Thursday, September 17, 2015

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD VOLUME CL, ISSUE 66

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

U. hires strategic sourcing manager New position will focus on analyzing purchasing, optimizing buying power with vendors

By BAYLOR KNOBLOCH SENIOR STAFF WRITER

EMMA JERZYK / HERALD

Sorting the stats: the college rankings craze Brown’s undergrad focus hurts University in global rankings, assists in domestic lists

By AGNES CHAN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Depending on whom you ask, Brown may be the nation’s sexiest, smartest college. It might also be the best, smartest

party school. It may even rank in the top ten U.S. colleges.

But each ranking stacks the various factors differently and has its own idea of which should be taken into consideration, and the diversity of these ranking systems can produce remarkably different results.

This fact can actually be “empowering for students” because they are presented with more information to compare and contrast universities, said

Steven Goodman, educational consultant and admission strategist at Top Colleges. For international students, these rankings can be especially important. They may not be indicative of “the experience you will have” at a university, but they serve as an indication of how much a degree is “worth after graduation,” said Kyoka Kosugi ’18 of China. “I looked specifically at top 20 U.S. college rankings and top » See RANKINGS, page 2

As part of the University’s efforts to reduce its structural deficit, a strategic sourcing manager will begin working at Insurance and Purchasing Services Monday, said Jeanne Hebert, purchasing director.

Hebert declined to identify the new hire before Monday due to confidentiality concerns, though she noted the person “currently works as a buyer at another university.”

This position has not previously existed at Brown. In April, the Deficit Reduction Working Group published a set of recommendations for addressing the University’s structural deficit, one of which was to hire a new staff member to focus on strategic sourcing.

This summer, Provost Richard

Locke P’17 and Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Barbara Chernow ’79 solidified the recommendation as one the University should implement, and the job was posted online in early July, Hebert said.

Strategic sourcing “is a good way to save money and really not impact anyone in a negative way,” Chernow said, adding that the hire was finalized by the start of September. The funds for the new hire come from positions that were vacated and are no longer needed, so there are “no new costs,” she said.

The strategic sourcing specialist will work to evaluate and optimize the University’s purchasing practices, which involves assessing the school’s contracts with vendors for everything from toilet paper to lab chemicals.

“Everybody buys copy paper, but (departments) at Brown might be buying copy paper from any number of places,” Hebert said. “If we all would buy it from the same place, then we could leverage our buying power. By promising some amount of business to » See SOURCING, page 3

TSA experiment at T.F. Green sparks privacy concerns Opponents point to controversial study’s ineffective methods, possible racial profiling

By CATHERINE WALKER-JACKS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

An ongoing Transportation Security Administration program that uses certain behavioral indicators to select travelers for extra screening has drawn criticism from civil liberties groups.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island sent a letter in July to Kelly Fredericks, president of the Rhode Island Airport Corporation, denouncing T.F. Green Airport’s participation in an experiment testing the expansion of the controversial TSA program.

“Behavior-based risk assessment,” which occurs at multiple airports in the United States, involves officers identifying passengers who exhibit “behavioral indicators to inform risk-based screening decisions,” according to a privacy impact assessment on the program issued by the Department of Homeland Security in June.

Possible suspect indicators include

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appearing stressed, fidgeting, yawning or gripping one’s bag tightly, according to a TSA document leaked in March.

Points are assigned for each behavior, and if amassed, could lead to additional screening.

In a closed-door meeting, the RIAC agreed to implement a field test at T.F. Green, looking to expand this program to video instead of behavior detection officers, said Steven Brown, executive director of the RIACLU. “The experiment is being performed by the Department of Homeland Security, and RIAC is simply a facilitator in the process,” wrote Alan Andrade, a senior vice president of RIAC in an email to The Herald, declining to comment further. The TSA is run by the Department of Homeland Security.

“We think it is not only a complete waste of taxpayer dollars but also an incredible intrusion of privacy on innocent passengers,” Brown said. “The officers are looking for a wide range of activities that encompass just about every person in the airport,” he added.

For now, T.F. Green’s participation will only include monitoring video of trained actors acting out different behavioral indicators in the airport and showing these videos to TSA “subject matter experts,” according to the » See AIRPORT, page 4

Grad students begin ResLife enforcement Patrol pairs aim to control disruptive activities in first-year, program housing on weekends

By LAUREN ARATANI SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Graduate students have been hired to patrol first-year residence halls and program houses to reduce disturbances and increase alcohol safety on weekend nights.

This initiative was one of several recommendations from the Alcohol and Social Event Review committee’s report

— released to the community earlier this month — and was put into effect starting the weekend of Sept. 11.

Pairs of graduate students will be placed in Keeney Quadrangle, Pembroke’s first-year dorms and Wriston Quadrangle on Friday and Saturday nights between 7 p.m. and 3 a.m., said Natalie Basil, director of the Office of Residential Life.

The Review of Alcohol and Social Event Policies committee saw a need for a level of authority in between the Department of Public Safety and Residential Peer Leaders, Basil said. Graduate students are particularly fit for the

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position because they are a part of the student community but also serve as an adult presence, she added.

The primary purpose of hiring graduate student patrollers is to reduce harm in residence halls, said Richard Bova, senior associate dean of Residential Life and Dining Services. The patrollers will present to lessen the amount of “noise, vandalism, excessive drinking” and general community disturbance that would affect first-year residents and students living in between program and Greek housing, he added.

Patrollers will control “screaming and » See PATROL, page 3

WEATHER

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

SCIENCE & RESEARCH Fifth-year master’s programs in sciences offer students a less expensive post-grad opportunity BACK

ARJUN NARAYEN / HERALD

Aiming to find a middle ground between Department of Public Safety officers and Residential Peer Counselors, the University has hired grad students to patrol residence halls in order to reduce weekend noise and drinking.

COMMENTARY Montoya ’16: Race is not an effective category to use when correlating disease with genetics

COMMENTARY Sundlee ’16: Challenging our beliefs through discussion is necessary for personal growth

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UNIVERSITY NEWS PAGE 2 • THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Andrews Commons composting program sees uncertain future

ARJUN NARAYEN / HERALD

Compost bins placed in Andrews Commons last year increased rates of recycling and decreased the amount of waste going into landfills when the containment rate remained below 25 percent.

Pilot composting program last semester saw issues with rising contamination rate, student confusion

By ANICA GREEN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The University has discontinued the composting program in Andrews Commons following the end of the pilot program last semester. The Office of Energy and Environment is currently weighing strategies for proceeding with sustainability efforts in regards to composting.

