Monday, February 11, 2019

SINCE 1891

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2019

VOLUME CLIII, ISSUE 13

Corporation approves 5 percent tuition increase for Fiscal Year 20 Budget includes increase in tuition, financial aid for undergraduate, graduate students

By ALLIE REED AND DANIEL GOLDBERG UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR AND SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The Corporation, the University’s highest governing body, voted to approve a 5 percent increase in undergraduate student tuition charges as part of a $1.2 billion operating budget for the 2020 fiscal year at its winter meeting Feb. 7-9.

The 5 percent tuition hike will increase the cost of undergraduate charges from $54,320 to $57,112.

The University Resources Committee — a council made up of stakeholders from the University’s faculty, administration, staff and students — developed the budget report and presented it to the Corporation. The committee met multiple times over the course of the fall semester to analyze data and build the budget proposal. Provost Richard Locke P’18 chaired the committee, which

unanimously endorsed the budget Jan. 22.

The budget includes $143.1 million for undergraduate financial aid, which is a $6.2 million increase over the last fiscal year, according to a University press release.

Despite the increased tuition fees, support for low-income students “won’t be affected at all,” Locke said. “(Student) aid covers whatever the increases are.

That’s why the financial budget historically grows at a faster rate than tuition and fees,” he added.

The University aims to improve financial aid packages for undergraduates in a number of ways, such as increasing scholarship amounts for low-income students and reducing summer earnings expectations — a contribution that students are expected to earn over the summer to pay toward their academic expenses, Locke said.

The budget also includes continued support for Brown Promise, which eliminated student loans from financial aid packages as of the 2018-19 academic year, The Herald previously reported.

Brown Promise added “between 5 and 6 million dollars in additional expense to

Sorority recruitment numbers hit five-year high 164 students joined four sorority houses following four days of recruitment, 252 attend first round

By OLIVIA BURDETTE STAFF WRITER

After four days of sorority recruitment last week, 164 students joined the University’s four sorority houses, according to Assistant Director for Greek and Program House Engagement Megan Fox. Participation in recruitment hit a five-year high with 252 students attending the first round.

From Jan. 31 to Feb. 4, potential new members cycled through the four houses and talked to current members to get a sense of what life in Kappa Delta, Alpha Chi Omega, Kappa Alpha Theta and Delta Gamma is like. The University’s eight-member Panhellenic Council, which organizes recruitment for Greek housing, began planning the rush process in September by booking rooms, setting up the online registration system and creating the schedule, said Vice President of

INSIDE

Recruitment Hailey Fulkerson ’19.

“It has to be scheduled out very specifically,” Fulkerson said. “Each party has to go exactly the same amount of time, and all the girls have to talk to exactly the same amount of people.”

Twenty-nine more students attended the first round of recruitment this year than in 2018. Of the 88 students who rushed this year but did not join a sorority, 98 percent dropped out of the process before bid day, Fox said.

DG took part in its first formal recruitment cycle this year after joining the University last spring.

DG finished this year’s process with 45 new members, chapter president Haley Barthel ’20 wrote in an email to The Herald.

“We have had the support of our organization’s advisers, consultants and staff members to lead recruitment preparation workshops for our members to feel confident going into our first primary recruitment,” Barthel wrote.

Students who rushed attended up to three days of events at the sorority houses. Although the schedule » See RUSH, page 3

our budget,” Locke said. The University offset that additional expense through fundraising as part of the BrownTogether campaign, a multi-year fundraising campaign initiated by President Christina Paxson P’19. The University is “trying to raise half a billion dollars just in financial aid” through this campaign, Locke added.

Because the University accepts undergraduate students on a need-blind basis, the budget for undergraduate financial aid is an estimate of the actual cost of aid for the upcoming year.

“Sometimes we go under budget and sometimes we go over budget. This past (fiscal) year… it looks like we’ve gone under budget by maybe a couple million dollars,” Locke said.

The graduate student aid budget also increased, expanding $14.2 million to total $159.9 million, according to the release. The aid budget for graduates is larger than for undergraduates in part because of a “transitional payment” stipend the University initiated to assist some graduate students with the cost of living in Providence, Locke said. This stipend, which launched for graduate » See TUITION, page 2

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Bears undefeated on road trip

COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS

The men’s hockey team won four of its last five contests on the road, including two clashes against nationally ranked opponents.

