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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016
VOLUME CLI, ISSUE VII
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Contestants for $500: Who is Noah Cowan? SciLi Friedman Center
to get new restrooms
Lifetime interest in trivia culminates in ‘Jeopardy!’ appearance for committed first-year student
Small stalls to receive upgrade to genderneutral, new multi-use facilities to be added
By MADISON RIVLIN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Noah Cowan ’19 will go head to head Friday with some of the most eclectic minds in America’s most famous game testing obscure knowledge and buzzer-pressing reflexes — “Jeopardy!” Tackling categories ranging from “U.S. Army Five-Star Generals” and “Say it in Latin” to “That’s Just Ducky” and “Batman TV Villains,” Cowan will have the opportunity to display his mastery of miscellaneous factoids and trivia. Cowan’s interest in trivia and “Jeopardy!” stems from an overwhelming desire to learn, he said. “I’m a total nerd, so that helps,” he joked. “It’s really all about the pursuit of knowledge. By watching, you can test yourself and learn more about everything.” “‘Jeopardy!’ is a celebration of knowledge,” said Maud Mandel, dean of the College. “If he’s gotten this far, it’s a testament to what he’s amassed in his life.” Cowan said he has always been interested in trivia knowledge. “I’ve
By JACKSON CHAIKEN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
ARTS & CULTURE
COURTESY OF NOAH COWAN
Noah Cowan ’19 sports a Brown sweatshirt while posing with host Alex Trebek on the set of “Jeopardy!” Cowan’s episode airs this Friday. always watched ‘Jeopardy!’ and always thought it would be so cool to play,” he said. Throughout his high school career, Cowan competed in Quiz Bowl tournaments, which are contests primarily composed of academic questions. Though Quiz Bowl’s format and structure vary slightly from those of “Jeopardy!,” “lots of the knowledge overlaps,”
he said. With the Quiz Bowl experience under his belt and the inspiration of fellow Georgetown Day School graduate Matt Jackson’s 13-day winning streak on screen, Cowan had high hopes for his own triumph on “Jeopardy!” Cowan prepared for his audition by studying the “Jeopardy!” online » See JEOPARDY!, page 4
The bathrooms in the basement of the Friedman Study Center in the Sciences Library are in the midst of a major upgrade, said Michael Guglielmo, director of design and construction for the Department of Facilities Management. The bathrooms were the subjects of numerous complaints and had not been renovated since 2008, he added. Ever since the center was first built, “during peak periods of use, there were situations where there was a backup and students were waiting in queue for the facilities,” Guglielmo said. “This is a fairly significant investment for the University to help facilitate the full functionality of the Friedman Study Center during those peak periods.” The current bathrooms will remain, but they will be renovated as singlestall, gender-inclusive bathrooms, Guglielmo said. The new multi-stall bathrooms will be located in the southwest corner of the center, he added. While the size of the bathrooms was
what prompted the renovations, both the men’s and women’s bathrooms are not in pristine condition. “The bathroom is very tiny, really hot and disgusting. There’s paint falling off the wall,” said Georgiana McTigue ’19. Casey Abrahams ’19 commented on the tight confines and lack of waiting space inside the women’s bathroom. There is also the risk of being hit by the stall door when washing one’s hands, she added. The men’s bathroom has the same issues of chipping paint and cramped quarters. The renovations should be completed by the end of April. But the current bathrooms are still available for use, as the new bathrooms will be completed before the current bathrooms are renovated, Guglielmo said. But at night, the center will not be a quiet space for the next few months. A sign has been posted throughout the center warning students of loud noise from construction between 1:00 AM and 8:00 AM. Architecture Research Office, the same firm that designed the new applied mathematics building, designed the new facilities, Guglielmo said. The construction is being carried out by Consigli Construction.
