Wednesday, April 15, 2015

SINCE 1891

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015

VOLUME CL, ISSUE 54

WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM

Mailroom to be renovated by 2016 Athletes report higher rates

of fiscal, social conservatism

BUCC also discusses interim alcohol policy, Code of Conduct, mental health resources

Socioeconomic status, competitive culture may contribute to conservative makeup of athletic teams

By SHAVON BELL SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Renovations to the mailroom, improvements to mental health procedures, adjustments to alcohol and social event policies and the Task Force on Sexual Assault’s final report were all key points of discussion at a Brown University Community Council meeting Tuesday.

Elizabeth Gentry, Mail Services’ assistant vice president of business and financial services, opened the Council’s official agenda with a presentation on future updates to Mail Services. Mail Services administrators have recently examined delivery, storage and handling procedures at other institutions, such as Lehigh University and Emory University, in an effort to adequately address huge increases in the number of packages, a deficiency of mailboxes and slow mail processing, Gentry said.

To combat these challenges, Gentry and her team have planned a renovation of the mail center and mailbox area in J. Walter Wilson, to be completed by January 2016. The renovations will employ an “open concept” to ease the flow of

By BAYLOR KNOBLOCH SENIOR STAFF WRITER

HERALD FILE PHOTO

The Mail Services renovation will eliminate the mailbox system and students will be notified by email when they receive letters, Gentry said. traffic in the building and use space more economically, Gentry added.

With a $900,000 budget approval from the Space Committee, the renovations will allow for a high-density system, in which student paper mail is stored together in one location rather than in separate boxes, Gentry explained. Similar to the current package notification system, students will be sent

an email when they receive letters. The renovation “will not eliminate any jobs — likely it will add them,” Gentry said.

Yolanda Castillo-Appollonio ’95, associate dean for student life and deputy Title IX coordinator, continued the meeting with an overview of various proposed revisions to the Code of Student Conduct. Castillo-Appollonio » See BUCC, page 3

A Herald poll of undergraduates conducted March 2-3 found that conservative beliefs are twice as prevalent among athletes as among non-athletes at Brown.

About a dozen athletes interviewed said this trend is readily apparent on their teams and could be attributed to socioeconomic and geographic backgrounds, the competitive nature of collegiate sports and the priorities of recruited athletes.

Only 6 percent of non-athletes identified as socially conservative compared to 12 percent of athletes. Meanwhile, 15 percent of non-athletes identified as fiscally conservative compared to 35 percent of athletes.

“It’s a lot more fiscally conservative than socially conservative,” said Pearson Potts ’16, a member of the sailing team, adding that athletes are more “libertarian.”

“Most athletes seem to me to be apolitical, but when push comes to shove, gravitate toward fiscal conservatism,”

wrote Hunter Davis ’16, a member of the women’s ice hockey team and the Brown Democrats, in an email to The Herald.

Many student athletes expressed little surprise at the poll’s findings.

Some traced the trend back to sports that often draw players from higher socioeconomic backgrounds.

“Think of sports like golf or squash or lacrosse,” said Thomas Blecher ’18, a member of the men’s squash team.

“Those sports are more targeted towards the well-off.”

“The high-cost sports are probably more conservative,” Potts said. “Republicans have this stigma of being the wealthy elitist, and that sort of embodies a lot of those sports.”

Sports such as crew, sailing, equestrian, squash, hockey and lacrosse are “high-cost” sports due to pricy equipment, he said.

“A lot of my friends rowed at prep schools — the background of an athlete is conducive to being conservative,” said Hunter Leeming ’15, a member of the men’s crew team.

“It’s expensive to run a crew program, and (it’s) the same thing with squash,” said Jimmy Bell ’18, a member of the wresting team. “Those things tend to be accessible to people with money, and those areas » See ATHLETES, page 2

Exhibit explores poverty, In surprise move, Chafee may challenge Clinton Former R.I. governor inequality through art focuses on foreign policy, 11 artists respond to themes of professor’s book on rural India in Watson Institute exhibit

By CAROLYNN CONG STAFF WRITER

A framed photograph of a rustic ax greets visitors upon entering the North Common Room on the second floor of the Watson Institute for International Studies. The ax is tarnished and worn — sand and grime coat the blade and the wooden shaft is hackneyed yet polished at the end from being handled so often in the past.

In the photograph, the ax lies halfway buried in a dry clay pit that is exactly its size and shape, an ambiguous image that invites the viewer inside.

The exhibit, “Poverty and the Quest for Life: A Conversation between Mediums,” will be on display April 6 through May 29. Hosted by Art at Watson in conjunction with the BrownIndia Initiative, the show consists of

ARTS & CULTURE

INSIDE

a series of works by 11 contemporary artists responding to Assistant Professor of Anthropology Bhrigupati Singh’s new book, “Poverty and the Quest for Life: Spiritual and Material Striving in Rural India.”

Singh said his book is an ethnographic exploration of a group of bonded laborers called the Sahariyas in rural India. In the text, Singh imagines the quality of life for this group of laborers, who were required to work in order to repay their loans. The text focuses on how group members contextualized “their aspirations, their advancement and a higher quality of life,” Singh said.

The book aims to introduce a “wide variety of perspectives on issues such as inequality, state power and religion” that can be more broadly applied to anywhere in the world, he said. It is meant to offer readers “a way of thinking about the world.”

The exhibit at the Watson Institute is an invitation for people to respond to and engage in a conversation around the book’s concepts, Singh said. Certain ideas can manifest themselves differently across fields and mediums — the » See EXHIBIT, page 4

consistent values in presidential consideration

By AGNES CHAN STAFF WRITER

Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee ’75 P’14 P’17 announced Thursday that he has formed an exploratory committee to consider a 2016 presidential run. His potential bid is not anticipated to gain much traction in a race for the Democratic nomination that would pit him against frontrunner Hillary Clinton, who launched her campaign Sunday.

Chafee’s announcement video emphasized his hopes of mending the United States’ relationship with other nations through improved foreign policy, while also providing stability and safety for Americans. “As we look to the future in this age of nuclear weapons, I am alarmed about the international instability, especially in the Middle East and North Africa. I don’t like where this is going,” Chafee said in the video.

