Skip to main content

Monday, September 19, 2016

Page 1

SINCE 1891

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2016

VOLUME CLI, ISSUE 67

WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM

First-Gen, Low-Income FOOTBALL Student Center unveiled President Christina Paxson P’19 announces full-time staff position for center at reception By KASTURI PANANJADY SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The First-Generation and Low-Income Student Center held its opening reception Friday on the fifth floor of the Sciences Library. At the reception, President Christina Paxson P’19 said the center, which is currently staffed by six paid undergraduates and one part-time graduate student, will be hiring a full-time staff member. Students are currently supervised by Ricky Gresh, director of campus life projects, and Yolanda Rome, assistant dean for first-year and sophomore studies — both of whom hold office hours in the center once a week in addition to their other responsibilities. As a former first-gen student himself, Gresh said that while the project had been a personal investment for him, the center needed a full-time staff member to keep up with demands.

The center, commonly referred to as FLIC, was initially dubbed the First-Generation Center, but students pushed for a new name encompassing low-income students so the center would be as “inclusive and intersectional as possible,” said Emily Doglio ’17, former First-Gens@Brown leader. FLIC provides a peer-mentoring program, organizes mental health workshops by Counseling and Psychological Services and hosts courses on academic essay writing and the first-gen experience. The center is also located one floor below the Office of the Dean of Financial Advising. “It’s an umbrella organization,” Gresh told The Herald, adding that FLIC brings many established diversity and inclusion programs under the same roof as well. “It houses Questbridge, Millenial and Gates scholars, Bonner Fellows from the Swearer Center and undocumented students.” Viet Nguyen ’17, president of the Undergraduate Council of Students, called the center’s opening moment “surreal.” He recounted how the push for a dedicated First-Generation Center began during his sophomore year, » See FIRST-GEN, page 3

COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS

Troy Doles ’17 is surrounded by teammates after coming down with a touchdown pass in the first half Saturday.

Moreno ’17 leads comeback win at Bryant Senior quarterback’s five-touchdown day helps Bruno erase 21-point deficit to start season By BEN SHUMATE SENIOR STAFF WRITER

After the football team stumbled out of the gates in the opening quarter Saturday, quarterback Kyle Moreno ’17 rallied the Bears (1-0) to a 35-27 win over Bryant. Never looking rattled

after early miscues that left the Bears in a 21-point hole, Moreno made it clear why his teammates voted him team captain, as he led a methodical comeback through the air and on the ground. It took a near-perfect three quarters of football to overcome a rough start for Bruno. The teams traded punts to start the game, and Brown had a promising second drive cut short by a fumble. After stuffing Bryant (1-2) on a fake punt in their own end, Jacob Wilner ’18 had his 40-yard field

goal attempt blocked and returned 60 yards for a touchdown. The kicking game was a struggle for the Bears, as Wilner had another attempt blocked later in the game and missed another short kick. Brown then fumbled on the first play of its next drive, and the Bulldogs cashed in with a touchdown pass. The offense keyed in on taking care of the ball after leading the nation in turnovers last season, making the early fumbles all the more concerning for » See FOOTBALL, page 2

Alum leads Dakota pipeline teach-in WOMEN’S SOCCER

Etzel ’19 continues hot start with pair of shutouts

Weston ’97, member of Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, emphasizes project’s impact on tribal land

While offense looks for spark, Bears tie UMass, top Central Connecticut State with late goal

By MELISSA CRUZ SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Students gathered in Metcalf Auditorium Saturday afternoon for a teach-in on the Dakota Access Pipeline. Jennifer Weston ’97, who led the teach-in, spoke about the impact the pipeline has already had and could have in the future on the Native American land it would cut through. Weston, who concentrated in ethnic studies with an independent focus on tribal government natural resource management, is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. After welcoming the audience in her native language, Lakota, Weston framed her presentation as a timeline detailing the efforts of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and its supporters to prevent the pipeline’s construction since January. The tribe would be directly impacted by the pipeline, which intends to carry 470,000 barrels of crude oil per day from North Dakota to Illinois. If constructed, the pipeline could potentially contaminate Lake Oahe — a source the tribe heavily relies on

INSIDE

By NICHOLAS WEY SENIOR STAFF WRITER

ELI WHITE / HERALD

Jennifer Weston ’97 detailed the potential ecological damage and human rights violations that would result from the pipeline’s construction. for drinking water. Weston pointed out that the original plan for the pipeline routed farther north, but it was redesigned out of concern that it would leak into the water supply of Bismarck, the state capital. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, oil spills were the leading type of pipeline incident to occur in the United States from 1986 to 2013.

The pipeline was proposed by Dakota Access, LLC, a company under the umbrella of Energy Transfer Crude Oil Company, LLC, a Texasbased, U.S. Fortune 500 natural gas and propane company. In addition to putting the health and safety of those surrounding the pipeline at risk, the DAPL route runs through sacred tribal » See PIPELINE, page 2

With its first Ivy League game against Dartmouth less than a week away, the women’s soccer team headed into its matchups versus the University of Massachusetts at Amherst Thursday and Central Connecticut State Sunday focused on securing wins that would build momentum and boost confidence moving forward. Hosting UMass (2-3-1), Brown (31-2) displayed its defensive prowess once again, not allowing the Minutewomen to find the back of the net once during the entire competition. But despite dominating on their end — and even out-shooting UMass in the contest — the Bears were unable to finish any of their 12 offensive opportunities. After double overtime, the game ended in a 0-0 tie. Already in top form, goalie Christine Etzel ’19 notched her fifth shutout

of the season in impressive fashion, denying the Minutewomen with four saves. To put that into perspective, over the last 580 minutes of play, Etzel had let in just a single goal. With this performance, Etzel surpassed her total of four shutouts from last year. At this rate, Etzel is on pace to break the team’s all-time single-season shutout record set in 1984 by Brown legend Kathy Kostic ’87. Etzel was quick to emphasize the work of her entire defensive line as critical to the team’s success. “It’s definitely a majority team effort,” Etzel wrote in an email to The Herald. “Not just the back line, but starting all the way with our forwards. I wouldn’t have the shutouts without my team in front of me.” Maclaine Lehan ’18, Katy Schmidt ’18, Nicole Phillips ’19 and Megan Grant ’19 make up these additional pillars of the Bears’ back line. As Etzel noted, each has been pivotal for Bruno. Lehan even netted a goal of her own in the team’s season opener against Rhode Island. Still, as the Bears headed into their second game of the week versus CCSU » See. W. SOCCER, page 3

WEATHER

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2016

SPORTS Men’s water polo clinches three victories thanks to strong defense, great individual showings

NEWS First-ever health hackathon promotes creativity to tackle medical, patient-service problems