ResLife to renovate ‘Dead Animals’ showcases taxidermy art Perkins, Barbour After inspection of bleak, aging dorms, $5 million allocated for renovation this summer By MELISSA CRUZ SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The Office of Residential Life is allocating $5 million for the renovations of Perkins Hall, Barbour Hall and Barbour Hall Apartments this summer. The dorms will undergo renewal renovations, as opposed to full renovations, which would entail closing the buildings, said Senior Associate Dean of ResLife Richard Bova. Dorms fully renovated in recent years include Miller Hall and Metcalf Hall. A core group of roughly 20 people will plan and execute the renovations, Bova said. The renovations will be completed in nine to 10 weeks, and as many as 100 employees — including Department of Facilities Management staff members, architects and
INSIDE
construction and trade workers — will work on them, Bova added. Deciding which dorms require renovations is a multi-step process, Bova said. ResLife inspects buildings’ age, heating, roofs and usefulness and considers student and family concerns to “prioritize how to allocate resources,” he added. Currently living in Perkins, Gabe Reyes ’18 worries how the dorm’s condition shapes the University’s image in the eyes of prospective and visiting students and, by extension, its reputation. “Perkins is definitely one of those dorms where — if a prospective freshman stays (there) during (A Day on College Hill) — they may be turned off and go to a different school because they don’t want to live here,” Reyes said. When a friend from a different school visited last semester, he said Reyes’ room reminded him of a prison cell, Reyes said. His friend now refers to Reyes’ roommate as his “cellmate.” » See RENOVATE, page 2
Contemporary art highlights artificial hybrids, animal rights, life-death paradigm By ROLAND HIGH STAFF WRITER
Unless you’re careful when visiting “Dead Animals,” the newest exhibition in the David Winton Bell Gallery, you might trip over the taxidermied Labradors or crush the stuffing from the baby chick next to them. Also called “The Curious Occurrence of Taxidermy in Contemporary Art,” the show consists of the mounted, hybridized, sequin-encrusted and beheaded remains of our furry friends. The works in this exhibit — believe it or not — are representative of a powerful trend that has spread through the most elite circles of today’s art world. Taxidermy is “showing up in art galleries … fashion advertising — there’s a resurgence of interest in it,” said Jo-Ann Conklin, the gallery’s director and curator of
ARTS & CULTURE
ROLAND HIGH / HERALD
The “Dead Animals” exhibit at the David Winton Bell Gallery features taxidermy pieces, including “Systemic Inflammation” by Polly Morgan. the exhibit. Conklin said she was first struck by the presence of taxidermy in art in 2008. She recalled a piece by David
Shrigley in which a kitten stands on its hind legs and holds a sign reading, “I’m Dead.” After that, she began to » See ANIMALS, page 8
WEATHER
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016
ARTS & CULTURE Brown University Orchestra releases new album featuring four concertos with Jeffrey Biegel
ARTS & CULTURE RISD opens three art exhibits showcasing variety of media, diverse narratives
COMMENTARY Mitra ’18: potential overhaul to admissions process marks step in right direction
COMMENTARY Al-Salem ’17: age 21 not end-all, be-all but time of growth and change
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Science & Research Roundup BY ALEKSANDRA LIFSHITS, NEWS EDITOR Researchers propose aberrant genes as cure for ALS After six years studying amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, an incurable neurodegenerative disease, a team of five University faculty members received a $1.8 million research grant from the ALS Finding a Cure Foundation this fall. They will use this grant to further investigate aberrant genes — genetic mutations that suppress ALS — as a possible cure for the disease, and they could potentially receive up to $4 million over the next two years should their research prove fruitful. The team is researching these aberrant genes because while some gene mutations can harm humans, others could potentially help by defending motor neurons. The research is unconventional because it is a collective effort focusing on multiple species. By examining ALS in human cells as well as in other organisms such as mice, flies and worms, the team hopes to combine various models and reach conclusions more quickly. For example, the flies and worms would allow researchers to spot gene mutations, mice would provide a mammal cell model and human cells would indicate how the research could be applied clinically.
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
» RENOVATE, from page 1 Reyes also complained about the dorm’s poor water system. “One time, I was about to brush my teeth and had to throw away my toothbrush because the water was so gross,” he said. Still, Perkins is comfortable, and
some people find its amenities agreeable, Reyes said, noting that a friend visiting from Columbia “really loved it.” Chris Monschauer ’18 wrote in an email to The Herald that Perkins is sufficient, though renovations would be “a great help.”
“Everything else is better” in dorms other than Perkins, Monschauer wrote, “but Perkins itself really is fine.” Renovations for Perkins and other dorms will be completed by Aug. 8, according to the Department of Facilities Management’s website.
Clues found to unknown cause of deep earthquakes in subduction zones University geologists discovered strong evidence that mysterious earthquakes occurring at Earth’s subduction zones— the areas where one of Earth’s tectonic plates goes underneath another — are caused when water escapes a mineral called lawsonite. Greg Hirth, professor of earth, environmental and planetary sciences, and Keishi Okazaki, postdoctoral research associate, have determined through experiments that as water leaks from the mineral at a high temperature and pressure, it weakens the mineral’s structure. “For 50 years everyone has assumed this is a process related to antigorite, despite the fact that there wasn’t much evidence for it,” Hirth said in a University press release. “Now we have good experimental evidence of this dehydration process involving lawsonite.” Earthquakes in the subduction zones can go unnoticed if they occur deep in the ground but can be very dangerous if they occur close to the surface, as in the Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011. This research can help scientists understand why earthquakes differ from one location to another, ultimately leading to greater predictability and more organized responses. Professors honored for accomplishments in biotechnologies Jeffrey Morgan, professor of medical science and engineering, and Anubhav Tripathi, professor of engineering and director of biomedical engineering, have been elected fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. Among Morgan’s most notable contributions to the field are a device that could potentially be used for making artificial organs and founding the company MicroTissues, which creates tissue cultures. Some of Tripathi’s most significant research has investigated ways to enlarge the RNA of viruses, which in turn facilitates disease diagnoses.