Bruno topples Princeton 4-2, upsets No. 4 Quinnipiac 4-1 for fourpoint weekend

By ALEXANDRA RUSSELL SPORTS EDITOR

The men’s hockey team found success on the road this weekend, earning a critical pair of victories over Princeton and No. 4 Quinnipiac University.

The Bears bested the Tigers 4-2 Friday, before upsetting the nationally ranked Bobcats 4-1 to close out the road trip the following night.

“They were both really, really good team wins, and I think that was kind of an emphasis going into the weekend,” said Jack Gessert ’20. “We executed our game plan, stuck to it and kept it simple. … Everybody on the team was contributing in some way, shape or form, and I think that’s one of the » See M. HOCKEY, page 2

Bears beat Princeton, fall to Penn

COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS

Guard Zach Hunsaker ’20 faces off against a Penn defender in a Friday night showdown at Pizzitola Sports Center. The Bears lost 92-82 against the Quakers, but bounced back to defeat Princeton the next day.

Bears lost 92-82 after slow start against Quakers, but rebounded against Tigers thanks to defense

By RYAN HANDEL SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The men’s basketball team dropped its Friday night matchup against Penn in a 92-82 shootout, but rebounded at home to defeat Princeton Saturday.

The Bears were down by as much as 12 early in the first half against the Tigers, but an emphatic 39-15 run allowed Bruno to hold on for the crucial

78-70 victory.

Brown (14-8, 2-4 Ivy) had no answer for Penn’s three-point shooting Friday as the Quakers (14-8, 2-4) rolled to a 13-25 shooting performance from beyond the arc. Despite Desmond Cambridge ’21 and Obi » See M. BBALL, page 3

WEATHER

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2019

COMMENTARY Bosis ’19: It’s impossible to predict which friends will last through college

COMMENTARY Aman ’20: There should be more transparency in pre-registration, formal registration processes

NEWS Students balance RISD Wintersession courses, shopping period schedule

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EMILY DAVIES / HERALD

» TUITION, from page 1 students in fall 2018, is the basis for the graduate student aid budget, he added.

Graduate students “were finding themselves quickly going into debt” thanks to cost of living in Providence, Locke said. Historically, the University would grant the stipend to students who requested it on a case by case basis. But to avoid creating stigma against those who received the stipend, the University decided to “give it to everyone,” he said.

In the final report for the University’s official re-accreditation from the New England Commission of Higher Education issued fall 2018, evaluators encouraged the University to establish

» M. HOCKEY, from page 1 main reasons we won.”

With the wins, the Bears reignited their hot streak, improving to an 8-3 record over the last 11 games and climbing to sixth place in the ECAC. Bruno also swept its last away series, against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and No. 20 Union College, two weeks ago.

“We’ve proved to everyone and ourselves that we can play with the best of the best when we play our game,” said Chris Berger ’21. “We have to continue to do that and be consistent with it.”

Brown 4, Princeton 2 Friday night, four different Bears scored to power the team to victory over reigning ECAC Tournament champions Princeton (7-14-2, 5-10-1 ECAC). The teams entered the third period tied at two, but goals from Colin Burston ’21 and Berger gave Bruno (10-10-3, 7-6-3) the final advantage late in the stanza. Justin Jallen ’22 and Max Gottlieb ’19 also posted tallies, and goaltender Luke Kania ’21 made 32 saves to secure the victory.

Brown jumped out to an early lead two minutes into the first period when Jallen capitalized on a power play opportunity and fired a shot from the right circle past Tigers netminder Ryan Ferland. Corey Andonovski equalized the game with a goal for Princeton late in the stanza, sending the teams into the locker rooms at a draw of one.

Princeton forward Alex Riche gave the Tigers the lead with a goal on a fiveminute power play early in the second period, but the Bears answered back as Gottlieb sent a smooth shot from the slot into the Princeton net to equalize

the game seven minutes later.

Burston reclaimed the advantage for Bruno midway through the final frame, redirecting a feed from Ben Taylor ’21 past Ferland in the crease.

Berger cemented the victory with just over a minute remaining, finishing off a rebound after Tristan Crozier ’22 took the initial shot in a 2-on-1 bid.

