Thursday, April 21 2016

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2016

VOLUME CLI, ISSUE 53

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Perceived job prospects impact concentration choices BEO, economics concentrators likely to choose course of study based on career potential

By SUVY QIN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

ELI WHITE / HERALD

Students in PHP 1520: “Emergency Medical Systems: An Anatomy of Critical Performance” organized an exhibit showcasing submitted narratives, poetry and art about experiences with mental illness to increase awareness.

Student exhibit spotlights mental health Exhibit, part of public health class, features student-submitted narratives, poetry, art

By KATHERINE LUO STAFF WRITER

An exhibit on mental health and substance abuse, organized by students in PHP 1520:“Emergency Medical Systems: An Anatomy of Critical Performance,” opened Wednesday

in Faunce. The exhibit includes artwork, poems and data collected from fellow students.

The exhibit’s curators aim to provide opportunities for individuals to share their struggles, as well as increase awareness of these issues on campus.

“On college campuses, it’s important to seem like we’re okay,” said Jessica Cao ’18, one of the exhibition’s creators. She and her classmates hope that the showcase will make discussing mental health and substance

abuse “less taboo” and will begin to dissolve the stigma surrounding these topics. Her classmate, Clara Mao ’18, added that the exhibit “provide(s) a space to share” experiences with and thoughts on difficult issues, while also inviting the public to learn about them.

The class project prompted students to choose a topic and find a way to engage the community with it. While the students initially considered other options, such as a panel » See EXHIBIT, page 2

Students concentrating in business, entrepreneurship and organizations or economics were less likely to indicate passion for the subject as the reason behind their concentration choices than students in the humanities, social sciences other than these two concentrations, life sciences and physical sciences, according to the spring 2016 Herald poll. In total, 92.5 percent of students listed passion for the subject as a factor in their concentration choice, while only 81.1 percent of BEO or economics concentrators said the same.

Seventy-seven percent of BEO or economics concentrators indicated that “chances of employment” were a factor in their choice of concentration, while just 31 percent of humanities concentrators indicated the same, the poll also found.

“A fair number of students” choose concentrations in BEO or economics to jumpstart careers in consulting, finance or business, said David Weil, professor of economics and chair of the department.

Brendan McNally, interim director of the BEO program, said the same of

that concentration.

“BEO is ready-made” for students who have a “pretty good idea that they want to work in corporate America or professional jobs,” he said.

The “sciences, engineering and economics” are generally seen as more secure pathways to careers than concentrations in the humanities, Weil said, adding that this notion is not unfounded. “If someone said, ‘I am concentrating in comparative literature because it is more likely than other concentrations to lead to employment,’ I would question their wisdom.”

But some economics concentrators do not see their studies as a pathway to a paycheck.

“There is a mismatch between the aspirations of economics concentrators and what the economics department does,” said Brandon Chia ’19, an economics concentrator. “Economics is misinterpreted by some people as something that very naturally leads into areas of consulting, investment banking, finance or technology, when in reality, it’s a specific mode of thinking,” he said.

There are many “shadow economics concentrators” who choose economics because it’s a “presentable degree,” Chia said, adding that “the ambitions of economics students are not to be economists, whereas engineering students want to be engineers.”

Disparities also exist between the » See POLL, page 3

Shakespeare in the City UCS addresses dining, social event policy unlocks student creativity U. looks into contractors Program struggles to raise funds to continue hosting free theatre production for middle, high schoolers

By KASTURI PANANJADY SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Brown community members lining up to see the Theatre Arts and Performance Studies department’s production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” last month may have been surprised to see gaggles of shoulder-high middle school students on the scene.

Many of these students received ticket waivers to attend the play, said Nancy Safian, academic events programming and facilities coordinator in the TAPS department. Each student in attendance goes to a school participating in Shakespeare in the City, a theater program that connects students and teachers from public, independent and charter

ARTS & CULTURE

INSIDE

schools in Providence.

A confidence booster SITC was founded by Martha Douglas-Osmundson, an English teacher at Lincoln School, an all-girls, independent college preparatory school. While on a trip to London, Douglas-Osmundson happened to see a production of “Hamlet” performed by children. “It was not precious,” she said. “I had never seen Shakespeare like that before.”

Douglas-Osmundson started SITC in 2009 with her own production of “Hamlet.” Having run successfully for seven years, the program counts among its participants local schools such as the Rhode Island School for the Deaf, Gilbert Stuart Middle School, Hope High School, Classical High School and Meeting Street School.

For SITC’s productions, DouglasOsmundson cuts each play down to one and a half hours, and each school is assigned a scene to perform from the play.

Students of various ages take the » See IN THE CITY, page 3

to soup up dining options, year-old alcohol policy deemed successful

By MATTHEW JARRELL STAFF WRITER

Brown Dining Services is investigating partnerships with national contracting firms in the areas of management and professional development, Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Barbara Chernow ’79 told the Undergraduate Council of Students at its general body meeting Wednesday.

The University has sent requests for proposals to reform and improve campus dining to two firms, the names of which are being withheld. Representatives from both firms will visit campus next week, Chernow said.

If either of the firms submits proposals, they will be reviewed by an evaluation committee consisting of three students and four staff members: one from procurement, two from dining and one from business services, Chernow said,

ELI WHITE / HERALD

Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Barbara Chernow ’79 said the University will request proposals on dining from two firms. adding that she will serve on the com- involve any outsourcing of labor. mittee. Proposals would be implemented “I’m asking these companies to tour over the summer if deemed acceptable our facilities, meet with our staff and by the committee. some of our students and give us ideas Chernow met with nearly every for how to improve our program,” Chermember of the dining staff to gauge now said. interest on such a partnership, she said, Students have expressed concerns adding that the response was “terrific.” about the variety of culinary options in The University will still have “complete dining halls and the presentation of those financial control” of its dining program, options; oftentimes, they will choose she added, and the changes will not » See UCS, page 2

WEATHER

THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2016

NEWS Students launch startup to create technology for streamlined postassault examination

NEWS University researchers find link between concurrent alcohol, cocaine use, self-harm

COMMENTARY Al-Salem ’17: Faith does not limit intellect, religion not cause of but scapegoat for human depravity

COMMENTARY Malik ’18: Just as our heroes were inspired, we should be inspired, not intimidated, by our heroes

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

SETI Institute chair discusses potential for extraterrestrial life Jill Tarter explains chances of life being found beyond Earth in current ‘century of biology’

By RACHEL GOLD SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Somewhere out there — buried under ice in our solar system, waiting on a deepMilky Way exoplanet, on radiation en route from the Great Beyond — lies the answer to the question, “Are we alone?”

