Friday, February 15, 2019

SINCE 1891

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2019

VOLUME CLIII, ISSUE 17

WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM

Athletics exceeds fundraising milestone University plans net-

zero emissions by 2040

$100 million milestone in BrownTogether campaign aims to enhance studentathlete experience

Four-phase initiative expects 75 percent reduction in on-campus emissions by 2025

By RYAN HANDEL SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The BrownTogether campaign recently eclipsed $100 million raised for the University’s athletic department.

The donations have helped the University build new athletic facilities, hire top coaches and improve recruiting. These funds are part of a larger fundraising campaign launched

by President Christina Paxson P’19.

Since its launch, the campaign has raised money entirely through donations from Brown alums, parents and others associated with the University, according to the Director of Athletics Jack Hayes. The funds have been focused toward “three primary areas: facility projects, endowed coaching chairs and annual donations that help with general operating needs of athletics,” Hayes said.

Among the many ways in which

Petrillo ’22 wins multiple all-around titles First-year earns career high 38.425 in all-around, helps Bruno to first-place finish at home meet

By ALEXANDRA RUSSELL SPORTS EDITOR

Last weekend, the gymnastics team posted a season high 193.900 to claim first place in a tri-meet against Southern Connecticut State University and Rhode Island College at the Pizzitola Sports Center.

The Bears took home the floor, bars and vault titles to power past their New England opponents, and, for the second consecutive week, looked to one of their first-year gymnasts to champion the allaround.

Bruno found a spark in Sophia Petrillo ’22, who notched a career high 38.425 across the four events to win the all-around for the second meet in a row.

The mark bested her previous career high of 38.375, which earned her first place at Penn Feb. 3. For her outstanding performances over the last two weeks, Petrillo has been named The Herald’s Athlete of the Week. » See GYMNAST, page 12

INSIDE

By DANIEL GOLDBERG SENIOR STAFF WRITER COURTESY OF BROWN UNIVERSITY

Fundraising for the BrownTogether campaign has allowed for the renovation of athletic facilities and recruitment of sports coaches.

BrownTogether has impacted University athletics, the campaign has funded renovations to the Marston Boathouse and Pizzitola Sports Center, the creation of new meeting spaces, a locker room for the football team, a new complex for baseball and softball, a new sports medicine room and increased opportunities to send coaches to recruiting events.

“We’re already putting (the new facilities) to use,” said Michael McGovern ’21, quarterback of the football team. “They’re helping us out in a lot of ways, whether it’s just hanging out with the team (or) having plenty of space

for team or position meetings. … It’s already helping us as far as recruiting goes, because a lot of recruits come in and see how nice our facilities are.”

Paxson believes that the money raised will improve students’ experiences on and off the field. “The opportunity to participate in athletics, whether competitively or recreationally, complements and enhances the academic success of our students,” she said in a University press release. “The generosity shown … clearly demonstrates the significant role that athletics has played for generations of students » See ATHLETICS, page 3

The University plans to reduce its campus greenhouse gas emissions to 75 percent below its 2017-18 levels by 2025 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2040, a Feb. 11 press release stated.

The new “aggressive” emissions goals were approved Feb. 9 by the Corporation, the University’s highest governing body. The University’s net-zero plan is “technically and financially feasible,” said President Christina Paxson P’19 in the announcement. “Taking into account money saved through the purchase of lower-cost electricity and efficiency improvements in the central heating plant, the net-zero plan is expected to cost less than $1.43 million per year in additional expenditures

from 2020 to 2038,” the press release stated.

These expenditures are in addition to the $3 million per year that the University already spends on campus upgrades to reduce greenhouse emissions, wrote Stephen Porder, assistant provost for sustainability, in an email to The Herald.

The four-phase plan is already underway. Phase one started with two University-sponsored clean energy projects that are expected to offset 100 percent of on-campus electricity use, The Herald previously reported.

The net-zero plan differs from plans at some peer institutions because, rather than relying solely on buying clean energy offsets, it “depends on real changes in (campus) infrastructure” and consumption, Porder wrote.

During phase two of the initiative, which is scheduled to begin in 2022, the natural gas fuel source for the University’s central heating plant will be » See EMISSIONS, page 11

R.I. state reps. discuss East Side, College Hill Ajello, Goldin champion social justice, progressive causes over two decades of representation

By DYLAN CLARK SENIOR STAFF WRITER

State Representative Edith Ajello (D-Providence) and State Senator Gayle Goldin (D-Providence) have both called the East Side home for at least 20 years.

The two state legislators — College Hill’s representatives — were re-elected to their respective positions November 2018. Ajello has represented the University community in the R.I. House of Representatives since 1992, and Goldin has done the same in the state Senate since 2012. They have been deeply involved in progressive issues confronting Rhode Island, advocating for social justice reforms and working toward implementation. As the first full year of their new terms begins, The Herald had the opportunity to interview Ajello and Goldin about their legislative histories, goals and inspirations.

State Representative Edith Ajello Ajello started her career as a social case worker in New York City after she graduated from Bucknell University with a degree in psychology. After moving to Providence, she became involved with the public school system through

Lippitt Hill Tutorial, now known as Inspiring Minds, as a board member. There she met Robert Walsh, then a board member at Lippitt Hill, who encouraged Ajello to run for state representative in then-District 3. Though initially hesitant, Ajello won her first election with over 73 percent of the vote. Since then, Ajello has won 13 re-elections, each time with no less than 65 percent of the vote.

In her legislative initiatives, Ajello has always focused on social justice.

When she first ran for office in 1992, she was approached by a same-sex couple who hoped to see Rhode Island repeal its sodomy law. “The challenge to me was whether I would work to repeal that …

It was very far from my awareness at that time,” she said. She decided to advocate for the law’s repeal, and thus began her work with the American Civil Liberties Union in Rhode Island. “I had heard Bush Sr. talk about, with scorn, cardcarrying ACLU members and decided I needed to be one,” she quipped.

Today, her work on social justice issues has brought her to introduce the Reproductive Healthcare Act for the third year in a row, as The Herald previously reported.

She also spent some time on the House Judiciary Committee, serving as its chair during the 2011-2012 and 20132014 legislative sessions. “For a couple of really wonderful years I was actually chair of that committee … It was kind of special for me because I was both the

first female chair of the House Judiciary and the first non-lawyer,” she said.

Ajello also recently joined the House Reform Caucus out of concern about its leadership and procedures.

“The House leadership came up with a really bad compromise to the pay equity legislation that our state Senator, Gayle Goldin, had sponsored on the Senate side. The House leadership modified … the bill so extremely that, in essence, protections for women and minorities in the workplace would have … had it become law, been less than they are now,” she said. She was also opposed to House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello’s (D-Cranston) work to pass “Kristen’s Law” last June, which changed the way drug dealers were sentenced if one of their users died from a drug overdose,.

“Those two things were just so egregious that I could no longer support Mattiello for speaker,” Ajello said.

While her commitment to progressive issues has not wavered in her 25 years of service to East Side residents and the Brown community, Ajello has noticed significant changes to the makeup of her constituency. “The district became more homogeneous and more white with the exception of the academic center and the Brown student body and the RISD student body,” Ajello told The Herald. She has noticed the dwindling number of middle class families in her district, as families move “to places where … public education might be

better for their kids.”

The activism of college students in the area has been consistent, according to Ajello. Students from both Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design reach out to support Ajello, and student groups have invited her to speak at various events on and around campus. Though Ajello has interacted with Brown students, they often are not a part of her constituency. Throughout her time in office, “significant numbers of Brown students continue to be politically interested in their home states,” she said. But she does not blame students who wish to keep their votes in their home states, citing native Ohioans who voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. “In part that’s me thinking tactically about the bigger picture, but it’s also recognizing that these folks have made decisions about what’s most important to them and I can’t argue with that,” she concluded.

Brown sits in the heart of her district, and “there’s very little friction between the interests of Brown students and the rest of the district,” she said. There is some “resentment” about what is “perceived to be the privileged East side,” but Ajello acknowledged the various ways Brown contributes to the state. Yet “the city … is the possible loser rather than the state, because the state gets the income and sales taxes. It’s the city that’s not getting the property taxes and it’s the » See STATE REPS, page 12

WEATHER

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2019

SPORTS Men’s Lacrosse ready for first game of the season against Quinnipiac

NEWS A joint economics project to study freedom of assembly uses Data Science Initiative research grant

COMMENTARY Jacobs ‘19: Politics, Philosophy, and Economics journal not overrated

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

U. produces most Fulbright scholars for third consecutive year 2018 cohort includes 35 members, two more scholars than second place Princeton

By KAMRAN KING SENIOR STAFF WRITER

With its 35-member spring 2018 cohort, the University produced the most Fulbright scholars of any U.S. institution for the third consecutive year, according to data published by The Chronicle of Higher Education Feb. 10.

Fulbright scholars receive funding to pursue independent research and English teaching assistantships in a variety of countries.

For the past decade, the University has placed among the top 10 institutions producing Fulbright winners, The Herald previously reported. While last year Brown produced 10 more Fulbright scholars than any other U.S. institutions, this year the University produced only two more Fulbright scholars than Princeton, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education’s data.