Brown 4, Quinnipiac 1 The following day, a three-goal offensive surge in the first 3:07 of the third period fueled Bruno to victory, bringing Quinnipiac’s five-game undefeated streak to an end. In net, Kania made a career-high 47 stops to shut down the Bobcats (21-6-1, 10-5-1).

Following a scoreless first frame highlighted by several athletic saves from Kania, Brent Beaudoin ’20 opened scoring on a power play early in the second period. After a shot from Jallen was blocked, Beaudoin launched the puck past a sliding Andrew Shortridge for the advantage.

Alex Brink ’19 began the offensive wave in the first minute of the final period, finishing a rebound from his own shot to widen the Bears’ lead. Berger followed 15 seconds later, also capitalizing on a rebound after a turnover in the Quinnipiac zone.

Brogan Rafferty converted on a power play for the Bobcats a minute later, but Bruno quickly reasserted its lead when Gessert scored a wraparound goal at 3:07. After collecting a pass from Burston behind the net, Gessert sent the puck past Shortridge to seal the victory for the Bears.

“Our forecheck was really effective,” Berger said. “It allowed us to sustain pressure and stay out of our own zone,

“robust contingency plans” to mitigate concerns that the University’s budget has “very little margin for slippage” in unanticipated financial situations, the report stated.

Currently, the University is “much more heavily dependent on tuition and fees for its budget than our peers, and we need to change that,” Locke said.

In addition to fundraising through the BrownTogether campaign, the University has been “reducing the payout of the endowment” in recent years and has been looking to diversify its sources of revenue, Locke added.

After the release of last year’s budget, which hiked tuition by 4 percent, Locke stated that at “some point we are really

going to hit the ceiling and are not going to be able to increase the tuition on an annual basis,” The Herald previously reported.

The URC report projects “an operating deficit of $1.3 million,” which “is an improvement of roughly $4 million” compared to FY19. By greatly reducing the University’s operating deficit, the budget “(positions) us for financial success for the decades to come,” Locke said in a University press release.

“The proposed budget reflects Brown’s unwavering commitment to integrative scholarship, educational leadership, academic excellence and campus development, while delivering a nearly balanced budget,” the report states.

which is important.”

“We … kind of grinded their (defense) down and worked it around the offensive zone, and that definitely created chances,” Gessert said. “Especially in the third periods against Princeton and Quinnipiac, we kind of came alive and once we started to wear them down, we saw that offensive explosion happen.”

In the final three minutes, Kania made eight saves on a 6-on-4 Quinnipiac bid as the Bobcats pulled Shortridge on the power play for an extra attacker.

The Bears seek to carry momentum from their recent successes forward into the final stretch of the regular season, which continues with home contests against No. 10 Cornell and Colgate University this weekend. Head Coach Brendan Whittet ’94 emphasized the importance of diligence and everyday improvement in the lead-up to playoff competition in March.

“All I’m focused on is tomorrow, and the guys are the same way because we understand that we’re just going to continue to get better,” Whittet said. “If we play to our identity, if we strive to improve every day when we step on the ice (and) if we’re driven toward daily improvement, we’ll perform on Fridays and Saturdays. That’s the way we’ve been all year, and that’s what we’ll continue to do.”

“Keeping it simple and sticking to our game plan will be key,” Gessert said.

“If we keep getting the contributions from all 28 of our guys, good things will keep coming.”

The Bears return home to host Cornell and Colgate at Meehan Auditorium this weekend.

Are you a student in recovery or struggling with an addiction?

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2019 • PAGE 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

» RUSH, from page 1 is strictly set, Fulkerson described Brown’s recruitment process as very casual compared to those of other universities.

“You’re just trying to find the group that you vibe the best with, that you’re the most comfortable with,” she said. “I know at other schools it’s crazy intense. People get really upset if they don’t get invited back to houses, but here it’s pretty low-key.”

Diana Lee ’22, a new member of AXO, said she was interested in the recruitment process as a way to continue to meet new people.

“I really liked putting myself out there and meeting new people first semester, and second semester that kind of settled down,” she said.

“Friend groups were also consolidating, so I wanted to meet an entirely new group of people.”

