SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2015
VOLUME CL, ISSUE 38
WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM
Modest Mouse, Hudson Mohawke to headline Spring Weekend Pusha T, Kelela and one unannounced performer to join headliners at anticipated concerts By EBEN BLAKE AND GABRIELLE DEE ARTS & CULTURE EDITORS
From ’90s rock to multiple Kanye West proteges, this year’s lineup for Spring Weekend will make both decades and genres converge. Brown Concert Agency announced the much-anticipated roster just after 12 a.m. Tuesday, revealing Scottish electronic producer Hudson Mohawke and American rock band Modest Mouse as this year’s headliners for Friday and Saturday, respectively. The Friday lineup will also feature Waka Flocka Flame and another unannounced performer. BCA will announce one remaining artist in the coming week, said Daniel Sobor ’15, publicity manager for BCA. Spring Weekend regular What Cheer? Brigade will kick off Saturday’s performance, followed by Kelela and Pusha T. Though BCA’s choices this year
ARTS & CULTURE
range from hip-hop to electronic to rock, the artists are united through a common thread: Each has recently released or is in the process of releasing new material. “If you look across the board at the artists we have, they ride the line between having a ton of critical acclaim and maintaining mass popularity,” Sobor said. “The whole lineup has something for everyone.” BCA confirmed Waka Flocka’s presence in Friday’s roster in a blog post Wednesday, after Google search results revealed that the rap artist had a performance scheduled at Brown April 17. “Waka Flocka’s name holds so much weight, and he’s incredibly fun,” Sobor said. The Atlanta-based artist is known for hit singles like “O Let’s Do It” and “No Hands.” Hudson Mohawke, an electronic DJ and half of the trap music duo TNGHT, will perform as Friday night’s headliner. Mohawke, born Ross Birchard, has also produced a number of Kanye West songs, including “Mercy” and “Blood On The Leaves,” the latter of which features segments of TNGHT’s “R U Ready.” Mohawke » See LINEUP, page 2
PHOTOS COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
WAKA FLOCKA FLAME // HUDSON MOHAWKE
WHAT CHEER // KELELA // PUSHA T // MODEST MOUSE
Young Alumni Trustee selection to include students Pilot student committee to comprise three undergrads, med student and grad student By NATALIE FONDRIEST SENIOR STAFF WRITER
COURTESY OF MARSHA LIEBOWITZ
Women’s ski team captains Nika Mosenthal ’15 and Amanda Engelhardt ’15 met with President Christina Paxson P’19 Friday to talk about administrators’ concerns and clear up related misconceptions.
SKIING
Women’s ski team status remains uncertain
Currently of varsity rank, team may be demoted to club status depending on administration’s decision By ANDREW FLAX SPORTS EDITOR
After a meeting with President Christina Paxson P’19 Friday, the women’s ski team will be given a chance to
INSIDE
respond in a two-page memo to concerns of hers that contributed to the potential decision to demote the team to club status, team members say. Captains Nika Mosenthal ’15 and Amanda Engelhardt ’15 said Paxson believes that the team is under consideration to be demoted due to safety concerns from the need to travel long distances during the winter to practice. They said her views contrast sharply with those of
Director of Athletics Jack Hayes and Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services Margaret Klawunn, both of whom emphasized in separate meetings that money was the primary issue. “We were a little bit surprised to hear from her that from her understanding it was more about safety,” Engelhardt said. “Safety has been mentioned » See SKI TEAM, page 4
A student committee will contribute to the Corporation’s Young Alumni Trustee selection process for the first time since the position was created in 2008. The group of students will critique and augment a list of candidates already considered by the Corporation, said Alex Drechsler ’15, who has served on the Undergraduate Council of Students and the Undergraduate Finance Board in previous years. The Graduate Student Council and the Alpert Medical School Student Council will each nominate one student from their respective schools to join three undergraduates on the committee, which is scheduled to convene after spring break and deliver its recommendations by the Corporation’s May meeting. UCS interviewed undergraduate applicants Sunday following an “extensive” application, said UCS
President Maahika Srinivasan ’15. “One of the most determining factors for this particular selection committee is a good understanding of what the Corporation actually does and what role a Young Alumni Trustee would serve on the Corporation, and that takes a little bit of nuance.” “The misperception seems to be that the Corporation is the end all — they make all of the decisions and (they are) implemented by the administration — but that’s not true at all,” Srinivasan said. “The administration creates the policy and the Corporation is a little bit of a sounding board.” President Christina Paxson P’19 confirmed the inclusion of one young alum on the Corporation March 6 and said that the position would reflect student input, Drechsler said. He and Srinivasan presented proposals for increasing student engagement with the Corporation at its February meeting, when Paxson approved a proposed student input process to test run this year. “We are thinking of (this committee) as transitional, and we’re very open to thinking of other ways, and maybe more involved ways, for students to engage in the selection of the » See CORP, page 2
WEATHER
TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2015
SCIENCE & RESEARCH Ziya Gokaslan to head Brown’s neurosurgery team at Medical School, R.I. and Miriam Hospitals
SPORTS Three hockey players sign amateur tryout agreements to join NHL minor league affiliates
COMMENTARY Mitra ’18: Campus response to dropped GHB and assault charges has united Brown community.
COMMENTARY Weinstein ’17: Series of related courses could make non-STEM fields easier to navigate.
