Issuu

SINCE 1891

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019

VOLUME CLIII, ISSUE 11

WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM

U-FLi Center changes name to reflect goals UCS elects new VP, chair of academic affairs William Zhou ’20 replaces Camila Pelsinger ’20 as VP, Jimenez ’21 elected Chair of Academic Affairs By KAYLA GUO SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The Undergraduate Council of Students elected Co-Chief of Staff William Zhou ’20 as its new vice president and Sofia Jimenez ’21, who served as the Council’s Communications Director, as its new chair of academic affairs in an internal election during its general body meeting Wednesday evening. UCS also voted in confidence of President Shanzé Tahir ’19 after Tahir gave a presentation on the Council’s past and ongoing projects. UCS held the elections after Camila Pelsinger ’20 and Mar Weiss ’20 formally resigned from their positions Wednesday afternoon as vice president and chair of academic affairs, respectively, The Herald previously reported. Following his election, Zhou told The Herald that “UCS as a whole is working really hard on outreach to the Brown community. We will be publishing a master list of all the speakers

who are coming into our meetings.” He added, “If (students) have issues that they want UCS … to hear about, or just be updated about campus news … please come check out the UCS meetings” or reach out to a UCS member. Zhou ran against Molly NaylorKomyatte ’19, the co-chief of staff, and Jason Carroll ’21, the appointments chair, for the vice presidency. Jimenez and UCS Secretary Vanessa Garcia ’20.5 ran for chair of academic affairs. Fifteen voting members of the Council were present and eligible to cast ballots in the two elections, though candidates could not vote in the races in which they ran. Tahir was only allowed to cast a vote in the event of a tie, according to provisions of the UCS By-Laws and Code of Operation. No ties occurred, said Austin Lessin ’19, the Council’s treasurer. Each candidate was given two minutes to speak before participating in a five-minute question-and-answer period. In his speech, Zhou said running for the vice presidency last spring — when he lost to Pelsinger — gave him the opportunity to speak with “a lot of different student leaders.” Through » See UCS, page 3

JASMINE RUIZ / HERALD

The new name underscores the center’s commitment to working with undocumented communities on campus and beyond. The center’s programming includes one-on-one advising with undocumented students.

Addition of word undocumented to name reinforces inclusive mission of center By TRISHA THACKER SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The First-Generation College and

Low-Income Student Center has officially changed its name to the Undocumented, First-Generation and Low-Income Student Center. By changing its name, the Center is “making it visible that there is a space for (undocumented students) here on campus and that we have been building knowledge around immigration … to become an

undocumented-friendly university,” said Renata Mauriz ’17, the Center’s student success coordinator. This new name aims to amplify the Center’s “commitment to working with and advocating for undocumented plus communities on campus and beyond,” she added. While the Center internally » See CENTER, page 4

Visiting string trio debuts student, faculty compositions Recent alum

testifies on criminal justice reform

Chartreuse performs experimental works, composers question performance power dynamics

Rachel Black ‘16 supports R.I. bill to end incarceration for unpaid court debt

By JANGO MCCORMICK SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The Chartreuse string trio performed contemporary and experimental music in a concert Tuesday night, playing compositions from their usual repertoire as well as new pieces composed by University students. The trio — violinist Myra Hinrichs, violist Carrie Frey and cellist Helen Newby — pushed the conventional limits of each instrument’s sound. Some pieces they played incorporated electronic components, while others explored the physical possibilities of the instruments themselves, such as the muted, breath-like effect created by the ponticello technique. Kristina Warren, visiting assistant professor of music, brought Chartreuse to the University after having

ARTS & CULTURE

INSIDE

By SOPHIE CULPEPPER AND JACKSON TRUESDALE METRO EDITOR AND SENIOR STAFF WRITER

As a recent Brown alum waited to enter the hearing room to testify, a woman exclaimed from the room’s threshold: “Are you the author? Oh my god! (Your thesis) has been (essential) for getting this issue taken up again.” She shook hands with the former public policy concentrator, Rachel Black ’16, who testified Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee in support of a criminal justice reform bill. Black used her undergraduate senior thesis research as evidence » See ALUM, page 4

