the top five position in the Raimondo executive office is Claire Richards,” who stayed on through multiple previous administrations dating back to former Gov. Lincoln Almond.

The fact that she stayed from a previous administration is not a reason to throw her out as a data point,

Dell’Aquila, Christine DiFillippo, Claire Richards, Abby Swienton, David Cruise and John Cucco — are removed from the analysis, the wage gap increases to nearly 14 percent, the number GoLocalProv originally reported.

Additionally, the highest-paid man and woman in the governor’s office — Claire Richards and David Cruise — were both inherited. So when the inherited members of Raimondo’s team are removed, the highest-paid man becomes Chief of Staff Stephen Neuman and the highest-paid woman becomes Deputy Counsel Amy Moses, with a wage gap of nearly 29 percent between them.

Average male and female salaries in Raimondo administration controlled for skill level $100K 80 60 40

$91,296.04

$103,378.00

20 0 Source: APRA Request

Women

Men EMMA JERZYK / HERALD

The simplest way to control for occupation, Aizer said, is to examine employees with the same title.

On Raimondo’s team, several staffers have identical titles. These employees sometimes have the exact same salary, but in other cases, salary discrepancies exist. A strong relationship was not evident between the gender of the staff member and the salary discrepancies present in this case.

These differences in salary despite identical titles are justifiable, Aizer said. Depending on how much a person was making beforehand, the administration might have had to offer him or her more money to join Raimondo’s team, Aizer added.

But “previous salary is not a bona fide reason for paying men and women differently for the same work,” Michele Leber, chair of the National Committee on Pay Equity, told GoLocalProv.

Another way to analyze salaries under the Raimondo administration is to look at past administrations’ teams.

Rhode Island Public Radio reported the names, titles and salaries of former Gov. Lincoln Chafee’s ’75 P’14 P’17 original staff in 2010.

These numbers initially present a 14 percent wage gap between men and women. But when non-technical jobs are removed from the analysis, though only seven women and 13 men remain, the wage gap drops to 8 percent.

When the data is controlled for skill level, the gender wage gap under the Raimondo administration widens to almost 12 percent. By comparison, the wage gap under the Chafee administration was 8 percent when controlled for skill level. In addition, when the inherited members of Raimondo’s team are removed from the analysis, the wage gap widens to almost 14 percent on average and 29 percent among her highest-paid employees.

But the Raimondo administration continues to affirm its commitment to gender parity.

“Initiatives to promote women in leadership are not just important for women but essential to creating opportunities for all Rhode Island families and strengthening our economy,” Aberger wrote of the administration’s take on the gender pay gap.

Raimondo’s position paper on paycheck fairness bleakly states that “median earnings for women are less than those for men in 264 of 265 major occupation categories.”

SCIENCE & RESEARCH PAGE 4 • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2015

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Movie highlights mathematician’s place in history This article is the first in an ongoing series, Science at the Cinema, that explores research and researchers portrayed in film.

BY STEVEN MICHAEL SCIENCE & RESEARCH EDITOR

“The Imitation Game,” nominated for eight Academy Awards, details the accomplishments and pitfalls of Alan Turing, a British mathematician, and his most notable creation — a codebreaking machine that shortened World War II by two years and is now recognized as the precursor to the modern computer. The film, a biopic of Turing, chronicles his path to breaking Germany’s secret code, Enigma. He accomplishes this feat with the help of his machine, which decoded messages sent between German officers and gave the Allies a military advantage.

Despite his patriotic and technological contributions, Turing faced persecution that led to an early death. When the British government discovered that Turing had engaged in sexual relations with another man — an act that was illegal in Britain at the time — he was given two options: imprisonment or chemical castration. He chose the latter, but ultimately killed himself at age 41.

Benedict Cumberbatch, the titular star of BBC’s “Sherlock,” plays yet

» SNOW, from page 1 in the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center, because it is one of the only “truly accessible” buildings at Brown.

In the winter months, “I am always having to plan ahead,” Graml said.

When the University cancels classes and operations, Dining Services centralizes food services in the Sharpe Refectory, often the only dining hall available to students. In the week and a half between Jan. 26 and Feb. 4, Graml said he only went to the Ratty once.

“The hills are pretty much impossible because of the snow.”