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METRO
PAGE 2 • TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2015
Spotlight on the Statehouse BY EMMA JERZYK, METRO EDITOR
Medicaid faces funding cuts, becomes subject of political drama Gov. Gina Raimondo included $46 million in “placeholder” cuts to the state’s Medicaid program in her proposed budget, released March 12, in addition to $45 million in cuts to hospitals and nursing homes. Before releasing the budget, Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello, D-Cranston, told Raimondo in a private meeting that he would not accept unspecified cuts in any programs in her budget, the Providence Journal reported Feb. 25. Mattiello told Raimondo that the cuts were politically infeasible during a nearly two-hour meeting that Raimondo called for in the wake of her political gaffe at Politico’s fifth annual “State Solutions Conference” Feb. 20. During a question-and-answer session, she said “the governor proposes a budget and then the General Assembly takes the budget and — often in the dark of night, in a quiet room — the lobbyists and the General Assembly get together and they hack it up every which way and out pops a budget.” Raimondo delivered on her promise of transparency by posting her breakdown of state dollars on OpenBudget.ri.gov. Though Raimondo made a point to thank members of the General Assembly for their help with the budget in her State of the State address March 12, and included a tax exemption for social security income that Mattiello has been gunning for since last year, the Medicaid cuts remain a sticking point for many General Assembly members. The cuts remain unspecified as a result of the status of Raimondo’s working group to reform Medicaid, which will not deliver its recommendations to Secretary of the Executive Offices of Health and Human Services Elizabeth Roberts ’78 until April 30. Executive Order 15-08 created the working group and appointed Ira Wilson, professor of health services, policy and practice and chair of the department, as co-chair Feb. 26. In addition to going against the requests of General Assembly leadership, the cuts also squeeze Rhode Island’s hospitals and nursing homes. By cutting reimbursements and also supporting hiking minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, Raimondo’s vision puts pressure on hospitals and long-term care facilities which may result in layoffs, RIPR reported. Hospitals employ over 50,000 Rhode Islanders — about 5 percent of the total population.
HealthSource R.I.’s future uncertain The debate over the future of HealthSource R.I., the state-based exchange for health insurance mandated by the Affordable Care Act, has intensified in light of recent developments on the national stage. Raimondo campaigned on keeping the exchange but trimming its budget, while neither Mattiello nor Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed, D-Newport, have taken firm stands. The U.S. Supreme Court began hearing oral arguments March 4 during King v. Burwell — a case challenging the validity of health insurance tax cuts in the states that use the federal exchange HealthCare.gov. The case could result in citizens of states using the federal exchange becoming ineligible for tax credits on their health insurance. With the outcome of the case unknown, abandoning the state exchange poses a risk of losing the tax credits it guarantees. Raimondo also buried the method of payment for maintaining the exchange by not mentioning it in any of her budget summaries and fact sheets. But in the proposed budget, all premiums of health plans purchased in the state — roughly 123,000 — would be taxed at a rate of 3.8 percent for individuals and 1 percent for small employers. There is currently no maximum value for the tax, which the Secretary of the Executive Offices of Health and Human Services will set. The tax would account for $6.2 million of the $30.9 million that the Governor’s Office wants to allocate to keep the exchange running, the Providence Journal reported. It is unclear where funds for the rest of the budget will come from. HealthSource R.I.’s operating budget for this year is $23.4 million. Hearings on the budget proposal will begin the week of March 23.
R.I. unemployment number drops The state’s unemployment rate hit 6.5 percent in January, its lowest point since February 2008, RIPR reported. Rhode Island’s unemployment rate remains slightly above the national average, which is currently 5.7 percent. Raimondo’s budget proposal focuses on revamping the state’s economy in a number of ways, including attracting small businesses and investors to the state. In a speech at a union headquarters, she also heralded boosting the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour. The state’s minimum wage jumped to $9 per hour beginning in January 2015.
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
» CORP, from page 1 Young Alumni Trustee,” Paxson said. Paxson and Executive Vice President for Planning and Policy Russell Carey ’91 MA’06, in conjunction with the Governance and Nominations Committee, will review the student committee’s role after Commencement, Srinivasan said. Srinivasan will debrief with the student committee’s undergraduates at the end of the process to determine next steps towards permanence and “making sure that they felt valued in the process,” she added. In response to student perception that the process of nominating Corporation members is secretive, Carey said that it is an internal process common to many governing boards. With the student committee, “the idea is to bring more (student) input into the process,” he said, calling it “a step in a direction that is engaging and inclusive.” Young alums are selected like any other trustee, Carey said. “It is a full Corporation decision, but they rely
» LINEUP, from page 1 is currently signed to Kanye West’s record label GOOD Music. Mohawke is known for his distinct industrial sound and a proclivity to sample tubas and other brass instruments. He has been widely lauded both as a part of TNGHT and individually for bending genres. Sobor said Mohawke was “recently written about in the Guardian as one of the premier producers of pop and hip-hop at the same time” and that he is “completely changing the sphere of music.” Mohawke will fill the EDM role previously held by Diplo in 2014 and A-Trak in 2013 at past Spring Weekends. What Cheer? Brigade will start off Saturday’s performances, making its fourth consecutive appearance on campus. The Providence-based band consists of 19 members wielding exclusively brass instruments and drums, blasting styles as varied as Bollywood to hip hop. Kelela, a genre-defying songwriter who blends R&B and electronic music, will perform after What Cheer. Kelela has generated critical adoration after the release of her mixtape “Cut 4 Me” in 2013. Pitchfork Media described her
heavily on the Trustee Vacancies Committee,” which develops candidate pools, he added. Selection does not rely on applications or open nominations, Carey said. “The whole idea to have a young alumni position in the first place is to have a perspective that’s more closely grounded in the student experience,” he said. “The Young Alumni Trustee is just like any other trustee. … The only difference is that the Young Alumni Trustee typically picks up the role of being an interface with students,” Paxson said. A UCS proposal prompted the creation of the position following a 2008-09 public paper reviewing the Corporation, Carey said. In 2008, both the chancellor and members of UCS were concerned about “the diversity of the Corporation in regards to proximity to the student experience — so, in other words, younger alumni serving on the Corporation.” The Young Alumni Trustee will serve a three-year term any time
from July 1 to seven years following graduation from the College, graduate or medical schools. Current Young Alumni Trustee Alison Cohen ’09 will conclude her term at the end of the semester. The position is “fairly open-ended and flexible,” Carey said. “There have been times when there have been two at the same time. … It’s not fixed.” “In the original structure of the Corporation … back to 1764, the terms were for life,” Carey said.“This really didn’t change until the early 1980s.” “This is not an issue that’s going to end if we codify the process or if (Srinivasan) and I graduate,” Dreschler said. While “UCS has proven that they’re really committed to this … having an outsider’s perspective is also important,” he added. He and Srinivasan are currently looking for a student “who’s going to help champion this cause” after they graduate, he said.
