SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD VOLUME CLI, ISSUE 30
FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2016
M&W BASKETBALL
M. HOCKEY
Ivy League basketball adds postseason tournament Ivy men’s, women’s NCAA Tournament bids to be determined by four-team postseason playoff By CALEB MILLER STAFF WRITER
A little madness has been added to March for Ivy League basketball fans. The League’s Council of Presidents announced Thursday that the men’s and women’s basketball seasons will conclude with a two-day, four-team playoff. The playoffs victors will advance to the NCAA tournament. A long discussion with the teams’ athletic directors and coaches led the committee to add the playoffs to “enhance the overall experience” for the college hoopsters, said Peter Salovey, Yale president and chair of the Council of Presidents in a press release. The tournament is a nationally covered event that could bolster the league’s popularity around the country. Princeton men’s basketball coach Mitch Henderson told the Associated Press the tournament could play a promotional role and “showcase our talented student-athletes when all eyes are on college basketball.” Bruno men’s and women’s players and coaches have greeted the announcement
with unanimous approval. “I’m extremely, extremely excited. It’s long overdue,” said guard Tavon Blackmon ’17, adding that all his teammates shared his opinion. “It’s a great day for Ivy League basketball,” said forward Rebecca Musgrove ’17. “I have a lot of experience in the league as a player and coach,” said men’s Head Coach Mike Martin ’04. “It’s a giant step forward for the league.” Women’s Head Coach Sarah Behn noted that the tournament will improve the Ivy League’s national recognition as well as draw top talent to the conference. The tournament is “going to be a great recruiting tool as every young student-athlete wants a chance to play in March and in the NCAA’s.” Neither the Bruno men nor women have secured an NCAA tournament berth for over a decade. The new playoffs system should help the Brown men and women get a shot at the NCAA tournament. Traditionally, the team has needed to finish first in the Ivy regular season to clinch a berth; now, even a fourth-place finish will put them in the Ivy playoffs, two wins away from a spot in the big show. The decision was not met with universal approval, though, and the Ivy League’s announcement on Twitter » See B.BALL, page 2
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COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS
Captain Mark Naclerio ’16 moves the puck up ice. Despite a disappointing season for the team, Naclerio’s standout season earned him a professional contract with the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League.
Lappin ’16, Naclerio ’16 sign pro contracts Lappin ’16 signs with NJ Devils while Naclerio ’16 goes crosstown to Providence Bruins By MATT BROWNSWORD SPORTS EDITOR
For the men’s hockey team, a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to Rensselaer meant an end to everyone’s season. Except for captain Mark Naclerio
’16 and Nick Lappin ’16. The two prolific seniors will be continuing their careers at the professional level. Naclerio has signed a contract with the Providence Bruins, the AHL affiliate of the Boston Bruins, and Lappin has signed a two-year entry-level deal with the New Jersey Devils of the NHL. “It’s been a goal of mine ever since I can remember,” Lappin said. “I’ve dreamed about playing NHL hockey since I was a little kid.” Lappin will be able to report to
the Devils’ AHL affiliate, the Albany Devils, before the end of its season, following in the footsteps of former Bears Matt Lorito ’15, Bobby Farnham ’12 and Yann Danis ’04. Farnham and Danis have both enjoyed stints at the NHL level, and Lorito is enjoying his first full season in the AHL as a top-20 point getter. “It’s great to have these guys there,” Lappin said. “I have a great relationship with Matt — I played with him for most » See M. HOCKEY, page 2
Zika virus may affect R.I., study abroad plans U. professors among ‘Most Virus causing birth defects leaves U. programs unaffected, some external programs canceled By RACHEL GOLD SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Thousands of miles may separate Providence from the epicenter of the Zika outbreak, but viruses have a way of making the globe seem small. “We do expect that we will have a case (in Rhode Island),” said Rebecca Reece, medical consultant for the Rhode Island Department of Health and assistant professor of medicine at the Alpert Medical School. The Rhode Island Department of Health recently activated a registry of pregnant women who have been exposed to the virus. The department is also encouraging practitioners to make ultrasounds more readily available to test for fetal abnormalities, Reece said. “Zika is at the forefront because there are fetal complications with pregnant women,” said Cynthia Capra, nurse practitioner and clinical
INSIDE
care manager at Health Services. “The illness itself is not much; it’s a fever, joint pains, conjunctivitis ... The symptoms are very similar to other travel viruses.” But the virus is still a threat, Capra said. Last month, the World Health Organization officially designated Zika a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, putting it in the company of the 2009 swine flu, 2014 polio and 2014 Ebola outbreaks — the only other outbreaks ever to receive this designation. But even before the virus makes its way north, Rhode Island officials see reason for concern. Many of the locations where Zika is currently active, including Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Honduras, Cape Verde and Mexico, are popular destinations for the state’s diverse immigrant population, the Providence Journal reported Feb. 1. They are also popular destinations for students looking to study abroad. Though the University does not currently have any students enrolled in its sponsored program in Brazil, there are several students who have applied for the fall semester, said Janet Kalunian, associate director of operations
