Friday, September 16, 2016

Page 1

SINCE 1891

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2016

VOLUME CLI, ISSUE 66

WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM

Free speech debated for Constitution Day Event’s two speakers discuss first amendment’s role in shaping classroom dynamics, discourse By ALEX SKIDMORE SENIOR STAFF WRITER

ELI WHITE / HERALD

Homeless advocacy groups and press members were barred from a community discussion about Paolino’s Kennedy Plaza proposal. Security voiced concerns about overcrowding, but the space was not at capacity.

Plaza proposal marred by protest, exclusion Former mayor proposes relocation of RIPTA terminal, expansion of plaza amenities By KYLE BOROWSKI SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Former Mayor of Providence Joseph Paolino Jr. P’17 unveiled his plans for the redevelopment of Kennedy Plaza Wednesday at a closed-door meeting, presenting an ambitious and controversial vision for the future of the downtown district. While Paolino has not served in a governmental capacity for nearly three decades, he wields significant clout in the city. He is board chairman of the Downtown

Improvement District and a managing partner of the Providence-based Paolino Properties. Central to Paolino’s proposal is the relocation of the RIPTA bus terminal from Kennedy Plaza slightly north to the Amtrak train station. With the space from the terminal vacated, Paolino has called for a redesign of the plaza and neighboring Burnside Park to include a number of attractions including an amphitheater, an expanded park and a food court. The proposal comes after weeks of meetings concerning public safety and “qualityof-life-issues” in the downtown area between Paolino and a number of social service organizations, businesses and advocacy groups. But Paolino has come under fire

for some aspects of his proposal that some call anti-homeless. He has taken a hard stance against panhandling, for example, arguing that “some panhandlers have legitimate problems, and some have made it into a business,” in a statement released Sept. 14 at the event. While Paolino has promised that the proposal is a “neutral content ordinance” and that all panhandling, including that of firefighters and little leaguers, will not be allowed, some worry the policy would be selectively enforced against homeless people. In response to perceived inadequacies in Paolino’s proposal, a number of advocates for the homeless and other activists held a press conference in protest of his plan about an hour before » See PLAZA, page 2

At the University’s annual Constitution Day lecture, Greg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, and Stanley Fish, visiting professor of Law at Yeshiva University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, explored the question: Should free speech be limited on college campuses? The Political Theory Project hosted the event to provide “a space to come together to hear and discuss challenging topics in good faith,” wrote Daniel D’Amico, visiting professor of political science at the Political Theory Project, in an email to The Herald. After an introduction from John Tomasi, professor of political science and director of the Political Theory Project, Lukianoff stepped up to the podium to present his view on the acceptable and unacceptable limits of free speech. Lukianoff first offered circumstances where free speech should be limited, like “true threats, obscenity and defamation.” He then described situations where free speech should be limited as behavior, not speech. For example, people “don’t have the right to stop an event from happening,” he said.

After listing this variety of situations where free speech can be curtailed, Lukianoff then defined his two beliefs that make him “radical” in his defense of free speech. The first principle is the bedrock rule where, “you can’t ban something simply because it’s offensive … (because) offensive is too subjective,” Lukianoff said. Next, he defended “viewpoint neutrality,” which means “you can’t ban viewpoints you dislike,” he added. Lukianoff ended his talk with the advice: “Make it a goal to seek out smart people with whom you disagree.” Fish then stepped up to the microphone. “You have invited two speakers who more or less agree,” he said. But Fish then argued that, at universities, there is a freedom to do “your academic job,” but should be no freedom of expression. To connect this idea to Brown, Fish quoted President Christina Paxson’s P’19 op-ed in the Washington Post: “Freedom of expression is an essential component of academic freedom.” “This is false,” Fish said. Universities must protect themselves against outside forces that try to shape their political agenda by employing “gatekeepers” — like deans or professors — who choose what voices should be heard on campus. Engaging in academia and social justice in the same space is “a debasement of teaching and of social justice,” he said. “The university is less democratic than it is Darwinian,” he added. Currently, students are the most toxic » See SPEECH, page 2

FOOTBALL

Team veterans look to lead Political experts discuss race in election successful 2016 campaign Rose, Morone place All-Ivy team members Doles ’17, Jette ’17 aim to lead a potent offense as receivers, on special teams By BEN SHUMATE SENIOR STAFF WRITER

After a 5-5 season a year ago, Brown football’s upperclassmen decided the team would take a new mentality to bring the Ivy League title to College Hill for the first time since 2008. Thus, “thru the wall,” the team’s new rallying cry for the 2016 season, was born. “We’ve been going through a culture change on our team,” said defensive back Jordan Ferguson ’17. “It’s something that the older guys started doing in January and February with winter workouts and

INSIDE

into spring practice.” Despite being picked to finish sixth in the Ancient Eight in the pre-season media poll, the Bears return 15 starters from last season and hope to conquer a crowded field of contenders in Head Coach Phil Estes’s 19th year. The conference crown was shared by Harvard, Penn and Dartmouth in 2015, while Brown finished fifth with a 3-4 conference record. Kyle Moreno ’17 will take the reins as a dual-threat quarterback in the Bears’ read-option attack. Moreno saw limited action last season but impressed in a loss at Harvard, throwing for 308 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for two more. Moreno will have to take care of the ball for Brown to find more success on offense, as the team was tied for the most » See FOOTBALL, page 3

candidates’ rhetoric in historical context, remain optimistic about future By SARAH NOVICOFF CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Tricia Rose, director of the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America and professor of Africana studies, and James Morone, director of the Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy, spoke on the unpredictable, yet historically consistent, role of race in the 2016 presidential election at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs Joukowsky Forum Thursday. Morone opened the talk by framing the 2016 election through a historical context of racism in American politics. “Racism isn’t new. Nativism isn’t new. But something else is new,” Morone

ANITA SHEIH / HERALD

Tricia Rose and James Morone held a panel at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs on how race has affected the 2016 election. said, before recounting the story of the United States’ first contested election in 1800. John Adams’ Federalist party campaigned on an anti-immigrant platform, and Thomas Jefferson’s DemocraticRepublicans won by antagonizing slaves while recruiting white foreigners. After

the election, the supremacy of Southern slave-owning whites continued for half a century. “Now we have one party that is built on the white vote — the Republican Party,” Morone said. “What we have » See WATSON, page 2

WEATHER

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2016

NEWS Study on why students drop classes in line with student, departmental goals

SPORTS Athlete of the week: Etzel ’19 discusses Ivy League aspirations, new coaching staff

COMMENTARY Papendorp ’17: STEM research opportunities for low-income students not viable

COMMENTARY Meyer ’17: Lamp/Bear highlights adminstration’s willingness to compromise morals for money

PAGE 3

PAGE 4

PAGE 7

PAGE 7

TODAY

TOMORROW

74 / 49

76 / 63


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.