SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2019
VOLUME CLIII, ISSUE 18
WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM
U. members reflect on proposed Title IX changes Alum’s ‘RBG’ Students, faculty, staff, advocates express concerns over proposed regulations By SPENCER SCHULTZ SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The University released a community report Feb. 1 that summarized feedback and concerns from approximately 75 students, staff and faculty on the U.S. Education Department’s proposed changes to Title IX regulations. Community members’ concerns included “the potential negative impact on the (Title IX) process,” and “the potential chilling effect on reporting and a reduction in the frequency of involvement by the Title IX office,” according to the report. Additionally, the community had questions regarding “the development of processes that are equitable to both parties,” and “the narrowing of instances in which universities must respond to a report of harassment.” Community members also showed interest in “holding members of the community accountable for off-campus incidents.” The University gathered these responses through online comments and five information sessions held in December
nominated for Oscar
2018, wrote Rene Davis, Title IX program officer, in an email to The Herald. Title IX, which was passed in 1972, prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any academic environment or program that receives federal funding. Introduced last November, the Department’s proposed regulations would affect the implementation of Title IX through measures such as allowing “institutions to use a higher standard of proof in sexual misconduct cases,” as The Herald previously reported. Guiding future University action The community responses were shared with senior leaders who worked to develop the University’s comments on the proposed changes to Title IX regulations, Davis wrote. President Christina Paxson P ‘19 submitted a response on behalf of the University to recommend changes to the Department’s proposed regulations, The Herald previously reported. Paxson was one of 100,000 individuals who submitted public comments during the 60-day comment period. In addition to administrators, responses garnered from Brown community members will be shared with the Steering Committee on Equity and Diversity, Davis wrote. The SCED is responsible for
Film, co-directed by Betsy West ‘73, documents life of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg By ELISE RYAN ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR
SARA RUNKEL / HERALD
Title IX Program Officer Rene Davis said that community members voiced concerns about potential negative impacts of the proposed policy changes. “reviewing Title IX and gender equity matters that intersect with other forms of protected classes,” according to the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity’s website. In this role, the group conducts a review of Title IX policies and procedures every three years. The next review of the University’s Sexual and Gender-Based Harassment, Sexual Violence, Relationship and Interpersonal Violence and Stalking Policy will take place this spring, Davis wrote. Following the release of the final
regulations, the Title IX and Gender Equity Office will work with the SCED to review any required changes to the University’s policy and procedure addressing reports of sexual violence and gender-based harassment, according to the community report. Comprised of administrators and students, the SCED includes medical, graduate and undergraduate student representation, wrote Maggie U. Goddard GS, a former member of the now-disbanded » See TITLE IX, page 3
Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s unshakable grit and present-day persona imbue the opening minutes of Oscar-nominated documentary “RBG.” Donning a navy-blue sweatshirt that reads “Super Diva!” the octogenarian Supreme Court Justice lifts weights, lunges and holds a plank for longer than thirty seconds. The scene begins a montage of clips featuring millennials approaching Ginsburg for autographs and crowds applauding her entrance to various events. Interspersed are scenes of Kate McKinnon playing a feisty, energetic Ginsburg on “Saturday Night Live,” Gloria Steinem calling her “the closest thing to a superhero I know” and both newscasters and childhood friends referencing her now-famed nickname, » See RBG, page 4
UCS approves changes U. event highlights complexities of data power Panelists argue big to Elections Code data can both reinforce, yond the technical impacts of data science to its societal impacts.
General body votes unanimously to update policies, hears Project LETS presentation By KAYLA GUO SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The Undergraduate Council of Students unanimously voted in favor of four changes to the UCS and Undergraduate Finance Board Elections Code and heard from a Project Let’s Erase the
Stigma representative at its general body meeting Wednesday evening. This year, candidates for UCS President, UCS Vice President, UFB Chair and UFB Vice Chair will be required to collect 200 signatures from their peers, while candidates for all other positions now only need 100 signatures. Last year, the Elections Code was changed so that all candidates needed to receive 200 signatures from registered undergraduate students in order to run, The Herald previously reported. » See UCS, page 4
VICTORIA YIN / HERALD
The UCS general body voted in favor of several Elections Code changes such as allowing students on leave or abroad to vote in elections.
