Tuesday, November 1, 2016

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2016

VOLUME CLI, ISSUE 97

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DPS seeks to better diversity, Displaced Syrian scholars enroll at Brown community outreach efforts University accepts DPS strengthens training, community relations, but diversity lags composition of student body

By KYLE BOROWSKI SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Police departments nationwide have come under fire in recent years for failing to represent the communities they police and engage with those communities in an effective, positive manner.

Amid these trends, the Department of Public Safety has attempted to improve its own commitment to diversity with input from the Brown community in mind, said Deputy Chief of Police Paul Shanley.

The Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan released in February included a stipulation that DPS investigate ways to improve the diversity and training of its officers.

“The (DIAP) definitely highlighted some things that showed how we certainly need to do a better job with connecting to the community,” said Chief of Police Mark Porter. He added

that DPS staff spent the past summer developing the first phase of the department’s response to the DIAP in order to “further enhance the department’s community relations.”

“We’ve provided new and additional training to all of our officers in the area of diversity training, fair and impartial policing and de-escalation and verbal communication skills,” Porter said. He added that the department’s national accreditation demonstrates its commitment to effective officer training, even though “we also see the need to bring in additional training for the officers to deal with the current issues and times.”

It is important that officers, when engaging with the communities they serve, share “common experiences that often correspond to racial identity, though shared identity does not erase power imbalances or ensure mutual empathy, which is the most important trait officers can bring with them into any community,” wrote Stefano Bloch, postdoctoral senior research associate in urban studies, in an email to The Herald.

“Talking about some of these » See DIVERSITY, page 2

candidates for master’s of public health, modern culture and media

By ELI BINDER STAFF WRITER

This fall, two Syrian scholars selected through the University’s program to host displaced scholars and students began graduate programs at Brown.

Khaled Almilaji GS is seeking a master’s in public health, and Diana Kasem GS is pursuing a master’s in modern culture and media.

The two join Tarek — whose name has been changed and field of study withheld to protect his identity — who came to Brown in early 2016 on a yearlong fellowship from the Institute for International Education, a group with which Brown has collaborated to identify displaced Syrian scholars interested in pursuing their careers abroad.

The University Response Committee to Host Displaced Scholars and Students has learned that it is very important when selecting scholars to ensure there is a good disciplinary fit with the departments they are placed

Students prepare for 2016 election

With Nov. 8 election, student political groups offer views on candidates, civic responsibility

in, said Marisa Quinn, chief of staff to the provost and a member of the committee. With three scholars already placed, she said the University is “not

STAFF WRITER

By STEPHANIE ZHANG

With only a week until election day, many students have made their decisions as to whom they would like to see as president. An overwhelming majority — 85 percent — of undergraduate students surveyed in this semester’s Herald poll indicated that they would vote for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Political groups across campus are gearing up to get out the vote.

Brian Cohn ’17, president of the Brown Democrats, said the organization has worked in tandem with the Undergraduate Council of Students and Brown Students for Hillary to ensure voters are registered and have access to voter support system TurboVote and absentee ballots.

While there was a diversity of opinion regarding the Democratic candidates during the primaries, the group is now virtually united in endorsing and voting for Clinton, Cohn said. Clinton offers a mix of both pragmatic and » See ELECTION, page 3

STAFF WRITER

MATT BROWNSWORD / HERALD

actively looking for additional placements, but we’re also open if something comes along and there seems » See SYRIA, page 2

U. research shows increasing urban racial integration Sociology Professor John Logan examines changes in metropolitan demographic composition

By VAFA BEHNAM

INSIDE

COURTESY OF BROWN UNIVERSITY

Khaled Almilaji GS has led a polio vaccination program in Syria and is now one of two new displaced Syrian scholars to enroll at Brown.

New research conducted by Professor of Sociology John Logan demonstrates that cities across the United States are becoming more integrated. The study, published in the journal Demography as “Global Neighborhoods: Beyond the Multiethnic Metropolis,” tracked populations in 342 metropolitan regions over the past three decades.

In the paper, Logan and co-author Wenquan Zhang, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater, coined the term “global neighborhood” to describe a region with substantial white, black, Asian and Hispanic presences. They found that in the past three decades, the number of these global neighborhoods has steadily increased, not only in metropolitan areas but also in urban regions throughout the country. “This is a new phenomenon, because … in 1980 there were a lot of all-white neighborhoods,” Logan said.

Logan pinpoints Asian and Hispanic presence as a key factor in opening up neighborhoods to ethnic diversity and in weakening traditional race boundaries. “We don’t see AfricanAmericans entering into these previously all-white neighborhoods until at least Asians or Hispanics are there first,” he said.

Historically, whenever AfricanAmerican populations entered a neighborhood, its white residents would leave. Logan said that this phenomenon became so common that urban scholars created specific terms to describe each phase of change: An initially all-white neighborhood experiences a perceived “invasion” when blacks move in, followed by a period called “succession” during which the neighborhood population becomes predominantly black.

Logan argues that the rise in Asian and Hispanic presence in a given neighborhood disrupts America’s traditional black-and-white race boundaries and leads whites to be more open to black residents in their communities.