debut as both “ambitiously catchy” and “aesthetically ambitious.” Her juxtaposition of brooding beats and a vibrant, expressive voice appears again on her new single “A Message,” which will arrive on the upcoming EP “Hallucinogen,” due out May 5. “She’s an up and comer,” Sobor said. She is “someone who I think has terrific music. She’s a lesser-known name right now, but in the coming years, we don’t think she will be.” Virginia-raised hip-hop artist Terrence Thornton, better known as Pusha T, will precede Modest Mouse Saturday. Thornton comprised one half of the critically acclaimed hip-hop duo, Clipse, which made its debut in the industry in 1993. Thornton signed onto Kanye West’s label GOOD Music in 2010 as Pusha T, subsequently releasing a solo album in 2013 called “My Name is My Name,” on which Mohawke produced the song “Hold On.” “Pusha T is a legend in many respects,” Sobor said, adding that Thornton’s work as half of Clipse represents an influential older sound, while his work with Kanye West and as Pusha T displays his more innovative work. Modest Mouse will headline Saturday’s show. The band’s new album, “Strangers to Ourselves,” comes out
today and features the single “Lampshades on Fire.” This is the band’s first release since 2007’s “We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank.” Comprising Isaac Brock, Jeremiah Green and Eric Judy, Modest Mouse hails from Issaquah, Washington and was a major touchstone for developing the Pacific Northwest indie rock sound after their formation in 1993. While their first album, “This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About,” was released in 1996, the band achieved widespread critical acclaim with their major label debut, “The Moon and Antarctica,” in 2000. Modest Mouse developed into one of the major independent crossover artists during the mid-2000s, achieving consistent commercial success while maintaining an identifiable and original sound. “Good News for People Who Love Bad News,” released in 2004, went platinum thanks to its hit single “Float On.” The 2015 lineup features artists from various genres that have had an impact on the music industry at different points in time, making it “appealing to the most diverse tastes we could while still maintaining a lineup with mass popular appeal,” Sobor said. “It’s fun music. It’s stuff people can dance to.”
-With additional reporting by Baylor Knobloch
SCIENCE & RESEARCH TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2015 • PAGE 3
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Ziya Gokaslan hired as new chief of neurosurgery
COURTESY OF BROWN UNIVERSITY
Ziya Gokaslan P’18 hopes to expand functional and interventional neurosurgery and eventually bring another brain tumor surgeon to Brown.
Gokaslan hopes to build bridges between clinical neurosurgery, sciences on campus By ELANA JAFFE SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Ziya Gokaslan P’18 was recently appointed as chairman of the department of neurosurgery at the Alpert Medical
School, chief of neurosurgery at Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital and clinical director of the Norman Prince Neurosciences Institute, according to a March 5 press release from Rhode Island Hospital.
Gokaslan, who is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, will leave his posts as director of the Neurosurgical Spine Center and vice chairman of neurosurgery at the John Hopkins School of Medicine to assume his three new positions and join his son in Providence July 1. The clinical neurosciences — namely psychiatry and neurosurgery — at Brown have become very strong departments, “second to none” in the past five to 10 years, Gokaslan said. But he added that the Department of Neurosurgery has been held back in recent years by the unexpected departure of former chair Garth Rees Cosgrove. An ongoing search has taken place since Cosgrove left the position in January 2014, said John Robson, administrative director of the NPNI and associate director of the Brown Institute for Brain Sciences. Gokaslan is “going to be one of the key leaders of the institute,” Robson said. This gap in neurosurgery presents an “immense opportunity,” and while the department has a great core, Gokaslan said he hopes to expand on it. “The department of neurosurgery and Brown neurosciences are in an excellent position to be a leader in the world.” The NPNI, established in 2010 with a $15 million gift from the Prince Family Foundation, will be a “platform for translational research to take discoveries from the Brown sciences campus and bring them into the hospitals and apply them to the patients,” Gokaslan said, adding that it will serve as a “catalyst” for connecting academic and clinical spheres. The NPNI has “focused on building
collaborations between the clinical neuroscience faculty in the hospitals and the basic sciences on campus,” Robson said. The work Gokaslan envisions has the potential not only to be educational material, but also to change lives, he said. Gokaslan said he hopes to expand functional neurosurgery, both in research and in clinical application. Functional neurosurgery includes procedures like deep brain stimulation technology that treat a host of conditions such as epilepsy, obesity, anorexia, movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease, and psychiatric conditions such as depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Functional neurosurgery is a “critical area where undergrads could get involved with neuroscience investigation” on a basic level, said Glenn Tung, associate dean of clinical affairs at the Med School. Interventional neurosurgery, such as emergency surgery to remove a blood clot after a stroke, is another procedure Gokaslan said he hopes to bring to the Miriam and Rhode Island Hospitals. These surgeries can reduce stroke mortality and disability when used in addition to the current standard treatment of Intra-arterial Thrombolysis — a process of dissolving blood clots. Gokaslan said he also hopes to bring another “world class brain tumor surgeon” to Brown to hold clinical trials and expand clinical neurosurgical oncology. Gokaslan will add minimally invasive procedures to the hospital repertoire, he said. The neurosurgery department is central among the 15 academic departments associated with BIBS, said
John Davenport, associate director of BIBS. The BIBS Executive Committee, on which Gokaslan will serve, is composed of the chairs of many departments including computer science, applied math and engineering. The committee works to “stimulate collaboration across the departments” and build “connections between basic science efforts and the clinical enterprise,” Davenport said, adding that “there aren’t many places in the country or the world where you actually get the chairs of psychiatry, neuroscience and neurosurgery to sit together with basic neuroscience and CS and engineering (department chairs).” “I can’t imagine a better place than Brown” to actualize this opportunity of translation, Gokaslan said. “Neurosurgeons are our interface with the human brain,” Davenport said, adding that along with developments in neurotechnology, “there’s an interest in using this neurosurgery window into the brain to do what people call human neuroscience — examining the neuronal level of how the human brain works.” New technology will be key, Gokaslan said. “We will expand programs to provide best outcomes for our patients.” Over the last four years, Brown has hired new faculty members and invested in research equipment and facilities, Davenport said. Gokaslan was a top candidate because of “his excellent national and international reputation,” as well as his executive experience, Tung said. Gokaslan will also teach first-year medical students, Tung said. Robson also cited Gokaslan’s personality and reputation as qualities that will make him a “terrific recruiter.”
