Wednesday, April 13, 2016

SINCE 1891

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2016

VOLUME CLI, ISSUE 48

States offering online voter registration

Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia currently offer online voter registration.

Another four states, including Rhode Island, have passed legislation to create online registration systems but have not yet implemented them.

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Charges dropped against Stephon Alexander PhD’00 Visiting scholar arrested following prostitution sting, currently on leave of absence from University

By KATHERINE DAJANI SENIOR STAFF WRITER

CURRENTLY OFFERING NOT YET IMPLEMENTED

Source: National Conference of State Legislatures LILLY NGUYEN / HERALD

Gorbea talks online voter registration law R.I. Secretary of State hopes to make registration accessible to residents, especially young adults

By SHAWN YOUNG STAFF WRITER

Rhode Island Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea joined the Brown Democrats Tuesday for a forum on the new Rhode Island legislation that allows voters to

register to vote or update their information online. Gov. Gina Raimondo signed the bill March 30, according to a press release. As a result of the new law, Rhode Island has joined 31 other states and the District of Columbia in allowing voters to register online.

This legislation follows a recommendation made by the Presidential Commission on Election Administration in January 2014 to move toward a “modernization of the registration process through continued expansion of

online voter registration and expanded state collaboration in improving the accuracy of voter lists,” according to the commission’s website.

The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Gayle Goldin, D-Providence, Rep. Aaron Regunberg ’12, D-Providence, and Gorbea, states, “the Secretary of State shall establish, maintain and administer a portal for electronic voter registration.” The legislation would also require that any “state agency, quasi-public » See VOTING, page 2

In December 2015, Visiting Scholar in Physics Stephon Alexander PhD’00 was arrested by the Coventry and West Greenwich Police for his involvement in a prostitution sting. Alexander was one of seven men charged with the procurement of sexual conduct for a fee, and his faculty appointment to the University was put under review, The Herald previously reported.

Months later, it appears that all charges against the physics academic have been dropped, and his position at the University is no longer in jeopardy.

“Details relating to personnel review are not public, but the University has been informed that the charge in this case has been dismissed. Mr. Alexander’s current status is that he is on leave of absence,” wrote Cass Cliatt, vice president of communications, in an email to The Herald.

Alexander, who was on paid administrative leave from Dartmouth in the fall, was originally set to begin at Brown this January. His involvement in “Operation Front Page” — a sting by the Coventry and West Greenwich police meant to curtail the use of classifieds website Backpage.com as a forum for

prostitution — resulted in his arrest for a misdemeanor.

“The arrest record of Stephon Alexander was a court-ordered expungement,” wrote Terri Ryan of the Coventry Police Department in an email to The Herald. “All fingerprints, photographs and all other records have been destroyed in accordance with the provisions of Title 12, Chapter 1, Section 12 of the General Laws of Rhode Island which mandate the records of the case must be destroyed by the authority in charge of said records,” she wrote.

But under closer inspection, the aforementioned section of the Rhode Island General Laws is titled, “Destruction or sealing of records of persons acquitted or otherwise exonerated” and has no relation to expungement.

“A motion to expunge deals with a case where you have been, in some way, held responsible for a criminal charge — you’ve either pled to it or you went to trial and were found guilty,” said Andrew Horwitz, professor at the Roger Williams University School of Law. While both an expungement and sealing result in the removal of all records relating to the criminal charges from public records and law enforcement agencies, an expungement for a misdemeanor can only take place five years after the successful completion of a sentence.

Conversely, a motion to seal occurs either when charges are dismissed, a person is not found guilty after trial, a » See ALEXANDER, page 2

Workshop explores Brown’s Goldstein-Rose ’16 seeks Mass. rep. seat at Brown, Mass. relationship with Providence Students universities canvas, Students benefit from political power, economic privilege, social capital, facilitators say

By ALEX SKIDMORE SENIOR STAFF WRITER

“The Swearer Center and Brown have a reputation of treating Providence as their playground,” said Olivia Veira ’17, one of facilitators of the workshop “Providence is Not Our Playground” at 85 Waterman Street Tuesday.

The workshop, also facilitated by Christine Blandhol ’17, Arria Lhaka ’18 and Samantha Reback ’16, aimed to discuss the University’s history of institutional power in the Providence community and the power students who attend the University wield as a result.

To start, audience members were asked to draw a map of Providence on

INSIDE

a blank sheet of paper while the song “The Hood Ain’t the Same” by Draze — with lyrics detailing the effects of gentrification in Seattle — played in the background.

After three minutes of work time, Reback shared her own map and noticed, “the hill symbolically separates (the University) from the rest of Providence.”

The workshop incorporated this exercise because students should be “aware of where we’re going, where we’re not going and why that may be,” she added.

The workshop then transitioned to discuss the oppressive structures from which the University draws power in the context of the Providence community.

The University occupies land taken from Native Americans, actively participated in the Transatlantic Slave Trade and gentrified the Fox Point area in the East Side of Providence, Blandhol said.

The University also benefits from its » See PROVIDENCE, page 2

phone bank on behalf of progressive candidate

By KYLE BOROWSKI SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Running on a platform of environmental sustainability, clean energy and educational reform, Solomon Goldstein-Rose ’16 is campaigning for a seat representing the Third Hampshire District, which includes Amherst, in the Massachusetts legislature.