COMMENTARY Hyland GS: Follow athletes’ example, protest police brutality, take knee during national anthem

COMMENTARY O’Shea ’19: Do not take freedoms for granted, actively think, create to inspire change in world

PAGE 3

PAGE 4

PAGE 7

PAGE 7

TODAY

TOMORROW

75 / 66

82 / 63


SPORTS

PAGE 2 • MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2016

» FOOTBALL, from page 1 Brown. Bryant had good field position before the end of the quarter and took advantage with a 33-yard touchdown strike to punctuate its first-quarter statement. But there was a lot of football to be played, and the team focused on sticking to the game plan, Moreno said. “We couldn’t get it all back in one play,” he said. “Everyone was thinking ‘one play at a time, one drive at a time.’” Moreno and running back Jalen Broome ’18 led Brown on a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive, finished off with a sideline catch in the corner of the end zone by Alex Jette ’17. As quickly as Bryant had grabbed the momentum, the tides turned back in Brown’s favor. Sebastian Dovi ’19 jumped in front of a pass from Bryant’s Dalton Easton for his first collegiate interception to give Bruno the ball in Bulldog territory. After hitting Jette on fourth down to salvage the ensuing drive, Moreno scampered 10 yards untouched and found the end zone to pull the Bears within one touchdown when the half ended. Brown continued to find its groove on both sides of the ball in the third quarter. After another failed Bryant fake punt in its own end, Moreno tossed a pair of 11-yard touchdowns to Anton Casey ’19 and Garrett Swanky ’17 on subsequent drives to put Brown up 28-21. From the start of the second quarter into the third, Bruno’s offense put up four unanswered touchdowns largely due to Moreno’s ability to spread the ball around and find open receivers. His three touchdown passes all went to different receivers, and four Brown players had multiple receptions on the day. Swanky led with five catches, but Jette established himself as a big-play threat, leading the team with 74 receiving yards on four catches. “It makes my job a lot easier,” Moreno said of his arsenal of receivers. “I just have to get the ball to the playmakers and execute the play.” Moreno wasn’t short on praise for the offensive line either, which gave

him ample time to throw all game. Bryant managed just one sack, and though Bruno rushed 47 times at 2.8 yards per carry, Moreno, Broome and Johnny Pena ’17 broke off nice runs through holes opened up by the offensive line. “I can’t say enough about those guys,” he said. “It really makes the offense go. They don’t get enough credit at all.” Both teams scored before the end of the third quarter, Brown on a two-yard touchdown run by Moreno. Bryant missed the extra point, giving Brown a 35-27 lead going into the fourth quarter. No longer forced back on the field by turnovers, Brown’s defense shined with a one-score lead and the game on the line. Bryant drove the ball into the red zone in its final two drives as the clock ticked down. With 4:25 remaining, Connor Coughlin ’18 wrestled the ball away from a Bryant receiver for an interception at the one-yard line. A stiff wind killed a Brown punt in the air, giving Bryant one more chance at the Bears’ 39. A targeting penalty kept Bryant moving into the red zone, but Dovi secured the win, defending an end zone fade on fourth down with 1:46 remaining. Matching Brown’s offense, the defense looked stout after the first quarter. Almost all of Bryant’s 286 yards came through the air, as the Bulldogs managed just 11 yards rushing on 20 attempts. Easton was sacked twice but was hurried several more times and forced into throwing three interceptions. Though the comeback marks the teams’ first season-opening win since 2013, the Bears don’t have long to dwell on the victory as they square off against defending Ivy co-champion and rival Harvard at Brown Stadium Saturday. The Crimson cruised over Rhode Island with a 51-21 win Friday night and wore out the Bears 53-27 last season. “We know it’s going to be a tough game, but we’re just excited to get home and play in front of our home crowd,” Moreno said. “We’re going to dial up a game plan this week and get back to square one.”

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

MEN’S SOCCER

Offense blanked in loss to UMass-Amherst Despite 17-12 advantage in shots, Bears held scoreless for first time in 2-0 home loss By EMILE BAUTISTA STAFF WRITER

For the second consecutive game, a Massachusetts opponent downed the men’s soccer team. This time around, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst defeated the Bears at its home field by a tally of 2-0. Though it outshot its foe 17-12, Bruno was still held scoreless for the first time this season. This left the team with an eerily similar start to last year’s campaign. As the Bears continued to be nagged by injury, their starting lineup shifted slightly yet again to adapt. Carl Johan Mix ’19 slotted into the backline in place of Jack Hagstrom ’19, and Austin Lind ’20 made his first collegiate start. Bruno got off to a promising start and had the better chances of the two teams early on. Mix unleashed a blast on goal in the fifth minute that required a terrific save from the Minutemen goalkeeper. Only nine minutes later, the Bears thought they had broken the deadlock, but the goal was called back because of an offside call. Both squads continued probing until the Minutemen caught a break. Off a corner kick, the ball was headed a couple times by Amherst players before Henry Steinkamp redirected the ball into the net to give his team the 1-0 lead. Six minutes later in the 30th minute, the hosts struck again. A long ball was lobbed into the box and somehow found itself at the feet of Alex DeSantis. After quickly controlling the ball, he slid it into the bottom left corner for a two-goal advantage for the Minutemen. The Bears continued to pepper Amherst with shots in search of a lifeline back into the match. Unfortunately

» PIPELINE, from page 1

Letters, please! letters@browndailyherald.com

land and ancestral grounds, Weston said. The DAPL survey and construction crews have brought alongside them armed security that has let loose security dogs and has maced and intimidated peaceful protesters and tribal members, including a line of women linked in arms and singing in prayer, Weston said. Yet the members of Standing Rock Sioux remain peaceful and unarmed, and they engage in “nonviolent direct action,” Weston said. Standing Rock Sioux has a longstanding history of protecting its land. In the 1950s, the Pick-Sloan Plan was approved by Congress, greenlighting construction of the Oahe Dam, which flooded thousands of acres of Standing Rock land, wrecking cropland, rangeland and vital species of plants and animals used for food, medicine and ceremonies, Weston said. Today, though, Standing Rock Sioux’s fight to protect its land has gained traction with the broader public and fellow tribes. For example, citizens of various local tribes founded a spirit camp, Sacred Stone Camp, along

COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS

Nico Lozada ’18 winds up for a kick in a road match at UMass Saturday. The junior recorded an assist and has tallied five points this season. for the team, both the framework and the Minutemen goalie prevented Bruno from snatching a goal. Though the Bears held a 10-5 shot advantage going into halftime, they also went in with a two-goal deficit. In the second half, the Bears continued pressuring their opponent with shot after shot. The more dangerous chances fell to the visitors in the second half, as Amherst was held to no shots on target in the latter frame. This included an attempt by Tyler Long ’17 in the 78th minute that grazed off the crossbar, maintaining the hosts’ twogoal lead. In the dying minutes of the game, Bruno desperately attempted to salvage a better result. But the Minutemen blocked three shots and repelled two corners in just the last four minutes. Time expired, leaving the Bears with a 2-0 loss. “A lack of focus on set pieces was a big part of the goals we conceded,” said co-captain James Myall ’18. “It is something we can continue to work

on as the season goes on.” With the loss came a multitude of firsts for both squads. For starters, it was the first win of the season for Amherst. It was also its first shutout of the season and first multiple-goal game. On the other side, it was the first time the Bears had been held scoreless on the young season. “One thing that didn’t work for us this game was getting shots on target,” Myall said. “It seemed that most of our shots were off the mark, and I feel like that hurt our chances.” There are parallels to be drawn between this year’s and last year’s starts to the season. Both times, the Bears started off with three consecutive wins and held their opponents to a combined one goal. Then, the next two road games resulted in some uncharacteristic defensive lapses and, ultimately, two losses. But unlike last year, the Bears could not outgun the Minutemen. Still looking to bounce back, the team continues its road stint with a game at Boston University on Tuesday.

the proposed route of the pipeline in April 2016. The site is “dedicated to stopping and raising awareness (about) the Dakota Access pipeline, the dangers associated with pipeline spills and the necessity to protect the water resources of the Missouri river,” according to the website. In addition, the ACLU of North Dakota, Amnesty International and supporters worldwide have contributed legal and monetary aid in the past year. “There’s been a tremendous coming together among tribal leaders, educators, attorneys and a lot of elected politicians, as well, that have issued warm and supportive statements about what they’ve seen on their visit to the campsite,” Weston said. The militarization, arrests of peaceful protestors and urgency of the DAPL surveying crew have escalated in the past couple months, Weston said. “The DAPL will affect millions of people if constructed and violate treaty rights and human rights — to clean water. This event was a way to bring that awareness to the broader Brown community who might not know what is going on,” wrote Niyolpaqui

Moraza-Keeswood, coordinator of Native American and Indigenous Studies, in an email to The Herald. “Many of us aren’t able to go out to North Dakota in person, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do anything from afar to help.” Weston commends the University’s efforts to support Native Americans at Brown and nationally. “As an institution founded on the tribal homelands of two indigenous nations, the Wampanoag and Narragansett, it’s gratifying to see the University finally hiring Native faculty (members), engaging in significant outreach to tribal communities and supporting its Native student population by incorporating academic coursework and research that builds upon our tribes’ ancient civilizations and linguistic connections in the Americas,” Weston wrote to The Herald after the event. Seeing the University invest in a substantive Native American and Indigenous Studies program is “a long-held dream for me,” Weston said. The DAPL teach-in was co-sponsored by Native American and Indigenous Students at Brown, the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society and the history and American studies departments.


NEWS

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2016 • PAGE 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Ives Street fire causes little damage University, DPS provide support to affected grad students in aftermath of Wednesday morning fire By JULIE CENTER SENIOR STAFF WRITER

A house fire broke out in an off-campus apartment at 284 Ives Street Wednesday shortly before 1:00 a.m., wrote Deputy Chief of Police Paul Shanley in an email to The Herald. The apartment was occupied by graduate students who were not injured in the fire, though the house suffered minor damages, wrote Director of News and Editorial Development Brian Clark in an email to The Herald. Both the Department of Public

Safety and the Providence Fire Department responded to the scene, with Officer Ann Cunningham and Sergeant Brendan McGrath of DPS arriving first, Shanley wrote. The officers spoke with the affected students outside, then entered the residence to assist in the evacuations of the second and third floors, Shanley added. While the Providence Fire Department took the lead in responding to the immediate fire, the two DPS officers remained with the students and provided assistance such as transportation and housing for the night, Shanley said. “The department finds the actions of these two officers to be highly commendable, and (they are) an example of the Brown University Department of Public Safety’s strong commitment

(to) providing the highest level of dedication and service to our community,” Shanley wrote. In fire situations involving students, the University generally first addresses the immediate health and safety of those affected, Clark said. The University also provides any necessary support services for the students, covering basic needs such as clothing, housing and food and providing items integral to student life like laptops, cell phones and textbooks, he added. The University also offers “counseling support to students, given that they are confronting a situation that can clearly be very challenging from an emotional standpoint,” Clark said. University deans reached out to the students Wednesday to offer them these support services.

MEN’S WATER POLO

No. 14 Bears earn three wins at Bucknell In bounce-back match versus Mercyhurst, five different players score multiple goals By DANIEL WAYLAND STAFF WRITER

The no. 14 men’s water polo team found its form at this weekend’s Bucknell Invitational, going 3-1 in competition. Bruno opened the weekend with two Saturday matches, defeating Navy and Wagner. The team rode its momentum into Sunday, battling No. 15 Bucknell to a close loss before rebounding against Mercyhurst with a 16-3 win. The team left the invitational feeling confident. “Overall, it was a really positive weekend,” said Jack Wilson ’20. “Our defense is really coming together.” Brown allowed only 28 goals through four games at the Bucknell Invitational, after conceding 37 goals in only three games the prior weekend at the Princeton Invitational. The Bears opened the weekend with a strong performance against unranked Navy, opening up a 4-0 lead shortly into the match. Attacker Yahel Murvitz-Lahav ’17 led Brown’s charge,

»W. SOCCER, from page 1 (2-8-0), they focused on the final key ingredient for success: scoring. Against the Blue Devils, Brown applied its experiences from the draw versus UMass, employing an aggressive offensive strategy from the starting whistle. Only a minute into play, rookie midfielder Abby Carchio ’20 fired a shot on goal that forced a hard save by CCSU goalkeeper Ashley Cavanaugh. Later in the half during a corner set piece, forward Kate Maher ’19 barely missed on a header that bounced off the post. Still, with just over 30 minutes to go, the scoreboard read 0-0, with the Bears and the Blue Devils equal in almost every regard. Each team had exactly two shots, one save, four corners, an offside and eight fouls. Both had created multiple chances on offense with solid build-up and strong ball movement, but neither team was able to finish. Finally, in the 73rd minute, with