for the Office of International Programs, in an email to The Herald. “Our office continually monitors such situations and alerts both students who are abroad and those who will go abroad in the future,” Kalunian wrote. “For students going abroad in the next academic year ... we will continue to monitor (the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s) recommendations and share relevant recommendations with students.” Though the CDC has not issued a travel alert for Cuba, students in the University program there were recently notified about the Zika threat, Kalunian wrote. In the notice, the students were told that “there is no immediate threat to your health or safety” and were provided with a list of CDC resources regarding insect repellant use and safety. But other students have seen their study abroad plans thwarted. Marjorie Pang ’18 was enrolled in the School for International Training’s three-country study abroad program, which includes five weeks in Brazil, but recently learned from her scholarship office in Singapore that she » See ZIKA, page 3
Influential Scientific Minds’ Five highly cited Brown professors ranked in annual list published by Thomson Reuters By HANA PARK STAFF WRITER
Five Brown professors were named on Thomson Reuters’ list of “The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds of 2015,” a compilation of nearly 3,000 researchers who have authored papers written from 2003 to 2013 that were highly cited in their publication year. This method “seeks out authors who have consistently produced papers, which have, in turn, won peer approval,” the website states. Thomson Reuters also selects researchers who have authored “Hot Papers,” which attract citations almost immediately following publication. Being selected was “certainly an honor, and I was humbled,” said Huajian Gao, professor of engineering and the only Brown faculty member
to make the list for the first time this year. His highly cited papers concern Strain Gradient Plasticity, the mechanical behavior at a microscopic scale of biological structures, he said. Gao has researched why bone as a substance has “such good structures even though its chemical properties are weak.” He teaches undergraduate courses such as ENGN 0030: “Introduction to Engineering” and ENGN 0310: “Mechanics of Solids and Structures.” Shouheng Sun, professor of chemistry and engineering, saw his repeat nomination as an indicator that the projects “we have been doing at Brown are appealing to others in the scientific community,” he wrote in an email to The Herald. “We are proud to be one of the leaders in the field of nanochemistry and nanomaterials research.” Sun credits his work on chemical synthesis and nanoparticle self-assembly for the honor. In his work, he has extended nanoparticle research to nanomedicine and energy applications, he wrote, adding that more than 10 » See PROFESSORS, page 2
WEATHER
FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2016
SPORTS Athlete of the week: Jordin Alexander ’16 hits 1,000-point mark in final games as Bear
NEWS Rhode Island receives poor grade for abortion access, ranking among Texas, South Carolina
COMMENTARY Al-Salem ’17: Religious faith does not conflict with intellectual rigor, provides calm in hard times
COMMENTARY Campbell ’18: Benefits of future free education fall flat in face of burden to current college students
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ARTS & CULTURE PAGE 2 • FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2016
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Production Workshop’s ‘Tallgrass Gothic’ wrestles with faith, desire Intense lighting, haunting hymns tell story of secrets, domestic abuse, smalltown scandal By ELENA RENKEN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Written by Melanie Marnich and directed by Emily Garrison ’16.5, Production Workshop’s “Tallgrass Gothic” stuns with secrets, scandal and regimented religion. Running this weekend, the show incorporates both mystical Gothic elements and the harsh realities of domestic abuse. Laura, played by Haley Schwartz ’17, spins through the play’s small Southern town setting in flowered dresses and leather boots. Trapped in an abusive marriage, she holds onto the hope of running away with her true love Daniel, played by Ezra Dulit-Greenberg ’18. The story is simple until doubt infects Haley’s affair and characters start picking up weapons. Laura’s husband Tim, played by J.D. LaurenceChasen ’17, evolves from the trope of an abusive husband to a multifaceted, fallible man as the story progresses. The themes of violence and abuse in the play were not taken lightly, Laurence-Chasen said. “The events that take place in the show are things that happen to real people,” he added. “Tallgrass Gothic” confronts
» B.BALL, from page 1 Thursday morning elicited negative feedback from a number of fans. Fox Sports columnist Sam Gardner called the playoff system “arbitrary and blatantly unfair” because it will allow a team with a worse record during the season to grab an NCAA bid with one upset performance. Others called it a breach of the Ivy League’s history of tradition and uniqueness. But while some argue that it detracts importance from the regular season,
MARIANNA MCMURDOCK / HERALD
Ezra Dulit-Greenberg ’18 plays Laura’s love interest Daniel in “Tallgrass Gothic.” Emily Garrison ’16.5 wrote the music for and directed the Production Workshop play opening this weekend. The play’s costumes, music and lighting combine for a religious overtone. serious and troubling themes, but it does not fit perfectly into any one genre. “It’s kind of like a character study of this town,” Garrison said. With a background in dance, Garrison built the show around movement. She also wrote original music that brings the play to life, she said. Influenced by hymns, the songs allow characters to voice subtext and deepen the mystical thrall cast over
the audience. Religion threads through the play, taking the forms of angelic costumes and themes of sin as well as biblical imagery and chanted prayers. “The church is where these people are supposed to absolve themselves of their sins, but they can’t,” Garrison said. “It’s a lot more judgmental than that.” Ranging from a heavenly golden haze to a hellish fiery glow, the
production’s lighting design adds to these religious overtones. “Tallgrass Gothic” uses about 70 pieces of lighting equipment in PW’s black box theater, said Matt Steinberg ’19, the show’s lighting designer. “Things get a bit less natural as they get a bit more sinister, (and) I wanted to echo that with the lighting,” he said. Littered with coarse language
and lightning-like flashes, “Tallgrass Gothic” mimics a storm as emotions heighten and damage accumulates. While richly colored light spills over them, the characters unbutton the question of how we can have faith in anyone at all. “You can stop your heart whenever you want to,” Laura tells her best friend early in the play. “Doesn’t even hurt.”
