Tuesday, October 25, 2016

SINCE 1891

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2016

VOLUME CLI, ISSUE 92

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CAPS unveils mental health screening site, online quizzes New website helps students evaluate potential problems, which may spike amid midterms By MALCOLM NASH CONTRIBUTING WRITER

COURTESY OF SCOTT WARREN

Scott Warren ’09 will serve as the Social Entrepreneur in Residence and Taubman Fellow this spring. As part of the residence, Warren will advise students interested in social innovation and teach a course that will highlight the importance of activism in local communities.

Alum named Social Entrepreneur in Residence Warren ’09 selected for semester-long residency program through Swearer Center, Taubman Center By STEPHANIE REYES CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Scott Warren ’09, social entrepreneur and co-founder of the nonprofit Generation Citizen, has been chosen as the Spring 2017 Taubman Fellow and Social Entrepreneur in Residence, a “semesterlong residency program for experienced social change leaders,” according to the

University’s website. The position resulted from collaboration between the Swearer Center for Public Service and Taubman Center for Public Policy, the website also states. Alan Harlam, director of innovation and social entrepreneurship at the Swearer Center, said the entrepreneurin-residence program is designed to “bring the practice of social innovation

to the campus both in the classroom (and) also in the mentoring of entrepreneurs through the Social Innovation Fellowship,” a program that supports and funds student innovation initiatives, he said. During his senior year, Warren cofounded Generation Citizen with Anna Ninan ’09. The nonprofit aims to encourage youth participation in politics and continues to operate on campus as a student group. The club’s mission is “to go into

under-resourced public schools and provide direct service to the students that we work with,” said Sydney Menzin ’17, chapter executive director of Generation Citizen at Brown. “Ultimately, the program focuses on building leadership and advocacy skills of these youth to empower them to create change on their own.” Harlam worked closely with Warren in developing the nonprofit during his time as a student. Following Warren’s » See WARREN, page 3

This semester, Counseling and Psychological Services introduced an anonymous online self-screening tool for students to evaluate their mental health. Students can take one of several quizzes to determine if they should seek help for any mental health concerns. The quizzes cover a range of issues, such as depression, eating disorders, substance or alcohol use, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and bipolar disorder. The design is meant to be easy to access, simple to use and helpful in referring users to the resources available at CAPS, said CAPS Interim Co-Director Allyson Brathwaite-Gardner. “Students who use it will be more aware of the state of their mental health — hopefully sooner than when they are in crisis,” she said. To start the screening, users select a statement that fits their recent thoughts or behaviors and answer a » See CAPS, page 3

Grad students navigate Professors face rigorous promotion process imperfect advising system Faculty members must Doctoral students face difficulty switching advisors, providing anonymous feedback By ISABEL GENSLER SENIOR STAFF WRITER

While the University has boosted its attention to the undergraduate advising system in recent years, advising is even more central to the academic experiences of PhD candidates. As the University looks to grow graduate programs across the disciplinary spectrum, it may have to devote additional attention to advising, which plays a major role in doctoral students’ intellectual development and future success but currently lacks a centralized, formal feedback mechanism.

INSIDE

An advisor’s role Though PhD candidates are expected to conduct self-driven, original research projects, most work closely with designated faculty advisors to shape their research and make a name for themselves in their chosen fields. “For the doctoral student, the advisor is a crucial figure, serving as the point person for academic supervision and support,” wrote Dean of the Graduate School Andrew Campbell in an email to The Herald. He added that a “larger network of support includes other members of the dissertation committee and other faculty (members) with whom the student has studied.” “In general, advisors do play a major role in graduate student success,” wrote Aislinn Rowan GS, the president of the Graduate Student » See ADVISING, page 2

excel in classroom, produce top research to achieve full professorship By KAYLI WREN STAFF WRITER

As the University aims to perfect its faculty pipeline and diversify the faculty to match the diversity of the student body, most faculty members find the process of becoming a full professor easily navigable. Promotion from associate professor to full professor is a three- to four-month process that involves a long chain of decision-making, according to Kevin McLaughlin P’12, dean of the faculty. Recognition is one of the main benefits of becoming a full professor, said Timothy Herbert, professor of earth, environmental and planetary

sciences. “It’s not that it provides incentive because I think that most of us do what we do because we love it,” he added. But the position of full professor provides faculty members with a goal after tenure, he said. Being a full professor comes with prestige, McLaughlin said. “Full professors are recognized as being the leaders in their field,” he added. “It’s impossible to overestimate the importance of prestige and the kind of cultural capital it gives a faculty member to be a full professor.” Most professors will strive for full professor status after achieving associate and tenure, said Andrew Scherer, associate professor of anthropology and of archaeology and the ancient world. “You briefly bask in the glory of tenure, and then you immediately think to the next step,” Scherer said. The timeline for an associate » See PROFESSORS, page 2

DOROTHY WINDHAM / HERALD

WEATHER

TUESDAY, OC TOBER 25, 2016

NEWS MPCs host workshop on sexism, highlighting struggles of marginalized ‘womxn’

NEWS BearShare encourages students, alums to share University social media posts on own networks

COMMENTARY Liang ’19: Grad students should be afforded their own spaces to encourage community building

COMMENTARY Vilsan ’19: Comedic political commentary should not replace objective journalism