But the study notes a simultaneous trend that indicates an increase in the number of all-minority neighborhoods, implying that whites are moving out of neighborhoods with » See CITIES, page 2

WEATHER

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2016

NEWS Students start campus drone delivery service, develop new technology with eye for safety

NEWS U. research finds correlation between cocoa compounds, cardiovascular health

COMMENTARY Kang ’20: Students should take debt problem into own hands via education, online resources

COMMENTARY Zeng ’20: Culture of overachievement degrades health, social support networks

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» DIVERSITY, from page 1 procedural justice issues or the concerns some people might have with the department can go a long way,” Porter said, “but it’s clear that public safety needs to do a better job with connecting, communicating and engaging with the community in a very positive manner.”

DPS lags the undergraduate student body in racial and ethnic diversity as well as gender diversity.

According to a 2016 employee

» SYRIA, from page 1 to be a good fit in terms of scholarly connections.”

A doctor from Aleppo Almilaji is a doctor by training.

Born in Aleppo, Syria, he got his doctorate of medicine there in 2006 and began an ear, nose and throat residency program in the coastal city of Latakia in 2008. He planned to continue his residency in Stuttgart, Germany in 2011, but as war broke out in his country, he felt that he had to stay. Almilaji was arrested on Sept. 9, 2011 for working at secret makeshift hospitals in homes and basements to aid protestors. He was imprisoned for six months.

After his release, Almilaji moved to the Syrian border of Turkey, where he provided medical care to Syrians — many of whom he said could not go to regime hospitals for fear of being arrested or killed. Soon, he began to run the health office of a Saudi charity supporting Syrians in Turkey. He was then asked by the humanitarian branch of the Syrian Opposition to establish and head its health department. Almilaji stressed that his work was purely humanitarian — independent from the politics of the group.

In response to a polio outbreak in Syria, Almilaji organized a vaccination campaign and managed 8,500 volunteers while coordinating with neighboring nations. The first round of vaccinations, which reached more than 1.25 million children in a week, successfully stopped the outbreak.

Almilaji also implemented a program funded by the International

» CITIES, from page 1 substantial numbers of people of color.

“The glass is filling and emptying at the same time,” Logan said.

Stefano Bloch, postdoctoral senior research associate in urban studies, found these trends of both increasing and decreasing diversity to be of particular interest.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

composition assessment, white and black officers account for 80 percent and 17 percent of all Brown DPS staff, respectively. Men make up 74 percent of the department’s staff, and women make up 26 percent. When considering only sworn officers, the representation of women falls to 19 percent. Representation of Hispanics and Asians is even more scarce, with each group accounting for no more than about a single percentage point of the department’s staff. As of fall 2015, the student body was 11.4 percent Hispanic and 13.4

percent Asian.

Nationwide, people of color constitute about a quarter of police forces, according to a 2007 survey by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

A New York Times analysis of the 2007 Bureau of Justice Statistics data indicates that the percentage of whites on police forces is on average more than 30 percentage points higher than in the communities they serve.

“The diversity makeup of the force is a good one when we look at the Brown community,” Porter said, “even

in relation to the greater community in Providence.”

“We’ve been very committed to achieving diversity within the workplace,” Porter said, adding that “we think the department’s recruitment efforts reflect that commitment.”

DPS engages in a number of activities to encourage the recruitment of a diverse range of officers, including a mentorship program and a “Cooking with Cops” program that pairs officers with young members of the Providence community, Porter added.

“By mentoring students, we can really build an early interest in law enforcement,” Shanley said. “It used to be that you wanted to target college kids, but now you want to start at the high school age to get these young men and women interested in law enforcement,” he added.

In the past three years, the gender diversity of DPS has remained the same, while the department hired three black officers in 2016, increasing the proportion of black officers from 14 percent to 17 percent of the force.

Organization for Migration to collect data on population flows, diseases and medical needs from researchers across regime-, opposition-, Kurdishand ISIS-occupied areas. “We want to make sure that people inside Syria, whoever they are,” have at least their basic health needs met, he said.

In Turkey, Almilaji worked with Annie Sparrow, who is married to Kenneth Roth ’77 LHD’11 hon. P’12, the executive director of Human Rights Watch and a Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs board member. Roth, who has served as an informal advisor to Brown in the program to support displaced scholars, passed Almilaji’s resume to Provost Richard Locke P’17, whose office oversees the effort. Following input from the University Response Committee to Host Displaced Scholars and Students and the School of Public Health’s review, he was accepted to the MPH program.

Almilaji said that he wanted to come to Brown in order to improve his skills and ability to analyze data for his work. “I can help decision makers … (with) how to deal with their limited resources to deliver the maximum services and benefit for the people,” Almilaji said. The most important part of his studies is their practical application when he returns to Syria, he added.

Brown “is a place where if you want to study, you can have everything you need,” Almilaji said. He described the research environment as “amazing.”

In addition to studying public health, Almilaji said that in the United States, he has had the opportunity to

learn about democracy — something that he hopes Syria will be able to achieve. “This is an environment and a place (where) I can really learn how people practice — even in their daily lives, not only in the elections — the meaning of listening to each other, accepting each other, accepting the others. You are not always correct, and you are not always wrong,” he said. “You have to accept everybody, you have to accept all these different opinions and you have always to figure out how to reflect or how to represent the majority of the people in your country in a way that is suitable for everybody, not only for the majority.”