METRO

TIFFANY DING / HERALD

Chartreuse performed compositions that incorporated electronic components and experimental concepts. Five students and one faculty member composed pieces for the trio, working with the musicians during rehearsals. collaborated with the trio in the past. Chartreuse played Warren’s “the music, calling attention to the power “I try to bring people who are doing chance that time takes,” a piece she dynamics that exist between the difreally fantastic work and might be a originally wrote for a quartet but ferent roles involved in performance. little afield relative to a lot of peoples’ transposed for the trio. Her work “I’m trying to highlight that a great normal listening experience,” War- exhibits thought and care for the deal of collaboration goes into the ren said. social questions that arise alongside » See CHARTREUSE, page 3

WEATHER

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019

NEWS Grad Student Council plans for new Strategic Initiative, presents executive board reports

COMMENTARY Schmidt ’21: Students flocking to intern at tech companies price locals out of housing market

NEWS Congressman David Cicilline ’83 to teach MPA class on partisan politics as Watson Fellow

PAGE 2

PAGE 7

BACK

TODAY

TOMORROW

42 / 38

54/ 22

NEWS

PAGE 2 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Grad Student Council unveils plan for new Strategic Initiative GSC presents executive board reports, directs more money toward conferences By KAMRAN KING SENIOR STAFF WRITER

In their first meeting of the semester, the Graduate Student Council presented an updated budget that allotted significantly more money toward conference funding and the GSC’s newlyunveiled Graduate Student Strategic Initiative, which will outline the GSC’s long-term goals. During the meeting, council members outlined the initiative’s purpose and future goals. The GSC deemed the initiative necessary because they “realized in the past that when we brought issues up to the administration, it was easy for them to say, ‘yes we’ll start working on it,’ and then just wait for (the students’ leadership) term to end,” said GSC President Alastair Tulloch GS. “The whole objective is to have a solid document in place that holds the administration accountable since all of us are only here for a short time,” Tulloch added. When structuring the initiative, the GSC referenced a similar strategic initiative at Cornell. “One thing Cornell does really well is that they have this five year plan,” which concretely outlines long-term goals for their grad students, Tulloch said. “It basically overcomes the limitations of having really high turnover.” The GSSI consists of at least eight groups, each with a specific area of focus. During the meeting, attending grad students divided into these groups and began brainstorming key topics to address through the initiative. One such group, led by Tulloch, convened to discuss the housing issues that University grad students face. Grad

JASMINE RUIZ / HERALD

During the Graduate Student Council meeting, grad students discussed a wide array of issues including the council’s Graduate Student Strategic Initiative, increased funds for conferences, housing concerns and grad student representation in academic departments. students in the group voiced concerns about the oversaturation of the housing market with students, international students’ struggles with biased and abusive landlords as well as the negative ramifications of competing against undergraduates for off-campus housing. They also discussed potential solutions, such as asking the University to partner with a developer to create apartments that would be rented solely to grad students.

The council also presented executive board reports in the meeting, which covered a wide array of issues, including grad student representation within academic departments. Vice President of Advocacy D’Ondre Swails said, “There is no consistency across departments. There is no parity across departments in how, in what ways and to what extent graduate students are represented on committees.”

Ultimately, Swails said, “The expectation is that graduate students will have an actual voice. Ideally, there would be one (grad student) voting member on all of those committees.” Other reports addressed vacancies in University committees such as “student observers to faculty meetings and members of the university resources committee,” said Chair of Technology Majesta Kitts GS.

Additional reports called for the nomination of commencement speakers and staff members to receive awards from the council. During the open floor portion of the meeting, grad students spoke about a bargaining priority survey to structure their unionization contract with the University. The GSC also used the meeting to note newly elected members of its executive board.