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»ADVISING, from page 1 Council, in an email to The Herald. Advisors may encourage students to continue with research when faced with obstacles and help them develop critical thinking and experimental planning skills, as well as give advice on career aspirations and provide professional connections for students in a certain field, Rowan added. Others described the influence advisors wield over their doctoral advisees’ work and ultimate success in starker terms. “An advisor is a benevolent dictator because you depend on their whims to succeed, and they do have the power to really (mess) up a grad student’s opportunities,” said Sean Monahan GS, a PhD candidate in political science. For Monahan, the relationship between graduate student and advisor is one of “arbitrary authority that has a very heavy personal element, which isn’t a problem when the advisors are good people.” Advisors “play a huge role in intellectual development and career prospects,” said Ryan Emanaker GS, another PhD candidate in political science. The success of graduate students in earning their doctorates is “almost entirely dependent on you pleasing your committee led by your advisor,” Emanaker said. Monahan and Emanaker compared the advisor system to a “feudal guild structure.” In antiquity, most

» PROFESSORS, from page 1 professor is not entirely clear-cut, Herbert said. “There is no exact clock for full professors, which makes it a little ambiguous,” Herbert said, adding that associate professors usually teach for six to eight years before going up for full. When a faculty member requests to be reviewed for promotion, a promotion committee compiles a dossier for the candidate. The dossier includes class materials, teaching reviews, a record of the candidate’s service activities and at least eight letters written by outside experts that review the candidate’s work. These letters can be a frustrating part of the process because candidates are not given the names of their letter

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

professions were governed by guilds, and Monahan equated the life of a PhD candidate to that of an apprentice who is “subject to a master as (they) go through the pipeline and learn the secrets of the trade,” Monahan said. For master’s students, the relationship with an advisor much more closely resembles that of undergraduates and their advisors, said Andrew Jones GS, a former Herald science and research editor and a master’s student in computer science. Jones said his advisor must approve his course schedule but does not conduct research with him. “I’m not interacting with my advisor everyday like a PhD student; it’s more a meeting once or twice a semester to go over classes,” Jones said.

to improve practices and mechanisms for students to provide feedback on these relationships,” Campbell wrote. For example, Campbell plans to use the new graduate student newsletter to “remind students that they have multiple avenues through which to give feedback, and that we will solicit ideas from them to make the process better.”

Providing feedback The graduate student handbook outlines mechanisms to provide feedback on advisors. Graduate students are advised to provide feedback to their department or program’s director of graduate studies, who is “the faculty member responsible for overseeing graduate training in each graduate program or department,” Campbell wrote. Graduate students may take several different routes when experiencing a strained relationship with an advisor. They can speak directly to their advisor or to a mentor from the Brown Graduate Resources for Improving Professional Structures, a

new peer resource group for master’s and PhD students. Additionally, they can go to the University Ombuds Office, which “provides an independent, confidential, neutral and informal resource” for graduate students who have concerns about their studies at Brown, according to the office’s website. Graduate students are also able to provide feedback on training, advising, mentoring and professional development through the graduate climate surveys conducted on an annual basis by the Office of Institutional Research, Campbell wrote. “We don’t have a formal feedback mechanism because it would be almost impossible to be anonymous” due to the small number of graduate students that each faculty member advises, Rowan wrote. For example, Rowan’s principal investigator’s lab only has two graduate students. Graduate students may also raise serious concerns to a program director or department head, who would “typically keep this information anonymous if asked,” Rowan wrote. “I would say I’m not fully informed on what’s in place to provide anonymous feedback,” Jones said in terms of the computer science department’s system. Emanaker and Monahan were also not aware of any method to provide feedback about advisors in political science. “This is a new Graduate School administration, and we will be working

Selecting and switching It is possible to switch advisors within a department. “At the request of the student, Graduate School deans can work with their programs to advocate for students who are exploring taking on a new advisor or can advise students and provide a sounding board and offer support,” Campbell wrote. Advisor switches may happen when there is a change in topic or interests, an advisor leaves the institution or “there is a poor match or there is an even better faculty match available.” In the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, it is possible to switch laboratories if there is an issue, though it is rather uncommon, Rowan wrote. These switches are not always due to irresolvable problems with an advisor but instead may be due to problems involving research. Departments use different methods to match graduate students up with advisors. Emanaker said he chose to pursue graduate studies at Brown in order to

work with his selected advisor, but other students may not select an advisor until their second year. “It is helpful to be clear about who you want to work with on your application,” Emanaker said. When applying to be a graduate student in the political science department, applicants indicate what subfield they hope to pursue, and faculty members decide on their acceptance into that specific subfield. “At a bigger university, there would be three or four faculty members to pick from, but in our department, there is only one or no faculty member” who specializes in the field of study a graduate student may want to pursue, said Maria Florencia Chiaramonte GS, a second-year PhD candidate in Hispanic studies. In Hispanic studies, graduate students pick their advisors based on what regions and time periods of Hispanic literature about which they intend to write their dissertations. The process is carried out during a student’s second or third year. In the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, students do eight- to 10-week rotations in three different laboratories to “get a feel for the environment and the research being done in the laboratories of interest,” Rowan wrote. This system helps to “uncover any potential advisor-advisee problems before a student commits to a laboratory,” Rowan wrote.

writers, McLaughlin said, adding that it can be “uncomfortable” and “unpleasant” for candidates to not know who is reviewing their research and merit. The external letters are the most detailed scholarly assessment of a professor’s work, yet they are kept private within the promotional process, said Deak Nabers, associate professor of English. “That feels a little goofy sometimes,” Nabers said, as such rigorous reviews could help professors improve their work. Using the assembled dossier, the candidate’s department votes on their eligibility for promotion, and the case is then passed on to the Tenure, Promotion and Appointments Committee, which is chaired by Professor of Biology Judith Bender.