“The success that we’ve had encourages other students — they say nothing breeds success like success,” said Linda Dunleavy, the associate dean of the college for fellowships. “A lot of Brown students are independent thinkers, independent learners and adventurers,” she added, and thus “the openness of the program lends itself to Brown students.”

Brown Fulbright scholars were quick to credit University support

for the success of their applications.

Timothy Jeng ’18, who is currently teaching English at the Universidad Camilo José Cela in Spain on a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award, said he appreciated the University’s encouragement during the application process.

“It’s something I wanted to achieve, and I think that I got through the initial block of ‘this is impossible,’ when I realized how much support there is from the University.”

Watufani Poe GS, a PhD student in Africana Studies at the University, received an Open Study/Research award through Fulbright that is “in line with my dissertation research, which looks at black, queer and trans socio-political movements in the United States and Brazil,” he said.“Brown students have a really easy time applying because of the robust support that the deans and professors offer.”

The Fulbright participants also noted how living abroad offers unique, educational opportunities, which enhances their experiences overall.

Jeng said he “found that settling into the discomfort (of being abroad) required realizing that things won’t always pan out the way you want; I learned I had to be flexible.”

Jeanelle Wheeler ’18, an English Teaching Assistant working in Lyon, France, said that her scholarship allowed her to “see a different cultural mentality.”

“I’m seeing myself and my Americanness in a new way,” she added.

Poe’s research experience has connected him to “a community of folks

EMILY DAVIES / HERALD

who are also here doing research. …

It’s a cool program from that perspective, it doesn’t just throw you in the field alone.”

Ibtihal Elfaki ’18 is conducting research in Switzerland at the Courtine Lab, which focuses on spinal cord injuries. Using her Open Study/Research award, she is also collaborating with another Geneva lab to test a spinal LED implant, she said.

Elfaki advised future Fulbright applicants to “do their research into which countries they’ll be going to

and make sure it’s a community they can be comfortable living in,” she said.

“As a person of color and as a Muslim student, something that I was anxious about was living in a European country and being in an area with a history of Islamophobia and anti-black rhetoric.”

Though such considerations should not “be the deciding factor” for students, Elfaki said she “would want people to be aware.”

“The Fulbright is first and foremost a cultural exchange program, so the

most important thing is an openness to other countries and other cultures,” Dunleavy said. Participants should be “learning from and learning with, rather than trying to bring something to those countries.”

The University has 65 semifinalists for this year’s Fulbright cohort, “which is the largest number we’ve ever had,” Dunleavy said. The application process is time-consuming, and “the students who win really work hard on the applications, and they’re really committed to it,” she added.

National Grid to distribute energy from offshore wind farm Revolution Wind to become 400MW wind farm, reduce R.I. energy costs by $90 million

By ALEX REICE SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Amid an effort to tackle both climate change and mounting energy costs, National Grid has finalized a twenty-year contract to buy and distribute energy from Revolution Wind, which will become the largest offshore wind farm to provide electricity in Rhode Island.

The 400-megawatt wind farm, which will be located 15 miles off the coast of Rhode Island, is anticipated to open in 2023, according to the Providence Journal.

The contract will cut energy costs by an estimated 90 million dollars over the next twenty-years and supply clean energy jobs to Rhode Islanders, said Nicholas Ucci, deputy commissioner of energy at the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources.

“Currently we estimate that Revolution Wind will reduce carbon by the equivalent of taking 100,000 passenger cars off the road,” Ucci said. The project “will meet about 25 percent of the state’s electricity” needs, he added. Revolution Wind is also set to create 16,000 jobs in the state, said Mckay Miller ‘01, National Grid’s director of US Strategy.

Officials hope the development will also reduce electric bills.

National Grid, while based in

England, supplies gas and electricity to New York, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The company has been working with offshore wind in the United Kingdom for over a decade, and officials are “quite keen to build up capabilities in the United States,” Miller said.

The Northeast is a particularly good location for offshore wind farms, as “the offshore wind is always blowing more fiercely and more steadily on this part of the country,” Miller said. This is particularly true in the winter, which will help “keep winter-time electric bills low,” he added. But much work remains to create the necessary infrastructure for the efficient production of renewable energy sources required to address climate change. While Europe has brought prices down by building an ecosystem of companies that can put together windfarms quickly and efficiently, the United States still lacks that, Miller said.

Approval for the contract will go through a period of testimony and a review of potential environmental and economic impacts, Ucci said. The 2014 R.I. state statute, the Affordable Clean Energy Security Act, requires that any clean energy contract be accepted by the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission before they become effective, Ucci said. The Revolution Wind-National Grid currently awaits regulatory approval from the commission, Miller said.

The construction of Revolution Wind and its contract with National Grid aligns with Gov. Gina Raimondo’s

COURTESY OF KIM HANSEN

The 400 MW wind farm will be located 15 miles off the coast of R.I. The Deputy Commissioner of the Office of Energy Resources estimates the farm will reduce the carbon equivalent of 100,000 passenger cars on the road. renewable energy goals, which were set March 2017. These goals include a ten-fold increase in the state’s renewable energy, which will total 1,000 MW, by 2020.

While Revolution Wind will not be finalized in time to meet the 2020 goals, it will assist in movement toward the state’s longer term goals, such as reducing emissions 85 percent by 2050, Ucci said. Despite this, “based upon current

analysis, the state is already on track to meet 2020 emissions reductions goal,” he added.

But as the contract moves forward in the approval process, some environmentalists have expressed skepticism about Rhode Island’s interest in promoting clean energy.

“400 megawatts is not that much in the grand scheme of things,” said Nicole DiPaolo, a Sunrise RI hub member. She

criticized the proposed construction of a power plant in Burrillville and the recent approval of a liquid natural gas facility in Providence, which would increase the state’s emissions on a level “far greater than what we would save with this 400 megawatt project,” she added.

Instead, Sunrise wants to “transform our energy sector so we’re not emitting carbon in our daily lives,” DiPaolo said.

Issue

In This Charlie Stewart 4H

3

Holly Zheng

Colleen Cronin

2

Defending Eurylochus

Finding My Way

Providence Steamrollers Robert Capron 5

If It Weren't For You Meddling Kids Harry Levine 6

Controlled Chaos

postCover by Joanne Han

FEB 15

VOL 23 —

ISSUE 15

FEATURE

Providence Steamrollers Family History and Football

By Colleen Cronin Illustrated by Ashley Hernandez

A

week before the Super Bowl, my dad called me and said he had a great story for me to write. My dad often pitches me story ideas, but this one was a little more personal than usual. My dad thought, after talking to his dad, that I should write about my great-grandfather and his brother, both of whom played for an NFL team in Providence before the Great Depression.

I knew in the back of my mind that my greatgrandfather had played for the NFL, but I had no idea that he had played in Providence; I didn’t even know the city ever had a football team. Could there really have been a New England champion besides my beloved Pats?

If you are from New England, you know that the Patriots are more than just a football team to many locals. Even if you’re not, their notoriety and Rob Gronkowski’s Tide commercials have made the team a household name.

And if you know me, you know I’m a Patriots fan and quite unapologetic about it. In my house my dad is always watching “the game,” and my mom and I are usually watching with him.

Since 2001, the Patriots have won six Super Bowls, and with a winning streak like that, how could you not watch? Although New England as a whole has been able to claim six rings in the last two decades, everyone from this area knows that residents of Massachusetts, particularly Boston (a.k.a. Titletown), gain the most pride (and the most excuses to day-drink) from the championship machine.

Where did the Pats celebrate their big win? Not College Hill’s Thayer Street, but Boston’s Boylston Street. It’s true that Warwick’s T.F. Green is the official airport of the Pats and that Rhode Island has tried to have a larger role in the franchise in the past. In the 1990s, before a winning streak started that many would call a miracle (and New Yorkers would call a pain in the ass), Providence’s infamous Mayor Buddy Cianci tried to coerce Pats

owner Robert Kraft to build a field near Providence Place Mall. In 1997, the Baltimore Sun reported that former RI Governor Lincoln Almond called Kraft about a possible site change for the team. The coercion didn’t work. Instead, thousands of Rhode Islanders have to flock to Massachusetts every year to get their football fixes.

However, 90 years ago, it was actually the other way around.

There was once a team called the Providence Steam Roller, sometimes called The Roller, The Steamroller, or even The Steamrollers. Winning a championship a mere nine years after the founding of the National Football League, the Rollers weren’t exactly a modern franchise; take, for example, Coach Jimmy Conzelman, who also moonlit as the team’s quarterback. They played in a stadium called the Cycledrome, on North Main Street, near

Letter from the Editor Dear Readers, So it snowed a lot. These things tend to happen in the winter. Especially here.

But now, the snow is melting. These things also tend to happen. Everywhere (except the very north and the very south). But what’s important is that for us at Brown, spring is (supposedly) coming! And as the flowers start to blossom, so too does another spring semester’s worth of creativity.

To that end, check out this week’s pieces! Spring semester always begets an intense bout of self-reflection, whether that manifests as actually showing up to class sometimes or, say, doing your laundry more than once a month.

What better way to explore our inner selves than through an intergenerational meditation on professional football?

Or how about through Greek myth?