While in Providence, Almilaji is still the chairman of the Canadian International Medical Relief Organization, a nongovernmental organization he established with other Syrian and Canadian medical experts, and he continues to work with colleagues across Syria. When he finishes his degree, he plans to return to Syria or Turkey and continue his education, probably through online courses, he said.

she finishes her degree, she hopes to stay in the United States to complete a PhD.

An artist and cinematographer Kasem is an artist: She has a bachelor’s degree in English literature as well as a master’s degree in art history with a specialization in cinema.

Among other artistic achievements, she wrote and directed “Normal …

Yesterday …,” an experimental film that was screened at international festivals on four continents.

After returning to Syria from getting her master’s degree in Belarus, she worked in film and theater and lectured on the literature of drama at

the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus. As tensions built across the country, Kasem was forced to leave Damascus. She moved to Latakia, where she worked on 7Gates, an arts and culture website that she founded.

While in Latakia, Kasem learned that Jusoor, an NGO created by Syrian expatriates to support the country’s development, had a graduate scholarship program. She applied and received a 100 Syrian Women, 10,000 Syrian Lives scholarship. Jusoor is partnered with the IIE, which sent Kasem’s application to the University.

She was offered a spot as a graduate student in the MCM department in May. So far, Kasem has found studying in the United States conducive to her work. “I like the variety here,” she said, recalling a recent trip to New York City. It’s “an international place, which is a very rich place for artists.”

She has been challenged by her classes, which are mainly about cinema, and has resolved to do as well as she can. While she said it has been difficult to work as quickly as her peers, she is confident she will improve with time. “Here most people — not to say all — are very kind and helpful. So for me, this is very helpful, and I’m hopeful for the future,” she added.

“I’m very happy to be (at) Brown and very proud. It is a really suitable environment for any artist to be creative,” Kasem said. “They give you the tools, techniques. All I (have to do) is just work. And this is what I need — a peaceful and rich environment.”

While at Brown, Kasem still works on her website with the help of volunteers, artists and writers. When

Bloch said that in 1990, Los Angeles was 33 percent white, while it is now roughly 23 percent white. But one Echo Park district grew from 11 percent to 56 percent white in that same time period.

“So while the city has become more diverse, particular neighborhoods have become overwhelmingly white,” Bloch said.

Bloch pointed to ethnic enclaves as

other outliers. The greatest representation of Vietnamese people outside of Vietnam is in Orange County, California, he said, and the United States is also home to the largest Somalian and Hmong populations outside of their countries of origin. “The communities that buck the trend of diversity are not just white but also underrepresented groups,” Bloch said.

The combination of “congregation, segregation and gentrification” drives these transformations, Bloch said.

The complex outcomes of this study leave room for further inquiry, said Professor of Sociology Michael White. A future study could examine the same issues upon the release of the next census. “What has happened since then — whether the trend continues

or not — will be of significant interest,” he said.

The study’s most significant effect is likely its impact on people’s awareness of the trends it identifies, Logan said.

“Most Americans think that the ghetto … is something of the ’50s and ’60s,” Logan said. “If you’re aware of it, you could potentially see it as a problem.”

A teacher new to the open curriculum In early 2016, Tarek began what was supposed to be a yearlong program. But the fellowship and Brown’s offer have been extended by a year to December 2017, and Tarek is teaching a course as well as conducting research for a book this semester.

Among the aspects of Brown’s academic life new to Tarek, teaching in the open curriculum has stood out to him as unique. Teaching students from different academic backgrounds has been challenging, and the open curriculum is “demanding in the sense that you have to adapt to make the contents of your course accessible to everyone,” he said.

At Brown, Tarek feels that he exists in an academic environment and can truly work as a scholar. “I feel like in order to fit in (at Brown), you have to produce. I’m enjoying doing that ­— there’s a lot of pressure, and it’s good,” he said. “I think it’s something in the mentality here. You’re obsessed (with) your work.”

Tarek said he feels that he is a part of the Brown community and has made a lot of friends. He is grateful for the support he received adjusting to Brown, as well as in applying for permanent teaching positions at schools across the United States, he added. Tarek said that he hopes to stay in New England so that he does not have to start over in a new place and can stay close to the friends he has made.

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NEWS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2016 • PAGE 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

» ELECTION, from page 1

COURTESY OF TIFFANY CHEN

Tiffany Chen ’18 will use her design skills from computer science courses to help visually map ties between entrepreneurial programs at R.I. colleges.

» CHEN, from page 8 use her design skills to assist in mapping the cohort’s findings.

“The map is primarily going to be used for startups who are in Rhode Island,” Chen said, adding that she hopes it will connect students to resources. She also hopes the map will be used by businesses entering Rhode Island and entrepreneurs looking for talent.

“The government of Rhode Island wants to encourage entrepreneurship amongst students in the hopes that eventually when they go on to create their own businesses, they’ll stay in Rhode Island,” Chen said. When student entrepreneurs develop businesses in the state, entrepreneurial opportunities become more attractive and encourage an influx of startups, she added.

The government’s initiative has

already seen some success. Teri Minogue ’18, Brown’s Changemaker Fellow for the 2015-2016 academic year, said the fellowship has given her a new understanding of entrepreneurship in Providence. “There’s so much talent at Brown that could benefit from getting contacts at all these different schools,” Minogue said.

“It has made me give thought to even staying in Providence because if you really take a look at it, we have a lot of creative energy here.”