“This may simply be an effort to promote his image — and sell a few books

METRO

HERALD FILE PHOTO

Lincoln Chafee ’75 P’14 P’17, who was elected governor as an Independent in 2010, had a 25 percent approval rating when he left office in January. along the way,” wrote Philip Bump, a writer for the Washington Post’s daily political blog, The Fix, Thursday. An advertisement to buy Chafee’s book, “Against the Tide,” which was published in 2008, is prominently placed on his website, Chafee2016.com, Bump noted.

Chafee began his career in state politics as a delegate to the Rhode Island State Constitutional Convention in 1985 before being appointed to his father John Chafee’s U.S. Senate seat upon his death in 1999. Chafee won the same Senate » See CHAFEE, page 3

WEATHER

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015

METRO New York Times sports writer discussed her circuitious career path at Tuesday lecture

ARTS & CULTURE Local artists put on concert celebrating new campus music publication, B-Side Magazine

COMMENTARY Asker ’17: University of Michigan screening of “American Sniper” drowns out dissenting voices

COMMENTARY Isman ’15: Graduating seniors should take advantage of all that Brown has to offer

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UNIVERSITY NEWS PAGE 2 • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015

» ATHLETES, from page 1 tend to be more conservative,” he said, describing what he called “country club” areas in lower New England.

“All of my friends who play lacrosse and squash and row crew are so red,” Bell said. “Lacrosse, crew and squash are bred in areas where conservativism is a badge of pride.”

But even in sports not dominated by the affluent, like wrestling, a conservative philosophy predominates, Bell said.

“Wrestling is a team sport, but at the end of the day, it’s just you,” he said, adding that this mentality corresponds with the staunch individualism that conservatives stand for.

Other more financially accessible sports include soccer, basketball and football — all of which are staples at high schools across the country.

“I wouldn’t say at Brown that football is considered an upper-class sport,” said Xavier Russo ’15, a member of the football team. “You definitely get the kids that are the quarterback type that come from a nice family, but then you also get the players that don’t come from much at all,” he said.

Despite the team’s socioeconomic diversity, a conservative ethos still exists, Russo said. “It’s no secret that we’re on a conservative team. It’s just a fact.”

Geographic trends may contribute to these conservative tendencies, as many football players hail from Southern or Midwestern states — areas of the country that are typically more right-leaning.

In addition to geographic factors, conservatism among athletes may also be explained by sports’ competitive nature.

“Conservatives have this mentality of pulling yourself up from your bootstraps,” Potts said. “Athletes are taught that culture.”

Athletes may also have different priorities when choosing a college, placing greater emphasis on athletic programs and coaches than campus political climate.

“Brown typically attracts non-athlete students to a very liberal institution, and when kids are recruited to play a sport,

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Social and fiscal views among athletes and non-athletes Athletes are twice as likely to identify as either very or somewhat conservative on both social and fiscal issues.

Athletes Conservative: No opinion: 3.6% 11.7%

Social views

Non-athletes

Conservative: No opinion: 3.0% 5.8% Centrist: 6.7%

Centrist: 5.4% Liberal: 79.2%

Liberal: 84.6%

No opinion: 10.9%

No opinion: 8.9%

Fiscal views

Conservative: 34.8%

Liberal: 42.9%

Conservative: 14.8% Centrist: 13.8%

Liberal: 60.5%

Centrist: 13.4%

Source: March 2-3 Herald Poll they’re drawn more to an athletic program than the atmosphere,” Russo said.

“Athletes don’t choose (Brown) for the liberal environment,” said Katherine Kallergis ’18, a member of the field hockey team.

Athletes who held conservative beliefs growing up may find it easier to maintain their conservative ideals after coming to Brown than non-athletes.

“Being in a group of more conservative people … it’s easier to hold on to more conservative ideas,” said Barrett Weiss ’15, a member of the fencing team.

“Coming into the general student body is

a much more liberalizing environment.”

The Herald poll found that 52 percent of students with very conservative fiscal views and 45 percent with somewhat conservative fiscal views are uncomfortable expressing those views on campus. Only 12 percent of very liberal students and 18 percent of somewhat liberal students indicated discomfort.

Many athletes said they feel more comfortable voicing conservative opinions among their teammates than in the classroom.

“In the population that I’m with the most, it’s not unheard of to be

EMMA JERZYK / HERALD

conservative,” said Briana Irons ’18, a member of the women’s lacrosse team.

“In the non-athlete world, there are so many more social activists. In the locker room, we’re not really concerned about that,” she said.

Russo said he and fellow football players “talk about how we feel like we’re the minority at Brown because we have more conservative views, and we feel like people look down on it.” This sentiment is not specific to conservative athletes but true for conservative students in general, he added.

“There’s a certain stigma at Brown,”

said Allie Schaefer ’17, vice president of Brown Republicans. “People with more conservative values or beliefs don’t always feel comfortable speaking up in class,” she said.

“In class, it’s kind of one-sided,” said Mark Buda ’17, a member of the men’s track and field team. “There are only liberal students.”

“A lot of my teammates are more similar to what I grew up with,” Buda said. “It’s more what I’m used to from high school,” he said, adding that his high school was “more well-balanced” politically.

UNIVERSITY NEWS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015 • PAGE 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

» BUCC, from page 1 led a committee that reviewed all code provisions except those relating to sexual assault policies, which were left to the Task Force on Sexual Assault.

The revisions aim to clarify the severity of deferred suspension, which students frequently do not grasp, she said. Deferred suspension refers to a period in which students who have committed offenses serious enough to warrant suspension demonstrate that they are able to adhere to the Code of Student Conduct.

The changes also modify language within University disciplinary policy to differentiate bias-related harassment from general harassment, Castillo-Appollonio said.

The committee also recommended reconfiguring the makeup of Student Conduct Board panels and altering categories of sanctions for student groups.

The changes would make sanctions for student organizations reflect those for individual students, she said. Both would incorporate five levels of disciplinary sanctions: reprimand, probation, deferred suspension, suspension and expulsion.

The creation of safe social event spaces in relation to alcohol use at Brown has recently become a prominent topic of discussion among administrators, said Timothy Shiner, director of student activities and the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center. The University’s interim alcohol policy, which was implemented in January, prohibits large-scale events with alcohol service in residential areas.