INSIDE
transform systemic inequities
By MAIA ROSENFELD SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The oft-touted power of big data is a double-edged sword, with the potential to both uphold and dismantle entrenched systemic inequalities, according to panelists at yesterday’s “Algorithmic Justice: Race, Bias and Big Data” event. The University’s Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America and the Data Science Initiative hosted five experts, including journalism and political science professors, two cofounders of Data for Black Lives and a co-founder of Mapping Police Violence and Campaign Zero. The speakers addressed how data, algorithms and machine learning can perpetuate existing social inequalities, as well as how data can be used to advance social justice. The event was introduced by Tricia Rose, director of CSREA, and Bjorn Sandstede, professor of applied mathematics and director of the DSI. Sandstede introduced the panelists and stressed the importance of looking be-
Data challenges structural inequalities Panelist Yeshimabeit Milner ’12 is founder and executive director of Data for Black Lives, an organization that harnesses the power of data to affect change in areas like mass incarceration that disproportionately affect black people. She detailed how she used data to show the impact of the school-toprison pipeline and the racial disparities it perpetuated. “I was sold on the power of data and its possibilities,” Milner said, adding that she was motivated by people in her own community to study issues that affect their lives. Personal stories and lived experiences are “one of the most potent forms of data in our arsenal.” After studying ways to address societal inequalities through data science, Milner went on to found Data for Black Lives, aiming to connect scientists with activists to build a movement that can leverage data’s power for social change. The organization has now built a network of over 4,000 activists and scientists. “We are calling for a new era: An era when data will be recognized as a tool for profound social change,” she
said. “We believe that this is one of the most important civil rights issues of our time.” This message was echoed by Milner’s colleague Max Clermont ’11 MPH ’12, co-founder and head of policy of Data for Black Lives. Clermont stressed the importance of finding those absent from conversations about the effects of big data, urging audience members to think less conventionally about what makes a person an expert. “There’s potential and opportunity for data to be used for good if it’s in the hands of the right people,” Clermont said. According to Milner, Data for Black Lives aims “to create a new narrative, to transform the role that data plays in public life on a local and national level.” “One of the problems with these systems is that they only understand bias as individual irrational thinking. … But of course, bias is systemic and structural,” said Virginia Eubanks, an associate professor of political science at University of Albany, SUNY, and panelist at the event. Technology can reinforce existing biases and inequalities Panelist Meredith Broussard, assistant professor of journalism at New » See DATA, BACK
WEATHER
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2019
NEWS Despite delays, plans for Roger Williams Park Welcome Center move ahead, pending funding
ARTS & CULTURE Bikari Kitwani discusses politics behind, around hip hop, in first of four events in music lecture series
COMMENTARY Reed ‘21: Inefficiencies in Brown meal plans prevent full accessibility to all students
COMMENTARY Paxson P’19: Gifts policy guided by University’s mission, not donors’ politics
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PAGE 2 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2019
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Providence plans for Roger Williams Park Welcome Center Ongoing efforts to redevelop neglected property stall as City works to secure funding By ISABEL INADOMI SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The shell of a property destroyed by fire has loomed outside Roger Williams Park for over a decade, but the city of Providence now has plans to redevelop the area. The city has acquired the land and plans to replace the building with a Welcome Center for the park. The Welcome Center is slated to include amenities such as a bike share station, public restrooms and a place to buy tickets to Roger Williams Park attractions such as the zoo and planetarium, said Bonnie Nickerson executive director of the Providence Redevelopment Agency. The project was originally scheduled to be completed by April 2019, but because of difficulties obtaining sufficient funding the project has no clear timeline for completion, Nickerson said. The proposed Welcome Center has been difficult to launch since it is composed of three separate properties which “have been blighted and abandoned for over a decade,”
Nickerson said. Since last summer, the city has attempted to obtain funding from Rhode Island Housing, which is “a privately funded public purpose corporation,” according to the organization’s website. The organization had money specifically “set aside for blighted and abandoned properties,” Nickerson said. At the time of the city’s application for funds, the city was working to use eminent domain to acquire the land on which the blighted properties are located but had not yet done so. One of the requirements for access to the fund was “site control at the time” of application, so the city was unable to secure the funds. In December the City Council added the properties to an acquisition list, allowing the PRA to obtain them and once again seek funds from R.I. Housing to construct the planned Welcome Center amenities. The Providence Parks Department and the Rhode Island Foundation are seeking the funds alongside the PRA, Nickerson said. Other secured funding sources include Providence’s community development block grant and the PRA, she added. The project had wide community support at the time of application for funds last summer, with “letters of support from the local (Councillors) as well as neighborhood organizations and businesses,” Nickerson said.
Ward 9 Councilwoman Carmen Castillo, where the property is located, also voiced her support for the project, since “not only does it make Broad Street more beautiful, it also gives the public greater access to information about Roger Williams Park,” she wrote in an email to The Herald. But some neighborhood businesses remain unaware of the city’s intentions for the property. “I don’t think anybody knows whatever they’re doing there; they haven’t put up no signs, no nothing,” said Jose Perez, the manager of Garcia Auto Glass. But Perez, whose business is located across the street from the area, is supportive of plans to alleviate the current blight. Nickerson said that the city is committed to involving local businesses with the project in both the design and construction process and will be holding a design contest to engage the local community. “Very soon we will be putting out a call for local architects and designers to give us some proposals,” she said. They will also prioritize local contractors. Sustainability is also an important part of the project, Nickerson said. For the design, the PRA is “putting in requirements for sustainable materials and building systems” and “perhaps looking at net zero building or other ideas,” she said.
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Once funding is secured, the Providence Parks Department will put out a call to local architects to submit designs for the Welcome Center.
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2019 • PAGE 3
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Hip Hop Lecture Series kicks off with Bakari Kitwana lecture Journalist, activist Kitwana speaks on intersection of hip-hop, politics By KAELA HINES STAFF WRITER
“I have nothing to say about Cardi B,” remarked writer and hip-hop expert Bakari Kitwana, as he noted his own “lack of context” with contemporary rap at a lecture on the lasting influence of hip-hop in politics last week. Kitwana, a journalist, activist and political analyst, was the first of four lecturers in the Hip Hop Lecture Series, which began on Feb. 12. The series, hosted by Professor of Africana Studies Tricia Rose, who is also the director of the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America, marks the 25th anniversary of the release of Rose’s foundational academic text “Black Noise,” which analyzes hip-hop through a scholarly lens. Kitwana discussed the importance of “Black Noise” as a bridge between academia and hip-hop, saying, “The accomplishment and success of ‘Black Noise’ has to be understood in the context of how hip-hop was perceived in the academy at the time and for years after.” The book played an important role in promoting the scholarship of hip-hop, he said, adding that the text’s “interdisciplinary and intersectional” approach analyzes gender and race with depth, precision and passion. Kitwana cited “Black Noise” as one of the inspirations for his own book, “The Hip-Hop Generation,” which he intended for a non-academic audience. “I wanted the book to be picked up by a high schooler, I wanted the book to be picked up by a person who maybe dropped out of high school, but still I wanted to elevate the intellectual conversation,” he said. His book aims to examine the politics behind hip-hop, asking: “How does the hip-hop generation depart from and emerge out of the aftermath of the Black Power Movement?” and “What possibilities exist for us to build a political movement in our lifetime?”