Or Scooby Doo? Or the uncomfortably relatable sensation of being absolutely,

2!post–

helplessly lost even with the baroque technology of Google Maps readily available to you?

If you’re looking for more, cough, alternative methods of self-examination, why not read an in-depth analysis of the entire Lethal Weapon franchise? Mel Gibson is as sage of a spiritual guide as any…right?

At any rate, the taxing spiritual hurdle of Valentine’s Day is past us, some groundhog in Philadelphia used his gift of prophecy to foretell an early spring, and February’s the shortest month of the year. Things are looking up. Perhaps that laundry will get done after all. And if nothing else, post- is here to guide you through the next few months of ontological and academic imbroglio.

Griffin

section editor of arts & culture

Things to Do Over the Long Weekend 1.

2.

Spend too long deciding whether to hit up your Datamatches Peruse the CVS candy aisle for discount Valentine’s Day chocolates

3.

Go to Boston only to wander around Boston Commons then talk about it for months

4.

5.

“Apply” to “internships” Pretend to study for biochemistry, organic chemistry, physics, etc. while actually just rewatching Marie Kondo’s The Art of Cleaning Up for the eighth time

6.

Friends and realize you’re too

7.

8.

9.

10.

Actually make the time to ~bond~ with your friends such a great track record

NARRATIVE the Pawtucket-Providence line, according to the team’s official programs (archived in Rhode Island Historical Society's library).

Although the team only played professionally for six years, they became world champions in 1928. In those early days of American football, the NFL was small, and the Rollers didn’t have a lot of in-league competition. But the Rollers still played against some familiar faces, like the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants. Other rivals have faded into the past, like the Rollers themselves.

According to The Pro Football Archives, in the 1928 season, the team had eight wins, one loss and two ties. In the NFL today, there’s no such thing as a tie, but then again, back then there was no such thing as a “Super Bowl” or even a championship game. In 1928, the team with the best season record won the league.

alums who had done both—it didn’t matter. Football was much more than the games they played.

Although Bill would only stay on the team until 1929, and Jack until 1930, football (and sports in general) would remain a large part of their lives.

When their pro careers ended, Jack stayed in Providence to teach and coach football, baseball, and hockey at La Salle Academy, a Catholic high school in Providence. Bill moved back to their hometown of Hingham, ultimately coaching the same three sports at both the Hingham High School and Thayer Academy in Braintree. Both men were highly regarded Hall of Famers at their respective institutions. They started recreational groups, gave back to their communities, and helped kids go pro.

For a while, they lived pretty wonderful, mirrored lives. But while Jack would live to be 90, Bill would only live to 54.

Sure I am proud that I have pro-footballers in my family tree— it is kind of cool. But what I’m more proud of is the sense that they were so much more than that; they left a lot in their wake.

In the ’28 season, the Rollers faced off against the Frankford Yellow Jackets several times, and the Jackets would claim the team’s only loss that year.

The Rollers also went up against a football team called the New York Yankees (not to be confused with the baseball team of the same name) who played at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.

Documentation on the Rollers is everywhere, including in the archives of the Providence Journal and in the personal collections of Peter Laudi (who was a partial owner of the Rollers), which are kept at the Rhode Island Historical Society.

After looking into my family’s “scoop,” I was excited to find some familiar names in the archives.

Throughout the Rollers’ 1928 programs, two names show up on the starting lineup almost every week: Bill and Jack Cronin, my great-grandfather and his brother.

Jack was a leftback and Bill backed him up, like any big brother would, as his fullback. Jack was number five on the field, while Bill was number nine (my own favorite number).

I first heard about the brothers, especially Bill, when I was about five years old. My greatgrandfather was a legend, the first in a long line of men whom I deeply respect. Pictures of him, most of the time posing on a sports field, adorn the walls of my grandparents’ den. As I dug into the story and looked through old newspaper coverage of the games, more pictures appeared. Dark-haired, broadly built, with a square-jawed face, Bill Sr. looked just like my dad.

In the Rollers’ era, football was very different.

Teddy Roosevelt had tried to ban the sport in its early days, but even after surviving that initial trial, professional football struggled to gain popularity.

College football was very popular, which might explain why the NFL thrived in Providence (which only had Brown’s football team) but was nonexistent in Boston (full of Harvard and Boston College football players).

College or professional, to Bill and Jack—BC

In ’56, my great-grandfather died of an unexpected heart attack when my grandfather was only a junior in high school.

Prior to his father’s death, as a three-sport athlete with a three-sport coach for a father, my grandfather, Bill Jr., in many ways lived his early life alongside Bill Sr. “I went to all the high school practices, football practices, baseball practices, and hockey…from the time I was two or three. I was with my father every day, virtually every day,” my Papa told me over the phone one night. “Talk about having a close relationship. I mean, I only had 17 years with my father, but I probably spent more time with my father than most parents spend in a lifetime with their kids.”

When his father wasn’t coaching, he was writing columns in the Patriot Ledger about football and scouting for college teams, including the Brown University team in the 1940s.

Using his own money, Bill Sr. would take kids to meet coaches and help them map out colleges and careers. He wasn’t just focused on the kids going pro—he started several recreational programs, including one of the first for girls in Hingham.

After Bill Sr. died, a field was dedicated to him in Hingham, the largest baseball field in town. He was active in the community from 1919 to 1956, and “had a presence all those years,” according to my grandfather.

Back in Providence, Jack had been giving back too. His obituary in 1993, titled “Jack Cronin never failed to do the right thing,” chronicled his life as a coach and included the legacy of coaches and players at the college and pro level that he left behind. And even after his death, La Salle players still wore John “Jack” Patrick Cronin’s initials on their jerseys.

“The story of the two brothers in the NFL is really something. What they both achieved in their lives after that and what they did was more remarkable,” my grandfather told me.

Something in that statement really rang true to me. Sure, I am proud that I have pro footballers in

my family tree—it is kind of cool. But what I’m more proud of is the sense that they were so much more than that; they left a lot in their wake. In the course of their lives, they inspired a lot of joy.

I think that’s why many of us love sports stories. The players give their all, and they give us joy. They are our champions because they exceed our expectations and are larger than life. What astonishes me is that Jack and Bill really were those champions on and off the field.

Learning about their story makes me feel a deeper connection to a sport I already loved for its wins and its triumphs, something I always watch with my dad.

I wonder a lot about what my great-grandfather would have thought about the Pats today and the state of professional football in general. The sport has certainly changed a lot since my greatgrandfather played. Although football players did not achieve then the celebrity status that figures like Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski achieve now, I really like to think that, beyond football, Bill and Jack are legends in their own right.

As a little kid, visiting my dad’s hometown, I remember feeling a sense of pride seeing my last name on the field’s sign and knowing of the legacy my relative left decades before. The field and its name are the story of a man who happened to be an incredible athlete and who also used his success to support the community he loved. That’s a story that outlasts records and championships.

“I’m extremely proud of that field and what it represents,” my grandfather said. So am I.

Finding My Way Embracing Getting Lost

T

By Holly Zheng Illustrated by brenda rodriguez

he wind cut my hands sharply, but I could feel the rest of my body heating up under my heavy windbreaker. As I ascended the steep slope of College Hill, the few RISD shuttles I passed assured me that I was walking in the right direction. After a few more minutes of walking up the hill, sweat gradually enveloping my torso, Faunce Arch finally appeared in the distance to my right. At last, I knew that I wasn’t lost.

This memory of my first time climbing College Hill resurfaced when I met up with a younger highschool friend who visited a few weeks ago. As we walked down Thayer, my friend murmured something about navigating the hill between the train station and Brown’s campus. “I got so lost,” he complained.

I nodded, thinking about the twists and turns along that hill and the same chilly January wind that I experienced on my first visit here two years ago. This path along the hill via Waterman has become my default route to walk between campus and downtown, but the halfway point where the slope suddenly rises still surprises me whenever I reach it.

Although I’ve had plenty of experience navigating busy street intersections and complicated subway systems through my past travels, my fear of getting lost persists. When my mom and I stepped off the airport shuttle in Hong Kong this past winter, we stood on

“The only Datamatch I want is my orgo lab data matching the expected results.”

“A conductor is just a polished DJ, no?”

Febryary 15, 2018&3

NARRATIVE

the busy sidewalk, losing ourselves in figuring out how to get to our hotel. Google Maps indicated that there were some big brand-name stores near it, so I was hoping that their store signs would lead the way.

After we turned the corner to reach the main street, a sea of neon lights surrounded us. Night hadn’t fallen yet, but most of the signs were already lit. Big brand names competed for attention and lowered my hopes of finding guidance.

My fingers were growing numb from dragging my suitcase across the bumpy sidewalk. Although the shuttle driver had told us just to keep walking in the same direction after turning, I felt disoriented. I pulled up Maps on my phone and spent a few minutes rotating the screen to match the orientation of the surrounding streets. I located some buildings on the map, but there seemed to be alleys in front of me that weren’t showing up on my screen. Or it could have been that we had already passed them.

My mom wanted to vacation with me in Hong Kong partially because of her nostalgia for the city. She had worked there briefly almost 30 years ago. As we waited for our shuttle, she was already planning to find her old apartment building. She knew that everything would look different, but she hoped that the soothing Victoria Harbour wind and the city’s dichotomous historical and innovative energies would remain for me to greet.