Jill Tarter, chair of Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence Research at the SETI Institute in California, is in pursuit of an answer. In a talk titled “Thinking Out Loud: Deciphering Mysteries of Our World and Beyond,” she offered her case as to why and how the cosmos will provide the answer in the affirmative and in this century.

Biologists have claimed that while the 20th century was the century of physics, the 21st will be the century of biology, Tarter said. “They were right, but they were also too tentative,” she said. “I think many of you in this room are going to live to see the first evidence of life beyond earth.”

Tarter, whose accolades include placement among the Time 100 Most Influential People in 2004 and portrayal

by Jodie Foster in the sci-fi drama “Contact,” is more suited than most to make that claim. In his introduction to her lecture, Christopher Rose, professor of engineering and associate dean of the faculty for special initiatives, called her the “doyenne,” or the most respected woman, of SETI. She opened the lecture by providing the audience with necessary context, tracing humanity back through the 2.4 billion years during which Earth’s atmosphere has existed, the five billion years of our solar system’s lifetime and a supernova explosion billions of years before that. That, Tarter said, is where

» UCS, from page 1 packaged meals at places like the Blue Room over the dining halls, Chernow said. A primary objective of the national firm partnerships will be to “create a reason for students to eat in our dining halls,” she said.

A number of peer institutions have adopted similar partnerships, including Roger Williams University, Chernow said. She noted that other elite institutions, such as Penn, New York University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have implemented strategies that include outsourcing dining services labor, an outcome that Brown will avoid.

Possible tactics to increase student satisfaction with dining options could include a wider adoption of the Andrews Commons’ model, where the food is made in front of students, Chernow said.

“Creating food destinations is a focus,” she said, and training programs for chefs in making food from scratch is a goal of the initiative.

During its meeting, UCS also evaluated recommendations from the Alcohol and Social Event Policies review released

the story must begin.

“Our context today is that we understand that we are in a fragile island of life within a universe of possibility,” she said. She attributed this understanding to two 20th-century game-changers: the discovery of extremophiles, or life forms that exist in inhospitable conditions, and of exoplanets, or planets beyond our solar system.

“There may be a lot more habitable real estate out there than we once appreciated,” she said, showing images of Earth-dwelling organisms — gray lines, green swirls, red spheres that were all actually alive — that challenge our conceptions of what life must look like.

Tarter took the audience on a brief tour of the solar system, starting on Mars, where the Curiosity Rover just proved the existence of liquid water, and moving to Jupiter and Saturn’s moons, where ice volcanoes could offer a “cosmic free lunch” to probes looking to detect water samples without having to dig into the planet, she said. Then she moved beyond, into the world of exoplanets that the National Aeronautics and Space Association’s Kepler spacecraft is discovering.

“It is absolutely amazing to stand here and tell you when I was a grad student, we had nine planets and then lost one and didn’t know planets outside our solar system existed,” she said. “We can now say with statistical certainty there are more planets than stars in the Milky Way.” These discoveries of exoplanets and the stars around which they revolve — like KIC 8462852, which Tarter called the “WTF Star” thanks to its unusual properties — have significant implications. With technologies that enable astrobiologists to determine the chemical composition of stars and physicists to detect radio waves potentially emitted by intelligent civilizations, SETI searchers have a growing toolkit to draw from.

The raw products of this toolkit last spring in a discussion with Interim Assistant Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services MaryLou McMillan ’85, Associate Director for Off Campus Living and Programs Kate Tompkins and Director of Residential Experience Natalie Basil.

General body members provided feedback and questions to the administrators regarding the key measures in last spring’s report, including the presence of graduate student staffers on weekend nights in first-year dormitories and on Wriston Quadrangle, the ban on all parties with alcohol in residence halls and the introduction of registered events with alcohol served in common University spaces.

At a general body meeting in the fall on this topic, members expressed concern that the roles of graduate students had not been clarified, with similar concerns raised Wednesday.

“We have not sent any students to the Conduct Board based on grad student reports,” Basil said in response to these concerns.

Still, the staffers do have the authority to contact the Department of Public

ALEJANDRO SUBIOTTO / HERALD

Jill Tarter, chair of Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence Research at the SETI Institute in California, lectured on the potential for life on other planets and the likelihood of encountering it within this century.

— data collected by telescopes all around the world — are increasingly available to science enthusiasts, Tarter said. “SETI@ Home hit the Internet, and millions of people started processing data. It is the largest computer on the planet; I think we are really going to benefit from energy and interest of the community.”

In these terms, the task of searching the cosmos for life seems straightforward. But then Tarter would again invoke the scale at hand.

“The cosmic haystack is huge — it’s nine-dimensional,” she said. Beyond space — three dimensions — and one dimension of time, the parameters get fuzzy: two senses of polarization, one dimension of frequency, one modulation scheme. And then there’s the matter of our measuring devices, which Tarter said are likely not sensitive enough.

Of course, any discussion of SETI will inevitably involve unknown variables: the probability that a planet has developed life, developed communication

and lasted long enough to beam signals to Earth are all currently the stuff of guesswork, Tarter said.

But the packed room in the Building for Environmental Research and Teaching was less interested in talking about the daunting variables or the possibility of extraterrestrial life than about the implications of its discovery. If we receive a signal, how do we respond? How will Earth react? Do we venture into the universe with a whimper, or with a bang?

Stephen Hawking famously advocated the former, Tarter said, while she takes the opposite view. “These people will have managed to survive because they have evolved beyond aggressive tendencies,” she said. “You cannot get to be old unless you figure out how to be nice first: how to husband your planet, how to work together, how to have a long future.”