Brown is the only Ivy League institution besides Princeton that does not have a robust composting program in place.

The bins in Andrews last semester were part of a $9,000 pilot program led by the Office of Energy and Environment,

» RANKINGS, from page 1 20 colleges for International Relations because I want to work outside of the U.S. and it helps to have a degree from a university that is more well-known or ranked highly.”

On the contrary, the variety of rankings can also lead to students become rankings-obsessed and misuse this information, especially when they believe they “have to go to a school that is ranked in the top 20,” he added.

Schools like Brown can receive dramatically different evaluations depending on each system’s methodology — while the University ranked 14th this year in U.S. News and World Report’s National Universities Ranking, it was 8th in Forbes’ America’s Top Colleges list.

University-college The U.S. News’ ranking is one of the most well-regarded rankings in the country, with a fairly diverse set of factors represented in its methodology.

Brown University Dining Services and the Department of Facilities Management that would help the University later implement a campus-wide composting system, The Herald previously reported.

Compost diverts refuse from landfills, which are sources of toxic gases like methane, and puts those materials back into good use, often as fertilizer. Organic fertilizer from compost is better for the environment than synthetic fertilizers, which contain chemicals that can harmfully disrupt ecosystems.

During the first two weeks of last semester’s pilot program, nearly 100 student volunteers stood by the compost Its overall rankings take into account seven different factors: undergraduate academic reputation (22.5 percent), retention rate (22.5 percent), faculty resources (20 percent), student selectivity (12.5 percent), financial resources (10 percent), graduation rate performance (7.5 percent) and alumni giving rate (5 percent).

While Brown’s spot at 14 marks an improvement from last year’s 16 — a result administrators attributed to a miscalculation of selectivity — the result still lands Brown at seventh place in the Ivy League. Cornell is tied at 15 with Vanderbilt University and Washington University in St. Louis.

On undergraduate academics reputation — a factor calculated from peer assessments by other universities and rating by high school counselors — Brown continues to perform strongly.

This year, in ratings completed by high school counselors, Brown received a 4.8 out of five, and in the U.S. News’ Best Undergraduate Teaching ranking, Brown placed third, falling behind only

bins at Andrews and assisted their peers in choosing which receptacle to place their refuse in. With the volunteers in place, composting went very well, said Chris Powell, director of sustainable energy and environmental initiatives.

The contamination rate — the amount of non-compostable items in the load — was between 5 and 10 percent. But once the volunteers left, the rate of contamination increased to 20-25 percent.

“The contamination rate is going to be the determining factor,” Powell said.

Earth Care Farms, where the University’s compost was processed, is small and the contaminants are sorted out by hand.

Once the contamination rate is as high as 20-25 percent, the labor becomes too expensive so the facility rejects the load Princeton and Dartmouth.

Brown’s relative strength in this area affirms the University’s continued identity as a “university-college” — a term coined by former President Henry Wriston to describe a research university that prioritizes undergraduate education. The importance of this term to both faculty and students manifested itself in 2013 when President Christina Paxson’s P’19 10-year strategic plan — “Building on Distinction” — initially left out the term, while conveying intent to expand the University’s graduate division. Due to faculty and students’ dismay, Paxson included the term in a later draft. Breaking down rankings and faculty passion illustrates that Brown’s undergraduate teaching is best known to its peers.

Money over matter Over the years, Brown has consistently done well on Forbes’ America’s Top Colleges ranking, which calculates returns on investment by focusing on student satisfaction (25 percent), postgraduate success (32.5 percent), student debt (25 percent), academic success (10 percent) and graduation rate (7.5 percent).

“The Forbes list of 650 schools distinguishes itself from competitors by our belief in ‘output’ over ‘input,’” wrote Forbes Senior Editor Caroline Howard in an article detailing Forbes’ methodology. “Our sights are set directly on ROI (returns on investment): What are students getting out of college?”

Brown ranks eighth on Forbes’ America’s Top Colleges 2015 list, placing fourth in the Ivy League behind Princeton, Yale and Harvard.

But a look at President Barack Obama’s new College Scorecard

and it goes into the landfill, rendering campus effort futile.

The University has to ensure that all of the products stocked in eateries are compostable. Certain items are compostable in some facilities but not in others. For example, the clear plasticseeming cups that are “compostable” at many eateries require that the compost facility have a heat-based system, said Jessica Berry, sustainability program manager for sustainable energy and environmental initiatives. The small-scale compost facilities near the University do not have the necessary equipment to process those cups, she added. Another problem was that once people saw those kinds of cups in the compost bins, regular, non-compostable plastic cups often got tossed in alongside them, Berry said.

The pilot program increased rates of recycling, Powell said. “Our recycling rate increased markedly because you’ve got this education campaign and it was incredible. We actually got to the point where we had two trash dumpsters in the back of that building and we had to pull one of the trash dumpsters and switch it to a recycling dumpster,” he added.

Rhode Island’s landfill earned itself a “Dirty Dozen” award in 2012 for being one of the top 12 polluters in New England. The state recently passed a law, slated to go into effect Jan. 1, mandating that institutions that generate at least two tons of organic waste per week and are within a 15-mile radius of a composting facility must compost their biodegradable waste. Brown is one of three institutions that fit the criteria and are planning to launch composting

programs, Powell said. But the nearby compost facilities available may not have the capacity for the refuse from these three institutions, he said. The state’s Department of Environmental Management is waiting for new compost facilities to be built that have anaerobic digesters to help facilitate the breakdown of organic waste. Until those facilities are completed, it is unlikely that the law will go into full effect, he added.

Powell said he is hopeful that as composting becomes compulsory, more vendors will get into the game, driving down operational costs. Currently, compost is $200 per ton as opposed to trash, which is $59 per ton. But the cost for trash does not encompass hauling fees and dumpster rentals, making the two options closer in price, Powell said.

New ideas are already being discussed to lower the contamination rate.

One strategy would be to place the compost bin in a separate location from the trash bins so that students have to be conscious of what they throw away and won’t mistakenly throw trash into the compost bin, Berry said. Another is to display monitors and utilize postering to help educate students about what items are compostable. A serious plan being developed over the next academic year will consider the unique conditions of each eatery, said Isabelle Aubrun ’16, a sustainability intern for dining services.

