Issuu

SINCE 1891

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2016

VOLUME CLI, ISSUE 94

WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM

Ladd Observatory celebrates 125 years Ladd preserved as museum including functioning telescopes, engages with public By BELLA ROBERTS STAFF WRITER

MARIANNA MCMURDOCK / HERALD

Urs Fischer, creator of the controversial “Untitled (Lamp/Bear)” sculpture currently installed on Ruth Simmons Quadrangle, spoke Wednesday about responses to his art, his creative process and art’s role in society.

‘Lamp/Bear’ creator talks philosophy of art Urs Fischer discusses perspective on art’s nature, campus reception of his sculpture By ETHEL RENIA STAFF WRITER

Urs Fischer’s “Untitled (Lamp/Bear),” a multi-story blue teddy bear sculpture, made waves this summer when it materialized on Ruth Simmons Quadrangle. But when Fischer spoke in

ARTS & CULTURE

Salomon Hall Wednesday his imposing installation played sideshow to a talk that centered on art itself and its reception. “I really thought it would be a lot about the bear, and it wasn’t really,” said Jeremy Joachim ’17. “It was a lot about (Fischer’s) ideas on art’s purpose and his own purpose.” “Individual artwork can resonate in your mind,” Fischer said. “And art is our collective memory.” Fischer explained how viewers look upon an artwork through their own lenses and narratives and asserted that each individual memory of specific art pieces contributes to the “living organism” that is art.

Fischer went on to note that people “like to shrink artwork to monetary values: We like the control.” “But art can’t be talked about in terms of being — only in terms of becoming,” he said. In this way, art cannot and should not be controlled. Though a large portion of the lecture covered abstract musings on art and its role in society, Fischer also gave the audience a look at his other works. According to Jo-Ann Conklin, director of the David Winton Bell Gallery, there are two important facts about Fischer’s work. The first relates » See LAMP/BEAR, page 3

The Ladd Observatory — a Providence landmark for both Rhode Island locals and students alike — celebrated its 125th anniversary this month. The Ladd staff celebrated the anniversary with a series of lectures and viewings over the weekend. The Ladd opened Oct. 21, 1891 and now offers both weekly public viewings and student research opportunities. It allows the University to engage with the public and an array of campus community members, said Michael Umbricht, observatory curator. “Almost every time I work there, there will be someone new visiting and discovering this is here,” said Joseph Fischera ’17, who works at the Ladd. The Ladd is operated as a working museum to preserve its long history. The observatory is “one of the few in the world” that still looks like it did in the 1890s, said Robert Horton, the manager of the Ladd and other astronomical laboratories. The Ladd “is more of a time capsule, so people can experience for themselves how

astronomers worked and operated 100 years ago.” “It is essentially exactly how it was built; it has a historical teaching role that will carry on for centuries. The lenses are just as good as they were in the 1890s, so the views are still the same, and it’s still a fantastic place,” said Ian Dell’Antonio, professor of physics. The Ladd has multiple telescopes: a general one from the 1890s, one for timekeeping and new portable telescopes. The main telescope is still made completely from its original parts, including a 12-inch lens refracting telescope. “Rather than electric motors, we have a weight-driven drive. We actually wind it up,” Dell’Antonio said. “Once you point it at the sky, the telescope will track the object.” Originally, the Ladd was built as the “official timekeeping station for the city of Providence,” Horton said. “We would make observations of the stars and then make sure the pendulum clocks would synchronize. … Then we had telegram letters that ran from that to other parts of the city that would cause their clocks to be synchronized to ours,” Umbricht said. In the future, the Ladd will aim to continue attracting both students and locals. “We are sort of the face of the » See LADD, page 3

Prof works to develop SAPE introduces new curriculum interactive robotic assistant Sexual assault peer Tellex, team focus on training robots to integrate language, perception, action

By JONATHAN DOUGLAS STAFF WRITER

While interactive robots have been popularized by science fiction over the past century, Assistant Professor of Computer Science Stefanie Tellex and her research group are working to make them a reality. By focusing on robotic language, perception and action, Tellex hopes to create a robot that can assist humans in both simple and complex tasks. The group mainly works with three Baxter model robots from Rethink Robotics, as well as a virtual reality system, a PR2 robot from Willow Garage and a variety of other equipment. Buying the robots as opposed to building them allows

INSIDE

research groups across the country to work on the same platform, said David Whitney GS. The price of robots has been cut more than tenfold over the last seven or so years, he added. Using these robots, each of Tellex’s three PhD candidates — assisted by undergraduates — focuses on one of three main areas: language, action and perception. Whitney trains robots to understand natural language and move according to commands, while Nakul Gopalan GS focuses on perception, which includes a robot’s ability to recognize and navigate an environment. Specifically, Gopalan uses machine learning techniques to train robots to identify objects. John Oberlin GS focuses on robotic action and the manipulation of objects. Using machine learning techniques and multiple cameras, Oberlin is enabling robots to recognize and pick up objects in various conditions. » See ROBOTS, page 2

educators reorient lessons around rape culture, environment at Brown By ROSE SHEEHAN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Molly Sandstrom ’17 and Ryan Anderson ’18, lead peer educators for the Sexual Assault Peer Education program, outlined their organization’s new training curriculum at the Undergraduate Council of Students meeting Wednesday. Beginning this academic year, SAPE stopped using the University of New Hampshire’s 90-minute-long Bringing in the Bystander model in its presentations to campus communities and began following a two-hour-long curriculum created this summer, according to Sandstrom, one of the new curriculum’s primary designers. The new model divides SAPE presentations into five sections — norms and values, power, risk factors,