Winning a seat as state representative while at school may seem like a lofty goal, but Goldstein-Rose has some experience in achieving things that aren’t usually expected of students. As a junior, he founded and directed the Energize Rhode Island Coalition to campaign on carbon pricing in the Ocean State. A bill Goldstein-Rose drafted on that issue will be reintroduced to the Rhode Island legislature in 2016 after having been revised

COURTESY OF SOLOMON FOR STATE REP

Solomon Goldstein-Rose ’16 is running to represent the Third Hampshire District in the Massachusetts state legislature. by a team of experts and stakeholders.

“There’s a core group of really dedicat“Being a state representative seems ed people that are helping advise me like one of the ways I can push these and develop statements about issues” issues the most,” Goldstein-Rose said, through canvassing in Amherst and opadding that the University community erating phone banks on campus, he said. is heavily involved with his campaign. » See SOLOMON, page 2

WEATHER

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2016

NEWS Even as Alpert Medical School’s selectivity increases, its U.S. News ranking holds steady at 35th

NEWS Vice Provost of the Arts Michael Steinberg tapped to lead American Academy in Berlin

COMMENTARY Savello ’18: Affordable gap year unique opportunity to widen academic, personal development

COMMENTARY Galvan ’16: Human life has value and should be legally protected from the moment of conception

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» SOLOMON, from page 1 But Goldstein-Rose’s support isn’t limited to Brown’s campus, said Emily Stetson, a junior from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. “There are a ton of people who support Solomon at UMass,” she said, but “the problem is mobilizing those people.”

“A lot of the students aren’t registered to vote in Amherst, so we’re talking to students about possibly registering to vote here,” Stetson said. “That’s preferable because we’re a far larger constituency here than at home,” she added.

As one of the lead organizers of Goldstein-Rose’s campaign at UMass Amherst, Stetson involves herself with outreach efforts — something she considers both part of her civic duties and fieldwork for her studies. “I’m a political science major, so it doesn’t make sense to do all this research and not get involved,” she said.

If elected, Goldstein-Rose would be one of the youngest state legislators in the country — a fact that has the potential to either help or hinder his campaign.

» ALEXANDER, from page 1 grand jury declines to issue an indictment, or the prosecution ultimately decides to forgo prosecution. Records must be destroyed within 60 days of the motion.

All of these scenarios would culminate in “no adverse deposition against the defendant,” Horwitz said.

“In other words, charges have been fully and completely dismissed. … As

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“We have to talk about my credibility a lot more than other candidates who just have all the professional connections in the community,” Goldstein-Rose said.

Because he lacks the same name recognition as other community members who have been in Amherst for decades, Goldstein-Rose admitted he has to “get the word out and put a lot more effort in than other candidates” when it comes to campaigning.

“If we do it right, being young will help,” Goldstein-Rose said. He added that young people “have new ideas and are more ready to push the big picture things” because “these are the issues we and our kids are going to have to be dealing with for a long time.”

But the extra work of campaigning can put a strain on students already occupied with schoolwork and other obligations. Goldstein-Rose, who spends most of his weekends shuttling back and forth between Providence and Amherst, lowered his course load to three classes — mostly concentration requirements — for his final semester.

“Brown students are usually pretty stressed and busy,” Goldstein-Rose said.

“But we like it because we feel like we’re doing really meaningful things.”

“It’s definitely hard,” Stetson said.

“But I feel almost a sense of obligation just to engage with my civic duties and help with the campaign,” she added.

“It can be a lot, but the great thing about volunteering for a campaign is you can put in as much time as you’d like,” said Grant MacFaddin ’19, a volunteer for Goldstein-Rose’s campaign. “Not a lot of students can go to Amherst on the weekends. But we have phone banks on campus, so there are still ways to help out,” he added.

Goldstein-Rose will face five other candidates in the Sept. 8 Democratic primary for representative, though it is generally understood that whoever achieves that nomination is assured a general victory in Massachusetts’s liberal Third Hampshire District, he said.

“Very, very few people in our generation see politics as a way to make change,” Goldstein-Rose said. “Hopefully this campaign will get more young people involved and show them the progress we can make if we reclaim politics.”

a matter of law, that case no longer exists.” Horwitz added that a sealing of records is not uncommon with respect to misdemeanors.

“What (likely) happened in this particular occasion is that the court file was sealed, given the timing,” Horwitz said. “There’s a difference between expungement and sealing, … (though) people very often get them confused.”

As for whether or not he believes the University should penalize

Alexander for the incident, Horwitz said, “unless one could establish some connection between the alleged conduct and somebody’s qualifications to be a faculty member,” retributions are unwarranted. “I personally don’t see any connection whatsoever between (the prostitution case) and somebody’s qualifications to be an effective faculty member.”

Alexander could not be reached for comment.

» PROVIDENCE, from page 1 tax-exempt status as a nonprofit organization even though Providence is in debt, she said, adding that the University owns $1 billion worth of property and should pay $38 million in property taxes each year.

Using an intersectional framework, facilitators then talked about the benefits that students receive from the University’s position in Providence. Once a student arrives on campus, they have “unearned privilege” that comes from the University’s oppressive presence, Lhaka said.

To detail this phenomenon, facilitators analyzed three major power structures to conceptualize the University’s privilege and the benefits that are then afforded to students: political power, economic privilege and social capital.