STAY UP-TO-DATE. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK. FACEBOOK.COM/BROWNDAILYHERALD

Enjoying this free paper? Support The Herald www.browndailyherald.com/donate

NEWS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019 • PAGE 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

» CHARTREUSE, from page 1

» UCS, from page 1

composition process,” she said. Her piece for Chartreuse is no exception, its score including some specific performance instructions while still leaving creative freedom for the musicians. “I was really interested in exploring, nuancing, varying the relationship between composer, performer and listener — somehow subverting, upsetting the power hierarchies I see implicit there,” Warren said. Marcel Zaes GS composed “Texture B” for Chartreuse with similar intentions in mind. In the piece, Zaes tried to evoke a particular musical soundscape while allowing for improvisation. He too was wary of the social structures at play in performance, elaborating that his intention in “Texture B” was to do something distinctly different from the traditional. Zaes explained that he did not see his work as a piece of music, but rather a single sheet of paper with a set of instructions, which were the only constraints provided for the musicians. In this instance, Zaes’s invitation to autonomy created a “very soft, very silent, very fragile carpet of sound, a stream that has no inner rhythm, that never stops,” he added. During the performance of “Texture B,” the sound of the instruments was modified and reproduced with the use of software that cut the sound into fragments, creating “rhythm out of something where there wasn’t rhythm there before,” Zaes said. Both the uninterrupted sound and the fragmented version were simultaneously audible in the concert hall, resulting in textural depth within the same melody. In a small, collaborative concert, “there is room to try an idea out that you normally wouldn’t … (something) that is radical in some way,” Zaes said. Reid Merzbacher’s ’20 piece “Ebb and Flow” was an experiment in its own right. Rather than using electronic equipment, he utilized an exploratory rationale in deciding to compose for a solo violist. A violinist himself, he used the opportunity of Chartreuse’s concert “to write for this instrument that I neglect,” Merzbacher said. Each composer had time to work with Chartreuse on the more subtle aspects of their pieces in the days leading up to the concert. “It was exciting to hear it come together,” Merzbacher said, adding that the performance was even better than the rehearsals. Leading up to the concert, the members of Chartreuse expressed interest and enthusiasm as they learned new compositions and braved a hot rehearsal hall. The trio is accustomed to taking on such challenges, as they have previous experience with experimental works of music. Frey, the trio’s violist, spoke about adjusting to new methods of musical notation, like that of Zae’s score. “It’s always neat when you see something and you’re like, ‘Oh yeah, I’ve never seen anything else like this.’ But it’s very intuitive and really conveys what the music will sound like,” she said. In addition to works by composers on campus, Chartreuse played pieces from their previous repertoire, the content of which is determined by the group’s shared musical taste. Frey said the pieces they like to play “have to be fun, they have to sound good and we have to like the composer.” She explained that these criteria define the sound of their group.

those conversations, Zhou added that he learned “UCS needs to continue improving our transparency, our collaboration and the amount of resources we provide to student leaders who drive a lot of the change we see on campus.” Zhou discussed his goal “to improve UCS and make it a better advocate for student voice as well as represent the multifaceted identities in the Brown community.” Citing his experience as a Meiklejohn Peer Advisor, his work with the Office of Sustainability and Christians at Brown, Zhou said, “I’ve shown that I can work across communities to effect change, and I really want to bring that experience to support” UCS and “to push the boundary on what UCS can be.” In her speech, Naylor-Komyatte addressed concern over the proposed Title IX regulations released by the U.S. Department of Education in November. “I’m particularly interested in sexual violence prevention, and I think now is a particularly timely point for the VP to work on that kind of project,” she said. Referencing her work as a Women’s Peer Counselor and a Community Advisor, Naylor-Komyatte said she has been acquainted with “the various challenges that students face navigating University resources, especially the different loci of marginalized identities.” In his speech, Carroll mentioned ideas including obtaining clean drinking water in all student dorms and making sure that all student groups have Brown-affiliated email addresses. “One of the biggest roles of a VP is working on stuff inside UCS, so for example, I want to make it easier for us to work across UCS and across class years,” he said. After a closed period of deliberation and a written secret ballot vote among the 12 voting members eligible to cast ballots for the vice presidency, UCS held an election for the chair of academic affairs. In her speech before the election, Jimenez said her main goal as chair of academic affairs would be “highlighting what Brown already has and emphasizing that there are certain support groups and things in place that can be publicized further.” Through her work as communications director, Jimenez said she tried “to brand UCS as more of an accessible place for students to come to for their problems and hopefully bring in the effective change they want to.” Garcia, who is a member of the Council’s academic affairs committee, discussed their work in adjusting the wording of the University’s academic warning letters and implementing cash awards for peer advisors. Thirteen voting members of UCS elected Jimenez to the chair position after a second closed period of deliberation. A vote of confidence for Zhou will be cast later in the semester, Tahir said. UCS declined to disclose the number of votes cast for the candidates running in the two races following a request from The Herald. The Council conducted a secret ballot for both elections and asked the press, the