Knowing that the paths on Wriston Quad to the Ratty get slick with ice, Dining Services staff will sometimes

another introverted British genius in ‘The Imitation Game,” only with digs in Bletchley Park instead of Baker Street. The acting owes much to Russell Crowe’s portrayal of John Forbes Nash in “A Beautiful Mind,” which pioneered the awkward mathematician as a movie trope.

Keira Knightley also delivers a nuanced performance as Turing’s fellow code-breaker, friend and potential love interest, Joan Clark. Unfortunately, Knightley is far better than the script, which boxes her in as the Watson to Turing’s Sherlock.

The real Alan Turing is a personal hero, said Sorin Istrail, professor of computational and mathematical science and computer science. Turing’s 1936 paper on “computable numbers” is the most important paper written in computer science, he added.

“Once you have a theory in place, scientists can look at concrete problems,” Istrail said. Compared to creating the theory, these concrete problems like sorting numbers are relatively simple, he added.

Though Istrail has read all of Turing’s work, he said he still learned something about Turing’s life from the film. In particular, Istrail said he learned more about Turing’s role as a code-breaker during World War II and his poor treatment by the British

give extra meals to students who may not be able to get to the Ratty after snow hits, Axe said. “We’re open to being creative” in figuring out plans that students feel comfortable with, she added.

The SEAS Shuttle aids accessibility, Axe said, adding that it can help make trips around campus easier and faster for students. But the shuttle does run into wintry issues: Narrow New England streets become even slimmer when snow falls, making navigating roads less efficient. And with storms like the three that Providence has endured this semester, Brown has “snow with nowhere to put it,” Axe said.

The SEAS shuttle always has the same two drivers, and Graml said he

MATTEO MOBILIO / HERALD

After the British government learned of Turing’s sexual relations with other men, it mandated hormonal therapy for his being gay, leading him to kill himself at the age of 41. authorities.

To celebrate Alan Turing’s 100th birthday in June 2012, Istrail and Professor of Physics Leon Cooper co-wrote an article entitled “Mental Experience and the Turing Test: This Double Face is the Face of Mathematics.”

Their paper focuses on the Turing Test — a test in which a human asks two sets of questions and attempts to determine which answers come from

the human and which come from the machine. Though the Turing Test is the source for the film’s title, the movie focused more on code-breaking than Turing’s mathematical papers.

In his own work, Cooper said he is interested in what happens inside the mind, specifically in neural systems.

“The Turing Test, as important as it is, evades the question” of how the mind works internally, Cooper said,

always talks to the same person on the phone. “They know my needs,” he said, so the process is faster and easier.

While the SEAS shuttle is “useful,” it does not run late at night or over the weekends, Graml said. During its off hours, Graml must use OnCall, which takes much longer. OnCall also has different drivers and phone operators, making transportation around campus “frustrating,” he said.

In preparation for rough winter weather, SEAS meets with students who have known mobility concerns and makes a map of individual students’ daily routes by mid-fall, Axe said.

This includes entrances and exits to residence halls, locations of classes and activities, outdoor pathways, parking spaces and shuttle stops, she added. The map is then revised at the beginning of spring semester.

Custodial services and facilities management have access to the map, Axe said, adding that when snow falls, procedures for clearing pathways are based on these maps.

“We estimate as best as we can and prioritize,” she said, adding that every student’s needs are different: Some students need a completely cleared path, while others are okay with a few inches of snow.

There are both “light and heavy artilleries” for snow clearing, Vetere said.

Facilities workers have “pre-positioned routes” that are specified based on the day. While shuttle stops and crosswalks are always cleared, selected buildings, parking lots and loading docks are put on lower priority based on the day and the current state of University operations, he said.

Custodial staff members work in four shifts, regardless of whether school is open or closed, said Donna Butler, director of custodial services. There are different zones of campus, and by “assessing what works best for the

community,” snow clearing is focused on certain regions, such as residential areas or academic buildings.

While walking to class Jan. 28, when all Providence Public Schools and all other colleges and universities in the city cancelled operations, Nelson said the sidewalks on College Street near the Van Wickle Gates were not plowed, forcing him to walk in the street, while other students could manage the buildup on the sidewalk.

The timing of the storm, as well as its intensity and duration, are crucial to the extent to which facilities can respond, Axe said. When snow falls over a weekend or University operations are closed for the day, facilities has more time to clear snow in an accessible manner. But when snow falls fast, as it has over the past two weeks, clearing it becomes an “overwhelming process,” due to the finite amount of manpower available.