First, students benefit from political power — an unequal influence in the political system — because a high percentage of alums hold political offices and students frequently have internships in political fields in Rhode Island, Lhaka

» VOTING, from page 1 agency or municipality” give previously recorded voter information to the state department so that it can verify voters’ identity or allow courts to identify an individual. In addition, this information could be shared across state governments for the same purposes.

“Electronic registration will encourage more Rhode Islanders, especially younger people, to register to vote by eliminating the necessity of having to get to City Hall during business hours, and will help get more people involved in the democratic process,” Regunberg said in a press release.

During the forum hosted by the Brown Democrats, Gorbea talked about the obstacles that voters face when registering. She discussed how day-to-day living often makes it difficult for citizens to vote, and it is therefore the government’s duty to make voting as easy as possible. She gave various examples of the current system’s inability to track changes in voter information, like new home addresses after a move.

Jeffrey Salvadore ’17, president of Brown Democrats, echoed this sentiment. “Brown students have busy lives,

said.

Second, students receive economic privilege — “unearned benefits given to people who fit into a specific social group” — when they ride RIPTA for free, have access to financial aid resources or even reserve a classroom to host a workshop, Lhaka said.

Last, students are beneficiaries of social capital, Veira said. For example, students have access to privileged alums, who connect students to job networks, thus reinforcing privilege and power, she added.

Audience members then offered insights into the ways they have experienced privilege from attending the University. A certain privilege accompanies the title “Ivy Leaguer,” which “thrives on marginalizing others,” one audience member said.

At the end of the workshop, facilitators expressed a desire to continue the dialogue raised during the workshop. It is important that students are thinking and “planning concrete actions” to recognize their privilege within Providence, Veira said. so the easier we can make it to vote, the more people we can involve,” he said.

Salvadore added that he would expect an increase in voting among demographics that are underrepresented in elections, such as young people, people of lower incomes and minorities, once online voter registration becomes available.

But some voters may have a hard time registering online because they need a physical signature recorded with a government agency. The state is “not quite there yet” with electronic signatures, Gorbea said.

Though the legislation was passed unanimously in the House and with little opposition in the Senate, some legislators had concerns about voter fraud and the security of the database that would hold voter information, Gorbea said. But “interestingly enough, online registration is more secure than paper registration,” she said, adding that there were few to no cases of voter fraud in other states that had implemented online voter registration.

The website should be established in time for voters to register or update their information before the presidential election in November, Gorbea said.

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2016 • PAGE 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Med School sees discrepancy in ranking, selectivity U.S. News ranking holds steady at 35th, admission rate drops to 2.8 percent as applicant pool increases

By ALEX SKIDMORE SENIOR STAFF WRITER

In the latest edition of the U.S. News and World Report 2017 Best Medical Schools rankings, the Alpert Medical School maintained its rank as the 35th-best research school and rose to the 32nd-best primary care school — up from 57th place last year.

The rise in Alpert’s primary care ranking can be attributed to another data point. The percentage of students who choose to go into primary care “plays a significant role” in the final ranking, said Jack Elias, dean of medicine and biological sciences.

The fluctuation of the Med School’s primary care ranking, which jumped 25 spots this year alone, “is due to changes in its reported average proportion of MD graduates going into primary care,” wrote Robert Morse, chief data strategist at the U.S. News

and World Report in an email to The Herald. Because the Med School reported a higher percentage of graduates going into primary care — 42 percent in 2017 compared to 38 percent in 2016 — its primary care ranking rose, he wrote.

Still, the Med School is more selective than its rankings imply — it is the fifth-most selective medical school in the nation and accepts just 2.8 percent of applicants. Moreover, the Med School has seen an approximate 100 percent increase in applications over the past five years, said Allan Tunkel, associate dean of medical education.

The number of applicants rose from 3,344 in 2012 to 6,384 in 2016, wrote Tunkel in a follow-up email to The Herald.

The administration at the Med School attributes this discrepancy between rankings and selectivity to the admission philosophy of the medical

school. Twenty percent of a school’s research ranking and 15 percent of a school’s primary care ranking is calculated by combining the median MCAT score, median undergraduate GPA and acceptance rate of the medical school. But admitting a student is “not just about the numbers,” Tunkel said. Alpert tries to attract students who understand its holistic approach to medicine, he added.

More applicants have applied to Alpert over the years due to “word of mouth that (the Med School) provides an outstanding education,” Tunkel said. He also credits the rise in interest to the development of new programs aside from the traditional MD track.

For example, a new program that combines the traditional MD program with a Master of Science in Population Medicine began this fall, Elias said.

It is the “only program of its kind in the United States” and has “attracted significant interest,” he added.

The Med School has also created programs that combine MD degrees

with doctoral degrees or a master’s in public affairs.

Out of the approximately 6,200 applications Alpert received last year, about 800 applicants expressed interests in programs separate from the traditional MD track, Tunkel said.

Additionally, Alpert has expanded its interdisciplinary initiatives, Elias said. The Med School has hired Elizabeth Chen and Neil Sarkar to lead the Center for Biomedical Informatics, which is, “the first effort to bring together big data and the medical school,” Elias said. Alpert also launched the Rhode Island Center for Clinical and Translational Science, which “brings basic science research and clinical care together so that the research is disease-focused and can lead to new treatments,” he added.

Alpert can afford the new additions to its faculty and curriculum because of an increase in graduate funding, Elias said. Grants to the medical school have increased 50 percent over the last three years, he

added.

When applying to medical school, students took into account the academic reputation and fit at Alpert.