“It’s an extra effort, but… the benefits are widespread and many fold,” she said.

“The contribution we can make as a University is pretty significant. We have a footprint and we have the ability to do something about it.”

seems to reveal a darker picture of post-graduate success. Released Sept.

12, the “College Scorecard” shows that Brown graduates who received federal financial aid have the lowest median salary 10 years after entering the school than students at the other Ivies.

Though well above the national average of $34,343, Brown students’ median salary of $59,700 falls well behind that of peers like Harvard ($87,200), Columbia ($72,900) and Dartmouth ($67,100).

Brown also has the third highest average annual cost in the Ivy League.

At $25,005 after aid considerations, the cost for students receiving federal financial aid is only lower than Cornell’s and Dartmouth’s.

contributing to new knowledge,” said Phil Baty, editor-at-large of THE. “So, if you’re a teaching-focused university, it is going to be tougher for you in this ranking.”

But THE’s rankings are scaled so that small institutions can compete fairly with the large research-focused universities, Baty said. “You can almost argue less research can sometimes be better for universities because they can make sure they are publishing just at the very high end, the very best work, and not spreading themselves too thinly,” he said. “There is a new ranking coming out on Sept. 30, and I think it’s good news for Brown,” Baty added.

Behind the pack In contrast, Brown’s relatively low position in global ranking websites such as Times Higher Education can be accounted for by the University’s smaller research focus compared to that of other Ivy Leagues. Brown ranked 54th in the “World University Rankings 2014-2015,” coming in seventh place in the Ivy League, higher only than Dartmouth, which ranked 152nd. Cornell, the 6th in the Ivies, placed 19th.

For the THE ranking, reputation for research excellence among peers, research income and research productivity are taken into consideration when determining a university’s research score, which then comprises 30 percent of the overall score. Scoring 54.2, Brown performed noticeably worse than all Ivies sans Dartmouth.

THE’s methodology “does tend to favor large research-intensive universities. … It’s based mainly on how much your research is shared and disseminated and how much you’re

Rankings on their mind Universities might not have a great deal of control over how they are assessed, but they care about the rankings “like teenagers care about their looks,” Goodman said.

“The rankings directly affect the undecided potential applicants from the following year,” Goodman said.

For students who are conflicted about which university to choose, they have a wide variety of rankings to help them make a decision, he said.

With rankings in mind, universities may try to manipulate statistics to gain an edge over their peers. For example, a university might supply more money to students to improve its “financial resources” score on U.S. News — the type of practice Obama argued in 2013 rewards colleges for raising costs.

Having a large portion of the rankings based on factors independent of the university such as “reputational surveys and analysis of research publications” can help prevent these potential manipulations of statistics, Baty said.

UNIVERSITY NEWS

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2015 • PAGE 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

» SOURCING, from page 1

ARJUN NARAYEN / HERALD

New general body members of the Undergraduate Council of Students broke into small discussion groups to discuss diversity and other issues.

UCS gathers feedback on plans for semester Sexual assault prevention, diversity emerge as topics of focus in first general body meeting of semester

By MATTHEW JARRELL STAFF WRITER

The Undergraduate Council of Students sought internal feedback on the thematic areas it plans to address this year at its first general body meeting Wednesday night.

UCS President Sazzy Gourley ’16 said the council has struggled in the past with a lack of transparency and a retroactive confrontation of campus issues. “Tonight, we want to eliminate both of those problems,” he said.

Focus groups led by UCS Executive Board members hosted discussion of four of the five areas in which UCS efforts will concentrate: student wellness, diversity inclusion, transparent university governance, and campus life and curricular improvement. UCS Chief of Staff Elena Saltzman ’16 detailed initiatives to address the fifth area, UCS accountability, at the end of the meeting.

Gourley and John Brewer ’17, UCS treasurer, led the group discussion of student wellness, further narrowing the scope of discourse to sexual assault prevention and mental health. They introduced the Title IX Council and the Title IX Advisory Board to new members during the discussion.

The Title IX Council, to which six undergraduates were recently appointed, is responsible for determining the action necessary in response to a claim of a violation of the statute. The Title IX Advisory Board, which includes three undergraduate members, will handle implementation of this action.

UCS Vice President Alana Bhatla ’16 and Communications Director Yuzuka Akasaka ’18 spearheaded a group discussion of diversity inclusion. UCS

initiatives in this area will continue in preparation for the release of the University’s Diversity Action Plan this fall.

In the general forum that followed the focus groups, measures to improve both socioeconomic and cultural diversity dominated the conversation.

Several general body members raised concerns about the implementation of measures to increase diversity without large-scale student involvement. “Diversity forums should be mandatory for students, so they can learn about why the University is pushing for these changes,” said Ebube Chuba ’19.

International students often fall through the cracks of such measures, said Alexa Clark ’19. The financial aid applications of international students are unfairly “judged by the same standards” as those of their American counterparts.

The council concluded by unanimously approving a number of UCS code changes, upon which work was started this summer.

As part of these changes, UCS created a management board to oversee internally elected UCS officials and eliminated the position of corporation liaison, Saltzman said. Instead, the president and vice president, who have the experience to “better serve” as facilitators between the council and the Corporation, will conduct affairs with the University’s highest governing body, she said.

The code change also overhauled protocols for joining UCS and drafting and voting on resolutions. No signatures from undergraduates are now required for returning members to stay on the council, while the number of signatures required for new members is now 100 instead of 150. Deadlines for submission of resolutions for votes, previously set at a week in advance, have also been made more flexible in the new code.

Looking ahead, UCS will host an open forum to solicit community input of the new Title IX policies next Wednesday.

a company, we can negotiate pricing.”

For example, the University currently holds contracts with 70 different transportation services, The Herald reported Sept. 10. “Maybe if we have fewer vendors and better terms, we can still have all the transportation we need, but we can have it at a higher quality service and a cheaper rate,” Locke said.

The strategic sourcing specialist’s work will begin with identifying which items departments are purchasing from which companies, Hebert said. The

» PATROL, from page 1 yelling out the windows at two o’clock in the morning,” as well as “parties organically springing up in the hallways,” Bova said.

“These graduate students will not go around and look for problems, but when faced with problems, they will confront and work with residents to think about their behavior and how they’re impacting other members of the community,” he added.

In addition to enforcing community guidelines, the patrollers will be equipped to connect students with necessary resources for emergencies such

person will then be able to “aggregate those expenditures” to optimize buying power, she added.