While “students have a slightly different perspective … than some administrators” on what safe event spaces look like, administrators are actively engaging with the student body to reexamine social policies, Shiner said. In

particular, Shiner communicated with students involved in athletics and the Greek Council.

Despite his successes in working with students in Greek life, he has found the athletic community to be “particularly tricky in terms of having the right level of conversation,” Shiner said. Some students athletes do not feel that there is a “deeper commitment to having these conversations about alcohol use” within athletics, he said. Possible next steps in response to reexamining social event policies include funding crowd management organizers, providing more food at University-sponsored events, improving bystander intervention training for party managers, reframing substance-free housing in the eyes of undergraduates and coordinating with campus planners to create more spaces for students to host registered events on campus, he added.

Margaret Klawunn, vice president for campus life and student services, also outlined her goals for reforming the University’s mental health system.

In addition to creating a gathering of medical experts to issue recommendations for the University’s mental health policies and procedures, Klawunn aims to improve information and access to University health insurance and develop mental health resources designed for graduate and medical students, she said.

Improvements to Counseling and Psychological Services will hopefully end the seven-session limit for students as part of a multi-year strategy to increase CAPS staff, Klawunn said. Staffing levels in terms of providers per student, “are not in line with our peers,” she said.

Klawunn said she also looks to bolster peer support among students by enhancing training for Residential Peer Leaders, Meiklejohn Peer Advisors and students involved in other support systems. Reforms will also create a

more seamless medical leave process in response to student complaints about current leave procedures, she said.

Russell Carey ’91 MA’06, executive vice president for planning and policy, also presented “an opportunity for discussion and questions” on the Task Force on Sexual Assault’s final report. “It’s a great report, and I want to congratulate (Carey) and the entire task force,” said President Christina Paxson P’19.

Many BUCC members asked for clarification on the report’s description of sexual assault training. Though administrators are also considering modes of in-person training, the “easiest thing to do is an online training in terms of covering a community of 10,000-plus people,” Carey said. Foremost, the training will be mandatory and annual, with enforcement measures and efforts to create a culture where sexual assault training is valued, he added.

While Carey has not yet received much feedback on the report, the administration is trying to gather opinions from many different communities on campus, he said.

Paxson said the lack of feedback “speaks to how well the task force did.”.

Liliana Sampedro ’18 presented a statement on behalf of the Brown Student Labor Alliance, calling for a resolution to boycott the Hilton Hotel. The hotel has severely overworked their employees, Sampedro said. In one case, a worker was obliged to complete a 13-hour shift without a break, she continued.

In the past, the University has issued resolutions against other establishments in Providence for mistreatment of employees, such as the Renaissance Hotel last spring. Sampedro urged council members to pass the resolution “if Brown desires to present itself as a just and liberal institution.”

» CHAFEE, from page 1 seat as a Republican in the 2000 election, though he lost to Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse in 2006. After being elected governor of Rhode Island as an Independent in 2010, Chafee declined to run for reelection in what promised to be a competitive primary battle in the Democratic party, which Chafee joined during his term.

Despite Chafee’s long-standing involvement in state politics, his announcement came as a surprise to many. “I was completely shocked,” said Bob Plain, editor and publisher of the political blog RI Future. “Last year, I interviewed (Chafee) … and asked him if he had any other political ambitions, and it never occurred to me to ask if he considered running for president or not.”

“I guess what he’s thinking is that there is a vacuum, that Hillary Clinton has no opposition on the Democratic side yet, and … he sees an opening,” said Richard Arenberg, adjunct lecturer in public policy and political science.

Chafee’s multiple switches in party affiliation also mark a controversial aspect of his career. He left the Republican Party in 2007 and joined the Democrats in 2013. This may make it difficult for Chafee to “convince Democratic primary electorates to vote for him,” especially when paired with an apparent lack of popularity, Arenberg said.

Chafee’s approval ratings hovered around 25 percent during his final year as governor. “He really hasn’t earned his stripes in the Democratic Party yet,” Arenberg said.

But some argue that despite his move across the political spectrum, Chafee’s values have not really changed. “I think the beauty of how Linc Chafee has changed his affiliations over the years is that he did so without ever changing his principles,” Plain said. “It’s not hard to lay out the case for how the Republican Party left Linc Chafee more than Linc Chafee left the Republican Party.”

In response to Chafee’s announcement, several students formed Brown Students for Chafee last week with the

goal of spreading “Chafee’s message of good governance and rational foreign policy around campus,” group members wrote in an email to The Herald. If Chafee proceeds with his run for president, the group intends to “serve as a conduit between his campaign and students” and will meet Chafee in “Iowa, New Hampshire and beyond to help get out the vote,” group members wrote.

Chafee took a strong stance against the Iraq War in 2002 and cited this decision in his video as evidence of his ability to make good judgments in high-pressure situations. In an interview Sunday with CNN, Chafee sharply criticized Clinton, who voted in favor of the Iraq War, for her lack of insight on international policy issues. “She didn’t do her homework,” he said, adding, “You may say that’s 12 years ago — that’s a big motivator for me running. If you show a lack of judgment, … then what can we expect in the future?”

Adam Toobin ’15, one of the founders of Brown Students for Chafee and a former Herald managing editor, wrote in an email to The Herald that he agrees with Chafee’s view that the United States should have avoided military intervention in 2003. “The Democratic Party should not be the party of the Iraq War,” he wrote. “Chafee was right on Iraq, and he shares my domestic priorities of using government to correct historic wrongs and support the country’s most disadvantaged citizens.”

On the other hand, dwelling on an event that happened over a decade ago will not help Chafee overcome Clinton’s popularity, Arenberg said. “It’s difficult to base a campaign on a vote (Clinton) cast 13 years ago. She has long ago acknowledged that it was a mistake,” he said. In addition, Chafee voted for the Levin Amendment, which “authorized the use of force” contingent on the United Nations Security Council’s support for the mission, so “it’s not quite as black and white a vote against the Iraq War as it is sometimes purported to be,” he said.

Arenberg remains skeptical about Chafee’s chances of success, saying, “It’s a very extreme long shot for him.”

UNIVERSITY NEWS PAGE 4 • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Times reporter shares insight on career path in sportswriting Journalist Karen Crouse stresses humanization, diverse perspectives when telling personal narratives

By CATHERINE WALKER-JACKS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Trailblazing sports writer Karen Crouse said she is often called a “psychologist to the athletes,” as though she possessed a special ability to get athletes to open up. But she said her approach is simple.