“I consulted the U.S. News rankings” because “there are so many medical schools, it’s hard to sort through them all,” said Benjamin Young MD’16. But in the end, he chose Brown over the higher-ranked Vanderbilt because of its “fit and feel.”

Other students have echoed Young’s sentiment. “I was looking for the right fit … and an environment where I could thrive,” said Rachel Blake MD’16. “I looked at the criteria (U.S. News and World Report) used, and I didn’t think that it aligned with what I was looking for in a medical school,” she added.

“We look at the rankings,” Elias said, but the new programs and initiatives are not created with the rankings in mind. “It’s our belief that if we continue to make the medical school better, the rankings will take care of themselves.”

Vice Provost for Arts named president of American Academy in Berlin Steinberg aims to further social action, policy initiatives through arts, cites Brown as inspiration

By HANA PARK STAFF WRITER

Vice Provost for the Arts Michael Steinberg has been elected the new president of the American Academy in Berlin for a five-year tenure. Steinberg, a professor of history, music and German studies, was the director of the Cogut Center for the Humanities prior to becoming Vice Provost.

The American Academy “coincided a lot with my own interests such as European studies, relations between the United States and Europe and the power of Berlin as a happening city where academic and artistic developments are really exciting,” Steinberg said.

Steinberg described the American Academy as centered on the arts, humanities and public policy. “For me,

things get really interesting when those three things come together,” he said.

Tasked with leading the American Academy past the 20th year since its creation, Steinberg expressed his desire to use the arts for social action. “I think the most pressing issue is the global refugee crisis, which really defines world politics and urban life,” Steinberg said. “The German government and Berlin as a city (have) acted really responsibly, and that’s something we can all learn from.”

He cited Brown as inspiration for a humanities-centered platform, recalling, “We were in Berlin last week with 70 Brown students including the Jazz Band and played a concert in Germany’s largest refugee camp set up in Berlin’s old airport. (The) idea of really reforming a population and recasting the population is something we really need to think about.”

“I am extremely pleased that Professor Steinberg has agreed to serve as President,” said Gerhard Casper, President Emeritus of Stanford University and the current President of the

American Academy in a statement to The Herald. “His broad experience and innovative approaches will enhance the Academy’s programs to foster greater understanding and dialogue between the United States and Germany.”

Provost Richard Locke P’17 also praised Steinberg’s appointment. “He ran the Cogut Center for a number of years here at Brown, and I think the combination of his scholarship, his teaching interests as well as the administrative work he did at Brown makes him an especially strong candidate to be the president of the American Academy at Berlin,” he said.

Locke also discussed the impending change in the Arts Initiative, currently under Steinberg’s purview, to parallel the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society and the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs.

Following Steinberg’s transition, the initiative will be led by a faculty director.

When asked if he had plans to return to Brown, Steinberg answered without hesitation: “Yes.”

COURTESY OF BROWN UNIVERSITY

Vice Provost for the Arts Michael Steinberg was elected president of the American Academy in Berlin, where he hopes to use arts for social action.

NEWS

PAGE 4 • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2016

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Engaged Scholars Program expands to 12 concentrations Program integrates civic service in curricula, aims to eventually expand to half of U. concentrations

Engaged Scholars by concentration

There are 51 students currently a part of the Engaged Scholars Program, with the majority concentrating in engineering.

By MELISSA CRUZ SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The Engaged Scholars Program — a collaborative initiative between the Swearer Center for Public Service, the Dean of the College and multiple academic departments — will expand to encompass 12 concentrations, an increase of seven from the previous year.

The new concentrations will include business, entrepreneurship and organizations, contemplative studies, education studies, political science, sociology, urban studies and independent concentrations, according to the Swearer Center’s website. Students in anthropology, engineering, environmental studies, public policy and theatre arts and performance studies have been able to participate in the program since it launched last year.

The purpose of the ESP is for students to connect their academic work with community-based organizations.

In addition to fulfilling their concentration requirements, students in the ESP must take an “engaged course” within their concentration and an ESP-specific seminar, SOC0310: “Theory and Practice of Engaged Scholarship.” They must also complete a capstone project and along with a 150-250 hour practicum with a community partner, according to the website.

The hope is for the program to expand every year and ultimately include at least half of the concentrations offered at the University in order to cover a broad range of subjects, said Dean of the College Maud Mandel.

This will allow the program to have the “most diverse set of students,” she added.

“Many Brown students feel empowered and driven to fix some of the biggest problems facing our society locally, nationally and internationally, and figuring out ways to link what they’re learning in the classroom with

4% 10%

25%

Engineering Anthropology

14%

Environmental studies Public policy

8%

Biomedical engineering Theatre arts and performance studies

39% Source: Allen Hance, director of engaged scholarship LAURA FELENSTEIN / HERALD

the kind of work, passions and commitments they have outside of the classroom is woven into the ‘Brown student mentality,’” Mandel said, noting that 29 percent of Brown graduates go into nonprofit work, as The Herald previously reported.

The program’s current cohort includes 51 students within anthropology, biomedical engineering, engineering, environmental studies, public policy and theatre arts and performance studies, wrote Alan Hance, director of engaged scholarship, in an email to The Herald.

Kaori Nagase ’17, who is in the ESP and concentrating in environmental studies, said that she participated in “engaged courses” before the program existed. For example, in her environmental studies course, ENVS 0110: “Humans, Nature, and the Environment: Addressing Environmental Change in the 21st Century,” every section had an engaged component

that focused on sustainability and social equity, she said. Students participated in group projects with a community partner organization, where Nagase worked with Childhood Lead Action, a nonprofit that mitigates poisoning from lead pipes in Rhode Island.