ANITA SHEIH / HERALD
Bakari Kitwana’s lecture delved into the role of hip-hop music in academia and politics, placing emphasis on hip-hop’s relationship with race and gender. He explored the hip-hop generation’s impact in the aftermath of the Black Power movement and the crack cocaine explosion. He also discussed the importance of his background in shaping his interest in politics and rap. Kitwana talked about the 1970s DJ battles he witnessed in his youth and the awe he felt watching Puerto Rican breakdancers perform at his older sister’s house in the Bronx. Politically, Kitwana’s interests were ignited by “the crack cocaine explosion and explosion of incarceration.” He discussed the perceived randomness with which punishments were dispensed within the criminal justice system. “It was a great preoccupation of mine because it affected people I personally knew, three of my cousins who did serious time. I always felt a compelling need to do something about it because it was not fair. They did not deserve it.” In his early adult life, Kitwana
worked as the editorial director at Third World Press and as a journalist at The Source magazine, where he encountered musicians such as the Wu Tang Clan. He credited The Source for helping him “frame early arguments” about the connection between politics and hip-hop. The magazine’s staff “imagined that hip hop had nothing to do with politics,” Kitwana said. As a writer, Kitwana talked about his desire “to find ways to make the writing live beyond the page,” which prompted him to co-found the 2004 National Hip-Hop Political Convention that brought together 4,000 people in Newark to “address problems of the hip hop generation,” according to his website. The convention led him to become the executive director of Rap
Sessions, which inspires community dialogues about hip-hop through a national tour of “town-hall style meetings,” according to his website. Students in AFRI 0880: “Hip Hop Music and Cultures,” taught by Rose, attended the lecture and asked questions about the commercialization of hip-hop and youth culture. Ivy Hobson ’22 reflected on how popular culture has emerged “as a site of struggle between marginalized groups and powerful groups over everyday life.” An audience member’s question about generational culture sparked a debate that touched on how older generations involved with hip-hop interact with contemporary artists such as Cardi B. Kitwana argued that to comment on rap, one must be a part
of the generation it is geared toward. To this, Rose responded that “the whole point of history is to figure out things you didn’t experience,” and that it is a “vulcanized and potentially problematic assumption that being in a generation means you know something just automatically.” Laughter ensued when Rose remarked, “I don’t need to spend all day listening to patriarchal narratives to critique patriarchy.” Kitwana agreed, reshaping his argument by adding that he meant if one is not “an active listener engaging in the new generation music,” then one cannot judge and critique. He added that when music was a part of his daily life, he listened to it with a different perspective than the one he has now as a father.
» TITLE IX, from page 1
Proposed changes prompt concern While the University is not certain how the proposed changes will specifically affect sexual misconduct policy and procedure, there is concern among advocates that they will be harmful to survivors of sexual harassment and assault. Should the proposed regulations be enacted, those reporting sexual misconduct could unfairly bear the burden of proof in sexual misconduct cases, wrote Elliot Ruggles, a sexual harassment and assault resources and education advocate, in an email to The Herald. “If the proposed guidelines go into effect without changes, there is a strong message sent to survivors of sexual violence (including harassment) that the burden of proof is on them and that some experiences are more ‘valid’ than others,” Ruggles wrote. These proposed changes could raise the likelihood of an “adversarial process while simultaneously decreasing the scope of what may be reported and investigated,” Ruggles added. SHARE advocates are also concerned with regulations pertaining to crossexamination. “Cross-examination may actually
be less reliable than other more trauma-informed interviewing techniques, precisely because of the nature of traumatic memory creation and storage,” according to the Campus Advocacy and Prevention Professionals Association, a national organization of which the SHARE advocates are a member. If the proposed revisions to Title IX regulations are finalized without changes considered from these public comments, the Department would be overlooking a democratic system which protects against inequitable regulations, Ruggles wrote. “There will be a disregard for the democratic process set up to ensure changes to significant legislation are not made unilaterally by any one government entity.” The proposed policy changes may ultimately harm students looking to report sexual misconduct. “These measures could further discourage survivors of harm from reporting and from participating in their school’s accountability process, and could disproportionately create additional barriers to safety for those students already most vulnerable to experiencing harm,” Ruggles added.
Title IX Oversight and Advisory Board, in an email to The Herald. As review of the University’s Title IX policies and procedures begins, including diverse viewpoints in the process will remain important, Davis wrote. “Perspectives from across the campus community have been instrumental in contributing to the University’s approach to these issues, and we expect that to continue moving forward,” she wrote. In several areas, the Department’s proposed changes specify the process which institutions must use in addressing complaints of sexual misconduct. However, the University will not be able to assess the impact of the proposed changes on its policies and procedures until the release of the Department’s final rules, Davis wrote. “The University is committed to keeping our community informed of the regulations as well as sustaining the community’s engagement in refining our policy and the related complaint procedures” following the release of the final regulations, Davis wrote.