NAOMY PEDROZA / HERALD

At the UCS meeting Wednesday, Sexual Assault Peer Educators proposed an alternative lesson to the previous Bringing in the Bystander program. response and moving forward and skills — and allows student groups to choose different areas in each of

these sections that they want SAPE to focus on during their presentation, » See CURRICULUM, page 2

WEATHER

THURSDAY, OC TOBER 27, 2016

ARTS & CULTURE Literary arts professor notes similarities between his 1968 satirical story, current election

ARTS & CULTURE Eric Axelman ’12.5 looks to launch career with release of rap, hip hop debut album Friday

COMMENTARY Ahmed MD’17: In midst of polarizing election, Jeff Johnson offers independent alternative

COMMENTARY Savello ’18: Eight-semester requirement beneficial but U. should drop tuition obligation

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NEWS

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» ROBOTS, from page 1 Tellex recently gave a talk at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology explaining how the team has adapted the robots’ program to adjust for various amounts of light. While each PhD candidate specializes in a unique area, there is a great degree of collaboration among them, Tellex said. Everyone draws upon techniques and methods from each other, she added. For example, Whitney and Oberlin, along with others, collaborated to integrate natural language commands with actions. Tellex’s group is working on a number of smaller projects as well. Josh Roy ’19 and Izzy Brand ’19 are working on robotic quadcopters, an area of future focus for the group, Tellex said. Additionally, Eric Rosen ’18, who has worked with the group since 2014 on a number of projects, is starting a new project that allows robots to interact in virtual reality. Rosen said that Tellex has been extremely supportive of his project and is always there as a resource even when projects are more independent. Tellex completed her PhD at MIT in 2010 and started working at Brown in 2013. In addition to the three PhD candidates, she has nine undergraduates in her research group, and four more undergraduates are in the process of joining.

While Tellex’s group has made significant progress on human-robot interaction, much work remains, Tellex said. Over the next five years, the group hopes to fully integrate its three areas of focus, eventually adding motion to the stationary Baxter models, Tellex said. Additionally, the group hopes to flesh out smaller projects and potentially integrate them into the overall framework, Tellex added. Tellex’s group is also working in collaboration with Claudia Rebola, an associate professor of industrial design at the Rhode Island School of Design, to develop a better, more human-like face for the robot. Horatio Han, a RISD student in Rebola’s group, has designed a face that can display a range of emotions — unlike the current stoic face of the Baxter robot. Such a change will make the robot more realistic, Whitney said. Tellex has high hopes for the future of robots, though she stresses the importance of human-robot interaction. According to her lab website, “As these machines become more powerful and more autonomous, it is critical to develop methods for enabling people to tell them what to do. Robots that can communicate with people using language can respond appropriately to commands given by humans, ask questions when they are confused and request help when they get stuck.”

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

» CURRICULUM, from page 1 Anderson added. SAPE developed its new model not only because it allows campus communities to receive customized presentations but also because of limitations in the Bringing in the Bystander program, Sandstrom said. Bringing in the Bystander waits for violence to be present and witnessed, so it “doesn’t actually address the conditions in which that violence occurs,” she said. Other concerns with the program included its focus on the actions of males and its lack of information about how to address the behavioral problems of aggressors, Sandstrom added. “We wanted to find something that was Brown-specific,” Sandstrom said. “And we wanted to give people a better understanding of rape culture as it exists at Brown and how to dismantle that through their community action and values and accountability plans.” SAPE, which operates within the Health Promotions Office, has roughly 25 student members, including four lead peer educators, one of whom must staff every student group presentation, Sandstrom said. Since the Greek and Program House Council began requiring SAPE training for all new and returning members annually — a development that occurred several years ago — the demands made

on the organization have increased, she added. This spring, SAPE conducted 16 presentations for different student groups, and this academic year it plans to present to all Greek and program houses, frisbee, a cappella, Brown Band, Feminists at Brown and the debate team, Sandstrom said. “We’re a small group trying to get a lot accomplished,” she added. Recruiting new SAPE members is difficult because students must attend a two-day-long training session to become SAPE educators, Anderson said. “We’re going to need to increase that outreach and make that seem more appealing,” she added. SAPE also hopes to increase its number of liaisons, or student group members who receive SAPE training and then act as SAPE representatives in their campus communities, Anderson said. “It gives that buy-in from the community,” Sandstrom added. “We used to get resistance from groups wondering why they had to receive this training.” Because presentations are long, require extensive preparation and focus on a topic that can be exhausting to think and speak about, the current SAPE members cannot be expected to train the over 1,000 students that the organization expects to address this year, Sandstrom said. “We’re trying to expand our involvement so that

we don’t burn out these peers, who are becoming a crucial part of our campus,” she added. SAPE also wants to increase its funding so that current volunteers can be paid for their work, Anderson said. “We’re going to try to collect data about what people have learned during their SAPE presentations,” she added. SAPE can then “take that data and prove to the University that what we’re doing is actually fundable.” At the meeting, students were also elected to fill two open seats on the Undergraduate Finance Board. Maxine Offiaeli ’18 and Rachel Carucci ’19 beat out three other contenders to secure the positions. Carucci said she sought the seat because she is interested in pursuing a career in banking, a field that remains very “white male dominated.” Her role as assistant treasurer of Kappa Delta and her past work as the executive chair of a student-led philanthropic organization in high school prepared her for the UFB position, she added. Offiaeli, who plans to go into investment banking, cited her experience as coordinator of student-athlete tutoring on campus, which she said “speaks to how trustworthy and dependable I am.” “I’m open-minded and capable of adapting to new working environments and learning things on the go,” Offiaeli said.