When the University remains open during snowstorms, making campus accessible becomes harder and the “icy barrier” that forms underneath recently fallen snow creates a problem for many community members with mobility concerns.

When senior adminstrators are deciding whether to shut down University operations, Axe said she communicates SEAS’s concerns and feedback to them.

Facilities contributes to this decision in reporting “what we think we’ll be able to do in the allotted time,” said Stephen Maiorisi, vice president for Facilities Management. Safety and the ability to clean the campus are the two biggest concerns, he added. When the University is closed, facilities will then reevaluate and refocus its efforts in order to be most efficient, Maiorisi said.

“Because the University is residential, there is a bias toward keeping it open,” said Mark Nickel, acting director of news and communications. A large

pointing out the difference in his and Turing’s approaches to understanding complex systems. As for the film, Cooper said he will see it when it appears on Netflix.

Along with mathematician John von Neumann, Turing is considered the father of computer science. The Turing Award, considered the equivalent to a Nobel Prize in computer science, is named in Turing’s honor, Istrail said.

range of issues is taken into account, including staff who must be on campus regardless of University closure — such as facilities management, dining services and emergency medical services — as well as animals that must be kept alive in science buildings, he said.

Even with snow clearing plans made ahead of time, it is the “situations that no one anticipates” that make campus inaccessible for some students, Axe said. For example, both the city and Brown plow the streets on College Hill.

Sidewalks are cleared by Brown facilities, but city plows may come through and effectively undo their work, she said.

“The inadvertent things are the hardest to manage,” Axe said, adding that accessibility of certain campus areas frequently changes.

Students have cell phone numbers of both SEAS and facilities staff members in the event that they need assistance, Axe said.

As community members saw in the wake of Winter Storms Juno and Linus, not all snow is cleared immediately.

Certain ramps, stairs and paths often remain untouched due to the difficulty of removing the residual snow and ice, as well as the challenge of addressing all spots immediately. After gathering feedback from students, SEAS puts “pressure on the system in an effective way,” Axe said.

Many students have voiced concerns of maintaining accessibility on campus with the snowfall. On “WTF*Brown,” a new online Undergraduate Council of Students initiative to collect student feedback on University operations, Emma Hall ’16 posted, “Prioritize snow removal on all paths and sidewalks around campus. Failure to do so is ableist.” The suggestion has received 845 votes from other students so far, making it the fourth-most popular post on the site.

TODAY

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2015 • PAGE 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

a n o t h e r d ay , a n o t h e r s t o r m

menu SATELLITE DINING JOSIAH’S Gnocchi BLUE ROOM Mango Chicken Curry with Seasonal Vegetables Soups: Butternut Squash, Turkey, Sausage and Kale, 3 Bean Chili ANDREWS COMMONS Pizzas: Bacon Chicken Ranch, Spicy 5 Cheese and Garlic

DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH

DINNER

White Bean and Ham Salad, Mushroom Pasta Salad, Linguini with Tomato Basil LUNCH

Garbanzo Bean Casserole, Grilled Bok Choy with Sesame Oil and Garlic, Spanish Rice

VERNEY-WOOLLEY

Asian Vegetables, Grilled Cajun Chicken, Spiced Chicken Wings, Vegan 10 Vegetable Patties

DINNER

Roast Beef au Jus, Vegetarian Gnocchi alla Sorrentina, Zucchini and Onion Saute

sudoku

ARJUN NARAYEN / HERALD

University administrative offices were closed and classes were cancelled yesterday due to Winter Storm Marcus, which blew through Providence for over 24 hours and brought several more inches of snow.

RELEASE DATE– Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle c r o s s w o r d Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis ACROSS 1 Waned 6 “Boyhood” actor Ethan 11 Taking a personal day, say 14 Emancipation Proclamation subject 15 Tale of Achilles and Agamemnon 16 Bro 17 Computer user’s combination 19 Green prefix 20 Gallery display 21 Pinnacle 22 Accustoms (to) 24 Wan 26 Pen points 29 They may be run at bars 30 What potatoes and needles both have 31 AT&T, briefly 33 Nebraska tribe 34 Biblical beast 36 Waikiki’s island 38 Aegean island 39 Computer user’s combination 43 14-time NBA AllStar Duncan 44 Washing machine filler 45 Anthem contraction 46 Indian princess 48 Rainbow maker 50 Leave out 54 Have __: be connected 55 Boy with a dragon, in a Disney classic 56 Wine region near San Francisco 57 Part of USSR 60 Louis XVI, for one 62 Resistance measure 63 “Game of Thrones” airer 64 Computer user’s combination 68 Spot for a Bluetooth headset 69 United Arab Emirates city 70 Cat-__-tails

51 New Zealand 35 NBC show with natives skits 52 Samsung Galaxy 37 Suffix with glob competitor 39 Place for 53 Mess (with), as a cocktails and DOWN lock music 1 Get away from it 40 Hardly a picky 58 Whirlpool all 59 T, on a test eater?