his three early goals helping to widen the lead to 10-2 at the end of half. Brown would coast to a 16-8 victory, with Jake Wyatt ’17, Rico Burke ’18, Tyler Kirchberg ’18 and Warren Smith ’17 each contributing two goals in the winning effort. Bruno then faced another unranked opponent in Wagner, whom it had already defeated earlier in the season at the Bruno Classic. “Navy and Wagner were definitely games we’re supposed to win,” Wilson said. “But after a really strong game against Navy we came out a little flat against Wagner. We didn’t overlook Wagner, but we learned our lesson not to play down to our opponent.” While the team came away with a 10-8 victory, it allowed Wagner to stay in the game, only grabbing its first lead with 4:22 left in the third quarter. But Brown’s improved defense provided the dominating narrative of the weekend, and the game against Wagner was no exception. Bruno’s backline locked down in the second half, only conceding three goals while Kirchberg and Smith led the team’s six-goal comeback effort on offense in the second half. Brown faced its toughest competition Sunday, playing tournament host and No. 15 Bucknell. Despite jumping out to an early 3-0 lead, the Bears

ultimately fell to the hosts 9-8, as they were outscored 4-2 in the second half and conceded the game-winning goal with just 2:31 remaining. The loss to Bucknell represented a particularly biting defeat for Bruno, which has struggled in recent games against ranked competition. “Ultimately the game got away from us,” Wilson said. “But we learned a lot, and it exposed things we need to work on in practice.” Bruno got its revenge in its final match of the weekend against Mercyhurst, trouncing its opponent on the way to a 16-3 victory. Brown made its mark early in the match, grabbing 5-1 and 9-2 leads at the end of the first quarter and half, respectively. The team displayed great all-around form, conceding only three goals while getting multiple-goal efforts from five players. With only one non-league match left against Connecticut College, the team begins its preparation for Ivy League competition. “Our coach purposely scheduled tough games for us during ‘preseason,’ and I think we battled in each of them,” Wilson said. “Having seen the whole spectrum of talent thus far, we’re all really confident heading into the season.” Bruno begins its Ivy League season against Princeton Oct. 1.

the Bears in dire need of some sort of edge, veteran Ella Warshauer ’17 scored a dazzling outside-the-box strike to put Brown up by one. Warshauer collected the ball around midfield and made quick work of the only defender between her and the goal with a quality bit of skill, quickly firing a shot to the lower left corner that evaded the diving goalie. In fact, this was Warshauer’s first game of the season, having been sidelined by an injury dating back to last season. She was substituted in during the 29th minute, and the senior was clutch when it mattered for Bruno, putting away what would become the game-winning goal. “We are all so pumped for her,” Etzel wrote. “She’s very crafty on the ball and definitely made a big difference in our game today. We’re so happy she was able to come back and make a strong recovery.” Almost as expected, Etzel finished the game with another shutout

performance. Having tallied her sixth such effort in seven games, Etzel’s presence will remain an invaluable asset for the Bears moving forward. Now only a Wednesday game at 7:00 p.m. versus Sacred Heart stands between the Bears and conference play — beginning with a road game at Dartmouth Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The Big Green finished four spots below the Bears at seventh in the Ivy League standings last season. But success in Hanover will depend on Brown’s ability to bring all the pieces together — offense, defense and set plays — into a single cohesive effort. For the Bears, who currently sport a 0.86 goals per game average, offensive potency will be especially important in their run for the Ivy League crown. “Bring it on,” Etzel wrote. “The team knows that Ivy League games are a whole different feel, and we’re all so excited. We’ve been preparing all season for these games, so we’re ready to get them started.”

» FIRST-GEN, from page 1 after the first-ever 1vyG conference at Brown. “We’ve slowly chipped away at the stigma about class,” Nguyen said, emphasizing that ‘first-gen’ and ‘lowincome’ had transformed into labels of pride and community on campus in his time here. Monica Yang ’18, co-president of First-Gens@Brown, tapped into this affirmative spirit. “Before you applied, what did you think Brown looks like?” she asked. “Brown looks like you.” Provost Richard Locke P’17 also took a turn at the podium Friday, sporting a “First-Gens@Brown” badge that read “First but not alone.” “When I was at Wesleyan, I remember feeling like I didn’t have the same roadmap as my peers. … There was an element of shame in that,” he said. “We shouldn’t be repeating the same mistakes.” He credited students as well as faculty and staff members for educating the administration about the needs of the low-income and first-generation communities through “working groups, research and advocacy.” “If we want to be a leading institution in the 21st century, we have to attract the very best and brightest students to our campus,” Paxson said. “And those students come from around the globe, from around the country, from all economic classes, from all races and ethnicities.” Students envision the center as

both an academic support network and a social space, but the center has a maximum capacity of “around 100 people” to serve the entire first-gen and low-income student population, Alexis Rodriguez-Camacho ’18, copresident of First-Gens@Brown told The Herald. In addition, during work hours, the center shares the space with the Writing Center and tutoring services. Afterwards, the space can be used for socializing and studying by students. “We’ll see how the first year goes and how students are using the space,” Nguyen told The Herald, adding that FLIC’s priority over the next year is to increase awareness about the support services offered, he added. While incoming freshmen who check the ‘first-generation college student’ box are automatically added to the Center’s database, many firstgeneration and low-income students already enrolled at Brown may not be aware of these new resources, center staffer Perla Montas ’17 told The Herald. “We’re also trying to reach out to alums who were first-gen but didn’t have this vocabulary,” she added. “We’re so happy that everything aligned at the same time,” Yang told The Herald about the announcement. “This is everything we hoped for.” Just beside the exit, a student from the class of 2020 left an anonymous note one of the Center’s walls. “I chose Brown because of this community. I literally would not have without this support group.”


NEWS

PAGE 4 • MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2016

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Conference examines U.’s role in prison education system Leaders in prison education movement convene to discuss current programs, setbacks, future efforts By SUVY QIN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Local and national leaders in the prison education movement convened Friday morning to discuss their experiences, ideas and challenges as they sought to strengthen and create programs that provide higher education to incarcerated populations. “He who opens a school door closes a prison,” quoted Amy Remensnyder, professor of history and founder and director of the Brown History Education Prison Project. Split into two parts, the conference was devoted to exploring the current state of prison education in Rhode Island and learning from the country’s leading institutions to understand the greater role that the University can play in serving the state’s incarcerated population of more than 3,000 people. Remensnyder opened the event by urging the audience to consider the “transformational effect” that prison education programs have on not only incarcerated people but also those who teach in prisons, such as herself. She highlighted the ways that the University is already involved in prison education, such as through the Petey Greene Program — an in-prison tutoring program in which undergraduates tutor students in the Adult Correctional