JASMINE RUIZ / HERALD

Following the formal resignation of Camila Pelsinger ’20, William Zhou ’20, Molly Naylor-Komyatte ’19 and Jason Carroll ’21 ran for the position of UCS vice president. Zhou will replace Pelsinger to be vice president. body’s non-voting members and the candidates to leave the room for each vote and its preceding discussion. According to the By-Laws and Code of Operations for UCS, voting in special elections “shall be by secret ballot in the form of instant run-off voting with each voting member listing their candidate preferences in descending order.” “It’s a secret ballot, and we believe

strongly in preserving that,” Lessin told The Herald after the meeting’s conclusion. “There was a member of the Elections Board present at all times supervising all of the counting. Because it’s a secret ballot, we are going to preserve … that and not disclose those results.” UCS also did not disclose the number of votes of confidence cast for

Tahir. According to the By-Laws and Code of Operations for UCS, the vote of confidence must occur “in a secret ballot form where only the counters will know the results.” Project LETS Chapter Co-Coordinator Yema Yang ’19 was initially supposed to speak to the general body, but the election proceedings took up the entire meeting time.

NEWS

PAGE 4 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019

» ALUM, from page 1 to support House Bill 196. The bill mandates “that we do not criminalize people for their inability to pay court fees,” said Jordan Seaberry, director of public policy and advocacy at the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence . Black’s senior thesis examined the data of 8,000 individuals imprisoned in Rhode Island Adult Correctional Institutions in 2015 and found that “incarceration for failure to pay doesn’t appear to work as a debt collection mechanism.” Black’s research “really put a human face on something that’s hard to put a human face on,” said Ross Cheit, professor of political science and international and public affairs. “She found both real differences between how judges handle these things and I think, in some ways, slippage between stated policy and actual practice,” Cheit, who was Black’s first thesis reader, added. Representatives Christopher Blazejewski, Grace Diaz, Scott Slater, D-Providence, Jean Philippe Barros, D-Pawtucket and Deborah Ruggiero, D-Jamestown proposed the bill Jan. 25 to strengthen a law regarding criminal procedure costs which is already in place. HB196 would strengthen the current law by defining and mandating that courts assess a defendant’s ability to pay court fees before issuing an order requiring payment. The original legislation was passed in 2008 “to protect indigent defendants from the financial burden of court debts and the harm caused by jail time for failure to pay

court debts without first assessing ability to pay,” according to Black’s memo summarizing her research. The memo also cited a 2016 U.S. Department of Justice reassertion that defendants who cannot pay court fees should not become debtors. When defendants incur court debts and do not pay them, a warrant is automatically issued for their arrest, Black explained. The courts’ consistent failure to assess the ability of defendants to pay has resulted in unjustified incarcerations, she said. At least half of the more than 1,500 Rhode Islanders imprisoned for at least 24 hours for unpaid court debts “should never have been assessed this debt in the first place,” Black added. She even noted that the state loses money on this debt collection because “the cost of arrest and incarceration exceeds any revenue that would come in from this group.” Joining Black in support of the bill were Rhode Island ACLU Executive Director Steven Brown and Nick Horton ’04, co-executive director of Open Doors, who, along with Natalia Friedlander of the Rhode Island Center for Justice, invited Black to testify. The bill met with little opposition, though Black says that some legislators might oppose the bill on “moral grounds” to defend against unpaid debts. “Because we’re in such a small state,” student research can have an impact on state government, Cheit said. “It’s one of the great opportunities of Rhode Island.” Black now works as an associate at Education Resource Strategies, a national education-focused non-profit.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

JACKSON TRUESDALE / HERALD

Rachel Black ’16 testified in support of R.I. HB196 using research from her undergraduate thesis. The bill aims to protect those who have not paid their court fees from facing jail time for their unpaid debt.

