SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2016
VOLUME CLI, ISSUE 34
WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM
Mock cancels lecture Student to join Mars simulation program Lynch ’17 accepted by Society, will live, amid student protest Mars work at Mars Desert After petition asking Mock to disassociate from Brown/RISD Hillel, trans activist of color cancels
By JULIANNE CENTER AND KASTURI PANANJADY SENIOR STAFF WRITERS
Janet Mock, a black, native Hawaiian trans woman and activist, announced Wednesday that she had canceled her campus talk, “Redefining Realness,” which was originally scheduled for March 21. Mock was invited to be a keynote speaker by Moral Voices, in association with the Brown Center for Students of Color, Sarah Doyle Women’s Center, LGBTQ Center, Sexual Assault Peer Educators, Swearer Center for Public Service,
Office of the Chaplains, the Rhode Island School of Design’s Office of Intercultural Student Engagement and Brown/RISD Hillel. Moral Voices is a student group that aims to raise awareness about social justice issues of global importance each year, wrote Moral Voices co-chairs Natalie Cutler ’16 and Rachel Levy ’16 in a written statement published on medium.com. After the group invited Mock to lecture on campus, students drafted a petition on Change.org asking Mock to disassociate her lecture from Hillel. Hillel co-sponsored the lecture, and Moral Voices is a student group funded by a grant from within the Hillel budget, said Marshall Einhorn, executive director of Hillel. The statement published by Cutler and Levy » See MOCK, page 3
Research Station
By SARAH NOVICOFF CONTRIBUTING WRITER
“One of my goals throughout my whole life (has been) to literally walk on another planet,” said Connor Lynch ’17. “It’s what I’ve always wanted to do.” Rather than a pipe dream, Lynch’s aspirations of becoming an astronaut are not so distant from reality. Lynch was recently accepted by the Mars Society to live and work in the Utah Desert for two weeks at the Mars Desert Research Station, a full simulation of life on Mars. The facility exists for scientists, engineers and students to perform experiments that inform human travel to Mars, a goal NASA hopes to accomplish in the 2030s. “It’s pretty exciting because the research we do will be used by NASA …
COURTESY OF TOMOYA MORI
Connor Lynch ’17 will spend two weeks in the Utah Desert this summer to conduct research, as shown above, for use by NASA about life on Mars. to learn more about what it’s like being on the surface,” Lynch said. Lynch’s research proposal focused on the use of time-lapse photography to capture the changes in Utah’s landscape. Lynch also proposed building meteorological stations that could capture moisture, soil temperature, wind speed, humidity and other environmental
features. Lynch will modify his plan in the 10 months leading up to his stay to incorporate the realities of the program’s restricted power supply and lack of Internet as well as the desert’s limited resources. As a research assistant to Jim Head, professor of the geological sciences, » See MARS, page 3
U. among top Fulbright scholar producers Voters show support for Jeffrey Lam ’16, one of 18 grant recipients this year, to live in Vietnam, conduct health research
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Eighteen of Brown’s 96 Fulbright scholarship applicants received the award for the 2015-2016 application cycle, placing the University among the nation’s top producers of Fulbright scholars, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. Offering grants in over 140 countries, the U.S. government-sponsored Fulbright program provides recent alums and graduate students the opportunity to spend a year teaching English, pursuing an independent study project or attending a graduate program abroad, said Associate Dean of the College for Fellowships Linda Dunleavy. The U.S. student program currently awards approximately 1,500 grants annually and assesses applicants based on such factors as language preparation and the extent to which a candidate’s proposed course of study will promote mutual understanding between the United States and other countries. Asia Nelson ’15, a 2014-2015 Fulbright recipient, wrote in an email to The Herald that both her experience teaching through the Brown Refugee Youth Tutoring and Enrichment program and the course and study abroad opportunities offered by the University prepared her for work as a Fulbright scholar.