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» RBG, from page 1 “the Notorious RBG.” The sequence ends with former Vice President Joe Biden welcoming a younger Ginsburg to her Supreme Court confirmation hearing in 1993. “RBG,” directed by Betsy West ’73 P’17 and Julie Cohen, is nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 91st Academy Awards. The first nomination for West and Cohen, both would receive the award if the film wins this Sunday. The film also received a nomination for Best Original Song for 10-time nominee Diane Warren’s “I’ll Fight.” Both West and Cohen had interviewed Justice Ginsburg previously — West for her PBS series “Makers: Women Who Make America” and Cohen for her documentary “The Sturgeon Queens” — when they hatched the idea to put Ginsburg’s story on the big screen in 2015. The directors intended to follow “the arc of her story as a woman who faced discrimination herself and found a way to tackle that not just on behalf of herself, but on behalf of all of us,” West said. The film also traces the Justice’s rise to “icon” status, West added. “We had learned then about her extraordinary story — both the challenges she faced as a brilliant young lawyer, and how she took on the centuries of discrimination as a litigator in the Supreme Court and changed the world for American women,” West said. The directors realized that many of Ginsburg’s most fervent fans were unaware of her personal history. “Beyond the memes and the t-shirts and the tattoos, there is one extraordinary person whose story is inspiring,” West continued. Ginsburg’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing reappears throughout the film, a thread stitching her young life as a law student, professor and lawyer to her present-day seat on the Court. Following Biden’s introduction in the film, she begins: “I am a Brooklynite, born and bred, a firstgeneration American on my father’s side, barely second generation on my mother’s. What has become of me could happen only in America.” West emphasized the filmmakers’ intent to tell Ginsburg’s story in its entirety, which required weaving the
» UCS, from page 1 “We think this is a good balance because (the reduction is) for the positions that are less of a time commitment, but it’s still substantial enough that people have to go out and talk to people about their campaign,” Elections Board Co-Chair Katie Barry ’19 said. Two years ago, candidates for top executive positions in each body had to obtain 400 signatures and candidates for all other positions had to obtain 250. Other Elections Code changes include allowing students on leave or abroad to vote, formally establishing that the candidates meeting occurs no fewer than seven days before elections begin and automatically entering all candidates for UFB Chair and Vice Chair into the race for UFB Representative. The Elections Board proposed the latter change “so that if someone runs for chair and they lose, they aren’t automatically kicked off of UFB,” Barry said. All of the changes will apply in
(L-R) Betsy West ‘73 and Julie Cohen co-directed the film, which has been nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 91st Academy Awards. The film also received a nomination for Best Original Song. past and the present in an intricate — what West called Ginsburg’s “amaz- much significance,” West said. “That and detailed narrative. “We’re dealing ing, feminist love story.” When Marty story evolved as we were doing the with a woman who is vitally important was diagnosed with cancer while they film.” to our country right now,” West said. both attended Harvard Law School, West’s husband, Oren Jacoby ’77 “She is an … 85-year-old jurist on the Ginsburg collected notes from his P’17, is also an Oscar-nominated docSupreme Court who is very active and peers and went to his classes herself umentary filmmaker and founder of very important, and we didn’t want to to ensure his success. She took care Storyville Films, one of the production save all of that for the end of the film.” of their two children as he climbed companies behind “RBG.” Jacoby’s Interviews with Ginsburg’s childhood the legal ladder — once the wom- film “Sister Rose’s Passion” was nomifriends, colleagues, admirers and the en’s movement gained traction and nated for Best Documentary Short at plaintiffs she represented punctuate Ginsburg’s career advanced, Marty the 2005 awards. deeper dives into the cases she brought became the primary caregiver. In the Although West and Jacoby studied to the Supreme Court, visits to the film, the Ginsburg children note how at Brown before the creation of the opera and her famous gym sessions. their father’s humor tempered their Modern Culture and Media concenIn an interview early in the doc- mother’s serious nature. At one point, tration, neither was deterred from umentary, childhood friend Ann Marty jokes in front of a crowd: “As studying filmmaking and creative apKittner notes that as a young wom- a general rule, my wife does not give proaches to narrative. “I think Brown an, Ginsburg’s mannerisms produced me any advice about cooking and I had a huge impact on me that I prob“this kind of quiet magnetism.” That do not give her any advice about the ably didn’t recognize at the time,” West magnetism persists today — in fact, it’s law. This seems to work quite well on said, detailing how influences like forthe national interest in Ginsburg that both sides.” mer professor and inaugural chair of West and Cohen encapsulate within When former President Bill Clin- the MCM department, Robert Scholes, their telling of her story. ton began his search for a Supreme still affect her work. West noted that “It is pretty extraordinary to see Court justice, Marty campaigned one of her first conversations with Jaher now in her 80s, having this … for his wife. Contacting his connec- coby was about Scholes’ influence. His superhero status on the internet,” West tions spanning the legal, academic ideas “had an enormous effect on my said. “She didn’t originate the ‘Notori- and business fields, he was adamant later career, and maybe even more now ous RBG’ or contribute to it beyond that Ginsburg be fairly considered. that I’m doing more documentaries.” just the inspiration that her words gave West noted that the importance of West previously worked for ABC, to people who were writing about her. telling the Ginsburgs’ love story was where she produced “Nightline” and As an educator throughout her life, something she and Cohen discovered co-created and produced “Turning she sees it as a way of … spreading throughout their interview process. Point.” Later, West served as senior her message.” “She found a partner, who in the 1950s vice president at CBS News, overseeThe film expands upon Ginsburg’s and 1960s not only recognized how ing “60 Minutes” and “48 hours,” and relationship with her late husband, brilliant she was, but supported her was the executive in charge of “9/11,” New York tax lawyer Marty Ginsburg when her work began to take on so which won a Primetime Emmy Award.