Institute — and BELLS, another name for the Brown History Education Prison Project, where faculty members from the history department co-teach non-credit history classes at the ACI. But Remensnyder noted that “we are eager to learn ways we can expand our role at Brown.” The first panel, titled “Teaching in the Prisons,” examined the prison education programs currently in place in Rhode Island, as well as other initiatives at Cornell and Princeton. Ralph Orleck, special education director and principal of the Rhode Island Department of Corrections, highlighted the need for correctional education in the state and added that evidence shows that inmates participating in education programs have lower re-incarceration rates. Will Jackson, college program coordinator of the RIDC, focused on the nuances of creating a successful prison education program while building upon the current partnership the state has with the Community College of Rhode Island. He noted that the lack of resources, both financial and political, presents challenges for replicating quality higher education programs, such as Prison University Project in San Quentin, California. “Creative fundraising is imperative

to being able to run higher education programs,” Jackson said, adding that there is currently only a “patchwork approach.” Other aspects of college are not possible in the prisons, such as residential communities, Jackson said, adding that the lack of Internet hinders real research opportunities. But Jackson is heartened that even though instructors are challenged in this setting, they often leave saying “that was one of the best classes I’ve ever had.” “In the end, it is a winning situation,” Jackson added. Rob Scott, the executive director of Cornell Prison Education Program, spoke about the “special role” that the University has to play and possible ways to go about it. Brown can serve “networking functions” by providing advising and help in navigating financial aid bureaucracy as well as by creating an environment of excitement through events such as bringing in a dean for a guest lecture, Scott said. During the roundtable discussion, these panelists addressed questions about the logistics and impact of these prison education programs. Scott and Jill Stockwell, doctorate student and volunteer teacher for Princeton’s Prison Teaching Initiative, described the various changes their respective programs are hoping to implement, such as having an honors program through Cornell and

credit-bearing courses at Princeton. The second panel, “The Prisonto-College Pipeline,” focused on what happens after people are released from prison, said Emily Esten GS, a first-year public humanities graduate student. During the discussion, participants and panelists noted that some terms, such as recidivism and success, can have complex meanings depending on the context of a college or prison setting. Defining and measuring success based solely on recidivism rates can be one-sided and incomplete, said several panelists. Recidivism is a “very baggy term,” said Baz Dreisinger, founder and academic director of John Jay’s Prison-toCollege Pipeline Program. Success for a former inmate includes “many intangibles that are hard to measure,” Dreisinger said, adding that they conduct case studies to see the larger picture. Speakers also addressed how colleges and universities involve public policy to advance these prison education programs. Christina Dawkins, program manager of the Justice-in-Education program at Columbia, noted that they have been campaigning to reduce aging people in prison and remove “the box” on the Columbia application that one must check if charged with a felony. Dreisinger said that the impact on public policy could be indirect, by producing a “justice army” of people

who can advocate for these programs. The consensus among speakers seemed to be that the University and other similar institutions have not only a role in the prison education movement but also a “duty,” wrote Sarah Cantor, an audience member, in an email to The Herald. Max Kenner, founder and executive director of the Bard Prison Initiative, closed the conference by urging that advocates should keep whom they are serving, not where they are serving, as the focus of their efforts in the prison education movement. “Assume ambition and capacity, not being formerly incarcerated,” Kenner said. “We shouldn’t be in the business of crime prevention but in finding fabulous students.” “The more we focus on the prison, the more the education we provide will be perverted,” he added. Acknowledging the longstanding American belief that education is the route to a better future and freedom, Kenner noted that “some have known it more than others.” At an institution like Brown, he said, it is our “burden” to find students who will take the most advantage of a small amount of opportunity. The conference was co-sponsored by the Royce Family Professorship of Teaching Excellence, the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice and the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion.

Students create healthcare solutions in Hack Health Interdisciplinary Hack Health brings together 90 hackers to collaborate, innovate at inaugural event By HATTIE XU SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Students animatedly discussed ideas in lecture halls, whiteboards overflowed with colorful ink, and groups practiced their product pitches. It wasn’t just an ordinary day at the Warren Alpert Medical School — it was the inaugural run of Hack Health. Hack Health is a hackathon with a mission to “improve healthcare using innovation,” said Alexandra Kaye ’17, one of the co-founders of the event. Though this is its first year, Hack Health has already managed to draw 90 participants from nine schools for the weekend, she said. While most participants were undergraduates, others were medical students or healthcare professionals. A distinctive part of the health hackathon is its interdisciplinary nature, said Elaina Wang ’17 MD’21, a former Herald senior staff writer and co-founder of the event. From coding to design to policy, many fields are involved in the successful implementation of healthcare, Wang said. Hack Health is a way for the University, which emphasizes collaboration, to “get a conversation started” about improving healthcare, said Tung Nguyen ’17, also a co-founder of the event. All three Hack Health co-founders have participated in health hackathons hosted by other universities, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yale, Kaye said. Though MIT’s hackathons address certain themes, Brown’s Hack Health team decided to let participants tackle any problem they wanted, she said.

“I hope that (the participants) gain a better understanding of healthcare by talking to other people,” Nguyen said. The team invited John Sculley ’61 as the keynote speaker the evening of Sept. 16. He kicked off his presentation with a PowerPoint titled “Purpose-Driven Innovation.” As the former president of PepsiCo and CEO of Apple, Sculley depicted some of his esteemed colleagues — such as Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak — as the embodiments of purpose-driven innovators. Sculley recalled Jobs’ words that ultimately shaped his decision to leave PepsiCo and join the Apple team: “Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to come with me and change the world?” Jobs and Bill Gates, Sculley said, never talked about making money — it was always about making a difference and giving people tools to utilize knowledge and bring ideas to life. In a similar manner, Hack Health participants were tasked with working together to build an idea into a product that would improve healthcare. Some of the main issues that Sculley and the Hack Health co-founders were interested in included the management of chronic care, reduction of healthcare expenditures and increase of overall accessibility to healthcare, Nguyen said. Beginning the morning of Sept. 17, 17 groups brainstormed and developed products with assistance from mentors until the following afternoon. For example, Katharine Jessiman-Ketcham ’18 and her group worked on an app, ReMEMO, that would allow Alzheimer’s patients to record memos and conversation snippets for themselves.