Jim Head, professor of geological sciences, wanted to know how individuals invested in SETI can get the public

to know that “cosmic perspective is a necessity.”

“I don’t know how we can reverse that other than going and talking to people,” Tarter said. “My job description is to convince you that you’re an earthling. If we can internalize that perspective, there is a lot we can do in the future in terms of technological challenges that do not respect national boundaries.”

That’s why SETI is so critical, Tarter said. Even if the variables remain unknown and the search yet unfruitful, it “trivializes the differences among humans that we find so difficult to deal with today.”

Alisa Pugacheva, visiting Brown for A Day on College Hill, said she was inspired by Tarter to pursue science years ago, and came to the lecture to thank her. The discussion that included science topics from gravitational waves to dark matter to “WTF Stars,” then, was extra.

“I feel like my brain is exploding,” Pugacheva said. “It’s just awesome.”

Safety under certain circumstances, she added. “It depends on the attitude and behavior of the student when they’re asked to alter their current status,” she said.

The University also provides free pizza and alcohol-free activities to students in select dorms and on weekend nights. Free Food Fridays, as they are known, “started out slow but now have pretty good attendance,” McMillan said.

Student groups are also taking advantage of access to the Kasper Multipurpose Room and the Underground, both located in Faunce, for registered events with alcohol for those of age. The number of registered events has remained virtually unchanged even after those that serve alcohol were removed from dormitories and consigned to those spaces, McMillan said.

Additionally, the ban on alcohol in residence halls has not created an underground party culture, Tompkins said.

“Our numbers haven’t shown that things are moving off-campus,” she said, noting that Providence Police and Brown Public Safety citations, along with neighborhood noise complaints, have not spiked following implementation of the new policy.

» EXHIBIT, from page 1

paintings completed by Corey Marsh ’17 using solely his feet.

According to one of the survey questions, 45.5 percent of respondents felt that the University’s mental health resources were not adequate for those who needed them. Other students expressed a lack of space to share about such issues, as well as misunderstandings associated with the terms “mental health” and “substance abuse.” Exhibit viewers were also invited to respond on blank posters next to the artwork with their own thoughts on these topics.

To curate the exhibit in conjunction with her class has been an enlightening experience for Delamerced. She called it a “more personal” application of the academic knowledge she and her classmates have amassed.

The exhibit will remain open to visitors in Faunce for the remainder of the week.

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or a movie, an exhibit seemed like the most feasible and effective means to achieve their goal. To create the exhibit, its curators interviewed health professionals, surveyed students and accepted submissions from students across campus.

“We wanted people to be free to create whatever they wanted,” said Anna Delamerced ’16. The exhibit’s presentation relied on the “power of personal narrative.” For those who struggle with stigma, “it helps to know you’re not alone,” she added.

When they first started, students in the class had trouble encouraging others to submit work to the exhibit, said Diane Na ’18. “It’s such a sensitive topic. But once submissions started coming in, it was easier to get more feedback.”

The exhibit featured unique pieces of art and poetry, such as a series of

ARTS & CULTURE THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2016 • PAGE 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

» IN THE CITY, from page 1 stage. For the past few years, second graders from Meeting Street School have been opening the program’s shows.

Douglas-Osmundson enlists her entire eighth grade class to participate in the program. The variation in student actors’ comfort levels on stage enriches the viewer’s experience, she said.

When large groups of students participate from a single school, teachers are forced to get creative about staging their segments. Often, multiple students play a single character.

“If you look at different parts of the stage, you will be watching different plays,” said Rachel, a 12th grader at Lincoln and SITC alum whose last name has been omitted for privacy reasons as a minor. “It’s never boring. No two people do it the same way.”

Performing the text herself began to make the language of Shakespeare’s plays more natural, giving Rachel an entirely different understanding of Shakespeare, she said.

“The most amazing thing about SITC is the amount of confidence it builds,” said Jane, another Lincoln student and SITC alum.

Rachel’s experience with SITC gave her the confidence to audition for the senior show at Lincoln this year. “Auditioning is the hardest part for me,” she said, adding that SITC has allowed her to start to think of herself as a “theater person.”

“Speaking as a teacher myself, (SITC) can be a real education for my girls,” Douglas-Osmundson said, speaking in terms of their exposure to different lifestyles and perspectives.

“Everyone who goes to this school is privileged to go here and receive the education we have,” Jane said. “As diverse as we are, we have had the same education and opportunities. So it was amazing to meet so many people I might not necessarily have ever met before.”

A stage for all the world For some of SITC’s participants, mastery over Shakespearian language comes second in difficulty to making it to rehearsal itself. At Gilbert Stuart Middle School, where Xenia Walker

MAT ’92 teaches drama to middle schoolers, many parents work multiple jobs, making transport coordination at late hours complicated.

Connie Crawford, adjunct lecturer in TAPS, has been taking her Engaged Scholars class, TAPS 0030: “Introduction to Acting and Directing,” to Gilbert Stuart and other local public schools.

Crawford and Brown students help Gilbert Stuart students improvise over-thetop movement to suit their characters, the Rude Mechanicals.

At a recent rehearsal at Gilbert Stuart, Crawford looked on as Alexis, a student playing Thisbe, twirled at the end of a line. “Hold on. Can you dance?”

Crawford asked. “Do you have a move?”

“He dabs,” said Lisbeth, another one of Walker’s students. “It’s kind of like a sneeze,” she explained to a perplexed Crawford.

Alexis broke into a wide smile and quickly recomposed his face. He delivered his line again and finished it off with a flurry of dabs, prompting resounding cheers from his classmates.

“That’s his moment now,” Crawford told The Herald, pointing to the incident as an example of Shakespeare coming alive for students.

Crawford and Safian also organized two workshops at Brown for all schools participating in SITC. Crawford’s class helped facilitate the workshops last semester.

“It’s one thing for them to come to us, but another for us to go to them,” Crawford said, explaining her desire to increase Brown students’ involvement in the program. “It’s a way of saying your school is just as important as mine.”

Walker added that for lots of her students, trips to Brown make them consider the possibility of going to college themselves. “I hear them say things like, ‘I am going to go here,’” she added.