Study finds relationship between siblings, levels of sexual activity Adolescents who believe their older siblings are sexually active found to have higher sexual activity themselves By JACLYN TORRES CONTRIBUTING WRITER
University psychologists published the results of a study on siblings’ influence on sexual behavior in a paper in the most recent issue of the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. The study focused on adolescents at risk for emotional or behavioral problems throughout the country to assess their attitudes regarding sexual activity over a number of years. The researchers began the study with children ranging from 12 to 18 years of age, with a representative cross-section of race and gender. The psychologists followed up with the adolescents one year and four years after the initial study. A parent, usually the mother, provided general medical information about the siblings and the younger of the siblings answered questions on a computer in a separate room. The loose definition of “sibling” was a unique feature of the study as it included both biological siblings as well as cousins and stepsiblings, said Susan McHale, professor of human
development and family studies at Pennsylvania State University, who was not involved with the study. McHale said the researchers’ decision to focus on different genetic relationships is intriguing due to variations in their relative genetic relationships. The genome is the same between identical twins, 50 percent the same between fraternal twins and siblings and only 25 percent the same between cousins. The study dealt with younger siblings’ perceptions of their older siblings, said Brandon Almy ’12, a doctoral student in the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota, who is the first author on the study. “The older sibling is an idea more than someone we know. We have no good idea about what the older sibling looks like.” After ensuring variability in the sample, the researchers divided the adolescents into three groups: those who thought their sibling was having sex, those who did not think their sibling was having sex and those who did not have a sibling. “The inclusion of the no older sibling group is a strength of this study,”
Almy said. “It helps to discover what perceptions of older siblings are protected as well as the risk factors of differences in siblings.” The study suggests that adolescents who believe their sibling is not sexually active are more conservative in their own sexual attitude and behaviors. This group also tends to seek praise from the maternal figure. Those who believe their sibling is sexually active are more likely to be more sexually active. McHale cautioned against making generalizations about the study. “There is always a need for followup studies. Kids can exaggerate how involved they are or keep a tight lip about (their sexual behavior).” “Since we were working with adolescents, who knows how the crosssection was made,” Almy said. “We don’t know how accurate our results are because some siblings are super close, discussing in the dark, whereas some are feeding their younger siblings information as a scare tactic.” Because of its deep analysis of adolescents’ medical records, health history and family background, the study can also be utilized for research about healthy relationships, McHale said. University psychologists collected DNA and blood samples to analyze
risk factors of diabetes, high cholesterol levels and other potential health hazards, Almy said.
“The sibling relationship is understudied. It would be neat finding more research within the sibling domain.”
SPORTS
PAGE 4 • TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2015
» SKI TEAM , from page 1 previously, but it’s been a total aside,” Mosenthal added. The athletes’ well-being was cited as a significant factor in the original 2011 Athletics Review Committee report that recommended the team be cut. Then-President Ruth Simmons said in her response that the team should devise a new practice plan to cut down travel time, which the team has done. But the skiers said Paxson also acknowledged the team’s finances and asked them to create a document outlining a fundraising plan in addition to mollifying her concerns about their safety while traveling. Mosenthal said Paxson wanted to see a “clear path to where the administration wants (the team) to be” financially — a significant departure from Hayes’ strong implication that the team could be cut as soon as March 18 if it could not come up with $1.5 million for its endowment. Overall, the skiers felt their meeting with Paxson was encouraging. “She was pretty positive with us,” Engelhardt said. “She gave us probably the most room to work with out of anyone we have met with so far. … We were definitely happy coming out of the meeting.” Another topic of discussion in the meeting was the short timeline the school imposed for fundraising. Mosenthal and Engelhardt said Paxson explained that the school wanted a decision to be made soon about the status of the team because admission
decisions will be released March 31. Potential students who may want to join the skiing team could then make matriculation decisions with full knowledge of the team’s future status. But Mosenthal said the team has no recruiting spots for the upcoming year, and it is unlikely that a ski racer talented enough to join the team would apply and plan to walk on instead of simply attending another school. The only new skier set to join the team next season was accepted last year and deferred her acceptance. Therefore, rushing a decision based on admission concerns “doesn’t really make sense,” she said, adding, “It would be more unfair to the people on the team.” Engelhardt added that Paxson “might not have known” about the team’s lack of recruits for this year. The skiers said Paxson was able to learn a lot about the team during their conversations. She believed team members drove themselves to practice, citing that as a safety concern, when in fact Head Coach Michael Leblanc drives them. She also asked what the implications of being demoted would be for the team competitively, specifically wondering whether it was simply “a status thing,” Engelhardt said. If demoted, team members would have to drive themselves to practice, and skiers would be in more danger if denied access to the school’s athletic trainers, increasing the likelihood of injury, Engelhardt said. But the skiers understood Paxson’s confusion and appreciated her desire
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD to learn. “She made it sound like she was aware of the fact that she needed to do more research,” Mosenthal said. At the same time, Mosenthal and Engelhardt said misconceptions about the team have become a trend in their meetings with administrators. “It’s frustrating to even get the question, ‘What would it mean to be demoted to club?’” Mosenthal said. “It’s the same as if you asked that of our football team. What would it mean if we had a club football team? They wouldn’t be competitive.” “If you are going to put a team up for demotion, you should make sure you have all of the facts straight,” she added. The skiers said they plan to finish the memo in the next day or two and have scheduled a meeting with the Brown Sports Foundation Thursday. Mosenthal said the purpose of the meeting is to “build a bridge” and help establish a rapport, adding that the BSF has been “on our side” throughout. After spring break, the skiers hope to meet with Hayes again, in light of their memo and meetings with other administrators. The skiers said that, as they understand it, the process for a decision will begin with a recommendation from Hayes. The recommendation will then be decided upon by a group of people, including Paxson, Hayes, Klawunn, members of the Corporation and the BSF. A specific timeframe for a final decision about the team’s fate is unknown.
