SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2015
VOLUME CL, ISSUE 68
Students appointed to Title IX Council, Oversight Board Council to replace Student Conduct Board in evaluating sexual misconduct cases By KATE TALERICO SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The University has appointed undergraduates, graduate students and medical students to the newly formed Title IX Council and the Title IX Oversight Board. The move, recommended by the Task Force on Sexual Assault in its April final report, comes as part of a larger effort to improve campus sexual misconduct policies. The Title IX Council, a more specialized version of the Student Conduct Board, is comprised of students, faculty members and staff members who will be trained to address cases involving sexual misconduct, sexual violence and gender-based harassment, said Title IX Program Officer Amanda Walsh. Following a nomination process conducted by the Undergraduate Council of Students, which involved an online application and an in-person interview, six undergraduates will serve on the council: Candice Ellis ’16, Kimberly Charles ’16, Meredith Angueira ’17, J.D. Laurence-Chasen ’17, Hans Britsch ’18 and Minoshka Narayan ’18. The Graduate Student Council nominated Virginia Thomas GS, Amariah Becker GS and Anni Pullagura GS to the council, while the Alpert Medical School nominated Abigail Davies MD ’19. From this pool of council members, three will be chosen “on a caseby-case basis” by the chair of the Title IX Council, Professor of French Studies Gretchen Schultz, Walsh said. Students’ particular expertise in a subject, as well as their “capacity to act on the case at any given time,”
will factor into the choice, she added. Council members will undergo an extensive five-hour training in a variety of issues prior to hearing any cases. Several council members said they must also remain impartial judges, despite the emotion often involved in dealing with such sensitive subjects. “It’s important to stay true to Title IX and the rules at Brown,” Britsch said. “A lot of times people impose their own biases one way or another on this process, unfortunately … toward the respondent and to the detriment of the survivor.” “It’s a question of safety. It’s what we hold most dear,” Laurence-Chasen said. “When people are doing things that threaten that safety, it is totally important and natural to have those visceral reactions, otherwise this subject won’t be taken as seriously as it should be.” Ellis stressed the importance of confidentiality in dealing with cases. “I hope that people recognize that, as a member of the council, there is a high level of confidentiality,” she said, noting that she worries students will inquire about the details of specific cases if they realize she is part of the council. “In order to enact change on this campus, you need to be a part of the institution,” she added. “I want to make sure that the University is effectively implementing the policies that students fought for.” Narayan expressed concern about working under a strict timeline to reach a decision. “The challenge I expect to see is being quick and thorough at the same time,” Narayan said. The new Title IX Oversight Board, charged with evaluating the University’s progress in implementing and furthering new sexual assault policies over time, will face other pressing challenges. Three undergraduates » See COUNCIL, page 2
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FOOTBALL
ELI WHITE / HERALD
Marcus Fuller ’15.5 threw for a total of 403 yards and completed just over 60 percent of his passes Saturday. The quarterback also recorded an 83-yard touchdown pass — the third longest pass play in program history.
Bears fall short in season opener Despite yardage success, Bruno fails to capitalize on offensive opportunities in loss to Bryant By CALEB MILLER STAFF WRITER
Five turnovers — including four in the red zone — doomed the football team in a 20-16 season-opening loss to Bryant Saturday at Brown Stadium. On paper, the Bears (0-1) dominated the game. Bruno racked up 128 more total yards and eight more first downs than the Bulldogs (2-0), held Bryant to just 12 yards rushing and committed half as many penalties. But one poorly timed turnover after another stifled Bruno’s drives and momentum. The Bears advanced the ball within Bryant’s 10-yard line five times, but those drives yielded a combined total
of six points — two field goals and three turnovers. It is “easy” to see why Brown lost, said Head Coach Phil Estes P’18. “You can’t turn the ball over like that and expect to win games.” In an appropriate ending to Bruno’s sour opener, quarterback Marcus Fuller ’15.5 marched the Bears to the Bryant 9-yard line with less than two minutes left in a 20-16 game. But when Fuller tried for a go-ahead touchdown pass on fourth down, it landed in the hands of Bryant’s Brandon Dagnesses to seal the loss. Two interceptions spoiled what would have been a tremendous passing game for Brown’s senior quarterback. Fuller led the pass-happy offense to 403 yards through the air on 32 of 52 attempts. The veteran targeted seven different receivers, with four of them amassing over 50 yards. Estes said in retrospect he could
have run the ball more often. But he noted that five fumbles — three of them lost — made it hard to trust his ballcarriers. The power running combo of Andrew Coke ’16 and Seth Rosenbauer ’16 combined for 73 yards on 23 attempts and two lost fumbles. The Bruno faithful received some quick fireworks from their Bears, who jumped to a 10-0 first quarter lead. Bruno’s no-huddle offense seemed to fluster Bryant early in the game. Taking advantage of the Bulldogs’ confused attempt to substitute players against the hurry-up, receiver Troy Doles ’16 slipped behind the safety and Fuller found him for an 83-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring. For the rest of the game, Bruno consistently marched up and down the field but did not see its efforts reflected on the scoreboard. When they didn’t turn it over, the Bears had to settle for field » See FOOTBALL, page 3
In keeping course evaluations internal, U. cites privacy, bias concerns Course evaluations yield bias against female and underrepresented minority faculty members By ELANA JAFFE STAFF WRITER
In the first meeting of ECON 1530: “Health, Hunger and the Household in Developing Countries” on Sept. 9, Professor of Economics Andrew Foster gave students access to all University course evaluations from the previous year to help them decide whether to take the course.
INSIDE
For students trying to narrow their shopping carts to four or five courses, the results of these evaluations could be a trove of information. But for a variety of reasons — including student and faculty privacy, biases against female and underrepresented minority faculty members and the existence of the Critical Review — the University’s current practice is not to make the results available to students
or administrators, said Dean of the College Maud Mandel. Missing peer reviews on the Critical Review — the student-run publication of course reviews — can make shopping period “more chaotic” as students have less information about what to expect from courses, Foster said. Tatiana Dubin ’18 said it can be frustrating to look up a course on the Critical Review and find no peer reviews were submitted. But students also experience the
annoyance of filling out two sets of evaluations when a faculty member does distribute the Critical Review surveys. “It’s cumbersome to ask students” to complete both, Foster said. Dean of the Faculty Kevin McLaughlin P’12 echoed this sentiment, noting that doing both may “seem a little excessive.” Distribution of the Critical Review surveys is voluntary: They are delivered to each department, but each professor ultimately chooses whether to hand them out. The departmental
course evaluations are more widelyused, as students often must fill them out before receiving their final grades. All departments except for two — the Department of Earth, Environment and Planetary Sciences and the Department of Modern Culture and Media — distributed online course evaluations last academic year, and the University-wide return rate was just under 76 percent, Mandel wrote in a follow-up email to The Herald. University evaluations are » See EVALUATIONS, page 2
WEATHER
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2015
SPORTS Field hockey recovers from recent loss by claiming overtime win over St. Joseph’s
SPORTS Men’s soccer’s winning streak halts with losses against Georgia State and Clemson
COMMENTARY Kenyon GS: Carly Fiorina fills the role of mother in the Republican primary contest
COMMENTARY Malik ’18: Students should not lose idealism even when confronted with reality
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TODAY
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