The workshops also featured translators for students whose first language is not English, a consideration Walker appreciated as a teacher who has previously worked with two solely Spanishspeaking girls on SITC. Walker found creative ways to make the original texts inclusive of her students’ background and experiences. In “Romeo and Juliet,” she had the two Spanish-speaking girls try to explain

EMMA JERZYK / HERALD

» POLL, from page 1 motives behind declaring economics and BEO. Yidi Wu ’17, a joint economicsphilosophy concentrator and editorin-chief of Post-, The Herald’s weekly magazine, chose economics over BEO because she had a desire to understand global phenomena and how people

make decisions. “I heard BEO wasn’t a real major,” Wu said, referring to the concentration’s reputation as lacking rigor. She hopes to find a job with a small consulting firm after graduation.

Jeff Biestek ’17 chose to concentrate in BEO over economics because he hopes to start his own business someday, and BEO was the course of study most relevant to entrepreneurship, he said.

ROLAND HIGH / HERALD

the contents of a letter to Peter, an illiterate servant of the Capulets, entirely in Spanish.

“The point of the scene was miscommunication, so it worked really well,” Walker said. “I think Shakespeare would have approved.”

Making it big In its first iteration, SITC staged “Hamlet” at Lincoln School’s auditorium, Douglas-Osmundson said. Girls from Lincoln School played host to the participating schools during the group rehearsals as well as the final show. “We felt like ambassadors of our school,” Rachel said.

“Some of the students who come find it amazing that they are welcomed and can hold their own with kids who go to private schools in the city,” Douglas Osmundson said.

Brown Master’s of Fine Arts students led icebreakers and bonding games during rehearsals that allowed participants to get to know each other, DouglasOsmundson added.

The Lincoln School auditorium was too small to accommodate all the performers and an audience at the same time. Students were allowed to bring two audience members to see the show but did not get to see the performances of their peers.

In spring 2014, a Herald poll found that “humanities concentrators indicated more concern about employment prospects than those studying the social sciences, life sciences or physical sciences,” The Herald previously reported.

Humanities concentrators “are concerned about career(s) but don’t choose based on career,” Weil said.

“It’s a red herring to suggest that humanities concentrators aren’t going to get a job,” said Ethan Pollock, associate professor of history and Slavic studies and director of undergraduate studies in history. “Those who get into Brown have already won the lottery.”

History concentrators are doing better than the average Brown graduate, Pollock said, adding that the percentage of recent history graduates who are either employed or attending professional or graduate school immediately after graduation is higher than the overall percentage for University graduates.

“The trick is to excel in your concentration. It doesn’t matter what concentration you’re in,” Pollock said.

“Employers are valuing the ability to read, synthesize, make arguments, communicate, write well and do research.”

“When you study what you love, you

In 2014, a spell of awards and grants allowed Douglas-Osmundson to move the annual show to The Veterans Memorial Auditorium in downtown Providence. An Arts in Education Grant from the Veterans foundation footed the bill for the auditorium for the 2014 and 2015 shows.

“Now you can invite two people plus your tennis team,” Rachel said, adding that the experience of watching other participants perform allows students to appreciate the collaborative nature of SITC. “You’re on for like 10 minutes, and you pass the baton.”

Finding funds This year, Douglas-Osmundson struggled to raise money to continue paying the Vet’s venue rental fees. A recent policy change made her ineligible for the Arts in Education grant as a previous winner, so Douglas-Osmundson turned to Rhode Island State Council on the Arts for help. An award of $3,500 covered only half of the expenses, and Douglas Osmundson was forced to look to colleagues, friends and parents for help.

Each participating school was also asked to contribute $120 to the fundraising efforts.

Walker said she remembered receiving the email requesting a contribution

from individual schools and thinking, “How are we going to manage this in a school where a large percentage of students get free lunch?”

Walker organized a bake sale at Gilbert Stuart, vending sweet treats for students in after-school programs over two days. Walker recalled that some of her students walked the halls after school hours on the second day, attempting to sell their last few cinnamon chips and brownies to the remaining adults in the building.

Gilbert Stuart managed to raise $122, reaching its target by the skin of its teeth. “We just had to do it,” Walker said.

While SITC raised the required amount in time to keep the show at the Vets this year, Douglas Osmundson finds herself faced with the daunting prospect of starting from scratch next year.

“It’s ridiculous to think that $6,000 is the difference between SITC happening and not happening,” Douglas Osmundson said. “Kids from this widely diverse, teeny city with all its problems come together with the lofty goal of pulling off a Shakespeare play,” she added.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” will be held at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium May 25. Curtain call is at 6 p.m., and the event is free and open to the public.

do it with enthusiasm, and it allows you to develop expertise,” Pollock added.

“The trick is to master skills and apply them in a range of ways, rather than just getting a stamp saying you had this or that major.”

Several sources noted how the structure of the University’s curriculum and its changing demography impact students’ concentration choices.

As a liberal arts school, the University does not have pre-professional majors such as accounting or finance, so many students choose economics or BEO because they think it’s a path to a more “traditional business career,” said Matthew Donato, director of CareerLAB. In previous generations, colleges admitted more wealthy students who didn’t need to worry about debt, Weil said, adding that “these students didn’t need specialized training to get a job — they could study art history and get a high-paying job.”

“It’s not my place to say to some kid who is coming out of college with a lot of debt, who is maybe a first-generation college student and who doesn’t have a family safety net: Follow your heart and don’t do something you think is

practical,” Weil added.

Others downplayed the link between course of study and career.

“I’m a big advocate for disconnecting concentration from career planning,” Donato said. “Economics is a bad proxy” for students trying to get a job in finance or consulting, he added.

“Everyone should choose fields that they’re passionate about,” since there do not seem to be substantial concentration-based discrepancies in employment, Pollock said, noting that any number of concentrations will allow students to develop the skills that employers seek.

Students cited several other reasons for choosing their concentrations. Of BEO and economics concentrators, 36.9 percent indicated that their family influenced their concentration choice, whereas 25.1 percent of students overall reported the same.

BEO and economics concentrators were also the least likely among students to cite faculty members as an influence in their concentration decision — only 12.3 percent reported that faculty members had played into their decision. But 32.5 percent of students concentrating in the humanities said the same.