Henderson argues just the opposite. In the past, teams in the middle and bottom of the standings would be eliminated with two or three weeks to play, but the opportunity to play into the top four lends importance to every team’s games. Furthermore, the League said, the team with the best regular season record would still earn the title Ivy League Champion, even if it was beaten out for an NCAA tournament bid. The Ancient Eight will christen its new tournament at Penn’s historical Palestra March 11 and 12, 2017.
» M. HOCKEY, from page 1
I think I’ll be able to adjust well. I hope to get in the lineup for the games this weekend.” Though Naclerio and Lappin will go from housemates to living in separate states, the two are very excited to start their professional careers at the same time. “Mark’s one of my best friends,” Lappin said. “It’s going to be weird not playing (with) him, but I’m extremely happy for him. I’m looking forward to playing against him.” “It’s really exciting for both (of)
us,” Naclerio said. “We’ve spent our whole collegiate careers together, and now we’re going into our next chapter together.” Lappin attributed a lot of his success to Brown, acknowledging that he would not be at the professional level without the University’s hockey program. “I’m really going to miss Brown, and I want to thank everyone that helped me out over the years,” Lappin said. “But I’m excited to start the next chapter in my hockey career.”
of my college career, so he’ll be able to help me. Hopefully one day I’ll be able to play with (Farnham and Danis).” Naclerio’s contract with the Providence Bruins will take him from College Hill to downtown Providence. Naclerio attended his first practice with the Bruins Wednesday and said he was excited to be a part of the team, effective immediately. “It went really well,” he said. “It’s definitely hard to be the new guy, but
COURTESY OF BROWN UNIVERSITY
Professors Dov Sax (left), Huajian Gao, Shouheng Sun, Gregory Tucker and Martin Keller (right) were named to “The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds of 2015,” a list published by Thomson Reuters. The company “seeks out authors who have consistently produced papers, which have, in turn, won peer approval,” the website states.
» PROFESSORS, from page 1 undergraduates have helped him with his research. Sun also created a class in 2005 titled CHEM 1700: “Nanoscale Materials: Synthesis and Applications,”
which allows undergraduates to learn about nanochemistry, nanomaterials and nano-technological applications, he wrote. Dov Sax, associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and environmental studies, has also seen his
work on the list before. He focuses on examining “species invasions or species’ responses to climate change,” he wrote in an email to The Herald. “When you introduce a species to a place it has never occurred before, there is potential that it will do some
harm to native species,” he wrote, adding that he is most interested in how the introduced species interact with native species. Sax teaches BIOL 1470: “Conservation Biology” every fall. It is not uncommon for researchers to make the list multiple times due
to the honor’s cumulative nature, Sax wrote, adding that nonetheless a repeat appearance is “certainly nice.” Gregory Tucker, professor of physics, and Martin Keller, professor emeritus of psychiatry and human behavior, also made the list this year.
SPORTS
FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2016 • PAGE 3
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Alexander ’16 hits 1,000-point milestone, joins Ivy record books After scoring 1,018 points in less than three full seasons, Alexander ’16 will play at FGCU next year of the Week.
By JAMES SCHAPIRO STAFF WRITER
Guard and women’s basketball captain Jordin Alexander ’16 has been working her way into Bruno’s history books since she put on the uniform three years ago. And against Columbia last Friday, she made her place permanent. With a baseline jumper, she scored her 1,000th point as a Brown Bear and with 1,018 career points is tied for 17th in Brown history. Alexander took the helm of the team this season, leading the Bears in scoring with 14.4 points per game and 3.6 assists per game. Coming off a strong junior season during which she averaged 15 points per game, Alexander became the Bears’ most dependable all-around player. In fact, Alexander’s collegiate career is not over: She retains one year of eligibility, and will play at Florida Gulf Coast next season as a graduate student. For her historic scoring in her last weekend as a Brown Bear, Alexander has been named The Herald’s Athlete
» ZIKA, from page 1 is not permitted to take part in the program because it is too dangerous. “I talked to a doctor from Health Services to ask about the virus, and she didn’t think there was a great threat for me right now,” Pang said. “I would have gone if not for my scholarship office preventing me from doing so.” As is the case with all outbreaks of infectious disease, the line between caution and safety is hard to draw. When Zika is on the table, it is easy to lose sight of the other diseases that pose an equal, if not greater, concern for traveling students, Capra said. For example, Pang now plans to study abroad in Argentina, Vietnam and South Africa, countries where
Herald: First of all, scoring a thousand points, how much does that mean to you? Alexander: It definitely meant something to me. I’m glad to have a team and coaches that were so supportive of me, and I’ve worked hard throughout these four years, so it was definitely meaningful to me. And you accomplished this in about two and a half seasons. Did you miss some time? My freshman year, I missed almost the whole season with mono. Then, my sophomore year, halfway through, I had stress fractures in both of my shins, so I was out for that as well. Junior and senior year, I actually got a full season in, no injuries, so it was good. How would you describe your game? Do you model it after anyone? I’ve always had that midrangetype game, not really a huge outside
shooter. I’ve always looked up to Reggie Miller for the Pacers, he’s always been a really versatile player. He’s more of an outside shooter than I am, but his midrange game, kind of same body style — I kind of modeled it after that.
Can you sum up your career in Brown basketball? Overall, it’s definitely been challenging, having a coaching change and everything, that’s always hard. But …
I’ve had such great experiences and made so many friends. Some of my best friends are on this team, and those are going to be lifelong friendships, so I appreciate all that. Yeah — I’m going to miss my time here at Brown.