2 DVD alternative 61 Fan mail recipient 41 50+ org.

3 War movie scene 42 Waffle maker 65 Lawyer’s gp.

4 Actress Gabor 66 Long-snouted 43 Vandalized 5 Bit of progress fish 47 Pasta suffix 6 Many a 67 “CSI” evidence 49 Muscle injury Woodstock attendee ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: 7 In the style of 8 Ill. neighbor 9 Prince William’s wife 10 Genesis garden 11 Like Verdi’s most famous works 12 Subject of the 2010 film “The Social Network” 13 Follows dental advice 18 “Please continue” 23 __-Aztecan: language family 25 Actor Morales 27 Dagwood’s wife 28 Big bunch 32 “Give me a break!”

02/10/15 xwordeditor@aol.com 71 Dr. of rap 72 Pine (for) 73 Modern surgical tool

calendar TODAY 4:30 P.M. FILM SCREENING: FOOD CHAINS

12:00 P.M. SPRING CAREER FAIR

A screening of “Food Chains,” about the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, will demonstrate how food production exploits human labor sources. Wilson Hall, 102

Over 90 employers will come to campus to meet with students about internships and full-time job opportunities.

Sayles Hall

6:30 P.M. FILM SCREENING AND Q & A: SECUNDARIA

12:00 P.M. LECTURE: BLACKHOOD AND POLICE

The next installment in the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies film series will be “Secundaria.”

Director Mary Jane Doherty will answer questions afterward.

Joukowsky Forum, Watson Institute

By Kevin Christian ©2015 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

02/10/15

TOMORROW

POWER

Tryon Woods, professor of crime and justice studies, black studies and Afrcana studies will speak about blackness and policing. George Houston Bass Performing Arts Space

8:00 P.M. STUFF NOT TO MICROWAVE NIGHT

6:00 P.M. FAVELA POLITICS AND DEMOCRATIZATION

Technology House will show what happens when you put unlikely objects in the microwave. Harkness House

IN RIO DE JANERIO

Bryan McCann, associate professor of history at Georgetown University, will speak about Brazilian politics.

Joukowsky Forum, Watson Institute

COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2015

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

EDITORIAL

The registrar could save reading period Brown has canceled classes twice already this semester, first on Jan. 27 and again yesterday, Feb. 9. Provost Vicki Colvin sent a campus-wide email Sunday suggesting that faculty members avail themselves of reading period’s buffer to make up for lost class time. But the proposed rescheduling raises questions about the purpose of reading period, which is already often ignored by professors, and whether the University should change its schedule to accommodate the classes that bear the brunt of the burden.

Early disruptions in class schedules strain both students and teachers. Syllabi revisions and course juggling become an added nuisance that compromises course quality and student learning. Two missed days may not seem significant, but for some courses, particularly seminars and labs, it becomes important to look at what kind of schedule is amenable to all at Brown.

Ostensibly, reading period is for focused studying, a somewhat obligation-free reprieve before a final push by both students and faculty members. But some classes at Brown choose to ignore reading period to continue running classes, often incorporating the week into syllabi with additional material and even major assignments. But for professors who choose to provide students with days off for studying, as well as those who have lessons planned, simply pushing the schedule back a week is not convenient. Additionally, shifting the entire semester presents problems for covering material before midterms that often run up against Spring Break.

On face, Brown rarely cancels classes. In the past four years, it had closed only for Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and Winter Storm Nemo in 2013, and often these scenarios can be handled on a case-by-case basis by professors. But this early in the semester, there is an opportunity to reschedule classes that both course instructors and their students have a mutual responsibility to arrange.

As the most important cancellations were those for seminars and labs — generally small groups — rescheduling is manageable. Additionally, the Office of the Registrar, with its resources in the area of room and student schedules, should be enlisted to organize makeup classes during the semester. It would be up to individual professors to contact the Registrar with a schedule of their own availability and then to schedule a makeup class and room. Many professors might choose not to make use of these extra sessions, but some might find it more convenient than cramming two seminars in one week at the end of the semester.