Though unsure of what she will do post-graduation, Chen applied for the fellowship because she is interested in entrepreneurship and believes it is a powerful tool for Brown students given their unique outlook on social entrepreneurship and the university’s emphasis on social impact. “I want to have some sort of social impact that will directly affect people in a positive manner,” she said.

progressive values as well as a wealth of experience in most sectors of government, he added.

In contrast, the Brown Republicans did not endorse their party’s candidate.

Since only a third of the group’s members plan to vote for Trump, the group decided that the demonstrated support was insufficient for a group-wide endorsement, said Ethan Shire ’19, vice president of Brown Republicans.

While Trump enjoyed the plurality of votes among members of the group, the majority of members will be voting for other candidates — mainly Clinton or Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson — or will be abstaining altogether, Shire said.

Given the division on the presidential race, the members of Brown Republicans have focused their energy on senatorial races, especially that of U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-NH, by canvassing and conducting phone banks. It is paramount that Republicans get behind candidates who earnestly espouse conservative principles on both the state and federal levels, even if they have not come to a decision on the presidential race, Shire said.

The election hinges on the support of millennials, who are the most socially active generation ever but also the least likely to vote, said James Morone, professor of public policy as well as political science and urban studies and director of the Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy. While frustration over this year’s election is completely valid, it is crucial that millenials vote regardless of their particular political persuasions, Morone added. “The generation that owns the future ought to shape it as well.”

While polls overwhelmingly point to a Clinton presidency, the nature of her potential victory is a contentious topic, Morone said. A decisive victory for Clinton would serve as a firm repudiation of Trump’s values. In contrast, a

minor victory for Clinton would signal to future politicians that there is widespread grassroots support for Trumpstyle politics, he added.

Joelle Sherman ’19 and Jeffrey Salvadore ’17, coordinators for Brown Students for Hillary, said that while both the Herald poll and other preliminary polling results encouraged them, their organization is taking Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump very seriously and painstakingly avoiding complacency. Clinton “will not win if people do not actually head out to vote,” Sherman said.

In order to ensure students head out to vote, Brown Students for Hillary has been mobilizing and registering voters by promoting their candidate on social media and by canvassing — especially in the nearby swing state of New Hampshire.

While Brown Students for Bernie has provided its members with information to get involved with Clinton’s campaign, the group has not officially endorsed her.

Despite U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, himself endorsing Clinton, the group decided not to endorse Clinton due to a lack of consensus, the priorities of the group and the belief that the group’s members had limited capacity to influence the election, said Aidan Calvelli ’19, one of the former student leaders of Brown Students for Bernie.

But Calvelli estimated that about half of the members of the group would be voting for Clinton. The group decided not to endorse anyone else, and Calvelli is confident that Sanders would ultimately prove not to have a “spoiler effect” for Clinton, he said.

Calvelli emphasized that, rather than encouraging students to vote for a particular candidate, the group pushed its members to be politically active after Sanders’ campaign ended by supporting progressive movements — whether moderate or radical.

Sherman and Salvadore said that while they could sympathize with

frustrated voters, political apathy must be avoided at all costs. There are other legitimate ways to get politically involved besides voting, but they warned that this election could have massive effects on the course that this country will take.

Sherman and Salvadore suggested that alienated voters compare the candidates on the particular issues they find important, as there is much disagreement between the two candidates.

Morone emphasized that this election’s importance transcends that of usual elections because the divergence in the opinions and beliefs of the two major candidates is unprecedented, he said.

Beyond mere differences in opinions and standards of evidence, the election reflects fundamentally different visions for America in the 21st century, Morone said. Models predict the United States will be a “majority-minority nation” by the year 2040, and Trump may be a manifestation — or the final manifestation — of the backlash against this rapid cultural change, he added.

NEWS

PAGE 4 • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2016

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Student-run business’ drone delivery service takes flight A2Z founders stress safety, experiment with designs for gas-powered drones that carry heavier loads

By FIDELITY BALLMER STAFF WRITER

A2Z Drone Delivery, created by Jacob Dyer ’19 and Aaron Zhang ’17, launched this semester.

The project began when Zhang interned in China with Da-Jiang Innovations, the world’s largest drone manufacturer, over the summer. After his internship, Zhang wondered how he could continue working with drones at Brown.

The solution was a “drone diplomacy” between DJI and Brown, Zhang said. The company was very interested in bringing drones to Brown and loaned Zhang developer models to begin creating a business, he added.

For their deliveries, Zhang and Dyer use the Matrice 100 industrial drone model, which “is the most stable drone that anybody can really get, unless you’re in the military,” Zhang said.

The business currently uses the drone to deliver tickets to events hosted by Small Victories, an entertainment company.

Though it may still seem unfamiliar for many, drone delivery is “a really cool concept” that people enjoy, Dyer said. The company focuses mainly on the “experience” of having tickets delivered by drone rather than the delivery

method’s practical value, Zhang said.

Due to Federal Flight Administration regulations, A2Z Drone Delivery has to comply with several safety restrictions. For example, the drone cannot fly out of the controller’s sight, over roads or people or at night. These rules can be waived based on the credibility, safety and purpose of the company, Zhang said.

The business also has to consider drone rules at Brown, Zhang said. Jerry Daniels, associate professor emeritus of engineering and the faculty advisor for the project, spoke with the University last month regarding drone rules and is still waiting to hear back. “They’re still in development, but we’re working closely with them,” Zhang said.