“I empathize with (athletes) and treat them as human beings,” she said.

“They’re not just what they achieved on the field. They’re people.”

Crouse, who has been a sports columnist at the New York Times since 2005, delivered the Casey Shearer Memorial Lecture Tuesday night in Metcalf Auditorium. The lecture is held annually in honor of Casey Shearer ’00, a top student passionate about sports writing and broadcasting who died of an undetected heart virus just days before his graduation.

His father, Derek Shearer, introduced Crouse as “exactly the kind of sports writer that Casey aspired to be and was becoming.”

“Above all, what is special about her reporting is that it is about human beings,” he added.

In covering sporting events, Crouse tries to tell a story, not just present statistics. It is often not the star athletes who give the best stories, she said.

Crouse aims to recount of the game through “a different set of eyes” in a way that will make her stories appeal to people who do not consider themselves interested in sports, she said.

Crouse shared her long and impactful path to becoming a sports columnist at the Times. She “didn’t get into the

business to be a rabble-rouser,” but rather “to have a positive impact on people’s lives,” she said. Highlights from her career include motivating Olympic gold medalists and encouraging golf clubs to accept female members, she said.

Her sports writing career was indirectely launched by an assignment involving creating a magazine for one of her eighth-grade classes while she was growing up in Santa Clara, California.

Crouse, a swimmer, decided to create a magazine on the sport, entitled “Splash.” Mike Bruner, who at the time was one of the best swimmers in the world, trained at the same swimming club as Crouse did, she said. Bruner was taking a year off from his studies at Stanford to train for the Olympics when she reached out to him for an interview.

When Bruner was struggling at the Olympic trials that year, his coach approached him with the interview he had done with Crouse, in which Bruner explained how he bounces back from a bad day in the water. His coach made him read his quotes aloud three times.

Bruner went on not only to qualify for the 200-meter butterfly but also to win the Olympic gold medal in the event at the 1976 Olympic Games.

After the Olympic trials, Bruner told a local newspaper in Santa Clara that he owed his victory to Crouse, since reading her interview put him in the right state of mind to qualify for the event.

Crouse said she told her father what she wanted to do when she grew up after learning of Bruner’s comments: “I want to write stories that positively impact people’s lives.”

Over 30 years later, Bruner emailed Course and told her he would not have made it to the Olympics without her.

Crouse emailed him back, “You’re why I’m in this profession.”

Since then, Crouse, who was a

SADIE HOPE-GUND / HERALD

Journalist Karen Crouse said she tries to report on sports games through “a different set of eyes” so that readers who do not consider themselves sports aficionados realize athletics can be interesting. collegiate swimmer at the University the New York Jets before recently taking put pressure on the clubs to change their of Southern California, has gone on to over the Times’ golf beat. Most recently, policies — something both have done cover numerous international sporting she covered this year’s Masters Golf since, Crouse noted. events, including the NFL, the Winter Tournament at the Augusta National Blake Piel ’18 said he found the lecand Summer Olympics and the World Golf Club. ture “very useful and inspiring, being Cup. In 2005, Crouse joined the New When Crouse first reported on the a student thinking about journalism York Times as a sports columnist, tak- Masters Tournament in 2012, Augusta as career.” ing what she described as a “circuitous did not accept female members, which Sophia Reichert ’18 said the lecture route” through nine different publica- was a topic of debate at the time. Her was especially intriguing because it feations. reporting there and at the Royal and tured a “woman talking about a field that She began as a beat reporter covering Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews helped is dominated by men.”

» EXHIBIT, from page 1

SADIE HOPE-GUND / HERALD

The Watson Institute for International Studies exhibit “Poverty and the Quest for Life: A Conversation between Mediums” incorporates photography, comics, abstract art and other media.

artwork is meant to “start a conversation between the mediums of text and image,” he said.

Singh remained in touch with many of the artists who contributed to the exhibit for several years as he worked on his book. The exhibit represents a “continuation of these conversations,” he said.

The contemporary art pieces range in style and composition. Photographs of landscapes that have been touched by human presence hang among an abstract print of three-dimensional shapes as well as a grim black-andwhite comic of a man who appears to be sleeping as he hangs from a telephone pole.

One of the pieces, “Museum of Chance” by Dayanita Singh, depicts a black-and-white photograph of two men in chains who solemnly reach out and touch hands. Singh said the piece “very directly responds to one of the central concepts of (his) book.”

The work is a manifestation of “the concept of life force” and represents an instance in which Bhrigupati Singh was able to combine his medium of text with Dayanita Singh’s photography to represent a similar concept, Bhrigupati Singh said.

The layout of the exhibit also encourages interaction and dialogue, with some pieces lining the far wall and another nearby on an easel, said Sarah

Baldwin-Beneich ’87, communications associate at the Watson Institute.

Through the spatial organization of the exhibit, pieces “become central discussion points” and the exhibit becomes “a group experience,” allowing people to “talk across the table with each other” about the artwork, she said.

Baldwin-Beneich said she was especially moved by the photograph of the ax, “having spoken to (Singh) about it and then seen it in the context of the installation.” There is a “notion of latency in this ax that looks buried but that still might be taken up and used … in tribal violence,” she said, adding that the image struck her “much more potently” after she considered it in the context of both mediums.

Singh’s book presents a “dialogue that engages anthropology and philosophy and literature and personal reflection,” wrote Richard Locke, director of the Watson Institute and professor of political science and public and international affairs, in an email to The Herald. “Hosting an exhibit that brings art and text together seems like a natural continuation of this conversation,” he wrote.

The exhibit “brought in the dialogue and makes it more of a polylogue between disciplines,” Baldwin-Beneich said, adding that she found it “incredibly interesting and surprising to incorporate art into a realm of social sciences, as it’s not a pair that you often think of.”