Kate Dario ’22, a new recruit to KD, said there were moments of stress in the process. “Every day after our schedules would come out, there would be a moment of craziness where some people were thrilled and some were devastated,” she said.

But overall, Dario said her conversations with KD members made her rush experience a positive one.

“People were interested in what your values were, what you were studying, what you were involved in on campus, and I thought that

SARAH MARTINEZ / HERALD

was a really positive thing,” she said.

But Olivia Williams ’22, who participated in recruitment through the third day but did not join a sorority, said she felt the process was more random and less personal.

“Don’t go into it with any

expectations because it’s really not about you,” she said. “You can’t take the process personally — it gets so random and it’s really about luck of the draw.”

» M. BBALL, from page 1 Okolie ’19 each scoring over 20 points, the Bears could not keep up with Penn’s potent offense. But against Princeton (12-7, 4-2), Bruno’s defense clamped down and allowed just 39.1 percent shooting from the Tigers. The Bears also did a better job spreading the ball around Saturday, with five Bears scoring in double figures.

In last week’s games against Dartmouth and Harvard, Brown got off to slow starts, and things were no different against Penn. The Quakers pushed out to a 13-3 lead before the first media timeout, and this 10 point edge proved to be the difference in the game. Each time the Bears tried to get back in the contest with a run, Penn would answer with a threepoint barrage. Six different Quakers made a three during a dominant first half, giving Penn a 46-34 lead into the break.

The Quakers pulled ahead by as many as 19 points with nine minutes left in the game. Bruno attempted to pull off a miracle comeback by committing several intentional fouls, which drew the Bears within eight with less than a minute remaining.

But it was too little, too late for a Brown squad that was still searching for its second Ivy League win.

Fortunately for the Bears, they found that win the next night against a tough Princeton team that entered the game with just one loss against the Ancient Eight. Still, Bruno was plagued by yet another slow start, as they faced a 20-8 deficit less than 10 minutes into the game.

“I think in games like (the one against Princeton), … sometimes it gets a little frenetic on offense and defense too,” Okolie said.

This time, Bruno responded by exploding with a 39-15 run to end the half. The run was highlighted by a play from Tamenang Choh ’21, in which he sent a bounce pass through the legs of a Princeton defender to George Mawanda-Kalema ’21, who finished the job with a layup.

“Our offense was outstanding for the last 12 minutes of the first half,” said Head Coach Mike Martin ’04.

“It was all fueled by the energy from our defense.”

Princeton slowly inched back into the game in the second half, cutting Brown’s lead to five with six minutes remaining. Choh silenced Princeton with a powerful dunk to put Brown back up seven, but he fouled out of the game soon after. Bruno was able to hold on without its defensive powerhouse thanks to the late-game efforts of Mawanda-Kalema, who finished with a career-high 19 points off the bench to lead Bruno.

“I come in everyday … just trying to give positive energy to the team and do the best I can to help us get wins. … That’s what I did tonight,” Mawanda-Kalema said.

“We talked this morning about last night’s defensive performance (against Penn) being, we think, an outlier, not being who we really are,” Martin said. “Against another good offensive team tonight, our guys, after a tough start, played inspired basketball.”

With this weekend’s results, Bruno is locked in a three-way tie with Penn and Dartmouth for fifth place in the Ivy League standings. Brown will look to seize the momentum from their crucial victory over Princeton as they head to the Empire State next weekend for showdowns with Cornell and Columbia.

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DANIELLE EMERSON / HERALD

COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS

TED ORBEN / HERALD

TED ORBEN / HERALD

TED ORBEN / HERALD

The Bears defeated Princeton 78-70 Saturday night, putting them in a three-way tie for fifth place in the Ivy League standings. Bruno will compete next against Cornell and Columbia this weekend.