Though drones are a new concept, the rules surrounding them should be more developed at Brown, Daniels said.

The company’s next goal is to deliver food from Josiah’s to students, which will require more research that is currently underway, Zhang said. Zhang and Dyer hope to place the base of the drone delivery system on the top of the Metcalf Chemistry and Research Laboratory and for it to ultimately be a completely autonomous service, Zhang added.

In order to develop this system, the company is working with Nikolay Nikolov, a student at Imperial College in London.

Nikolov is focusing on software development to make the drone autonomous and is designing the tethering system for the drone, he said. The

COURTESY OF JACOB DYER AND AARON ZHANG

Aaron Zhang ’17 and Jacob Dyer ’19 developed interest in drones after Zhang interned with the world’s largest drone manufacturer in China this summer. The company loaned Zhang drone models to start a business. tethering system is critical for the drone to be able to deliver heavier objects, Zhang said.

Zhang is currently experimenting with new drone technology in hopes of making the machines safer. After Zhang cut his finger while experimenting with a drone, Daniels encouraged him to begin thinking about developing a safer model, Daniels said.

Thinking about safety “laid the foundation” for Zhang to develop a new design for the drone. “Before that, I thought, ‘What can it do? It’s just a toy,’” Zhang said.

The new design is a completely enclosed model that can hold an internal combustion engine and is supposedly safer than other drones on the market.

It has the potential to be gas-powered,

leading to increased battery life and heavier load capabilities.

Zhang hopes his new drone design emphasizing safety and gas power could “flip the drone business,” he said.

“People have defaulted to this traditional design, and we want to move that forward,” Zhang said. “If we patent it, and we actually license it, we would really change the business.”

U. researchers link cocoa compound to health benefits

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

A study conducted by Xiaochen Lin GS and Simin Liu, professor of epidemiology, focused on the effects of cocoa flavanols on health. The benefits of flavanols do not necessarily extend to all manufactured chocolate.

Meta-analysis indicates improved cardiometabolic health tied with consumption of cocoa flavanols

By GALEN HALL CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Researchers from Brown as well as Brigham and Women’s Hospital found small but significant links between cocoa consumption and cardiovascular health benefits.

The study, led by Xiaochen Lin GS with contributions from Simin Liu, professor of epidemiology, assessed the health benefits of cocoa consumption through a systematic review and meta-analysis of 19 randomized studies.

The researchers focused on the effects of a particular compound in cocoa

called flavanol. “There have been quite a few studies implicating cocoa as a beneficial nutritional strategy to improve cardiometabolic health, and we and others have done work indicating that cocoa flavanol may be the active compound responsible for the beneficial effects,” Liu and Lin wrote in an email to The Herald.

“Flavanols are rich in certain food items, such as cocoa, green tea and colored berries,” they wrote. In one 37gram bar of dark chocolate there can be around 800 milligrams of flavanols.

The meta-analysis found beneficial effects from consuming 200 to 600 mg

of cocoa flavanols per day.

The meta-analysis looked at data from a combined 1,139 participants, who completed studies of different sizes and durations. “By combining these studies together in this meta-analysis, it enables us to look with a little more clarity at the overall effect by essentially combining all of the data from the trials together,” said Howard Sesso, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and an associate epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital who collaborated on the analysis.

“There were small-to-modest but statistically significant improvements among those who ate flavanol-rich cocoa product (versus) those who did not,” Liu and Lin wrote.

“For biomarkers for lipids, metabolism and insulin we found significant improvements,” Sesso said.

Though these findings were “very significant” in that they were the first to “synthesize the potential mechanisms by which cocoa flavanols may affect cardiometabolic health,” Liu and Lin also noted the limitations of their study.

“Through this research, we also identify the additional gaps in the current knowledge and potential target for future investigations,” they wrote.

Whether consuming cocoa flavanols “really translates to hard clinical outcomes” is “still an open question,” Sesso said.

“It really is time to have a large longterm (randomized controlled test)” to more concretely assess the health effects of cocoa flavanols, Liu and Lin wrote.

They pointed to the Cocoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study, a large clinical trial that will extend over the next four years currently led

by Sesso and JoAnn Manson, a Harvard Medical School professor, chief of preventative medicine at Brigham and Women’s hospital and contributor to the cocoa flavanols meta-analysis.

Though researchers from Brown received no outside funding, Manson and Sesso reported receiving funding from Mars Symbioscience, a research arm of the chocolate company Mars, Inc. formed in 2005, for their COSMOS trial. The literature around cocoa flavanols has been “building for about a decade,” Sesso said.

Sesso acknowledged the possible difficulties in separating science from marketing. People often conflate cocoa or cocoa flavanols with chocolate — a

“wrong comparison,” Sesso said, because “chocolate has calories — sugars and fat calories.” Nonetheless, this comparison has prompted a glut of recent news articles that used the Brown study as proof that chocolate is healthy. “Rejoice! Chocolate is good for your heart, scientists declare in ‘clearest evidence to date,’” read one Daily Mail headline.

While Sesso and Liu recognized that there is much more work to be done in this field before strong conclusions can be reached, the Mars Symbioscience webpage touts cocoa flavanols as “scientifically proven to promote a healthy heart by supporting healthy blood flow.”