Alexandra Kleeman reads from her fiction Alexandra Kleeman is the author of the novel You Too Can Have A Body Like Mine, a NewYorkTimes Editors’ Choice and finalist for the NYPL’sYoung Lions award, and the short story collection Intimations. Her fiction and essays have appeared in the NewYorker, Harper's, Paris Review, Zoetrope,Tin House, VOGUE, and n+1. A graduate of the Brown undergraduate program in Literary Arts, she has done graduate work at UC Berkeley and Columbia University. She lives in Staten Island, and was the 2016 winner of the Bard Fiction Prize.

Thursday, 27 October 2016 at 7 pm McCormack Family Theater 70 Street, Providence [use Fones Alley entrance]

Sponsored by Literary Arts at Brown University

ARTS & CULTURE THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2016 • PAGE 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Professor reads prescient ’68 election satire Robert Coover’s story ‘A Political Fable’ bears uncanny similarities to this year’s election season By CONNOR SULLIVAN STAFF WRITER

COURTESY OF BROWN UNIVERSITY

The Ladd Observatory, opened in 1891, showcases the 19th-century equipment it employed in its founding days for public education purposes.

» LADD, from page 1 University to the community where we are teaching science and history, and we are going to continue doing that,” Umbricht said. “We are looking to branch out into more than just the sciences.” “We will continue to operate it as a very unique museum. We have a

» LAMP/BEAR, from page 1 to “Fischer’s exploration of material. … He pushes the boundaries (of his medium),” Conklin said. The second is that Fischer’s work is permeated with his “playful and subversive sense of humor,” she said. Fischer’s works range from the tiny to the gigantic. From a 29.5-foot-tall metallic tree from which hang 2,000 framed drawings and color prints to a miniature blue horse only eight inches tall, Fischer’s eclectic choices of scale and material make “his work hard to categorize,” Conklin said. One of Fischer’s distinctive artworks is his melting statues, which embody a recurrent ambition of his — removing matter through artistic production. These statues made of wax are fine replicas of 16th-century statues or representations of everyday men that are set on fire during the exhibition.

wonderful array of exhibits, and we will continue to restore our equipment over the years and preserve it for generations to come. It’s fascinating to think about how many generations have come to visit the place all this time,” Horton said. — Additional reporting by Fidelity Ballmer The viewer can then watch the statues take dramatic shapes as they melt. The inevitable destruction of his artwork in this case relates to Fischer’s conceptualization of art as something that is “becoming” rather than “being” and whose nature is not fixed in the objects that compose it but is constituted by observers’ impressions. Fischer concluded his talk by discussing “Lamp/Bear” and the controversy it has created on campus — in reference to the statue’s donor and the donor’s hedge fund’s insider trading. Fischer said he believes the reaction of viewers on campus has more to do with the context of the sculpture’s donation than with the artwork itself. The artist expressed ambivalence about the hullabaloo his work has caused on campus. “Lamp/Bear” was made 10 years ago, and Fischer said of it, “I don’t know what to think about works I did in the past.”

While ineffectual pundits have trod redundant ground in analyzing this election cycle, Professor Emeritus of Literary Arts Robert Coover stands apart from the crowd as a singularly incisive observer. Wednesday night, at the reading of his prescient story “A Political Fable,” Coover offered his Leung Family Gallery audience a more literary angle on the proceedings of the 2016 election. The short story, narrated by the political analyst Mr. Brown — nicknamed “The Soothsayer” for his prophetic ability to call elections — focuses on the upending of an already crippled party’s convention by the Seussian character the Cat in the Hat. In a move completely unanticipated by Mr. Brown, the Cat becomes the election’s populist pick, compelling Brown to ask whether or not the convention belonged to a political party or to a “carnival freakshow.” This postmodern rendering of an election fits within the confines of fabulation, a literary tradition in which Coover joins the ranks of Kurt Vonnegut and John Barth as a pivotal player. Functioning as an analogue to magical realism, fabulation aims to juxtapose the serious and the absurd. “A Political Fable” is an effortless balance of the inane and the mundane. The story’s fabulative tendencies are best epitomized by its inclusion of the Cat, a bedtime story staple, as a means of creating unhinged mania during an otherwise typical election, an interplay that is at once disconcerting and hysterical. “The work just has this critical whimsy to it,” said Emerson Tenney