After the TPAC votes, the promotion case moves on to the provost, who reviews the TPAC’s recommendation and makes a final decision. This decision is reported to the president and nearly always accepted, at which point it will be officially approved and published. The University’s standards for promotion reflect those of its peer institutions, McLaughlin said, but the specific criteria for promotion vary from department to department. During the process of promotion, an associate professor is examined for “a combination of scholarship, teaching and service,” Herbert said. Candidates are expected to excel in the classroom, be independent, productive scholars and give back to the community through service within or

outside the university, Herbert said. Scherer said he expects his application process for full professorship to be just as “fair and transparent” as his experience with getting tenure. As long as he conducts research and scholarship that is nationally recognized as significant, he doesn’t predict “any major hurdles.” The process was clear and easy, said Shouheng Sun, professor of chemistry and engineering. “If you are productive in research and your teaching is excellent, it will all go very smoothly,” Sun added. “You just do the same thing you were doing before you were an associate professor,” said Anna Aizer, professor of economics. “You have to continue to publish interesting and important work that’s brought impact.” “I think that faculty of color and women face some unique challenges in getting to the next stage,” said Rolland Murray, associate professor of English. “There is a different expectation in terms of service because there are fewer minority and women faculty” members who are then asked to support underrepresented populations on campus, provide representation on committees and do more service to search for other historically underrepresented faculty members, he added. “Willingly and rightly they serve. … But nevertheless, you take on a different responsibility than perhaps some of your white colleagues in a similar rank,” Murray said. Such service puts a different kind of burden on the promotion process for faculty members of color. The additional responsibilities slow

professors down in their progress toward promotion because of the time and work they require, Murray said. “The University is sensitive to these issues and has taken steps to try not to overburden people with these kinds of responsibilities, but I think it’s a structural problem.” The Committee on Faculty Equity and Diversity is responsible for reviewing the University’s process of promotion every year, McLaughlin said. The CFED looks for possible errors and discrimination in the process, especially in the cases of faculty members from historically underrepresented groups. McLaughlin reports to the committee “about promotions, how many associate professors we have, how long they have been in rank (and) what … the demographic composition of that group (is),” he said. The University could also avoid discrimination by looking at faculty members who have been associate professors for a long time without being considered for promotion, Herbert said. This was the case for Aizer, who said the promotion committee was “proactive” in her promotion. The economics department has made significant improvement in its faculty’s gender diversity in the past years, Aizer added. The same is true of the English department, whose faculty is much more evenly split between men and women now than 37 years ago, according to Mutlu Blasing, professor of English, who joined the department in 1979. The process of becoming a full professor involves establishing yourself, and that applies to everyone regardless of gender, Blasing said.

Politics meets Sketch Comedy and Side-Splitting Fiction Satirical election-related skits performed by The Skorts at 6 pm A reading from the hilarious and prescient short story, “A Political Fable” by Brown Professor Emeritus Robert Coover at 6:30 pm

Wednesday, 26 October 2016 Leung Family Gallery Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center 75 Waterman Street, Providence with webcast at www.brown.edu/web/livestream/

Taking this election to a logical extreme Sponsored by Literary Arts at Brown University

Follow Sports! twitter.com/bdh_sports

NEWS

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2016 • PAGE 3

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MPC workshop ‘Ain’t I a Womxn’ covers intersectional sexism Facilitators discuss ways in which marginalized womxn experience discrimination By MIA PATTILLO STAFF WRITER

Minority Peer Counselors held their first workshop on sexism this semester titled “Ain’t I A Womxn? Women, Redefined” in Petteruti Lounge Monday night. The workshop, facilitated by MPCs Maryam Ahmad ’19, Shanzé Tahir ’19, Salina Tesfay ’19, Terrell Palmer ’19 and Julie Pham ’19, aimed to examine sexism within our society and support the resilience of womxn’s marginalized voices. The alternate spelling, womxn, for “women” and “woman” is trans-inclusive, in contrast to the alternate spellings “womyn” and “wombyn,” which is rooted in transphobia, though both alternate spellings are aimed at avoiding patriarchal suffixes, the facilitators said. The facilitators began by defining sexism as “a system of oppression that devalues womxnhood and femininity to privilege men and masculinity” and explained how cissexism devalues many people who identify with femininity. Following a roadmap of the womxn’s “body, hands, mind and soul,” the facilitators guided the audience through various forms of oppression faced by womxn. They also underscored the additional layers of challenges faced by womxn of color and trans womxn. The “body” section of the presentation centered on the politicization and policing of womxn’s bodies. “Politicization refers to the ways in which the media, popular culture and political authorities use womxn’s bodies as tools to further political or ideological agendas,” Tesfay said. The Burkini Ban in France was used as a case study for how Muslim womxn’s bodies are politicized. It also served as a basis for the presenters’ definition of intersectionality, which they referred to as the way that sexism and other systems of oppression can be compounded by unique configurations of various facets of identity such as gender, nationality, ability, sexuality and racial identity.