driving privileges bill Legislation allowing licenses to undocumented residents faces hearing Tuesday evening
150 applicants
APPLICANTS
By ROSE SHEEHAN
Fulbright applicants and recipients among the Ivies, 2015-2016
18
Harvard
Brown
0
26
Yale
21
Penn
20
19
Columbia Princeton
13 Cornell
*Dartmouth’s data was not reported
Source: Chronicle of Higher Education
LAURA FELENSTEIN / HERALD
“Whether it was the chance to study abroad in Hong Kong or to take intensive Chinese classes five days per week … I was constantly immersed in the Chinese language, the culture and the fact that there is a whole world that exists outside of the (United States),” wrote Nelson, who is currently serving as an English teaching assistant and cultural ambassador for the United States in Taiwan. Jeffrey Lam ’16, a 2015-2016 recipient who will be conducting public health research in Vietnam, also said that the University’s open curriculum equipped him to participate in the Fulbright program. “The flexibility in curriculum is a huge help because to study abroad and
do research in another country you have to be open-minded; you have to have a lot of multi-disciplinary coursework,” he said. Brown students are ideal candidates for Fulbright grants, Dunleavy said. “There are a lot of students on campus who I think have done theses or capstone projects or have pursued independent research with a faculty member,” she said, adding that this experience prepares students for the independent research component of the Fulbright. While large research institutions such as Harvard and Yale yielded more 2015-2016 grants than Brown, which ranked 12th among research » See FULBRIGHT, page 3
Over 100 Rhode Islanders gathered at a Statehouse hearing Tuesday evening to demonstrate support for a bill that would allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driving privilege licenses, which would grant driving permission but not serve as a state ID. The bill aims to increase road safety and ameliorate the fears of many unlicensed residents in Rhode Island who are currently legally prohibited from driving. Rep. Grace Diaz, D-Providence, a state representative since 2004 and proponent of the Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors Act in Rhode Island, introduced the same legislation in 2006 and 2007, but it did not pass. More recently, Sen. Frank Ciccone, D-Providence and North Providence, introduced the same legislation last year, The Herald previously reported. Diaz cited the long legislative process as the biggest obstacle to the bill becoming law. At the hearing, Rep. Anastasia Williams, D-Providence, one of the proposers of the bill, testified in favor of the legislation. She noted that regardless of legal status, “undocumented
residents can be law-abiding citizens,” and the state of Rhode Island should afford them that right by granting them access to legal driving privileges. Williams added that because immigrants may still attempt to drive whether they are legally permitted to or not, the state should grant them access to licenses to ensure they are driving with full knowledge of road laws. Those without licenses are “forced to choose between giving their children access to education and following the law,” said Mayor Jorge Elorza. The bill would ensure that everyone on the road had passed a written driver’s test, creating a safer community and stronger economy by increasing access to employment, he added. Elorza empathized with current advocates, noting his own experiences as the child of immigrant parents. In addressing the R.I. House Judiciary Committee, Williams reminded the representatives that their ancestors were immigrants, too. “We don’t look like the majority that’s in charge, but our needs are no different,” Williams said. “Immigrants are not going anywhere. They will be part of the fabric of this country from now until the end of time.” James Diossa, mayor of Central Falls, Rhode Island echoed Elorza’s statements, saying, “We can’t wait for the federal government to make a path to citizenship” for undocumented immigrants. Granting them the right to » See BILL, page 2
WEATHER
THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2016
ARTS & CULTURE ‘The Beggar’s Opera’ aligns with current political themes, aims to engage with audience
ARTS & CULTURE Class Board to host Wonderlandthemed Gala this Saturday, annual event sold out
ARTS & CULTURE Celebration to explore intersection of Cape Verdean identity, womanhood
COMMENTARY Kumar ’17: Southern states integral to election, vibrant centers of multiculturalism
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NEWS
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SHIRA BUCHSBAUM / HERALD
Students joined advocates at the Statehouse to support legislation that would allow undocumented immigrants driving privileges licenses.
» BILL, from page 1 drivers licenses regardless of legal status is a step in that direction. But Terry Gorman, president and executive director of Rhode Islanders for Immigration Law Enforcement, an organization that advocates the enforcement of and increase in antiillegal immigration laws, said that this bill would only guarantee “illegal aliens” the right to drive and does not imply any further legislation would occur in the state. “I’m dead set against the bill. Period,” Gorman said. “I don’t believe that anybody who is here illegally should get any benefits” outside of the federally mandated K-12 education and emergency medical treatment, he added. Rep. Arthur Corvese, D-North Providence, an opponent of the bill and advocate of legislation that would explicitly block renewal of licenses to
those who cannot provide a Social Security number, said the state legislature needs to “make it clear that Rhode Island is no place for those who entered the country illegally.” Currently, Rhode Island may prosecute undocumented immigrants for illegal activity but will not deport them because of their legal status. But Corvese introduced another bill that would enforce federal immigration laws on a state and local level. Granting undocumented immigrants rights to licenses would prove “destructive to our country and dangerous for Rhode Island,” Corvese said. Rhode Island needs to uphold federal laws, he added. Gorman said he opposes the bill because of the cost, noting how some 18,000 to 20,000 immigrants would have access to licenses, which would place undue stress on the Department of Motor Vehicles. Some 63 languages are spoken in Rhode Island public
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD schools, and Gorman questioned how the DMV would provide materials and instruction in so many languages without a huge cost to taxpayers. Eduardo Sandoar, a supporter of the bill from Todos Somos Arizona, an organization that fights anti-immigration legislation, said that many immigrants were tired of living in fear of not obeying the law. “All we want is to respect the rules,” said Giovanni Borillas, a Providence resident. “We need to do the right things.” After learning of the hearing last week, Sandoar and other Todos Somos organizers rallied supporters by advertising the hearing in church, on the radio and in newspapers in both English and Spanish. Over a hundred demonstrators arrived at the Statehouse, many with signs and all in favor of the bill’s eventual passage. Diaz said she had never seen such an energized and diverse crowd in support of a bill. “The diversity is amazing and beautiful.” Diaz was unsure how the legislation would pan out. After two more hearings, the committee will vote on the legislation, at which point it will go to the House floor. Should it pass, the Senate Judiciary Committee would need to review it before the Senate votes. Diaz noted that many of the 75 House representatives do not represent Latinos and “don’t understand the importance of the issue.” The House Judiciary Committee recommended the bill be held for further study.