ANITA SHEIH / HERALD

Professor Emeritus of Literary Arts Robert Coover read his story, which cautions against radical change, Wednesday night in the Leung Gallery. ’20, who praised Coover’s imagistic writing. Originally written and published in 1968, the story continues to speak volumes about the current political climate. “1968 was an even crazier election year than the current one,” Coover wrote in an email to The Herald, noting the fallout of the Civil Rights Movement, the disillusionment with President Lyndon Johnson following the Vietnam War and the gunning down of presidential hopeful Robert Kennedy. That November, Richard Nixon was elected president. President Nixon, who Coover called “easily the worst in American history,” like the Cat, played off of Americans’ discontent. The Cat, a political outsider who gains appeal unexpectedly and rapidly, says he will offer voters “something impromptu, something new.” These promises uncannily echo the appeals of another ludicrous figure in the current political sphere: Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump, a figure whose iconic comb-over functions as

just as much of a signifier of his rogue appeal as the Cat’s namesake hat. The Cat maintains a “goofy anarchism” that stands in stark contrast to Trump’s “proto-facism and showbiz.” But Coover cautioned against “all calls for radical change.” “Both are disturbing to the status quo,” Coover said. “They seem to attract the same fanatical support.” The story urges against the populists’ excitement over the freedom ostensibly offered by candidates detached from establishment politics — an enthusiasm Coover likens to “pausing to pick a flower in the stampede.” “A Political Fable,” endearingly satirical in a way that does even Oscar Wilde justice, ultimately served as a poignant reminder of the futility of outsider politics to the prospective voters in Wednesday night’s audience. Gravitating toward radicalism and away from more established election practices may initially seem liberating, Coover said, but it is liberation that is ultimately accompanied by “a great sense of loss.”

ARTS & CULTURE PAGE 4 • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2016

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Alum explores intersection of rap, hip hop in album Blending audio, visual elements, Eric Axelman ’12.5 to release solo debut album Friday By MADISON RIVLIN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Eric Axelman ’12.5 aims to revolutionize the way the public consumes music in his debut solo album “Too Much,” to be released Friday. He inventively merges audio and visual elements to enhance the creative experiences of rap and hip hop. “Too Much” was produced by Providence local DeeJay Kellan along with Alex Han ’17, Jonny Koh ’13, who goes by Lazy Rabbit in the music world, and Loren Fulton ’12, also known as Cognate. The album also features Chloe Kibble ’17. As evidenced by this crew of collaborators, Axelman has maintained a close relationship with the Brown musical community, which he considers full of diligent students “excited to try new things.” Axelman was inspired by artists like Kendrick Lamar and Beyoncé who “emphasize visuals so that they are equally as important as the songs themselves.” Unlike many artists who craft visuals as an afterthought, Axelman attempts “to think about the music videos at the exact same time as writing the song to create a visual and musical story.” Axelman prefers not to pick a single genre to describe “Too Much,” but if pressed, he categorizes his work as “alternative hip hop.” “When you are only thought of in a certain way, there’s less room for experimentation, and I like flexibility and being able to experiment as much as possible,” Axelman said of his reluctance to assume a genre. Axelman sticks to this sort of

experimentation with respect to the sound of his work. “I’m trying to do what new hip hop is doing, which is use the space between rapping and singing and create different types of sounds and personalities with my voice.” Axelman cites Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar and Chance the Rapper as pioneers in blending rhythmic singing and rap. “These artists are pushing the envelope when it comes to content and expanding what hip hop can be when it comes to the voice,” Axelman said. Axelman enjoys a wide variety of selections that cross genres. “I’m into glitch stuff, some trap music and when artists blend certain elements of trap and soul,” he said. “‘Life of Pablo’ and ‘Coloring Book’ are really brilliant examples of blending modern trap and drums with really interesting non-conventional sounds.” Axelman’s journey to becoming an activist and rapper began in fifth grade, when he “got into music and rhythm” after learning to play the drums. His relationship with meter continued to develop when he learned to rap junior year of high school. “Using patterns of sound with words — it’s enthralling,” he said. But rap offered more than just the appeal of a deep baseline. Axelman said that his upbringing in Maine sheltered him from the reality of current race relations and the modern civil rights movement. The thematic complexity of rap allowed him to better grasp current tensions and “enlightened (him) about the terrible things that white America was doing to people of color.” Axelman did not pursue his passion for music academically. He decided to concentrate in environmental science and work in the lab of Mark Bertness, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology. Still, Axelman’s senior year at

COURTESY OF ERIC AXELMAN

Eric Axelman ’12.5 is set to release his debut album Friday. An eclectic mix of rap and hip hop, “Too Much” received contributions from various members of the Brown and local Providence communities. Brown proved instrumental to his development as an artist, as he released his first mixtape. He added that during his final semester as a point-fiver, he threw large parties at his home on Wickenden Street and received positive reactions to his performances. “People seemed to like my stuff, which was really exciting.” “After graduation, his identity shifted more towards his social conscience, his music and that sphere,” Bertness said. Axelman slowly built up a resume with experiences teaching hip hop. He first used hip hop as a medium for creative writing but slowly began to utilize the genre as a means for discussion on racial inequality. “Especially as a white person doing hip hop, I had a responsibility to talk about modern civil rights and cultural appropriation.” Axelman created a hip hop program