TODAY

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015 • PAGE 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

menu

t h a n k s f o r t h e ta n k s

SATELLITE DINING JOSIAH’S Gnocchi, Gourmet Grilled Cheese BLUE ROOM Mediterranean Pockets Soups: Hearty Country Vegetable, Tomato Florentine, Baked Potato ANDREWS COMMONS Po’ Boys, Make-Your-Own Fried Rice Pizzas: Honey Boo Boo, Mushroom Madness, Thai BBQ Chicken

DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH

DINNER

Italian Sausage and Pepper Sandwich with Sauce, Seafood Cavatelli, Lemon Snack Squares

Lemon Sesame Chicken, Vegetables in Honey Ginger Sauce, Angel Food Cake

VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH

DINNER

Tacos, Ve g an Bur ritos, Caesar Salad Pizza, Mexican Succotash, Brownies

Hot Roast Beef with French Bread, Gnocchi with Alfredo Sauce, Stir Fried Carrots

sudoku

ASHLEY SO / HERALD

President Christina Paxson P’19 stopped by a table on the Main Green where students could get free custom airbrushed Spring Weekend tanks Tuesday. The event was sponsored by the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center.

comics Ampersand | Wasita Mahaphanit ‘18 RELEASE DATE– Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle c rNorris o s sandwJoyce o rNichols d Lewis Edited by Rich ACROSS 1 Request an ID from 5 Classic milk flavoring 10 Degs. for choreographers 14 Yours, to Yves 15 One making a leaf pile 16 Wild speech 17 Key collection of records 19 Command to Fido 20 Trophy 21 Slyly suggest 23 Religious offense 24 Common “terrible twos” responses 26 Quiet time 27 Canadian crooner with four Grammys 32 Came out with 35 Protein-rich beans 36 Sushi fish 37 Scratching post users 38 Peeper 39 “Divergent” heroine __ Prior 40 Uplifting wear 41 Oil magnate Halliburton 43 Feared African fly 45 Telltale white line 48 Home to Sean O’Casey 49 Take to court 50 Buzzy body 53 Aspiring rock star’s submissions 57 Mineral used in water softening 59 Dr. Seuss’ “If __ the Circus” 60 Not even close to an agreement ... or, literally, what 17-, 27- and 45Across have in common 62 Like some beers 63 Visually teasing genre 64 Continuously 65 Creepy look 66 Smallville family 67 Zilch

DOWN 1 Tent sites 2 Centipede video game creator 3 Pitcher’s gripping aid 4 Ding-a-ling 5 “Close the window!”

6 Like a boor 7 Crispy fried chicken part 8 Cartoon collectibles 9 “No Spin Zone” newsman 10 Enterprise helmsman, to Kirk 11 “Hey hey hey!” toon 12 Gross subj.?

13 38-Across sore 18 Counting word in a rhyme 22 Well-worn pencils 25 Med. condition with repetitive behavior 27 Conservatory subj.

28 So far 29 Fair-hiring initials 30 Flowery rings 31 Ultimatum ender 32 Long-range nuke 33 Rani’s wrap

34 Deadlock 38 Aboveground trains 39 Golf gadget 41 Exude 42 Go wild 43 Ft. Worth campus 44 Queen of __: noted visitor of King Solomon 46 Copenhagen coins 47 State as fact

50 Cry to a prima donna 51 Dog-__: folded at the corner 52 Spare 53 Pickle herb 54 Albany-to-Buffalo canal 55 Water carrier 56 Spirited style 58 Major tennis event 61 MD and ME, e.g.

Class Notes | Philip Trammell ‘15

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

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calendar

04/15/15

TODAY

TOMORROW

12:00 P.M. BAKE AND MAKE

2:30 P.M. POETRY READING

Members of Brownie Bites, a new food-oriented student group, will demonstrate how to make desserts in mason jars. They will also sell homemade baked goods as well as treats from Seven Stars Bakery and Duck and Bunny.

Faunce, Kasper Multipurpose Room

Poet and Los Angeles Times Book Finalist Lynn Xu will read her work as part of the Writers on Writing series sponsored by the Department of Literary Arts. McCormack Family Theater 5:00 P.M. CARNIVAL

6:00 P.M. HILLARY 101: AN OPEN DISCUSSION

Brown Students for Hillary will invite students to discuss Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign announcement Sunday and her candidacy. Wilson 101

SPecial Events Committee will kick off Spring Weekend with inflatable rides, face painting, a dunk tank, student performances and carnival games. Free carnival snacks such as popcorn and cotton candy will also be offered.

Main Green

7:00 P.M. BROWN’S FINEST

By Ed Sessa ©2015 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

04/15/15

Twelve nominated contestants from the senior class will vie for the title of “Brown’s finest” in a competition sponsored

by Class Coordinating Board. Sayles Hall

9:00 P.M. “JAWS” SCREENING

Brown University Film Forum will screen the classic thriller “Jaws.” Smith-Buonanno 106

COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

EDITORIAL

Spotlight Brown’s history Next month’s Commencement ceremonies will mark the completion of the University’s 250th anniversary celebrations. Begun in March 2014 with a flashy fireworks display on the Main Green, the 250th has given administrators a prime opportunity to fundraise, tout the University’s expansion into new spaces and articulate plans for the future — as shown by the anniversary committee’s use of “250+” as a slogan. The use of the “+” sign laudably encourages discussions on what the community envisions for the next phase of campus history. But at the same time, we urge our readers to make sure not to squander this chance to reflect on the rich and complex lessons of Brown’s past and to take stock of where we’ve been.

An eagerness to envision the future too often crowds out a serious engagement with what we can learn from the history of a school that predates American independence. Time and again, Brown has lain at the center of profound events in both national and local history, from housing Continental Army troops during the Revolutionary War to providing a space for groundbreaking advances in computer science during the 20th century. In the sphere of human rights, Brown has produced passionate abolitionists and other sociopolitical reformers worthy of being studied by today’s student body. And the tumultuous years of the 1960s and ’70s placed our school at the forefront of the debate over reimagining the possibilities of a liberal arts education, as students and faculty members created the liberating New Curriculum, pushed for integrating with Pembroke College and mobilized to make the campus reflect the racial, religious and sexual diversity of the nation.

But too few students know or appreciate this history, and too little of the attention devoted to the 250th anniversary has spotlighted its legacy and lessons. The Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice deserves praise for its efforts, including the unveiling of a landmark memorial last fall, to educate campus on the dark underside of Brown’s past. A colorful exhibit at the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology contains an interesting array of Brunonian photos and artifacts from the last 250 years. Aside from these under-recognized instances, however, the community has had limited engagement with Brown’s history. In the midst of new waves of campus activism and the implementation of President Christina Paxson’s P’19 strategic plan, readers would benefit from looking at how earlier generations of students and administrators succeeded — and sometimes failed — at nurturing progress in an inclusive manner.