»CENTER, from page 1 discussed changing its name over the past year and a half, the formal process with University administrators took place last semester, said Julio Reyes ’12, program director of the U-FLi Center. “We engaged in a semester-long assessment of the potential impact” of changing the center’s name, Reyes said. This included collecting student input through a feedback forum, an anonymous student dropbox and surveys, he added. “The U-FLi student community was overwhelmingly in favor for the name change.” The center’s new name “has been a long time coming. … It’s representative of a lot of work that different student activists have done,” said Jasmine Virgen Ruiz ’20.5, the U-FLi Center’s communication coordinator and one of its office managers, as well as a photo editor for The Herald. “It gives a lot more visibility” and validates the students’ work, she added. Although the Center revised its title, “the name change doesn’t reflect any shift in focus” in the Center’s programming because of its previous record on working and connecting with undocumented students, Mauriz said. The Center’s work includes its Undocumented Student Program, which involves one-on-one advising for undocumented students on issues ranging from their personal life to offering legal and financial support, Reyes said. The Undocumented Student Program was “propelled by student advocacy and interest led by the Brown Immigrant Rights Coalition (and) was created as an initiative of the UFLi Center in the fall 2016,” according

to the Center’s website. In addition to providing student support, the program “allows us to invite (speakers) to campus who are thinking about migration in a larger context beyond campus,” Mauriz said. These speakers often attend as part of the Center’s Undocu-Series. The Center plans to invite two organizers from the UndocuBlack Network to campus later this month to discuss the intersection of immigration and racial justice movements, Mauriz added. The Undocu-Series aims to foster critical engagement and “affirm the lived experiences of undocumented communities,” according to the Center’s website. Additionally, the Center works “closely with student groups who are very passionate about migration and immigrant rights,” Mauriz said. “We serve as staff advisors (for) the (Brown Immigrant Rights Coalition) and are always working alongside them for projects.” For Lopez-Aldas, the U-FLi center’s new name is a critical change because it offers recognition to a subject that affects millions of people. “Students are coming together and saying that this is something that is important to them and they want to address on a large scale … (by) working with other students, faculty and people in the community,” he added. The center “is providing a lot of very cool talks and community building spaces on really pressing issues in our society today,” said John Lopez-Aldas ’19, a member of BIRC’s leadership team and the U-FLi Center’s undocumented student program staffer. “As a student, it’s helped me to build community here on campus and learn about these things on a broader scale,” he added.

TODAY

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019 • PAGE 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

seems like summer

SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS

Grinder, Pho Bar, Boneless Chicken Wings, Make Your Own Salad, Pasta, Barbecue Bam Bam Pizza JOSIAH’S

BLUE ROOM

Southwestern Bean Burger, Tacos, Quesadilla Station

Chicken Artichoke Florentine, Minestrone Soup, Kadahi Paneer

DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH

DINNER

Grilled Italian Herb Chicken, Chorizo Breakfast Patty, Quinoa and Vegetable Grain Bowl

Herb Crusted Fish of the Day, Latin Spiced Boneless Pork Chops, Sumac Seasoned Tempeh

VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH

DINNER

French Fried Onion Rings, Escarole and Bean Soup, Veggie Patty, Cole Slaw, Hummus

Shredded Pepper Chicken, Spicy Beet and Potato Hash, Lo Mein Noodles, Pretzel Bread

sudoku

VICTORIA YIN / HERALD

The campus enjoyed a rare early spring last Saturday, allowing students to lounge in the unseasonably warm weather and bright sunshine. It was nice while it lasted. But now it’s cold again.