The influence that Mars, Inc. has on cocoa research has subsequently come under fire. “A lot of the science on flavanols has been done by the Mars Center for Cocoa (Health) Science in collaboration with other researchers because commercial interests have a high stake in whether these compounds really do have health benefits,” an article in Business Insider stated.

For the media to point to a potential conflict of interest regarding a chocolate bar company’s involvement in research on the health benefits of cocoa compounds is “a totally fair comment,” Sesso said. “But the scientific part of the paper, of the trial, is completely investigator-initiated — it’s independent of the sponsor.”

While the meta-analysis did find promising evidence for the benefits of cocoa flavanols, “the findings from the current study ought not be simply generalized to different sorts of chocolate candies,” Liu and Lin wrote. Cocoa powder has a more reliable flavanol content than candies, Sesso said.

TODAY

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2016 • PAGE 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

menu

out of puck

SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS

Pizza: Spinach and Feta, Bacon Chicken Ranch Grinders JOSIAH’S

BLUE ROOM

Make-Your-Own Quesadillas

Three Bean Chili, Chicken Tikka Masala, Chana Masala

DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH

DINNER

Beef Tacos, Roasted Vegetable Burritos, Roasted Parsnips, Raspberry Crumble Bar

Ratatouille with Cheese, Chicken Milanese, Steamed Peas and Mushrooms, Apple Crisp

VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH

DINNER

Nacho Bar, Macaroni and Cheese, Cajun Spiced Chicken Breast, Frosted Brownie

Mexican Cornbread Casserole, Honey Citrus Pork Saute, Stir Fried Tofu, French Bread

sudoku

ELI WHITE / HERALD

Sena Hanson ’20 shields the puck from a Quinnipiac defender. The Bears lost 8-0 against the Bobcats in their opening weekend of ECAC competition after starting the season 2-0 with two wins over Sacred Heart.

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

crossword

“The generation that owns the future ought to shape it as well.”

— James Morone, director of the Taubman Center

See election on page 1.

CORRECTIONS An article in Wednesday’s Herald (“‘The Warfighters’ exposes civilians to reality of battlefield experience,” Oct. 26) referred to the Office of Student Veterans and Commissioning Programs as the Student Veterans Commissioning Program.

An article in Monday’s Herald (“Dean of School of Public Health to step down,” Oct. 31) stated that Karen Scanlan, director of public health communications, called Dean of the School of Public Health and Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice Terrie Fox Wetle a “quadruple threat” as a clinician, researcher, teacher and community leader. In fact, Scanlan called Fox a “quadruple threat” as a mentor, researcher, teacher and community leader. The Herald regrets the errors.

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Probability Seminar 11:00 A.M. George Street 182, Room 110

Wellness at Brown: Zumba!

12:00 P.M. Nelson Fitness Center

Financial Aid Open Hours 1:00 P.M. Brown Center for Students of Color

Winter Break Providence Info Session 5:00 P.M. Swearer Center

TOMORROW Writing with Media 10:00 A.M. Rockefeller Library

Insight into Environmental Policy 12:00 P.M. Watson Institute

Preparing for Retirement in the 21st Century 12:00 P.M. Kassar House

Muliracial Dating Panel 7:00 P.M. Petteruti Lounge

COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2016

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COMMENTARY TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2016 • PAGE 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Taking control of student debt ELLIOT KANG

op-ed contributor Student debt is an epidemic that shows no signs of stopping. Past generations were once able to pay off their debts within a few years of graduation. But such a thing is unfathomable now. Students in the United States today suffer from over $1.2 trillion of debt. Brown is not an exception to this trend: In 2015, Brown students — with $21,697 of average debt per student — had the heaviest burden in the Ivy League, but we are still a far cry from the national average of $29,000.

So what’s being done? Not much, it seems. The federal government, ever at the mercy of politics and inefficiency, has failed to make comprehensive reforms regarding accumulating student debt. Small-scale reforms have been made under the Obama administration, including reducing the time requirements for debt forgiveness from 25 years to 20 years and reducing loan payments to a maximum of 10 percent of income. But these reforms have not curbed the ever-increasing tide of student debt.

Larger attempts at reform have all failed. In 2014, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., spearheaded a bill that would allow people to refinance their debt at lower inter-

est rates, but even this conservative proposal was rejected because of its call for a small tax increase on the wealthy. Partisan politics make the process even more cumbersome, with bills often needing to overcome filibusters from hard-set politicians determined to deprive the other party of a political victory. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump have tak-

nally earn a political victory in 50 years or so. But we cannot afford to wait for the political machine to crawl its way forward. This generation can create its own change separate from the political process.

The first thing we can do is educate ourselves. Increasing financial literacy has had some impressive effects in Indiana after the state mandated all colleges accepting state aid send out monthly student debt let-

can be especially effective at keeping debt responsibilities at the forefront of students’ minds.

When students are well informed about their debt, they are better positioned to decide for themselves whether to take a part-time job or take out more loans. Working in addition to college can be difficult, but studies have found that students who work under 20 hours per week report higher grades than students

We cannot afford to wait for the political machine to crawl its way forward. This generation can create its own change separate from the political process.

en varying stances on student debt reform, though they are aligned in their call for speedy action. Clinton’s plan incorporates Warren’s push for refinancing loans, while Trump has emphasized that he does not want the government to profit off of student loans. But if precedent is anything to go by, it’s highly unlikely that these proposals will be able to provide a lasting solution.