G R E E N D AY
MATTEO MOBILIO / HERALD
Storefronts along Thayer Street, like Pleasant Surprise, are decked out in green merchandise to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
TODAY
TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2015 • PAGE 5
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
menu
beaming
SATELLITE DINING JOSIAH’S Made-to-Order Quesadillas BLUE ROOM South Indian Chicken Curry Soups: Butternut Squash, Turkey Sausage and Kale, Three Bean Chili ANDREWS COMMONS Pizzas: Bacon Chicken Ranch, Spicy Five Cheese and Garlic, Pepperoni and Meatball
DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH
DINNER
Hot Turkey Sandwich with Gravy, Sweet Ginger Tofu StirFry, Holiday Cookies
Corned Beef Brisket, Colcannon Potatoes, Braised Cabbage, Irish Cream Cheesecake
VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH
DINNER
Barbecue Beef on a Bun, Grilled Caribbean Jerk Chicken, Holiday Cookies
Chicken Saute With Mustard Sauce, Corned Beef Brisket, Vegetarian Onion Soup
sudoku
ELI WHITE / HERALD
Gymnast Regan Butchness ’18 scored a 9.725 on beam during the team’s March 15 home finale in which the Bears defeated the Yale Bulldogs. The team competes in the ECAC Championship at Yale on Saturday.
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calendar TODAY
TOMORROW
11:00 A.M. #DEARNANHUI LETTER WRITING CAMPAIGN
12:00 P.M. SPRING INTO SPRING WITH CCB
The group Brown Asian Sisters Empowered will provide supplies for interested students to write a note of encouragement and support for Nan-Hui, who was convicted for child abduction after fleeing her abusive partner with her daughter. J. Walter Wilson Lobby
To celebrate spring, the 2016 and 2017 Class Coordinating Boards will have cookies, ice cream and heavy petting for students to enjoy. Main Green
6:30 P.M. MATHEMATICS OF COOKING
Harvard Physics Professor Michael Brenner and Chef Mark Ladner will demonstrate the scientific and mathematical principles behind cooking through culinary experiments in this ICERM Public Lecture. Salomon 101
12:00 P.M. ETHICAL INQUIRY LECTURE: SONJA LYUBOMIRSKY
Sonja Lyubomirsky from the University of California at Riverside will deliver a lecture called “Happiness: Science, Practice and Myths.” Salomon 001 7:00 P.M. DOES NATURAL SELECTION INVALIDATE OUR MORAL BELIEFS?
7:00 P.M. GETTING YOUR BODY BACK
Sexual Health Education and Empowerment Council will discuss healing and sexual intimacy after an assault. Salomon 003
The Philosophy DUG will host a discussion on how our moral beliefs seem to have biological underpinnings. Wilson 302
COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2015
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
EDITORIAL
Help them help you On March 3, Dean of the College Maud Mandel and Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services Margaret Klawunn sent all enrolled students an email with a link to the Enrolled Student Survey, designed by the Consortium on Financing Higher Education. The administration sends students numerous emails, often very long summaries of news from Corporation meetings, or messages about new committees from the Provost’s Office. These emails help update the student body on what is happening behind the scenes at Brown and inform the community about what the administration and the Corporation are doing, which is often removed from the public eye. Particularly in the past year, students have demanded greater transparency from the administration and rightly so. Subjects such as the Ray Kelly protest, the debate on whether to divest the University’s endowment from coal and the critical issue of sexual assault have illuminated the need for better communication among different parts of the University. The Enrolled Student Survey is a positive and productive step to strengthen this relationship. The survey asks students to answer questions about their academic development, social lives and overall well-being as students at Brown. In a follow-up email on March 13, Mary Heather Smith, senior institutional research analyst, urged students to participate, asking, “What is going well? What could use some help?” While surveys are sent to students on a regular basis, they are often meant to gauge students’ support for topics including sustainability efforts on campus, designs for future campus development or postgraduate plans. While such questionnaires do try to capture student interest, what sets the Enrolled Students Survey apart from the others is its highly personal nature. The release of the Enrolled Students Survey should not be limited to every four years, even if they feel more data would not be helpful. What the survey shows is a tangible interest from the administration in the well-being of students — something that does not always come across, particularly as of late. It is baffling that despite numerous resources considered to be available to students, many at Brown still feel isolated and adrift and cannot get the help that they need to feel comfortable and to thrive on College Hill. For example, Counseling and Psychological Services offers appointments with a psychiatrist, but obstacles — both financial and bureaucratic — discourage many from requesting this type of assistance. Yes, these resources are available to students, but a student might not know about them or know how to approach such a situation without guidance. Faculty members and administrators could extend a hand to those who need it by involving themselves more in the student body, because life at Brown is not always easy or pleasant. Every student should be able to create lasting relationships with professors, be asked about their post-graduation plans and feel mentally and physically healthy in an academic environment as rigorous as Brown’s. To students who are overwhelmed with the number of emails they receive each day — try to take the survey before it closes on March 25. If the administration is encouraging the student body to share experiences with their peers, professors and advisors at Brown, students should encourage more questionnaires like this one.