at the Wheeler School three years ago alongside SydeSho, his teaching and performance partner in the duo Funk Underground. “As a white dude, I shouldn’t be the only voice claiming to understand hip hop. That’s unacceptable, so with SydeSho’s help, we made sure that there was equality in what was represented in our discussions.” The courses mostly tackled racism, segregation and civil rights issues like mass incarceration. Funk Underground released a mixtape in June 2015 and toured the northeastern and Midwestern United States and Canada over the summer, but Axelman and SydeSho are currently pursuing their own solo music careers. Besides his work as an eductor and musician, Axelman, along with Nic Gonzales and SydeSho, launched Pushed Learning and Media, a nonprofit that

strives to “maintain conversation with people regarding the complexities of identity, privilege and oppression in the modern world.” “Most white people consuming black art don’t care about black struggles and black politics. They are willing to listen to hip hop but aren’t willing to talk about the issues these artists are bringing up,” Axelman said. “The hypocrisy of valuing black music but not black politics disgusts me.” Axelman urges other white rap artists to take their music seriously and understand the cultural significance of rap music. “White artists should take the fact that they are doing black music very seriously and be honest with the fact that they are benefitting from black culture. The way they give back is to stand up for black and Latino political issues.”

TODAY

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2016 • PAGE 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

a u t u m n l e av e s , m i d t e r m s r e m a i n

menu SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS

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

BLUE ROOM

Make-Your-Own Quesadillas

Turkey Chili, Fire Roasted Veggie Chicken Kadhai

DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH

DINNER

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo, Hot Corned Beef Sandwich on Rye, Macaroon Cookies

Roast Beef Au Jus, Pork Chop Suey, American Chop Suey, Ribbon Sugar Cookies

VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH

DINNER

Peanut Butter Sandwich Bar, Beef Stew, Vegetable Stuffed Red Peppers, Rice Krispie Treats

Curried Shrimp, Tequila Lime Chicken, Pretzel Bread, Coconut Ginger Rice, Yellow Cake

sudoku

SHOSHANA SIMONS / HERALD

Sporting red plaid and blue jeans, two friends sit in the shade of a tree on the Main Green while enjoying the bright foliage. This time of year brings cold wind, falling leaves and midterms.

RELEASE DATE– Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle c rNorris o s sandwJoyce o rNichols d Lewis Edited by Rich

ACROSS 1 Employment agency listings 5 Fried Cajun veggie 9 WWII conference site 14 Billion extension 15 Steady guy 16 He hunted with a club in the “Odyssey” 17 Club used as a weapon, say 20 Nonagenarian actress White 21 Yeats or Keats 22 Color, as Easter eggs 23 Summer quencher 24 Dorm VIPs 27 Where Lux. is 29 Kid-friendly comfort food 36 Soothing additive 38 River through Sudan 39 Country rocker Steve 40 Sable maker, briefly 41 Turn __ ear 43 Pub projectile 44 Former Portuguese territory in China 46 Prefix with -pus 47 Abates 48 Tests during which checking notes is allowed 51 Gymnast’s goal 52 Deli bread 53 Art on skin, slangily 56 Draw upon 59 Not as much 62 Calf-roping gear 64 Candid sort 68 Street toughs 69 Diamond Head’s island 70 Aromatic drinks 71 Go on tiptoe 72 Small songbird 73 Wine area near Turin DOWN 1 “Star Wars” gangster 2 No longer squeaky

3 Xbox battle game 4 Told to go 5 Asian tie 6 Barbie’s guy 7 Grating voice 8 One might get stuck in a jam 9 Video-sharing website 10 Radius’s limb 11 Committed perjury 12 Randall who played Felix Unger 13 Chip in a chip 18 Supermodel Banks 19 Marsh stalk 25 Tolstoy’s Karenina 26 Snowmobile brand 28 “__ and weep!”: poker winner’s cry 30 Take back 31 Smart guy? 32 More like Felix Unger 33 African countries on the Mediterranean, e.g. 34 Mediation agcy.

35 Congeals 36 Target practice supply 37 “... one giant __ for mankind” 42 Cunning 45 Washington Monument, for one 49 Universal blood type, for short 50 Related to flying 54 Had lunch in

55 Foot bones 56 Letter carrier’s org. 57 Leave speechless 58 Marine eagle 60 Vegas event 61 Kindergartner’s reward 63 Tiny bit 65 Wanted-poster letters 66 Sailor’s pronoun 67 Attila, notably

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

“The hypocrisy of valuing black music but not black politics disgusts me.” — Eric Axelman ’12.5, hip hop artist

See debut album on page 4.