For students suffering from the burden of debt today, federal reform is not the answer. Sure, we may fi-

ters that inform students about their total debt and monthly payments.

This policy change has reduced borrowing at Indiana University by 18 percent. The Brown Financial Aid Office could take similar steps to better inform students of their debt, whether through a periodic letter or more information sessions. Students should also use resources already available online, such as StudentAid.ed.gov and the Loan Repayment Calculator on the Brown Financial Aid portal. These reminders

who don’t work at all. Some jobs available to students at Brown, like working at the Stephen Roberts ’62 Campus Center front desk, are not overly work intensive, giving students time to study on the job. Debt accumulates over time, so reducing the amount students borrow can have long-lasting implications.

Even after graduation, there are ways we can manage student debt by taking advantage of existing tools on the market. An increasing number of companies are now offering jobs

that pay back a set amount of student loans. For example, Pricewaterhouse Coopers has a plan that includes payments of $1,200 a year to your loan for up to six years. These options are a fantastic way to pay off student debt faster, but many students at Brown and other elite institutions are unaware of their existence. Fortunately for us, there are many startups that exist to connect students to these opportunities. The startup Gradifi works with more than 100 companies to create more of these student loan repayment programs. Another startup, Future Fuel, provides an online networking platform that matches students with companies that have debt repayment programs. There are many similar tools out there, and it is important that we learn about these resources to keep debt from controlling us.

Student debt will continue to be a problem, but there are many ways we can alleviate the burden. Ideally, more solutions will be developed that can help reduce debt today and obviate the wait for the political machine to run its course. But in the meantime, there is always something we can do to work toward achieving a debt-free future.

Elliot Kang ’20 is a student consultant with the Collegiate Consulting Group at Brown and is currently working with Future Fuel. He can be reached at elliot_kang@brown.edu.

Break away from being busy CINDY ZENG staff columnist On Saturday, I spent a whole afternoon doing nothing in my room. I justified this period of indulgence with the thought that I had just finished three midterms and was running on seven hours of sleep over the span of two days. This was supposed to be a time of recuperation, relaxation and self-care, but instead I spent the entire afternoon suffering from an undercurrent of anxiety and self-admonishment: All I could think about was that I wasn’t being productive enough.

I have always envisioned the ideal Brown student as someone who has good grades, extensive extracurricular involvement, a superb social life and — most importantly — the ability to combine these three traits effortlessly. But this stereotype comes with its own host of issues. We have normalized the culture of overcommitment, but in doing so we have largely overlooked its problematic implications on student health and wellbeing.

For me, the race to high achievement has only intensified since coming to college. At Brown, admitting that you can feel the strain is like admitting that you are falling behind. The best students seem to show no weakness. They are simultaneously high-achieving and unburdened by the pressure. They leave no trace of coffee cups, no signs of exhaustion. They are admired for their work ethics and respected for

their stuffed schedules. They seem to have it all figured out, but odds are they’re just as strung out as the rest of us.

One of the most problematic aspects of this busy culture is our propensity to act like we’re unaffected by the never-ending waves of work.

This attitude contributes to an environment in which everyone is stressed out and drained, but no one ever talks about it. Instead of showing any sort of vulnerability and exhaustion, we isolate ourselves when we need support the most. We overwork instead of prioritizing self-care. We

driven students. The phrase “I’m so busy” has become a low-key assertion of accomplishment.

It’s addicting and validating because it justifies the emotional and physical burdens we endure.

The fact that Brown is such a socially rich, diverse and active environment doesn’t help.

With so many interesting events taking place every day, there is pressure to attend everything and make the most of the Ivy League experience.

This may sound familiar. FOMO — the fear of missing out — includes pressures to go out, attend parties and generally be busy. It makes you

Busy culture erodes away at our self-worth, and for that we hate it a bit. But those feelings, too, are hidden away.

swallow caffeine and pretend we feel recharged.

And all the while, our struggles — though perfectly normal — suddenly feel like a reflection of our own inadequacies. Busy culture erodes our self-worth, and for that we hate it a bit. But those feelings, too, are hidden away.

We romanticize being busy and productive because this has become our new definition of success. It’s the minimum expectation for anyone trying to stay afloat in a pool of stellar and

feel like one day of hibernation could mean failure at the academic, social and professional levels. One day of inactivity, and you’re left behind to flounder.

Busy culture even infects our downtime, prioritizing certain forms of relaxation over others.

When you’re not working, you’re expected to relax in decidedly extroverted ways. After a long week of the academic grind, there is a lot of peer pressure on weekends to socialize, attend par-

ties and casually hang out in large groups. Some people might genuinely enjoy these events, but if you’re like me, that’s not relaxing — it’s emotionally draining. And yet the busy culture has made me believe I’m missing out on something unidentifiable if I don’t engage in these forms of fun.

Admittedly, the constant drive to be productive is not without its merits. In the real world, the balance between work and free time can be difficult to manage, so the busy culture could actually prepare us for intense workloads and the hypercompetitive job market. But there’s a difference between being busy out of necessity and being busy for the sake of it. I love that so many Brown students are ambitious, idealistic highachievers, but we don’t need to inundate ourselves with items on an endless to-do list. Overcommitment may be idealized, but it is not sustainable. One of these days, we’ll just run out of steam.