What did you think of the team this year? We definitely struggled at times. We were really young this year, so that was definitely a challenge. I was really proud of how our team bounced back towards the end, especially losing so many games in the Ivies. We pulled it together this last weekend, so I was really proud of everyone. But again, we were really young, and you always go through growing pains and have to go through that transition period. What do you think of the team’s chances going forward? (The team’s) future is definitely very bright. There’s a lot of talent in that freshman class, and I know (Head Coach Sarah Behn) is bringing in a lot of talent in the incoming freshman class for next year. So having a year under their belt will definitely be beneficial and prove helpful down the road.
malaria is among the diseases against which students need to take precautions. Meanwhile, the Zika virus continues to expand its range. Last week, a Brazilian study showed that culex mosquitoes can harbor the virus, said Andrew Mallon, CEO of Calista Therapeutics, a Rhode Island biotechnology company that is developing genetically modified mosquitoes as a mechanism to curb the outbreak. This development is significant because “culex is a genus that lives throughout North America,” Mallon said. “West Nile Virus was able to spread rapidly throughout the U.S. because it was in culex mosquitoes. Up to now, we have underestimated the potential damage the Zika virus is going to have.”
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Jordin Alexander ’16 drives in for a layup past a Harvard defender. Alexander led the Bears with 14.4 points per game in her final season.
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NEWS
PAGE 4 • FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2016
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Rhode Island fails to guarantee abortion access, affordability F grade draws attention to changes to health insurance exchange under new governor By KYLE BOROWSKI SENIOR STAFF WRITER
NARAL Pro-Choice America — a national reproductive rights advocacy group — awarded Rhode Island an F in January in its annual scorecard of states’ reproductive freedom. The ranking puts Rhode Island in the same company as Texas and South Carolina. Rhode Island had received a D+ grade the previous year. The ranking was based on a variety of factors, including restrictions placed on young, low-income women and the fact that 80 percent of Rhode Island counties do not have access to an abortion clinic, according to the report. In an effort to discuss threats to reproductive freedom in Rhode Island and across the country, a “reproductive freedom teach-in” was hosted by the Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, the R.I. Coalition for Reproductive Justice and Brown Medical Students for Choice at Rhode Island College March 2. Reproductive freedom “is not an issue in other parts of the country,” said Craig O’Connor, director of policy and advocacy at Rhode Island’s Planned Parenthood. “It’s a problem here in Rhode Island.” The event coincided with the first day of oral arguments in the Supreme Court case Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, which was discussed heavily by the event’s panelists. “What we have now is an antimovement,” said Pablo Rodriguez, president and CEO of Women’s Care. “It is using the courts and legislature to put obstacles in front of women, and they’re winning,” he added. “In Rhode Island we are an F. We are not that far from Texas,” said Amy Retsinas Romero — president of Women’s Health and Education Fund, an organization providing financial assistance for women seeking abortion — at the teach-in. “We should all be ashamed of ourselves.” Pro-life advocates question the credibility and impartiality of NARAL. “They are the folks most responsible for the legalization of abortion in 1973,” said Barth Bracy, executive director of Rhode Island Right to Life, adding that NARAL was originally named the
National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws. “They are an abortion industry player with their own agenda, which is to expand abortion.” Bracy finds fault with the motives of NARAL. “They disagree with things like parental consent,” he said. “Their policies are extreme and not supported by the majority of Americans.” Obstacles to abortion The Whole Woman’s Health case is especially relevant in Rhode Island, a state that does not in its own right guarantee women access to abortion. In fact, the state explicitly denies the right to abortion in its constitution, which was amended in 1986 to include the assertion that “nothing in this section (Article I Section II) shall be construed to grant or secure any right relating to abortion or the funding thereof.” That insert means that if Roe v. Wade is overturned in the future — as it could be in the Whole Woman’s Health case — there will not be a guaranteed right to abortion in the state of Rhode Island. Romero discussed a number of issues in her address, including the cost of obtaining an abortion in a state where the procedure — which costs on average $500 but could potentially cost thousands of dollars — is not funded by Medicaid except in cases involving life endangerment, rape and incest. A change made to the rules of the state’s health insurance exchange, HealthSource RI, also resulted in the loss of insurance coverage for abortion for 9,000 people, said Steven Brown, executive director of the Rhode Island chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. “(Gov. Gina) Raimondo made some changes in an effort to get the health insurance exchange funded,” said Sen. Gayle Goldin, D-Providence. Insurance carriers participating in the exchange are now required to offer at least one plan at each tier of coverage — bronze, silver and gold — that does not cover abortion beyond the federal minimum requirements. Subscribers’ insurance plans are automatically renewed, meaning that those not actively seeking abortion coverage lost it. The change in rules was mandated by the state health insurance commissioner. While many criticize Raimondo for the loss of coverage offered to women seeking abortion, Bracy does not believe that the majority of cases warrant an abortion. “Well over 90 percent, maybe even 97 percent are what are
States receiving an F on reproductive rights
Source: NARAL Pro-Choice America EMMA JERZYK / HERALD
often called ‘elective abortion,’” he said, adding that cases of rape and incest account for as little as 3 percent of abortions. “What I like to do is stick with the reality of what we’re working with and not look at the minority of cases.” In this context, Bracy does not view an F grade from NARAL as gravely as others would. He noted that the grade change was a result of alterations to insurance funding for abortion that allowed people to choose whether or not they wanted plans that covered abortion. “They dropped Rhode Island from a D to an F because they gave people choices,” he said. Additionally, abortion coverage is not offered to state employees nor is it granted in relation to fetal abnormalities that are “usually late-term and very expensive,” Romero said. “We don’t want any women to turn to other measures if they can’t get an abortion,” she added. Another policy critiqued in the teach-in was Rhode Island’s spousal consent law, which requires a woman seeking an abortion to inform her spouse of her decision. Though rendered unconstitutional by federal court decisions, the law remains on the books and could be enforced again if cases like Roe are overturned in the future. Mixed-choice democrats It can be difficult to understand how developments warranting Rhode
Island’s F rating are possible in a state that has had a unified Democratic majority in the General Assembly for over a decade in addition to two Democratic governors in a row. “Nationally the party is pro-choice but Rhode Island Democrats are different in that regard,” said Rep. Edith Ajello, D-Providence. Both chambers of the Rhode Island General Assembly are anti-choice, she added. “We have a set of laws that restrict(s) a woman’s capacity to make her own decision,” Goldin said. Goldin noted that many of the laws have been in place for years, but the demotion from NARAL may be attributable to alterations under Raimondo’s first term in office. Though she ran as a pro-choice candidate, NARAL lists Raimondo as “mixed-choice,” indicating a disputed record on reproductive rights. Marie Aberger, Raimondo’s press secretary, defended her record in an email to The Herald, writing succinctly that “Raimondo is and always will be pro-choice.” “I wish she were,” Brown said, “but it was her proposal that led to the removal of abortion coverage from those plans,” referring to the change in rules for HealthSource. He added that the loss in coverage for so many Rhode Islanders “may or may not have been the intent, but it was the result of legislation that she proposed.”