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Brown Orchestra strives for perfection on ‘Manhattan Intermezzo’ Jeffrey Biegel collaborates on classical CD featuring four concertos with jazz, pop, rock influences By MADISON RIVLIN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Garnering widespread recognition from the classical music community, the Brown Orchestra released its first professionally recorded album, “Manhattan Intermezzo,” in early January. Produced by Naxos — the chief record label of the classical music world — “Manhattan Intermezzo” features talented pianist and composer Jeffrey Biegel accompanied by the orchestra in four concertos. Pieces include works composed by Neil Sedaka, Keith Emerson, Duke Ellington and George Gershwin.
The grueling recording process took place throughout fall 2014. Over the course of the semester, the musicians spent multiple weekends in Sayles Hall perfecting their performances and recording each piece in sessions lasting up to six hours, said Ben Wesner ’18. “We were aiming for perfection,” he added. Wesner’s impressive technique and rhythm are featured in his clarinet solos, which figure prominently in both “New World a-Comin” and “Rhapsody in Blue.” The professional recording process was a unique and unprecedented experience for the orchestra, which
normally performs live concerts twice per semester. “Concerts are a onetime thing, and you’re in the moment,” he said. “In the recordings, we broke down different bits of each piece to really closely examine the notes and the sound we were going for.” Both the recording and the compilation process were extensive. Each piece underwent much consideration with respect to its length, its arrangement and its influences, Biegel said. The compilation of concertos took shape when Biegel was presented with the original version of “Rhapsody in Blue” in the late 1990s, he said. The song included 88 measures of music unfamiliar to most people. “People began to ask me if I had done a recording of it,” he said. “After
a while, ‘no, not yet’ became ‘we’re working on it.’” Biegel later added Keith Emerson’s “Piano Concerto No. 1,” a classical piece influenced by jazz, to his mental collection. In 2003, Biegel decided on Duke Ellington’s “New World aComin’” after performing it in Geneva, Switzerland. After the record label approached him in 2008, Biegel rounded out the collection with his fourth choice: successful pop song writer Neil Sedaka’s “Manhattan Intermezzo.” “These pieces complement each other beautifully,” said Paul Phillips, director of orchestras and chamber music at Brown. Each piece “stylistically” has some relation to popular music, progressive rock or jazz, so
“in terms of length and orchestration, it makes perfect sense to put them together,” he said. The production of “Manhattan Intermezzo” proved valuable to both the members of the orchestra and Biegel himself. “Their fresh minds, fresh ears and fresh hearts enabled the pieces to be recorded in a way we desired because they weren’t accustomed to other interpretations,” he said. “They don’t play music for a living — they do it because they love it, and they’ve loved it all their lives.” The orchestra hopes to continue its success in the commercial classical music world later this semester with its next CD, featuring compiled works by composer and novelist of “A Clockwork Orange,” Anthony Burgess.
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ARTS & CULTURE PAGE 4 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016
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Diverse new RISD exhibits feature nature, women’s attire Antique clothing, nature photography, narrative paintings illuminate spectrum of visual arts By GABRIELLA REYES STAFF WRITER
Three new exhibits opened at the Rhode Island School of Design Museum Jan. 22 — “Drawing Conclusions,” “Wild and Precious” and “Swagged and Poufed: The Upholstered Body in the Late 19th Century and Today.” “Drawing Conclusions,” which can be found in The Linda and Vincent Buonanno Works on Paper Gallery, features prints, photographs, paintings and drawings from various artists including Larry Day, Marcel Dzama, Faith Ringgold and Kara Walker. A key component of the exhibit is the diversity of the pieces, particularly in their narratives and respective artists. It was organized by two assistants in the museum’s Department of Prints, Drawings and Photographs, Emilia Mickevicius GS and Jagdeep Raina, an MFA candidate at RISD. “We wanted to create an intimately scaled, thematic exhibit that showed off recent acquisitions and works that haven’t been on view in a while from a diverse group of artists the public might not have heard of before,” Mickevicius said. Some of the artists, such as Walker, are RISD alums. “We wanted to show how works
of art stage encounters between themselves and their viewers and direct our attention in certain ways,” Mickevicius said. “All of the works revolve around the theme of narrative and how works set themselves to be read.” Mickevicius noted that as the title of the exhibit suggests, viewers draw their own conclusions about each piece. The exhibit speaks to the different types of narratives art can convey — from social and political to surreal and fantastical. “Narrative can take many different forms in contemporary art — works of art don’t have fixed, inherent meanings,” she said, adding that the meaning of art is a product of the artist’s intentions and the viewer’s interpretation. “Wild and Precious,” at the Tsiaras Photography Gallery, is an exhibition of several photographs taken by Jesse Burke, an adjunct photography professor at RISD, over the last five years while he travelled across the United States with his daughter, Clover. The photographs showcase her interacting with nature. Some photos depict her standing on rocky cliffs; in others, she naps among animals. Burke came up with the idea for his photography project when Clover, his first child, was born. “We’re a nature-inspired family,” he said. “We like to be outside and connected to the animal world, and we hoped our first child would adopt this same lifestyle.”