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

“I was really interested in exploring, nuancing, varying the relationship between composer, performer and

”

listener.

—Kristina Warren, Visiting Assistant Professor of Music

See chartreuse on page 1.

calendar TODAY

FEBRUARY

Academic-Led Publishing Day Webinar 10:00 A.M. Rockefeller Library Room 160

Wellness at Brown!: Breath and Bliss Yoga 12:00 P.M. South Street Landing

Quantum Science Brown Bag 12:00 P.M. Barus and Holley Room 190

AIChE Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream Event 12:30 P.M. Engineering Research Center

TOMORROW

Tea & Talk: Fellowship Advising 10:00 A.M. Faunce Room 228

Wellness at Brown!: Sleep 1:00 P.M. South Street Landing

Buddhist Practice 101 4:30 P.M. Page-Robinson Hall Room 411

The Challenges of Collegiate Beekeeping 8:00 P.M. Sayles Hall

COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Find us online! facebook.com/browndailyherald

browndailyherald.com

@the_herald

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

@browndailyherald

youtube.com/browndailyherald

Editorial Leadership

Sections

Multimedia & Production

Business

Editor-in-Chief Emily Davies

Arts & Culture Editors Elise Ryan Annabelle Woodward

Design Editors Kyle Cui Bilal Ismail Ahmed Dylan Tian Julie Wang

General Managers Ravi Betzig Nicholas Masiakowski

Managing Editors Anna Kramer Priyanka Podugu Senior Editors Anita Sheih Sarah Wang

Metro Editors Colleen Cronin Sophie Culpepper Celia Hack

Editorial Page Editors Grace Layer Krista Stapleford

News Editors Katherine Bennett Jacob Lockwood Melanie Pincus Allie Reed

post- magazine Editor-in-Chief Anita Sheih

Science & Research Editors Cate Ryan Chris Schutte Sports Editors Alexandra Russell Alex Smolar COMMENTARY Opinions Editors Rebecca Aman Emily Miller Derek Simshauser

Head Photo Editors Tiffany Ding Benjamin Turuño Copy Desk Chief Kelley Tackett Illustrations Editor Daphne Zhao Video Editor Victoria Caruso Max Dekle Graphics Editor Sarah Martinez

Office Manager Diane Silvia Directors Sales: Bersabel Yifru Finance: Rudra Srivastava, Reynaldo Blandon Strategy: Edwin Farley

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

Advertising contact: 401-351-3372 advertising@browndailyherald.com

Submissions: The Brown Daily Herald publishes submissions in the form of op-eds and letters to the editor. Op-eds are typically between 750 and 1000 words, though we will consider submissions between 500 and 1200 words. Letters to the editor should be around 250 words. While letters to the editor respond to an article or column that has appeared in The Herald, op-eds usually prompt new discussions on campus or frame new arguments about current discourse. All submissions to The Herald cannot have been previously published elsewhere (in print or online — including personal blogs and social media), and they must be exclusive to The Herald. Submissions must include no more than two individual authors. If there are more than two original authors, The Herald can acknowledge the authors in a statement at the end of the letter or op-ed, but the byline can only include up to two names. The Herald will not publish submissions authored by groups. The Herald does not publish anonymous submissions. If you feel your circumstances prevent you from submitting an op-ed or letter with your name, please email herald@browndailyherald.com to explain your situation. 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: $200 one year daily, $100 one semester daily. Copyright 2019 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, FEBRUARY 7, 2019 • PAGE 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Displacing thousands of residents? There’s an app for that. RACHAEL SCHMIDT staff columnist

ly across the street. Indeed, tech companies must peer outside of their insular bubble and acknowledge their obligation to aid residents across all socioeconomic strata. How does this relate to Brown students? Brown’s student body is comprised of more students from the top one percent than from the bottom 60 percent, a figure reported by the New York Times in 2017, and so it is easy for some students to underestimate or remain naive to the

Becoming more informed and understanding of the implications of working within the tech industry demonstrates an appreciation for the city and culture in which these jobs exist, while strengthening a rocky relationship with long-term residents.

