Thursday, March 24, 2016

SINCE 1891

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2016

VOLUME CLI, ISSUE 39

Profs juggle commute with home, work lives Faculty members living in Boston, New York commute to College Hill, go home to friends, family SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The morning grind Four hours there. Four hours back.

Outbound to Providence. Inbound to New York City. Rinse. Repeat. Nabers spends approximately 16 hours a week in the quiet car of an Amtrak train sleeping and occasionally doing the work he’s supposed to do, he said.

Each Monday, Nabers takes his son to school in New York City and then catches the train to Providence. Upon

Bio master’s programs see enrollment jump Biotechnology, biomedical engineering programs offer more off-campus opportunities

By JULIANNE CENTER

While the trek from Perkins to class may seem unbearable to some students, professors who live outside Providence may contend with morning commutes hours longer.

The University does not collect information on the number of faculty members who commute from outside Providence, said Dean of the Faculty Kevin McLaughlin P’12. But many professors spend hours on public transportation or freeways to keep their families from having to move.

But it’s not heroic, said Associate Professor of English Deak Nabers. It’s just the way life goes.

WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM

By ROSE SHEEHAN STAFF WRITER

ROLAND HIGH / HERALD

arrival, he spends the day on campus working, then the night in an apartment he rents on College Hill. Tuesday morning, he goes back to work, then takes the train home to tuck his son into bed, Nabers said. The cycle repeats on Wednesday, and he returns home Thursday night for the weekend.

Living in a New York City apartment with his wife and six-year-old son, Nabers organizes his commute around his family’s schedule. He has arranged his life so that he can either put his son to bed or take him to school each day.

His role is to be “the family guy,” he said.

“At the end of the day, it’s spending a lot of time on logistics,” Nabers said.

His commuting schedule varies from semester to semester according to his class schedule. The inconsistencies of family life, such as when someone gets

sick, make the job harder.

But “these are the regular frustrations of ordinary life. We blame them on the commute just because it’s something to blame it on,” he said.

As a self-proclaimed “vibrant member of the Amtrak community,” Nabers knows all the conductors and shares greetings with them each ride. In addition, he is a “quiet car enforcer,” a duty that entails shushing talkers, phone call-makers and other rule-breakers of the train community.

“I serve humanity by being a total dick-face on the train. I’ve yelled at old women and at people who might have been children. I’m unapologetically an asshole about that,” he said. He calls the unofficial position a “moral duty,” a side effect of his rough-and-tumble » See COMMUTE, page 3

Enrollment in the University’s biotechnology and biomedical engineering master’s programs has increased from 12 to 65 students since 2012, according to a University press release.

The quintupling in enrollment over the past four years comes as the University has invested heavily in the programs, expanding a number of both on- and off-campus opportunities for graduate students, said Master’s Program Director Jacquelyn Schell, who is also an assistant professor of molecular pharmacology, physiology and biotechnology.

One such opportunity is the recent offering of industry co-ops to graduate students. Co-ops are six-month-long, full-time, paid internships at biotechnology or biomedical companies that provide students with course credit and allow them to gain hands-on experience in their industries, Schell said.

When undergraduates from other universities apply, “they always mention

that Brown’s one of the few places they’ve heard about with a master’s level co-op,” she added.

Both Erica Kahn GS, a fifth-year biomedical engineering student, and Andrea Chin GS, a fifth-year biotechnology student, identified the co-op option as one of the defining features of the University’s master’s programs.

Kahn has worked on drug delivery at a pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, while Chin will begin an internship in Indianapolis in mid-May. “The co-op option is something that sets the Brown program apart,” Chin said, adding that she feels that her experience in Indianapolis will help her decide what career to pursue in the future.

“I’ve always wanted to do medicine, but I also want to see all the other paths.”

New course offerings in biotechnology and biomedical engineering also strengthen the programs, Schell said.

Since 2012, five to six new classes have been offered to master’s students that are specifically designed to prepare students for industry jobs or for a PhD program.

The opportunity to work in labs is another factor that has increased the programs’ popularity. Both Chin and Kahn are engaged in research projects: Chin is studying the molecular effects of repetitive traumatic brain injury, while » See MASTER’S, page 2

Project LETS provides peer Diamond talks disparities in development mental health counseling Pulitzer winner argues Student organization offers peers support in form of resource independent from CAPS

By CLARISSA CLEMM STAFF WRITER

August 2013, the month before she came to Brown, Stefanie Kaufman’s ’17 now-national nonprofit organization Project Let’s Erase the Stigma became incorporated. Today, the organization has chapters in middle schools, high schools and colleges across the United States and supports people all over the world through its website.

When Kaufman was in high school, she “became more aware of the kind of inequities and inequalities that (exist) not only in the mental health care system, but (also) how we treat and view mental illness as a whole,” she said. After losing a friend to suicide and silently dealing with her own mental health issues, she decided to become more active in approaching local board meetings and asking questions about the place of mental health

INSIDE

in schools.

She describes the organization’s role as “filling this gap we see between mental health providers and professionals and typical awareness organizations,” Kaufman said.

A Project LETS chapter was established at Brown in early 2015. The group consists of about 30 peer mental health advocates who specialize in different areas, such as anxiety, depression and eating disorders. Each specialty group hosts two panels or workshop events every semester to raise awareness and inform the student community about a particular issue. Each advocate also acts as a peer counselor to students, meeting with his or her advisees at least once a week and communicating with them at least twice a week.

Project LETS and its advocates operate independently of Counseling and Psychological Services, setting Project LETS apart from peer counseling programs at many other universities. For example, the peer counseling program at Washington and Lee University is directly overseen by a psychiatrist from the university’s counseling services, said Kathryn Sarfert, » See COUNSELING, page 2

Eurasian societies developed quickly due to environmental factors

By KATHERINE LUO STAFF WRITER

Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and biologist, gave a talk Wednesday about his research on global development and inequality. The talk, titled “Why did history unfold in different ways on different continents for the last 13,000 years?,” filled the seats of the Salomon Center’s DeCiccio Family Auditorium.