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PAGE 4 • THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2016

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Students found startup to improve rape kit testing Technologies Against Assault aims to streamline examination process, reduce survivors’ trauma

By UGOCHI IHENATU STAFF WRITER

Richard Park ’16 and Bella Okiddy GS are spearheading a biotech startup that aims to improve rape kit testing for victims of sexual assault. The pair received funding from the Swearer Center for Public Service’s Embark Post-Graduate Fellowship, a one-year stipend to pursue altruistic business ventures, earlier this year.

The startup, Technologies Against Assault, began in an entrepreneurship class that the two founders took last semester. Though both were interested in addressing the shortcomings of post-assault examinations, Park was particularly motivated to take on the project in light of his own sexual assault when he was 18.

“A lot of people have been touched by sexual assault, but they just don’t know it,” Okiddy said. “It affects everyone, even though we might not talk about it.”

Park said he hopes that TAA can improve the system for reporting sexual assault, which currently fosters the “idea that everything is on the survivor.” The startup’s technological approach aims to “ameliorate and alleviate a lot of these feelings,” he added.

Traditional rape kit examinations consist of several evidence-gathering steps. The victim first describes the

details of the assault, which helps an examiner determine which of the victim’s affected areas to focus on. Any physical markings on the victim’s body are then photographed, and the victim’s clothes are collected. A professional then collects biological evidence from areas of possible contact on the victim’s body.

On average, a rape kit examination lasts between one and a half and two hours, said Erin Chesci, an adjunct professor at the School of Continuing Studies at Roger Williams University, survivor of sexual assault and advocate for sexual assault prevention. A victim must immediately relive every detail of his or her attack in order for hospital and investigation staff to gain as much information as possible for a case, she added.

Cheschi described her rape kit examination as “scary” and “long,” adding, “you felt like you were being assaulted all over again.”

The rape kits developed by TAA aim to streamline the testing process and reduce the invasiveness of the exams. By introducing new methods buttressed by biotechnology, TAA would lessen a victim’s subjection to the trauma of reliving an attack. Park and Okiddy said they could not divulge any specific information about the technology behind their startup, as their patent is pending.

Cheschi said that victims often feel confused after the rape kit examination has been conducted, as they are not informed as to whether any of the evidence collected will be useful to professionals for their case.

COURTESY OF THE SWEARER CENTER

With a grant from the Swearer Center, Bella Okiddy GS and Richard Park ’16 launched Technologies Against Assault to create technology that reduces relived trauma during a shortened post-rape examination.

But TAA’s biotechnology would help to confirm whether or not evidence is substantive. In addition, the technology would help medical professionals determine which tests are necessary in order to reduce the number of tests a victim must undergo and prevent further trauma.

The kits “have the potential to allow a survivor to leave an examination with much more confidence and certainty in evidence collection,” Park said.

Park and Okiddy gained support for TAA from many faculty members, who encouraged them to apply for the Embark fellowship. They also hope to receive additional funding from the Rhode Island Business Plan Competition and MassChallenge, both of which support startup

ventures. They have created a business plan for TAA and are in conversations with lawyers to patent their technology.

Park and Okiddy hope to obtain the necessary patents by graduation so that they can start publicizing TAA and prototyping their technology. This summer, the founders aim to further develop their technology and organize a management plan for TAA, which includes earning U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval by 2017.

TAA will require an initial $75,000 to maintain its current growth rate, and within the lifespan of the company, Park and Okiddy estimate that they will need to raise about $2 million. The founders will use donations obtained on Indiegogo,

as well as other private contributions, to raise the bulk of their funding in the early stages of the company.

Through Brown, TAA has been able to develop an amicable relationship with Rhode Island hospitals and police, and its founders hope that Rhode Island will be among its first customers. Park and Okiddy hope their startup’s success in Rhode Island will allow it to spread to other hospitals in New England and eventually the rest of the country.

Cheschi said that TAA will assure victims that undergoing a rape kit examination is worthwhile given the increased potential for evidence collection. “It may prompt more victims to at least get a rape kit done,” she added.

Study finds link between suicide, substance abuse Combination of alcohol, cocaine use correlated with dramatic increase in self-harm risk

By MARK LIANG STAFF WRITER

University researchers recently published a paper that revealed previously unknown links between the usage of cocaine in conjunction with alcohol and increased suicide risk.

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Sarah Arias led the research. Published in the scientific journal “Crisis,” the study “provide(s) insight into the impact of substance use on future suicide attempts in various sociodemographic groups,” according to the paper.

Among the discoveries mentioned by the authors were “unexpected” interactions between alcohol and cocaine. Each drug had a low association with suicide on its own, but suicide risk jumped drastically when both were taken together, according to the paper.

Research was conducted using the Emergency Department Safety Assessment and Follow-up Evaluation, a survey conducted with multiple hospitals between 2010 and 2012. Consisting of over 800 subjects, the evaluation followed patients at risk for suicide for a full year after their initial admittance into an emergency room. This time frame allowed the researchers to delve into the complex variables at play before and after a suicide attempt.

“Before this study, it was unclear if it

was even feasible to get staff to complete suicide risk screening on all patients and, if you did, whether it would actually result in identifying people who were at risk,” wrote primary investigator Edwin Boudreaux in an email to The Herald.

Through a combination of interviews, medical chart assessments and telephone calls, researchers began to develop a nuanced model of the multiple factors that led to self-harm.

Using this data, Arias and her team showed that future suicide risk was associated with a variety of different types of substance abuse. In addition to the increased risk of suicide while taking both cocaine and alcohol, they also found that risk varied along gender and racial lines.

It is “not clear-cut,” wrote Arias in an email to The Herald. “There are differential levels of risk when we consider factors such as sex or race.”

Cocaine and alcohol are known for creating an elevated high that might explain some of the relationship between their use and suicide risk, Arias wrote.

But the study is only enough to establish correlation and not a direct result, she added.

Still, Arias believes that the takeaways from this paper will eventually have the ability to affect healthcare practices, especially in the emergency room. Currently, the team is collecting data for older patients at risk to develop characterization and treatment for these demographics, Arias wrote.