In the University’s five-person purchasing department, “everyone is going off and doing their own thing,” Hebert said.

“I don’t have individual buyers that specialize in certain commodities. …

Everybody does a variety of things,” she said. “This strategic sourcing person will be someone who has the time and energy and is devoted to building longterm supplier relationships,” she added.

The hiring move may align the

University with peer institutions, as “schools across America” are employing strategic sourcing specialists, Chernow said.

This relatively new position comes with the digitization of information, which allows large quantities of data to be analyzed. “We have a system that isn’t paper-driven anymore, so things move through the system more quickly,” Hebert said. “Our old financial system was an antiquated system, and it wasn’t geared towards providing the kind of data and analysis that people have come to expect.”

as alcohol poisoning, Basil said. The graduate students will also host Friday night events that will provide food and activities as an alternative to going to a party, she added.

While the graduate students will not be a part of the RPL program, they will complement the work of RPLs by taking an active role in residential communities, Bova said. Instead of acting as enforcement, RPLs serve as leaders with “peer-to-peer” relationships with residents, which is where the need for an enforcement entity arose, he added. “The RPL position was not designed to have a standard ‘address or report’ component to their job,” Bova said.

Unlike RPLs, the graduate student patrollers will be recognizable by their blue ResLife shirts and nametags, Basil said.

The graduate student patrollers have finished their first weekend monitoring Pembroke residence halls, Basil said.

First-year students who were in their dorm rooms while the graduate students were walking the halls said they did not notice their presence.

“I don’t think (having graduate student patrollers) is a bad idea, especially since we’re buckling down on school work,” said Uchechukwu Onwunaka ’19, adding that she noticed a reduction in dorm parties last weekend.

www.browndailyherald.com

METRO

PAGE 4 • THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

Spotlight on the Statehouse

BY EMMA JERZYK, METRO EDITOR

Protesters with FANGs

Three men were arrested Monday in Burrillville, R.I. for disorderly conduct and trespassing after locking themselves to equipment at the compressor station of Spectra Energy, a company working to build a natural gas pipeline through New England, the Providence Journal reported.

The three men — Nick Katkevich, Keith Clougherty and Matthew Smith — are part of the group Fighting Against Natural Gas, which has protested the natural gas pipeline responsible for transporting natural gas extracted through hydraulic fracturing.

Last month, two members of the group — Peter Nightingale and Curt Nordgaard — were arrested for disorderly conduct and trespassing after chaining themselves to the entrance of the same compressor station. Nightingale, who is a physics professor at the University of Rhode Island, was also arrested in December of 2014 for a sit-in demonstration protesting Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s, D-RI, anticipated approval of Spectra Energy’s plans to build the pipeline.

Nabsys no longer

Nabsys, a Providence-based biotech firm, has closed its doors after operating for over 10 years, Rhode Island Public Radio reported. The firm has not released details as to why it is no longer in operation.

The company, located in the Jewelry District, built devices to read very long DNA molecules in a much faster and less expensive way.

Two small firms, which eventually joined to become Nabsys, started in the early 2000s in the University’s chemistry, physics and computer science departments.

Point Judith Capital, an investment firm that Gov. Gina Raimondo led before she ran for state treasurer, began working with the company in 2009. Barrett Bready ’99 MD’03, adjunct assistant professor of molecular pharmacology, physiology and biotechnology and the founder and former CEO of Nabsys, hosted a fundraiser for Raimondo, and is the only member of the I-195 Redevelopment District Commission who remained between Chafee and Raimondo administrations.

PawSox proposal peters out

Hope that the Pawtucket Red Sox, the state’s minor league baseball team in affiliation with the Boston Red Sox, move to Providence continues to dwindle after a summer full of disappointments and setbacks.

Jim Skeffington, owner of the PawSox, proposed the idea of moving the team to his hometown of Providence in April, garnering the support of the mayor, governor and speaker of the house. But after Skeffington died in May, plans faltered.

The first proposal — which was made in the shadow of the settlement on the 38 Studios deal — required that the land be given free of charge, the stadium be absolved of city property taxes and the taxpayers subsidize the stadium by $120 million over 30 years, RIPR reported.

When a movement against the stadium backed by East Side voters and state representatives started growing, the politicians listened.

The University also decided it would charge $15 million for the land required to build the stadium on the proposed site. And after the team looked at potentially buying another property in the city — Victory Place — the hospital network LifeSpan bought it.

Donald Grebien, the mayor of Pawtucket, R.I., wrote a letter to Raimondo this week asking to discuss a plan for the team. In his letter, he specifically proposed examining the feasibility of reinvesting in McCoy Stadium, the team’s current stadium in Pawtucket.

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New mandate calls for HPV vaccination Vaccine requirement for seventh graders stirs up mixed reactions among parents, citizens

By SARAH NOVICOFF STAFF WRITER

As the school year began this month, incoming seventh graders across the state bought backpacks, shopped for new clothes and dreaded the return of early morning wake-ups. This year, though, a new stop was added to the list — getting vaccinated against human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted disease that can cause cervical cancer.

The state began requiring the first dose of the vaccine of all seventh graders Aug. 1 after a mandate from the Rhode Island Department of Health.

The second dose will be mandated for eighth graders beginning next year and the third for ninth graders the following year.

The mandate was passed in July 2014 after a public hearing in January 2014 to comply with Center for Disease Control recommendations. The age of the mandate is backed by CDC research that indicates the highest immune response when administered at that age, said Joseph Wendelken, spokesperson for RIDOH. “Our school immunization regulations are one of the reasons why Rhode Island children are among the best immunized in the country,” Wendelken said. “Our school immunization regulations help protect children from serious,

» AIRPORT, from page 1 privacy impact statement. Signs will notify those at the airport that filming is taking place, and no efforts will be made to track down any travelers seen on tape. The intent is to test whether the behavior detection program can identify “indicators of malicious intent” via remotely-monitored video, according to the assessment.

But Brown called T.F. Green’s participation “inappropriate” because it lends credibility to an experiment that could exacerbate problems for travelers.

“This experiment’s goal is to try to make a bad program even worse,” he added.

Brown said that while he understands the importance of federal agencies aimed at protecting travelers, behavior-based programs “have been discredited by just about everyone who has looked at the program.”

vaccine-preventable diseases. In the case of HPV, we are talking about a virus that leads to cancer in both males and females.”