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

CORRECTION An article in Wednesday’s Herald (“Film depicting Holocaust denier’s libel suit lacks identity, sells history short,” Oct. 26) stated that the character Richard Evans is played by John Sessions. In fact, the character’s name is Richard Rampton, and he is played by Tom Wilkinson. The Herald regrets the error.

xwordeditor@aol.com

calendar

02/12/13

TODAY

OCTOBER

S 1

02/12/13

Excavation of China’s First Archaeologist 12:00 P.M. 60 George Street, Room 108

Haunted By Learning 1:00 P.M. Campus Center, The Underground

Lecture: What Grand Strategy for America? 4:00 P.M. McKinney Conference Room

Film Screening: “Criminal Queers” 8:00 P.M. 204 South Main Street

TOMORROW Reaffirming University Values Workshop 9:00 A.M. Alumni Hall Auditorium

Scrappy Halloween 12:00 P.M. Main Green

Halloween Extravaganza 7:00 P.M. Campus Center, The Underground

Monster Ball! 11:00 P.M. 7 Young Orchard Avenue

COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2016

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Opinions section must embrace diversity To the Editor: There is a major flaw in Monday’s column (“Rowland ’17: Brown voters can do better,” Oct. 24) that should be addressed. It should be addressed because the flaw contradicts the idea that diverse opinions are valuable, which is not a good thing for a column to do, especially not one written by the editor of the opinions section. The following quote most clearly indicates the problem: “I tend not to demand absolute conformity with my opinion. (Doing so would make the job of being opinions editor impossibly difficult not to mention ethically compromised.) But in this unique case, I feel comfortable holding my peers to high standards even when that means rejecting opinions other than my own.” Here is an uncomfortable but accurate rephrasing of this quote: “I understand that it is ethically wrong for me as the opinions editor to demand conformity with my opinion, but today I am making an exception for a unique case and choose to reject opinions other than my own.” You might be wondering for what “unique case” the author is denying the basic definition of the word “opinion.” The “unique case” is the result of a recent poll conducted by The Herald that revealed that 6.4 percent of eligible students will abstain from voting in the upcoming presidential election, and another 6.4 percent will vote for third-party candidates. These numbers upset the author of the article because the author believes that any vote not cast for Hillary Clinton is a vote that benefits “Donald Trump’s repulsiveness.” While the author may have been writing in her capacity as a student, it is not clear whether she is doing so or speaking as a Herald opinions editor. Basically, the author is willing to abandon the essential function of an opinions section because she dislikes a certain person’s behavior. But isn’t a situation that challenges your embedded opinion the true test for an opinions editor? Ironically, this author’s attitude actually resembles Trump’s angry stubbornness when she decides to reject “opinions other than (her) own.” Not only does an opposition to people’s right to a different opinion render an opinions section useless — an opposition to third-party voting rejects the freedom of democracy.

K I M B E R LY S A LT Z

comics A Horse of Any Other Name | Zach Silberberg

Aaron Broadbent RISD ’19

Ampersand | Wasita Mahaphanit

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Editorial Leadership

Sections

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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 Editor Taneil Ruffin COMMENTARY Opinions Editors Margaret Hu Mili Mitra Lainie Rowland

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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 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2016 • PAGE 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Vote Jeff Johnson for Congress ABDUL-KAREEM AHMED op-ed contributor U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-VT, won Rhode Island’s Democratic Primary with 55 percent of the vote Apr. 26. Hillary Clinton trailed with 43.3 percent. Yet, in July, at the Democratic National Convention, U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin, D-RI, cast his superdelegate vote for Clinton. Effectively, Bernie won 13 delegates and Clinton 20, in a state that resoundingly said, ‘We want Bernie.’ Democracy undermined. I understand many voters are disenchanted with the presidential election. We have perhaps two of the most unscrupulous candidates running, and yet again we are in a position to choose the lesser of two evils. We might support one candidate or another, or regrettably not vote at all. But remember, when it comes to Nov. 8, there is more on the line than the presidency. America is not a monarchy, and our representative democracy extends to other levels of government. On that same day, you can elect your local and state governments. Arguably, these levels of government make more of a difference in

your daily life than the federal executive branch, despite the emphasis the media places on the latter. In Rhode Island, members of the state senate and house of representatives, town councils and school committees are up for election. These people help determine everything from the quality of our roads to the effectiveness of our schools. Some of them also serve as superdelegates. Yes, those superdelegates. Speaking

High School — one of those rare individuals who only asks that you think critically. He is a hardworking, passionate and regular Rhode Islander. Johnson has taught his students for 27 years about the threat of climate change and the need to adopt greener practices, an issue that is the centerpiece of his campaign. Like Sanders, he is a rare voice in a sea of noise that urges us to tackle

Rhode Islanders live on the precipice, one calamity from losing all that matters. Johnson is also calling for more competitively negotiating drug prices with pharmaceutical companies. In light of the recent EpiPen kerfuffle, the need for this change is hard to deny. The American healthcare system needs to work for everyone because without health everything becomes moot. In 2015, John Brennan, director

There is more at stake than the presidency Nov. 8. Vote for your local and state governments. Vote for Jeff Johnson to represent human interests in the U.S. Congress.

of that problem, also up for election are candidates for U.S. Congress. In the second congressional district of Rhode Island, Jeffrey Johnson, an independent, is challenging incumbent Langevin. Johnson’s campaign is being run by many students, some of them from Brown and the University of Rhode Island. Johnson is a biology teacher at South Kingstown High School and a political activist. He was my teacher when I attended South Kingstown

this threat. Banning fracking, reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and subsidizing alternative energies are all ways in which he wants to improve our global outlook. The teacher is also a strong proponent of a Medicare-for-all style healthcare system in the United States, like Sanders. Being a medical student and witnessing firsthand the lack of care and its reverberating effects right here in our beautiful state, I cannot agree more. Many

of the Central Intelligence Agency, said, “We have to recognize that sometimes our engagement and direct involvement will stimulate and spur additional threats to our national security interests.” The less we involve ourselves in places like Iraq and Libya, the less our national security is threatened. Dismantling foreign governments spurs chaos. Langevin voted against ending American military intervention in Libya in 2011. In these matters,