The program also allows students to gain work experience both within the local community of Rhode Island and internationally. For example, Nagase completed her practicum last summer with Farm Fresh Rhode Island, a nonprofit organization, and also worked in rural villages in Thailand that face issues with land development and health.

“The community-based work we want to encourage is however those communities are defined,” Hance said, adding that even the possibility of engaging with virtual communities has been proposed.

Ben Miller-Gootnick ’17.5, an

engaged scholar in public policy, completed his practicum in Washington D.C. with the Office of Legislative Affairs, where he did research on seaport trade and later, Iran.

Miller-Gootnick’s experience during his practicum was “phenomenal,” and crystallized the engaged scholarship he was already doing, he said.

In their mandatory seminar, students in ESP are posed with a problem and then asked to solve it from the lens of their concentrations, MillerGootnick said.

“All these kids tackled it from a different perspective and as (the program) expands to more disciplines, it will definitely become a more vibrant community,” he added.

The program “creates a true twoway street” and a “melding of ideas within a collaborative environment,” Miller-Gootnick said. “It’s a really exciting model for the integration of academic learning and community

experience.”

Currently, there are many social science disciplines represented in the program, but other departments in different fields have expressed interest in participating, Hance said, adding that there is “a lot of opportunity” for pre-med students, for example, to do engaged work.

The program is open to all students declaring their concentrations, though it may be more difficult for those beginning past their fifth semester to complete the program, according to the website. But, it really depends on the passion of the students as the selection process seeks to gauge “the intention and passion around doing community based work,” Hance wrote.

“I really see this engaged scholars initiative as the next phase of the open curriculum,” Mandel said. “I would like if any student in any concentration who wanted to do this ultimately could.”

Eat@Brown app lists dining hall menus, builds on Hack@Brown project First-years unveil app alternative to Dining Services site, hope to offer forum for menu feedback

By GWEN EVERETT SENIOR STAFF WRITER

A team of first-years has launched an app called Eat@Brown that allows students to check the menus at the Sharpe Refectory, Verney-Woolley Dining Hall and Andrews Commons from their phones. The app is a more convenient way of accessing menu

offerings and dining hall hours than the Brown Dining Services website, said Joseph Romano ’19, one of the creators of the app. It also allows users to set a default dining hall and easily compare menu offerings between eateries, he said.

“It’s so much easier to just click on the app” rather than navigate the BDS website, said Alex Sekula ’19, another

one of the app’s creators.

Some Eat@Brown users have complained that the menus on the app can be inaccurate at times, but Sekula said that since the app retrieves menu information from the BDS website, the app is wrong when those menus are incorrect.

Eat@Brown began as a project for the Hack@Brown, which took place earlier this year. Other than Brandon Welch ’20, the creators had not made an app before making Eat@Brown, so

the team had to learn as it went. The language that Hack@Brown is written in was also new for some of the team members, said Sekula.

The app is relatively simple now, Welch said, but the team has plans to further develop it in the future. The creators hope to implement a feature that would alert users when their favorite foods are being served, Sekula said. Additionally, Eat@Brown hopes to coordinate with BDS to allow users to provide feedback to BDS on

Letters, please! letters@browndailyherald.com

various meals, Romano said. Welch said he hopes to make the app Android-friendly — it is currently only available for the iPhone.

The team aims to raise awareness about Eat@Brown by securing official promotion from BDS, Romano said, adding that they could potentially advertise Eat@Brown in dining hall napkin holders or on the BDS website. But even without promotion, the app already has over 300 downloads, Sekula said.

TODAY

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2016 • PAGE 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

menu

g r ay d ay

SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS

Pizza: Honey Boo Boo, Mushroom’s Revenge, Sausage and Spicy Garlic Pasta: Carbonara, Pesto and Sundried Tomato JOSIAH’S

BLUE ROOM

Grilled Cheese

Beef Chili, Hearty Country Naked Burritos

DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH

DINNER

Sundried Tomato Calzone, Italian Sausage and Pepper Sandwich, Lemon Snack Squares

Lemon Sesame Chicken, Ginger Pasta, Apricot Beef with Sesame Noodles, Vanilla Caramel Cake

VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH

DINNER

Italian Sausage Soup with Tortellini, Tacos, Vegan Burrito, Italian Marinated Chicken

Vegetarian Cream of Broccoli Soup, Hot Roast Beef with French Bread, Angel Food Cake

sudoku

MATTEO MOBILIO / HERALD

As List Art Center is doused in mid-April showers, Brunonians keep a watchful eye on the weather in hopes that Providence’s rainy spell abates before Spring Weekend.

RELEASE DATE– Wednesday, April 13, 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 Like many knock-knock jokes 6 Fit together, as some Russian dolls 10 Commando ploy 14 Square measures 15 Pledge 16 Magazine with annual Style Awards 17 Impressionist who was frequently a guest of Johnny Carson 19 Ink stain 20 Quite a while 21 Org. with Wizards and Magic 22 Hard-to-hit pitch 23 __ tai 24 Greek gatherings?