KEIICHIRO KINOSHITA / HERALD
The Rhode Island School of Design opened three new art exhibits Jan. 22. “Wild and Precious,” featured above, showcases nature photographs taken by Jesse Burke while traversing the United States with his daughter. Burke added that he wanted to create a sense of responsibility and connection to nature through the project. It took about eight months to mount the museum exhibition, Burke said, noting that the photographs included are only a small, carefully selected
sample. “I created this work in pieces, traveling around and essentially collecting and creating data. This exhibition is an organized layout of the data,” he said. “It serves as a final resting place for the work in an idealized state — how I would ideally have you experience the pieces.” Burke added that the layout of the installation should push viewers to do a self-guided tour of the space by “walking back and forth, left and right, so you’re sort of experiencing what my daughter and I experienced when we were out on the road.” The goal of the installation is to help transport the viewer into the same space and mindset he and his daughter were in when visiting these different places, he said. Burke noted that photography is his favorite medium because it is an effective way to convey a message. “The most important part of artmaking practice is that you have an understanding of the concepts and ideas that are most interesting to you,” he said. The exhibit “Swagged and Poufed: The Upholstered Body in the Late 19th Century and Today,” at the Angelo Donghia Costume and Textiles Gallery, features women’s clothing from the past and present that shares aesthetics with upholstered furnishing
styles of the late 1800s. The contemporary fashion pieces emulate overlapping trends in 19th century women’s fashion and interior design. A center case in the gallery presents dresses, mantles, rugs and a carpetbag from the time period alongside contemporary fashions that bear similar designs, and a three-minute film accompanies the exhibit. The late 19th century pieces bear an “upholstered look” that “represents a time when there was much emphasis on textiles both for the interior and on the body,” said Kate Irvin, curator of costume and textiles for the RISD Museum. The quality, layering and elaborate manipulations of textiles for furnishings and fashion demonstrated a woman’s “personal refinement,” she said. The preoccupation with textiles was tied to the Industrial Revolution and the far reach of empire during this period, she said. “Upper-class women spent much of their social life within the confines of the drawing room — nearly becoming one with the drawing room — though the soft furnishings of her interior and the fashions worn on her body made explicit reference to the riches and reach of colonialist enterprises during this period,” she said. All three exhibits will run throughout the spring semester.
» JEOPARDY!, from page 1
Before the taping session in Los Angeles, Cowan said he had “no idea what to expect.” “I was confident but really, really excited,” he added. “I was going to be on ‘Jeopardy!’” Cowan spent time with the other contestants, whom he called “the greatest group of people.” He added that since the contestants were not allowed to watch other games, the group spent a lot of time together chatting and watching movies. “On behalf of the (Office of the) Dean of the College, we wish him tremendous success,” Mandel said. “We hope he does well for Brown and for himself.”
archives. He had his younger brother, Jordan, quiz him on almost every question aired to date and help him perfect his buzz-in skills. After preparing, Cowan confronted the tryouts process. He passed the online exam and was then invited to audition, which involved passing yet another exam on academic and popular culture categories and playing a mock game. After winning the mock game, Cowan interviewed with the contestant producer and coordinator, Maggie Speak. “When she asked me what I’d do with the money if I won, I said I would go see ‘Hamilton,’” Speak said.