» WARREN, from page 1 success in expanding the club beyond Brown, Harlam, along with the Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship Initiative at the Swearer Center, became determined to bring Warren back to campus. “We were excited about the way in which Generation Citizen has been approaching teaching civics in an innovative way (and) the way they feel civics is crucial to the future of the democracy,” Harlam said. Warren credited his upbringing with the initial idea for his nonprofit. “I grew up around the world so I saw a lot of merging democracies in action, whether it was in Kenya or Latin America,” Warren said. “That convinced me of the power and potential positivity of politics.” Though he described difficulties in balancing both Generation Citizen and schoolwork during his time as an undergraduate, Warren praised the support he received from University affiliates such as Harlam.

GUS REED / HERALD

Minority Peer Counselor workshop moderators Salina Tesfay ’19, Maryam Ahmad ’19, Julie Pham ’19, Shanzé Tahir ’19 and Terrell Palmer ’19 lead a workshop titled “Ain’t I A Womxn? Women, Redefined: An MPC Workshop on Sexism.” In American society, trans womxn’s bodies are dehumanized “to the point where politicians feel entitled to make laws determining which bathrooms trans womxn can or can’t use,” Ahmad said. The facilitators also focused on the way black womxn’s bodies are policed. They quoted Moya Bailey, a black queer feminist, who coined the term “misogynoir” to describe “the intersection of racism, anti-blackness and misogyny that black womxn and femme-identifying (people) experience.” The “hands” section of the presentation examined the work of womxn and how the successes of womxn are often attributed to men. These successes often go unrecognized or uncompensated, especially for womxn of color. Chien-Shiung Wu and Simone Biles were given as two examples of womxn of color who were devalued despite their successes. Wu was a Chinese physicist whose contributions helped two male theoretical physicists win a Nobel Prize without any acknowledgment

of her help. Simon Biles, an Olympic gymnast, is often referred to as “the Kobe Bryant of gymnastics.” “These examples depict how womxn of color achievements are often only validated when compared to men’s accomplishments,” Tesfay said. In addition to this erasure of accomplishments, womxn often have to take on emotional labor as well. “Emotional labor is providing emotional support and empathy without reciprocation or acknowledgement and disproportionally falls to womxn, especially womxn of color,” Tesfay said. This concept is based on stereotypes, such as that womxn are “weak” and should stick to household labor. The third section, “mind,” focused on the mental health of womxn of color. The facilitators showcased the evocative art of Kristy Latoya Peters, a black painter, whose art reflects her own mental health experiences as a black womxn and serves as a form of activism. In a group discussion, audience

members pointed out ways in which certain groups of womxn could be barred from access to help for mental health. This includes stigma about seeking mental assistance and the challenge of affording mental health care. Womxn often face difficulties while navigating emotions in the public sphere, the facilitators said. Michelle Obama was given as an example of someone who has wondered about appearing too loud or angry as a womxn. “Michelle Obama’s experience is a manifestation of the difficulty many womxn of color face when navigating their emotions and being forced to internally police themselves,” Tahir said. The final section, “soul,” examined the resilience of womxn and re-evaluated common ideas of resistance. Mainstream feminism portrays empowered womxn as being tough, not shaving and not wearing makeup as a means of rebelling against patriarchial ideas of femininity, the facilitators said. But this representation fails to account for many womxn who shave and wear

makeup for reasons other than for men. “Trans womxn, especially trans womxn of color, face disproportionate amounts of violence. As a result, for some trans womxn, makeup and shaving can be a means of passing and avoiding harassment and violence,” Palmer said. The facilitators then showcased various forms of resistance and resilience against racism and sexism. One form is womanism, which “identifies and critically analyzes sexism, anti-black racism and their intersection,” Tahir said. It especially recognizes the beauty and strength of black womanhood. They then showed an image of the 1968 Pembroke Walkout as another form of resistance. “Brown University womxn left campus in protest of a lack of institutional support for black students,” Pham said. “This illustrates the legacy of activism among black womxn on Brown’s campus and how black womxn are often at the head of movements that impact the entire black community.”

“One of the great things about Brown, although a cliché, is that it is what you make of it. I learned a tremendous amount from my classes but also a tremendous amount from engaging in this type of work,” Warren said. “I’m grateful that Brown provides the type of platform where (nonprofit development) is possible.” As part of his role as the Entrepreneur in Residence and Taubman Fellow, Warren will be teaching a course next semester. Warren said he hopes to highlight the salience of locally oriented and community-based activism. “Generation Citizen forced me to think, that I’m hoping will get through in the class, about what it means to be a Brown student — in Providence, in the state of Rhode Island,” he said. “The most powerful story of Generation Citizen is to continue to engage with the community,” Warren said in support of local activism. “Brown students can’t solve all the problems in Rhode Island, but there’s a lot of people and organizations working to solve those challenges.”