This Week in Higher Ed BY ALEKSANDRA LIFSHITS, NEWS EDITOR
Drop in humanities degrees The number of undergraduates receiving humanities degrees is dropping, according to Insider Higher Ed. A study conducted by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences reported that between the years 2012 and 2014, the number of students to receive “core” humanities degrees shrank by 8.7 percent. The specific majors with the largest decrease in degrees were archaeology and classical studies. The reasons for this drop have been debated, but some professors have expressed the opinion that this trend may be due to decisions made by higher education institutions rather than the students themselves, according to Insider Higher Ed. Some professors even argued that this decline stems from admission policies that look more favorably upon applicants with a science, technology, engineering or math major preference.
Mumps outbreak on college campuses There have been 26 official cases of mumps so far this year in Massachusetts, many of them on college campuses. Harvard has had 13 cases, Boston University has had three and Tufts University and Bentley University have had at least one. Many of the students who got sick were vaccinated, as 12 percent of vaccinated people are not immune, according to the Boston Globe. Public health officials say that the sickness is spreading through campuses because students attend the same parties and events.
‘Extreme’ study abroad Educational programs that allow students to earn their degrees while traveling the globe are gaining popularity, according to the New York Times. Rather than a regular semester or year abroad, these programs give students a chance to spend four years traveling. In this way, these programs hope to better prepare students for life after college in the so-called real world. One of these programs, Minerva, is affiliated with the Keck Graduate Institute. In this program, students travel to a new city each semester, including Buenos Aires, Seoul, London and others. The students participating in the program live together in dorms and often meet to discuss projects or listen to their video lectures together. A similar program called LIU Global, associated with Long Island University, offers students the opportunity to spend a year each in four countries: Costa Rica, Spain, Italy and a country of their choice.
Fired Missouri professor’s appeal rejected Melissa Click, former assistant professor at the University of Missouri, was fired in February after two videos were released of her at anti-racism protests on the Missouri campus. In one, she blocked a student journalist from approaching student protesters, and in the other, she interfered with a police officer. The University of Missouri’s Board of Curators decided that Click’s appeal “brought no new relevant information,” according to the Chicago Tribune.
NEWS
THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2016 • PAGE 3
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
» MOCK, from page 1
COURTESY OF TOMOYA MORI
Connor Lynch ’17 applied to a Mars simulation program, shown above, through Students for the Exploration and Development of Space, which has a Brown chapter. He will join scientists and students in Utah for research.
» MARS, from page 1 Lynch has worked on Antarctic timelapse photography and meteorological station research. “Connor is an integral part of our group,” Head said. “This opportunity to go to the desert station of the Mars Society is really important for the future of Mars. … Being there makes you see connections, makes you appreciate things we take for granted otherwise” such as finger dexterity, which is limited when wearing a spacesuit, or breathable air, Head said. As an astrophysics concentrator, Lynch will not only do the geological work his proposal outlined but also assist the astronomer on his crew with observatory research. Conclusions from the astronomy and geology research will hopefully be published after the twoweek trip to MDRS. “The information we’ll gain from this
» FULBRIGHT, from page 1 universities, Dunleavy said that — unlike Brown — these schools have the advantage of many applicants attending graduate school. The University’s applicants are mostly undergraduates or alums of the undergraduate program, rather than graduate students, Dunleavy said. The University’s Fulbright statistics also do not take into account the roughly one to four award recipients each year who do not accept their grants, Dunleavy added. The University’s 2015-2016 application and acceptance rates are consistent with those from previous years. Throughout the years, the University has promoted student success in the Fulbright application process by providing workshops and application advice to interested students, Dunleavy said. An internal University committee reads the applications and offers students feedback to strengthen their bids for the national process, Dunleavy added. Both Nelson and Lam chose to pursue Fulbright grants because of previous experiences in Taiwan and Vietnam, respectively. “I had studied abroad in Hong Kong my junior fall with a Brown program and found myself intrigued by the Chinese language and that area of the world,” Nelson wrote. “While abroad, I had a chance to visit Taiwan for a short weekend trip and fell in love with the people, culture and food.”