But parents across the state have mobilized against the measure, especially the way it was enacted. Rhode Island law dictates that all vaccines recommended by the CDC be required for entry into public schools. As a result, individual vaccine regulations, once recommended by the CDC, are the purview of RIDOH and not the legislature.

Members of Rhode Islanders Against Mandated HPV Vaccinations, a group that formed in response to the RIDOH action, argue that the power to issue new health mandates belongs with the legislature and necessitates more public input than the current process allows.

“As a citizen and as a parent, I don’t want to see these kinds of things happening in the future,” said Aimee Gardiner, co-leader of the group. “I want to stand for my family and for all the families in Rhode Island in favor of democratic processes.”

Though Gardiner is not opposed to the vaccination itself and has vaccinated her kids according to previous mandates, she views the decision as one for the legislature. With the RIDOH unlikely to change the mandate, Rhode Islanders Against Mandated HPV Vaccinations is left with two remaining paths: the governor’s office and the legislature itself, she said.

Gov. Gina Raimondo’s office issued a statement Aug. 27 indicating unlikeliness to amend the mandate that read,

“These regulations were finalized over a year ago after a public hearing. The Governor recognizes there are concerns about mandatory vaccinations, but the CDC recommends the HPV vaccine as a safe and effective way to help prevent cancer in males and females and save lives.”

The Coventry School Committee passed a resolution last month urging the governor to reconsider her stance on the mandate.

“I personally would never have brought that resolution forward to my committee,” said Katherine Patenaude, chairwoman of the Coventry School Committee and director of the Multidisciplinary Laboratories at the University. She voted to approve the measure based on constituent input, though she said she had “never witnessed this kind of behavior” at the committee meeting.

Patenaude said the only reason people so vehemently oppose this mandate as opposed to others is “because the word ‘sex’ is part of it,” she said, adding,“People don’t want to think about their seventh graders having sex.”

Rhode Island students will not be fully protected against HPV until administration of the vaccine’s final dose, which is not mandated until ninth grade and significantly improves its effectiveness.

The general assembly will likely be more amenable to the cause, Gardiner said, though it will not be in session until January. In the meantime, parents hoping to avoid the vaccination must apply for a medical or religious exemption as provided for in the regulation.

In 2013, a report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office asked the TSA to limit funding for such behavior detection activities after it found no evidence to support the claim that such programs “can be used to identify persons who may pose a risk to aviation security.”

Behavior-based surveillance programs can also become a “pretext for racial profiling,” Brown said. In 2012, over 30 officials at Boston Logan Airport said the program had become a “magnet for racial profiling,” he added.

Jim Vincent, president of the Rhode Island NAACP said, “Anything that promotes racial profiling, the NAACP is against.”

Adrian Wood-Smith, associate chaplain of the University for the Muslim community, expressed concern about “parts of the security apparatus we have in America that are so

vague that they can be used to justify the officer’s own biases.” Many Muslims are “detained for what seems to be no justifiable reason,” he said, adding that such programs “don’t seem to quite do much in terms of keeping America safe or preventing terrorist acts.”

After sending the letter and raising “legitimate and important issues,” the ACLU never received a response, Brown said.

From the very beginning, the program has been surrounded by secrecy, Brown said. The ACLU only found out about the program indirectly, after the TSA released the privacy impact assessment. “It demonstrates their lack of interest in having legitimate public debate about whether these kinds of surveillance should be happening,” he added.

The Department of Homeland Security declined to comment.

TODAY

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2015 • PAGE 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

menu

summer daze

SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS

Pizza: Spicy Five Cheese, Pizza Bianco, Honey Boo Boo JOSIAH’S

BLUE ROOM

Made-to-Order Quesadillas

Soup: Turkey Chili, Chicken Artichoke Florentine, Vegetable

DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH

DINNER

Baked Ham on a Bulkie Roll, Toasted Ravioli with Italian Salsa, Edamame Beans Chow Mein

Pot Roast Jardiniere, Chicken Helene, Mediterranean Orzo, Black and White Pudding Cake

VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH

DINNER

BBQ Beef Sandwich, Cheese Tortellini, Red Pepper Cream Marsala Sauce, Frosted Cupcakes

Cajun Pasta with Chicken, Tofu Parmesan, Vegan BBQ Beans, Cajun Apple Cake

sudoku

ARJUN NARAYEN / HERALD

Students lounge and study on the Main Green, soaking up some of the final rays of sun this summer before the calendar turns to autumn and the cool sets in.

comic A Horse of Any Other Name | Zach Nelkin

RELEASE DATE– Thursday, September 17, 2015

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle c r Norris o s sandwJoyce o rNichols d Lewis Edited by Rich ACROSS 1 Ways to the docks 7 Military unit 14 California colleague of Barbara 15 Worked on a runway 16 Spouse of 66Across 17 Winter clothes 18 2008 Benicio del Toro title role 19 Fruit support 21 Fiber-yielding plant 22 Spouse of 20Down 24 Messes up 26 Command to Fido 28 Pump output 30 Downturn 32 “__ ideal world ... ” 34 Fancy neckwear 37 Mess up 39 “A likely story!”

40 Friend of 66Across 42 Ike’s domain in WWII 43 Orwell’s “1984” Inner Party is one 45 Aired as a marathon 47 Track setting 48 Ship, to a sailor 49 Chips for the winner 50 “__-mite!”: “Good Times” catchword 52 Patron of Alice’s 54 Friend of 16Across 58 What we have here 60 River-bottom accumulation 62 Word with odds or bricks 63 Water pistol output 66 Comic strip celebrating its 85th anniversary this month 68 Brighter, in a way 69 Colors again 70 University officers 71 Last

DOWN 1 Union member since 1890 2 Niamey is its capital 3 Order companion 4 Slaughter in baseball 5 U.S. IOUs 6 The Four Questions ritual 7 Audi rival 8 Santa’s target 9 Graven images 10 Makeup of many capsules 11 Son of 16- and 66-Across 12 Scouting unit 13 Paper staffers, briefly 16 CCCL doubled 20 Employer of 16Across 23 Back then 25 She won an Oscar for her 1980 portrayal of Loretta 27 1945 “Big Three” conference site 29 “__ boy!”