The utility of reading period is already severely reduced because it is not enforced. To encroach further on the week for students to process a semester of material undermines its role and should be avoided when possible. In her email, Colvin highlighted the “exceptional contributions all members of our community are making under these circumstances.”

Hopefully the extensive resources and scheduling information available to the Registrar can alleviate stress for both students and faculty members and get Brown back on track.

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 and Baxter DiFabrizio ’15. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.

KAYA H I L L ’ 1 8

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Brown has proud history of military service To the Editor: In his Feb. 5 column “ROTC: Return of the Criminals,” Peter Makhlouf ’16 made the claim that “Brown has a rich ‘anti-military,’ anti-war history.” Perhaps his fiery rhetoric precluded actual research, because his historical myopia is disappointing. Similarly disappointing was the unquestioning acceptance of this claim in Taylor Grenawalt’s ’17 Feb. 6 response column “ROTC participants unfairly targeted as criminals.” Brown and its students have been involved in our nation’s wars for nearly all of our history. Brown graduates have served in almost every conflict our nation has engaged in, and several times the University has been transformed

into an active military base training future soldiers full time. During the Revolutionary War, University Hall served as a hospital and headquarters for the Continental Army.

Many Brown alums have also paid the ultimate price for their service: In World Wars I and II, 218 Brown alums and faculty members lost their lives. Makhlouf, I invite you to look up at the names carved into the stone of Soldier’s Arch the next time you are walking to class. As you pass through, ask yourself: Would I really consider my school’s history “anti-military”?

Walker Mills ’15

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

“Initiatives to promote women in leadership are not just important for women but essential for creating opportunities for all Rhode Island families.

”

— Mary Aberger, press secretary for the governor

Letters, please!

See pay gap on page 3.

letters@browndailyherald.com

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COMMENTARY TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2015 • PAGE 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

With snow, your 2016 presidential forecast GRAHAM GONZALES opinions columnist

Much like our midterms, finals and course papers, the upcoming presidential campaign looms in the back of our minds. We prepare for a presumably clear-cut Democratic primary and a heavily contested Republican one. As a proud and openly secular liberal institution of higher learning, most members of the Brown community will undoubtedly throw their support towards the left.

Unlike the two previous presidential elections, there is no longer an ideological and oratorically skilled Barack Obama brilliantly blazing the campaign trail. Instead, we Democrats have the more realistic and policy-driven Hillary Clinton. In addition to the absence of Obama’s campaign energy and crowd-exciting speeches, Democrats face still more obstacles: Let us not forget the Republican resurgence and the American people’s frustration.

In the 2014 midterm elections, the Republicans gained nine Senate seats to bring their total to 54 and leave the Democrats with 44. Republicans also picked up 16 House seats, capturing 247 in all to the Democrats’ 188. By giving Republicans control of both houses of Congress, the American people have delivered a clear message: They are not happy with the lack of progress in Washington, and they are pinning

government shortcomings on those in charge of D.C. operations, namely the Obama administration.

In previous years, the Senate has often been the platform for the minority party to resist legislation proposed by the majority party. In order to stop Democratic agendas, Republicans have often used the filibuster and their votes in the Senate to block legislation from the left.

Effectively, the Republicans had be-

their ownership of the White House in 2016.

Regardless of party tactics, the 2016 White House race will be a close one, especially since Republicans have the upper hand in Congress. But should Clinton decide to enter the race, the Democrats will have a decisive primary season advantage with an unsaturated candidate pool, allowing more time for policy pre for the general election.

draising for a presidential bid. The only other two possible contenders would be Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who has adamantly denied any interest in the position. Sanders has said he will decide whether to run by March.

Thus, Clinton remains the Democratic favorite for the position and is surely most qualified to be president. She holds a resume that in-

The 2016 election may indeed be a turning point in 21st century American politics, and we may once again see our country move forward in a positive way. come the “party of no,” before gaining control of the Senate in November’s elections.

Now it’s the Democrats turn to say no, seen in the most recent filibuster of Republican-endorsed funding for the Department of Homeland Security. The overall strategy is to undermine the majority party by turning down proposed bills in order to make the controlling party appear inadequate and incapable of any forward movement.

