Friday, October 16, 2015

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SINCE 1891

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2015

VOLUME CL, ISSUE 86

WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM

BUCC to examine data before Hilton boycott decision Hotel ownership group denies Local 217 union’s allegations of high worker injury rates at Hilton By MELISSA CRUZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Brown University Community Council will discuss the possibility of an official boycott of the Hilton Providence at its next meeting Oct. 27, spurred by a labor dispute between workers and The Procaccianti Group — an investment firm the University has boycotted at two locations in the past. The Undergraduate Council of Students passed a resolution ­encouraging the University to boycott the Hilton Wednesday. The Brown Student Labor Alliance briefly introduced the Hilton case to the BUCC Sept. 27 and called for the University to stop its institutional support of the Hilton by notifying faculty members, departments and the larger Providence community of the labor dispute. The Hilton would be removed from online listings, but the University would not ban Brownaffiliated individuals from booking at the Hilton. The labor dispute is a result of Hilton workers’ protests against unreasonable workloads — specifically the number of rooms expected to be cleaned per day, the high percentage of work-related injuries as compared to unionized hotels and mistreatment by management. Work-related

injuries and illnesses at the Hilton Providence are 69 percent higher than the national average in 2013, wrote UNITE HERE Local 217, a union for hotel and food service workers in Rhode Island and Connecticut, in a pamphlet titled “Providence’s Pain Problem.” SLA cited this information, which indicated that 9.1 percent of Hilton workers experienced workrelated injuries over the past year, in a presentation delivered to the BUCC Sept. 27 and UCS Wednesday. Local 217 and the SLA hold The Procaccianti Group — which owns the Hilton, Renaissance and Wyndham hotels in Providence — accountable for the worker’s treatment at the Hilton. Ralph Izzi, Jr., vice president of corporate marketing and public affairs at TPG, wrote in an email to The Herald, “Union organizers, not hotel employees, and the union’s powerful publicity machine and sympathizers have blanketed the media and Internet with sensational stories of worker abuse. … This could not be further from the truth.” The National Labor Relations Board clearly outlines the process to unionize, which entails a petition to the NLRB with at least 30 percent support from employees, Izzi said. Once this passes, an investigation of the hotel would be launched to ensure that the NLRB has jurisdiction. Then, the hotel would post a Notice of Petition for Election, which informs employees on an impending vote to decide for or against unionization. » See HILTON, page 3

MARIANNA MCMURDOCK / HERALD

A capella group Shades of Brown was among several performance groups that lit up the stage Thursday night during Brown’s annual Fall Fest. Other performers included What’s on Tap, Mariachi de Brown and imPulse.

Fall Fest draws crowds with music, desserts Seasonal flavors, diverse performances provide solace from fall chill at annual event By GABRIELLA REYES STAFF WRITER

Special Events Committee’s annual Fall Fest returned to Ruth Simmons Quadrangle Thursday night, providing students with a much-needed break from midterm studying. A line of students snaked out Soldier’s Arch and extended up Thayer Street, filling the chilly Octo-

ARTS & CULTURE

ber night with excited chatter as they sought to enter a giant white tent on the green. There were various appetizers, festive desserts such as apple cider doughnuts and performances from student groups such as Lion Dance, Amira, the Jabberwocks and the Bear Necessities, all for free. “SPEC’s mission is to create community-building events on campus that provide substance-free alternatives to weekend activities,” said Vannida Lorn ’16, co-chair of SPEC. The events are always on Thursday nights so that they do not compete with parties, but are still close enough to the weekend for students to fit them into their schedules, Lorn said. “Fall Fest is a nice little study break where you can

pop in, get some free food, enjoy some performances and hang out with your friends in a very safe environment.” The structure of the event has not changed in recent years, Lorn said. Since last year, the event has had a bigger stage and tent in order to accommodate more people. The menu changes each year, as well. Fall Fest has been a Brown tradition for many years, but it used to have a different name: Live on Lincoln. “Live on Lincoln was a regular event for SPEC,” said Eric Foreman ’15, former co-chair of SPEC. “Once the University changed the name of the quad to Ruth Simmons, we had » See FALL FEST, page 3

Trans artists challenge English Rogers ’16 scores two goals in 4-3 win conventions in poetry FIELD HOCKEY

Extending winning streak over Holy Cross to eight games, Brown moves to .500 on the season

Five authors discuss limits of English language, transgender experience in digital language arts

By MATT BROWNSWORD SENIOR STAFF WRITER

By ANDREW DECK CONTRIBUTING WRITER

For the women’s field hockey team, a period of sustained success against any perennial opponent has remained elusive. Brown’s longest winning streak against an Ivy team in the last five years has been a two-game stretch against Harvard, in which the Bears won 2-1 and 4-3 in consecutive years. But against Holy Cross, Brown (6-6, 1-2 Ivy) has enjoyed an extensive period of victorious matchups. The Bears had topped the Crusaders (6-8, 1-2 Patriot) for seven straight years coming into this season. Bruno’s last loss against Holy » See F. HOCKEY, page 4

INSIDE

Local lit lovers gathered Tuesday night at Symposium Books for “Rhythms and Methods,” a poetry reading and lecture on digital language arts exclusively featuring trans artists. The event drew roughly two dozen attendees, who brought an intimate and conversationalist atmosphere with them. Providence was the fourth stop on the “Rhythms and Methods” New England book tour, which highlights trans authors published under Topside

ARTS & CULTURE

JOSH STERN / HERALD

Alexis Miller ’16 moves the ball downfield. Of the top six point-getters for Bruno this season, four, including Miller, are seniors.

Press and Instar Books. The night began with poet Ada Maxine, who read a series of humorous one-liner poems, as well as a longer, more intimate piece. Maxine ended the set with a call to remember Keyshia Jenkins, a trans woman of color murdered in Philadelphia last week and the 20th trans woman reported killed in the United States this year. The final poem read: “What if the trans panic defense was if I was trans and I panicked.” Next onstage was Tyler Vile, a trans poet, disability activist and author of “Never Coming Home.” Vile read a collection of poems “about sisterhood and the relationship between trans women and cis women.” The poems frequently featured the locations of Providence and the Rhode Island School of Design, which Vile’s sister attended. » See TRANS POETS, page 3

WEATHER

FRIDAY, OC TOBER 16, 2015

UNIVERSITY NEWS A new student-designed app, Atbee, lets consumers buy packages of healthy food, supplies

SPORTS Carly Gould ’17 is The Herald’s Athlete of the Week after recording her first career hat trick

COMMENTARY Chokshi ’18: Indian Americans must reject the temptation of assimilation to Whiteness

COMMENTARY Swartz ’14 MD ’19: PLME senior enrollment in biochemistry is counter to program ideals

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