31 Chi preceder 33 Light element 34 One bounce, in baseball 35 __ days

36 Creator of 66Across 37 Caffé order 38 Beginning of space?

41 Surg. sites 44 Real 46 E. African land 49 Springtime concern for many 51 Hatch in the Senate 53 Cuba __: rum drink

55 Respected figure 56 Bring up 57 High seed’s advantage 59 “Ignore that edit” 61 Taylor’s husband between Wilding and Fisher 63 Cold War letters 64 “__ Sera, Sera” 65 Grads to be 67 Manhattan coll. founded in 1831

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Study Abroad Info Session 5:00 PM 68 Brown Street

Community Service Opportunities Fair 7:00 PM Sayles Hall

NY Times Columnist Charles Blow Lecture 5:30 PM Salomon Center, Room 101

Thursday Night Interfaith Supper 5:30 PM 58 Keene Street

TOMORROW BURP Feel-Good Friday 12:00 PM Faunce, Room 229

Cognition Seminar Series 3:00 PM 190 Thayer St, Room 305

The Refugee Crisis: A Teach-in 5:30 PM List Art 120

Disney A Cappella Auditions 5:00 PM Wilson Hall, Room 101

COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

EDITORIAL

Cutting the summer contribution Brown, alongside its wealthy peers, has a long history of promoting inequality and helping the elite build and maintain their wealth. We cannot forget that it has been less than 12 years since Brown committed to need-blind admission for domestic students, a fraction of its 251 years of existence. But even today, with its trumpeted “need-blind, meets full need” admission mantra, Brown continues to be an unequal place. The expectation that all students directly contribute to their college expenses through the flat-rate Summer Earnings Expectation causes low-income students to work more hours, avoid classes with expensive books and compromise their educational opportunities. This inherent inequality compromises low-income students’ experiences at Brown, while the University benefits from its claim to be a “need-blind, full-need” school.

Brown and most of its peer institutions mandate that all students fund part of their education, regardless of financial circumstances. Brown expects that all students bring in a minimum of $2,600 or $3,100 — depending on their class year — at the start of the year.

Of the class of 2019, only 42 percent of students receive financial aid, and of those, 30 percent will not have a parental contribution. Aid policy states that families that earn under $60,000 and have less than $100,000 in assets will not have a parent contribution, which means that almost 13 percent of students in the class of 2019 come from families that earn under this amount.

To this nearly 13 percent, who come from families that range from no income to working class families, several thousands of dollars of spare income for books or transportation is a massive weight on their child’s shoulders. So when Director of Financial Aid Jim Tilton said last week that “financial aid packages have a $1,450 allowance for books, ranking the highest among the Ivies,” he forgot to mention that even for the lowest-income students, Brown expects that textbook funding to come from their summer contribution — money that they must bring to school themselves.

Programs like the LINK that fund low-income students to pursue unpaid internships and develop their network over the summer, while helpful, hardly provide enough for a student to live in a major city. This lack of funding does little to remove the barriers that low-income students face when looking for meaningful summer employment opportunities. Without Brown’s assistance, how are low-income students who pursue unpaid internships or conduct research via an Undergraduate Teaching and Research Award going to be able to pay their summer contribution?

Financial aid is not charity; it is a tool for equity. It is recognition by all parties that Brown is an institution that fundamentally lacks equality; it is an attempt to make Brown more accessible to anyone who is not in the upperclass of American society. Nevertheless, though our current system is capable of enabling low-income and middle-class students to enroll in Brown and, for the most part, afford tuition, to say that it completely eradicates all financial burdens on behalf of the student would not only be a gross inaccuracy, but also an insult to those students who almost exclusively rely on aid for their very presence at this institution.

As Brown tries to become more socioeconomically diverse, incongruent policies like the summer contribution need to go. As Brown embarks on a capital fundraising campaign and asks donors to give to the University, donors giving to financial aid programs should ask the Office of Advancement how many hours the student they fund will have to work weekly, how many books they will be unable to afford and where Brown expects them to eat during breaks when wealthier students leave the University. We’d love to hear the answers.

I VA N A L C A N TA R A

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

“People don’t want to think about their seventh graders having sex.”

— Katherine Patenaude, chairwoman of the Coventry Schools Committee

See mandate on page 4.

Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board: its editors, Manuel Contreras ’16 and Meghan Holloway ’16, and its members, Emma Axelrod ’18, Noah Fitzgerel ’17 and Aranshi Kumar ’17. Send comments to editorials@ browndailyherald.com.

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COMMENTARY THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2015 • PAGE 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

A fatal simplification RACHEL MONTOYA opinions columnist

In the never-ending battle against the diseases that plague humanity, genetic markers are an increasingly common weapon on the scientific front. Since the first sequencing of the human genome in 2003, geneticists have tirelessly searched for evidence linking gene mutations with diseases. In recent years, these scientists have begun to use race as a biological category, undertaking research projects focused solely on single racial groups in order to root out genes that may be linked to disease causality.

A 2014 study of Mexican individuals, including those born in both Mexico and the United States, found that 30 percent of subjects contained a mutated gene that raised their likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes by five times that of any other population in the world. Karol Estrada, who led the study, explains the significance of the discovery of this gene for Mexican populations, saying that “a genetic DNA test could determine the type of diabetes in minutes and from this the treatment to follow … it enables us to do the work knowing that it is a single gene variant for the Mexican population and not having to test for many other genes.”

It is easy to see why many are so quick to accept race-specific genes as causes for disease. Illness is terrifying to the public, and people crave the power to determine their own health. This alleged diabetes gene mutation is something tangible to Mexican populations — a simple test that they could undergo to determine their risk for the disease and al-

is a major oversight of other contributing factors. Humans are far more than just their genes; socioeconomic status, environment, occupation and diet are just a few of many interrelated external elements that can affect a person’s overall health and act as risk factors for disease.

Past studies have proven the fallacy of race as a genetic categoriza-

each other perfectly. … It is plain to see that malaria and sickle cell aren’t restricted to Africa. … It would be more accurate to call the groups with the sickle cell gene the ‘anti-mosquito race.’”

While there is no question that diabetes is a major cause of suffering and mortality throughout the world, its seemingly disproportion-

Race should never be used as a biological categorization for scientific inquiry, for assuming that the health of all the members of any one race can be determined merely by genes is a major oversight of other contributing factors.

low them to take precautions against diabetes and confront the possibility of developing the illness in the future.

Yet the world should not be so ready to accept these genetic markers, for no matter what hope they may offer, the methodology behind their discovery is innately flawed.