experience will hopefully be used to better prepare people that do go to Mars,” Lynch said. “It’d be awesome if I could be one of those people, but, even if I’m not, it’s cool knowing that we (would have) contributed to that.” Lynch applied to MDRS through the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space, a national organization that “empowers young people to participate and make an impact in space exploration,” according to the SEDS website. The group solicited applications from graduate and undergraduate students, eventually accepting applicants from across six universities to study at MDRS for the two-week seminar. Students founded a SEDS chapter on campus last semester with the goal of “bring(ing) together a diverse array of students interested in space” beyond the traditional realm of engineers, physicists, geologists and astronomers, said
Eliott Rosenberg ’17, co-vice president of SEDS at Brown. The chapter aims to incorporate other fields like public policy and economics — both areas that will heavily impact what space exploration looks like in 50 years. Mars colonization, though not a goal of the SEDS national organization, is an interest shared by many SEDS members at Brown. As one of the closest planets to Earth and Earth’s closest relative in the solar system, Mars presents a unique opportunity to learn more about ourselves and even an opportunity for long-term human survival outside Earth, said Joe Fichera ’17, the other co-vice president of SEDS at Brown. “We’ve been able to learn about the Earth through studying other planets,” Lynch said. “Humans are curious by their nature, and we want to discover as much as we can and expand the frontier of human knowledge. … I think it’s mankind’s destiny to go to other planets.”
Lam wrote a research paper on mental health in Vietnam and studied abroad in the country, pursuing a comparative public health program. “Actually going to Vietnam for my study abroad and seeing the actuality of mental illness in Vietnam versus what was in my paper — it just further motivated me to want to learn more,” he said.
Though Nelson teaches over 600 children per week at two elementary schools, she wrote that her Fulbright grant has afforded her ample time to immerse herself in Taiwanese culture in more informal ways. She has had “opportunities to attend traditional Taiwanese weddings, take calligraphy lessons, have coffee dates with (her) host family and explore.”
states that the group is run “through Brown/RISD Hillel and funded by a private donor.” The petition argued that the invitation was an attempt to “pinkwash” the history of Israel or “improve Israel’s image and rebrand it as a liberal, modern and ‘hip’ country.” Petitioners saw the move as an attempt to deflect attention from Israel’s previous track record on LGBTQ rights, racism and the occupation of Palestinian territories, the petition stated. “We do not condone the use of queer people of color as props to hide occupation,” the petition concluded. Petitioners did not intend for Mock to cancel her lecture but instead urged her “to accept Brown students’ sponsorship instead of Hillel’s,” the petition stated. The petition received 160 signatures, according to a member of Students for Justice in Palestine who wished to remain anonymous for fear of professional repercussions. He added that the petition was drafted and signed by “a broad coalition” of students from various student groups — including trans and queer students — who felt that there was a contradiction between Mock’s message and what Hillel stands for as an organization. “With an Israeli government that time and time again is exploiting LGBTQ individuals for the sake of covering up (its) crimes, then it becomes really important that we don’t let a Center who is time and time again supporting the Israeli regime to then claim that they are also supporting LGBTQ voices. There is a serious contradiction there,” the SJP representative said. “We feel the focus of Janet’s work was lost leading up to the proposed event,” wrote Mock’s representatives in an email to Moral Voices, later shared on the group’s Facebook page. The representatives added that Mock’s visit “was received with controversy and resistance rather than open dialogue and discussion about the issues closest to Janet’s work in movements for trans liberation, racial justice and intersectional feminism.” Members of the coalition of
students that signed the petition spoke directly on the phone to Mock’s agent and made their concerns explicit that “the real concern was Hillel sponsorship,” the SJP representative said. But even if Mock spoke at the Brown/RISD Hillel-sponsored event, “there wasn’t going to be a protest, boycott — nothing like that,” he added. “What her staffers made clear in the statement was that Janet’s talk was sort of overshadowed by some other issues,” the SJP representative said, adding that “unfortunately we feel that those other issues are inseparable from a Hillel sponsorship.” “Moral Voices committee members represent diverse identities of sexuality, gender, religious affiliation and ethnic heritages, and we reject the charge that Hillel’s sponsorship invalidates our work,” wrote Cutler and Levy in their statement. They wrote that the group’s association with Hillel’s Israel- and Palestinerelated programming was not related to Mock’s lecture and should not deter intersectional engagement within the Jewish community. “Does simply engaging in a Jewish space render one unfit to do justice work?” Einhorn said the lecture’s affiliation with the Jewish nature of the organization “felt irrelevant to the question of whether Ms. Mock should have spoken at Brown.” “We wanted to hear from a speaker whose story and message resonates so deeply with members of the Brown community as well as members of the Jewish community,” Einhorn said. “To have that voice effectively silenced is extremely disappointing.” The SJP representative said the coalition of students who signed the petition “support her decision to cancel.” Students opposing the petition asking Mock to dissociate her lecture from Hillel’s sponsorship circulated a statement on the same website, Change. org, Wednesday afternoon. “We were shocked to see the petition circulated against Jewish students’ right to host events addressing queer issues, both because of the petition’s blatant anti-Semitism and because of the disrespect it exhibited for such an important speaker and activist,” the statement read.