West has since made the transition to documentary — working on projects such as the “Makers” series and “RBG.” “As a director of a documentary film you really are writing the film and determining the style and the voice of everything in the film,” Jacoby said. “You have amazing autonomy to sort of make a personal statement.” At the same time, documentary filmmakers are tasked with representing reality while also inserting their vision. Jacoby emphasized how proud he is of West and Cohen for making a documentary “that can be appreciated by people from so many different backgrounds and ages.” “Overall, it’s been very gratifying,” West said. “The fact that all generations and all genders have responded to the film has just been very rewarding.” On the morning that the Oscar nominations were released, Jacoby and Paul Barrett, Cohen’s husband, cooked breakfast for their wives, who gathered in front of the television to watch the announcement. In a video posted on Twitter, West and Cohen react to the Oscar nomination — waiting with palpable tension until “RBG” is announced fifth out of the five nominees. “When they said ‘RBG,’ we kind of went crazy,” West reflected. “I think at that point we weren’t expecting it.” After the nomination, the New York Times reported that West and Cohen called Ginsburg at her Watergate Apartment to notify her of their nomination. “She was very happy,” West told the Times. Since working with Ginsburg, West has not only adjusted her own workout routine to emulate Ginsburg’s, but hopes to learn from her patience and her approach to problem solving. “I see Justice Ginsburg as someone who did face extraordinary challenges, and (approached) them in an extremely strategic way,” she said, something she hopes viewers take away from the film. “It’s been heartening that ‘RBG’ has touched a nerve in the country.” “RBG” is nominated alongside “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” directed by RaMell Ross, assistant professor of visual art, as well as “Free Solo,” “Minding the Gap” and “Of Fathers and Sons.” The Oscars will air Sunday, Feb. 24.
the upcoming election process slated to begin with three information sessions held over the next week. At the meeting, Project LETS Chapter Co-Coordinator Matthew Flathers ’19 discussed Project LETS’ initiatives and answered questions about the group’s work. “We want to make sure that every student who identifies as having a mental illness, as neurodivergent or disabled, has support both on an individual and an institutional level,” Flathers said about the chapter’s guiding mission. Project LETS’ Peer Mental Health Advocate program reflects the organization’s focus on individual support, Flathers said. PMHAs are individuals who have lived experiences with mental health issues and are trained to support other students. Project LETS also has open general body meetings to “make sure students feel supported by (the University) itself,” Flathers said. The group hosts workshops, collaborates with other campus groups and works with ad-
support Project LETS. “A lot of it is just spreading the word. We predominantly have reached certain communities on campus, and there’s still a lot of specifically marginalized communities that we don’t see coming to our workshops or we don’t see collaborations happening (with),” said Shivani Nishar ’20, incoming Project LETS chapter co-coordinator and UCS chair of student wellness. “What we really look for … is having students bring up these events to their specific communities.” These are often communities in which there exists a cultural stigma surrounding mental health, Nishar added. UCS Chief of Staff Molly NaylorKomyatte ’19 asked what makes the Project LETS chapter at the University different than at other institutions. “We have a lot more institutional support than a lot of the other chapters do,” Flathers said. “It’s not always been that way. It is a battle to get there. And so the other chapters are beginning that battle now.”
COURTESY OF STORYVILLE FILMS
ministrators to reform University policies related to mental health, such as the medical leave policy, he added. Project LETS aims to be “completely open” in order to provide a “space for students who have lived experience, because there’s not always a ton of space to talk about these issues on campus,” Flathers said. UCS Vice President William Zhou ’20 asked about instituting stipends for PMHAs during the question-andanswer portion of the meeting. Flathers noted that Project LETS has had ongoing discussions with the University about stipends, but the emphasis the organization places on being a confidential resource can complicate those conversations. “It becomes challenging when you have to deal with a larger institution where issues of liability get much larger,” Flathers said. In these discussions, the goal is to “navigate how can we make things (as confidential) as possible while also trying to integrate more within the University system
to allow for things like stipends” for PMHAs, he added. UCS President Shanzé Tahir ’19 asked about the Mental Healing Fund, which offers small amounts of funding to individuals who otherwise would not be able to afford longer-term therapy off-campus. The Mental Healing Fund is run through the Project LETS national organization and was instituted at the University in response to student experiences with Counseling and Psychological Services’ short-term model. CAPS used to have a sevenvisit limit that has now been removed, following Project LETS’ advocacy work with administrators, The Herald previously reported. Students’ “options were to spend a lot of money to go off-campus to see someone, or just continue working on it on their own,” Flathers said. “So our goal is to … find a way to make financial obstructions be less burdensome.” UCS Appointments Chair Jason Carroll ’21 asked how UCS could further
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menu
the art of an art building
SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS
BBQ Bam Bam Pizza, Chicken Parmesan Pizza, Pho Bar, Make Your Own Pasta, Mac and Cheese Bar, Boneless Chicken Wings JOSIAH’S
BLUE ROOM
Taco Thursday, Quesadilla Station, Southwestern Burger
Grain Bowl, Broccoli and Cheddar Soup, Burrito Bowl
DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH
DINNER
Mac Attack Pizza, Roasted Corn Chowder, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Cheese Ravioli
Gumbo with Red Beans, Fried Catfish, Southern Fried Chicken, Collard Greens, Apple Pie
VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH
DINNER
Turkey Wild Rice Soup, Creole Red Beans, Cajun Tofu Melt with Cheddar and Slaw, Brownies
Grilled Chicken Cilantro, Cheddar Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes, Roasted Parsnips
sudoku
TIFFANY DING / HERALD
A view of the List Art Building’s underbelly reveals complex geometric designs held up by a modular substructure of concrete blocks. Its plain appearance belies the expressive art created and displayed within. RELEASE DATE– Friday, April 26, 2013