Johnson understands that we risk more than we gain and has called for scaling back on foreign intervention and increasing regulation of military drones. With equal energy, Johnson has also fought for healthy farming practices, criminal justice reform and voting reform. Quite simply, he wants to help all Americans rise. Johnson will bring new ideas, a grassroots perspective and a healthy serving of honesty to Congress. In July, Langevin voted against Rhode Island. In November, we need to give him a response. If we want to overturn the mechanisms that allow the system to self-perpetuate, superdelegates being just one example, we have to change the people who represent us, starting at the very bottom. Bernie couldn’t be president, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any work that can be done. There is more at stake than the presidency Nov. 8. Vote for your local and state governments. Vote for Jeff Johnson to represent human interests in the U.S. Congress. Vote to ensure a better future for Rhode Island and our country. Get out and vote.

Abdul-Kareem Ahmed MD’17 can be reached at abdul-kareem_ahmed@brown. edu.

Benefits to early graduation restrictions SAMANTHA SAVELLO staff columnist When I was a senior in high school, I attended an information session at Brown where several students asked outlandish questions — many of which illustrated an overzealousness to excel academically. One particularly over-eager student asked whether or not it is possible to graduate early, to which the facilitator responded in the negative. Now that I’m here, I realize how controversial and complicated Brown’s eight-semester requirement is. There are many students who wish to graduate early and feel that Brown’s limitations are unfair. The Herald’s recent editorial (“Remove barriers to early graduation,” Oct. 13) argues that this policy is classist and violates students’ rights to design their own educational paths at Brown. But while this article provides solid reasoning as to why the current policy is unfair, it simultaneously fails to acknowledge the benefits of implementing an eight-semester requirement. While I agree that there is room for improvement in Brown’s current policy — especially on the financial front — I do believe that it exists for the benefit of the students. My first point of difference with the editorial is that it describes graduating early as a possible and realistic feat, stating that “completing the 30-course requirement would usually take about eight semesters but could take as few as six semesters.” While this six-semester comple-

tion might seem logical on paper, the physical and emotional process of graduating in “as little as six semesters” is absolutely grueling — an important point that the editorial writers downplay. In order to graduate with 30 credits in three years, a student would need to take five courses every single semester for six consecutive semesters, a draining feat that leaves little room for activities outside of academics. Taking five courses at a time, as many students can confirm, is a challenging endeavor, especially at Brown, where the courses are

Brown should not allow students to choose this route. Nonetheless, the editorial argues that regardless of this possibility of “overcommitting,” the current graduation policy impedes personal choice and prevents students from being “the architects of their own educations.” But I argue that it prevents students from being the architects of a crumbling education, void of creativity, flexibility and enjoyment. The potential for unhealthy stress levels and a diminished college experience outweighs the benefits

Ultimately, Brown’s policy is founded on good intentions, but its decision to financially punish students who do not adhere to the eight-semester limit reveals murkier motives.

both difficult and time-consuming. Doing this for six consecutive semesters is very different than doing it for just one or two semesters, which might be more doable. Many students would not be able to survive such a rigorous academic load and graduate in three years without letting something go by the wayside, whether that be mental health, social life, extracurricular activities, professional connections or even grades. And given the personal importance of all these facets that shape the college experience outside of the classroom,

of graduating in three years. Compared to six semesters, graduating in seven semesters is much more reasonable — and it is permitted by Brown. As the editorial explains, students who wish to graduate in seven semesters must complete petition requirements, which include documented proof of time-sensitive opportunities and the fulfillment of stringent course requirements. While the authors deem these requirements “daunting,” they fail to understand the reasoning behind them. The petition ensures that students

are serious about expediting their graduation for valid reasons. And the academic requirements ensure that students are prepared for these endeavors despite the missed semester. But when it comes to its approach to students’ finances, there is nothing in Brown’s policy worth defending. Protecting students from a limited, grueling six-semester education and asking for proof of reasoning are both helpful to students. But as the editorial points out, Brown requires that “students who are approved for accelerated graduation by the Committee on Academic Standing must still meet Brown’s eight-semester enrollment requirement by paying the tuition charge for the eighth semester.” To make matters worse, the University denies these students financial aid opportunities for that semester. Perhaps this is Brown’s attempt to further discourage students from trying to graduate early in order to make the most of their experiences, or maybe it’s a purely financial ploy to rake in more money. Either way, it’s not fair to students. In this area, I concur with The Herald’s editorial. Ultimately, Brown’s policy is founded on good intentions, but its decision to financially punish students who do not adhere to the eight-semester limit reveals murkier motives. The elimination of early graduation restrictions completely would be detrimental, but the creation of a seven-semester limit and the removal of the financial requirements would serve students well.

Samantha Savello ’18 can be reached at samantha_savello@brown.edu.