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, Mathias Heller ’15 and Aranshi Kumar ’17. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
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CORRECTION An article in Friday’s Herald (“MPC workshop explores historical, modern issues of immigration,” March 13) misquoted Annie Furuyama ’18 as saying the history of immigration is “such a large part of the American narrative that is not deeply integrated.” In fact, she said “interrogated.” The Herald regrets the error.
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COMMENTARY TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2015 • PAGE 7
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
A campus united MILI MITRA opinions columnist
In my six months at Brown, I’ve grown to love its greens and quads, its eclectic architecture and even its prehistoric dining halls. I’ve been inspired by my peers, motivated by my professors and excited by a wealth of new opportunities. But, most of all, I’ve come to love the spirit of unity that exists on campus. This unity is ever-present at Brown, even during times of hardship. Brown has undoubtedly passed through a dark period in the last two weeks. In spite of the improving weather and imminence of spring break, the main topic of conversation has been frustration at the University’s response to the alleged spiking of two women’s drinks with GHB at a Phi Kappa Psi party, after which one of the women reported being sexually assaulted. There has been widespread anger and confusion over the University’s decision to drop charges against the alleged drugger. This preoccupation is natural, as students are justifiably concerned about campus security and justice. But the collective response of the student body has been moving, dignified and representative of what Brown should stand for. Before I came to Brown, I had
heard a lot of criticism about the “extreme,” non-inclusive campus culture. These critiques primarily stem from the infamous protest against Ray Kelly and his talk about “proactive policing” policies. While I agreed with many of the protesters on a personal and ideological level, I could also understand the logic behind such criticism. The demonstrations were extremely disruptive and vitri-
protest itself. The incident remains a contentious part of Brown’s recent history, but the student body has apparently learned from its mistakes. In direct contrast with the Ray Kelly debacle, students have raised concerns over the University’s sexual assault policies in a less disruptive but equally powerful way. The protest at a March 5 talk entitled “Cracking the Glass Ceiling: Female Presi-
spect and consideration for all present and brought important attention to the issue at hand. Moreover, the recent large-scale protest against the University’s sexual assault policies was emotive and powerful. On March 11, approximately 400 people marched in silence from Wriston Quadrangle to the Quiet Green. They walked in silence with the same symbolic dol-
If this campus is to be made a safer place, student voices — like those of the protesters — must be heard. And the March 11 protest was an inspiring way to bring attention to those very voices.
olic. The protesters were not content with simply making their displeasure known. They did not rest until the talk was canceled. Though Kelly was responsible for a gross miscarriage of justice with his racial profiling policies, the protesters’ methods were too polarizing to generate consensus on campus. Most students disagreed with his views, but some believed he should have been allowed to speak and treated with more respect. This lack of consensus undermined the scope of the
dents and the Changing University,” featuring President Christina Paxson P’19, showcased an effective use of restraint. It had echoes of the demonstrations at the Ray Kelly talk, but instead, students allowed the speakers to present in full. Rather than shutting down the talk, the students simply stood in unison, wearing red clothes and duct tape embellished with dollar bills and a red “IX” over their mouths, for less than a minute before sitting down as the talk commenced. In doing so, they showed re-
lar bill taped over their mouths. The protest garnered support from most students and did not earn the disapproval of the Brown administration. The protest was, more than anything, poignant and unifying. Once again, it did not disturb bystanders but still managed to send out a strong message of campus-wide solidarity. It is important to note that, despite the administration’s silence in the wake of the protest, they did not try to prevent or curtail it. This seems like a tacit acceptance of the
protest’s validity. It is also an acknowledgment of the fact that, this time around, the campus stands united. Each and every member of the Brown community, including the well-meaning but maligned Paxson and Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services Margaret Klawunn, wants a safer campus. All right-minded students and staff members believe in the idea of bringing those found responsible for crimes to justice. And, in part due to the tasteful restraint shown by the protesters, most seem to agree that the demonstrators have opinions and concerns that need to be addressed. Whether or not you believe the allegations of drugging and rape, it is imperative that we foster strong discussion on campus. Sexual assault is all too prevalent in colleges across the country, and Brown needs to take action immediately to protect its students. If this campus is to be made a safer place, student voices — like those of the protesters — must be heard. And the March 11 protest was an inspiring way to bring attention to those very voices.
Mili Mitra ’18 remains hopeful that the Brown administration will take heed and improve its sexual assault policies. She can be reached at mili_mitra@brown.edu.