Future of reproductive rights “We’ve introduced legislation to repeal some of the stuff on the books, but it’s gone nowhere,” said Ajello, who is heading an effort to codify Roe v. Wade into Rhode Island law. Codifying the Roe decision is critical for pro-choice politicians because “should it be weakened or overturned by a future federal court, … Rhode Island law would be stronger,” Ajello said. “There are many cases we could make in the legislature,” Goldin said, explaining that, as a legislator, the most important path for her is “to try and increase access by removing barriers, as well as trying to remove some of the unconstitutional language from the law.” But without larger pro-choice support, it will be an uphill battle for politicians like Goldin and Ajello seeking to better Rhode Island’s record on reproductive freedom. The past voting record of the General Assembly may, consequently, necessitate action beyond the political forum. “It’s redressable through constituent pressure,” Brown said, explaining that it is the responsibility of citizens to contact their legislators and “urge them to take action to strengthen reproductive rights and prevent any more regression.” “We need to talk about why we got that F and what we can do about it,” O’Connor said. “We need to realize that our rights really are at risk.”
TODAY
FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2016 • PAGE 5
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
menu
a g lo w i n g p e r f o r ma n c e
SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS
Pizza: Bacon and Feta, Harvest, Buffalo Chicken BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich JOSIAH’S
BLUE ROOM
Quesadillas
Clam Chowder, Wedding Soup Naked Burritos
DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH
DINNER
Crunchy Cheese Baked Cod, Cajun Pasta with Chicken, Onion Rings, Chewy Granola Bar
Macaroni and Cheese, Roast Pork with Herbs, Red Potato Frittata, Sponge Cake Jelly Roll
VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH
DINNER
Breaded Chicken Fingers, Vegan Gumbo with Red Beans, Wax Beans, Whoopie Pie
Kareem’s Catfish, Cajun Corn, Mexican Cornbread Casserole, Sponge Cake Jelly Roll
sudoku
crossword MARIANA MCMURDOCK / HERALD
Kat Boorstein ’16 ascends the stage in the dress rehearsal for “Tallgrass Gothic,” showing in the PW Downspace. Premiering today, the show highlights themes of violence and religion within a small community.
Q U O T E O F T H E D AY
“We don’t really know what women’s sports look like because no one has ever sat down and analyzed what
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women running a women’s athletic event looks like.
— Digit Murphy, former women’s hockey head coach
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Urban Studies Bus Tour 3:00 P.M. Maxcy Hall
DAEBAK K-Pop Spring Show 8:00 P.M. Salomon Center 101
SATURDAY Annual Ebony Soiree 6:30 P.M. Sayles Hall
Wind Symphony Concert 8:00 P.M. Salomon Center 101
SUNDAY Kamayan: Filipino Food Festival Fundraiser 1:00 P.M. Faunce Underground
Shakespeare Film Festival 7:00 P.M. Granoff Center, Martinos Auditorium
COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2016
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Brown Bites
Latinx conference controversy The DPS officer accused of assaulting Dartmouth student and senior delegate Geovanni Cuevas at the Latinx Ivy League Conference at Brown last semester was fired. Executive Vice President of Planning and Policy Russell Carey ’91 MA’06 wrote in a community-wide email that the officer was dismissed on the grounds that he did not “follow departmental policies and procedures relating to decisions to trespass the student.” While Carey noted that the student should not have been put under arrest, he wrote, “The amount of force that was used to place the student guest into custody was not inconsistent with departmental policy or procedure.” SJP hummus boycott A new hummus option is now being offered in Brown eateries after Students for Justice in Palestine called for a boycott of Sabra Hummus, an American company partially owned by the Israeli Strauss Group. SJP’s petition for Brown Dining Services to boycott Sabra products received 225 signatures in about three months. In response, BuDS decided to stock Cedar’s Hummus alongside Sabra to give students the ability to decide which to purchase. According to Peter Makhlouf ’16, a student speaking on behalf of Students for Justice in Palestine, “It is very easy to trivialize a hummus boycott,” but the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement is “the single strategy for Palestinian rights from our perspective as students.” CS diversity programs In order to further efforts on diversity and inclusion, the Computer Science Department has hired Laura Dobler, academic program coordinator at the School of Professional Studies, to work with student advocates and coordinate new initiatives. The CS department has also hired seven student advocates to act as liaisons between students and faculty members. According to Ugur Cetintemel, chair of the computer science department, “We have also significantly extended our training and communication efforts and established multiple diverse venues to facilitate continuous feedback and discussion.” Beware of the peanut butter The Food Allergy Research and Education organization recently reviewed Brown Dining Services in order to make the process of preparing and serving food more allergy-friendly for students. At many Brown eateries, the risk of cross-contamination is quite high, as allergens are put out next to other foods in a self-serve environment. According to Kristi Grim, the college outreach manager for FARE, more training should be required for employees in areas such as Andrews Commons and the Blue Room. “Of course, safety has to be the number one priority, but students also want to have access to a larger variety of tasty foods, and they may not always be able to plan their meal schedule out in advance.” Why are the foods we love the ones that hurt us the most?