ARTS & CULTURE PAGE 4 • THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2016
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
‘The Beggar’s Opera’ to provide ‘hip’ take on British classic Isabel Thornton ’19 directs 18th-century opera, maintains tradition of engaging audience members By REBECCA ELLIS SENIOR STAFF WRITER
This weekend, Brown Opera Productions will put on an opera written before the Declaration of Independence. Back in 1728, when Rhode Island was just a colony, writer John Gay sat across the pond and penned “The Beggar’s Opera,” a three-act ballad opera satirizing British government. Now, despite the fact that the United States didn’t formally exist when the opera was written, BOP is putting on the production precisely because it relates to the current U.S. political climate. “It carries an important message, especially for this time period — pointing out a lot of the absurdities
in our political system at the moment,” said Isabel Thornton ’19, director of the production. To prove her point, Thornton chose a cover photo for the event’s Facebook page showing the faces of this year’s presidential contenders photoshopped onto an old oil painting of the British Royal family. A pouty Donald Trump glares at a pantalooned Hillary Clinton. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-FL, bearing a flowing ball gown, clutches the waistcoat of U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX. Though applying the term “hip” — Thornton’s term — to an opera written in 1728 may seem oxymoronic, that’s exactly the sense that Thornton strives for in her revitalization of a dated classic.
Thornton “wanted to keep people’s singing voices as they were and not necessarily make them conform to an operatic style,” said Peter Traver ’18, the music director for the production. Aiming for a modern feel, the 11-person cast includes only a small number of people traditionally trained in opera. Others come from singing backgrounds in rock or pop. Some hadn’t even seen sheet music before. Traditional stylistic opera was not the priority, Thorton said. “The emphasis (of) my directing was very much about bringing out the satire and about honest acting.” To an extent, that is what Gay intended almost 300 years ago, creating an opera that set in motion the tradition of addressing the audience. Continuing this custom, Thornton chose to offer seating for the play on the ground so that the audience could be up close
and personal with cast members. The Facebook event encourages viewers to bring blankets, pillows and cushions. Thornton said she wants the audience to feel “like (they) are involved in the story … that (they) are beggars, on these streets among the actors.” The music was all chosen based on songs that were popular at the time — folk tunes, church hymns and other popular ballads. Much of it, she said, is recognizable even to modern audiences. The production will include 50 of these time-tested tunes. With only 11 actors, Thornton said the past six weeks have been a whirl of memorization for the cast. Some of the leads have six to seven solos and numerous chorus numbers. The singers were not the only cast members forced to cram. With a costume designer and a set designer
backing out mid-way through production, it was all hands on stage with Thornton leading the way. “I costume designed the show. … I’m set designing with my technical director, and I did props with my technical director,” she said. “It’s a really fun little fight to see whose name can appear in the program the most times,” said Anthony Cherry ’18, the stage manager. “But that’s just the nature of student theater and theater in general. Just a million things are going to go wrong.” But amidst the failing spotlights, the malfunctioning headsets and the overworked actors, the crew has eked out a full-blown opera about which they beam with pride. “It’s definitely going to be a really amazing experience … (with) really committed actors and pit,” Traver said. “It’s going to be a really fun two hours.”