Diamond’s work focuses primarily on the external conditions that have led societies to develop differently throughout history.

Diamond attended Harvard and the University of Cambridge, studying geography, history and biology. His work has received numerous honors from groups such as the MacArthur Foundation, the American Physiological Society and the National Geographic Society. His book, “Guns, Germs and Steel,” won the Pulitzer Prize for general

LAUREN SHIN / HERALD

In his talk, Jared Diamond drew on his research on environmental determinism and his Pulitzer-winning work, “Guns, Germs and Steel.” nonfiction in 1997. Diamond continues his research as a professor of geography at the University of California at Los Angeles.

“I read an excerpt from his book in high school, and it was really memorable,” said Marisa Millenson ’16, an audience member.

Diamond’s talk reinforced ideas first presented in his book, offering reasons for the different development of societies. His argument centered on two variables: the uneven distribution of domesticated animals and plants across the globe and the advantageous » See DIAMOND, page 3

WEATHER

THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2016

NEWS New Swearer Center fellows program integrates community service into curriculum

ARTS & CULTURE Downtown bakery welcomes spring with Easter-themed confections, treats

COMMENTARY Savello ’18: Spring break voluntourism problematic when used for personal gain

COMMENTARY Hu ’18: University should reschedule spring break forum on DPS to enable student attendance

PAGE 3

BACK

PAGE 7

PAGE 7

TODAY

TOMORROW

50 / 41

61 / 38

NEWS

PAGE 2 • THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2016

» MASTER’S, from page 1 Kahn is working in an orthopedics lab at Rhode Island Hospital.

Many students who participate in research “end up with publications, which are the currency of the science field,” Schell said.

“The master’s students are actually making significant contributions to the research enterprise of Brown,” said Jeffrey Morgan, co-director of the Center of Biomedical Engineering. “They’re really enhancing our research capabilities.”

The University’s effort to increase on- and off-campus opportunities for biotechnology and biomedical engineering students is motivated by both greater student interest and a thriving job market, Schell said.

“In 2012, we decided that this was a very marketable degree,” Schell said.

» MEN’S STORY, from page 8 Koatz — who uses the pronouns they, them and their — said in reciting part of their poem. “You have to be sure.

That’s how the game works.”

Whitman discussed coming to terms with a genderqueer identity, and Albanese discussed how masculinity can manifest itself in the trans community.

Lars Tiffany ’90, the head coach of the men’s lacrosse team, and Scott Turner, the University’s director of web communications, discussed love as it relates to masculinity. “Love is the most fundamental quality of being a man,” Tiffany said, addressing his team, which attended the event.

“Students in bio have interest in applied sciences instead of just science for science’s sake,” she added.

In recent years, students have shown an increased desire to use their training in biology to “make a product or to cure a disease,” she added. Morgan agreed that growing student interest is a nationwide phenomenon. Job opportunities for candidates with a master’s degree in these fields are also plentiful, he said.

“If you look to New England and Boston, you see that there are lots and lots of medical device (companies), pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies,” he said. Students who graduate from the University’s biotechnology and biomedical engineering programs have many options: jobs in these industries, research at hospitals and universities or the pursuit of a higher degree, Schell added.

Several of the speakers, including Ricardo Jaramillo ’18 and Tariq Cannonier ’16 shared how race has played into their experiences with masculinity. Cannonier discussed being perceived as “scary” due to his blackness and, in a poem, shared an exchange he had with his mother. “You’re smart, Tariq, and handsome and better than all that. You can go to college and be an engineer, but remember first that you’re black, and the world hates that,” he said. Jaramillo examined how colonialism shapes expectations of masculinity in his home country, Colombia.

Video clips called “Masculinity101: Conversations on Masculinity” introduced the show’s first and second acts and marked its end.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

» COUNSELING, from page 1 organizer for the peer counselor program at Washington and Lee. The counseling program there is an extension of university counseling, and counselors are assigned to freshman dorms.

At Brown, students have been asking for a peer counseling program for several years, but CAPS did not have the resources to introduce one, said Jackie Twitchell, interim co-director of CAPS. “If we run a peer counseling center, there are a lot of rules and regulations. We have liability, and we’d have to have pretty extensive training and supervision and a place to put the peers. Those are resources we didn’t have,” she added.

The University would face different liabilities were the program to be completely student-run, rather than under the umbrella of CAPS, Twitchell added.

“We definitely aren’t therapists, and we’re not qualified to administer care to everyone,” said Lindsay Gantz ’17.5, an advocate for Project LETS and a former senior staff writer for The Herald. “The main purpose of being a (peer mental health advocate) is to be a supportive resource and ally.”

But for peer counseling to be effective, “it needs to be very well supported by clinical staff on campus,” said Sara Abelson, vice president for student health and wellness at Active Minds, a national mental health organization that raises awareness and promotes mental health through education and outreach.

Kaufman said that each advocate undergoes several weeks of training and becomes certified through the national nonprofit. Project LETS emphasizes

ELI WHITE / HERALD

Project LETS creator Stefanie Kaufman ’17 (left) and U. chapter president Molly Hawes ‘17 (right) both advocate peer mental health support. confidentiality and tailors its peer counseling to each individual advisee’s needs.

“The point is to be supportive for whatever the needs for the other student are,” Gantz said. “We create a personal safety plan with them and work on setting goals for recovery.”

Mental health organizations often emphasize the importance of peer support when dealing with mental health issues. “Having students front and center and leading the conversation is so important,” Abelson said. “Whenever you have students talking openly about mental health, whenever there is personal story sharing … and people that have dealt with mental health challenges can share what helped them, whenever you can make students realize they’re not all alone and connect them to resources — we find that to be the most effective programming.”