Heidi Meisenkothen, a Hack Health mentor and associate director of the technology ventures office, was responsible for pointing out potential complications with the product. Meisenkothen, who has been a judge or mentor for many innovation competitions across universities, said she enjoys working with the “energy and dynamism of students.” One group proposed software that would give customizable video instructions for post-discharge patient care as a solution to patient non-compliance. Another group worked on health education software that would help children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes learn about lifestyle changes, while a third group brainstormed Solace, an app that would provide suggestions for the alleviation of drug side effects, ranging from cognitive behavioral strategies to natural remedies. Judges at the event included Director of the Center for Biomedical Informatics Neil Sarkar and Robert Greenglass ’07, founder of Waterline Ventures, an “investment firm focused on healthcare technology and technology-enabled services,” according to its website. Sarkar looked for “technological feasibility” of the products as well as direct impact on care, while Greenglass noted that “every company has to be able to make money” and evaluated the viability of the products. Reflecting on their Hack Health experience, the ReMEMO group said that it was “incredible what (they) managed to accomplish in one day” and that while they had a stressful morning putting all the parts together, they were happy with their overall pitch. Sachin Pendse ’17, a member of the group that designed Solace, said that his group did not feel too anxious because they were

COURTESY OF BROWN HACK HEALTH

Former Apple CEO John Sculley ’61 spoke at Hack Health. Sculley, who was the keynote speaker, discussed his decision to leave PepsiCo for Apple. all “there for the learning experience.” The ReMEMO group took first prize in the competition, earning $1,000 for the team. Greenglass said that the judges felt ReMEMO’s pitch was smooth and incorporated all relevant information, while the app seemed fundable and included a variety of viewpoints. Respondr, an app that allows users to alert nearby EpiPen or inhaler carriers in the event of an emergency, won second place. The next runner-up was Decent Exposure, a group that designed three-part hospital gowns that offered more coverage and were customizable, serving as an alternative to the “dehumanizing and depersonalizing” gowns that are currently in use, according to the group’s final presentation. Though some hackathons may

foster a culture that emphasizes productivity over anything else, Hack Health stressed that participants should not sacrifice their health for their creations, Kaye said. The team rented the Alpert Medical School building until 11 p.m. each night, encouraging participants to get some rest before returning the next day. In addition to sleep, the Hack Health team also pushed participants to let loose and have fun by scheduling a surprise dance break Saturday, featuring OJA! Modern African Dance performers who taught the hackers some moves, she said. The Hack Health team is excited to see how the hackathon grows from this initial run, hoping to expand its reach and host even more participants in coming years, Nguyen said.


TODAY

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2016 • PAGE 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

menu

bear hug

SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS

Pizza: Cheese, Pepperoni, Rhode to Italy, Caprese Sorbet Slush JOSIAH’S

BLUE ROOM

Sweet Pepper Chicken Fajita Stir Fry

Turkey Chili, Spinach and Feta Mediterranean Grain Bowl

DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH

DINNER

Fresh Baby Carrots, Chicken Santa Rosa Calzones, Gnocchi, Frosted Brownies

Lemon Sesame Chicken, Seafood Jambalaya, Vegan Ratatouille, African Honey Bread

VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH

DINNER

Hot Roast Beef Slices Au Jus, Vegan Indian Style Chickpeas, Frosted Brownies

Grilled Boneless Pork Chops, Moo Shu Chicken, African Honey Bread

sudoku

ELI WHITE / HERALD

Women’s rugby captain Oksana Goretaya ’17 attempts to break through three Dartmouth players in a match Saturday. Bruno lost its season-opening contest 51-18 to the Big Green, the defending Ivy champions.

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

“We shouldn’t be in the business of crime prevention but in finding fabulous students. ” crossword

— Max Kenner, founder and executive director of the Bard Prison Initiative

See prison on page 4. CORRECTION An article in Friday’s Herald (“Free speech debated for Constitution Day,” Sept. 16) stated that Daniel D’Amico is a visiting professor of political science. In fact, he is the associate director of the Political Theory Project. The Herald regrets the error.

calendar TODAY

SEPTEMBER

S

M

T

W

Th

F

S

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

25

26

27

28

29

30

24

Umbrella Movement: Youth and Activism 9:00 A.M. Nightingale-Brown House

Diana Al-Hadid: Phantom Limb 11:00 A.M. List Art Building

Effective Interviewing 12:00 P.M. Career Lab

Authors Who Cook: Stacy Cogswell 5:00 P.M. Faculty Club

TOMORROW Endnote Basic 12:00 P.M. Rockefeller Library, Hecker Room

Russian Tea 4:00 P.M. Marston Hall

Opening Reception: A Hymn for the Brave 6:00 P.M. John Hay Library

Audition for MF’s A Chorus Line 8:00 P.M. New Dorm A


COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2016

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Comments Re: Free speech debated for Constitution Day, Sept. 16 To use a word that Professor Stanley Fish employed last night to dismiss a student’s comments, the idea that Brown was transformed in the late ’60s by the Admission Office is silly. The good professor would benefit from a little historical knowledge. The major role that Ira Magaziner ’69 and Elliot Maxwell ’68 played in transforming Brown should give Fish pause in arguing that students should play no role in issues concerning university governance. — Ross Cheit, professor of international and public affairs and political science I completely agree! We owe the Open Curriculum almost entirely to a student-led reform movement that made Brown the distinctive place it is today. Indeed, even the actions of the Admission Office in the late 1960s to which Fish referred were, in fact, student-driven. The black student walkout in 1968 was directly responsible for Brown’s first systematic efforts to attract minority students. As a result, the Class of 1973 was the first in Brown’s long history to have a significant number of black students. ­— Kenneth Miller ’70 P’02, professor of biology Social justice advocacy’s encroachment on the autonomy of academic work/teaching/learning is not the same as examples of the student-driven curricular reforms of the 1960s. By conflating the two, a critical distinction that underpins liberal education and democratic society is lost. The good professor above would also ‘benefit from a little historical knowledge,’ by revisiting John Stuart Mill to clarify the distinction. Magaziner and Maxwell’s reforms were consistent with classical principles of freedom of thought and expression. In fact, one could make a compelling argument that the New Curriculum aggressively advanced those principles. Today’s advocacy of safe spaces, policing micro-aggressions, promoting (not analyzing) the veracity of concepts like white supremacy, shouting down speakers and intimidating faculty members and administrators stands in direct opposition to the principles that underpinned Magaziner and Maxwell’s reforms. — Derek Knop ’97 Cheit was NOT trying to establish an equivalence between today’s events and those of the 1960s at Brown. Rather, he clearly pointed out that Fish’s blanket rejection of student activism was an overreach. Cheit and I (and many other faculty members and students) are deeply concerned about the current climate at Brown with respect to free expression and have brought those concerns to the University administration and to the public many times. Cheit is very much on the side of robust free expression on these issues! — Kenneth Miller ’70 P’02, professor of biology