TODAY
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016 • PAGE 5
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Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle c rNorris o s sandwJoyce o rNichols d Lewis Edited by Rich ACROSS 1 It precedes Romans 5 Maestro Ozawa 10 __ de somme: beast of burden 14 “__ luck!” 15 ’50s-’70s senator who wrote “Humor of a Country Lawyer” 16 Shuffle, for one 17 Dishonest memoir, e.g. 20 Ancient amulet 21 Dark clouds, perhaps 22 Pulitzer-winning book critic Richard 24 Bear’s team 26 Place for permanent storage 33 Dedicatee of an 1810 piano manuscript 34 Brand that includes N-Strike blasters 35 Sarah McLachlan song 36 Gun 37 Genre descended from the cakewalk 40 Gift subject to skepticism 41 Aussie colleges 43 “Lulu” composer 44 “__ Toward Tomorrow”: 1996 TV movie with Christopher Reeve 46 Part of West Point’s curriculum 49 Merged news agency 50 Convenient carrier 51 Garden gadget 54 Extent 58 One of anatomy’s great vessels 63 Classical theaters 64 Southwestern New York city 65 Linear 66 Filter 67 “South Pacific” co-star Gaynor 68 Bunker tool
DOWN 1 Leatherworker’s set 2 Smart 3 Part of TTFN 4 Man cave features 5 Wreckage resting place 6 Throw the ball away, say 7 Campus climber 8 Smucker’s spread 9 Suffix with neutr10 “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” matriarch 11 One-on-one sport 12 Conflicted 13 Slow Churned ice cream 18 1978 “SNL” Emmy winner 19 European capital 23 1994 Stanley Cup winners 24 Properly 25 Radio toggle switch 26 Hospital supply 27 Nicholas Gage memoir 28 __ suit 29 Hear again 30 Tribute title words 31 Flight segment 32 Like some small dogs
38 “__ le roi!”: French Revolution cry 39 It’s to dye for 42 Website directory 45 Loud speaker 47 Poi source 48 Honolulu’s __ Palace 51 Long narrative poem 52 Dandy 53 High spirits 55 Rowlands of “The Notebook”
56 94-day undertaking in the Cheryl Strayed memoir “Wild” 57 Classic fictional villain 59 Nice handle? 60 “Prince __”: “Aladdin” song 61 U.S. Army rank qualifier 62 Bosox legend
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COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016
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EDITORIAL
In memoriam Vincent “Buddy” Cianci, former mayor of Providence, passed away last week, leaving many people feeling conflicted. Cianci was an important community figure and arguably a good mayor; he was also a felon convicted of several different crimes. This raises the moral question of how exactly we are supposed to remember him — do we gloss over the bad stuff and honor his accomplishments? Or do we let his wrongdoings tarnish the memory of his mayoral achievements? Cianci was mayor of Providence on and off from 1974 to 2002. He has been credited with reviving Providence in many ways, most notably economically. He spearheaded the establishment of Providence Place Mall and the creation of WaterFire, Providence’s most visible cultural event. His success as mayor was reflected in his recurring reelection. Even despite his first forced resignation in 1984, he was brought back to office. It seemed most voters in Providence believed Buddy Cianci was a good mayor. In many ways, he improved overall quality of life in Providence. And yet … While Cianci helped build a more pleasant Providence, he also created a more corrupt Providence. In 2001, he and a number of other city employees were indicted on several criminal charges, including various instances of fraud and bribery. Out of the 27 charges filed against him, he was found guilty of one and was sentenced to five years in federal prison. Once his probation had ended, five years after his release from prison, Cianci was once again able to run for reelection, but by this point the tides had shifted. His fall from public favor was reflected in a 2014 loss to incumbent Mayor Jorge Elorza, who defeated Cianci as the former mayor battled a record of corruption and several rape allegations. During that election, many Providence residents expressed their distrust in him, despite his claims that he had changed his ways. Those who knew Cianci described him as charismatic and passionate about Providence. He poured a lot of effort and heart into this city, but does that matter if his methods of doing so were questionable? He made several important advances during his mayoral runs, but did his faults outweigh his strengths? Ultimately, we should strive to think of Cianci in death the way we thought of him in life. If two weeks ago, your first thought about him concerned crimes and corruption, that’s the way it should stay. Likewise, if you mostly thought of him as a good mayor, you should remember him as such. We have a tendency to romanticize people once they leave us, but that’s not necessarily the best course of action. The reality is that Cianci was a complicated man with a hearty dose of both positive and negative qualities. It’s okay to remember both. Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board: its editors, Emma Axelrod ’18 and Emma Jerzyk ’17, and its members, Eben Blake ’17, Aranshi Kumar ’17 and Leeron Lempel ’19. Send comments to editorials@ browndailyherald.com.