Coordinating coursework outside STEM DUNCAN WEINSTEIN opinions columnist
What do statistics, 20th-century American politics, 19th-century architecture and the Vikings have in common? Those are the four classes I’m taking this semester, and I can tell you from experience they have almost nothing in common. This is not unusual for me. As a history concentrator who takes mostly social science courses, I’m used to jumping around through time and space. And I’m not the only one: Based on conversations with classmates, it seems that most students at Brown will take at least one or two “fun” classes outside their main fields. In science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields, learning is often broken up into sequences across semesters. First, you take Chem 33, then Orgo I, then Orgo II. This fits the nature of the disciplines, where what you learned last semester is critical to what you’re learning this semester. Plus, students in the STEM fields tend to have less flexible course plans because their concentrations often have more requirements than non-STEM disciplines do. The humanities and social sciences are not structured like STEM courses where information from semester to semester builds off of each other. Once you acquire the necessary skills — writing concisely, reading and thinking analytically — you can study a broad range of things. That’s at once liberating and disorienting. The closest I’ve ever come to taking a coor-
dinated course load was last semester, when I took “Land Use and Capitalism,” which briefly touches on India, at the same time I was taking “History of Colonial India.” Though the overlap was brief, I benefited from putting the material I learned in the two classes together for a broader perspective on India and capitalism. This is a natural outgrowth of the way many non-STEM classes are developed, scheduled and taught: Each professor creates or modifies a course and teaches it on his or her own schedule. This system can be an asset
tion, collaboration would allow professors to recognize where overlaps exist without forcing them to alter their courses or add new ones. Taking all the courses on a recommended schedule would be optional for students but available to them if they choose to utilize it. This process could be organized by the administrators, department heads or a student group, like the Critical Review. The recommendations could be posted on a number of platforms, including ASK, Banner or department websites. Classes could overlap in time and place, for
Faculty members in the social sciences or humanities should come together and find areas where their courses could be taken either concurrently or in sequence like in STEM fields.
because it allows professors to teach the subjects about which they have the most knowledge and passion. But the downside of this can be fragmentary knowledge and a lack of perspective. As a solution, faculty members in the social sciences or humanities should come together and find areas where their courses could be taken either concurrently or in sequence like in STEM fields. While this might mean some professors need to change their course rota-
example HIST 1020: “Living Together: Muslims, Christians and Jews in Medieval Iberia” and HIST 1977F: “Barbarians, Byzantines and Berbers: Early Medieval North Africa.” Classes could also overlap across departments such as GRMN 1320K: “Achilles Around 1800” and CLAS 1120B: “Epic Poetry from Homer to Lucan.” Given the huge number of courses available on Banner, such a system could help students find courses they otherwise might miss. The next step is to make students aware
of these options, especially freshmen. Coming into Brown, I felt an acute lack of institutional knowledge. I had no clue who any of the professors were or what their classes were like, and there were more options than I could possibly shop. Since neither my freshman advisor nor my Meiklejohn Peer Advisor specialized in the fields I was interested in, I felt a little adrift. I shopped as many courses as I had time for, going only off of the subject and the Critical Review. Having slates of recommended courses that mesh well together could help provide freshmen, and all students, with an additional advising resource. Another key resource could be lists of classes that are similar and what makes them different. For example, SOC 1620: “Globalization and Social Conflict,” HIST 1311: “Land Use and Capitalism” and HIST 0150A: “History of Capitalism” all cover similar themes and readings, but with some differences. Identifying all of these similar courses in one place would help students interested in the history of capitalism find the course that best fits them. Plenty of other schools have course plans for the humanities and social sciences, but without the same freedom as the open curriculum, which can be just as overwhelming as it is liberating. Having optional slates of courses to help guide students through the sheer vastness of course offerings might make the open curriculum work better.
Duncan Weinstein ’17 would really like to see this idea implemented. He can be reached at duncan_weinstein@brown.edu.
SPORTS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2015
DAVID DECKEY / HERALD
Matt Lorito ’15 has defended Brown’s side of the rink for four years. He and two of his teammates, Matt Harlow ‘15 and Massimo Lamacchia ‘15, signed amateur tryout agreements with the Albany Devils, Elmira Jackals and Greenville Road Warriors, respectively. All three teams are minor league affiliates of NHL teams.
M. HOCKEY
Harlow ’15, Lamacchia ’15 sign professional contracts Seniors attribute much of their success to varsity experience, Brown hockey coaching staff By MATT BROWNSWORD SENIOR STAFF WRITER
A day after Matt Lorito ’15 signed an amateur tryout agreement to play hockey with the Albany Devils, teammates Matt Harlow ’15 and Massimo Lamacchia ’15 signed ATOs to play for the ECHL’s Elmira Jackals and Greenville Road Warriors, respectively. The Jackals are the minor league affiliate of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, while the Road Warriors are the minor league affiliate of the New York Rangers. “It felt good,” Harlow said. “It’s a huge opportunity for me. It’ll be good for me to get a couple pro games under my belt and keep playing hockey. Our season at Brown ended earlier than
expected, so it’s good for me to just keep the season going.” The attention was a relative surprise to Harlow, who has served as a third or fourth liner for the majority of the year. “I wasn’t talking to anyone during the season,” Harlow said. “The Jackals coach just called me up and told me he needed me as soon as I could get there. So I just packed my bags and left Thursday for the rink.” Harlow had three goals and three assists in his final season at Brown, ending his college career with 36 points. The forward had a peak year as a sophomore, registering doubledigit points for the only time in his career and playing a crucial role on a team that made it to the ECAC
championship game. “Obviously, playing at Brown had a huge impact on me,” Harlow said. “The ECAC’s probably the best league in the country — there’s no nights off when you play in that schedule.” Harlow has “been a great player for us over the years,” said Head Coach Brendan Whittet ’94. “He’s picked up a lot of minutes over his time here. He’s probably up there in terms of games played. He plays the game very well, and he reads the ice better than most players I’ve coached.” Harlow played in 127 games for the Bears, more than any current senior on the team. He was a consistent contributor to the scoresheet, with his senior tally of six points being the least he has ever registered in a season. But Harlow was never a prolific scorer for Bruno, so his role on the Jackals will have to
play out in time. “He’ll probably have to define his role,” Whittet said. “Most players aren’t cast into roles, but I’d expect (Harlow) to pick up a couple points and be on the scoresheet often because of his smarts on the ice.” “The Brown coaching staff helped me get to where I am today,” Harlow said. “I’m really grateful for that.” Lamacchia was the third of Brown’s senior class to sign with an NHL team’s minor league affiliate. He was one of four players on the 2011-12 team to play in all 32 games and was one of only two first-years who played 30 games that year. (Harlow was the other.) Lamacchia had a similar role to Harlow: After fluctuating across lines one to four, the senior settled in at center alongside Ryan Jacobson ’15 and Harlow on the Bears’ fourth line
for this year’s season-ending stretch. “I’m very excited for the opportunity to experience professional hockey and to see what it’s like at the next level,” Lamacchia said. “Greenville is a great team and organization, and I’m grateful for the chance.” Lamacchia was also a role player on the 2012-13 team, playing 28 games and recording nine points. The senior was remarkably consistent over his tenure with the Bears, registering nine, 10, 11 and 12 points in his four years with Brown. One of his career highlight moments was a two-goal effort against Boston College, one of the top teams in the country at that time. “My time at Brown was awesome and it definitely helped me become the person and player I am today,” Lamacchia said. “My coaches and teammates were great at helping me along the way.”