and accessible urban environment is of paramount importance. Morally agnostic techies must recognize that the remarkable growth of their industry necessarily raises the stakes of their actions; as their stock price rises, so does their social responsibility. Presently, tech companies’ capacity for moral indifference can border on the absurd. In a central part of San Francisco, a newly built block of Uber executive offices rises directly over a strip of homeless residents. Uber, supposedly a socially conscious company, remains blind to the needs of homeless people living direct-

Read Join

Many Brown students concentrating in computer science hope to travel to Silicon Valley this summer to intern for a variety of tech companies and startups. But do these students realize the amount of space that they would take up by joining the tech industry in cities like San Francisco? The University should offer some mechanism to educate its CS students on the ethical implications of the tech boom. Computer science is tied with economics as Brown’s most popular concentration, according to U.S. News and World Report, and the TV screens in the Center for Information Technology — Brown’s CS hub — often boast of how one in six Brown students concentrates in CS. That is a lot of web developers, programmers and software engineers who will enter the tech workforce after college. Many strive to land a coveted summer internship or a postgraduate gig at one of the multitudes of tech companies based in San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area: Twitter, Uber, Dropbox, Yelp to name a few. But what these students may not know — or perhaps do know, but try not to think about — is that in Bay Area cities, there is a battle between “techies” and the residents they are quickly displacing. Beginning in the 1990s, the Dot-Com Boom accelerated a process that has driven hordes of tech workers to San Francisco. As the demand for housing in the Bay Area increased, so did the cost of living. Without rent control laws to protect residents from eviction, native San Franciscans have been booted out as packs of technologically adept lemmings win ever-higher bidding wars. As of December 2018, the average cost of rent for a single-bedroom apartment in San Francisco is $3,693 a month — in the quaint, upscale neighborhood of Russian Hill, that figure skyrockets to $4,819 a month. Some of these former residents have now become a part of San Francisco’s homeless

population. And it’s not just San Francisco suffering — surrounding areas like Oakland and Marin County watch their housing prices continue an inexorable climb. Tech-driven gentrification in San Francisco and cities across the world has been an issue for years now, and sadly it shows no signs of stopping. As a result, educating tech employees on the ethical challenges that their work presents to maintaining an equitable

impacts that the industries we enter can have on communities. With this in mind, it becomes important to be aware of these effects; only then can we give more to the broader community than what we take. Even as a native San Franciscan myself, who has seen plenty of friends and neighbors driven out of the city, I can still strive to learn more about these issues. Without highlighting how the tech industry often tramples on a city’s native culture, companies can attempt to appropriate shared environments. For instance, in 2014 Airbnb and Dropbox employees tried to privately reserve a public park — a space that

San Franciscans share equally. Realizing that a CS summer internship in San Francisco — or other neighboring Silicon Valley cities — might contribute to gentrification is a painful conclusion to reach. However, becoming more informed and understanding of the implications of working within the tech industry demonstrates an appreciation for the city and culture in which these jobs exist, while strengthening a rocky relationship with longterm residents. There are many ways in which CS students can learn more about the ethical complications created by the Dot-Com Boom. Students should consider researching which tech companies give back to the city of which they are a part — or those that do not — before applying to an internship. For example, Google has donated over $63 million to San Francisco to promote economic and educational opportunities as well as initiatives to reduce homelessness since 2014. Doing independent research can lead into a deep-dive of news reports, articles and studies about the ways in which the tech industry affects the makeup of Bay Area cities. Brown might even consider a sociology class on the ethics that stand at the intersection of technological progress, tech companies and gentrification; such a course could be a requirement within the CS concentration. Whatever method of education it may be, it’s an important one to undertake out of a moral obligation to protect the places that the tech industry gentrifies every year. Brown CS students should come into San Francisco, Cupertino or wherever their internship brings them this summer aware that they are living in someone’s former home. Doing so will create a better and more equitable relationship between tech companies and the public.