I VA N A L C A N TA R A
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Gladstone’s ’18 rhetoric misleads To the Editor: Benjamin Gladstone’s ’18 op-ed Monday contained a series of rather egregious errors. A quick Google search, for instance, of Natan Sharansky, the head of the Jewish Agency for Israel and former Israeli cabinet member, should clear up much of the rhetoric about “politicizing” the event. Nonetheless, a few factual corrections are due. First, Gladstone hides behind the claim of an ad hominem attack. The “personal” is a convenient way to level claims of anti-Semitism, as if the event had been criticized because it was titled “Jewish Journeys” rather than due to the fact that it was directly involved with spreading propaganda. Rather than claim that protesting the event politicized it, Gladstone would have done well to read the statement Stan Polovets, the co-founder and chairman of the Genesis Prize Foundation, which sponsored the event, gave for its press release: “This is the first time, in this current period of heightened anti-Israel activity on campus, that a Hollywood celebrity has offered to join with a world Jewish leader to visit U.S. college campuses and speak with students about Israel and the Jewish people. At a time when … forces are making sustained efforts to delegitimize Israel, these visits are particularly important and timely.” Also, is the funding by Netanyahu’s government and the Jewish
Fund for Israel not enough to describe this event as political? Second, if Gladstone would like dialogue, I highly urge him to join the international Open Hillel movement, which is working to remove Hillel’s Guidelines for Campus Israel Activities, which forbid criticism of Israel. He will find a broad contingent of Jews who refuse the conflation of Zionism and Judaism that Hillel has been so urgently propagating. This conflation was the impetus for the event, an impetus that Gladstone neatly glosses over in order to claim that this was a personal attack. The only personal attack comes from organizations that attempt to dictate the politics of American Jews for them. Third and most important: All should cringe at Gladstone’s attempt to conflate activism with the U.S. government’s antiSemitic policies during World War II, which refused entry to Jews fleeing the Holocaust. This is a shameful instrumentalization of the Holocaust for his own ideological gain, and must be condemned in the strongest terms. In conclusion, yes, rational people throughout the world do support one state from the river to the sea, one that is open to people of any ethnicity or religion and constitutive of a democracy. Call it Israel, call it Palestine, but a democracy it must be. Peter Makhlouf ’16
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COMMENTARY THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016 • PAGE 7
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Turning the tide of college admissions MILI MITRA staff columnist
It’s been two years since I struggled through college applications, but the phrase “Common App” still sends shivers down my spine. I am transported back to the horrors of the university search: the competition, crippling self-doubt and overwhelming uncertainty about the future. It seems melodramatic in hindsight, but those were some of the most stressful and nerve-wracking months of my life. And while I can’t speak for everyone, I know I am not alone. From the generic essay questions to the unstructured interviews, the admissions process is fraught with unnecessary anxiety. It is also decidedly unequal, favoring those who have the time and money to “pad” their resumes and pay for Princeton Review SAT Prep courses. Needless to say, there is massive scope for improvement. On the bright side, universities are beginning to realize the error of their ways. Last year, 80 colleges and universities — including all the Ivy League schools — established the Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success. It’s too early to tell if this will improve the situation, but at least institutions have acknowledged the problem and are working
to tackle it. The Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success is just the beginning. Last month, the Harvard Graduate School of Education released a report entitled “Turning the Tide: Inspiring Concern for Others and the Common Good through College Admissions.” The report, created by the Making Caring Common Project, was written with input from numerous admissions departments and is the first step in a larger push for reforming the admissions pro-
cal engagement and to reduce undue achievement pressure. It goes on to offer specific recommendations under each category. In particular, the authors argue that students should show “concern for others and the common good.” The report’s many respected supporters reflect its merit. It brings up several points of paramount importance, especially the sentiment that the current admissions process reeks of insincerity and “resume padding.” With the pressure to list a myriad of
to four meaningful activities, instead of the current 10. They also advise colleges to discourage over-coaching and overloading on AP/IB courses. These are logical improvements to both reduce the pressure and increase the authenticity of university applications. But I am less convinced by the report’s emphasis on ethical engagement and the “common good.” On paper, these certainly seem like ideal traits, but they come with their own set of pitfalls. How do you de-
It seems melodramatic in hindsight, but those were some of the most stressful and nerve-wracking months of my life. And while I can’t speak for everyone, I know I am not alone. From the generic essay questions to the unstructured interviews, the admissions process is fraught with unnecessary anxiety.
cess. Among the report’s endorsers is Brown’s very own Dean of Admission Jim Miller ’73. The “Turning the Tide” report identifies three key aims for a revised application process: to promote community engagement and service among applicants, to evaluate ethi-
extracurricular activities and AP/IB courses, the current system mistakenly prioritizes quantity over quality. And let’s be honest: Who hasn’t stretched the truth a little on the Common App? Instead, the authors suggest that applications allow students to list up
fine “contributions to others” or the “common good”? The terms set out in the report are too broad and vague to better inform admissions decisions; instead, they will only make the process more subjective. I am also concerned by the authors’ somewhat narrow emphasis
on community service and ethical engagement. Don’t get me wrong: It is vital for students to understand the ethical implications of their actions. It is also wonderful when they are able to tackle problems of local and global importance. But an inordinate focus on these areas could well create a new mold for incoming students and discriminate against strong thinkers with other priorities or constraints. By blindly adopting all the recommendations in the report, admissions departments would still set extreme expectations for applicants — they just happen to be new ones. Despite the potential of progress, the underlying problems with college admissions will still exist even within the reimagined system. Students from less privileged backgrounds will still face longer odds to reach elite colleges. Parents, students and college counselors will still be able to find new strategies to outmaneuver the system. And ultimately, we will still be left with a cryptic, opaque admissions process that utterly exhausts high school seniors. The “Turning the Tide” report is a thought-provoking critique of university applications but should not be heralded as an all-encompassing solution. We still have a long way to go.