“Peer support is really helpful in that it allows you to feel understood and validated and have that feeling that

this person gets you, especially when it’s an aspect of identity that society says you should be silent about,” said Brown Project LETS Chapter President Molly Hawes ’17.

Though speaking to professionals can be helpful, students may prefer to speak with peers for the different perspectives they can offer.

“Some students want to come to a professional who’s been trained in the mental health profession, and some feel more comfortable going to peers. It has to do with who the student is going to go to.

Peers understand peers in a way that staff will not,” Twitchell said. “Mental wellness is part of everybody’s responsibility …

We can’t possibly take care of everyone on campus without the involvement of our campus partners.”

“Mental health is not a detriment to living. It’s something to live with,” said Phoebe Gallo ’17, another advocate.

“I’m hoping in this role to promote and practice that.”

NEWS

THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2016 • PAGE 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

» COMMUTE, from page 1 commuting lifestyle. Strangers on the train even thank him for his service, he said.

Another commuter, Professor of English William Keach, finds his time on the MBTA commuter rail from Boston productive, he said.

Each day, Keach takes the Boston subway system to South Station in the city’s downtown area, catches the commuter rail and spends an hour on the fake leather seats sending emails, grading papers and preparing for his first class. “I can almost do it blindfolded now, I’ve done it for so many years,” Keach said.

From the Providence station, he takes the long journey up College Hill to his office in the English Department building. “If I’m not awake fully by the time I get to Providence, I am by the time I get up the hill,” Keach said.

For Ravit Reichman, associate professor of English, the commute is time she’s come to relish. Her hour-long drive from Cambridge to Providence two to three times a week provides “unconnected time” away from computer screens and syllabi, she said.

Reichman prefers the drive to public transportation because of the convenience. Rather than having to “watch the clock” during meetings to catch the train, she can simply leave when she wants to. And since her commute home goes against traffic, the travel time is nearly as long as it would be if she worked nearby in Boston, she added.

“I wouldn’t say I do it in my sleep, because that would be very reckless, but it’s a pretty easy commute,” Reichman said.

But winter does change the rhythm of these routines. When winter storms

are extreme, classes are sometimes canceled.

While Keach does not often miss class, last year provided challenges.

“There were a couple days in the midst of all the snow and ice last year where I couldn’t get to Providence at all,” Keach said.

But the cold does not seem to bother professors much. Reichman has only had to cancel one class in her 13 years of commuting to Providence — last year when “a lot of people in Providence couldn’t even make it in,” she said. Similarly, Nabers has canceled “maybe a total of five classes in eight years” despite the distance.

The morning and evening grinds do have their downsides. Nabers cites studies that state “the length of your commute is inversely proportional to the amount of happiness you have in your life.”

Love’s labor It’s easy to love the city of Providence — to admire the view of its majestic steeples jutting out into a brickpatterned skyline. But for most, there’s something even more enticing: love.

“I am commuting because I love a woman who has to live in New York,” said Nabers, whose wife is tied to the Big Apple as a columnist for the New York Times.

When Reichman was first hired at Brown, she knew she would not have the time to foster a “thriving social life” in a new city. She moved to Cambridge because she had friends in the area and wanted a “built-in community,” she said.

Eventually it became “home,”the place where she settled her eventual family.

Keach commutes to accommodate his partner, who teaches at Tufts University. “For people in a field like

English, it’s difficult to find good jobs close together,” he said, adding that even though Providence and Boston are not exactly close, “we actually feel lucky.”

Decades ago, commuting was rarely a problem for families, McLaughlin said, because many women did not have full-fledged careers. “Now that it’s not a given that women are going to stay home,” both partners have to coordinate their schedules, he said.

Additionally, since many people marry within the same education level, academics often marry each other, McLaughlin said. This makes finding jobs in the same city difficult, especially in a small city with relatively limited opportunities like Providence, he added.

Another family factor to consider in commuting is the local school system.

“If you have children and you can live somewhere where the public schools are better than in Providence, then that’s a good reason not to live here,” McLaughlin said.

The University has several familyfriendly policies to respond to the difficulty of finding jobs close together.

While it does not offer a spousal hiring program, “We do whatever we can,” McLaughlin said. After being hired by the University, a spouse can go to the dean and apply for a pool of staff position opportunities.

In addition, there is a family teaching relief program in which spouses can take a semester off teaching to act as the primary care provider for their children, McLaughlin said.

These programs “make it easier for two-career households to cope,” McLaughlin said.

Tale of two cities While professors say that living split lives does not affect their teaching,

where they call home at the end of the day does make a difference in their lives.

“It’s hard to feel like you’re part of the Providence community when your child goes to school in another city,” Nabers said. If he weren’t “split this way” he would have more time and opportunities to experience other parts of the University — “I’d like to be the little frumpy professor dude who shows up on a Friday night” to theatrical productions and other campus events, he said.

But even so, Nabers said he has plenty of time for his students, offering Skype office hours on weekends before papers are due and even hosting movie screenings on the nights he stays in Providence.

For Keach, commuting means his time on College Hill is more concentrated. Office hours are scheduled carefully and well in advance to make adjustments if students have time conflicts, he said.

When, at the end of a long day, Reichman just wants to get dinner and go to a talk, she knows she has to face the freeway for an hour to get home.

“There are times when of course I want to live in Providence,” she said.

But Reichman also appreciates experiencing two separate locales and getting “the best of both worlds,” she added.

McLaughlin said productive faculty members manage to be focused in the workplace despite the commute.

“If people really love their work, they find a way to do it,” he added. “Whether they have to get up two hours earlier or stay up two hours later, they do it because they’re really driven.”

And whether they arrive on campus by way of train or automobile, professors from outside Providence are driven.

» DIAMOND, from page 1 geography of certain continents.