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle crossword Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 __ squad 5 Sharp fasteners 10 Line of movement 14 In a while 15 Go back to the beginning, in a way 16 Spread unit 17 One lingering in Edinburgh? 20 Hoglike mammals 21 “I could __ horse!” 22 Touch 23 Stravinsky’s “The __ of Spring” 25 DX ÷ V 26 “__ a rip-off!” 27 Some Athenian physicians? 32 Black gold 33 Big Bird buddy 34 DOD subdivision 35 Really feel the heat 37 Plus 39 Carpenter’s tool 43 CD conclusion? 46 Charge carriers 49 Fury 50 Berlin sidewalk writing? 54 Valiant son 55 Heavenly altar 56 Hockey Hall of Famer Mikita 57 Sum (up) 58 Personal time? 60 Some govt. investments 64 Fancy singles event in Stockholm? 67 New coin of 2002 68 One may work with a chair 69 Vivacity 70 Church section 71 Angling banes 72 Oh’s role in “Grey’s Anatomy” DOWN 1 Humongous 2 Worshipper of the Earth goddess Pachamama 3 Condo cousin 4 Complete 5 British university city
6 Legal issue 7 “Off the Court” author 8 Separate 9 Post 10 Links standard 11 Like citrus fruit 12 They might make cats pause 13 Chef’s array 18 57-Across’s wheels 19 Military surprises 24 First name in humor 27 Tar 28 Sea inlet 29 One who observes a fraternal Hour of Recollection 30 Source of invigoration 31 One leaving a wake 36 Mess up 38 Self-recriminating cries 40 Have a health problem 41 Hindu title 42 Sweetie 44 Muscat native
45 Some Roman Catholics 47 Babbles 48 Perspective 50 Mature 51 Adds to the database 52 __ Detroit: “Guys and Dolls” role 53 Like some tree trunks 54 Having no clue
59 Peel on “The Avengers” 61 King who succeeded 59-Down 62 Swedish model Nordegren in 2004 nuptial news 63 Tough going 65 Buck’s mate 66 Hosp. test
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COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2019
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Meal plan pricing limits students’ options ANDREW REED op-ed contributor Like most students, I put up with meal plan during my first year on campus. Mostly because I didn’t have a choice — all first-years are required to purchase a meal plan. Paying $6 for 12 ounces of soup violated every lesson my parents taught me on the virtues of frugality. Paying a high price for food continues to frustrate and anger me. “Next year I’ll eat off campus more, and save some money,” I said, gritting my teeth as I paid $4 for an Uncrustable. Fast-forward to the beginning of sophomore year; I started researching meal plan options with the intention of cutting my plan in half and using the savings to eat off-campus. I soon discovered this was impossible. Every mid-sized meal plan is so outrageously priced that alternating between on- and off-campus eating is far more expensive than purchasing a full meal plan, or only eating off campus. For me, going off meal plan entirely wasn’t an option — I wanted to be able to participate in the social experience of Brown dining, so I sucked it up and stayed on the full plan. If you’re like me, and you care about being able to get dinner with your friends at the Sharpe Refectory, Brown’s got you in a double bind. You can either pay through the nose to eat partly on, partly off campus, or you can buy Brown’s biggest plan. It’s a win-win for Brown, and a lose-lose for the rest of us. Let me explain. When it comes to meal plans, the biggest ones are, of course, the best value. If there are roughly 30 weeks in the academic year, 20 meals per week and Flex 460 will run you about $8.89 and $10.65 per meal, respectively. Dropping from
20 to 10 meals per week saves you roughly $810. You may think that’s a nice chunk of change until you realize you just lost half your meals but only saved roughly 15 percent. What about the off-campus plan, you might ask? In truth, it’ll save you a boatload — as it should, given that you’re only getting 50 meals and 500 points per year. But you’ll also be pay-
both. Sometimes you just want Jo’s at 1:00 a.m. or dinner with friends at the Ratty. So, for this large group of students who want to eat some, but not all, meals off campus, Brown has us trapped. We can either go off meal plan completely, or switch to a smaller plan and pay an outrageous sum for breakfast at the V-Dub. While I ultimately chose to stay
For the large group of students who wish to alternate between eating on and off campus, the University’s goal should be to make meal plans the best option, not the only option.
ing the shameful price of $35.40 per meal credit — at this point, you could forgo a lunch at the Ratty, eat at Andrea’s and still have change left to do your laundry. Certainly there are some students that can’t wait to go off meal plan completely and cook for themselves or get Baja’s three times a day — but for most students such an arrangement is inconvenient, undesirable or
on the full plan, for some that isn’t an option. I’ve been able to afford staying on meal plan, but others cannot. They’re the ones hurt most by this price structure. Since they can’t afford to eat every meal on campus, and alternating between on- and off-campus meals is even more expensive, they get squeezed out of Brown dining entirely. Anyone who has made a close friend simply by sharing meals
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(including offering low-income students funds for meal plans). These efforts are noble, but the lack of reasonably priced, medium-sized plans detracts from them. The solution seems obvious: a meal plan, let’s say 10 meals per week, that costs around $10 or $11 per meal (rather than $15.47). With a plan like that, the University would continue to incentivize purchasing the bigger
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at the Ratty (I count myself among these) can see the problem. Whether we recognize it or not, the dining experience builds community. The dining halls are where students gather to form, maintain and strengthen friendships. Brown’s price structure deprives these students of that opportunity. In recent years, Brown has made efforts to address food security
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plans, and students would not be getting fleeced if they want to cook or eat by CHLOE a few times a week. Other universities already do this. The costs per meal of Johnson and Wales’ 18 and 10 meals per week plans are $8.01 and $9.20, respectively. And at Rhode Island College, their 19 and 10 meals per week plans cost $8.51 and $10.96 per meal, respectively. Currently, there is no clear incentive for Brown to offer such a plan — after all, it could cost the University some revenue. But I’d argue it isn’t obvious that would be the case. A survey from a few years ago found that roughly 19 percent of students are not on meal plan. From speaking to some of those students myself, many want to purchase a small plan — only none are reasonably priced. Rather than offer such a plan, Brown has doubled down on the current structure and, in doing so, forced its students into making an unnecessary choice between expensive and inconvenient eating. I would never argue that the University shouldn’t offer wholesale discounts. And the line between incentivizing and manipulating can be faint. But any fair-minded assessment would conclude that, with the current structure, the University has crossed that line with room to spare. For the large group of students who wish to alternate between eating on and off campus, the University’s goal should be to make meal plans the best option, not the only option.