» CAPS, from page 1

help in understanding the state of their mental health. “There’s been a lot of research that shows that a person’s mental health affects their ability to concentrate and thrive academically,” Twitchell said. Before the mental health screening website, the University offered a general online self-evaluator produced by ULifeline, an organization that provides mental health resources online to universities around the country. The mental health community council, comprised of both students and faculty members, did research on mental health screening tools and helped determine the potential features of the new website. The council structured the website to be “more friendly and easier to use” than ULifeline’s evaluator and proposed it last fall, Twitchell said. “Sometimes it can be intimidating

and hard for people to get an appointment with CAPS,” said Vandhana Ravi ’18, student researcher at Health Services. “If that seems like a scary step, then this is a way for a student to help themselves in an easy anonymous way.” The anonymous component may help some students concerned about stigma surrounding mental health take the first step in addressing potential difficulties. “It’s important for everyone to check in on their mental health even though, unfortunately, doing that is looked down upon or stigmatized,” Ravi said. Over time, CAPS will be able to use the website to track trends in students’ mental health and understand how resources need to be aligned with students’ needs, Brathwaite-Gardner said.

short set of questions about themselves and their feelings. The website then gives possible explanations for their thoughts and behaviors before providing information to assist them in seeking help, though the results are meant to be educational instead of diagnostic, said CAPS Interim CoDirector Jackie Twitchell. Since the tool was launched, about 30 students have taken an online evaluation each week, but as many as 200 students have used the online evaluation in a single week, BrathwaiteGardner said. The number fluctuates as more students discover the resource and as different stressors factor into students’ own perceptions of their mental health. Midterm season, now in full swing, tends to induce more students to seek

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NEWS

PAGE 4 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2016

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Higher Ed Roundup BY LAUREN ARATANI, NEWS EDITOR

Harvard Dining Services strike heats up as it continues into third week About 1,000 employees, students and supporters from all around New England rallied and marched from Cambridge Common to Cambridge City Hall Oct. 22 in support of the Harvard University Dining Services employee strike, according to the Harvard Crimson. Negotiations between Harvard and UNITE HERE Local 26 — the union representing HUDS employees — will soon enter their third week, though there are “hopeful signs of progress” after a negotiation session between the union and administration, wrote Sheila Thimba, dean for administration and finance, in an email to Harvard faculty deans Oct. 20. Unionized HUDS employees have been specifically fighting for an increase in minimum salary and continued health benefits, the Crimson reported. So far, the union has denied suggested changes to health benefits and demanded that the administration offer HUDS employees year-round work at an annual minimum salary of $35,000. Since the strike started Oct. 5, several dining halls have been shut down, forcing the administration to turn to temporary workers and volunteers to run the rest of the available dining halls, according to the Crimson. The administration has even given a “one-time value of $25 to students’ Crimson Cash and BoardPlus accounts” to use in offcampus eating establishments that accept Crimson Cash. “I serve the people who created Obamacare, people who treat epidemics and devise ways to make the world healthier and more humane. But I can’t afford the health care plan Harvard wants us to accept,” wrote Rosa Ines Rivera, who has worked for HUDS for 17 years, in an op-ed titled “Struggling to Serve at the Nation’s Richest University” published in the New York Times Monday. Even though Harvard wields a $35 billion endowment, the typical salary for a HUDS employee is $31,193 a year, Rivera wrote.

Florida colleges and universities to offer more online courses The Board of Governors for the State University System of Florida recently announced that it aims to have 40 percent of undergraduate credit hours be obtained through online courses by 2025, according to the Sun Sentinel. Students within the state’s public college and university system already have the option to take online-only courses for credit, but the courses can be more expensive than taking traditional classes on campus. For example, a student taking an online course for credit at the University of North Florida pays about $729 compared to $639 for a student taking the class on campus, according to the Sentinel. Other universities within the system, such as the University of Florida and Florida State University, have legislative mandates that require online classes to be cheaper than in-person classes for students exclusively taking courses on the web. With the transition, the State University System of Florida is hoping to offer not only more online courses but also “tuition breaks” for students who take online courses. A report from the Board of Governors also shows that students who take online classes tend to graduate earlier. “Many students work and go to school full time, and they should not be penalized for choosing to take online classes, which can be more convenient than driving to campus,” Florida Gov. Rick Scott said at an education summit in May, the Sentinel reported.

Conservative legal scholars write statement arguing against Trump A group of 29 conservative legal scholars — including over a dozen law professors — who “are committed to the original meaning of the Constitution of the United States” released a petition against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump titled “Originalists Against Trump” Oct. 17, according to the Washington Post. Though Trump has tried to convince “reluctant conservatives” to support his campaign with his Supreme Court nominations, the originalists are still not convinced, the Post reported. While many of Trump’s supporters believe that the presidential nominee will uphold the Constitution, his actions during his campaign and business career show that he has been “indifferent or hostile” toward the laws in the Constitution, according to the petition. “Whatever reasons there might be to support Donald Trump, the Constitution is not among them,” the scholars wrote in the petition. “We call on (Americans), through their voices and their ballots, to deny the executive power of the United States to a man as unfit to wield it as Donald Trump.” Despite their stance against Trump, the scholars were adamant about the Constitution’s ability to avoid any harm from a single administration. “Originalism has faced setbacks before; it has recovered. Whoever wins in November, it will do so again.”

COURTESY OF BROWN UNIVERSITY

The Brown Annual Fund and Alumni Relations partnered to launch BearShare. The program awards points to alums, students and members of the Brown community for social media posts they share or interact with.