TODAY

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2019 • PAGE 5

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menu

t h e pat h a h e a d t o wa r m e r d ay s

SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS

Sammy Special Pizza, Barbecue Chicken Ranch Pizza, Grinder, Baked Pasta, Pho Bar JOSIAH’S

BLUE ROOM

Asian Salad, Southwest Salad, Dumpling Bar, Hamburger

Chicken Noodle Soup, BYO Grain Bowl, Tom’s Bao Bao

DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH

DINNER

California Salad Bar, Grilled Citrus Chicken, Yellow Edamame and Tofu Curry

Asian Style Barbecue Ribs, Hoisin Shrimp Stir Fry, Siberian Style Grain Bowl

VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH

DINNER

Mashed Potato Bar, Apricot Tofu with Sesame Lo Mein Noodles, Garden Bean Chili

Baked Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese, Freekeh Sauté with Roasted Tofu

sudoku

crossword

SARA RUNKEL / HERALD

The Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World peeks out through the foliage overlooking the Quiet Green. The Institute is a center for researching and teaching archeology.

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

“All I’m focused on is tomorrow, and the guys are the same way because we understand that we’re just going to continue to get better.

”

— Head Coach Brendan Whittet ‘94

See m. hockey on page 1.

calendar TODAY

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Undergraduate Info Session 12:00 P.M. Pembroke Hall, 305

Renting in New York: Practical Workshop 12:00 P.M. CareerLAB

Theory Seminar - Ben Brooks 4:00 P.M. Robinson Hall, 301

Book Launch: Exile Within Exiles 5:00 P.M. Watson Institute

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Virtual Reality in the YURT 12:00 P.M. 180 George St.

Transcontinental Indigeneity 4:00 P.M. Pembroke Hall, 305

Korean Language Table 4:00 P.M. Gerard House

Emily Hipchen: Practicing Nonfiction 4:00 P.M. 70 Brown St.

COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2019

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COMMENTARY MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2019 • PAGE 7

Friendships, four years later BENJAMIN BOSIS staff columnist The door to my dorm room in Champlin creaked open, my eyes following suit as I squinted into the offensive beam of light from the hallway. “Yo.” Will’s voice shattered any chance of staying asleep, so I pushed myself up onto my elbows. “What the he-” “Let’s go to the gym,” he said.

I glanced at the clock. 5:50 a.m.

“What?”

“Come on, it’ll be fun.”

“No way dude, I need to sleep.”

I rolled over and planted my face as firmly as I could into my pillow, hoping to send a clear message. He stayed in the doorway — for 10 more minutes.

At the beginning of spring semester, a lot of first years may feel like their friend groups have begun to solidify. Others may still be trying to figure out who their real friends are.

Some might even be looking for a way out of the groups they arbitrarily fell into in the frenzy of the first few weeks of school. I definitely felt a lot of uncertainty about who I really got along with and cared about in my first year at Brown. Four years later, I am still struck by the unpredictability of the people who have become my closest friends. There is nothing that my enduring friendships share except for that they have endured — no char-

acteristic, timing or shared interest can possibly forecast the trajectory of these relationships.

Will did get me to go to the gym with him, but not that morning. Not the next day, nor the next semester, nor the next year. In January 2018, two full years after that first attempt, I started going to the gym with Will, and have been almost every day since.

Though it’s a simple ritual, that arc is the best nutshell explanation of my friendship with Will. He pushes me

(and into) a lot of unlikely situations and come out the other side a little closer every time.

On the other hand, the majority of my closest friendships could not be more different from my friendship with Will. I was lucky enough to meet three people on my very first day — the first of many exciting, yet horrifyingly uncertain, days at Brown — who have stuck by my side as we have grown together through our time at this university. Our conversations are

lina — that made us best friends. But these memories add up to friendships that will transcend the convenient proximity of College Hill.

As our schedules have gotten busier and our activities more varied, we have spent less and less time doing those things, but that has never been a major factor in the relationship. There’s an important difference between wanting to spend time with someone and needing them around that demonstrates a certain measure

There is no normative metric that could have told me how much those people would impact my life.

in ways (including, but not limited to working out) that make me better. He never lets up, and he doesn’t apologize for it. And as occasionally frustrating as that can be, it’s exactly what makes him such a good friend.

Beyond the fun conversations, lunches and even real care you can have for a number of people, one genuine test of a close friendship is whether it can stand a little bit of pushing, ideally in both directions. We’ve had fights, but between Will’s persistence and my ability to escalate his shenanigans, we’ve also helped each other out of

entirely different from those I have with Will; the types of things we do together even more disparate. Instead of working out, we cook or play music together. While Will and I challenge each other constantly, these other friendships thrive on a simple willingness to let our guard down around each other, built over time by experiences we shared simply because we were open to them. There’s no singular event — not biking in a hurricane, not scavenging furniture from Providence streets, running Spartan Races, or even road tripping to North Caro-

of trust — a critical aspect of steady friendships that lets you spend your time in other ways without worrying about the latter.