Fall down the rabbit hole at Wonderland-themed Gala Brown Class Board hosts popular annual dance, sells all 1,600 tickets to formal event in five days By MADISON RIVLIN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Motifs of Lewis Carroll’s famous Cheshire Cat, Mad Hatter, Tweedledee and Tweedledum will evoke childhood memories of the Disney film adaptation for students who attend the Alice in Wonderland-themed annual Gala Saturday night. Hosted by the Brown University Class Board, Gala will take place — as it has for approximately the last five years — at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet, a popular venue located on the “north bank of the Pawtuxet River” in Cranston, according to the company’s website. It is favored by both Class Board and the student body for its
large dance floor, lounge area and cash bar for students of drinking age, said Secretary of the Sophomore Board and Co-Chair of Gala Dana Le ’18. The event annually draws hundreds of students and has been successful because of its longstanding place as one of the most memorable events hosted by Class Board. “It’s a tradition,” said Joie Steele, assistant director for student activities and the Campus Center. “It’s a great time for students in the spring semester when everything is busy to come together and have a social experience.” Some students see at least one Gala attendance as almost essential to fulfilling an authentic Brown experience. “It has a reputation,” said Orlando
Rodriguez ’17, class board president of the junior class and Le’s fellow Gala co-chair. “As the only campus-wide formal, it has a prom vibe. … You go to Gala to check it off of your Brown bucket list.” Within the same vein as “prom,” many students also view Gala, perhaps the most formal campus-wide social event of the year, as an opportunity to don their finest attire, especially for those not necessarily involved in another organization that hosts similar social events, Le said. “It’s a great opportunity for people who don’t go to formals through Greek life to wear a suit or a nice dress. People think it’s really fun to dress up.” The event’s popularity with the student body has consistently been evinced throughout the years by overwhelming ticket sales. Like many other years in the past, Class Board sold
out all 1,600 tickets available over five days, Le said. Class Board has even been forced to raise the number of tickets sold to accommodate increasing interest in the event, starting at 1,000 and increasing to the current 1,600, Steele said. The Wonderland-themed Gala was agreed upon by the entire Class Board after co-chairs Rodriguez, Le and Ally Lawton ’18 suggested the idea. The event will incorporate decorations associated with Lewis Carroll’s novel, and the film itself will be projected in black and white, Rodriguez said. “The theme ‘Wonderland’ has intrigue. It allows for flexibility in terms of decorations. You can really be vibrant, colorful, quirky and crazy, which is what I like.” The night will include a photo booth, two student photographers circulating the party and a fun surprise
at midnight, he added. In hosting formal dances like Gala and other events including A Night On College Hill, Spring Weekend’s Breakfast at Midnight, Sophomore Slump Month and Senior Week, Class Board attempts to enhance the sense of both class-wide and universitywide community at Brown, Rodriguez said. “The whole mission of Class Board is to build community and spaces for students to interact,” Rodriguez added. “Through a speaker, food, dancing … we want to have events people can experience and talk about 20 years from now.” The formal is a great opportunity to share a night with friends across graduation years as “it’s not a dateoriented thing, which is great,” Rodriguez said. “It should be a friendly thing, where you eat some risotto and dance a little, you know?”
TODAY
THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2016 • PAGE 5
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
every thing’s coming up rose
menu SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS
Na’cho Pizza, Spicy Five Cheese and Garlic, BBQ Bam Bam Make Your Own Pasta JOSIAH’S
BLUE ROOM
Quesadillas
Turkey Chili, Fire Roasted Veggie Chicken Tikka Masala
DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH
DINNER
Polynesian Chicken Wings, Hot Corned Beef on Rye, Braised Cauliflower, Holiday Cookies
Corned Beef Brisket, Colcannon Potatoes, Braised Red Cabbage, My Goodness Cupcakes
VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH
DINNER
Country Wedding Soup, Beef Pot Pie, Garlicky Green Beans, Zeppole
Vegetarian Cream of Mushroom Soup, Italian Chicken Parmesan, Sponge Cake Jelly Roll
sudoku
ELI WHITE / HERALD
Tricia Rose MA’87 PhD’93, director of the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America and professor of Africana studies, speaks to students at a lecture on black feminism and popular culture.
Q U O T E O F T H E D AY
RELEASE DATE– Thursday, March 17, 2016
Los Angeles Times Puzzle c r o sDaily s w oCrossword rd
“You can really be vibrant, colorful, quirky and crazy, which is what I like.”
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Family nickname 5 Religion with Five Pillars 10 NCO rank 14 Word with man or horse 15 Black Panthers co-founder 16 Gillette product 17 Stub __ 18 Strains 19 Go fast 20 Concerning 22 Postgame postmortem 24 Baby seal 25 Oahu resident, for example 27 Wake 29 AAA suggestion 30 Source of a nutritious oil 31 Sorted homogeneously 33 Rearward 35 Dirty money 36 Patrick Creadon documentary about SpongeBob ... and what’s found in this puzzle’s circles 39 “¿Cómo está __?” 40 Emergency room concern 43 Supposed 46 What -ess may denote: Abbr. 47 Spoiled 48 Licorice-flavored seed 49 Animals that fight by necking 51 V x CCXXI 52 Bemused states 55 Mineo and Maglie 56 It may be caught in the flue 58 2014 Olympics city 60 Carry 62 Uffizi hangings 63 Where to find a full house 64 Past its prime 65 Rural agreement 66 Long-legged wader 67 Yank who missed the 2014 season
DOWN 1 Hamm with a kick 2 Recording pros 3 Saturn ring components 4 End of __ 5 Real end 6 Scorched 7 More lenient 8 Knighted Guinness 9 Plateau cousin 10 1960 Pirate World Series hero, familiarly 11 Clog 12 Complain 13 Packed tightly 21 Covered with a hard coating 23 Projected financial statements 25 Author Levin 26 Give 28 Word in a home run call 31 Watchdog warning 32 Mob member 34 Top-of-the-line Hyundai whose name means “horse” in Latin
35 H.S. equivalency test 37 Arizona Cardinal mascot Big __ 38 It’s under the hardwood 41 Baton user 42 They can be classified 43 “Kitchen Nightmares” host Gordon 44 “Play it again, Sam!”