Plants and animals susceptible to domestication were more common on the Eurasian continent, speeding up the process of the agricultural revolution and consequently the industrial revolution, he said. The “east-west orientation” of the Eurasian continent was also vital to its quick development. The relatively common climate facilitated the spread of agricultural methods and technology throughout the continent. But the Americas and Africa have a “northsouth orientation” and thus face greater challenges, as the climate conditions vary depending on latitude.

Throughout the talk, Diamond also spoke about the origins of agriculture, the six criteria for domestication and how both led to the population and technology explosion that catapulted society into the modern day.

Fans of and newcomers to Diamond’s work alike found the talk interesting and powerful, spurring meaningful discussions.

A microphone was open to the audience afterwards, allowing students and other listeners to clarify some of Diamond’s points and present their own questions.

Overall, the audience seemed enthusiastic about Diamond’s findings and the following discussion. He garnered a large ovation at the end of the evening, and several members of the audience stayed after the event to speak to Diamond in person and get his signature.

“It was nice to discuss these things,” said Abby Atkinson ’19. “Sometimes it can be uncomfortable, but a formal discussion opens it up to a wider audience.”

Swearer Center directors discuss strategic plan draft Plan to add funded student leadership positions, opportunities for low-income students

By MATTHEW JARRELL STAFF WRITER

Swearer Center for Public Service staff members detailed new initiatives designed to integrate community service work into the University curriculum in a presentation of a draft of its strategic plan to the Undergraduate Council of Students at its general body meeting Wednesday.

Swearer Center Director and Associate Dean for Engaged Scholarship Mathew Johnson and Director for Community Partnerships Betsy Shimberg highlighted the implementation of the new Bonner Community Fellows program, which will serve as an opportunity for low-income and first-generation students to become involved in the Center’s work.

The Bonner Fellows program is designed as “the highest level of community engagement fellowship,” according to the strategic plan draft. Fellows will serve as “team and project leaders, teaching assistants to communityengaged courses, community liaisons and community engagement workshop facilitators,” the draft stated. They will also have the opportunity to attend trainings outside their own programs and move between programs, Johnson said.

The Bonner fellowships will gradually replace the old Community Fellows program that currently funds 35 students. The program base is scheduled to grow to over 160 funded leadership positions over the next five years, Johnson said.

Transitioning from the Community Fellows model to the Bonner model will be a gradual process, Johnson said. “No one who is currently a fellow will lose their job,” he added. The number will be reduced from 35 to 29 next year, with the recruited Bonner Fellows filling the gap.

The new model more closely matches the University’s open-minded philosophy, Shimberg said. In order to assume a leadership position in the current model, a student would have to volunteer in a program for several years, which is sometimes not possible for lower-income students. “We’re excluding those who have work-study responsibilities” under the current system, Shimberg added.

The program is designed as a fouryear initiative, with an application process for incoming freshmen, Johnson said. “Research at other institutions shows that the four-year model increases retention, academic success and the four-year graduation rate,” he added.

About 75 percent of the students in the program will be first-generation or low-income, he added.

Another component of the plan is increased collaboration among different programs within the Swearer Center. “We want everyone working

ELI WHITE / HERALD

Swearer Center directors presented the new Bonner Community Fellows program, which will replace the old Community Fellows program and fund over 160 student leadership positions. with Swearer to think of themselves as a ‘Swearer person,’” Johnson said. “We see opportunities for collaboration that aren’t happening right now.”

Swearer is also looking at expansion, both in terms of its number of sponsored programs and the physical space allotted for its work. The University is currently in the midst of a space analysis, Johnson said. “We’re busting at the seams,” he added. “Not only do we need more space, but we need better space.”

“Another issue with our space is that it isn’t accessible,” Shimberg added.

For example, “There’s no place for our community partners to park.”

Johnson and Shimberg both expressed optimism about Swearer’s funding and its capacity to grow its outreach. Out of the $3 billion BrownTogether capital campaign, $50 million are to be reserved for the Swearer Center, Johnson said. “We’re one of the top 10 priorities in the capital campaign,” he added.

UCS also categorized 17 student groups during its general body meeting. Tirra-Lyra Troupe, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Brown

University Student Chapter, Kofán Brown Student Alliance, Brown Theatre Collective, Girl Up, Benevolent Records, Brown University Chapter of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space, SafeDuck and Brown Immigrant Rights Coalition were categorized as Group I; B-Side and Lean In were categorized as Group II; Iranian Student Association, Mariachi de Brown, Disney A Cappella and Quiz Bowl were categorized as Group III; and Brown Students Against Gun Violence and 180 Degrees at Brown University were categorized as Group S.

NEWS

PAGE 4 • THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2016

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

TODAY

THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2016 • PAGE 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

menu

tick tock

SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS

Pizza: Na’cho, Spicy Five Cheese and Garlic, BBQ Bam Bam Make Your Own Pasta JOSIAH’S

BLUE ROOM

Quesadillas

Turkey Chili, Fire Roasted Veggie Madras Chicken Curry

DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH

DINNER

Grilled Turkey Burger, Shaved Steak Sandwich, Krinkle Fries, Cinnamon Toast Crunch Bars

Vegetarian Pot Pie, Andouille Chicken and Shrimp Jambalaya, Sponge Cake Jelly Roll

VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH

DINNER

Chicken Rice Soup, Saturday Night Jambalaya, Mashed Potatoes, Frosted Eclairs

Vegan Fried Rice Bowl, Roast Turkey, Green Peas, Brownie a la Mode with Hot Fudge

sudoku

ELI WHITE / HERALD

Amid the hubbub of mid-semester responsibilities, the setting sun gives flustered students a chance to take a moment to reflect and appreciate the Providence skyline.

Q U O T E O F T H E D AY

“I serve humanity by being a total dick-face on the train.

RELEASE DATE– Thursday, March 24, 2016

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle c r o s s w o r d Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis ACROSS 1 See 44-Across 5 Bremen or Hamburg, locally 10 Fast-food order 14 Joie de vivre 15 Circus Maximus attire 16 Pizza chain started in Chicago, informally 17 Rich and Chris in a capital?