When we passed by the business cluster on our way to the hotel, I began to ponder my career options a bit. Maybe I would someday work inside one of the banks whose signs shone down on me; maybe I would end up in another city, doing something I could never imagine. People hustled out of one of the bank’s revolving doors, trying to get home ahead of the rush-hour crowd; I wondered how they got to where they were.

Thanks to technology, it’s less likely that I find myself completely lost. I don’t feel much despair when I can’t find my way, knowing that the satellites high above the sky can (usually) locate me. With such easy access to navigation apps that lead me from place to place, I’ve tamed my fear of being physically lost. But getting lost navigating my future plans still feels unbearable.

After walking under the neon lights for what felt like an endless amount of time on that humid night, my mom and I eventually bumped into our hotel, which appeared unexpectedly on our right. The bus driver’s words rang like an afterthought as I opened the door to the hotel lobby—he was right about continuing to walk in the same direction. I just had to walk a little longer than I thought. Maybe my path for the future would also emerge unexpectedly. Maybe I just had to keep walking until I saw it more clearly.

I’ve always felt that a place is different before and after I visit it. During my first trip to Brown, I had to look up the path from Alumnae Hall to the Main 4!post–

Green. This path felt different when I walked it again two years later this past August. Maybe it was because the color of the scenery was warmer than that gray January afternoon when I first visited, but something about the route—its orientation and length—felt different too. When I speed-walked to Faunce on that chilly afternoon two years ago, I had no time to look at the buildings around me, no chance of realizing that this would one day become my daily walk. I didn’t notice the circle of foil dancers at the end of this walk the first time here, but now, every morning when I pass by the statue, the dancers’ exaggerated gestures and overflowing sense of joy always remind me to smile and stay optimistic even during the busiest times of the semester.

I guess I won’t know a route until I have walked it. Finding the right turns happens only after I have ventured into the wrong alleys, puzzled over unfamiliar street signs, and retraced my steps to keep looking for my way.

My high-school friend and I stood at the intersection in front of the Ratty. He wanted to know more about the open curriculum and the amount of freedom it grants. “With so many choices, what if you get lost?” he asked me when I pointed to our right, to indicate that we had to turn to reach the dining hall.

The wind made my face stiff, but I managed to smile at his question. “I’m sure we’ll all find our paths in the end, one way or another.”

Defending Eurylochus

Life as a Pure Neutral

By Charlie Stewart Illustrated by Connor Gewirtz

T

here’s a bloke in the Odyssey named Eurylochus, one of Odysseus’ commanders. He leads an expedition to the home of the sorceress Circe, who gives the men wine and a magical meal that turns them all into pigs. All of them, that is, except Eurylochus, who, unlike the rest of the crew, has some sense of self-preservation, hangs back, and legs it to the ship when things get porcine. When Eurylochus refuses to try to rescue the other men, Odysseus retrieves them himself and nearly kills Eurylochus in a rage.

I like Eurylochus. For better or worse, we have similar value schemes: Pure Neutral. Every online morality quiz pins me as a paragon of decisive self-interest, neutral as Swiss chocolate, Swedish meatballs, Irish tea, or Andorran tax evasion. Fine by me. Andorra has the highest life expectancy on earth.

When I was eighteen, I went to Amsterdam for three days, meeting up with a group of friends near the end of their interrail journey across Europe.

One member had dropped out in the Czech Republic

when a girl he’d been in love with since he was eight sent him a mildly suggestive text message. He hopped on the first plane home with romance on his brain—presumably next to all the water—hoping to declare his feelings for her before they went to different universities. I’m sure they’re together to this day. In any case, I took his hostel bed. My “pure neutrality” was put to the test on day one, in the RedLight District.

You see, Eurylochus holds back—he’s an observer. He thus likely would have received a small fine in the Red-Light District, which recently implemented a ban on staring at sex workers. The same fate befell me, but, in my defense, I did not realize that I was staring at an actual woman. I thought she was a mannequin until she slid the glass aside, took my hand, and whispered “fifty euros” in my ear, which would have turned even redder had that been possible under the illumination.

On the off chance that my mum has stumbled upon this essay, I want to make it clear that I had no intention of hiring a prostitute. Pure Neutral.

I’d never smoked a cigarette, let alone weed, and the condom given to me by a visiting sexual health counselor sat in the bottom of my school bag as a realtime experiment in latex decomposition.

Say what you like about Eurylochus, but he’s got one thing going for him. He didn’t get turned into a pig. We onlookers might not be honorable, or brave, or particularly interesting, but damn it, we’re safe.

The bands of marauding Brits I saw boozing their way along the canals are considerably less so. In fact, the city’s ombudsman recently set up CCTV in one of the main squares, recording 900 offenses committed between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m.

The next day, the group decided they were going to take shrooms. We bustled into a tiny shop with a caricatured mural of Bob Marley on the wall, bought a small tub of walnut-looking hallucinogens, and headed to Vondelpark. I was sort of the designated driver. Anyone who got too high could be gently yanked back down to earth by my sobering presence. One friend—we’ll call him ‘Alex’, because that’s his real name—I found two hours later, sitting against a tree.

“I saw her,” he whispered. “Aphrodite.” He motioned to a middle-aged woman sitting across the park on a bench. I’m going to use what artistic license I have to infuse what he said next with some air of elegance and sophistication, to the best of my ability.

“Charles, my old chum,” he said, “my hands at my sides, my trousers still on, I have, I’m afraid, been brought to climax.”

“I see,” I said, turned on my heels, and walked away.

It’s a rough line to tread between abstainer, onlooker, even voyeur. Odysseus is not a fan of Eurylochus. I can’t imagine the Ancient Greeks would have been big fans of me. Most of the people on that trip weren’t big fans of me either though I will say that between my asthma and my unimposing silhouette they were, at least, less likely to have left me on a mountainside in infancy. When Odysseus manages to have his porky crew turned back into

ARTS&CULTURE men, Circe also restores some of their youth on the house. I can’t help but wonder if I didn’t miss out on some of my youth by standing back in Amsterdam, though half the experiences available there are still not to my tastes. I don’t want to be polymorphed, but I don’t want to be an onlooker anymore, either. The Red-Light District and Aphrodite incidents blurred the lines, showing me you can sit back and still find yourself transformed into a pig.

On the final day of the trip, I went to a cannabis café and bought a muffin. It cost six euros and had no effect on me, but it never occurred to me to check whether or not that muffin actually contained any marijuana. Still, when it comes to closing my eyes and experiencing something new, it felt like a start.

Sorry, Mum.

If It Weren't For You Meddling Kids

A Scooby-Doo Autobiography

By Robert Capron Illustrated by Gaby trevino content warning: Mentions of eating disorders, body hatred

4

flavored graham crackers are the perfect companion

I’ve avoided the excess carbs of the dreaded tortilla.

to a Saturday morning spent in front of the television.

Anyone who showed up to Chipotle in costume

Should I start with my GameCube and dig into my

would get their food for half-off; my friends swore

third play-through of Scooby-Doo: Night of 100

up and down they were only dressing up this year for

Frights? Or perhaps I should finally settle the eternal

the discount. I know better—I can see it in their eyes.

debate: Monster of Mexico or Cyber Chase—which is

As Tommy proceeds to order in a spot-on Scooby

the superior film?

impression, the only thing I can think about is how

A soft, distant thudding interrupts Shaggy’s

there’s no place I’d rather be.

nervous mumblings. I peek out the window. It’s my

I

’ve got a bump on my head the size of an egg and

friends again. Tommy, Mark, and Stephen. They’re all

a cartoon dog is to blame. So what if I slipped

playing basketball.

racing back to the television? I wanted to see the climactic reveal! Finding out who’s really under the

All I have to do is go outside and join them. But I don’t. Scooby’s more fun, anyways.

creature mask is the most important part of every

19 Fat. You’re fat. You can feel it, can’t you? All that useless chub. That’s why they’re laughing. You’re small and ugly and fat and a waste of space. They keep

Scooby-Doo episode. It’s the moment where we are

16

reassured—in the wise words of various Tumblr

you around because you’re a relic to them. You’re not like them anymore. You’re just someone to put in

users—that “the real monsters are humans…and if

I’m about a quarter done with a delicious

that isn’t deep, I don’t know what is.” To be fair, at age

milkshake inexplicably called an “Awful Awful.” My

four, I was mostly concerned with the show’s bright

best friends flank me on either side—the perfect

That’s why they told you that you would be safe.

colors, slapstick comedy, and Shaggy’s impressively

ending to a summer Monday. The sludge of ice cream

That this wasn’t too much to inhale for your first time

bottomless appetite. All the philosophy came later.

dripping into my stomach reminds me that I shouldn’t

smoking weed. You idiot. Did you see how large that

No matter: The good guys won, the bad guys lost, and

eat like this anymore. Subconsciously, I clutch the

bong was? Have some f***ing brains!

we laughed along the way. That was as deep as any

side of my stomach, pinching the excess flab. I could,

show needed to be, and surely Scooby was worth the

I should stop at half.

occasional bump to the head. My parents may have thought otherwise.