R O L A N D H IG H
comics A Horse of Any Other Name | Zach Silberberg
Cat-Ears | Najatee’ McNeil
Go phish The new two-step verification system for students makes logging in to Banner just a little bit more annoying. The upgrade in cybersecurity requires users to first enter their usernames and passwords and then validate that login on their smartphones. More than 400 people have fallen victim to phishing attacks this school year, and the attacks are becoming more and more sophisticated. Thank goodness for all the extra security — we’d hate having hackers know about that C we got in Principles of Econ.
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COMMENTARY FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2016 • PAGE 7
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Turquoise faith SARA AL-SALEM staff columnist
I rarely like to make a big to-do about religion because I feel like it is a very private, personal thing. But I have recently begun noticing that religion is often pitted against academia and intelligence, as if the two cannot exist together. I wanted to take the chance as a columnist to write a two-part story sharing my personal opinion about that offensive claim — one that starts with a background on my own religious history. My relationship with religion has been tumultuous to say the least. Up until 11th grade, I was undoubtedly Muslim. I prayed five times a day (even the early dawn ones), and my beliefs were unquestioned. But in my junior year of high school, personal incidents occurred that left me on the brink of atheism — I had never been so estranged from religion before. At first, it was the weirdest thing. I transitioned from not praying and feeling guilty about it to not praying and not even realizing it. Senior year, I took a trip with my then-recently widowed aunt who had constantly been sabah-ing — a verb I do not know how to translate into English, but it’s essentially
the Muslim version of rosary beads, where you praise God in some way each time you get through a bead. My aunt had an electronic one, which was worn like a ring. You press the button, and it tallies up how many times you’ve expressed praise throughout the day. She was always pressing at that button, and I could see her muttering the stanzas over and over. It made sense to me, really. Her husband had recently passed away, and
ing. She said it was like pressing the injection for morphine, as if every time she pressed it a dull calm would soothe her. She said she would not have been able to cope with the situation without it. This hit home for me like nothing ever has before. At the time, I was an 18-year-old preparing for college, and I was terrified about everything that meant. I was stressed about everything under the moon, and though it wasn’t the first time some-
bright turquoise one because, hey, I was still a punk-ass teenager. In the beginning, trying to reconnect with my faith was odd. I started praying the five prayers, only because I knew it wouldn’t work if I were only pressing a button. Intentions matter, too. For the first couple of days, I just felt … quiet, like I didn’t have anything to say. I don’t know if this was due to the fact that I was constantly sabahing in my head or because I didn’t find anything worth commenting
Could the power of faith really get you through the misery of a dead husband? And if so, I thought, shouldn’t I at least try putting my heart into my faith to see if it could get me through this year? she was a mother of two — one who was on the way at the time and is now a baby girl! — so I understood why she completely dedicated herself to God at a time like that. I asked her how she could be so strong in the face of such tragedy because, if that had happened to me, I wouldn’t have been able to survive. She replied that my family and her friends’ being there for her helped, but the main thing that kept her from thinking cynical thoughts, like “why me” or “I can’t do this,” was the sabah-
one mentioned how tasbeeh — the nominal form of sabah-ing — had helped them, it only really struck me when my aunt said it. Could the power of faith really get you through the misery of a dead husband? And if so, I thought, shouldn’t I at least try putting my heart into my faith to see if it could get me through this year? So when I got back from my trip with her, I asked my mother for one of those tallying rings, and of course at the time I chose an obnoxiously
on.
But the feeling of calm still hadn’t come to me. I know it’s not magic — it doesn’t work immediately — but then, I started spending a lot more time talking to God, asking him to make everything all right. Most of the time, I cried during these prayers because an overwhelming sensation of “I’m so, so sorry” would overcome me. I don’t know how to explain it, but it felt like asking someone for something you didn’t deserve, while still knowing that
they’d be kind enough to give it to you. And so in the beginning, man, I was a cry baby, especially during the nights when I spent the longest speaking to him. Somewhere along the line, I began to see things differently. It wasn’t necessarily my mood or situation that had changed — just my perception of it. It was okay if that person said something hurtful or this person rubbed me the wrong way. Little, small blessings began to appear, and I know I wouldn’t have considered them blessings before. Even though it was just all in my head, it was like my heart had expanded to understand things differently. When the time to move to college rolled around, I had grown to be very confident about my faith. There was a calm permeating everything that I came to rely on, and by the end of senior year, religion had become a personal, emotional feeling. It supported me through anxiety over the change that dawned ahead. By the time I got to college, where most people believed a Western education would “shake” my beliefs, I found that I had actually grown to believe in Islam in a more intellectual way.