19 Pond denizen 20 Stumped 21 Fragrant hybrid 23 Billy and Minnie on a road?

27 Pub order 30 Cause harm 31 Capt.’s direction 32 Family member 33 “__ Mir Bist Du Schoen”: Andrews Sisters hit 34 Come out 37 i follower 38 Vida and John in a ballpark?

40 i follower 41 Nicks on albums 43 1980s-’90s gaming console 44 With 1-Across, woodcutter who stole from thieves 45 River island 46 “I gotta run!”

48 Animal in the Chinese zodiac 49 Karen and Adam on a hill?

53 Eellike fish 54 Brand with classic “beep beep” commercials 58 Forte 59 Eddie and Arsenio in a concert venue?

63 Scams 64 __ firma 65 Exam type 66 Some honored Brits: Abbr.

67 Aerosol targets 68 Europe’s highest volcano

DOWN 1 Composer Bartók 2 Settled down 3 Cricket equipment 4 Starting stakes 5 Jeanne d’Arc, e.g.: Abbr.

6 Craggy crest 7 Earlier 8 Three-syllable foot 9 Expressed disdain for 10 Often photogenic event 11 A round of 73, usually 12 Use a divining rod 13 Fall flower 18 Acclaim 22 “You __ Destiny” 24 To the manor born 25 Dijon deity 26 Property recipient, in law 27 Nile threats 28 Hot stuff?

29 Affection 34 Campus breeze

35 It might be a big benefit 36 Cut and paste, say 38 Muzzle wearer, probably 39 Derisive shout 42 One way to get backstage 46 Worked in a salon 47 Art major’s subj.

49 Rattling sound

50 Golden calf maker, in Exodus 51 “Peachy-keen!”

52 Second-deepest U.S. lake 55 Trading center 56 Feud faction 57 Clay crock 60 Good bud 61 Guess wrong 62 Dorm deputies: Abbr.

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

I’ve yelled at old women and at people who might have

”

been children.

— Deak Nabers, associate professor of English

See commute on page 1.

Enjoying this free paper?

Support The Herald www.browndailyherald.com/donate

xwordeditor@aol.com

calendar

03/24/16

TODAY

MARCH

S

By Mel Rosen ©2016 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

03/24/16

M

T

W

Th

F

S

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

27

28

29

30

31

25

26

Pathobiology Seminar: Phyllis A. Dennery, M.D. 12:00 P.M. Sidney Frank Hall, Room 220

How Structural Racism Works — Wealth and Structural Racism 6:00 P.M. BERT, Room 130

Malay with the Brown Student Language Exchange 7:00 P.M. Sayles Hall, Room 014

LIKE HONESTLY: Brown/ RISD Slam Team Sendoff Show 8:00 P.M. Metcalf, Room 101

TOMORROW How Structural Racism Works — Peeling Back the Layers 11:30 A.M. Petteruti Lounge

Mesa de Conversacion 12:00 P.M. Sharpe Refectory

Good Friday — Stations of the Cross 12:00 P.M. Quiet Green

Good Friday: Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion 3:00 P.M. Manning Chapel

COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2016

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Find Post- magazine on Facebook!

R O L A N D H IG H

facebook.com/postmagazinebdh

comic A Horse of Any Other Name | Zach Silberberg

Find us online! facebook.com/browndailyherald

browndailyherald.com

@the_herald

Location: 195 Angell St., Providence, R.I. www.browndailyherald.com

@browndailyherald

youtube.com/browndailyherald

Editorial contact: 401-351-3372 herald@browndailyherald.com

Business contact: 401-351-3260 gm@browndailyherald.com

Submissions: The Brown Daily Herald publishes submissions in the form of op-eds and letters to the editor. Op-eds are typically between 750 and 1000 words, though we will consider submissions between 500 and 1200 words.

Letters to the editor should be around 250 words. While letters to the editor respond to an article or column that has appeared in The Herald, op-eds usually prompt new discussions on campus or frame new arguments about current discourse.

All submissions to The Herald cannot have been previously published elsewhere (in print or online — including personal blogs and social media), and they must be exclusive to The Herald.

Submissions must include no more than two individual authors. If there are more than two original authors, The Herald can acknowledge the authors in a statement at the end of the letter or op-ed, but the byline can only include up to two names. The Herald will not publish submissions authored by groups. The Herald does not publish anonymous submissions. If you feel your circumstances prevent you from submitting an op-ed or letter with your name, please email herald@browndailyherald.com to explain your situation.

Editorial Leadership

Sections

Visuals & Production

Business

Editor-in-Chief Emma Jerzyk

Arts & Culture Editor Jaclyn Torres

Managing Editor Joseph Zappa

News Editors Lauren Aratani Agnes Chan Sandra Lifshits Kate Talerico

Design Editors Meryl Charleston Sonia Geba Andrew Linder Assistants: Nicola Ho, Jessica Yu

General Managers Moniyka Sachar Joshua Tartell

Senior Editors Andrew Flax Caroline Kelly POST- MAGAZINE Editor-in-Chief Yidi Wu

Sports Editors Matt Brownsword Taneil Ruffin Multimedia Features Editor Baylor Knobloch COMMENTARY Opinions Editors Margaret Hu Lainie Rowland Editorial Page Editors Emma Axelrod Emma Jerzyk

Photo Editors Head: Eli White Sam Berube Marianna McMurdock Matteo Mobilio Web Producer Harsha Yeddanapudy Copy Desk Chief Bonnie Henry Illustrations Editor Roland High

Directors Sales: Henry Ritter Finance: Neil Wathore Finance: Benjamin Wesner Business Dev.: Abraham Galindo Sales Managers Antonia Alvarez Erin Lueck Matthew Meyer William Welland Finance Managers Collections: Reena Zhan Collections: Varun Narayan DIGITAL Director of Audience Development Marcy Huang

You can submit op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com and letters to letters@browndailyherald.com. When you email your submission, please include (1) your full name, (2) an evening or mobile phone number in case your submission is chosen for publication and (3) any affiliation with Brown University or any institution or organization relevant to the content of your submission.