Rachael Schmidt ’21 can be reached at rachael_schmidt@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and other op-eds to opinions@ browndailyherald.com.

The Herald browndailyherald.com/join herald@browndailyherald.com

NEWS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019

U.S. Congressman joins Watson Institute as senior fellow David Cicilline ’83 to teach course for Masters of Public Affairs Program on partisanship By TYLER JACOBSON STAFF WRITER

U.S. Congressman David Cicilline ’83, D-R.I., has been named a senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs and will teach a course for the Masters of Public Affairs program beginning in April, the University announced in late January. The six-week, for-credit course, titled MPA 2606: “Public Policy and Politics in Partisan Times,” will explore the causes and effects of partisan polarization on the creation and implementation of U.S. policy. Cicilline hopes that his first-hand experience on Capitol Hill will help facilitate discussions on possible solutions to polarization in Congress. “Public Policy and Politics in Partisan Times” will have a capped enrollment of twelve people, which “fits the spirit of these MPA courses … intended to have a personable education experience,” said Edward Steinfeld P’20, director of the Watson Institute. Students were selected for the class through an application process. “This is great for the Watson Institute,” Steinfeld said. “Given what I’ve seen (Cicilline) do in our community, given how I’ve seen him interact with students in non-class settings (and)

public events, I’m really excited about having him teach for us.” “I thought it would be a great opportunity for students to have the benefit of someone who’s currently in Congress observing what’s happening and being able to share those experiences with young people,” Cicilline said. He designed the curriculum and selected the weekly readings, which include historical and contemporary selections and Congressional Research Service Reports. He wants students to “formulate and share” their own ideas on how to resolve the polarization of politics, and their work will culminate with a final 20-page paper. Cicilline said he hopes to “ignite the interests of some students to think about careers in government, whether it be working in Washington or running for office.” “The polarization of politics has resulted in people sometimes disengaging completely,” he said. “They’ve sort of given up on thinking about government as a useful place to devote energy because they don’t think it’s responsive to the challenges in their own lives. That’s very dangerous for our democracy.” Cicilline has represented Rhode Island’s First Congressional District on Capitol Hill since 2011. He serves as the chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, co-chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus and vice-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Prior to becoming a U.S. Representative, he served

as mayor of Providence from 2003 to 2011 and as a four-term member in the R.I. House of Representatives. In addition, Cicilline brings teaching experience to the Watson Institute, having previously taught “Advanced Problems in Constitutional Law” and “Advanced Trial Practice” at Roger Williams University School of Law. Paul Marshall GS, a student registered for Cicilline’s class and a native Rhode Islander, hopes to gain a deeper understanding of climate policy from the MPA program. He chose to take Cicilline’s class because the Congressman has supported climate change initiatives at the state and federal level. Marshall said that he wants to examine “the intersection of policy and the environment … how interest groups and lobbyists and media intersect with climate change.” Nate Blouin GS, another student in the MPA program, is enrolled in Cicilline’s class and participated in a study group last semester led by Tom Perez ’83 P ’18, chair of the Democratic National Committee and a Watson senior fellow. He says that while Perez was “very on-message the whole time” and spoke “for a party,” he believes that members of Congress “speak more for themselves.” He looks forward to getting more “personal insight” about politics from Cicilline. The polarization of politics “is a complicated question with a lot of contributing causes,” Cicilline said. “But the good news is I think there are a lot of ways we can fix it.”

COURTESY OF CONGRESSMAN DAVID CICILLINE

Cicilline aims to have students in the MPA program formulate ideas about how to resolve polarization in U.S. politics.

Life can be overwhelming, especially if you’re struggling with depression or anxiety. That’s why Butler Hospital created True Self - a new outpatient program for young people from 18 to 26 years old in the LGBTQ+ communities. A safe place where you’ll be with other young adults taking part in group and individual therapy sessions—all in an inclusive and accepting environment. You are not alone. Find out more at butler.org/trueself or call 1 (844) 401-0111.

345 Blackstone Boulevard, Providence, RI Butler is the major affiliated teaching hospital for psychiatry and behavioral health of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.