Brown boasts an entertaining host of “bucket list” traditions that we all cherish. Beyond just avoiding the Pembroke seal or observing the Naked Donut Run, students should talk to long-time professors about what they’ve seen over their decades on campus, seek out opportunities to learn more about their school’s past and push the 250th committee to include more history workshops during next month’s anniversary completion.

What can we learn from past mobilizations for greater equality? How can previous struggles for greater student input in University governance inform our understanding of our school’s power dynamics? The questions are myriad. The number of bold, transformative answers — springing forth from last-call chats at the Graduate Center Bar or from Main Green discussions — is endless. As we approach the end of the 250th anniversary next month, we urge Brown to capitalize on its history in order to achieve the best possible outcome for the “+” part of the anniversary’s slogan.

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.

M I R A N DA F R I E L

WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM

ASHLEY SO / HERALD

Customers lined up around the block for the chance to get a free ice cream cone at Ben and Jerry’s on Thayer Street Tuesday. Ben and Jerry’s stores around the world celebrate “Free Cone Day” in April each year.

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

“They’re not just what they achieved on the field.

They’re people. ” — Karen Crouse, New York Times sports columnist

See crouse on page 4.

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COMMENTARY WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015 • PAGE 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Universities shouldn’t speak freely NICHOLAS ASKER opinions columnist

The University of Michigan made a big mistake last week that led to a firestorm of controversy. The case highlights how easy it is for universities to shape their students’ beliefs by exposing them to one particular viewpoint under the guise of promoting free speech. Universities, to be consistent with their mission, need to be aware of this influence over students and carefully restrain themselves.

It all started when the university-sponsored Center for Campus Involvement, which holds social events for Michigan students on most Friday nights, announced it would show “American Sniper” at its upcoming social. The film, which became the best-selling movie at the box office in 2014, is a dramatized biography of Chris Kyle, a Navy SEAL who is credited with the most sniper kills in U.S. history from his four tours during the Iraq War. Though some have acclaimed it for rightfully celebrating an American patriot and war hero, others have condemned it for unfairly depicting Arabs, glorifying a racist and perpetuating Islamophobia. Still others, including Herald Opinions Columnist Walker Mills ’15 in his Feb. 3 column, have criticized the film for oversimplifying an immensely complex Iraq War and wrongfully painting everything as good versus evil, black versus white, as though it were that easy.

Subsequent to CCI’s announce-

ment of the showing, members of the Michigan Muslim Students’ Association and others expressed concern in an open letter bearing 200 signatures, the Michigan Daily reported Friday.

They attacked the decision to show the movie because it “not only tolerates but promotes anti-Muslim and (antiMiddle East and North Africa) rhetoric and sympathizes with a mass killer.”

In response, CCI initially canceled the showing. Shortly afterward, the center announced in a statement on its Facebook page that it would show the film at a separate “forum that provides an appropriate space for dialogue and re-

about a war hero and his struggles. But the fact that Muslim Americans have been denouncing the movie warrants us calling it a controversial film. And it’s plain stupid to play a controversial film at a party meant for inclusive fun, not divisiveness. To those who simply say the movie’s meant to be entertaining, I question whether any film centering on military combat and depicting so many war scenes should be watched for leisure, especially if it distorts the complicated reality of a conflict and misrepresents a group of people.

But let’s get back to the story. Outraged by the cancellation, Michigan

cording to the Daily.

But really, canceling the movie is perfectly consistent with freedom of expression, and showing the movie is what contradicts freedom of expression. As we will see, doing so silences Arab voices, so it conflicts with the purpose of promoting free speech on campuses — to foster students’ intellectual growth through exposing them to many different perspectives.

Obviously free speech on a college campus is enormously valuable and something colleges should ardently encourage. They should protect the rights of students and student-run groups to

Rather than nurturing a diverse symphony of perspectives that free speech policies attempt to achieve, the university drowns out other views by not giving them a fair shot of being heard. flection,” the Daily reported April 8.

It’s a complete mystery why the university thought it was a good idea to begin with to show the movie at a Friday night event designed to provide alcohol-free fun, entertainment and socializing. Just as it would be disconcerting to find copies of “Mein Kampf ” strewn amongst the National Geographic magazines in a dentist’s office, so it is strange to find a controversial war movie playing at a casual party. Though there may be an acceptable time and place to read “Mein Kampf,” it’s quite clear that a waiting room is not. Likewise, a fun social function is not the place to watch “American Sniper.”

People may retort that it isn’t even a controversial war movie, but a movie

Head Football Coach Jim Harbaugh, an exceptionally influential figure on campus, tweeted, “Michigan Football will watch ‘American Sniper’! Proud of Chris Kyle & Proud to be an American & if that offends anybody then so be it!” Other students voiced their concerns in a petition stating, “if the University prevents a movie like this from being shown, it promotes intolerance and stifles dialogue.” In response, Vice President of Student Life at Michigan E. Royster Harper intervened and reversed the cancellation, ordering the movie be shown as originally scheduled. She wrote in a statement that the initial decision to cancel was a mistake and that it wasn’t consistent with “the high value the University of Michigan places on freedom of expression,” ac-

show and view almost any movie they want so that they’re exposed to a wide range of viewpoints. There is a significant difference, however, between the university promoting free speech for its students and the university itself presenting only one particular viewpoint on an issue. If the university, as opposed to a student organization, sponsors an event and presents only one viewpoint, it is effectively weighing in on an issue and endorsing a particular opinion — whether it intends to or not. For it is privileging one view at the expense of other views, which, without a university-authorized platform, get pushed into obscurity. The privileged view gets the limelight and, simply because of its prominence, people buy into it.

This is problematic because it’s not the university’s place to persuade its students or promulgate its own opinions. Its job is to create an environment where students’ voices rule, not its own.

Rather than nurturing a diverse symphony of perspectives that free speech policies attempt to achieve, Michigan drowned out alternative views by not giving them a fair shot of being heard.

Giving one view center stage is especially problematic when students are consuming the narrative in an unreflective, leisurely environment like a relaxed party. Such an environment simply isn’t conducive to the critical analysis necessary for engaging with or even recognizing marginalized perspectives.