SPORTS COMMENTARY
Patriots’ divisonal rivals closing the gap in AFC East BY MICHAEL FIRN sports columnist
Since 2001, the New England Patriots have made six trips to the Super Bowl. In that same period of time, all other AFC East teams have made eight playoff appearances in total. Read that again. New England’s perch atop the AFC East has been as secure as they come in the world of sports. But in what almost seems like a coordinated effort between jealous younger siblings, the Patriots’ division rivals are beefing up this offseason to take down their more successful brother. More than a few of Adam Schefter’s news-breaking tweets have focused on major moves coming out of Buffalo, New York and Miami this offseason. The AFC East’s constituents are hoping to finally dig a few potholes in the Patriots’ otherwise unobstructed road to the playoffs. Count new Bills coach Rex Ryan among those who believe the AFC East is due for a change in hierarchy: “I believe the rest of the division really has
gotten stronger,” while the Patriots “don’t look as strong as they did.” Ryan has never been known for his bashfulness, but on paper he’s right. The Patriots have undoubtedly lost a number of impact players. Their division rivals have undeniably reloaded. Despite renewed confidence from the Super Bowl, Pats fans are looking over their shoulders in the East for the first time in recent memory. In short, here’s how the Jets, Dolphins and Bills have shaken things up so far. New York: Entering the offseason, the Jets had a problem at cornerback. Inking Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie and Buster Skrine is quite the solution. I want to be mad that Revis spurned the Patriots, but in a league with such short career spans and very little guaranteed money, it’s pretty unreasonable to admonish a player for chasing max money. As former lineman Damien Woody explains, “they don’t take legacy at the cash register.” On the other hand, $70 million buys quite a bit. On offense, the Jets traded for
journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick to compete with Geno Smith for the starting quarterback spot. At the very least, Fitzpatrick will bring an element of grizzled, if uninspiring, veteran leadership to a position that has been perennially in flux for New York. The Jets smartly bought low on Brandon Marshall, whose dominant possession skills should complement Eric Decker’s athleticism on the outside. Whoever is under center for the Jets in 2015 will be throwing to a formidable pair of wide receivers. Miami: The Dolphins made the biggest splash of the offseason by winning the sweepstakes for the league’s undisputed top free agent. Say what you want about the generous contract and the locker room impact, but Ndamukong Suh is a once-in-a-generation football talent. Even for the whopping price tag of $114 million, it’s understandably tough to pass on the prospect of a defensive line anchored by Suh, Cameron Wake and Dion Jordan. By signing Jordan Cameron and swapping out Mike Wallace for the younger and cheaper Kenny Stills, the Dolphins have also added impact
players on offense. Still, Suh has rightfully dominated the headlines in Miami. Buffalo: Buffalo’s offseason began by bringing defensive-minded coach Rex Ryan into the fold of an already stout defensive unit that just re-signed edge rusher Jerry Hughes. Ryan’s presence should energize one of the NFL’s most forgotten franchises right away. Ryan’s offenses almost always feature a workhorse lead back. By pulling off a stunning swap with the Eagles, Ryan got his prized chess piece in elite running back LeSean McCoy. Along with wide receivers Sammy Watkins and Percy Harvin — who was signed after being released by the Jets — McCoy adds an element of explosive playmaking to a suddenly intriguing offensive arsenal. Newly acquired quarterback Matt Cassel isn’t exactly oozing upside, but he provides consistency and game management to a squad that figures to rely largely on its defensive prowess to win games. So yeah, on paper, these teams got better. An influx of talent may have reinvigorated the competitive landscape of
the AFC East. But here’s why the Patriots will still destroy them all on the march toward another division crown: Football isn’t played on paper, and games aren’t won in March. There’s a reason the best teams never shell out big bucks for the best players — if a free agent has been around long enough to hit the market and make a name for himself, he’s likely entering the decline phase of his career. So while the Jets, Dolphins and Bills of the world generate buzz by handing out multi-year contracts to aging stars that eat up cap space, New England sticks to its system of long-term roster construction. You can’t argue with the track record. Coach Bill Belichick has earned the benefit of the doubt. One day, Tom Brady and Belichick will retire, and the race for AFC East supremacy will once again be subject to the cyclical forces of competition. But until then, the East is ours. In Bill we trust.
Mike Firn ’16 knows that this is why everyone hates Pats fans. Berate his arrogance at michael_firn@brown.edu.