27 Cleared (out) 29 Clearasil shelfmate 30 Be in session 31 Less-filling brews 32 Phoenix-toAlbuquerque dir.

33 Movie backdrops 34 Statute that protects source confidentiality in journalism 38 Column on a decision maker’s list 41 Govt. stipend 42 Gem weight 46 Copy 47 Health club 48 Golfer’s booking 50 Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly 53 “Holy cow!”

54 On edge 55 Jackie’s second 56 Founded: Abbr.

57 City near Tahoe 58 Menu listing literally represented by this puzzle’s circles 61 “Dancing With the Stars” cohost Andrews 62 Tan shade 63 Teapot part

64 Viewpoint 65 Show sorrow or joy 66 “101” class, briefly DOWN 1 Snickers ingredient 2 Paper work?

3 Exchange need 4 Slangy turndowns 5 Paris fashion monogram 6 “Pretty good!”

7 Frequent, as a diner 8 Mo. town 9 With 25-Down, what America is across, to Brits 10 Contradict in court 11 Court order?

12 “This is awesome!”

13 Loathes 18 Memo starter 22 Show sorrow or joy 24 Bass, e.g.

25 See 9-Down 26 Jump on ice 28 Hardy title teenager 32 Yalie

33 Hit 35 Road trip guessing game 36 Morales of “NYPD Blue” 37 Air Force heroes 38 Musical with nightclub scenes 39 1968 to now, in pro tennis 40 Fastidious sort 43 Drummer’s joke punctuation 44 Hobbyist

45 Sees after 47 Muddy digs 48 Ripped to shreds 49 Author Blyton 51 Me.-to-Fla. route 52 Core group 56 Channel with numerous sister channels 58 Patch, perhaps 59 Diamonds, slangily 60 “Woe __”: 1996 grammar book

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

“Brown was an intellectual playground, and sometimes my job feels like that.”

— Ivan Watson ’97, CNN correspondent

See watson on back.

CORRECTION

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

An article in Tuesday’s Herald (“‘Mr. Burns’ examines growth of pop culture within society,” April 12) stated that Jenny, played by Jenna Chapman ’19, said “I think I can handle anything if I know what it is.” In fact, the character Maria played by Hiromi Komorita ’17 said this. Additionally, the article quoted a character as saying “One family survived: The Simpsons.”

In fact, the character said “No one knew to flee, only one family.” Also, the article stated that Bart sang “Life never dies; I will meet my life so gloriously.” In fact, he sang “Life never dies in memory, and I will meet life gloriously.” Additionally, the article stated that Quincy, played by Julia Fein ’18, said “Meaningless entertainment is actually pretty hard.” In fact, she said “Meaning is everywhere. We get meaning for free, whether we like it or not. Meaningless entertainment, on the other hand, is actually pretty hard.” The Herald regrets the errors.

xwordeditor@aol.com

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Blood Drive: Roll Up Your Sleeve 11:00 A.M. Brown-RISD Hillel

Islam 101 2:00 P.M. Muslim Student Center

Bernie Campaign Training Session 5:00 P.M. Wilson Hall

Francois Prouix: Proust at the Ends of the Earth 5:30 P.M. Maddock Alumni Center

TOMORROW Andrew Moore Photography 8:30 A.M. Pembroke Hall

Talk: Providence Graffiti and Crime Correlation 12:00 P.M. Watson Institute

Jyoti Sharma Lunch: Passions vs. Parents 12:00 P.M. Sharpe Refectory

Reading by Novelist Laszlo Krasznahorkai 2:30 P.M. McCormack Family Theater

COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2016

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

R O L A N D H IG H

comic P-Branes and Bosons | Ricky Oliver

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COMMENTARY WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2016 • PAGE 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Why I am pro-life LAUREN GALVAN

op-ed contributor

In high school, I never took the time to think through the issue of abortion properly, letting mantras like “my body, my choice” and “keep the government out of my business” take the place of honest searching for the truth. Yet for all the power my friends and I placed in these words, I never felt completely comfortable with the pro-choice label. For that reason, I resolved to keep the question of abortion open when I stepped foot on Brown’s campus in fall 2012.

Ironically, coming to Brown, arguably the most liberal school in the Ivy League, was the first step in my conversion to the pro-life cause. After taking BIOL 0320: “Vertebrate Embryology” with the late Marjorie Thompson ’74 PhD’79 P’02 P’07 P’09 P’12 P’15 P’16, who was associate dean of biology, the spring semester of my freshman year, I profoundly changed my disposition on human personhood, and I became firmly pro-life. The scientific reality of fetal development first catalyzed this resolution. In every embryology textbook, I found — as you will find

— irrefutable evidence that an individual human life begins at conception. At that point, a living organism with unique human DNA is created.

This is simply a scientific fact, and no amount of arguing from pro-choicers can make it untrue. What they mean to say is that this fertilized embryo, though human and alive, is not yet a person and therefore not protected under the category of human

of power and privilege use this language to deny someone their basic human rights, they do it to justify acts that would otherwise be unconscionable to enact on other people.

Labeling these humans as nonpersons or fractions of a person is the first step in allowing them to suffer inhumane violence and at times extinction at the hands of their oppressors.

not have a protected right to life.

But if we base the right to life on membership in the human species, all our lives would be legally protected from the moment of conception.

In this case, our right to life would not depend on others’ opinions of us, but rather on the simple and indisputable fact that we are all human and that each human life deserves protection under the law. This is the

All human life has value, and it’s time we start protecting it.

rights.