Please send in submissions at least 24 hours in advance of your desired publication date. The Herald only publishes submissions while it is in print. The Herald reserves the right to edit all submissions. If your piece is considered for publication, an editor will contact you to discuss potential changes to your submission.

Commentary: The editorial is the majority opinion of the editorial page board of The Brown Daily Herald. The editorial viewpoint does not necessarily reflect the views of The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Columns, letters and comics reflect the opinions of their authors only.

Corrections: The Brown Daily Herald is committed to providing the Brown University community with the most accurate information possible. Corrections may be submitted up to seven calendar days after publication.

Advertising: The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. reserves the right to accept or decline any advertisement at its discretion.

The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. is a financially independent, nonprofit media organization bringing you The Brown Daily Herald, BlogDailyHerald and Post- Magazine. The Brown Daily Herald has served the Brown University community daily since 1891. It is published Monday through Friday during the academic year, excluding vacations, once during Commencement and once during Orientation by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Single copy free for each member of the community. Subscription prices: $280 one year daily, $140 one semester daily.

Copyright 2016 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.

Periodicals postage paid at Providence, R.I. Postmaster: Please send corrections to P.O. Box 2538, Providence, RI 02906.

COMMENTARY THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2016 • PAGE 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

The ethical quandaries of alternative spring break SAMANTHA SAVELLO

​

staff columnist

Next week, while many college students fly off to tropical destinations or binge watch “New Girl” in the comfort of their cozy childhood rooms, others will be getting their hands dirty building houses for Habitat for Humanity, helping out with environmental issues in another state or immersing themselves in the daily life of a new culture. These types of activities, often known as “alternative spring break” programs, are offered at many colleges and send students to a variety of destinations both domestic and international.

While these types of alternative spring breaks are more productive than Spring Breakers-esque trips to Miami and other beachfront destinations, they might not necessarily be as selfless as they seem. Many of them provoke a wide range of ethical questions regarding the moral integrity of the travelers and their regard for the people inhabiting the communities they visit.

Dartmouth, for example, offers a trip to Denver, Colorado entitled the “Urban Indian Experience,” offering students the possibility of better understanding the challenges faced by the area’s Native American popula-

tion and receiving “cultural programming” through collaboration with community partners. This trip, which emphasizes the personal benefits for the students while simultaneously referring to the Native American residents as a group to be analyzed and studied, sounds more like a convoluted form of “voluntourism” than anything else.

Voluntourism, which is currently one of the fastest-growing travel trends, is exactly what it sounds

unsustainable culture of charity work.

Fortunately, unlike the “Urban Indian Experience,” there are many trips that are oriented toward both understanding and helping community members, reducing the ethical ambiguity. Such programs include initiatives to build preschools in the Dominican Republic (Dartmouth) and work with Habitat for Humanity in Arkansas (Boston University).

But a common theme across many of the alternative spring break trips

portant to consider whether students care more about putting “cultural programming” down on their resume and getting Instagram pictures of scenic views than they do about meaningful social change. I’m in no place to make assumptions about the ethical considerations of individual trips, but I hope to emphasize the importance of pointing out the (abundant) pitfalls that tend to dog such initiatives.

Though Brown has no formal al-

It’s not necessarily a problem that personal gain is one of the motivating factors behind voluntourism-style alternative spring break trips. But it is problematic when personal gain overpowers the needs of the community members. like: a combination of volunteering and tourism. Rather than spending a week sun bathing or sightseeing, many opt instead to travel to work in homeless shelters and orphanages, build schools or teach English. The end goal is to use travel time more productively by simultaneously exploring a new culture and giving back to the community, creating a symbiotic relationship between the travelers and the local residents. While the intent is genuine, the impact of these programs often creates a dangerously

is the focus on personal gain, which may come in the form of a new experience, cultural education, skill building or sightseeing.

It’s not necessarily a problem that personal gain is one of the motivating factors behind voluntourism-style alternative spring break trips. But it is problematic when personal gain overpowers the needs of the community members, turning the trip into more of a self-fulfilling prophecy or resume builder than a genuine act of community service. In other words: It’s im-

ternative spring break options like some Ivy counterparts, groups like the Student Activities Office, Swearer Center for Public Service and Brown/ RISD Hillel have helped organize service projects for students around the country. In the past, students in the Brown Christian Fellowship have participated in the Katrina Relief Urban Plunge, and Brown Disaster Relief members have travelled to Swan Quarter, North Carolina to help address flood damage from Hurricane Irene, to name a few examples. There

have also been local service programs, including a restoration project for a century-old synagogue in Providence as part of Rhode Island School of Design Alternative Spring Break.

This spring break, if you choose to partake in an alternative spring break program, be aware of the power dynamics and sustainability associated with your trip, especially when traveling to developing nations. Often, the relationship between the privileged, highly educated volunteers and the local community members is a strained one, resulting in a culturally disruptive “paternalistic model” where volunteers act as though they know what’s best for the locals without the appropriate knowledge or experience to make such claims. And even if these unequal relations do not take place, “voluntourism” has the potential to wreak havoc on the economies of developing countries by creating a colonial-like dependency on outside assistance that is not sustainable. Ultimately, whether or not you participate in an alternative spring break program is up to you, but it is important to be wary of your own motives as well as your potential cultural impact before hopping on the next plane.

Samantha Savello ’18 will be binging on Netflix over spring break and can be reached at samantha_savello@brown.edu.

The conversation on DPS: What about our voices?