Race should never be used as a biological categorization for scientific inquiry, for assuming that the health of all the members of any one race can be determined merely by genes

tion as it has been used in this diabetes study. In her book “Fatal Invention,” Dorothy Roberts describes the case of sickle cell anemia, a disease thought to be genetically linked to “black blood.” In truth, there are equally high occurrences of the condition in parts of Europe, Oceania, India and the Middle East — all places where mosquitoes and high rates of malaria are present. In a comparison of a map of malaria cases and one of sickle cell anemia, Roberts explains that “the maps mirror

ate presence within Mexican populations cannot be explained purely by a genetic mutation, just as sickle cell could not be explained merely as a “black disease.” Accepting such a mutation as the reason behind the increased diabetes risk among Mexicans assumes that all individuals who identify as Mexican live similar lives and share similar beliefs about healthcare and lifestyle.

It is necessary to take a broader look at the lives of Mexican populations and consider which elements

of their lives could be placing them at a higher risk for diabetes. Perhaps socioeconomic status plays a role: carbohydrate-heavy foods like rice and corn are far more affordable than fruits and vegetables, and thus could be more widely consumed by Mexicans who are less wealthy. In a real study of diet and socioeconomic status as risk factors for diabetes, it would be necessary to look through these categories as research lenses instead of race, examining individuals of lower socioeconomic status of all races in order to get an accurate and realistic picture of those who suffer from the disease.

For geneticists to examine disease causality through a racial lens is a fatal oversimplification. In addition to pathologizing certain races, this research method will ultimately fail to discover the true conditions that put groups at an increased risk for diseases like diabetes. The test for this supposed mutated diabetes gene should not be pursued as a method of prevention. Meant to give Mexican individuals a sense of hope and personal capability, a reliance on their genetic predisposition as an explanation for disease will lead only to hopelessness and little change in diabetes rates among suffering populations.

Rachel Montoya ’16 is a science and society concentrator.

A house divided ROBYN SUNDLEE opinions editor

At the beginning of this summer, I found myself in a very peculiar situation. I was to be sharing a house with a band of men in Georgetown. But these men were not just any men — these were bona fide, socially conservative, entitlement-hating, Bush-apologist, Republican men. I noted with a wrinkled nose that even the house was salmon-colored. Having spent most of my last three years within the Van Wickle Gates in the embrace of groups like Feminists at Brown, I predicted the experience would be a rude adjustment.

This was Washington, D.C., so of course politics were the lifeblood of conversation.

And with Comcast as our flaky Internet provider, there was little to do but bicker. Within hours of moving in, I found myself shouting about Black Lives Matter, using beer cans to demonstrate an elaborate metaphor about equal opportunity on our rotting coffee table.

Clearly I knew how to make friends.

But as time passed, the quality of our conversations rose. My entrenched beliefs were challenged like they hadn’t been in years. And I know I introduced them to arguments they rarely considered. The following are my observations from this summer, and ultimately my conclusion that seeking out parties whose beliefs we find displeasing is more important to our future than ever before.

In a way, our house was a curious microcosm where the incentives aligned to produce

the best conversation. Being cooped up together forced not only discussions, but also civil discussion. It was absolutely not a safe space, but it was a constructive space. Getting mad and exiting the conversation because of the offensiveness of a comment or view was not an acceptable conclusion, because we had to live with each other. And really, there was nothing else to do anyway — I would take off in a huff, and then see the cable kleptocracy had failed

course there are hypocrisies and anachronisms that lead many of us to regard faith as an untenable basis for policy. Of course it is always our choice whether or not to respect cultural difference. No culture is sacrosanct. All are imperfect and unjust and oppressive in their own special ways, and some do enjoy hegemonic privileges. But recognizing deep cultural influences as an element in political beliefs we find abhorrent is a step towards understanding. For

Addressing views that we may find distasteful forces us to flex a lot of mental muscles that are underused in the world of politics.

us again and Netflix was still unreachable.

Then I would stew, think of a witty rejoinder and come bounding back into the argument.

So we would whittle away at an issue until we came to an understanding, or at least the root of the disagreement.

There were times when unsavory comments were made. The night we talked abortion upset me greatly. Indirectly, these men wanted to control what I could do with my own body. But I reluctantly came to recognize that their position came down to cultural difference — not necessarily blind, malicious misogyny, which I had long believed the culprit.

If we traced back our disagreement over abortion, the root was religious faith. Of

if we cast a critical gaze on our own, we will see that our privileged culture too is flawed, and we cling to it with just as much tenacity. Understanding is a step towards conciliation, and conciliation is essential for progress.

Addressing views that we may find distasteful — especially social ones — forces us to flex a lot of mental muscles that are under-used in the world of politics. We must be eternally composed and polite. We must go over our own logic with a fine-toothed comb, and then deliver it without condescension or ire. Is that point really consistent with your other ones?

Quick, think! What evidence of unequal opportunity can you unearth that resonates with a Vineyard Vines-swaddled American prince?

These interactions test you. Do you believe in your cause enough to face a pack of gimleteyed FOX News viewers and defend a woman’s right to choose for hours? Time to walk the walk.

This is what we need to see more of at Brown — at least for students interested in policy, social issues, activism or politics. It is of course very important to maintain safe spaces where students can feel comfortable and engage in discourse that won’t traumatize them. We need this to construct whole, confident selves. Using the University as a haven for social idealism and personal development is a beautiful thing.

But Brown is also an incubator for tomorrow’s lobbyists, politicians, analysts, diplomats and community leaders. These students need exposure to the ethos of everyday America, the land of insensitive stubbornness beyond our gates and our liberal-elite New England enclaves.

It’s a hard, cold reality that requires preparation in the form of unfailing patience. And patience for social conservatism is at an alltime low in these parts. For idealistic purposes, perhaps this is positive. But for career purposes, and for the purposes of all those seeking peaceful justice on a national policy level, it’s a tragedy.

My blood pressure suffered, but I probably gathered more diplomatic skill this summer than I have gleaned in three years here. I want to see our distinguished school offer as fine of an experience as a bunch of frat boys in a moldy salmon-colored house.

Robyn Sundlee ’16 is concentrating in international relations.

SCIENCE & RESEARCH THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

Student participation in CLPS studies may skew research pool Study participation aspect of CLPS courses creates homogenous sample, unique research challenges

By RILEY DAVIS STAFF WRITER

Hitting baby dolls with rocks might not sound like something worthy of course credit, but for some undergraduate classes it might be.