Andrew Reed ‘21 can be reached andrew_reed@brown. edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald. com.
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COMMENTARY THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2019 • PAGE 7
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Brown ensures that donor gifts advance its mission CHRISTINA PAXSON op-ed contributor In the course of any day on campus — attending a lecture, conducting an experiment, studying in the library or participating in extracurricular activities — every member of this community benefits from the gifts of literally thousands of generous donors to Brown. But gifts can also spark controversy. Recently, at numerous campuses across the country, gifts from individuals, organizations and even countries have come under fire because of objections to the donors’ business activities, opinions or other actions. Given the importance of philanthropy to Brown, and in light of these serious concerns, I am writing to ensure our community understands Brown’s approach to accepting gifts. Brown’s Charter, written in 1764, states that the power of accepting gifts lies solely with the Corporation, Brown University’s governing body. This is consistent with the modern view that governing boards are responsible for ensuring that the institutions they serve have the financial resources required to fulfill their missions. Currently, the Corporation formally accepts all gifts of $1 million or more and delegates the acceptance of smaller gifts to senior administrators. However, University administrators ask Corporation members to review any gift, regardless of size, that raises concerns about alignment with Brown’s principles for accepting gifts. The core principle that guides the acceptance of a gift is whether it will advance Brown’s mission of research and education in the service of society. Brown’s current gift policy, adopted in 2002, sums this up in one succinct sentence: “Gifts will be accepted so long as they are found to contribute to the approved purposes of the University.” Gifts that don’t meet this standard can be, and are, declined. For instance, gifts may be declined if they are too restrictive in purpose to be
useful — for example, an endowed faculty position in a subject not taught at Brown. Gifts may also be declined if they require expenditures beyond what is given — for example, the donation of an art collection that can’t be housed without building an unaffordable new facility. Most important, gifts will be declined if they compromise academic freedom — for example, a gift with strings attached that lets the donor select the curriculum for a course or gain influence
flict lasting damage on the University’s reputation and integrity to be associated with a specific donor. I want to underscore that only in rare and exceptional circumstances would a gift be declined or returned because of a donor’s activities or opinions. Brown is deeply committed to freedom of thought and diversity of views. We start from a place of respect for the legitimate business activities, political views and behaviors of
We start from a place of respect for the legitimate business activities, political views and behaviors of donors, even if some members of our community disagree with them.
over a faculty member’s research agenda. Of course, gifts will not be accepted if they are not the donor’s property to give or if it is evident that the gift proceeds were obtained by illegal means. The Corporation also exercises judgment as to whether or not a gift is aligned with Brown’s core mission and whether it could in-
donors, even if some members of our community disagree with them. It would be contrary to Brown’s values to use the rejection of gifts as a tool to take sides in, or make statements about, contested social and political issues. Although members of the Brown community have the right to express opposition to a gift, the mere
presence of controversy around a donor is not a sufficient reason for declining a gift. The gifts that are presented to the Corporation for acceptance are, nearly always, unambiguously beneficial to Brown and aligned with our values. Debates about whether or not to accept or retain a gift are extremely rare. This is because gifts usually stem from conversations with alumni, parents and friends that take place over months and even years. Through these discussions, prospective donors learn about Brown’s highest priorities — for example, financial aid, endowed professorships and campus facilities — and identify which priorities are most exciting and meaningful to them. Indeed, a major success of the current BrownTogether campaign is that about 90 percent of gifts received to date directly support priorities established in Building on Distinction, Brown’s strategic plan. The remaining 10 percent support things that, although not enumerated in the strategic plan, add great value to the University. Brown can’t be a great institution without philanthropy, and I’m deeply grateful to the alumni, parents and friends who give to the University. They contribute, volunteer and participate in the life of the University because they believe in our mission of advancing knowledge and preparing students for lives of purpose. They are inspired by Brown’s high academic standards and distinctive approach to education, the contributions that Brown alums make to society and the impact of Brown’s research in the world. Our policies and practices ensure that their generous gifts advance Brown’s mission while supporting the University’s values.
President Christina Paxson P’19 can be reached at christina_paxson@brown. edu. Please send responses to this op-ed to letters@browndailyherald.com and op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald. com.