Mili Mitra ’18 can be reached at mili_mitra@brown.edu.
Twenty-something SARA AL-SALEM staff columnist
My phone cover is currently a quote that says, “Nothing will ruin your 20s more than thinking you should have your life together already.” Over the last couple months, I have constantly googled, “What should I do with my life?” and taken countless quizzes trying to figure out what the next move in my life should be — and who should be there with me. I’m 21, and I’m a junior in college — of course I’m in a state of frenzy trying to figure out the trajectory of my life. Everything, from trying to find an internship for the summer to questioning why I’m still single, has made me feel like I have been shoved from the warm embrace of youth and innocence to the blaring reality of adulthood. I am a sucker for birthdays, and I thought that the day I turned 21 everything would simply fall into place, as if blowing out candles were magic. But a month in, I realized I’d only grown older in years — I was still as confused as I was at 20. Even though I understand objectively that I am still young, and this is all natural to feel, I can’t help but continue to feel like every wasted minute that goes by is a dime from my ever-decreasing bank account of time. When I was in high school, I had a pretty firm grasp on what and who I wanted to be. I wanted to get into a certain university, I wanted to be a lawyer like my older sister, I wanted to change the world radically and write a Pulitzer prize-winning novel. I imagined I’d au-
tomatically find the love of my life when I got to college, and it wouldn’t be anything I would have to stress about. I thought I knew what was right, what was wrong, what it took to be a good person, and I had this confidence in myself and my abilities that seem like a ghost of what I feel today. Today, I feel completely lost. I don’t know what I want, I don’t know who I want to be, I don’t know why I ever thought I had a
eyes as they watered, and I could swear I once read somewhere that if you stare long enough into the mirror, your self in an alternate universe starts to stare back. But my alternate-universe self was crying, and I cried that in all the infinite possible universes, I am always in a glass container I’ve created for myself. It is not a special container. It is not remarkable in anyway. It is small, ordinary and temporary. I could grow inside the
STIG BRUNNSTROM
grasp on morality — I’m essentially reading Buzzfeed articles, watching sappy indie movies, listening to lyrically stimulating music and trying to find myself again. But the more I engage with different media, the more I find that when I look into the mirror, I don’t know who is looking back. One night, I stared at the mirror for an hour, thinking my eyes were no longer my
container, but I would evaporate into a nobody inside the container. This grandiose build-up is leading somewhere, I promise. Lately I’ve been thinking about love and romance and the whole ordeal of relationships, and I’ve started to get really frustrated. Here I had been looking at all my friends around me falling in love, secretly yearning for a love I could call my own, while
I was still trying to figure out who I am. How could I add to my plate of self-doubt and insecurity another human being? I used to think a person could help you figure out who you are. I know a lot of people chant something along the lines of “love yourself and someone will love you,” but I’ve found comfort in those who bite back, saying that sometimes it’s hard to love yourself, and it’s okay to want someone to love you even if you can’t love yourself. But for me, that’s not going to be possible, and that’s the one bit of myself I now do know. I am someone who is constantly evolving and changing, and it’s not always for the better. So while I do think it’s okay to want to be loved, I now know I want to be the one who loves me. I want to put any energy I have into taking myself out on a really long, nice first date I can tell my kids about when I grow up. Now I feel, for the first time in a long time, that I know one thing I want to do with my life. I want to go on this great, exciting journey of regaining my sense of self. I want to know what I like — purely my own interests and desires without any outside influence. I want to find this great passion for something that will become a career. I want to tap back into the kid-version of myself who wrote the worst novels just because it was fun and exciting. Maybe I want to try acting or learn a new instrument. I don’t know what I want or who I am yet, but I do know that I do not want to expect someone to love me if I am not so sure I know who “me” is just yet.
Sara Al-Salem ’17 can be reached at sara_al-salem@brown.edu.