MARGARET HU opinions editor Within the past year at Brown, we have all witnessed a heightened discussion about our Department of Public Safety amid an ongoing national dialogue about how officers handle weapons and force. Especially in light of recent events — namely, the Latinx Ivy League Conference incident and the termination of the officer involved — this discourse has drawn prominent attention and concern from students. DPS and the school administration have responded with promises of transparency, open discussion and consideration of student feedback. In a recent email, Executive Vice President for Planning and Policy Russell Carey ’91 MA’06 acknowledged that “these matters arise in the context of a difficult and challenging campus and national conversation regarding the roles and responsibilities of law enforcement” and explained that “(the Public Safety Oversight Committee) will be engaging in outreach discussion with students to gather feedback and input.” Upon reading this statement, I appreciated the apparent acknowledgement of the role students should play in discussing how law enforcement should conduct itself on campus.

But this guarantee for student involvement fell flat when an open public information forum — held for Brown community members and members of the general public to voice comments on the department — was scheduled for over spring break, when an overwhelming majority of students will not be able

to participate. This forum is part of a reaccreditation process that occurs every three years in order to assess DPS’s role on campus. Scheduling the event in such a way that most students will miss this crucial opportunity to voice concerns directly contradicts the administration’s promise. Though the administration has asserted that it is not in the University’s power to reschedule the forum and that anyone may comment over the phone during a two-hour

This news should disappoint all students.

Each one of us has a right to participate in the conversation about the role of DPS and law enforcement on our campus, because these decisions affect every single member of this community. It is thus our responsibility to give this issue consideration, to educate ourselves on these matters and to communicate our concerns to our peers, DPS and the administration. It is also the responsibility of

Though the administration has asserted that it is not in the University’s power to reschedule the forum and that anyone may comment over the phone during a two-hour period on the same day, this does not serve as an excuse for such untimely scheduling and the inevitable silencing of student voices that will occur due to the inconvenience.

period on the same day, this does not serve as an excuse for such untimely scheduling and the inevitable silencing of students’ voices that will occur due to the inconvenience. The University should at least address the inappropriate timing of this discussion, and, ideally, offer an alternative forum at which students can contribute fully. The University must uphold its promise and allow students to voice their thoughts on this issue.

DPS and the administration to not simply recognize the importance of student voices, but to take them into utmost consideration, as we comprise the vast majority of people affected

by DPS’s policies. There should not be selective participation in this dialogue; the importance of this discussion necessitates the attention of every Brown community member.

Regardless of what our views on DPS are, we should all be frustrated with an administra-

tion that cannot uphold the promise of a space for our voices.

This conversation about DPS is considerably more comprehensive than it has ever been before. Especially in the midst of a national, ongoing debate about the role of law enforcement, this is no longer an issue the relevance of which can be isolated as a matter of campus safety. It is impossible to talk about DPS being armed without also participating in a national conversation about policing, authority and law enforcement at large, and this is why these issues carry such weight. The conversation taking place across the country includes discussion of grave and nuanced topics, such as police brutality, racial profiling and institutional oppression — influences that inevitably also affect our campus. It is herein that lies the complexity and consequent importance of this discourse.

In the microcosm of our Brown community, we have the potential to move toward the sort of justice on our campus that many U.S. residents affected by local law enforcement cannot bring to fruition as easily. We can serve as a model of progressive change and open dialogue against a national climate of policing injustice. This is a goal that students, administrators and DPS should all strive for as members of the Brown community, but it cannot happen if the voices of students do not reach the ears of the University. The administration needs to keep its promise of transparency and open discussion, or it will risk forfeiting students’ trust.

Margaret Hu ’18 can be reached at margaret_hu@brown.edu.

ARTS & CULTURE THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2016

Silversun Pickups to play Dunkin’ Donuts Center Indie rock band to perform April 1 alongside Bear Hands, Cage The Elephant, Foals

By JACLYN TORRES ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

Silversun Pickups will touch down in Providence April 1 to play at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center along with Bear Hands, Cage the Elephant and Foals.

Nikki Monninger, the bassist of Silversun Pickups, said the band is excited to play with fellow indie artists. “It’s always fun to play with bands we like to see,” she said. “We will go out and watch the show for ourselves.”

Silversun Pickups is on tour to promote its fourth studio album, “Better Nature,” which was released in September. The band started the tour a week ago in Fresno, California and has since toured through other cities in California and Texas.

Silversun Pickups has no rituals or “hand-clapping fun” before performing, instead preferring to “hang out with

friends and then head on stage with one minute to go,” Monninger said. She is grateful for the opportunity to play on stage almost every night and to have a loyal and diverse fanbase including a wide variety of people, from college kids to adults, who have followed the band for the past 16 years and are now bringing their kids, she added.

“I am thankful to be able to make a living off of (music), and I’m grateful anyone wants to come to our shows.”

“Better Nature” is a testament to the band’s growth since its inception. The tracklist includes a lot of experimentation and “good vibes,” Monninger said, adding that the band “is going places that we had never gone before.”

She added that all the members are in a “good spot” to try new things — one song includes Monninger playing a vibraphone. The experimentation stems from the members’ loyalty and commitment to each other and to the success of Silversun Pickups since 2000, she said.

Monninger met frontman and lyricist Brian Aubert back in 1997 when she was on an exchange program in England. The two quickly became friends

and, shortly after, roommates. At the end of the year, Monninger and Aubert started thinking of making a band, and they coordinated a four-person group including themselves and both of their significant others. Yet Silversun Pickups did not officially emerge in the music industry until 2002.

Christopher Guanlao and Joe Lester joined the band in 2002 after Monninger and Aubert created the band’s official title. Monninger remembers driving with Aubert and stopping at a liquor store they often visited on the corner of Sunset and Silver Lake Boulevards called Silversun. After stopping in, Aubert came back to the car and asked Monninger what she thought of naming the band Silversun Pickups. Monninger loved the name, and the group has built its brand on the title and developed a sound system of innovation ever since.