45 Dance turns 46 Toy company cofounder Herman 49 Insurance spokeslizard 50 Islamic ruling 53 Lethal snakes 54 Type of baggy ’40s suit 57 President pro __ 59 Annoy 61 Apt answer for this puzzle location
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
— Orlando Rodriguez ’17
See gala on page 4.
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Gelato Making Workshop 1:00 P.M. Sharpe Refectory
Nicholas Galanin and Dead Animals 5:30 P.M. List Art Center
The National Origins of Policy Ideas 4:00 P.M. Watson Institute
Get Lucky Concert 8:00 P.M. Metcalf Research Building 101
TOMORROW The Professor Is In 12:00 P.M. CareerLAB
March Madness 12:00 P.M. Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center
Fellini’s ROMA 7:00 P.M. Granoff Center
Infinitely Polar Bear Screening 7:00 P.M. Smith-Buonanno Hall 106
COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2016
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
CORRECTIONS An article in Wednesday’s Herald (“Paxson discusses DIAP in State of Brown,” March 16) stated that Candice Ellis ’16 and Alexandra Sepolen ’16 brought up the issue of expenses associated with Senior Week. In fact, they brought up the issue of expenses associated with both Senior Week and Commencement. The Herald regrets the error. A graphic accompanying an article in Wednesday’s Herald (“Women in science tend to gravitate toward biology, cognitive sciences,” March 16) mislabeled the proportion of women in the math, molecular biology, cell biology and biochemistry, molecular microbiology and immunology, molecular pharmacology, physiology and biotechnology, cognitive, linguistic and psychological sciences and computational molecular biology departments. The Herald regrets the error.
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COMMENTARY THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2016 • PAGE 7
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Don’t dismiss the South NIKHIL KUMAR staff columnist Since this year’s primary season began Feb. 1, just over half of the 50 states have gone to the polls to express their preferences for the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees. With the exception of the border region containing Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland and Delaware, all of the states typically considered to be part of the American South have cast their ballots and assigned their delegates. On the Democratic side in particular, supporters of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-VT, have voiced their dissatisfaction with a primary system that allots a huge number of delegates to population-rich Southern states that will ultimately vote red in November. Why, they argue, does the Democratic party not place more emphasis on swing states, none of which (other than Florida) are in the South? One of my Bernieleaning friends even suggested to me that perhaps we would be better off if the South had succeeded in seceding from the Union. It is undeniable that there is a slew of characteristics that differentiate the Southern states from the rest of the country. They reliably vote for the Republican presidential candidate in general elections. They have a historical attachment to the Confederacy and its flag that still persists in many pockets of the region. They drink their iced tea sweet — no need for the lemon-flavored concoction that the Ratty vending machines pass off as an alternative to unsweetened tea! Many Americans think only
of these facts when they imagine the South and as such are carried back to an antebellum vision of plantations, verandas and stifling summer evenings punctuated by the roar of cicadas. This reality hasn’t entirely disappeared — old Southern cities like Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia have preserved their historic charm. And my high school history teacher, who hails from Spartanburg, South Carolina, used to tell us about the “Confederate balls” that she regularly attended. But the truth is far more multidimensional than the
and a backwards, poverty-stricken South is slowly becoming less and less true. Americans are migrating to the Southern states in droves: The populations of Florida and Texas have exploded in recent decades, and Georgia and the Carolinas all grew by more than 5 percent between 2010 and 2015. (Florida recently overtook New York as the third-largest state by population.) This shift in demographics has been accompanied by a shift in economic and cultural influence: Cities like Atlanta, Georgia, Dallas, Texas and Miami, Florida have become powerhouses of the national economy, and a
My perception of the South is of a multicultural region that, though often mired in the weight of its past, also enjoys an enormous capacity for progress and modernity.