Tommy looks up at me. “Bert,” he chuckles, I let go of my side, a smirk creeping up my face.

My father looks at me with a twinkle in his eye

“Chicken Run?”

Calm down. Don’t think about your heartbeat. something to soothe you. Music? Maybe.

Wait. The Scooby DVD! Get them to watch with you! They promised they would tonight!

They laugh as I stumble onto the deck. They laugh

“Scooby-Doo 2. It was on Cartoon Network”.

as I ask them to watch Scooby with me. They laugh as

The smirk becomes a smile.

pain flashes across my eyes. They laugh as I walk back

and asks if I want to say something. And I do—I’ve just come back from one of the coolest days of my life. But

Why would they?

Stop clutching your stomach. Relax. You need

“guess what I watched this morning.”

6

situations like this and laugh at. They don’t love you.

inside and put in the DVD. Alone.

17

where to begin? Everything was incredible! Definitely

Don’t they remember Halloween? Don’t they remember all the car rides? Don’t they remember

better than the first movie. The monsters looked so

“TRICK OR TREAT!”

how much this means to me?

different in real life. That part where Shaggy and

The lady opens the door with contempt, and I

Scooby changed bodies was so funny! And the tar

couldn’t care less. We’re here for a good time. So what

monster was super scary. For a moment there, I really

if we’re seniors and my candy will ultimately be left

thought Mystery Inc. was in trouble! And I felt a little

untouched? Tommy’s Scooby-Doo tail looks a little

weird watching Velma in that red bodysuit, but I

worse for wear from the mud that has caked across the

She sits across me wearing a smirk. In her hands

don’t know why! Also, that rock version of the Scooby-

road, but he doesn’t notice. The fact that we’re in the

is a bag full of goodies she has purchased for my

Doo theme song? SO COOL! It sounded just as good

middle of the street re-enacting the dance sequence

birthday. I don’t feel very deserving of it—we still

as it did in the first movie—and I would know—I’ve

from Scooby-Doo 2 shows we’re not exactly fixated on

barely know each other. Though it is flattering that

listened to the soundtrack exactly 200 times.

appearances. Tommy giggles as he puts on an original

she feels strongly enough to get me something.

Why can’t I grow up?

20

My father somehow comprehends enough of

song from the first movie’s soundtrack—inexplicably

First, the card. A picture of a guy working out. She

this flurry of thoughts to suggest we see it in theaters

written and recorded by Outkast. Yes, that Outkast.

laughs and promises I don’t talk about exercising too

a second time. My expression tells him all he needs

Thank god for the early 2000s.

much, no matter how much I worry.

to know.

Steve looks a little ridiculous in his Velma costume, but it gets the job done; Mark actually 10

Next, a journal. “Not a diary.” Her clarification, not mine.

looks good in an ascot. Together, as Mystery Inc., we

I open the last item.

order burritos at Chipotle—or, rather, “booritos.” My

Cinnamon graham crackers, with a certain

I’m on my second grilled cheese and fourth

burrito bowl looks delicious, yet deadly. I shake off

handful of Scooby Snacks. These luscious cinnamon-

the nerves and convince myself to indulge. After all,

cartoon dog plastered across the box.

Huh. Guess she knows me after all.

Febryary 15, 2018&5

ARTS&CULTURE

Controlled Chaos Watching the Lethal Weapon Series with My Parents

By Harry Levine illustrated by Owen rival content warning: Mentions of suicide

I

returned home last December to find my parents eager to do nothing but watch movies. I didn’t judge. I’m as solid a remote-holding companion as any, and the experience of the right movie can set a positive, unspoken mood that carries throughout the week. But at first, we made the mistake of watching movies too ambitious for our simple goals: Roma, La La Land and The Upside of Anger—all great films, all too much to think about.

The crowd-pleasing likes of Miracle and Baby Boom were closer to what movie night demanded. Still, we found they lacked that certain edge we desired but couldn’t quite put into words.

Then, inspiration struck. My father recalled the violent yet banterous and endearing exploits of two cops in a movie series ominously titled Lethal Weapon. Apparently, there were four of these things to work through, and that was enough recommendation for my mom and me. The 1987 original was quickly recorded off the LOGO channel, with the remaining films rented from our local library.

We began watching the first Lethal, and I was stunned. Though I had gone in expecting a realistic movie about cruel, tough-as-nails cops, Lethal Weapon’s violence was completely cartoonish, and its cops deeply lovable. Danny Glover plays Sgt. Robert Murtaugh, a well-meaning, law-abiding policeman, and Mel Gibson co-stars as his crazy new partner Martin Riggs, who is perpetually on the verge of a mental breakdown. These men couldn’t be more different. Yet, somehow, they mesh. Murtaugh and Riggs truly respect and love one another, even though they fear what the other is capable of. The film is ultimately not just the story of a friendship, but the story of a healthy friendship. How many real-life friends can acknowledge their flaws while remaining supportive?

The film’s title seems an obvious reference to Riggs, practically the embodiment of the phrase “loose cannon.” Somehow, some way, the man must kill—even if it means suicide, as shown in one early scene in which he begs Murtaugh to shoot him in the face. Murtaugh refuses but realizes that Riggs isn’t, as he had thought, lying about his suicidal urges. In the bizarre world of Lethal Weapon, this exchange shifts their relationship to a more comfortable, vulnerable

place. The film continues with a great performance from Gary Busey as the villain, who, amazingly, ends up dying after a homoerotic mud fight with Riggs.

When the movie ended, I was aching for more— luckily, the next two films replicate the same great formula: gripping, but not too gripping. Unlike movies that are pleasurable because they transport you to their unrealistic worlds (Star Wars comes to mind), the Lethal Weapon series demands very little of its viewers—its cinematic exaggeration is pleasingly unconvincing. This is not to say the films are without deeper significance, however. Murtaugh and Riggs are two people making the best of the insanity both around them and within them. Following the parallel chaos of my first semester at Brown, this really resonated with me. If they could sublimate their pain into a productive, pleasant (okay, maybe not so pleasant) output, then so could I.

The Lethal Weapon series demands very little of its viewers—its cinematic exaggeration is pleasingly unconvincing.

Still, when watching, it’s tempting to think of “Murtaugh and Riggs” as “Gibson and Glover”—the characters seem to reflect the actors themselves.

After we watched Lethal Weapon 2, my mom flatly announced that she loved Mel Gibson, no matter what his views were. Judging based on his performances in the first three Lethal Weapon films, it’s hard not to agree with her. His character is compassionate, caring, and at times, brilliantly off his rocker. He’s a strange, flawed, vulnerable human being who’s easy to love. However, it’s unwise to conflate this performance with the real Mel Gibson, who, after

“I’m getting off track, but the point of all of this is that while I’d never even had my first kiss, I was about to start taking the pill.”

Eliza Cain, “Planning Ahead” 2.15.17

“Boy meets girl. It’s not cute, because she’s mindlessly swiping on Tinder while microwaving a Lean Cuisine.”

Bianca Stelian, “love according to hollywood and reality" 2.15.18

6!post–

being arrested for a DUI, said, “F***ing Jews...the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.”

So Lethal Weapon, despite its slick, disposable sheen, demands more of modern viewers attuned to Gibson’s heinous behavior. It might play as an experiment, asking for our forgiveness and empathy. Alternatively, it can call us to meditate on those (reckless, brilliant cops, or racist, charismatic Hollywood actors) who are above the rule of law due to talent and privilege.

After my parents and I spent three days feasting on the first three classic Lethal Weapon movies, we hit a snag: the fourth movie was simply a disgrace. In it, humanity, a crucial element of the first three movies, is stripped away. Instead, spectacle is prioritized over everything—or at least the appearance of spectacle, with no regard to where that spectacle emerges from.

The flow of the fourth movie is nonexistent; entire scenes pass by as the characters flap their jaws around dialogue that is somehow both absurd and boring. It ripped me out of the movie, back to the anxiety of the real world, the raggedness of our aging couch, the fluttering eyes of my father as he tried and failed to stay awake. It was a betrayal of what I wanted from Lethal Weapon and from movies in general. My house felt stained by its hideous noises, by the howling of Joe Pesci’s annoying lawyer character, by my confusion at Chris Rock’s inclusion as Danny Glover’s potential son-in-law, and the shame I felt that such a comic luminary had been tainted by the atrocity that is Lethal Weapon 4. After it concluded, my mother and I quickly agreed it had been two hours we would never get back. Soon, I was alone, my parents fast asleep.

I took out some Triscuits, gnawed on them, and reflected on the Lethal Weapon experience as a whole.

Ultimately, I decided it had been worthwhile. Except for the anticlimax, I had found the reprieve from school I had been looking for in an unexpected source: sitting on the couch with my parents, watching goodnot-great movies.

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NEWS

PAGE 9 • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2019

» GYMNAST, from page 1 Herald: Congratulations on winning the all-around two weeks in a row!

What were these last two meets like for you?

Petrillo: The last two meets have been a lot of fun. It’s always really nice to go out there and hit my routines and hit for the team, hit for myself. … Because we’ve been making our routines, we had great energy, and so that just contributes to everyone making their routines and that’s made it a really fun experience for me.