BearShare connects alums to campus life Incentive-based program encourages Brown community members to share U. social media By MELISSA CRUZ SENIOR STAFF WRITER

In an effort to engage and connect the Brown community through social media, the Alumni Relations Office and the Brown Annual Fund launched BearShare, an incentive-driven program to share Brown’s various social media posts. The program, which launched this past April, boasts about 200 ambassadors today, said Allison Bryant, innovation coordinator for the Brown Annual Fund’s direct marketing and participation team and member of the managing team for BearShare. Ambassadors are members of the Brown community, most of whom are alums, who share and interact with posts on their personal social media accounts and earn points for each interaction. Earned points go toward prizes, like a thank-you call from a student or a gift pack including Brown merchandise. Members of the Brown community can become ambassadors by signing up for the program online. Then, BearShare sends news blasts to ambassadors

with easy share options. This saves people the extra step of having to copy and paste an interesting piece of news from the University’s website, writing a description for it and then posting it on their social network accounts, Bryant said. Marguerite Joutz ’15, assistant to the president for student affairs and special projects, also said she believes BearShare has made the process of sharing stories from Brown easier because rather than scrolling through newsfeeds and chancing upon stories from the University, the stories go straight to ambassadors’ inboxes from a trustworthy source. Some events that have been shared in the past several weeks include the First-Generation and Low-Income Student Center’s opening and the oncampus celebration for Indigenous People’s Day, Bryant said. Stories from the University spread much more easily when circulated by ambassadors through BearShare, Bryant said. Algorithms for popular social media sites, like Facebook, prioritize posts from friends and family above those from institutions, she added. “A lot of the time, we wake up, and one of the first things we do is check our social media networks,” Bryant said. “Social media has changed our ability to connect with people from all over

the world.” For many alums, social media “is a primary form of communication with friends from college,” Bryant said, adding that many active ambassadors were already volunteers for Alumni Relations or the Brown Annual Fund. As undergraduates, students are “tapped into the most pertinent news that touches (their) everyday (lives), like what’s going on with the SciLi, sports or fine arts,” said Daniel Pipkin ’14, co-chair of the Annual Fund’s Young Alumni Leadership Council. But when they graduate, campus life affects them less, he said. For example, most alums cannot pick up a copy of The Herald on their way to the Blue Room anymore but “obviously still care about Brown,” Pipkin said, adding that “it was a place pivotal to (them) at that point in time.” When he shares stories about the University though BearShare, Pipkin is able to offer Brown-related news to his friends who may not be as connected to the Brown community anymore and “make it more present” in their lives, he added. For Joutz, the program is “a great way to stay in touch with what’s happening on campus,” she said. Pipkin agreed that BearShare is “an opportunity to easily share information that makes (him) excited to be a Brown alum.”

TODAY

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2016 • PAGE 5

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menu

lifts for a cure

SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS

Pizza: Pepperoni and Meatball, Bacon Chicken Ranch Chipotle Chicken Tacos JOSIAH’S

BLUE ROOM

Make-Your-Own Quesadillas

Three Bean Chili Chicken Saag

DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH

DINNER

Chicken Noodle Soup, Sloppy Joes, Garlicky Green Beans, French Fries, Brownies

Mahi Tacos with Mango Salsa, Spanish Rice, Steamed Sugar Snap Peas, Magic Bars

VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH

DINNER

Lentil Soup, Chinese Chicken Wings, Sweet and Sour Tofu, Edamame Beans with Peppers

Chicken Curry Saute, Chicken Chimichangas, Mexican Infused Rice, Banana Cream Pie

sudoku

crossword

SARA RUNKEL / HERALD

The football team set up a bench press station on the Main Green Monday to raise money for the Cancer Survivorship Program at Miriam Hospital. Participants were rewarded with donuts on the picturesque fall day.

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

“An advisor is a benevolent dictator.” — Sean Monahan GS

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Art and Climate Activism on the Green 11:30 A.M. Main Green

Financial Aid Information Session 12:00 P.M. J. Walter Wilson, 440

Presidential Faculty Award Lecture with Jesse Shapiro 4:30 P.M. John Carter Brown Library

Better World by Design 2017 Info Session 6:30 P.M. J. Walter Wilson, 302

TOMORROW Meet the New History Faculty 12:00 P.M. J. Walter Wilson, 201

Yale Law School Information Session 12:00 P.M. CareerLAB

Royce Fellowship Information Session 4:00 P.M. Swearer Center

How to Succeed in STEM 6:00 P.M. J. Walter Wilson, 202

COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2016

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Best of BLOG BY ANGELICA COTTO

Brown announces director of race and ethnicity in America In case you were wondering, Brown is just a few short steps away from solving racism in the United States. In what may very well be a cap to the university’s Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, Brown’s directory has named Professor Tricia Rose “Director of Race and Ethnicity in America.” (Not the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America — just Race and Ethnicity in America.) It seems the administration was on a high after the resounding success of Blueno (slash “Untitled (Lamp/Bear)” — whatever) and decided to really bring it home. Is this a pre-release sneak peek of what’s to come for Brown University? I imagine the official announcement about Professor Rose’s new post will take place sometime soon (real shame that Family Weekend missed out on that one) and that the directory was meant to increase hype beforehand. Personally, I cannot wait to see how Professor Rose puts this new power to use. Unless I’m mistaken, I do not believe any one person has ever been afforded so much influence in this particular field — truly an innovative move on the University’s part. Will other positions be doled out? Is there a Deputy Director, or is this more of a lone-ranger deal? I’m certain we’ll learn more soon — hopefully at a tasteful release party (which will almost inevitably be held in a large white tent on Ruth Simmons Quad, because let’s be real: C Pax loves her a good tent). One can only wonder about what other new, groundbreaking (and totally real) positions Brown will announce in the future.