The moment that we divorce the concept of personhood from the acknowledgement of someone’s natural humanity is the first step down the fatal path that has led to countless atrocities throughout human history. Slavery and genocide, for example, are both driven by the idea that a select group of human beings are unworthy of the dignity intrinsic to personhood and could therefore be subjugated by a stronger class of humans. When people in positions

We must, therefore, beg the question: If we base the right to life on the personhood construct, who decides who is a person and who is not?

In this case, our legal right to life would be dependent on another person or a group of persons, just like it is now for the unborn. All it takes for our rights to be stripped away is for someone more privileged, more powerful and more resourceful than we are to come along and claim that we are nonpersons and therefore do

pro-life position in a nutshell.

I am not a pro-life advocate because it is a popular position to hold.

I am pro-life because I believe it is morally wrong to willfully terminate the life of a human being. I am pro-life because I believe that our laws should preserve the natural right for all humans to live. Today, I can no longer even imagine calling myself pro-choice, for to say “I am pro-choice” to other people is to tell them that I would have or could have supported their parents’ deci-

sions to terminate their lives. To me, that is the absolute equivalent of telling someone that his or her life has neither meaning nor purpose.

For those who know me today as a devout Roman Catholic, do not dismiss my pro-life conversion as an extension of my religion. My religion did not bring me to the prolife movement; the pro-life movement brought me back to my faith, the one — I realized after seeking truth — that had been right on the issue of abortion all along. Now, I am proud to be a pro-life Catholic with the proper understanding that each human life matters and has inexplicable value in the sight of a loving God. To tell someone anything to the contrary would be an affront to all truth and reality.

We are each willed into existence for reasons we cannot fully understand or articulate, but I know for certain that my life has value, your life has value and unborn lives have value. These truths transcend opinion. All human life has value, and it’s time we start protecting it.

Lauren Galvan ’16 is the founder of Students for Life at Brown and can be reached at lauren_galvan@brown.edu.

In favor of the gap year SAMANTHA SAVELLO staff columnist

It’s that time of year again. College decisions have just been released, and decision day is right around the corner for next year’s incoming undergraduates. Many colleges are revving up with tours and accepted student visits — Brown’s program, A Day on College Hill, is quickly approaching — trying to woo accepted students into enrolling in the fall. But is going to college right after high school always the right choice for everyone?

Today, widespread social pressure to immediately go to college in conjunction with increasingly high expectations in a fast-moving world often causes students to completely overlook the possibility of taking a gap year.

After all, if everyone you know is going to college in the fall, it seems silly to stay back a year, doesn’t it? And after going to school for 12 years, it doesn’t feel natural to spend a year doing something that isn’t academic.

But while this may be true, it’s not a good enough reason to condemn gap years. There’s always a widespread fear of falling behind everyone else on the socially perpetuated “race to the finish line,” whether that be toward graduate school, medical school or a lucrative career.

Despite common misconceptions, a gap year does not impede the success of academic pur-

suits — in fact, it probably enhances it.

Studies from the United States and Australia show that students who take a gap year are generally better prepared for and perform better in college than those who do not. Rather than pulling students back, a gap year pushes them ahead by preparing them for independence, new responsibilities and environmental changes — all things that first-year students often struggle with the most. Gap year expe-

jors at least once. This isn’t surprising, considering the basic mandatory high school curriculum leaves students with a poor understanding of the vast academic possibilities that await them in college. Many students find themselves listing one major on their college applications, but switching to another after taking college classes. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but depending on the school, it can be costly to make up credits after switching too late in

Rather than pulling students back, a gap year pushes them ahead by preparing them for independence, new responsibilities and environmental changes.

riences can lessen the blow when it comes to adjusting to college and being thrown into a brand new environment, making it easier to focus on academics and activities rather than acclimation blunders.

If you’re not convinced of the inherent value in taking a year off to explore interests, then consider its financial impact on future academic choices. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, nearly 80 percent of college students end up changing their ma-

the game. At Boston College, for example, you would have to complete an extra year were you to switch to the nursing school from another department. Taking a gap year to figure things out initially can help prevent stress and save money later on.

But many people argue that the gap year itself can take a toll on students’ bank accounts.

That’s a myth. While gap years are often associated with the rich and privileged who boast of stories about sailing through Thailand or

eating crepes in Paris for a year, the truth is that there are many opportunities to take a financially accessible gap year. There are formal gap year programs that are rather pricey, usually costing between $10,000 and $20,000, but there are also ample opportunities to volunteer and receive free housing or even get paid for your gap year. The federally funded AmeriCorp, for example, offers 75,000 Americans an opportunity to volunteer each year with local and national nonprofit groups. In exchange for a 10-month commitment, each student receives $4,725 for college — and some colleges and universities will even match that award. Other gap year alternatives, which vary in price, include working in a field of interest, completing civil service, pursuing athletics, partaking in language immersion, seeking out adventure travel and doing just about anything else you can think of.

Perhaps the most compelling reason for taking a gap year is that it offers a unique opportunity that will likely never reappear. After graduating from college, it’s possible to take some time off, but it will be more stressful with loans and other obligations. For prospective students thinking about the next step in their lives: Don’t rule out anything, including a gap year.

Samantha Savello ’18 wishes she had taken a gap year and can be reached at samantha_savello@brown.edu.