What were your expectations going into this season?

I knew that our team had a lot of potential and we’re a really hardworking group, so I expected that we were going to have a lot of success, and we definitely have. … We continue to improve every week and work hard every week, and that is definitely showing. For myself, I was just hoping to come in and contribute to the team in the best way that I could … and do the gymnastics that I’ve been training for my whole life.

» ATHLETICS, from page 1 at Brown.”

A key donation which contributed to the $100 million fundraising milestone was a $5 million gift from Tom McMullen ’62 to start the Excellence in Athletics Fund, which aims to recruit and support athletes during their time at the University.

Also launched during this fundraising campaign, the Joseph Edelman and Pamela Keld ’83 Fund for Women’s Athletics has helped fulfill recruiting, travel and equipment needs for

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

You regularly compete in the all-around. Do you have a favorite event?

I do — my favorite event is definitely floor. I think it is just so much fun to compete — you hear the crowd cheering for you, you just get to show off all your tumbling and your routine, and it’s just it’s a lot of fun. It’s really an event where I can definitely own my performance, so I really like that.

When did you first get into gymnastics?

I started out doing gymnastics when I was about two. My sister was in recreational classes, and I just always had a lot of energy, so my parents decided to put me in classes to be just like her and as a way (to) get out my energy. ... I joined a competitive team when I was eight, I believe, and since then it’s just been a great experience.

gym — I went to the gym that she trained at when she was training for the Olympics, so she was definitely always a role model for me. I just thought she always looked so confident when she competed and it looked like she was really enjoying herself and was very, very talented.

Do you have a favorite leotard that you’ve worn for Brown so far?

I really like all of our leos. … We got a new leotard this year, so that was really cool to be able to wear that for the first time. It’s really beautiful, it has so many sparkles (and) a really nice ombre design, so that one is probably my favorite — it was just a cool experience to be able to be the first ones to wear that leo.

Who is your favorite professional athlete? Do you have a favorite gymnast that you like to watch?

A gymnast that I have always really enjoyed watching and really looked up to is Alicia Sacramone. We trained at the same

Do you have any meet day rituals or things you do either individually or as a team to get ready?

I think for the most part we just kind of try to keep a good energy going. We like to just be relaxed, we’ll take pictures, we’ll talk to each other, we listen to a lot of music and just kind of (try) to keep the same environment that we normally have when we’re in practice — that’s kind of our biggest aim for pre-meet environment, I

women’s sports teams.

Men’s hockey captain Max Gottlieb ’19 noted that increases in funding are often necessary to maintain competitiveness in the world of Division I Athletics. “It’s kind of like an arms race to have the newest facilities, the newest top-of-line gear and training staff,” he said. “At Brown we’ve definitely been encouraged by some of things that the department has done this year, but there’s definitely a lot to be done still.”

Hayes agreed that there are always more improvements that can be made to the athletic department. “There’s

always going to be day-to-day needs of coaches, whether it be team travel or recruiting needs; those things will always be there,” he said. “There are more endowed coaching positions that we hope we have the opportunity to establish. And the facility enhancement or the facility renovation part of athletics is never-ending. There’s always a facility that could use a renovation or an upgrade.” Hayes hopes that the BrownTogether campaign will continue to pay dividends and improve the athletic department for years to come.

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How did you choose Brown?

I chose Brown because I just loved the combination that I could get here — I could get great academics and a worldclass gymnastics team, so that’s definitely why I loved it. It’s pretty close to my house (in Massachusetts), so that was definitely a bonus ... that I can be pretty close to my family and my family can come and watch all of my competitions. So that was really nice, but just the great combination that Brown offers is definitely what made me want to come here the most.

What are your goals for the rest of the season?

For the rest of the season, I definitely just want to keep improving every meet, keep making all of my routines and perfecting them and definitely just keep helping the team and contributing to the team’s success as much as I can.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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guess. Personally, I just try to stay relaxed and just have fun with my teammates, and that’s definitely when I have my best performances.

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Sophia Petrillo ’22 has made an impressive mark on the Brown gymnastics program since arriving on campus at the beginning of the school year.

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COMMENTARY FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2019 • PAGE 10

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Jacobs ’19: Philosophy, Politics and Economics is not overrated JULIAN JACOBS OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR Anuj Krishnamurthy ’19 is wrong about philosophy, politics and economics.

On Tuesday, he wrote a column in The Herald that took aim at the Brown University Journal of Philosophy, Politics and Economics and, specifically, at the Journal’s perceived “fawning affirmation” of Oxford University’s academic program of the same name.

I am a co-founder and former Editor-In-Chief of that Journal as well a PPE concentrator. And Krishnamurthy’s arguments, though I’m sure well intentioned, are wrong.

There are two major points in Krishnamurthy’s piece. The first involves the educational value of PPE and the perceived redundancy of the program, given the fact that Brown already has an open curriculum. And the second deals with Oxford and its specific PPE program; he argues that PPE is “a stark manifestation of … intellectual self-absorption and elitism.” These comments lead him to conclude that the founding of JPPE might have been “ill considered.”

I co-founded JPPE because I believe in the effectiveness of a PPE degree as an interdisciplinary approach to academics and analyzing contemporary circumstance. Krishnamurthy is right that part of the value of PPE stems from its ability to implore us to “thoughtfully draw connections between the realms of politics, philosophy and economics.”

Krishnamurthy fails to recognize the value of a single, interdisciplinary concentration, which allows for a more complete learning experience. My advocacy of PPE began because I believed it could be a useful remedy to the real challenges posed by the partitioning of the three disciplines it contains. And this was an argument I made as a columnist for The Herald before I helped launch JPPE. For example, in economics, the models of growth, rates of return and wages students study are powerful tools;

yet, without consideration of moral, social and political circumstances, it can be easy to obscure the deep normative assumptions embedded within those calculations. The reasoning behind a minimum wage increase, for example, might have far more to do with political or ethical calculations than pure economics. Philosophical and policy questions similarly benefit from the added perspective of new lenses. This is why the Journal’s mission centers around a nucleus of free discussion and challeng-

ber of students from private schools.

Of course, as Krishnamurthy notes, these aren’t issues that are unique to Oxford — about 20 percent of Brown students come from the top one percent. Those same forces that allow Oxford to solidify inequalities are operating here at Brown through, for example, our career pipelines into banking and consulting.

There is also no question that Oxford’s PPE program is famous and widely regarded in Britain — many no-

equities and barriers to entry that often marked their professions throughout history.

JPPE’s focus on PPE stems, not from admiration of Oxford, but instead from a genuine belief in the ideals of the interdisciplinary approach. The Journal has taken rigorous steps to separate itself from PPE’s history at Oxford and promote inclusion both on campus and off.

This is why JPPE dedicated its first issue specifically toward the challenge

The Journal has taken rigorous steps to separate itself from PPE’s history at Oxford and promote inclusion both on campus and off.

es to existing norms.

And by applying three distinct lenses to contemporary circumstance, the interdisciplinary approach provides a well rounded educational experience, more attuned to a diversity of perspectives. Though this objective can be achieved without a PPE program, it takes academic structure, and PPE is one particularly powerful method of providing that structure.

Despite his skepticism, Krishnamurthy does qualify his academic criticisms of PPE. As a result, it seems his only real argument stems from his belief that the elitism of Oxford’s PPE program is one intrinsic to PPE and, moreover, that this elitism might spread through the careless fawning of an oncampus Journal.

He is right on one point. The notion that Oxford has a distinct elitist, exclusive streak is incontrovertible. A recent report found that one out of four Oxford colleges failed to admit a single black British student each year between 2015 and 2017. And the school continues to accept a disproportionate num-

table journalists and members of Parliament have graduated with the degree. And yet, Oxford’s PPE program does not reinforce inequalities because it is a degree in “philosophy, politics and economics.” It does so only because it is a degree at Oxford in the social sciences — about a quarter of all British MP’s went to Oxford or Cambridge University, and PPE isn’t even offered at the latter.

Apart from one quote, Krishnamurthy doesn’t provide any evidence that PPE is itself contributing to the reinforcement of a socio-economic class structure as opposed to, say, centuries of historical circumstances molding a distinct notion of class, globalization, rising returns to capital or networks among the privileged.

This is not to absolve PPE of its history at Oxford, which is certainly one associated with immense privilege and, by extension, inequality. That is a history students of PPE should recognize, for the same reasons political scientists, psychologists and neuroscientists should understand the injustices, in-

of inclusive economic growth and its second issue to the question of managing inequality caused by technological disruption.

Crucially, JPPE is unique because it takes submissions from everyone. So long as the essay is well researched, well argued and original, the Journal will consider it regardless of who it comes from. The publication has received pieces from people without college degrees, members of the US military and students from universities and colleges around the world.

By taking this approach, the Journal is not only bringing more people to the table; it is also providing richer content.

For example, in the inaugural issue, a student at the University of Washington provided original economic data on the disproportionate effects of marijuana criminalization on black people in Washington State. And another recent essay by a student at the University of Cape Town focuses on the legacy of South African apartheid in the context of the country’s economic history.