As students continue pairing down their course lists, many of those who decide to take courses in the Department of Cognitive, Linguistic and Psychological Sciences will be asked to participate in subject pools for research underway in CLPS. Participating in subject pools is an important part of the pedogogical process, said Dave Sobel, professor of CLPS. Like many CLPS faculty members, Sobel encourages his students to both participate in a study and “then reflect on why researchers are doing that study,” he said.

For Jessi Haddad ’16 MD’20, a psychology concentrator, the additional hours required for the CLPS subject pools were an adjustment but worth

it in the end.

“At first I was sort of annoyed by it,” she said. “It was an extra thing to do, and everyone was already so busy, but I was really happy that I got involved. It allows you to have a different perspective on research than you would without being directly involved with it.”

Students enrolled in CLPS courses comprise a readily accessible subject pool, Haddad said, which may be why researchers pull subjects from the undergraduate population.

“There are a lot of students who have more time than middle-aged adults who are raising kids, for example, and we’re on campus and really close to where a lot of these studies are being conducted,” she said.

Yet despite the convenience, using students as subject pool participants also has drawbacks.

Researchers are “obviously getting a really small, very highly educated, mainly white, very liberal group of

students,” said Amanda Ruggieri ’16, a psychology concentrator. “They tend to be self-selecting from psychology and brain sciences, so not only that but they’re more informed about these types of questions. It might be that the results that we’re getting are really specific to these groups of people.”

Students who are enrolled in CLPS courses may also be more sensitive to the fact that they’re being observed, Haddad said, which can affect results.

Haddad cited the Hawthorne effect­ — when a subject’s behavior changes under observation — as another possible factor. “As college students, we’re always being graded and watched and are trying to achieve our best, and so we’re not being as honest with ourselves as we can.”

Professor of CLPS Leslie Welch said researchers know the subject pool can be skewed and “know that that’s sometimes problematic.” With this in mind, researchers sometimes design their studies to compensate for subject pools that consist primarily of college students. By designing experiments geared toward college students or

designing studies where the student demographic will not skew results — such as color perception studies — researchers can ameliorate this problem, Welch said.

An additional complication for undergraduate participation is that scheduling studies is often a constraining factor for students, particularly for those who wait until the end of the semester to complete their participation, Sobel said. Students generally spend between three to five hours outside of class participating in studies.

In 2010, the University switched from a paper sign-up system to the current online system, called SONA. The transition “vastly (streamlined) the sign-up process,” said Welch, who organizes student participation in subject pools. Students can search SONA to find available studies and participant criteria.

Students agreed that SONA is a helpful tool, both for finding studies to participate in and for conducting their own projects.

“It allows more research to happen

at Brown,” Ruggieri said. Students “wouldn’t be able to do as many studies as (they) do without that.”

Welch also stressed that while some outside work is required for specific CLPS courses, students are always offered an alternative to participating in research studies — for example writing a paper or attending a seminar. “We need to make sure the pool is actually volunteers, and that is the way to do that.”

For some students, these alternatives are more appealing than becoming part of the undergraduate subject pool.

When Adam Gottesman ’16, a biochemistry and molecular biology concentrator, took CLPS 0700: “Social Psychology,” he chose to complete a research certification course rather than participate in the subject pool because of “the simple fact that all of these studies are run for college students.” He added that he felt learning how to do research might benefit him more down the road than participating in studies whose results might be limited by the subject pool.

Fifth-year master’s programs see rise in enrollment, expand to new depts.

Across disciplines, fifth year master’s programs offer undergrads faster, less expensive post-grad option

By ELENA WEISSMANN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Over the past few years, the University has seen a significant rise in the number of departments offering fifth-year master’s programs that are exclusive to Brown students.

Sixteen programs currently exist, spanning the humanities, sciences and social sciences. Sociology, the newest addition, will be offered for the first time this year, while many of the other departments’ programs have expanded.

“Even around 10 years ago, many of our biology (master’s) programs were under the umbrella of just biology, but since then they have branched out into specific disciplines, including neuroscience and pathobiology,” said Brian Walton, associate dean of

administration and program development.

“Since the program is exclusive to Brown students, we have a known applicant pool of highly qualified individuals,” he said, adding that the program could attract potential undergraduates and that efforts could be made to promote the program nationally to high school students compiling college lists.

Students who enroll in fifth-year master’s programs must complete eight courses, two of which are usually completed while they are undergraduates, Walton said.

The program allows Brown students to attain a master’s in one year, as opposed to the usual two years required at other universities. “These programs are generally unfunded, so paying tuition for only one year

instead of two is a good decision — it ends up saving a lot of money,” said Valerie Langberg ’14 MA’15, who completed the fifth-year master’s program in biostatistics last year.

Langberg attained a research associate position in the School of Public Health during her graduate course, gaining ample research experience and later landing the job full-time after earning her degree.

“As an undergraduate, I took a few master’s courses so I knew a lot of the professors, and I knew it was a good program. And then when I was looking for jobs my senior year, I noticed that everything I wanted to pursue required a master’s degree,” Langberg said.

The biostatistics department currently has 17 students enrolled in the fifth-year master of art’s program.

Contrastingly, the master of science’s program for biostatistics requires a thesis and generally takes longer, said Christopher Schmid, professor

of biostatistics and director of the department’s master’s program.

Obtaining a master’s in biostatistics can help lead to the attainment of an interesting and high-paying job, Schmid said, adding that many students “may go into a health carerelated field.”

While the programs are readily accessible, they do require planning as an undergrad, he said. Students should start considering the program during their second or third year, he added.

But the computer science master’s program may most benefit those who decide on the discipline later in their undergraduate studies, said Tom Doeppner, director of computer science graduate studies.

Students who begin studying computer science their sophomore or junior year may have only taken a minimal number of computer science courses, and the fifth-year master’s program allows these students to

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learn more while also gaining research experience, he added.

Computer science’s program has seen a large rise in enrollment over the past decade — jumping from five students to 10, Doeppner said.

“In general, we are expanding our master’s program, so we are definitely willing to accept more students who are applying. If they’ve done well in their courses, they are fairly likely to be admitted to the program,” Doeppner said.

Andy Ly ’16 is one such senior who may apply for the program in order to take more courses. “During my time at Brown, I was jumping between concentrations in the beginning, so that kind of limited my acceleration in general. Now I can take more computer science classes,” Ly said.

“But it may be a bit awkward because there will be less people that I know on campus, and of course I need to find somewhere to live,” he added.