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NEWS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2016

MATTEO MOBILIO / HERALD

Growlers Wing Bar opened April 4 above English Cellar Alehouse off Thayer Street. The owners hope to draw college students, Providence locals and visiting families with old-fashioned American fare, a sports bar atmosphere, wings and New England beers. So far, customers have responded positively to the bear-themed restaurant.

Bear-themed Growlers Wing Bar opens above Alehouse American menu, sports atmosphere, New England beers cater to college crowd, local community

By UGOCHI IHENATU STAFF WRITER

Growlers Wing Bar opened above English Cellar Alehouse April 4. Previously, the restaurant above Alehouse was an Italian bistro, Coco Pazzo.

The management team of both Alehouse and Coco Pazzo felt that the bistro could not compete against bigger Italian restaurant chains on

Federal Hill, said Sean Hannon, general manager at Alehouse and Growlers. They decided that it was time for a new restaurant with a different theme, and opened Growlers.

“People seem to respond to oldfashioned American food, (and) the wing movement is really taking off,” Hannon said.

The owners of Alehouse felt that opening a bear-themed wing

restaurant would continue to attract local university students. The restaurant has multiple televisions showing sports games and matches, and the owners are planning to get jerseys from universities in the area to hang on the walls.

“We want to … keep it a local bar for all the college kids and all the locals to come to and feel at home,” said Jason Annin, assistant general manager.

Alehouse is a restaurant with an English pub theme that typically caters

to an older, single crowd including professors, university students and locals in the area, Hannon said.

Hannon is hoping for Growlers to cater its business to a wide range of people: college students, Providence locals, visiting families and more.

The menu will include not only wings, but also tacos, burgers, smoked pastrami and other entrees, Hannon said. All beers come from local New England breweries, something the restaurant takes pride in.

“We’re really excited to see how

people respond to (the local aspect),” Annin said.

Customers have responded positively to the themes of the restaurant — a family on a college visit to Brown said they enjoyed the selection of beers that the restaurant has to offer, and college students said they enjoyed the food and the sports games.

“The wings are great,” said Bobby Klapper ’16.5 “There’s a good atmosphere during the game. I definitely see myself coming here, especially for sports events and stuff like that.”

CNN correspondent Ivan Watson ’97 reports on tragedy, maintains hope Specialist on Middle East, Asia covers global conflicts, draws on Brown academic experience

By JULIA CHOI STAFF WRITER

“Brown was an intellectual playground, and sometimes my job feels like that,” said Ivan Watson ’97, a senior international correspondent based in Hong Kong for CNN. As an experienced journalist, Watson has covered breaking news across the globe since the ’90s. He has covered Hong Kong’s Umbrella Revolution, the Port-au-Prince earthquake in Haiti and Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines — experiences that have forced him into politically controversial and life-endangering situations. Specializing in Asia and the Middle East, Watson also ventured into rebel-controlled regions of Syria, documented ISIS terrorism in Iraq and last month flew into North Korea, where the regime recently fired ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan.

Watson, who concentrated in international relations at Brown, attributed his curiosity and fascination with “the broader world” to his undergraduate experience at Brown.

“Brown encouraged a sense of creativity but also had an academic rigor,” Watson said. His time at Brown taught him how to translate his energy into

productive endeavors — a skill he uses every day at his job, he said.

Uncovering anecdotes and exploring countries are some of the most rewarding aspects of journalism, Watson said. But being a journalist is not all fun and games. “Packing my bags and going to the airport is like going to the office for me,” he said. “At times, it’s very frustrating to dump my personal life and the plans I’ve made.”

But these frustrations become trivialities when compared to risks abroad. In disaster zones, where food, shelter and electricity are scarce, even surviving alone is a challenge, he said.

In the toughest of situations, these struggles are accompanied by fears of being greeted with suspicion and being kidnapped, along with the responsibility of taking care of the media production team that travels with Watson.

While abroad, Watson said he must be wary about how to protect the local people he interviews. He traveled to Thailand in February to interview dissidents who fled from China due to the Chinese government’s crackdown on communist critics. To this day, China searches for and arrests dissidents who remain on the mainland, as well as those who have fled the country and now hide in locations like Thailand. “How do we talk to (dissidents) without putting them in danger?” he said, fearing that his interview may cause someone to “get thrown in prison.” He added that he

COURTSEY OF IVAN WATSON

Ivan Watson ’97 realizes dangers civilians may face in commenting on controversial or polarizing international current issues. He has witnessed great tragedy, but maintains hope for current nations caught in strife. always confirms with his interviewees if he can publish their stories.

The most emotionally exhausting element of being a journalist is the constant exposure to tragedies and atrocities, Watson said. One night, Watson had to anchor as a substitute and cover “suicide bombing after suicide bombing, from Pakistan to Brussels. It’s horrific,” he said.

“I would much rather do a story that celebrates the world and what’s

amazing about it than cover a natural disaster that’s killed tens of thousands of people,” he said. “I wish I didn’t have to report this stuff.” After a while, “it all starts to look the same,” he said.

At the same time, Watson acknowledges that he stands in a unique position as an international journalist in Asia and the Middle East. His travels to both regions allow him to compare the histories and cultures of countries he visits and reflect on how society

could “draw lessons” from certain places and apply them elsewhere, he said.

The Middle East is in a “dark and tragic cycle of history,” but a generation ago, Asia was, too — think of instability in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Korea and China, Watson said.

But these countries are “not suffering from these kinds of conflict today,” Watson said. “Could this be hope for (the Middle East) down the road?”