“The practical application would be to implement similar screening programs at other emergency departments,” Boudreaux wrote.

TODAY

THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2016 • PAGE 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

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SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS

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

BLUE ROOM

Quesadillas

Turkey Chili, Fire Roasted Veggie Chicken Tikka Massala

DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH

DINNER

Hot Turkey Sandwich with Gravy, Artichokes with Stewed Tomatoes, Coconut Cookies

Spice-Rubbed Pork Chops, Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Washington Apple Cake

VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH

DINNER

Saturday Night Jambalaya, Falafel, Vegan Navy Bean Casserole, Coconut Cookies

Roast Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, General Tso Stir Fry, Washington Apple Cake

sudoku

ELI WHITE / HERALD

Admitted students wander the A Day on College Hill Activities Fair in Meehan Auditorium Wednesday evening, perusing the variety of student group displays.

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

“I feel my brain exploding. It’s just awesome.”

RELEASE DATE– Thursday, April 21, 2016

— Alisa Pugacheva, prospective student

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 “Grey’s Anatomy” airer 4 Skins to remove 9 Non-shaving razor name?

14 Scrooge word 15 Brilliance 16 San Antonio landmark 17 Roger Clemens, for one 18 *Unit in a bowl 20 Layered rock 22 “Sorry, we’re full” sign 23 Test release 24 Glimpse 25 Make fun of 27 Sportscast staple 30 Set boundaries 34 Tour de France, e.g.

37 Nikon competitor 38 LAX datum 39 *Website for doit-yourselfers 42 Gen-__ 43 Don’t bother 45 Exercise result, all too often 47 Rose support 50 Made the last move, in a way 51 Later years 53 Degs. for writers 56 Weakness 59 Look over 60 Sherlock Holmes enemy Colonel Sebastian __ 61 *Fast pace 65 One in Paris 66 Tart 67 David’s role on “Frasier” 68 Chemical ending 69 Eponymous trailblazer Chisholm 70 Davis of “A League of Their Own” 71 Thrice, in Rx’s DOWN 1 Belittle 2 Family with several notable composers 3 *Skinflint 4 Athlete nicknamed “O Rei do Futebol” 5 Old French coin

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36 Mixgetränk cube 55 Expression for 6 Name of more 40 Strikes may Ozymandias than 5,000 U.S. cross it 56 Key of the first streets 41 Man-mouse two 7 Sign of connector Brandenburg forgetfulness 44 Fall noisemakers Concertos: Abbr.

8 Kept in reserve 57 Bothersome 9 Western defense 46 Verne captain 48 As above, in a bugs gp. footnote 58 Pub quaffs 10 Neckwear 49 Saw 60 Southwestern denoting 52 Lamp output, if sight affiliation you’re lucky 62 Fiver 11 Zoo sight 54 “Intervention” 63 Suffix with glob 12 Latin 101 word channel 64 Half a score 13 UCLA Bruins coach Jim ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: 19 A conspicuous position, with “the” 21 Singer Lovett 25 College athlete 26 Completely incorrect 28 “Big Brother” creator 29 Le cinquième mois 31 Tasty mélange ... and a literal hint to the starts of the answers to starred clues 32 Secures, as a victory 33 Sailors 34 Corn __ 35 Road to the Forum 04/21/16 xwordeditor@aol.com

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Free Smoothies on the Green 1:00 P.M. Main Green

Trespassers on the Hereafter 4:00 P.M. Rochambeau House

Christos Ikonomou: Something Will Happen 5:30 P.M. No Location

Upcycling Workshop with Artbeat 7:00 P.M. List Art Building, Room 225

TOMORROW Takin’ it to the Beaches: Brazil’s Urban Protests 12:00 P.M. Watson Institute

Urban Bus Tour #6: Secrets of Providence 3:00 P.M. Manning Street 029

First Night Passover Seder 6:30 P.M. Brown/RISD Hillel

Mariachi de Brown: Una Noche de Sones 7:00 P.M. Sayles Hall

COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2016

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

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COMMENTARY THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2016 • PAGE 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

On religion and intellectualism SARA AL-SALEM staff columnist

Freshman fall, I took a class called RELS 0055: “Modern Problems of Belief ” that questioned why many believe one cannot be both modern and religious. While the class only focused on white male philosophers and never touched on Islam at all, it did enlighten my world with one special reading: “Fear and Trembling” by Søren Kierkegaard. This reading taught me how to articulate the belief that faith is in fact the most difficult thing to tap into “by virtue of the absurd.”

Coming from a background where religion wasn’t questioned theoretically or philosophically, but only taught as hard, cold facts, taking this class was a huge step for me.

I remember one friend from high school refused to take the class because she was nervous it would shake her core beliefs. At the time, I found this understandable, albeit kind of cowardly. The idea that religion should not be questioned or engaged with never sat well with me. I wanted to believe in religion by tackling all the doubts that could possibly shake it, not simply because I was raised within the religion.

I knew that if I had discovered Islam wasn’t for me and had ended up looking to align myself with a new

belief system, it would have been agnosticism. I have always felt there is something very self-absorbed about believing confidently that there is absolutely nothing out there in the universe. I am someone who believes that anything that could exist might exist — I am only a human, after all. I believe in the potential for alternate universes, aliens, other life forms, what have you — which I know may set me up as an unreliable, nonsensical individual, but that is what offends me about

minute details of how and why I chose to fully associate myself with Islam, as it is not the issue of which religion I chose that matters, but rather the affiliation of being unintelligent if religious. Why, especially at college and within intellectual circles, am I considered less intelligent for believing in a higher power?

For me, my intellect and my faith are complementary: My faith does not limit my intellect. In fact, my faith pushed my intellect, pushed me to explore and question and dis-

of operating in spite of it.

Most people won’t immediately admit out loud that they consider religious people to be less intellectually equipped than non-religious counterparts, but it is inherent in discussions around religion. For example, within that freshman year course, during section many students spoke about believing in God as a child as if it were equivalent to believing in Santa Claus. There was this implicit superiority that pervaded the conversation, and while

My faith does not limit my intellect. In fact, my faith pushed my intellect, pushed me to explore and question and discover more than I would have otherwise. the human rationale. Our minds are only capable of so much that it seems insane to me to think we are the only people in this universe — it is so much easier to believe in what can be seen than to believe in what cannot be seen.