stereotypes would suggest. Having been born in North Carolina and grown up in its largest city, Charlotte, my perception of the South is of a multicultural region that, though often mired in the weight of its past, also enjoys an enormous capacity for progress and modernity. In my eyes, there is a vibrancy and optimism in much of the South that doesn’t seem particularly prominent to me in, say, New England. In fact, it seems to me that the traditional narrative of an enlightened, prosperous North
quick glance at the lineup of reality shows on Bravo is a good indicator of the region’s cultural pull. Another aspect of the South that cannot be overlooked is its racial diversity. Though many Northern cities have high concentrations of black residents, the top 10 states by percentage of African Americans are located in the South, according to the U.S. census bureau. These residents most often identify with the Democratic party, and because of the significant influence
of the Republican party among white voters in the South, black voters make up a majority or a very large percentage of the Democratic electorate in Southern states. As a result, when supporters of Sanders discount the importance of those states to the Democratic nomination, they’re further disenfranchising a group of voters that has already been hit hard by disenfranchising measures like the North Carolina voter identification law, which many view as part of a gradual chipping away at the Voting Rights Act of 1965. By holding onto antiquated views of the South, many members of the Brown community are missing out on an opportunity to broaden their understanding of the United States in all of its vibrancy. But they are also doing a disservice to the social justice movements that light a fire under much of the student body — including the Black Lives Matter movement. Lifting up black Americans ought to involve their political and electoral empowerment, and given their prominence in the Southern electorate, the isolation of Southern states from political discourse and consciousness at a national level is counterproductive. If students who feel the Bern take offense at oppressive laws like the voter identification measure in North Carolina, then they should also defend the significance of the Southern states — and, in turn, of black voters — in the path to the Democratic nomination, rather than writing them off as irrelevant to the political direction of the country.
Nikhil Kumar ’17 can be reached at nikhil_kumar@brown.edu.
ARTS & CULTURE THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2016
Black Heritage Series celebrates Cape Verdean women in Providence Keynote speakers, local poets, performers, artists contribute to event on Cape Verdean identity By OLIVIA KATCHER STAFF WRITER
The Black Heritage Series will host Força Di Kriola: A Celebration of Cape Verdean Women and Culture Saturday, March 19. The annual event will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Sayles Hall and will include talks from keynote speakers Terza LimaNeves, assistant professor of political science at Johnson C. Smith University and Aminah Fernandez Pilgrim, assistant professor of Africana studies at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. The event will also include performances by a local Cape Verdean singer and the Baroneza Project, a spoken word poetry group of young Cape Verdean women. Visual artists will also do live paintings during the event. Jacinta Lomba ’17, one of the event’s hosts, said the Black Heritage Series wanted to focus the event on Cape Verdean women since it is Women’s History Month. “We will be talking about the political and social history of Cape Verdean women, as well as their contributions to the community both in Cape Verde and in the United States,” Lima-Neves said. “We hope the audience will take away a better and richer understanding
of the diversity of the African diaspora and the little-known contributions of the Cape Verdean community in particular,” Pilgrim said. The choice of this year’s keynote speakers was a “no brainer,” Lomba said, adding that Pilgrim and LimaNeves are “such powerful women in the Cape Verdean community.” Saturday’s celebration will be a continuation of the Cape Verdean Women’s Conference that Pilgrim and Neves organized. The conference, which included three panels, took place March 5 at Providence College and was the first conference specifically about Cape Verdean women. Pilgrim “and I organized it. We wanted to give the (Cape Verdean) community a voice,” Lima-Neves said. Lima-Neves hopes the first panel, “The Women Who Pave the Way,” will stay permanently and honor “the most seasoned veterans of women’s issues and community activism.” The second panel, “Cape Verdean Women and Representation,” discussed how women are portrayed in the media. Lima-Neves said it also included information about what being “a Cape Verdean woman really entails.” The third, “Challenges Women Face in the Community,” talked about patriarchy, sexism, domestic violence and mental health. A major theme at Força Di Kriola will be the character and legacy of Cape Verdean women, particularly in the Providence and Brown communities. “We want to talk about the
COURTESY OF BROWN UNIVERSITY
Participants line up to share a meal at last year’s Black Heritage Series event celebrating local Cape Verdean residents and culture. This year’s celebration will take place March 19, featuring multiple performances. empowering nature of the Cape Verdean woman in terms of her agency, not as a victim of her circumstance as an immigrant or a Cape VerdeanAmerican, but as a woman who makes strategic decisions about the life she lives,” Lima-Neves said. She added that it is important to reach the entire female community from young girls to older women. Lima-Neves created a hashtag, #RebrandingTheCreola, which she said she hopes will help the image
of Cape Verdean women move away from the “superficiality” of popular culture, in which many women are only known for their physique and outward appearances. Pilgrim is also interested in “redefining the Cape Verdean youth and giving them a sense of identity connected to history,” she said. She added that she sees her work “speaking back to the (shallow) media representations, giving an alternative and more positive understanding of the roots of
the (Cape Verdean) community in the United States.” “This event is special because it targets Cape Verdeans who live around Brown, and it really serves the greater community,” Lomba said, adding that the event will spark conversation around Cape Verdean identity. “I think it’s important for the University to recognize its role in supporting the local communities that surround the campus … helping make Brown the place it is,” Lomba said.