This problem is further exacerbated when we consider that the perspectives being squelched, namely those of Muslim Americans, have been similarly marginalized in American history.

If Michigan decided to cancel the showing of “American Sniper,” its decision wouldn’t be censorship or antithetical to free speech. Instead, the decision would reflect an understanding that the showing would give an unfair platform to a much-contested viewpoint. The university would realize that it isn’t its place to provide opinions and that it should always be neutral on issues. In sum, universities should promote free speech and vigorous exchange of opinions amongst students but avoid opining and speaking freely themselves.

Nicholas Asker ’17 can be reached at nicholas_asker@brown.edu.

We shouldn’t succumb to senioritis SAMANTHA ISMAN opinions columnist

As graduation day inches closer, I increasingly feel waves of uncontrollable emotions ebbing and flowing through me. While sometimes I’m excited to be done with classes or sad to think of saying goodbye to Brown, I mostly feel no sense of urgency anymore.

Throughout the last four years at Brown, I always looked forward to doing better, working harder, continually exploring and learning. With just one month left — and a thesis finally completed — I have fallen under the spell of senioritis.

While succumbing to this period of sleeping in, breezing through homework and going out most weeknights is a natural reaction for both fired up and burnt out seniors, it also hinders us from making those precious last weeks of college count.

Second-semester seniors should not give in to senioritis completely because we can’t guarantee that wherever we are next year will provide us with the same opportunities to keep exploring and learning from our surroundings. While it’s hard to put your last class — one you might not even really need to graduate — before going out or hanging out, we should take advantage of the amazing learning environment that is Brown until the last moment.

This campus is brimming with possibilities to learn both inside and outside the classroom. The plethora of events accessible to Brown students can sometimes be taken for granted. For those seniors moving to large cities, thinking about all of the things our new homes will offer can sometimes mean overlooking all of the things we can

keep taking advantage of here. Moreover, if there were more events tailored for seniors besides senior nights at bars, such as events during the day as well, maybe we would be more inclined to attend them. That way we could hang out with a lot of our friends at once, rather than making individual plans.

Granted, it sometimes seems like everything Brown has to offer and teach us has already been given. It’s hard to see this last month as adding so much more to our lives or educations. But we should never give up on learning from Brown.

Long after we graduate, and regardless of whether or not we will be coming back to visit campus, Brown will have something new to add to our experiences.

Sometimes all you have to do is step outside to

during our last month of school will end up in the same city we’re moving to and become a close friend.

Talking with friends, we all agreed that starting next year we will have fewer hesitations about making friends. Moving to a new city can be scary, and having a familiar face could change that. As my friend said, “Now, I would never go up to a person and say, ‘Hey, I’m so-and-so’s friend, let’s hang out,’ but next year, it won’t matter, I will talk to everyone who I might have crossed paths with during my time at Brown.”

Since most of us have finished our theses and class requirements, this might be the time to move classwork down the priorities ladder. Now is the time to take advantage of everything else Brown has to offer. While giving up completely

Long after we graduate, and regardless of whether we will be coming back to campus to visit or not, Brown will have something new to add to our experiences. encounter someone with whom you could have an interesting conversation. As seniors we have a hard time peeling ourselves off the couch to interact with people who aren’t in our immediate group of friends. We seem to think we have found the people we are meant to be with — “no new friends” is our motto, but it shouldn’t be.

But after graduation there is no guarantee that whole groups of friends will be moving to the same city. Campus still has thousands of interesting people we should give a chance. Expanding our small world at Brown helps prepare us to broaden our perspective off the Hill. We should be thankful for and take advantage of a campus full of friendly people. Maybe the person we meet

is not the answer either, seniors should work less and spend more time developing stronger bonds with the people we want to stay in touch with and participating in events we might not have had the chance to in previous years.

More than that, seniors should embrace the possibility of a reduced course load. Many seniors want to prioritize finding a job, but it’s often hard to do this while maintaining a full slate of courses — or when your professor tells you that missing class for a job interview would not lead to an excused absence. As we prepare to leave school and enter the world beyond, it makes sense that we want to — or even need to — rearrange our priorities.

Perhaps the biggest issue with our attitude is that we blame this change on senioritis, rather than taking responsibility for it. It’s understandable to want to wash our hands of responsibilities, but often we blame senioritis instead of understanding that what we’re feeling is normal. As the prospect of a job and real responsibilities loom, we want to enjoy the last few months of irresponsibility.

I have found myself saying to my friends, “This is my last chance to act like a child and be treated like an adult, and I will take advantage of it.” And maybe, that’s the reason why so many of us embrace senioritis, because we know that starting next year we will be held accountable for our jobs, paying our rent and buying our own food.

With many of our commitments at Brown coming to an end, we want to take advantage of the freedom we have to be irresponsible for perhaps the last time in our lives.

We should continuously be creating new memories, meeting new people and learning new things. This is a motto we should take with us even after we graduate. Brown, our jobs and new cities will always have something new to offer even when it feels like we already know it all. That’s why I will make the most of my last month at Brown, continuing to attend rehearsals for Brown Badmaash, participating in small performances with Attitude Dance Company and making sure to meet friends for dinner or drinks somewhere outside of our houses. And I will make sure that when I step through the Van Wickle Gates, it feels not like an end but like a continuation of everything I’ve learned at Brown and who I’ve become.

Sami Isman ’15 will (try) to start getting out of bed earlier.

ARTS & CULTURE THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015

Diverse student artists rock out at B-Side Magazine launch party New online publication focuses on showcasing local artists, aims to foster broader music community

By ZACK BU SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The definition of a record’s B-side has gradually evolved over the years.

Often the neglected side of a record, the B-side has become a tag for offbeat and untapped works that depart from mainstream platitudes. A new online campus publication bearing the name B-Side Magazine officially launched this weekend. By showcasing the works of local and student artists and providing a space for musical exploration, the magazine’s founders intend to stimulate music scenes on College Hill and in the greater Providence community.

Before B-Side, Brown did not have any music publications, setting it behind peer institutions, said Ben Williams ’16, co-founder of B-Side. It was “embarrassing” that Brown did not have a music publication when there

REVIEW

was “so much going on that wasn’t being talked about,” he said.