It’s important to realize that you don’t have to be everywhere all the time. Missing one presentation here or social event there doesn’t mean that you’re not “doing college” as well as everyone else. Alone time might be less visible on campus, but it is as valuable as studying and socializing.

So don’t feel anxious about doing something to mentally recharge. After all, there will always be another party or study session to go to.

Cindy Zeng ’20 has finished her midterms and is finally getting some well-deserved sleep. She can be reached at cindy_zeng@brown.edu.

SPORTS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2016

VOLLEYBALL

Blown leads haunt Bruno in 0-2 weekend against Ivy opposition Bears unable to close out difficult sets in 3-0, 3-1 losses to Columbia, Cornell respectively

By DANIEL WAYLAND SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The volleyball team continued to struggle against Ivy League competition, losing tough matches to Columbia and Cornell over the weekend.

Brown (4-16, 2-8 Ivy) opened its weekend at home Friday against Columbia (11-9, 6-4 Ivy), seeking to avenge a 3-0 loss to the Lions earlier in the month. But Friday’s match would deliver a nearly identical result, with Bruno suffering another 3-0 defeat.

“The match was tough, and we definitely had opportunities to capitalize, but unfortunately we could not finish out the game,” said Payton Smith ’17.

“I think that’s something we want to work on these next few weeks.”

Bruno had opportunities to challenge Columbia, which included a 13-11 lead in the first set and a 24-22 advantage in the second. But Brown stumbled with the lead, allowing the visitors to take control of the games.

The team particularly struggled to prevent the Lions from going on scoring runs during the match’s decisive stages — Bruno conceded four straight points to conclude the second set, as well as five straight to finish the match in the third.

“Mentality is huge for volleyball,” Smith said. “Our losses are not because we are not physically capable but more that we have not been mentally

ELI WHITE / HERALD

Melissa Cairo ’17 and her teammates set up a play against Columbia in Ivy competition this weekend. The Bears were up 13-11 and 24-22 in sets against Columbia before losing both sets en route to a 3-0 victory for the Lions. The Bears also had leads late in sets against Cornell. tough in the ways we needed to be.”

Elisa Merten ’19 led the team with 15 assists and 10 digs, while Sarah Lucenti ’17 contributed 14 assists and nine digs. Brown also enjoyed solid performances from Emma Thygesen ’17 and Makena Ehlert ’20, who paced the team with 11 digs and eight kills, respectively.

Brown looked to rebound against Cornell (10-10, 4-6 Ivy) the following day. “Coming into Cornell after that

loss (to Columbia) was challenging because obviously we did not have a win under our belts to fuel our confidence,” Smith said.

Brown provided stiffer competition than it had the previous night but once again suffered lapses in key moments, ultimately losing 3-1. After 10 ties and seven lead changes, Bruno grabbed a 23-20 lead in the first set before conceding five straight points to Cornell. The team once again put

forth a strong early performance in the second set, keeping pace with Cornell at 15-15 before the Big Red reeled off five straight points and coasted to a 25-19 win.

Brown finally enjoyed a run of its own in the third set, rallying from a 22-17 deficit with a 9-2 run to win the stanza. Ehlert powered Bruno’s comeback, notching four of her teamhigh 14 kills during the set. But the team’s inability to stop its opponents’

runs would ultimately haunt it in the fourth stanza, as Cornell closed out the match on a 12-2 run to win 25-13.

Melissa Cairo ’18 gave Brown a strong performance, recording 23 digs, while Lucenti and Merten combined for 41 assists.

Brown will look to reverse its Ivy League fortunes in its final home matches of the season against Penn and Princeton Nov. 4 and 5, respectively.

Tiffany Chen ’18 awarded Changemaker Fellowship Fellowship program connects, supports entrepreneurial ventures across 11 RI colleges

By ANNA KRAMER STAFF WRITER

Tiffany Chen ’18 has been named one of 11 Changemaker Fellows in

the state of Rhode Island, becoming Brown’s representative in the statewide government-funded initiative.

The Changemaker Fellowship, coordinated by Social Enterprise Greenhouse, connects students from Rhode Island’s 11 universities in an attempt to heighten awareness of entrepreneurial opportunities and integrate and expand existing university programs, according to SEG’s website.

Chen will receive a $1,500 stipend and work alongside the other 10 fellows. “Currently our task is to map out the entrepreneurial ecosystem across all of the 11 college campuses in Rhode Island,” Chen said. She defined the entrepreneurial ecosystem as the web of resources and programs that are necessary for business development and innovation on college campuses.

At its biweekly meetings, the cohort will dedicate time to “figuring out ways to encourage entrepreneurship across different campuses,” Chen said.

Chen will primarily focus on developing the connections between Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design. While some groups at both universities are closely connected, most students remain unaware of the possible connections between the two

Help Wanted- Office/Clerical PT Clerical Person Monday through Friday $600.00 weekly Computer skills, Customer Service skills Some cash & items handling skills Apply Email: a7dford@gmail.com

schools, Chen said.

Chen plans to work with Aimee Kim, the Changemaker Fellow at RISD, to draw Brown students toward RISD and vice versa. “We plan on helping to promote entrepreneurial events across the different campuses,” Chen said.

A dual concentrator in economics and computer science, Chen hopes to » See CHEN, page 3