In reality, JPPE does more to pro-

mote inclusion of new voices than most on-campus publications. The Journal’s robust outreach team has dedicated countless hours to forming relationships with communities outside of Brown. So when Krishnamurthy speaks about the Journal’s editors unknowingly abetting “the steady concentration of power in the hands of elites,” he demonstrates a lack of understanding about what JPPE is and what it actually does.

I’m glad to have this opportunity to contribute an op-ed that highlights JPPE’s commitment to inclusion. It is ultimately up to the Brown community to decide if the Journal is fulfilling its responsibilities toward that end, and that is an important conversation worth continuing.

Krishnamurthy’s particular criticisms, however, are largely unfounded. Instead of actionable suggestions, Krishnamurthy offers the vaguest possible exhortations — JPPE is rife with “complications,” and the Journal should engage in “serious introspection.”

If the point of Krishnamurthy’s article was to open discourse on how to make PPE more inclusive, then I would welcome him to sit in on the next JPPE Editorial Board meeting. The question of inclusivity is one the staff has been wrestling with for over a year and a half.

And though the Journal has more work to do, it has made considerable progress in this regard. The accusation that the publication’s team of around 50 students is at all ignorant of PPE’s history or unmotivated by its responsibility of inclusion is wrong.

So no. Philosophy, politics and economics is not overrated.

Julian Jacobs ‘19 is the co-founder and former editor-in-chief of JPPE. He can be reached at julian_ jacobs@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.

EDITORIAL

SEAS reporting system is an opportunity for a more equitable community On Dec. 18, the Undergraduate Council of Students announced the launch of the new Student and Employee Accessibility Services reporting system via email to the student body. This system will allow University community members to report accessibility concerns around campus more readily by consolidating the reporting to one entity, The Herald previously reported. A culmination of collaborative work between SEAS and UCS Chair of Student Wellness Shivani Nishar ’20, the new development represents a pivotal opportunity to create a more equitable campus and increase community involvement regarding the issue of accessibility at the University.

The new Google form allows students and fellow University community members to indicate barriers such as nonfunctional automatic door openers, snow berms that block access to pathways or difficulties with requesting academic accommodations. Though the form specifies that it is designed for “community members working with disability relatedneeds,” we hope that able-bodied University community members will step up to improve access for their peers by paying greater attention to this issue and taking advantage of the new system to report such problems as they arise.

We commend UCS for targeting a community-wide issue as important

as this one and creating an actionable solution to ameliorate the problem, and we think that this initiative can only grow. In this vein, UCS and SEAS should continue to further enhance the system so that community members who do not have disabilityrelated needs can become more aware of inequitable situations and how to report them. For example, UCS and SEAS could include on the form pictures of common scenarios that would make it difficult for those with mobility challenges to traverse the campus or its buildings uninhibited.

This work is undeniably important, as it shifts the labor of making reports from those who have accessibility concerns to the entire University

community.

Furthermore, UCS and SEAS should increase awareness of the system’s existence and make the form more accessible as students journey through campus, perhaps by placing flyers with a scannable QR code on building doors so the community can report issues as they see them. Strategies to increase the awareness of the system will lead to a greater number of reports and a safer community.

Individuals with mobility and other disability-related concerns are often left to bear the burden and frustration of the accessibility issues they face. This new initiative makes it easier for all members of the University community to become a part

of the conversation by bringing to light issues that do not have traditional reporting systems. By actively partnering to break down these barriers little by little, such as through the use of this new reporting system, we will create a more inclusive and enriching University experience for every member of our community and future Brunonians to come.

Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board: its editors, Grace Layer ’20 and Krista Stapleford ’21, and its members, Elisheva Goldberg ’22, Eduard Muñoz-Suñé ’20 and Riley Pestorius ’21. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.

NEWS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2019 • PAGE 11

Men’s Lacrosse to open season hosting Quinnipiac

DAVID SILVERMAN / HERALD

The 2019 men’s lacrosse team will be highlighted by All-American goalie Phil Goss ’20 and an influx of talent including two new coaches. action in his first year due to injury but is anticipated to have a big role Bears excited to debut season. Jason Simaan ’20 and Matt with young squad against this McShea ’21 are expected to handle Bobcats in home opener face-off duties for the Bears.

While the team will need players Saturday to fill the shoes of the five defensemen who graduated last year, Brown fans

By EMORY HINGORANI can expect to see the same dynamic STAFF WRITER offense of the 2018 team. Four of the The men’s lacrosse team will aim five top goal-scorers from last year’s to start the season off on the right squad — Mike Panepinto ’19, Luke foot with a contest against Quinnipiac McCaleb ’20, Jackson Newsome ’19 University at home Saturday. and Carson Song ’19 — return this It will be the first game in a season season. The former two will serve as full of competitive matchups for the co-captains for the team in its 2019 Bears, including clashes against the campaign. defending national champions, Yale, “It’s an incredible honor to be No. 5 Cornell and No. 11 University elected captain by my teammates. of Virginia.

The biggest thing I want to do is just The Bears closed the 2018 season lead them how they want to be led,” with an overall record of 6-9. The team McCaleb said. “Our coach always says also finished 3-3 in Ivy League play, ‘on good teams coaches lead, on great earning the number three seed in the teams players lead.’ … I think our seIvy League Tournament before falling niors and some of our juniors have to Cornell 7-4 in the semifinals. done a great job really instilling that Bruno’s return to Stevenson- into the team.”

Pincince Field has been long anticiThe NCAA has instituted various pated. The team came back to campus rule changes for 2019, including the early from winter break to run cap- introduction of an 80-second shot tain’s practices, and began official team clock, and allowing players to leave practices Feb. 1. Though the Bears lost their feet when shooting around the a strong group of seniors in the class crease. The Bears’ already fast-paced of 2018, this year’s squad features a style of lacrosse looks to capitalize on core group of 31 returning players, these new rules. many of whom have multiple seasons “We traditionally play pretty fast. of starting experience.

(Head Coach Mike Daly) came from Beyond the returning upperclass- Tufts and started a style of play there men, the team is also excited about its where it’s run-and-gun, getting up and new additions to both the roster and down and taking great shots — kind coaching staff. of controlled chaos,” McCaleb said.

“We brought in a lot of great fresh- “Being able to have that shot clock men, and there’s going to be a bunch … and get a bunch of transition goals that see a lot of playing time this year,” — that’ll really be great for us.” said Phil Goss ’20. “We’re also adding Beyond playing fast, the focuses two great new coaches to the two great of this year’s squad include attention ones we had before. We brought in to detail, playing as a team and foCoach (John) Svec and Coach (Mi- cusing on the present, McCaleb and chael) Higgins, who’ve brought some Goss said. new approaches to defense, goaltend“In college lacrosse, anyone can ing and faceoffs, and we’re really ex- win on any given day, so it’s kind of cited about what they have to offer.” about how good of a team you are,” Defensively, the team is anchored Goss said. “We’re focused on playing

by Goss, who has been recognized together, playing as a unit. We say, ‘one as one of the top goalies in the na- team with one heartbeat.’” tion since earning his first start for With an experienced group of atthe Bears as a first-year in 2017. Goss tackmen and middies, depth on deearned First-Team All-Ivy honors last fense and an All-American goalie, no season after leading the Ivy League in bar seems to be too high for the Bears saves with 197. He was also named this season. For now, though, the team an Inside Lacrosse Preseason Media is focused on the present.

Second-Team All-American this year.

“Our biggest goal is just focusing Other names to look for defen- on what’s right in front of us rather sively on this year’s squad include Alex than looking too far down the road,” Santangelo ’19, who was second on the McCaleb said. team in caused turnovers last season, As the Bears open the season this Michael Brown ’20, who led all field Saturday, they will commence Ivy players in ground balls last year, and League play against Harvard March Jackson Caputo ’21, who saw limited 16.

» EMISSIONS, from page 1 replaced with “post-consumer bio-oil” — oil that has already been used in food preparation and recycled — said Leah VanWey, associate provost for academic space and professor of sociology and environment and society.

This project “will reduce our dependence on fossil energy dramatically,” Porder wrote. It is expected to reduce campus greenhouse emissions by “an additional 10,000 metric tons” per year, according to the announcement.

The initiative’s third phase is a long-term thermal efficiency project.

The University’s central heating network — which heats approximately 70 percent of campus facilities — and the buildings connected to it will be renovated to lower energy consumption for heat. The University currently uses steam to heat parts of campus, and the renovations should allow for a switch from steam to hot water in addition to lowering the necessary hot water temperature, VanWey said.

At the moment, facilities is working to reduce the water temperature to 250 degrees Fahrenheit and begin using liquid water instead of steam, but the ultimate goal is a reduction to 185 degrees.

This larger reduction in temperature will require substantial changes to campus infrastructure, which should take place between 2021 and 2038. In order to minimize disruption to students, the renovations are scheduled to occur mainly during summers “when

heating isn’t needed,” and when there are fewer students on campus, VanWey said in the announcement.

Heating systems for buildings that are not connected to the central heating loop will be individually renovated. If renovation is not possible, the buildings’ emissions will be offset with renewable energy purchases, the announcement added.

The fourth and final phase of the initiative will involve the conversion of the University’s central heating plant to a renewable, “non combustion–based” heat source, Porder wrote in an email to The Herald. This phase is scheduled to take place in 2038, the announcement stated. Currently, the best replacement would be “air source heat pumps with bio-oil supplement for the coldest days,” he added.