The magazine officially launched with an indoor concert Saturday afternoon in the Underground in the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center.

As audience members trickled into the venue, Clyde Lawrence ’15 and his band continuously blasted out Stevie Wonder classics such as “Living in a City” and “Signed, Sealed, Delivered.” Boasting a voice fraught with raw dynamics and raspy vocals almost too expressive for his age, Lawrence’ recalled and contested some of the greatest voices reviving the tides of soul music, namely Sam Smith, John Legend and Ed Sheeran.

Lawrence’s versions almost sounded like the “B-Side” of the original songs.

Retaining their original charms, Clyde’s versions came off as more funky and whimsical, with pithy base riffs and playful keyboard. The lively energy transformed the afternoon event into

a clamorous weekend night bar scene.

After the official announcement of the launch party, Lawrence performed a rendition of Gnarls Barkley’s iconic anthem “Crazy.” His more protracted version showered the room with palatable harmonies, creating an intimate and sensual ambience.

Lawrence also brought forth original work that showed off his neo-soul style. In his coarse but charismatic voice persisted restless passion that mingled with the shifts of chords and runs of melody.

DAP the Contract took the stage after Lawrence and performed a rap vocal mash-up duet entitled “Goodbye, You Are Welcome” with Abbey Perrault ’16. Perrault’s airy voice drifted by, contrasting with the intensity of DAP’s rapping.

This was a perfect segue to DAP’s more provocative pieces. A natural performer, DAP — the stage name of Dolapo Akinkugbe ’16 — brought almost all of the audience members to their feet, as they grooved to the rapper’s original songs “It’s All Right” and

“Holiday.” Ensuing artists managed to keep up the hype — Sean, Butter, Sebastian and Sincere rolled out a series of strong performances.

The launch party successfully generated publicity for the magazine, Williams said. “A concert seemed to be the best way to show what we are about.”

Ariana Pather ’18 said she was impressed by the diversity of the artists and their performances.

“One part I really enjoyed was sort of the variations of acts. … They had artists speaking various languages, they had rapping and something that’s a little bit more soft,” Pather said. “I felt like I got to see Brown’s talent and also how diverse that talent is.”

As a fledgling publication, B-Side still struggles with funding and has yet to establish a full-blown plan, Williams said. As the magazine does not currently produce print issue,Williams stressed that the publication’s website plays an indispensable role.

“If you want to listen to music, you can’t listen to it from the newspaper,” Williams said, adding that the

publication will remain online-only for at least the next few months.

B-Side’s website is beautifully designed with a minimalist style. The website offers viewers diverse content, including music reviews and features.

The local aspect of the publication, which covers the music scene throughout Rhode Island, also made it possible for the website to put up an exhaustive list of local events as well as video profiles of local artists.

While still in its youth, the magazine has attracted many students hoping to play a role in a conversation about music at Brown.

“I thought (B-Side) was a unique idea that I hadn’t really heard of before,” said Scott Theer ’18, a contributing writer for B-Side. “I’m so invested in music and I listen to so much of it already.”

Looking ahead, B-Side intends to hold more events like the concert despite financial constraints, Williams said, adding that hosting such events align with the group’s mission to foster the music community on campus.

Raimondo reinstates R.I. Commission on Women to tackle gender equality Commission to pursue gender pay equity, encourage more women to seek governmental positions

By SARAH NOVICOFF STAFF WRITER

The new Rhode Island Commission on Women, comprising 26 businesswomen, community leaders and government officials, met for the first time Tuesday to address women’s issues . Gov. Gina Raimondo reinstated the commission last month after it dissolved in 2010 due to funding reductions.

“It was great to get strong Rhode Island women together,” said Rep. Joy Hearn, D-Barrington and East Providence, a member of the commission.

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At the meeting, “we set the important context for the work ahead,” she said.

The commission was originally founded in 1970 but lost its funding under former Republican Gov. Donald Carcieri in 2010. Obtaining funding through public means for a relatively low-cost and popular initiative such as the Commission on Women would not have been that difficult, Scott MacKay, political analyst for Rhode Island Public Radio, told The Herald.

This time, funding for the commission will come from its members’ fundraising and a private 501(c) (3) organization, protecting the

commission from a budgetary cut similar to that of 2010, wrote Ashley O’Shea, deputy director of communications for the governor, in an email to The Herald.

Raimondo, the state’s first female governor, announced the commission’s restoration March 31, the last day of Women’s History Month, and charged it with “promoting equity, strengthening our economy and showing the leaders of tomorrow they can do anything they set their mind to,” Raimondo said in a statement.

More specific goals include encouraging more women to seek jobs in government, developing and supporting programs and services for women, compiling information on policies relating to women and

collaborating with concerned groups on these issues, O’Shea wrote.

Raimondo appointed 12 members to the commission who hail primarily from the private sector. The governor’s 12 commission appointees were picked for their diverse perspectives and community connections, hopefully helping the commission “move the needle on important topics like equal pay,” O’Shea wrote. Each of the chambers of the General Assembly appointed two members, while state agencies appointed 10.

Hearn and Rep. Doreen Costa, RExeter and North Kingstown, emphasized increased gender pay equity, one of Raimondo’s campaign promises, as a major goal of the commission. Its first task will be to create an equal

pay certification status, “which will be awarded to Rhode Island businesses that show a commitment to equal pay practices,” O’Shea wrote.

“Ensuring paycheck fairness will boost our local businesses by putting money directly in the pockets of working families, whether it’s to buy an extra bag of groceries or new school supplies,” Raimondo said in a statement provided to The Herald

by O’Shea. “Pay equity attracts firstrate employees and promotes a more productive workforce.”

Pay equity in the public sector is far more achievable than in the private sector, MacKay said. Public employees, like teachers, could be given pay equity through state laws, while progress among private sector employees is much harder to monitor and enforce, especially for nonunionized workers, MacKay said.

Hearn acknowledged the obstacles the commission’s plans could face but emphasized that the commission includes many people with the power to drive change. “It was a good group, and we’ll see where it goes from here,” she said.

The commission will meet once a month and may discuss other women’s issues — such as domestic violence and sex trafficking — at future meetings, Costa said. Its mandate is to present reports to Raimondo for her consideration and potential implementation, though the timing, frequency and specifics of the reports are yet to be determined.

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