Sara Al-Salem ’17 can be reached at sara_al-salem@brown.edu.
Between a rock and a hard place VAUGHN CAMPBELL staff columnist
I don’t have to convince anyone reading this that Brown is a costly school to attend. The school covers about a third of my costs, but even so, every semester my family and I shell out a veritable fortune to allow me to be here. Almost 71 percent of the nation’s class of 2015 took out loans to pay for their educations, and the average debt at graduation was over $35,000. From a moral standpoint, this is reproachable. But I’m not sure that, in an ideal world, I’d go as far as U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’, D-VT, “free public college for all” plan. While I’m morally fine with free higher education, the more rational side of me still feels uncomfortable. If Sanders is elected and able to pass this plan, I would become one of the last graduates to not have had the option of free college.
Those who graduate alongside me and I will be at a huge disadvantage when compared to those five years younger than us. We will be saddled with, on average, $24,500 of debt each. To be fair, these plans try to help us out a bit, too. Sanders’ plan, for example, also includes lowering interest on existing student loan debts. Yet once you
If the distribution of the financial burden of this policy reminds you of the implications of another welfare program, it’s probably Social Security. Anyone who has worked has helped to pay for Social Security, yet many believe that Social Security will not last for our generation. At the very least, many predict cutbacks in the near future, as the Old
Between these two programs, our generation would be left to subsidize both the generations above and below us, while reaping only a small portion of the intended benefits. consider the resulting increase in taxes, this is a pretty minimal consolation prize we have been offered. Debt is debt. And though we would just miss out on this program’s main benefits, we would pay for it for our entire lives.
Age and Survivors funds — the main portion of Social Security — are projected to run out of reserves by 2033, well before any one from our generation retires. Between these two programs, our generation would be left to subsidize both the gener-
ations above and below us, while reaping only a small portion of the intended benefits. I understand that taxes are necessary, and I accept that subsidized college and Social Security are legitimate uses of tax revenue. But there must be a way to distribute the costs and the benefits more proportionally and equitably. It is unacceptable that we be asked to subsidize both those older and younger than we while being denied any significant benefits ourselves. I’m not suggesting student debt isn’t a problem that we can fix — it absolutely is — but we have to do so in a way that doesn’t issue a relative setback to current college students. We have to make sure that in fixing college debt, we actually help those who are currently saddled with it significantly. We should consider morality in our voting decisions, but also be keenly aware of the irrational nature of this choice.
Vaughn Campbell ’18 can be reached at vaughn_campbell@brown.edu.
SPORTS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2016
M. LACROSSE
Bellistri ’16 scores seven goals in takedown of Holy Cross Bears exceed 20 goals for second time this season in blowout victory to continue hot start By NIKKO PASANEN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The No. 5 men’s lacrosse team was back at it Tuesday against Holy Cross, breezing to another victory and extending its season-opening win streak to four games. Following a tight first quarter, the Bears (4-0) sent it into high gear and never looked back as they cruised to a 20-7 finish. Though a victory over the winless Crusaders (0-6) may not catch the eyes of many, their opponents are a better team than their record indicates. In the last two weeks, Holy Cross has fallen to both No. 7 Harvard and No. 8 Loyola by a single goal. The Bears knew that Tuesday’s contest had the makings of a trap game, but they had erased any possibility of an upset by the halftime whistle. “I give a lot of credit to our leadership,” said Head Coach Lars Tiffany ’90. “Our style of lacrosse is so dependent on being high energy, and our seniors and captains ensure that we come up for every game excited and eager.” Bruno’s offense once again proved to be a dazzling display of efficiency. At Tuesday’s game, the team found yet another player to lead the high-flying scoring attack: Kylor Bellistri ’16, who tallied an impressive seven goals and three assists. The 10-point game makes up half of the captain’s point total for the entire season, and Bellistri is now tied for fifth nationally in goals scored per game. “Kylor was outstanding,” Tiffany said. “He’s balancing so many things
COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS
Kylor Bellistri ’16 breaks free from a defender to get a shot off. The senior led the Bears’ high-powered offense — which ranks first in the nation in goals per game — with a seven-goal performance against Holy Cross. — he’s a captain, he’s our quarterback on offense and obviously he has the ability to score goals himself.” Also playing a big role was the everreliable Dylan Molloy ’17, who dished out eight assists and tagged on a goal. Molloy now leads the nation at four assists per game, which is encouraging for a player who has seen his fair share of double, and even triple, teams this season after ending last year as the nation’s leading scorer. Teams have been aggressively sliding to cover Molloy, leaving scoring opportunities to other players on the team, Tiffany said. As a result, Molloy has blossomed into an even more dynamic threat as a player who “can
feed and score,” Tiffany added. Though the offensive numbers are impressive, arguably the most eyepopping stat line of the day came at the face-off X, where Bruno grabbed 26 of 30 opportunities. But this number should be taken with a grain of salt — much of this success had to do with Holy Cross’ somewhat unusual strategy of essentially conceding the face-off to keep the Bears out of transition. While this tactic may sound strange, it was not entirely ineffective in the first quarter. By the end of the period, Bruno led the game by a score of 3-1, despite dominating time of possession. But the second quarter was a
different story, with the Bears scoring four goals in the first five minutes and dictating the pace en route to a 10-1 halftime lead. The second half was more of the same, as Bruno extended its lead to 11 by the end of the third. With just under four minutes remaining in the last frame, the Bears broke the 20-goal barrier for the second time this season. They now rank as the highest scoring offense in the nation at 17.75 goals per game. The next test for the Bears will come this Saturday at home against Michigan (3-2). Bruno traveled to Ann Arbor last year and came away with a convincing 22-12 win, but Tiffany acknowledged
that they will likely face stiffer competition this time around. Michigan “is a very athletic team,” he said. “We see them as improved from the 2015 team, so it’s a great opportunity to prove ourselves and continue to work on our system against a really good program.” If Bruno walks away with a win on Saturday, it will enter Ivy League play without a blemish on its record and start with an exciting opportunity to take on No. 7 Harvard in Cambridge. Last year, it was a win over the Crimson that sparked the Bears’ surprise run to the NCAA tournament. This year, the team hopes to cut surprise out of the equation.