Thus, my semesters have been more often characterized by the people who — through lucky schedule alignment or some other circumstance — briefly become a significant part of my day to day life. Some of those relationships have translated to occasional-but-fulfilling long conversations about books over tea, while some have simply faded and a few others crashed and burned. But

the paths of these arcs are impossible to foresee. Could I have known that the potential transfer I met during my first year would become a climbing buddy four years later? Or that I’d completely stop talking to the person who took the most classes with me?

Or that in my last year on campus, I would meet some of the best people in any of my four years? There is no normative metric that could have told me how much those people would impact my life.

When I think about the friends I’ve made, maintained, and even lost at Brown, it always surprises me how extraordinarily different — and unpredictable — those friendships can be. If you open yourself up to where the unexpected relationships in your life can take you, you might get hurt and you might waste a little time — but you’ll also make new friends all the time. By maintaining an openness to relationships that sometimes defy rules of time or proximity, you allow yourself to be changed and made better in ways you would never expect.

In the end, the ones who stick around will be more than worth the trouble.

Benjamin Bosis ’19 can be reached at benjamin_bosis@ brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.

Brown should increase pre-registration transparency REBECCA AMAN opinions editor On the second day of a class this semester, my professor announced to the room that while the course was capped at 40 students on the Courses@Brown website, the class’s department had instead decided to reduce the number of spots to 30.

Since I was already registered for all four classes I wanted to take by the time she made this announcement, I had stopped shopping other courses and did not have a backup plan. Furthermore, this class is a concentration requirement for me.

Two days later, the course cap was raised to 45 students, and I was admitted. While I will now be able to take the course, I experienced a very stressful 48 hours as I waited to see if I would be kicked out of a class in which I thought I had secured a place.

Until this semester, I had always assumed pre-registration guaranteed a spot in a class. Since this is apparently not the case, administrators and professors should be transparent about the process of formal registration, and the University should officially require all professors to allow registered students to take the classes in which they are enrolled.

More broadly, professors and administrators should recognize that

shopping period is a stressful time for students and work toward alleviating that stress, rather than contributing to it.

I have witnessed times when students are barred from taking certain classes, such as creative writ-

sense of security, which especially hampers students who do not shop for a backup class.

If professors are not going to honor pre-registration, the Courses @Brown website should not allow students to pre-register for

ple, there are instances in which professors state, during shopping period, that first-years and second-years should not even attempt to take the course because of popularity among juniors and seniors, even for classes that appear uncapped on CAB. It

The University should officially require all professors to allow registered students to take the classes in which they are enrolled.

ing courses, in which they had been pre-registered for months. Course descriptions often state that class makeup will be determined after a writing sample assessment; yet, courses often do not clarify whether pre-registering guarantees a spot, or at least an advantage. The description, “Class list will be reduced … after writing samples are reviewed during the first week of classes” does not make it clear that pre-registered students might be forced to give up their spot for others. This allows pre-registered students to feel a false

these courses at all. While teachers do have the right to decide who is in their course — whether it is prioritizing concentrators in their department or those they believe have worthy writing samples — the uncertainty of pre-registration places undue stress on students and causes them to scramble to find replacement courses.

Beyond professors’ occasional failure to recognize pre-registration, the Courses @ Brown website also does not always reflect the reality of some courses’ capacities. For exam-

is no secret that students often prioritize capped classes during registrations to secure their spot, and misleading them about course caps leaves them blindsided and with fewer options.

Courses should always accurately demarcate whether they have a cap; leading the student body to believe otherwise causes unnecessary stress and contradicts the ethos of shopping period. I understand sometimes room capacity limits class size; yet, this should be reflected as soon as it becomes clear the room will fill.

If professors want their course to be small, that course cap should be added before pre-registration.

I recognize there may be factors that I am not aware of, and I can imagine shopping period is stressful for professors and administrators as well. From a student’s perspective though, gaps in communication during shopping period are frustrating and stressful as we attempt to build our schedules for the year. As such, professors and department administrators should work together to decide the parameters of the course before pre-registration— is the course capped? Is pre-registration allowed?