L IO R A M O R HAY I M

comic The Daily Life of Alfonse | Patrick Huang

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Philanthropy comes in many forms To the Editor: I read with interest Daniel Meyer’s Sept. 16 column on Urs Fischer’s “Untitled (Lamp/Bear)” on the Ruth J. Simmons Quadrangle. While I know there has been a difference of views on the big blue bear in the community, I’ve come to appreciate the piece for its unexpected joyousness and for its marvelous siting 150 feet away from the replica of the Marcus Aurelius statue, given to Brown in 1908. The Fischer bear and its dialogue with the classical Roman statue serve to engender discussion both about the work itself and about how art and aesthetics evolve. These are worthy conversations to animate and engage our community. The central point of Mr. Meyer’s argument is that the funds for the loan, all borne by Alexandra and Steven Cohen, would have been better spent in support of financial aid at Brown. What Mr. Meyer’s article fails to mention is that the Cohens are among the University’s most generous benefactors. In fact, their gift of $30 million for undergraduate financial aid, given in 2009 at the depth of the financial crisis, is the second largest gift for financial aid in the University’s history. This extraordinary gift has already benefited hundreds of undergraduates — and is sure to create access to Brown for thousands more in the future. I am proud to celebrate both the bear and the great generosity of the Cohens. Thomas J. Tisch ’76 P’18 Former University chancellor

Find us online! facebook.com/browndailyherald

browndailyherald.com

@the_herald

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

@browndailyherald

youtube.com/browndailyherald

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

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

Submissions: The Brown Daily Herald publishes submissions in the form of op-eds and letters to the editor. Op-eds are typically between 750 and 1000 words, though we will consider submissions between 500 and 1200 words. Letters to the editor should be around 250 words. While letters to the editor respond to an article or column that has appeared in The Herald, op-eds usually prompt new discussions on campus or frame new arguments about current discourse. All submissions to The Herald cannot have been previously published elsewhere (in print or online — including personal blogs and social media), and they must be exclusive to The Herald. Submissions must include no more than two individual authors. If there are more than two original authors, The Herald can acknowledge the authors in a statement at the end of the letter or op-ed, but the byline can only include up to two names. The Herald will not publish submissions authored by groups. The Herald does not publish anonymous submissions. If you feel your circumstances prevent you from submitting an op-ed or letter with your name, please email herald@browndailyherald.com to explain your situation.

Editorial Leadership

Sections

Visuals & Production

Business

Editor-in-Chief Emma Jerzyk

Arts & Culture Editors Rebecca Ellis Jaclyn Torres

Design Editors Sonia Geba Nicola Ho Jessica Yu Assistants: Minah Seo, Christy Leung

General Managers Moniyka Sachar Joshua Tartell

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

News Editors Lauren Aratani Matt Brownsword Elena Weissmann Sports Editors Taneil Ruffin COMMENTARY Opinions Editors Margaret Hu Mili Mitra Lainie Rowland

Photo Editors Head: Eli White Sam Berube Marianna McMurdock Copy Desk Chief Julia Stemmer Illustrations Editor Roland High

Directors Business Dev.: Antonia Alvarez Finance: Neil Wathore Finance: Benjamin Wesner Strategy: Abraham Galindo Sales Managers Gaby Elanbeck Maisie Lynton Ari Shusterman Lizzy Doykan Finance Managers Collections: Reena Zhan Collections: Varun Narayan

You can submit op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com and letters to letters@browndailyherald.com. When you email your submission, please include (1) your full name, (2) an evening or mobile phone number in case your submission is chosen for publication and (3) any affiliation with Brown University or any institution or organization relevant to the content of your submission. Please send in submissions at least 24 hours in advance of your desired publication date. The Herald only publishes submissions while it is in print. The Herald reserves the right to edit all submissions. If your piece is considered for publication, an editor will contact you to discuss potential changes to your submission. Commentary: The editorial is the majority opinion of the editorial page board of The Brown Daily Herald. The editorial viewpoint does not necessarily reflect the views of The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Columns, letters and comics reflect the opinions of their authors only. Corrections: The Brown Daily Herald is committed to providing the Brown University community with the most accurate information possible. Corrections may be submitted up to seven calendar days after publication. Advertising: The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. reserves the right to accept or decline any advertisement at its discretion. The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. is a financially independent, nonprofit media organization bringing you The Brown Daily Herald, BlogDailyHerald and Post- Magazine. The Brown Daily Herald has served the Brown University community daily since 1891. It is published Monday through Friday during the academic year, excluding vacations, once during Commencement and once during Orientation by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Single copy free for each member of the community. Subscription prices: $280 one year daily, $140 one semester daily. Copyright 2016 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved. Periodicals postage paid at Providence, R.I. Postmaster: Please send corrections to P.O. Box 2538, Providence, RI 02906.


COMMENTARY MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2016 • PAGE 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

This is about Tyree King SEAN T. HYLAND op-ed contributor This is about Tyree King, the unarmed black child Columbus, Ohio police killed last week. This is about Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old whose life Cleveland police ended. This is about Korryn Gaines, Sandra Bland, Natasha McKenna and Natisha Anderson. This is about Philando Castile, Freddie Gray, Walter Scott, LaQuan McDonald, Michael Brown and Eric Garner. This is about the 190 black people killed by police in 2016. When I refuse to stand during the national anthem at Saturday’s homecoming game, I will be doing so in solidarity with the athletes — professional and amateur, male and female, youth and adult — who are using their visible yet precarious platforms to resist police brutality and racial oppression. This, the most recent, movement of resistance in sport began when NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat (alone) during the national anthem for the San Francisco 49ers’ first three preseason games. In his responses to the questions that followed, Kaepernick offered a beautiful, powerful and succinct critique of superficial reverence for material objects like the American flag and placed himself alongside the countless unknown names fighting for the same justice: “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.” Kaepernick recognizes that the unique position he occupies allows him to have his voice heard. Brown University’s athletes and students oc-

cupy a similarly privileged position, though to a different degree. Here Noam Chomsky tells us, “Privilege confers opportunity. Opportunity confers responsibility. Responsibility means dedication to questioning and challenging the things imposed on us by structural arrangements based on hierarchy — challenging and doing something about it. To the degree we have privilege, there’s more we can do.” On the importance of student athletes’ actions — Brown and Harvard’s — in particular, Caroline Frank, associate director of the MA program in American studies wrote to me in an email, “Brown and Harvard pro-

the burden her black peers are carrying, an issue in itself. Perhaps most remarkable are the youth and high school athletes standing with their black brothers and sisters by kneeling, in spite of being called racial slurs and receiving death threats. When recently questioned whether the protests would continue as other sports begin their season, the NBA’s Iman Shumpert prophesied, “You best believe I’m going to take me a knee for the anthem.” To those concerned that such action is unpatriotic, I ask: Should American patriotism not be measured by the extent to which its citizens fight

I may disagree with the rationale for their deployment does not mean I can not and do not love and respect those put into harm’s way — I can and frequently do occupy both of those spaces. The term, though, has historically been used by the state as a means to effectively eliminate questions of state action. When the state says, “support our troops,” what it means is, “support our (foreign and domestic) policy.” Once someone does question state policy, he or she is immediately attacked for not “supporting our troops.” In fact, it is unpatriotic and dangerous to blindly support state policy, policy that will unnecessarily put those