NEWS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2019
Documentary chronicles life of late playwright Maria Irene Fornes ‘The Rest I Make Up’ focuses on collaboration of filmmaker, CubanAmerican playwright By GRAYSON LEE SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Last Sunday, the Granoff Center for the Creative Arts hosted a screening of “The Rest I Make Up,” a documentary chronicling the life of the late Maria Irene Fornes, a Cuban-American avant-garde playwright, and her struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. The film touches on Fornes’ family, career and past relationships and follows Fornes toward the end of her life in New York, Cuba and Miami. Fornes is vivacious on camera as she sings, dances and explains the world through her eyes, and the tragic nature of her dementia never overshadows her personality and joy. Michelle Memran, the director of the film, became friends with Fornes while interviewing her for an article, and their friendship becomes a focal point of the film. Memran explained that she viewed the movie as a collaboration between herself and Fornes, letting Fornes take the creative lead. After the screening, a panel answered questions about the documentary. Moderated by Katie Pearl,
» DATA, from page 1 York University, spoke about technochauvinism, which she described as “the perspective that technology solutions are better than human solutions, and in fact that technology is better than people.” Broussard explained that there are some situations in which mathematical algorithms can yield a solution, and others that call for human judgement. Developing technological solutions requires a diverse team, she said, adding that “we all have unconscious biases, and that’s what we embed in the technology that we create. … When we have diverse groups of people creating technology, we can create technology that is better for a greater number of people.” Eubanks also spoke about her book, “Automating Inequality: How HighTech Tools Profile, Police and Punish the Poor.” She shared an example from the book that critiques a tool that screens families in Allegheny County to identify children who are at elevated risk for neglect and abuse. According to Eubanks, this tool introduced bias into decision-making concerning which families were investigated, because it only had information about families who had accessed public resources — often, families from low-income communities. Eubanks explained that the screening tool moved the discretion in making decisions from frontline human workers to machines that relied on a limited and biased dataset. She said that this is a form of “bias laundering” and poverty profiling. Data can affect powerful social change Despite the dangers of using data to address systemic injustice, Samuel Sinyangwe, co-founder of Mapping Police Violence and Campaign Zero, spoke about data’s power to advance
a producer of the film, the panel included Memran, Patricia Ybarra, professor and chair of the theatre arts and performance studies department, and Lori Daiello, assistant professor of neurology at the Alpert Medical School. The conversation focused on Fornes’ influence in the world of theater, the making of the film and research on Alzheimer’s. Fellow playwrights and students of Fornes testify to her influence and brilliance throughout the film, often decrying the fact that so many people have never heard about her work. Known in the theater community as “Mother Avant-Garde,” Fornes wrote over 40 plays and taught many writing workshops. “One irony about Irene — given how intuitive she was — is that the primary attention she’s gotten in her life has been as much through academic scholarship as it has been through professional theater, just because she didn’t conform very easily to commercial norms of … playwriting,” Ybarra said. Ybarra went on to describe Fornes’ impact on Latinx playwriting through her plays and teaching. The documentary took over 15 years to make, though the majority of the film was shot between 2003 and 2006, Memran said. In the midst of editing, Memran decided not to finish making the movie; however,
racial justice. After the 2014 murder of Michael Brown, there was no data available on the numbers of black people killed by police in the United States, Sinyangwe said. Without data, concerns about racial bias in police brutality were dismissed by researchers, academics and police chiefs. “They were dismissed because they did not have the data to validate their own lives,” Sinyangwe said. Sinyangwe and his colleagues built a comprehensive database mapping police violence in the United States to address this deficit. They collected information from crowdsource databases, media reports and public records requests, and discovered that police killed over 300 black people in 2014. They also learned that black individuals are three times more likely than their white counterparts to be killed by police and that black victims are more likely to be unarmed when killed by police. “This data would not be possible to collect if we relied on (government) institutions to collect it for us,” Sinyangwe said. Technology can be used to scale up activism, and data can debunk myths and bolster policy proposals, he said. “Data can help us understand the scale of an issue and how it impacts communities,” he said. Data is only powerful when communicated effectively to a broad audience, Sinyangwe said. In an interview after the panel, he explained that this can be very difficult in a world where people consume news and information “while they scroll up their timeline, and they only have three seconds or four seconds to actually intake that information before they scroll past it.” Sinyangwe added that getting across the bottom line through fewer than 140 characters or through a single data visualization is “what’s needed to actu-
a grant from the University allowed Memran to spend two months in the Granoff Center editing. “I realized that there was this beautiful film in there somewhere, and that she was just too captivating, and you needed to see her. … Without coming back to Brown, I don’t know if I ever would have actually finished the film,” Memran said. During the Q&A, a member of the audience asked Memran how she decided to stop shooting and end the film. “When she stopped recognizing what we’re doing, for me the collaboration was no longer. I wanted the film to be as much Irene’s as it was mine, and there was a sense of maintaining her dignity,” Memran replied. Memran also noted ethical and stylistic problems, explaining that both she and Fornes were unreliable narrators because of their friendship and Fornes’ memory loss. “How do you document somebody’s life who is remembering in ten minute increments?” Memran asked. Daiello, who works in clinical research on Alzheimer’s, also commented on the nature of creating films about Alzheimer’s. “I generally don’t like to watch films about this illness … but what you brought out was the personhood that still shines through when someone has
COURTESY OF JENNIFER LAPINEL-SPINCKEN
‘The Rest I Make Up’ highlights the life and artistic career of late CubanAmerican artist Maria Irene Fornes. this illness,” Daiello said. Fornes’ personality radiates through the documentary, even during moments of disheartening memory loss. An allusion to her creative way of remembering, living
and writing can be found in the film’s title, which comes from one of Fornes’ songs in her play, “Promenade.” The quote reads, “I know everything. Half of it I really know. The rest I make up.”
LEON JIANG / HERALD
Panelists discussed how big data can both solidify and overcome social inequalities at a panel hosted by the University’s Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America and the Data Science Initiative yesterday. ally reach a broader number of people.” Data’s complex ability to uphold and dismantle systemic injustice A large audience attended yesterday’s panel discussion, including many students from the University and the University of Rhode Island. Dominique Engome, a PhD student at URI, said that her biggest takeaway from the event was the importance of looking beyond fine-tuning an algorithm and instead to focus on larger
structural problems that lie at the root of social issues. The panel made her consider “at what point do you … bring other people to the table and … stop ignoring that big underlying problem?” she said. But the panelists did stress that data still has an important role to play in social change. “In the age of big data, unless we are aware of this history, unless we know this history, we risk repeating it,” Milner said. “We hope that people came away
with a clear sense of how powerfully influential algorithmic bias is, especially for vulnerable populations,” Rose wrote in an email to The Herald. Broussard closed her portion of the panel discussion with an expression of hope for the future. “We have far to go, but we are moving along the path, I hope,” she said. “Because if we build AI systems that are based on the data in the world right now as it is, we’re never going to get to the world as it should be. And I want to see the world as it should be.”