Democrats, for the next two years, will need to rely heavily upon close scrutiny of actions taken by the Republican-controlled 114th Congress. If Senate Democrats successfully employ the Republicans’ nay-saying strategy while Obama continues his adept use of executive power, they may very well regain control of Congress and retain

Whereas the Republicans have several potential presidential candidates — including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush; Sen. Ted Cruz, RTexas; Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.; Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — the Democrats have few candidates lining up to seek the Oval Office. In fact, there are almost no signs of any serious Democratic challengers to Clinton, which, if she decides not to run, could prove disastrous for every member of the party and force it to scramble to find a suitable nominee.

To understand the Democratic primary, we must first look at those qualified to run. So far, the only candidate who has actively pursued interest in challenging Clinton is former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, a former Hillary supporter who is currently engaged in fun-

cludes U.S. Senator, First Lady and Secretary of State. In addition to her personal successes, there is also an irresistible nostalgia for the presidency of Bill Clinton, whom Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., described as having presided over “the biggest expansion of the American economy since World War II.” To look on the bright side, despite the fact Hillary has not made a formal announcement, she has been busy forging a formidable campaign team that would dwarf that of any potential Republican nominee in terms of experience and prestige.

She seems to have already chosen “a campaign chairman, a campaign manager, a chief strategist and lead pollster, another pollster, a lead media adviser, a communication director, a deputy communications director, a focus group director and a

communications strategist,” according to a Feb. 6 Washington Post article. Many advisors who led Obama to defeat Clinton in 2008 now support her 2016 run. Jim Messina, a senior aid to Obama’s campaign in 2012, told the Post, “It’s her turn and her time.”

In order to avoid the feeling of an incumbency run or a thirdterm election, Clinton and her advisors have developed a strategy to separate her from the policies of the Obama administration. She will purportedly do so, the Post article continues, by showcasing a “more populist and ‘base-friendly’ domestic-policy ideas in the absence of strong primary opposition”.

What does this mean for us Democrats? A traditional centrist, Clinton will be taking more leftleaning policy positions in order to secure votes from her base supporters while maintaining her apt ability to negotiate and compromise — skills that have been absent from Washington for nearly 16 years. As self-described progressives, Brown students will finally have a candidate that is the best of both worlds — a female president holding progressive values who has the connections and charisma to get the job done. The 2016 election may indeed be a turning point in 21st century American politics, and we may once again see our country move forward in a positive way.

Graham Gonzales ’18 is a political science and economics double concentrator.

A long-lasting conversation on preventing sexual assault SAMANTHA ISMAN opinions columnist

The administration has been working hard to prevent sexual assault on campus in the aftermath of last semester’s incidents. The new alcohol policies on campus have received mixed responses, and they definitely demonstrate a concerted effort to prevent sexual assault. But they have also overshadowed another very important move by the University.

The men’s health coordinator position, created at the beginning of this academic year, is a very important addition to the health repertoire on campus. The position’s existence — and Brown’s hiring someone to take it — demonstrates an understanding that education can help prevent sexual assault and that men should be involved in the discussion as well.

It allows for a shared responsibility by making sure that we are teaching both men and women about different ways to prevent sexual assault rather than focusing on how a victim could protect him or herself.

Marc Peters, the men’s health coordinator, is working alongside fraternities and sports teams to have discussions about what “healthy masculinity” means. His role is to mediate conversations that could lead to a better understanding of how we present ourselves and

interact with others.

Often, sexual assault is portrayed as a women’s issue, so we focus on teaching young women how to protect themselves and their female friends. As The Herald reported Feb. 6, “the creation of (Peters’) role shows the University is looking to change this misperception.” Eradicating this misconception that

told The Herald. Peters’ role is to help individuals develop a better sense of themselves rather than to point fingers and chastise all males on campus. These conversations are opening up the floor to talk about sexual assault seriously in a way that is not usually permitted due to the stigma surrounding sexual assault.

It is a move toward improving the health of

Peters’ presence on campus — and his role as a leader — will have a more long-term impact by leading to educational opportunities facilitating constructive conversations rather than trying to sweep issues under the rug.

sexual assault is a women’s issue rather than everyone’s issue and creating the space to have productive conversations will help instill a stronger sense of camaraderie in the student population and a heightened recognition of how we can all help.

Peters’ position is aimed at “understanding health, emotions and your own perceptions and interactions with people,” as Grant Senne, president of Brown’s Theta Delta Chi chapter,

the Brown community as a whole.