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ARTS & CULTURE THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Disappointing ‘Storks’ falls from sky New Warner Bros. film trips over convoluted plot, fails to humanize animated characters By DANIEL WAYLAND STAFF WRITER

“Storks,” the Warner Bros. comedy about birds who deliver babies (and basically everything else), joins a host of films that have attempted to explore the possibilities of simulating flight through animation. But “Storks” seems wholly uninterested in pushing these aerial frontiers, instead offering a mediocre picture aimed at young viewers who will leave theaters befuddled by the film’s convoluted plot structure. There’s a scene in “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” DreamWorks Animation’s splendid animated fantasy epic, in which the protagonist and his dragon companion enjoy a moment of solitude in the sky. The camera paints the elegant symmetry of their flight as an ethereal dance atop the clouds. Like “Storks,” “How to Train Your Dragon 2” invites these wonderful moments, and investment in them lends credibility to the film’s animated world. While “Storks” limps into such scenes, “How to Train Your Dragon 2” soars, literally. In taking pains to really capture the giddy boundlessness of flight, “How to Train Your Dragon 2” commits to the kind of visual poetry that separates memorable animated films from their less impressive counterparts. “Storks” belongs solidly in the latter category. The film follows a stork voiced by Andy Samberg, Junior, who along with the rest of his species delivers packages to humans from the Amazon-like retailer, Cornerstore. com. Storks have abandoned their traditional business of baby delivery following the botched shipment of an infant named Tulip — voiced by Katie Crown — some 18 years prior to the story. But following a complicated series of events involving Junior and

the now-orphaned Tulip, the storks’ long-dormant baby factory produces a child that the two are determined to deliver to its family. If that last paragraph confused you, don’t worry: “Storks” continually trips over its unnecessarily complicated plot. “Storks” is WB’s first submission to the animated genre since “Lego Movie,” but the jump cuts and cheeky scattershot humor that worked in “Lego Movie” clearly do not translate well to the avian world. “Storks” has its moments, of course. The animation is at times impressive: A scene involving a strangely protean wolf pack (don’t ask) capable of mutating itself into bridges and submarines to chase Junior and Tulip requires downright genius to pull off, and “Storks” does it with ease. When directors Nicholas Stoller and Doug Sweetland finally show audiences the baby-making machine in action, the contraption hums with an enchanting harmony. “Storks” occasionally finds its stride with genuinely funny moments, particularly one involving a fight between our heroes and a nefarious band of penguins (again, don’t ask). The action is conducted in complete silence in deference to the sleeping baby hovering at the edge of the fray, which subtly undermines the physical stakes of the battle. But the film’s jokes too often miss their mark. Samberg inflects his comedy with an unfortunate deadpan bluntness, and he and the other actors make the mistake of vocally overcompensating in an attempt to add to the farce. “Storks” aspires to target a very young demographic, and thus jokes involving neighborhood gentrification and feminism fall on deaf ears. Animated movies are an exercise in the imaginative process, each frame capturing a moment in the film’s larger artistic tapestry. “Storks” leaves you wishing it had invested more of its attention to those little moments of beauty.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2016

ELECT

RI’S RAY OF HOPE

Your Independent Candidate for RI State Representative in House District 1 đƫƫƫ $+ !ƫ /( * ƫ* 0%2!ċƫ %2! ƫ%*ƫ ƫ2%.01 ((5ƫ)5ƫ!*0%.!ƫ(%"!ċƫWorked in Providence for almost 40 years. đƫƫƫ +(% ƫ" )%(5ƫ) *ċƫ ..%! ƫăăƫ5! ./ƫ0+ƫ 1 % ƫ 0$%!1ƫ(Pimentel). Raised 2 sons.

Why you should vote for me on November 8 As a State Representative, I shall focus on the issues which the majority of my constituents find most important to RI. Based upon my personal door to door campaigning so far, those issues are: Economic Development & Job Creation, Improving RI’s Public School Education and Ethics Reform. I’ll bring to the General Assembly a unique understanding of how to fix the RI Economy based upon my over 40 years of sophisticated financial experience and expertise as: VP & Controller of Fleet Bank, Senior VP & Controller of Old Stone Bank, CFO (25 years) of Providence Equity Partners with a strong reputation for straightforwardness and high ethical standards. I shall be an Independent first time elected official with none of the political party cronyism and baggage of the incumbents and not be encumbered by the influence of narrowly focused special interest groups.

Since retiring in January 2012, I have focused on: A) Economic development and job creation in RI by fostering and nurturing start up businesses by:

I) Investing my own money through Cherrystone Angel Investors and Ocean State Angel Investors. II) Sitting on the Boards and Investment Committees of The Slater Technology Fund (www.slaterfund.com) and The Business Development Company of RI (www.bdcri.com) III) Being an Advisor and Judge at the Annual RI Business Plan Competition (www.ri-bizplan.com)

B) Improving RI’s education system by:

I) Participating in Lt. Gov. Dan McKee’s new Education Moonshot initiative. II) Being a Board Member & Treasurer of OSHEAN, Inc.(www.oshean.org) III) Being a Trustee of the URI Foundation (www.urifoundation.org) IV) Being a Member of the URI Business Advisory Council (http://web.uri.edu/ business/advisory-council/)

VOTE NOVEMBER 8 401-408-4422 | RAYFORREP@GMAIL.COM WWW.LINKEDIN.COM/IN/RAYMATHIEU WWW.RAYMATHIEU.COM

Paid for by the Friends of Ray Mathieu, John E. Bucci, Jr., Treasurer