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COMMENTARY TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2016 • PAGE 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Graduate-only spaces are vital for U. success MARK LIANG staff columnist I was struck by Nikhil Kumar’s ’17 recent column disagreeing with the University’s decision to transform a part of the second floor of the Rockefeller Library into a graduate studentonly study center. I was struck by this because, first, I also previously used the space myself as a first-year, and second, I was an undergraduate representative on the Library Advisory Board that approved the change last spring. As a full disclaimer, I can only speak for myself and my own opinions in this response and not those of other members of the board. To begin, I should provide information that, from an undergraduate perspective, the library system has not adequately communicated to the public. The decision to make a cardswiped area was a result of a University-wide survey about the campus and its facilities. One of the leading concerns among graduate students, especially humanities scholars, was the lack of space solely dedicated to them for study and work. Several pointed out that the current setup did not work for them because un-

dergraduates often ignore signs regarding use of dedicated spaces. A good chunk of doctoral students end up forgoing the library system as a study space altogether. This lack of dedicated library space for doctoral students ties in with the overall sentiment Kumar mentions — that the University does not afford its graduate students the same sense of community and solidarity it offers under-

might foster collaboration, as Kumar mentions, was brought up, the explicit needs of the graduate community took precedence. The author’s thought that such a decision created “a fishbowl effect through which undergrads can observe the grad students utilizing the space without the satisfaction of ever stepping inside” is merited. But he should also consider that we have access to dorm loung-

to our campus; the decision of courts to allow graduate students to unionize and instances of entire classes of graduate students quitting their programs are just two examples. Graduate students are, in my mind, some of the greatest assets available to an undergraduate population at a university. They serve as teaching assistants in our classes, fund research and mentor students, all for a wage that would

Pulling doctoral and master’s students out of their offices and department buildings into a central location where undergraduates also gather is the first step toward an integrated community, even if a card-swiped area is necessary to cause that migration.

graduates, especially considering the wide range of study spaces already available to us. The Library Advisory Board, which includes library staff members, faculty members, University administrators and graduate and undergraduate students, discussed this topic at length. And while the fact that leaving the area for mixed use

es, dining spaces, study rooms, gyms, classrooms, practice halls and other facilities that are never available for graduate students. As recent developments have shown, the University has entered a dialogue about the role of graduate students in the collegiate community — financially, socially and academically. This debate is not limited

make any academic cringe. To create the collaboration that Kumar mentions, the first step is to extend basic resources to our graduate community that we as undergraduates take for granted. Anyone can stick a sign somewhere saying a space is now reserved for a group, but a renovation is a more concrete way for us to say that we value and respect them.

Kumar does bring up an important argument regarding whether collaboration is inhibited by designated areas in the library. I would say no. The changing of a space does not destroy the purpose of an entire library, and I would argue that this graduate student-only study center would actually foster collaboration by increasing the number of graduate students in an area where most foot traffic is created by undergraduates. Pulling doctoral and master’s students out of their offices and department buildings into a central location where undergraduates also gather is the first step toward an integrated community, even if a cardswiped area is necessary to cause that migration. The University partitions usage of different areas of its libraries, from the noise levels of the Sciences Library to the card-access areas in the new technology center at the Rock, not because they want to divide us, but because the libraries are in totality a space for everyone. This means we have to have different areas that address different needs. And if graduate students want to work in an area dedicated to them, so be it. At least they’ll come to the Rock now.

Mark Liang ’19 can be reached at mark_liang@brown.edu.

News with a punch line FABIANA VILSAN staff columnist It is virtually impossible for today’s college students to escape political discourse and accompanying impassioned political debate on social media platforms. Peers proudly display their party loyalties on their profile pages and share articles that affirm their views, whether conservative or liberal. But there is a common thread across the aisle. College students on both sides increasingly rely on political satire and commentary rather than traditional news sources to form political opinions. As more and more college students are able to name the hosts of late-night shows on prime-time television than prominent journalists, I can’t help but wonder: Are political comedians threatening objective, investigative journalism? Political commentary and satire fill Facebook and Twitter feeds, garnering millions of likes and views. But these political comedians have become more than entertainment; they have a real impact on people’s perceptions and knowledge about political issues. John Oliver, host of “Last Week Tonight,” has been on record numerous times denying the claim that his job can be likened to that of an investigative journalist. He claims his show is “comedy first and … comedy second.” But it is undeniable that his team conducts thorough investigations and research in order to provide viewers with relevant political commentary. It’s

news with a punch line. In this polarizing election cycle, bias in the news has been a controversial topic. Popular news sources such as CNN have received complaints from Donald Trump supporters that their coverage of the presidential election is too forgiving of Hillary Clinton’s many indiscretions. Trump himself actively promotes the assertion that the mainstream media is out-

is good news for millennial voters. It’s a great way to get young adults engaged in political discourse and excited about their right to express their opinions through voting. But there’s also an increasingly obvious downside to these political entertainment hybrids. Ideally, objective journalism clearly lays out all the facts and allows readers to make informed decisions independent of the jour-