While calling it a men’s health coordinator might make it seem that the University is focusing only on how men can help and change their behaviors, Peters insisted to The Herald that “his position is ‘all-encompassing’ for people of all gender identities.” These talks will not only positively benefit men’s health, but they will also have a positive impact on women’s — and people of all genders’ —

health. Thus, it is clear that as a community we are trying to move away from the gendered associations of sexual assault and are coming to understand it for what it really is: a violation of someone’s body that can happen to anyone.

It puts sexual assault on campus into a different perspective and demonstrates that everyone should be working together to prevent it.

While the new alcohol policies — banning alcohol service at large organized events in residence halls — will hopefully make a positive impact in combating sexual assault on campus, they are more of a short-term solution. Peters’ presence on campus will have a more long-term impact by leading to educational opportunities and facilitating constructive conversations rather than trying to sweep issues under the rug. Starting the conversation is the hard part, but once it becomes a habit, different communities on campus will initiate the conversations themselves.

Peters’ role on campus is not only “emphasizing the role that men can play in preventing violence” but also allowing for new means of communication. Fostering discussion on masculinity and sexual violence is a productive and hopefully long-lasting way to make campus safer for everyone.

Sami Isman ’15 thinks this position deserves more praise than the alcohol policies.

SPORTS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2015

WRESTLING

Bruno goes to the mat: defeated by Quakers, Tigers, Mountain Hawks

SADIE HOPE GUND / HERALD

“I absolutely believe that wrestling against these nationally ranked teams does more good than harm,” Justin Staudenmayer ’17 said. “It provides our team with great exposure and allows us to see where we need to be come March.” Bruno will head to Cambridge next weekend to compete against Harvard and Johnson and Wales.

Watterson ’15 shines, but triple loss inspires Bears to prepare for spring matches with greater intensity

By GEORGE SANCHEZ SPORTS STAFF WRITER

The wrestling team sustained three losses this weekend, as it competed against Penn and Princeton Saturday and Lehigh Sunday.

“Despite suffering losses to conference teams, I think this weekend was a great learning experience for us,” said Justin Staudenmayer ’17. “We will see all of these guys again at the conference tournament, so now we know what to expect from them. For me personally, this weekend really proved to me that I need to pick up the offense on my feet and really push the pace in the first period to score more points.”

The Bears (3-7, 2-4 EIWA) traveled to New Jersey Saturday to compete in a pair of Ivy League and EIWA contests.

Bruno dropped its first meet of the day against the Quakers (6-4, 2-1) in a 29-6 loss. Against Penn, Bruno struck first with a victory from Billy Watterson ’15 at the 125-pound weight class. Watterson tallied three takedowns en route to an 11-4 win via decision.

The Quakers quickly countered, and the Bears dropped the next four bouts.

The squad then achieved its second victory of the meet with help from Richard Muniz ’17. Muniz was back in action for the first time in over a month but picked up his 11th victory of the season through a 3-1 win via decision to get the Bears

to a 13-6 deficit. But Penn did not allow the Bears to gain another point and took home the 29-6 victory.

That day’s second meet featured a much more even-keeled contest against the Tigers (8-5, 2-1) with a narrow loss of 17-16. Bruno came out of the gate strong with two victories from Watterson and Zeke Salvo ’18, but the Tigers quickly responded with two victories of their own. The meet’s fifth matchup in the 157-pound weight class featured Staudenmayer — ranked 20th in the nation according to Intermat — who successfully shut out his opponent 3-0 with a takedown and an escape. After the first five bouts of the meet, the squad was ahead 9-6.

The Bears lost the lead after the next bout, but regained it after Ricky McDonald ’15 surged ahead with a 12-3 major decision win at 174 pounds. Bruno then

lost the following two matches and went down 17-13. With the final bout at the 285-pound weight class, the squad needed a major decision win to tie up the score or a win via fall in order to take home the victory. Though Augustus Marker ’16 won the bout via a 5-1 decision, it gave the Bears only three points and not enough for the victory.

This marked the Bears’ third loss of the season in Ivy League contests.

On Sunday, the Bears faced off against Lehigh (12-4, 8-1), resulting in a 33-6 Bears loss. Watterson earned his third victory of the weekend by way of forfeit to give the Bears an early 6-0 lead.

But the Bears were unable to earn another victory, though three bouts came down to a margin of two points or less.