But I found, through my own research and discovery, that I did believe in one thing confidently: There was something out there looking out for me. For me, that something would take the shape and form of God — something Islam does not define in a concrete way, which I valued. I do not want to go into the

cover more than I would have otherwise. Religion tests reason to its full capacity — it stands to make one question not whether there is a God, but why said God commanded this or that. I have always treated religion as my own personal interpretation of what to do with the absurdity that is being alive. This is why I have always treated religion as an individual-based experience, a big metaphor that can only be interpreted the way “you” understand it. This agency in my faith, coupled with validation of the unknown and beyond, inspires my intellect instead

freshman year Sara was too shy to face it head on, I’d like to state clearly now: You are not more “modern” and “intelligent” than those who believe in something greater than themselves. You are just self-righteous and offensive.

Some will argue vehemently that religion has brought nothing but pain and sorrow to the world. To them I will say this: Humans are terrible; religion is not. If the world’s history had been different and there wasn’t religion to rally around and kill for, there would be something else. Humans will fight over money,

over power, over anything — religion is not the reason for human depravity; it is just its scapegoat.

For those who position themselves on a higher pedestal than religious individuals: You are also succumbing to a Westernized idea of modernity. In Lara Deeb’s excellent ethnography, “An Enchanted Modern: Gender and Public Piety in Shi’i Lebanon,” she writes about how “the West is positioned at the center of a universal modernity” with which the rest of the world is meant to align itself. The Muslims within her ethnography cleverly bit back with their assertion that their “modernness” is not empty, but enchanted — an increased modernization that comes with an increased piety that is both more deeply felt and more deeply understood. There is an agency in faith that is erased by those who talk about religion as though it is for the blind to lead the blind.

I want to end on this point. Everyone has the right to believe in whatever they want — whether that is a belief in faith or a belief in no god. But, in the fantastic and more articulate words of Kierkegaard, “what every man has not a right to do, is to make others believe that faith is something lowly, or that it is an easy thing, whereas it is the greatest and the hardest.”

Sara Al-Salem ’17 can be reached at sara_al-salem@brown.edu.

Shakespeare’s shadow AMEER MALIK staff columnist I recently had the good fortune of seeing a copy of William Shakespeare’s First Folio. The book is part of a travelling exhibit honoring the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death, and it arrived at the Granoff Center for the Creative Arts earlier this month. As a writer and admirer of Shakespeare, I was moved to see the book that, when published, contained the first printed versions of many of his plays, including “Macbeth” and “Julius Caesar.” Behind its display case, the book is opened to the “to be, or not to be” soliloquy from “Hamlet” — when I read the lines in the folio, which I had read many times before, I felt a sense of the sublime.

When I read the Bard’s plays, I am filled with a special kind of awe knowing that I have chosen the same craft that he did. The richness of the language in his most eloquent lines touches me in a way similar to how the melodies of Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk might affect a young jazz pianist, or to how the writings of Richard Feynman and Stephen Hawking might impact a young physicist. Yet, for me and others encountering the works of the acclaimed predecessors of our chosen trades, inspiration can turn into paralysis. Instead of continuing in our pursuits, we consid-

er giving up.

As the semester winds down, we find ourselves trying to do something meaningful with our resources and time. We want to make the most of our years at Brown so that we can do important work in our lives. But when we focus on our artistic and professional role models’ accomplishments, we might feel small in comparison. The question arises: Why do anything if I’m nowhere near as good at it as those who have come before me?

the idea of a tradition of passing on a torch, of building on what has been done before.

This perspective is a lesson that Shakespeare teaches us. Several of his plays are not original stories; they are based on tales written earlier or on the life stories of historical figures. For example, “Macbeth” is loosely based on the life of an actual historical figure named Macbeth.

The introduction of the Pelican Shakespeare edition of the play states that Shakespeare encountered a version of the real Macbeth’s life

We can see our heroes as building the foundations of our chosen fields and ourselves as adding bricks on top of those foundations.

One way to overcome a sense of futility and to escape from the shadows of those we admire is to attack our heroes. As a writer, I might say that Shakespeare is overrated, for example. But I don’t want to do that, nor do I think it productive. If we’ve come to admire certain individuals, we shouldn’t cast aside appreciation for them just to make ourselves feel better.

I reject the idea that work and art are part of an ongoing contest to determine who will have the largest impact and be remembered by history for the longest time. Instead, I embrace

story while reading Holinshed’s “Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland” and altered this story for his play. The brilliance of the play emerges not from the story alone, but from the execution of the tale — the complex dialogue and powerful symbols woven throughout.

Thus, Shakespeare looked to his predecessors, and we can do the same. We can see our heroes as building the foundations of our chosen fields and ourselves as adding bricks on top of those foundations. We can take elements that we like from the examples provided by

those before us. We can take inspiration from numerous sources and combine it with the perspectives we have developed throughout our lives in order to make things we can call our own. In this way, we take the torches from our predecessors, and when we put our work out into the world, we pass on those torches to our successors.

Personally, I find inspiration in the potency of Shakespeare’s language and his sharp insights into the complexity of human nature.

Macbeth, who has been driven by blind ambition to murder many innocent people, arrives at a moment of clarity near the end of the play. After his wife dies, he gives a soliloquy in which he realizes the pointlessness of his actions and the meaninglessness of life. The metaphors Shakespeare uses here are despairingly nihilistic. I have memorized this soliloquy, and whenever I recite it, I shudder at the power of the language. This power convinces me that Shakespeare himself did not have a bleak outlook on the world and found writing meaningful.

I won’t feel paralyzed by my heroes anymore. Shakespeare is one of several sources of inspiration compelling me to keep writing today and tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow.