Songwriting is a smooth process for the band —“Brian comes in with the basis of the song, and then we work on it together and finish up our own parts,” Monninger said. The members have been able to work cohesively over the last 14 years because they are “friends

COURTESY OF CLAIRE MARIE VOGEL

Stylistically akin to “the band in ‘Nightmare before Christmas,’” Silversun Pickups is currently on tour promoting its studio album, “Better Nature.” first, and that helps keep us together,” Monninger added.

Silversun Pickups has defined its style as “the band in ‘Nightmare before Christmas.’” Despite the band’s dark

and intense sound, its attitude toward playing is just the opposite. “We have a lot of heart and are along for the ride,” Monninger said. “We’re just glad we’ve been able to express ourselves.”

Ellie’s Bakery welcomes spring to Providence ‘Men’s Story’ explores Easter menu features Parisian-inspired springtime treats including macaroons

masculinity, gender, race Students, staff members, administrators share thoughts on masculinity through storytelling

By MADISON RIVLIN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Tucked away in a bread box-sized storefront just off College Hill, Ellie’s Bakery, a Parisian-inspired bake shop, is commemorating the arrival of spring with its Easter celebration menu.

With a staff barely the size of a “baker’s dozen,” according to manager Max Hodge, Ellie’s Bakery has carved a niche for itself in the Providence food culture bubble. The bakery builds on traditional family recipes with innovative baking techniques to create seasonal menus like the Easter menu, Hodge said.

The pastries featured in this year’s Easter menu — similar to the other seasonal menus — capture the essence of the holiday and springtime by incorporating vernal-inspired technicolor meringues and polychromatic embellishments. This year’s Easter theme is the “Golden Egg” — pastries are dusted with gold, garnished with a golden leaf or topped with an eggshaped dollop of meringue, Hodge said.

“We are taking flavors everyone is familiar with and adding an Easter twist,” said assistant pastry chef Caitlyn McGuire.

The Easter selections include pastries such as splatter-painted pink marzipan almond macaroons, carrot roulade and flourless chocolate torte with a blood orange diplomat cream and dark chocolate curls.

“I’m most excited for the hot cross buns,” McGuire said. “We got to take this traditionally really unappetizing image of a product and turn it on its head. It was really exciting to do them justice and have a product I was really proud of.”

Hodge noted that though such seasonal menus are created for almost every holiday, what sets the Easter

By GABRIELLA REYES STAFF WRITER

MADISON RIVLIN / HERALD

Splatter-painted pink marzipan almond and delectable nutty pistachio flavors lure macaroon lovers to Ellie’s Bakery in Providence. menu apart is the inventive, creative nature of the springtime theme. “This menu’s more whimsical,” he said. “The pastries are elegant, and the colors are obnoxious and pastel, which is something you can’t always get with food. It’s fun.”

Ellie’s passionate pastry philosophy has characterized the bakery since owner Ellen Slattery — who also owns four-time AAA Four Diamond restaurant Gracie’s — opened shop three years ago after taking an “inspiration trip” to Paris with executive pastry chef Melissa Denmark and the pastry team.

Slattery “has always loved Parisian culture, French bread and French macaroons,” Hodge said. “So our products are mostly Parisian-inspired, whether it be in flavor or by how much care is put into each product.”

This enthusiasm for perfecting pastries is evident in the bakery’s emphasis on fresh, high-quality ingredients.

“We take our time in perfecting our products, and we hope people take the

same amount of time in appreciating them,” McGuire said.

Using Vermont butter, stone-milled wheat from Maine Grains — showcased by the Honey Glazed Beer Bread — as well as local flour from King Arthur and produce from their rooftop garden, Ellie’s attempts to ensure freshness and top-quality ingredients for its consumers, Hodge added.

Ellie’s takes pride in its ingredients and in the creative pastry process itself.

Brioches, baguettes and other breads are made daily beginning at 2 a.m. after an overnight fermentation process.

The popular French macaroons are strategically placed in the front of the store, where humidity and temperature are controlled to maintain the light and delicate nature of the cookies, Hodge said. Most notably, Ellie’s has been working on perfecting a croissant for the last three years. Hodge added that, after baking more than 50 test batches and enduring a labor-intensive baking process, Ellie’s will introduce the croissant to the menu April 1.

“I tried to unlearn all that I knew about what manhood means,” said Marc Peters, men’s health coordinator, as he discussed being a male feminist and how men can abuse this label to commit violence against women.

Peters spoke during the event “Men’s Story Project: Looking Within, Speaking Out,” part of the Men’s Story Project Network and presented by the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion and the group Masculinity101. The production sought to explore masculinity through the stories of students, faculty and staff members and challenge perceptions and stereotypes about what it means to be a man.

The storytellers discussed their experiences with masculinity and how it has intersected with the other facets of their identities.

“This project is about talking about masculinity — how some people are denied masculinity and some people are automatically ascribed masculinity, and it lets people talk about what happens when people want to access masculinity but are forced to perform it in a certain way,” said Justice Gaines ’16, the production’s master of ceremonies.

The performances predominantly took the form of spoken-word poetry, but there were also speeches and a song. Prevalent themes in the stories were gender identity, toxic masculinity, societal expectations, sexual orientation, feminism, love and violence.

Several of the speakers, including Benjamin Koatz ’16, AJ Whitman ’17 and Isaac Albanese focused on gender identity and performing masculinity.

“It sucks, to not just craft an identity, not just justify it to the world but also justify it to yourself; when any inkling of self-doubt is thought of as a foothold for everything from gentle prodding to scripture conversion; for your own head to say, ‘Maybe we should stop inconveniencing everyone with this, if we’re not sure?,’” » See MEN’S STORY, page 2

ELI WHITE / HERALD

Benjamin Koatz ’16 shares a poem. The event “Men’s Story Project: Looking Within, Speaking Out” featured students and Brown community members.