Is the course restricted to students in certain semesters? Then, administrators should make sure Courses @ Brown reflects this reality. Additionally, the University administration should create a new policy to officially guarantee spots for all registered students in future semesters.

Shopping period can be stressful and chaotic for all; properly using CAB to communicate course parameters and guaranteeing spots to registered students can go a long way to alleviate this stress.

Rebecca Aman ’20 can be reached at rebecca_aman@ brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald. com and op-eds to opinions@ browndailyherald.com.

NEWS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2019

Students cite challenges with RISD Wintersession, U. spring term overlap With cross registration agreement, U. students can enroll in RISD courses with no extra tuition

By BENJAMIN KOBLINER STAFF WRITER

While University students enrolled in Wintersession courses at the Rhode Island School of Design cited positive in-class learning experiences, some struggled with an “overlap” period — when their classes coincided with University’s spring term operations.

RISD’s most recent Wintersession term started Jan. 3 and ran through Feb. 6, leaving a 15-day period where some students completed their classes at RISD while managing a full course-load at the University.

58 Brown students enrolled in 60 courses over Wintersession, with most of them taking RISD’s studio courses, according to RISD Registrar Alison Sherman.

Students said they struggled to balance the time-commitment, but also expressed gratitude toward professors at both institutions for their understanding and flexibility.

Reet Agrawal ’21, who took “Design and Fiction” during Wintersession, said she occasionally would “be in my RISD class, and then I would leave my RISD class to go to a Brown class. … Then I would finish the Brown class and go back to my RISD class.”

“I don’t know anyone for whom the overlap period goes well,” she added.

Dennese Salazar ’19, an engineering concentrator at the University who enrolled in a Wintersession course titled “Design and Fiction,” expressed similar concerns.

“The end of Wintersession is usually the busiest time of the course because we’re making a lot of stuff, ” Salazar said. “I did have to manage my time more than I usually do at the

SARAH MARTINEZ / HERALD

beginning of my Brown semester.”

The University offers no formal accommodations for time conflicts, according to University Registrar Robert Fitzgerald. “It’s the student’s responsibility to understand that the two calendars don’t align with each other,” he added.

Despite no official University policy, Agrawal and Salazar noted that professors at both institutions accommodated their schedules.

“Even at Brown, I had to skip a couple classes, and my professors were understanding of it. … One of them even gave me extensions on deadlines,” Agrawal said.

Rebecca Zuo ’21, a computer science concentrator at the University, took a course called “Drawing Yr Spatial Sensation” that involved charcoal and figure drawings.

During the period of overlap between the spring semester and RISD Wintersession, “it was a lot of work to manage both of them, but I thought it was doable,” Zuo said.

The RISD course’s professor “knew that shopping period was kind of a chaotic time, and she allowed me to miss the RISD class so I could shop (Brown) classes that I was interested in,” Zuo added.

Students at the University are also not able to pre-register for RISD Wintersession courses, as registration for University students is based on available spaces in RISD courses, according to Deputy Dean of the College Christopher Dennis.

The inability for students to preregister for Wintersession courses has contributed to a perception that “there are barriers,” Dennis said,

adding that he understood the process “makes people nervous.”

Cross-registration can be “an uncertain and tricky process,” Agrawal said. “You don’t know whether or not you’re registered for a course until the date of the course. So, as an international student, that’s really annoying because I had to fly home and then come back, and then I wasn’t even sure if I would get into a class.”

Further complicating the process, Zuo said she was unable to access her dorm until she registered for a class.

Overall, University students said they enjoyed their Wintersession experiences at RISD. “Everyone should do at least one RISD class,” Salazar said. Through her experience with Wintersession at RISD, Salazar said she learned

valuable lessons in problem solving, project management and teamwork.

“Very few classes are structured in a way that the entire class works together on a single project,” Agrawal said. “It was worth it. I loved my class.”

The academic course cross-registration agreement between Brown and RISD began after an early 20th century stroll through Providence, Dennis said.

“The story is that the two presidents of the institutions … did some figures on the back of an envelope and came up with the plan, and it’s been in place ever since.”