Ameer Malik ’18 can be reached at ameer_malik@brown.edu

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ARTS & CULTURE THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2016

Growlers, newest installment off Thayer, heats up the palate Newest addition to Thayer cuisine brings variety of American, Latin spicy dishes, sauces

By MADISON RIVLIN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Growlers Wing Bar, the newest addition to the amalgam that is the Thayer food scene, opened April 4 above English Cellar Alehouse on Angell Street. Owners Umberto Sorbo and Sean Hannon create an ambiance that fuses a sportsbar atmosphere with certain diner-style decorations and an authentic New England feel.

Growlers is styled with light wood furniture and dark wood furnishings and bar. Black-and-white tiled floors and copper-toned ceilings are paired with New England-themed decorations, jerseys of local sports teams and craft beer-related signs. The bar has a mellow character, enhanced by its amicable waitstaff and a playlist of classic tunes, ranging from the Eagles’ “Hotel California” to assorted Beatles songs to recent hits from country music star Chris Stapleton.

The menu itself captures the allAmerican feel with potato skins, various burgers and bacon-fried Oreos. It

also incorporates dishes with Latin influences such as blackened chicken quesadillas, chili con carne, mahi-mahi tacos and carnitas. Growlers also emphasizes locally produced beers, according to bar manager Nate Burgoyne.

With respect to food options, “we aren’t completely local yet,” Hannon said. “But we’re crawling.”

The main attraction of Growlers Wing Bar, as indicated by its name, is its selection of wings, listed before starters at the top of the front page of the menu.

With both boneless and on-the-bone options, wing connoisseurs choose their preferred wing and then the sauce in which the wings are tossed. The wings on the bone, called “dry wings,” are smoked at Brutopia, Growlers’ sister restaurant, and later flash fried before they are served, Hannon said. “But it’s not a heavy smoke. We’ve been working on finding the sweet spot for two years.”

Without any sauces or dips, the “naked” wings on the bone did not disappoint. The product of the smoky “sweet spot,” the wings on the bone had crunchy, thin skins that were complemented and elevated by the distinct but subtle smoky taste of the meat itself. The boneless wings, though they could be likened to chicken tenders, still maintained appealing flavor and texture.

To accompany the wings, the bar

provides a selection of sauces. Upon request, wings can be tossed in the sauces or served with sauces on the side. Growlers prepares four housemade sauces. Burgoyne said “Carolina Style” is a mixture of “red wine and cider vinegar, red pepper, black pepper, white pepper and cayenne pepper” that also functions as the rub for dry meats at Brutopia. “Honey BBQ” is a sauce that “doesn’t really have heat but goes well with the Carolina.” “Fire Starter” consists of a “honey barbecue base, scotch bonnets and other peppers.” “Golden Edition” is a “mustard pepper sauce with a white balsamic reduction,” Burgoyne added.

The “Fire Starter” began with a slightly sweet taste reminiscent of molasses and followed with a kick that sparked the taste buds. As soon as the spices overwhelmed the senses, the sensation was gone.

The “Golden Edition” was spot on — the mustard pepper sauce was complemented by the balsamic reduction and brought out the flavors of smokiness in the wings while maintaining the added mustard elements.

“Honey Barbecue” also began with a sweet taste, though it lacked the kick of the “Fire Starter.” Its thick consistency added to its flavor and substantially influenced the taste of the meat of the

MADISON RIVLIN / HERALD

Growlers Wing Bar spices up Thayer’s food scene with an assorted menu of American and Latin dishes, highlighting wings and homemade sauces. wing.

In contrast, “Carolina Style” had bold vinegar and pepper flavors, but its watery viscosity did not lend itself to the same level of flavor.

With a simple menu, likeable sauces and fair pricing, Growlers appeals to the college student palate on a budget and should fare well as the newest addition to Thayer cuisine.

Folk festival to feature professional, student groups Two-day event gathers musicians, students, vendors, celebrates folk culture, acoustic sounds

By JENNIFER SHOOK SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Instead of hordes of students crowding together to hear “1738” or the echo of Mac DeMarco’s guitars, students will be treated to a somewhat more relaxed musical event this weekend. The annual Brown Folk Festival is bringing dozens of folk musicians to campus for two days of post-Spring Weekend fun.

The festival will be held Friday from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. at Pembroke Field House and Saturday from 12:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Ruth Simmons Quad. Tickets will be free Saturday and $3 at the door Friday.

The annual event is organized by a board of student coordinators who select musicians and organize the performances. The festival will host a total of 11 groups — eight professional groups and three student groups — who will perform over the course of two days “of total relaxation and cool music and good vibes,” said festival coordinator Madeleine Olson ’18.

The professional groups are selected by board members who organize listening sessions where they sample a variety of local music. Some of the bands considered contact the board in hopes of being selected to play at the event while other future selections are the board members’ own discoveries and recommendations. Coordinators rate each band on a five-point scale. Selected bands are then contacted by coordinators and asked to perform at the festival, said festival coordinator Andrew Pisaturo ’17.

Olson and Pisaturo said that the

festival coordinators are usually successful in convincing their first-choice musicians to perform at the event. “Usually the main constraint is price,” Olson said.

In contrast to the professional groups, the student groups were selected in a battle of the bands competition held in the Underground.

Friday night’s lineup consists of two professional bands — The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow and You Won’t — and a student group called Felt.

Josh Arnoudse from You Won’t said the Boston-based band, which has been performing since 2011, decided to play at the folk festival after receiving an invitation from coordinators.

Arnoudse said he is excited to perform tracks from the band’s sophomore album “Revolutionaries,” which is due out April 29. “This is the first time we really get to perform all the new songs,” Arnoudse said.

Saturday’s lineup consists of professional bands Four Bridges, Shamanic, The Bones of J.R. Jones, Chasing Blue and The Novel Ideas. Student bands North of Home and Gallo Sin Pollo will also perform that day.

Daniel Radin from The Novel Ideas, who characterizes his group’s music as “somewhere between folk, Americana and country” said he first heard about the music festival through a friend, Laney Jones, who played at the festival in 2015.

Radin said he is excited for the festival atmosphere of the event. “In the winter you play indoors a lot,” Radin said.

“Playing outdoors will be really nice.”

In addition to music, festival attendees will also have the opportunity to survey the offerings of a host of local craft vendors, who will be selling items that run the gamut from succulents to jewelry.