At 149 pounds, William McDonald ’17 suffered a 3-2 defeat only after his opponent earned a point for an escape in

the third and final frame. At 174 pounds, Ricky McDonald earned two points for a pair of escapes, but lost his bout 3-2.

“I absolutely believe that wrestling against these nationally ranked teams does more good than harm,” Staudenmayer said. “It provides our team with great exposure and allows us to see where we need to be come March.”

Up next, the Bears will travel to Cambridge Saturday to take on Harvard (1-7, 0-6) at noon and Johnson and Wales (18-5, 1-0) at 2 p.m. in backto-back meets.

“Heading into the postseason I am most looking forward to the atmosphere it provides. Once March rolls around ,things get even more serious and competitive, and I really enjoy that type of environment,” Staudenmayer said. “The postseason is a great time to just work even harder in hopes of positive results.”

Kobe Bryant versus Father Time MIKE FIRN sports columnist

Despite concerted efforts to hate him and the uniform he wears, I’ve always been in complete awe of Kobe Bryant.

It’s the intensity, the competitiveness and the drive. Even the cold arrogance speaks to a certain admirable quality — there have never been any bells and whistles with Kobe. He didn’t need to craft a marketable persona with charming press conferences and cute commercials. The man simply wants to excel.

But after suffering his third consecutive season-ending injury, Bryant is finally facing his NBA mortality. After years of shouldering the load, his body is breaking down, and his skills are eroding. What we’re left with is a world-class talent stripped of every-

thing but a burning, hopeless will to succeed. For all the records, highlights and controversies that have marked his career, it’s this tragic final act that brings us the most fascinating Kobe storyline yet.

Most careers wind down unremarkably. Time passes, and players age. Stars become progressively less relevant before fading away into retirement. The spotlight swings to the next up-and-comer.

Kobe’s story, on the other hand, can be told with a bit more narrative flair. All those killer instincts that once made him a king are now the driving forces behind his stubborn decline. His alpha dog mentality makes him dominate the ball on every possession. His defiance makes him hoist dozens of low percentage shots from all over the floor. His determination compels him to log heavy minutes that his body can’t handle.

Hero-ball was fine as long as he

was winning titles and MVP awards, but when the league changed, Kobe didn’t. Now, the strengths that brought five championship banners to Los Angeles have become weaknesses.

Tragically and comically, Kobe’s attempts to reassert his claim as one of the NBA’s top dogs are only pushing him further out of the conversation.

In a league characterized evermore by efficiency, Bryant relies increasingly on volume. He is a remnant of an outdated brand of basketball that no longer yields results in a rapidly evolving and smarter NBA landscape.

He’s still incredibly skilled — perhaps no other player in the world can make as many difficult shots as Kobe. But these days, few other players are even taking them.

By now you know that the numbers are ugly: Advanced metrics insist that the Lakers are better on both sides of the ball without their superstar. Even though Kobe wants to win

more than anyone else, he can’t accept that his ways aren’t best for the team.

When asked about taking so many shots, Bryant explained to ESPN, “I’d rather not have to do that, but you can’t just sit back and watch crime happen in front of you.” The ultimate control freak, Kobe refuses to place his team, his career or his legacy in anyone else’s hands.

The maddening part is that we’ve seen enough of Kobe to envision the path he could’ve taken. When he takes off the superhero cape, Bryant is both an artist and genius on the basketball court. Once in a blue moon, he posts 16 assists and we think his game is evolving. But the next night he shoots 8-of-27, and the Lakers lose by 30.

Kobe loves to win but only on his own terms. “You think I’d hang around and average 18 points, 19 points? Hell no,” he told ESPN. Meanwhile, Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki are kissing their championship

trophies.

Equal parts flash and fire for the better portion of two decades, Bryant is capable of pretty much anything with a basketball in his hand. It wouldn’t surprise me if he returned to the floor next season with a chip on his shoulder and a spring in his step. I think we’re nearing the end of Kobe’s basketball reign, but I can’t be sure.

But even if he’s worse than ever next year and the Lakers don’t win a game, the world won’t stop watching. It’s like Kobe’s car drove fast and crashed hard, and I can’t look away from the grisly scene. For years, Kobe Bryant was a lion, and we were all sheep. What happens when the lion can no longer hunt?

Mike Firn ’16 wants to give his Patriots a shout out. Congratulate him at michael_firn@brown.edu.