The University also recognizes the need for a “flexible” plan that allows for change as technology advances, VanWey said. “If new technology becomes available by the time we’re done with these renovations, we can use it,” Porder wrote. Regardless of the final heat source, “the work that we’re doing in the buildings that makes (them) accept lower-temperature hot water will … (increase) the efficiency of the central heating plant,” VanWey said. She is also scheduling “regular reviews of (the technology) … with the Corporation as well as with the internal leadership” at the University, she added.

Since 2007, a number of energy efficiency projects have been enacted on campus to reduce emissions, such

as thermal efficiency upgrades, the implementation of LED lights in University facilities and the conversion of the central heating plant’s fuel source from oil to natural gas, VanWey said.

The University’s previous emissions goals included reducing “on-campus greenhouse gas emissions by 42 percent below 2007 levels” by 2020, The Herald previously reported. As of fiscal year 2018, greenhouse gas emissions are “currently standing 28.2 percent below 2007 levels,” according to the University’s 2018 sustainability report.

VanWey could not guarantee that the University will meet its 2020 emissions goals because one of the two planned offset projects must become operational in order for those goals to be achieved, she said.

The planning of the net-zero initiative began fall 2017 and lasted 18 months, according to VanWey and Porder. The two co-chaired a committee charged with “developing long-term greenhouse gas emissions goals and … sustainability goals for the University,” VanWey said.

The committee employed the services of three consulting firms, according to Porder. They reviewed the efforts of peer universities, the University’s own progress and what would be financially and logistically feasible “in order to take a leadership position” in combating climate change, VanWey said.

Porder is “very confident” that the goals of the new net-zero plan will be achieved. “For something this important, I have no doubt we will follow through,” he added.

Data research aims to predict protests New grant from Data Science Initiative funds collaborative research using machine learning

By EMILIJA SAGAITYTE SENIOR STAFF WRITER

While financial indices may seem just like numbers and a Google search just like a trivial collection of words, the potential application of both to anticipate future protests worldwide is currently under study at the University, according to the Data Science Initiative website.

A joint project titled “A Quantitative Measure of Freedom of Assembly,” led by researchers at the University, the University of Michigan, the University of Calgary and the University of Chicago hopes to explore the application of data to predicting protests. The group was the first to receive funding through a grant called Data Science @ Brown, which is offered by the DSI. Combining their respective expertise in economics — specifically its relation to political institutions, governmental development and protests — the team intends to apply the latest data and economic theories to compare freedom of assembly across various nations, wrote Jesse Shapiro, professor of economics and co-principal investigator of the project, in an email to The Herald. The project will also rely on machine learning techniques, according to the DSI website. The other principal investigators are Yusuf Neggers, assistant professor at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy, and Mehdi Shadmehr, associate professor of economics at

the University of Calgary and visiting associate professor at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. “We hope that our research will contribute to a better understanding of the variation in and determinants of the freedom of assembly,” Shapiro wrote in an email to The Herald, adding that the researchers are currently and “actively” using the grant to obtain and analyze data.

Danilo Freire, a postdoctoral research associate at the University, is not involved in the project, but has focused on political instability in his research. This topic piqued his interest because of his time living in Brazil, when he was exposed to the possibility of impending violence, he said. Similar to the project funded by the DSI, Freire has also engaged in research involving machine learning. His work pertained specifically to trying to predict and thereby create a warning system for genocides, he said. Timing is crucial for interventions in such atrocities, he

USHA BHALLA / HERALD

said, adding that, “I think the question’s not to predict everything correctly, it’s just to be better than human judgment.”

Social scientists usually examine cause and effect to reach conclusions and create predictions; the methods employed in some social science research, including the protest data project and Freire’s research,hope to provide a new and potentially more accurate way to reach the same end result, Freire said. Machine learning allows the process of social science analysis to become more flexible because it need not rely on fixed assumptions used in older statistical research methods, he added.

It is “important that someone funds … early warning systems … not only for science, but for human kind,” Freire said.

The group’s proposal was the first application received by the DSI, and it » See DSI, page 12

NEWS

PAGE 12 • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2019

» STATE REPS, from page 1 city that’s providing some police and fire protection,” she said.

Ajello has previously said it would be “reasonable” for nonprofit organizations to contribute more to state revenue given the share of public services they use, as The Herald previously reported. “But when you look at that issue, Brown is paying the city more in an agreed payment-in-lieu-of-taxes than any other entity. I’m recognizing it as a problem in the city’s finances, but I think Brown is probably the best actor there is in working on dealing with this problem.”

State Senator Gayle Goldin Goldin received her degree in English from McGill University and a masters in public policy from Tufts University. She quickly fell in love with Providence after moving to the city upon finishing her graduate studies. “I love living in a college town and living in a neighborhood that has college students in it. It’s both the lovely mix of having the students themselves and the faculty that live throughout College Hill, who

shape a lot of the tone of the overall community and bring so many interesting things to the forefront,” Goldin said.

Goldin was impressed from the start with the progressive community on College Hill. “That community of the East Side had a lot of … conversations about social justice in a much broader sense,” she said, adding that she has noticed an uptick in activism since President Trump’s election in 2016. “Some of the really interesting ideas we get in the State House are either being driven by students coming up here to advocate for different policy change … or faculty who approach me with an idea,” she said.

Much like Ajello, Goldin has been a champion for social justice, specifically pay equity and paid family leave. After suffering an injury and needing personal care, Goldin “realized that we needed to change the way that we had laws in this country on the way people can take paid time off,” she said. Her experience inspired her “to run for an office that could really push for that change.” Since 2012, Goldin has run unopposed in every general election.

Through her work in the Senate,

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Goldin helped pass the Temporary Caregiver Insurance program, which has helped “constituents in every single person’s district … and I think that has made people much more connected to the idea and feel comfortable (with it).”

She hopes to further develop the current system by improving wage replacements and increasing the number of weeks of paid leave provided. “We need to improve the system. Massachusetts has leapfrogged over us. They have taken what we did here and created a stronger system,” she said.

As a senator, Goldin has served on the Health and Human Services committee since her first election. There she “helps other Senators who have bills in the committee … hear where we are … and help them understand where there might be opportunities for compromise.”

As vice chairperson of the committee, Goldin can focus on one of her other major legislative goals: improving healthcare in the state. “I certainly believe in a single-payer healthcare system.” she said. Goldin hopes to streamline healthcare for her constituents and ensure total access that is based on need.

Goldin admitted that “it might be awhile before we get there.”

Goldin also prioritizes the political objective of pay equity in the workforce.

Early last year, Goldin introduced a “fair pay” bill in the Senate, which was based off of a similar law in Massachusetts.

Among other things, the bill would have banned the practice of determining new salaries based on old ones, which has been used against women in the workforce. Though the bill was easily passed in the Senate, “the House bill and my Senate bill were so far apart that it was not appropriate to even consider how to amend that bill and send it back to the House,” Goldin said. Goldin stressed that current pay equity laws need improvement. “Your job should pay you what your job is worth, not what you were paid in the previous job,” she said.

Both Ajello and Goldin have been active not just in the East Side community, but also in the University community. “We have great relationships with both legislators,” said Zoe Mermelstein ’21, speaker and events coordinator for the Brown College Democrats. Ajello

and Goldin have participated in various events for the College Democrats, including a meet-and-greet during last year’s election.

“Edie Ajello has been super consistent about coming to different events, and she can always be counted on to come and speak and tell us what’s going on,” Mermelstein said. Mermelstein added that while Goldin is a more recent contact for the College Democrats, “we’ve really been building our relationship with her.” Goldin provided the College Democrats with information “about opportunities to get involved with protests” after last year’s confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Gabe Mernoff ’22, raised in Providence, has known both of the legislators for close to a decade. “They’re very popular. They’re around a lot and extremely visible. Even if you’re not the most political person you’ll still probably end up running into them just because of that. It’s why they almost always run unopposed,” he said. He applauded their progressive views and praised Ajello for becoming a “vocal member of that Reform Caucus, it’s been really cool.”

» DSI, from page 11 was then chosen to receive the funds.

The proposal met every criteria for the grant, which includes establishing cross-disciplinary research and helping to fulfill the goals of the DSI, wrote Associate Director of the Data Science Initiative Alden Bumstead.

The DSI seeks to promote research within data science, which involves the creation and use of methods and tools to draw conclusions from data. It also seeks to increase learning within the field and look into the societal and cultural applications of data science methods. The DSI established the grant with these goals in mind, Bumstead wrote in an email to The Herald. Bumstead hopes this funding — potentially in combination with other financial assistance — will serve as a catalyst for published findings or additional inquiries within this project, she wrote.

These types of studies require heavy computer and technology use, so financial assistance from grants like the Data Science @ Brown grant further aid researchers by allowing them to take risks in hopes of achieving greater results, Freire said. There are currently more opportunities available within data science than people working to pursue them, he added; he hopes the funding of this project will increase interest in the field of data science.

The DSI hopes to award additional grants over the course of the semester, Bumstead wrote in an email to The Herald.

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