Former Brown coach pioneers first professional women’s lacrosse league Murphy aims to create opportunities for women in sports, emphasizes athletes’ community involvement By BEN SHUMATE SENIOR STAFF WRITER
When Digit Murphy, former head coach of the Brown women’s hockey team, coached the Boston Blades to a Canadian Women’s Hockey League championship, some things stood out to her. First, the only professional women’s hockey team in the United States, which included many Olympic-caliber players, had disappointingly weak support. Despite its success, the team drew about 50 fans for a typical game, even in hockey-crazed New England. For comparison, the Boston Bruins have averaged 18,482 spectators at home games this season, according to the National Hockey League attendance report. She also noticed a trend in the CWHL and other women’s professional sports leagues: They were run by men. “We don’t really know what women’s sports look like because no one really has ever sat down and analyzed what women running a women’s athletic event looks like,” Murphy said. Murphy then decided to attempt
to change this by creating a league that employed women in all positions. After decades dedicated to sports as a player and a coach, Murphy is blazing a new trail as a co-founder of the United Women’s Lacrosse League, the first professional women’s league for the sport in the country. Murphy’s sport was always hockey. She was a player at Cornell in the ’80s and went on to serve as the head coach for the Brown women’s team for 22 years beginning in 1990, helping the program establish itself as a powerhouse in the ECAC. Starting with the 1992-93 season, Brown had 10 straight winning seasons, five ECAC regular season or tournament titles and an appearance in the 2002 national championship game. She became the winningest coach in Division I women’s hockey in 2006 and totaled 318 wins in her years at Brown. Five years after her retirement from NCAA hockey, she still stands as the 10th-most victorious coach in league history. So why lacrosse? Murphy and Aronda Kirby, general manager for the Boston Blades from 2012 -2015, began to look at different ways to approach women’s
sports. They liked the idea of a league that placed emphasis on community impact and used sports as the organizing mechanism. This was an inversion of the model of men’s professional sports, where players are paid for performing on the field and community appearances are a secondary responsibility. When Murphy discussed the idea with a colleague from the sporting goods company STX, the colleague suggested that the model could work well for a lacrosse league. “We originally started thinking about it from a hockey standpoint, but when you look at hockey there’s just so much of an expense because you have the rink and facilities costs,” she said. “When you look at lacrosse, it’s much less of an outlay of capital to play the games because you aren’t on a rink and the equipment (costs) less.” In addition to lower costs, Murphy found that the state of the sport would also make a lacrosse league the best fit for their vision. “Mostly women coach it right now,” she added. “It doesn’t have an Olympic component yet, so our players are hungry to play post-college.” With that, the foundation for the UWLX had been laid with Murphy and Kirby as co-founders and STX
as an equipment sponsor. The league hired former Penn State and U.S. National Team member Michele DeJuliis as league commissioner. The league is connected closely with the Play It Forward Sport Foundation, also founded by Murphy and Kirby. Play it Forward’s mission is to “create and enhance more opportunities for women as professional athletes, as managers and as leaders in the profession,” according to the foundation’s website. The Play it Forward model involves encouraging and compensating players to participate in community outreach through appearances, clinics and camps. In turn, the community impact will generate support and renown for individual teams and the league in general. UWLX players won’t be paid initially, but the future plan is to pay players using this model once the league has support from corporate sponsors and fans through ticket sales. As sponsorships increase, coaches and general managers should also be paid more, Murphy said. “When we start a league, we create over 100 opportunities for women between the athletes and the leadership positions,” Murphy said. “We have that pay equality component in mind in
every decision we make.” After a year of preparation, the league launched a player draft that drew 160 interested players. The four UWLX teams — Baltimore, Boston, Long Island and Philadelphia — will begin their nine-week season on May 28. For now, the league’s games will be played at recruiting tournaments where there is already a large base of lacrosse fans, but Murphy hopes to develop a more venue-centric fan experience in the future. “I firmly believe that if we’re going to be filling the stands with women, the way that we’re going to view sports is not in mass. We’re not going to want 30 games,” she said. “We’re going to want smaller quantities but we’re going to want quality.” Time will tell if the innovative UWLX model will change women’s professional sports the way Play It Forward hopes, but Murphy’s vision and experience in the world of women’s sports is surely a source of optimism for the league. “I’m hoping that the first year we get all the bugs out, and the second year’s even more well-received,” she said. “It’s a heavy lift and it’s a work in progress, but at the end of the day, it has to start somewhere.”