When I refuse to stand during the national anthem at Saturday’s homecoming game, I will be doing so in solidarity with the athletes — professional and amateur, male and female, youth and adult — who are using their visible yet precarious platforms to resist police brutality and racial oppression. duce the country’s next generation of leaders, especially the young men and women involved in athletics. It is vitally important that they leave the institution having a broad perspective on their place in our nationwide community. They should know that their action or inaction make(s) an impact beyond their comfortable sphere.” Sept. 1, Kaepernick was joined by teammate Eric Reid, this time taking a knee. Since that time 12 NFL players have followed, kneeling or raising a fist — a salute to John Carlos and Tommie Smith’s protest at the medal ceremony of the 1968 Olympic Games — during the anthem. Athletes all over the country quickly joined them. Sept. 15, soccer player Megan Rapinoe became the first professional athlete to protest during the anthem while wearing a U.S. jersey — Rapinoe is also the only white professional athlete to share

to uphold the ideals put forth in our nation’s founding document? Is it not unpatriotic, then, to oppress and condemn those who do so? I understand the temptation to argue that this is disrespectful to American military personnel. To this, I have two responses. I am sure I am not the only one who sees the irony of espousing ideas of freedom of expression and protest (because of the action of our military), only to then disparage those who choose to exercise that very freedom of expression and protest. At that point you’re not concerned with freedom of expression and protest, generally; you’re only concerned with a certain kind of expression, one that reinforces state authority and your own ideology. Secondly, it is useful to review the history of the phrase “support our troops.” The phrase, I think, is both nefarious and meaningless. That

troops in deadly situations. Recently, many veterans have begun mobilizing to show their support for Kaepernick, recognizing that opposing police brutality and supporting veterans are not mutually exclusive ideas. For a time, #veteransforkaepernick was Twitter’s top trending hashtag. The history of the Star Spangled Banner itself tells us it was not meant to be inclusive of black people — “the hireling or the slave,” as Francis Scott Key (a slave owner himself) put it in his third stanza. Though remarkable and beautiful to watch, the sedition of these athletes is not novel. They are following in the footsteps of giants in a history of athletic subversion, a history that is too great to go into much detail here; though, I would be remiss if I silenced the names of John Carlos and Tommie Smith, Muhammad Ali, Arthur Ashe,

Billie Jean King and Kareem AbdulJabbar. People should find sports journalist Dave Zirin’s book “A People’s History of Sports in the United States” for a full accounting of the hidden history of athletes who used their platform to speak out. Should Brown or Harvard’s players or coaches choose to use their positions of privilege to speak for, and stand with, the voiceless and oppressed, they would be placing themselves among intercollegiate athletics’ own remarkable history of revolt. When, in 2003, basketball player Toni Smith — of Division III’s Manhattanville College — turned her back to the flag during the national anthem, she did so at the beginning of U.S. aggression in Iraq, a time when the line between jingoism and official state religion had become blurred. Smith explained her reasoning, saying, “A lot of people blindly stand up and salute the flag, but I feel that blindly facing the flag hurts more people. There are a lot of inequities in this country, and these are issues that need to be acknowledged.” Sept. 16, Terrence Cutcher’s car broke down in my hometown, Tulsa, Oklahoma. A few minutes later he was dead — shot by police. Crutcher was unarmed; Crutcher was black. As of this writing, it appears he did not break any laws. This is why athletes are refusing to stand for the national anthem. There are bodies in the streets and people getting away with murder. This is why I invite Brown and Harvard’s players, coaches, students and all those concerned with the terrifying disregard for black lives to join, as well.

Sean Hyland GS would like to thank Dave Zirin, sports editor of The Nation, who helped him edit this piece. Hyland can be reached at sean_hyland@brown.edu.

Standing up for liberal education RONAN O’SHEA staff columnist Aug. 24, the American University of Afghanistan was attacked by suspected Taliban militants. I believe the AUAF is the only institution in Afghanistan to operate under the liberal education model. Ambitious young students came to AUAF in search of freedom from the oppressions of violence and censorship. They came to study, discuss and discover in an environment conducive to scholastic excellence, one with space for free exploration and discourse. I came to Brown for these very reasons as well. For me, this violent act hit at what I value most as a student of our university. I am outraged to know that the sanctity of the liberal model was shattered for our brothers and sisters in Kabul. This attack should serve as a reminder that throughout the world there is hostility against our academic model. Stringent ideologies oppose the freedom on which our University and many others are built. Thus in the wake of this tragedy we, as Brown students, must go

beyond grief and solidarity. If we truly believe in the efficacy of our education, then we must work as tireless advocates. This advocacy does not require rhetoric. Rather, we are to lead by example: producing innovative research, magnificent art and new approaches to societal challenges that move the world forward.

intellectualism around the world. By creating more of these spaces we are multiplying the opportunities for progress. We are laying the foundation for paths toward peace and tolerance, for untold innovations that will improve the lives of millions. Our educational system is built on the premise that subservience to

By showing that profound advances in all fields come when a man is free to commit to what he loves, we are helping to develop forums for passionate intellectualism around the world.

In isolation, our indulgent education, with its emphasis on personal discovery and enjoyment, is a selfish endeavor. Let us then work to create larger meaning. By showing that profound advances in all fields come when a man is free to commit to what he loves, we are helping to develop forums for passionate

any particular doctrine is inadequate. Authoritarian forces think otherwise, but we have the tools to change minds, to show that the space for intelligent discourse, so sacred at our University, is necessary for prosperity. The logical next step for AUAF would be greater fortification and greater separation

from the city. Can this result in anything but escalation? A bigger bomb will blow through a bigger wall. On College Hill the line between the city and the University is blurred. Our symbiotic relationship with the community creates a vibrancy that would be impossible in isolation. I imagine a future for Kabul in which a liberal university no longer needs walls; rather its spirit shines on every street corner. If AUAF and other schools like it are to ultimately succeed in their mission, the communities in which they exist must be accepting of the myriad perspectives that bring life to the institution. Last week, on a summer evening in Washington, D.C., I stood by the banks of the Potomac River as a lucky beneficiary of the freedom this country provides. I trembled beneath the inscription that encircles the inner dome of the Jefferson Memorial. “I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.” Revolution does not begin with a bullet. First, there is an idea. Take up the oath, my friends.

Ronan O’Shea ’19 can be reached at ronan_oshea@brown.edu.


NEWS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2016


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Monday, September 19, 2016 by The Brown Daily Herald - Issuu