As millennial voters turn away from traditional media outlets and choose to get their political information from comedians-turned-political-commentators, they are essentially cornered into avoiding objectivity, even in the rare cases in which they may have embraced it.

wardly biased and uses its influence to sway the election. To an extent, the traditional news outlets do exhibit individual biases, though they claim objectivity. But late-night show hosts such as Stephen Colbert or Trevor Noah make no promises to be impartial. When you tune in, you know exactly what you’re getting, and you know whether or not it will reaffirm your prior beliefs and opinions. On the one hand, news with a punch line

nalist’s personal beliefs. An informed citizenry relies on voters’ awareness of all candidates’ shortcomings and policy proposals. But as bias seeps into even the mainstream news industry, viewers know that they might as well flip to the entertainment channels instead. As millennial voters turn away from traditional media outlets and choose to get their political information from comedians-turned-political-commentators, they are essentially cor-

nered into avoiding objectivity, even in the rare cases in which they may have embraced it. Watching late-night shows shouldn’t replace investigative journalism in creating a political knowledge base. If we largely listen to the comedians who share our own political opinions (and then reinforce those beliefs with the echo chamber that is Facebook), we’ll likely never have to hear anything we don’t want to. That’s not productive for a thoughtful and engaging democracy. No candidate (particularly in this election cycle) is free of faults, and our forced over-reliance on this type of journalism gives us the dangerous power of selectively choosing which faults to magnify. Using entertainment journalism to cope with the madness in politics isn’t the right way to handle controversy. In this polarizing election cycle, it takes a remarkable amount of restraint to keep one’s mouth shut about the latest political scandals. But objectivity must be protected, and investigative journalism must not be replaced by late-night comedy routines. The media is vital to maintaining a certain amount of transparency and holding our elected officials accountable. Glossing over relevant information for the sake of a comedy sketch is fine — that’s what entertainment is about. It becomes dangerous when this same entertainment replaces journalism itself.

Fabiana Vilsan ’19 can be reached at fabiana_vilsan@brown.edu.

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SPORTS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2016

CREW

Men, women finish strong at Head of Charles Regatta Women’s boats place well in three races, while men fall short of their own lofty expectations By MATT MCKENNA CONTRIBUTING WRITER

More than 11,000 rowers from across the world congregated in Boston this weekend to compete in the 52nd Head of the Charles Regatta. The race, held annually on the Charles River, includes 56 events, with varying age ranges, skill levels and boat sizes. The women’s and men’s crew teams battled not only their competitors — consisting of both familiar collegiate rivals and less familiar rowing clubs — but also winds exceeding 25 miles per hour and conditions that Alia Shafi ’17 said were the worst she had ever seen in her six years racing at the Head of the Charles. Stacy Neul ’19 called the weather “horrendous.” Despite the meteorological adversity, both the men and the women churned out typically strong performances at the race. The women’s top boat grabbed fourth in the Championship Eight event, falling short of the first place finisher, Cambridge Boat Club, by 17 seconds. Bruno boats also thrived in the Club Eights and Championship Fours races, finishing first and second, respectively. Shafi, a member of the women’s best boat in the Championship Eight, said she was pleased with how her boat

COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS

The women’s first varsity boat came in fourth while the men’s first varsity boat finished 10th in the Championship Eight events at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The rowers faced winds of 25 miles per hour and heavy rain, the worst conditions in recent memory. finished but noted her frustration at missing a top-three result. Yale knocked Brown off the podium by the slightest of margins. “It’s always tough to lose by 0.7 seconds,” Shafi said. Neul, coxswain for the women’s Championship Four boat, which finished second to a club from Denmark, was more enthusiastic about the race’s results. “We had a very strong showing against the field,” Neul said. “It was definitely a good weekend.”

The men’s top boat finished 10th out of 26 boats in its Championship Eight race, with the other Bruno boat in the race finishing 18 seconds behind in 17th. In the Club Eights race, Brown’s two boats again finished within a minute of each other, crossing the line at fourth and 17th. Neil McKenzie ’17, the coxswain for Bruno’s top men’s boat in the Championship Eight, was not too pleased with the performance. “We were pretty disappointed,” McKenzie said. “I don’t think we had our best

piece, which is never a great feeling, and I think it shows we have some work to do ahead.” While the Head of the Charles does not count toward the boats’ official records, there is still an exciting atmosphere about the race that pushes rowers to try their hardest, McKenzie said. “But at the same time, it’s a stepping stone for part of our season,” he added. “Obviously we try to do as best as we possibly can.” The Head of the Charles is a head race, which means the boats in any event

do not race side by side but rather start at different times and race against the clock. This style is distinct from Brown’s regular season races, which are head-tohead. Neul noted that while head races are different and more intensive for a coxswain than head-to-head, her boat does not approach head races differently. “But it’s a different mind game for all crews,” she added. While the crew season is months away, Shafi said she hopes her team’s Head of the Charles results are a harbinger of good things to come.

The Presidential Faculty Award Lecture

October 25th, 2016 at 4:30pm John Carter Brown Library George S. and Nancy B. Parker Professor of Economics

Jesse Shapiro will deliver the Presidential Faculty Award Lecture: How to Talk Like a Republican, and Other Lessons From Using Text as Data