ARTS & CULTURE THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016
‘Carol’ performances captivating, not ‘groundbreaking’ cinema Blanchett, Mara shine in ‘Carol,’ illuminating social stigma against same-sex couples in 1950s America By JENNIFER SHOOK SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The film “Carol,” directed by Todd Haynes ’85, has received critical acclaim from journalists and critics all over the world. Receiving a standing ovation at its Cannes Film Festival premiere, “Carol” has since gone on to garner numerous accolades, including six Academy Award nominations. Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara are nominated for best actress and best supporting actress, respectively. In the film, Blanchett stars as Carol, a dutiful mother-of-one in the process of divorcing her husband, Harge, played by Kyle Chandler. The divorce is complicated by Carol’s developing romantic relationship with a young shopgirl and photographer, Therese, played by Mara. The complexities regarding all three characters stem from the legal and social framework built against same-sex couples in 1950s America. The film is based on Patricia Highsmith’s 1952 novel “The Price of Salt.” The Avon Cinema’s small, single screen and mid-century decor provided the perfect viewing for “Carol,” as the film emanates a 50s aesthetic from its very core. From the soft, warm lighting
» ANIMALS, from page 1 see more and more artists working with taxidermy. Her interest piqued, Conklin decided to visit a taxidermy shop. “It was the first time I had ever been, and I was just overwhelmed by the effect that taxidermy had,” she said. She felt conflicted: fascinated to see the many exotic animals on display, but also disturbed, Conklin added. Some of the artists, she explained, aim for people to come away with questions about our relationship with animals. “Taxidermy is a really loaded medium” with “emotional, visceral effect,” she said. The exhibit is about four years in
of its cinematography to the simple elegance of Carol’s many fur coats and white gloves, it is a film whose quality depends as much on its time and place as on its characters and storyline. While the pacing of the film is slow at points, it allows ample time for Haynes to develop the nuanced and subtle relationship between Therese and Carol. The unspoken moments between Blanchett and Mara are as important as their dialogue, given how same-sex relationships were stigmatized at the time. Blanchett’s performance in particular is heartbreaking. She plays Carol with such strength and elegance that the moments when her cool exterior breaks down are truly agonizing for the audience. Despite the artistry of “Carol,” the film’s six Academy Award nominations and numerous positive reviews — some of which called it “groundbreaking” — are somewhat surprising. I question whether we should consider a film featuring two white women in a same-sex relationship as truly groundbreaking cinema. “Carol” follows years of other films starring white lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer characters. Just this year, “Carol” is up against more striking Oscar-nominated performances of LGBTQ characters, such as Eddie Redmayne’s depiction of a transitioning transgender woman in “The Danish Girl.” It’s important to ask as a viewer why films like “Carol” and “The Danish the making and includes the work of 18 artists from New Zealand, Austria, Germany, France, England and other countries. The process of loaning the art was “long and arduous,” Conklin said. Setbacks included the discovery that, before shipping, a piece had been ravaged by carpet beetles, a common pest in taxidermy. But it was worth it, she said. Opening the boxes as they arrived was “like Christmas.” Leila Faulstich-Hon, a visitor to the gallery, singled out “Inert,” a wolf rug with a stuffed front half, as a thought-provoking piece. “If you use a pelt as an art piece and not for warmth … how messed up is it?” she asked.
ANDREW FLAX / HERALD
Come awards season, the Avon Cinema screens a number of critically acclaimed films. “Carol,” featured late last month, tells the story of a woman’s divorce and her nascent relationship with a young woman. Girl” receive ample funding and publicity from the film community, but
films like “Tangerine,” which intersects race with the genuine experience of a
transgender woman, are shunted off to the side of the mainstream.
Polly Morgan, a London-based artist featured in the exhibit and due to speak at a public reception Friday, belongs to another camp of featured artists focusing on death and rejuvenation. Morgan learned traditional taxidermy but soon began to experiment with the positioning of the animals. “I quite often wanted to display them looking dead — I find taxidermy more convincing that way,” she said. “You don’t expect a dead animal to move, so the trick is suspended a little longer.” Two of her pieces, simply called “Cormorant” and “Gannet” after the birds they incorporate, feature the bodies of the birds draped limply over
framed pictures of nests, drawn with the ashes of their species. Her other piece, entitled “Systemic Inflammation,” was inspired by a bizarre Victorian illustration of a proposed flying machine and features orange and yellow birds, representing flames, lifting a charred birdcage into the air. “I like the dichotomy of the birds essentially being free but still being utilized,” she said. The image of fire, which Morgan associates with phoenixes and rebirth, parallels her broader convictions about taxidermy. “Taxidermy is a sort of resurrection,” Morgan said. “I reject the idea that taxidermy is morbid — I wanted to make it about the triumph of life over death.”
Damien Hirst’s “Away From the Flock” is also featured in the exhibition. Hirst summed up the piece, contributed by a collector, in four words: “It’s a dead lamb.” Hirst explained in his book “On the Way to Work,” co-authored by Gordon Burn, that his attempt to preserve the lamb’s corpse by suspending it in formaldehyde is a metaphor for the fetishization of relics of Christ, another symbol of rebirth. Hirst is widely considered the wealthiest artist in the world, once raking in a record-breaking $198 million at a single auction. Several artists will discuss the exhibit on Friday, Feb. 5 at the public reception in the Bell Gallery.