Thursday, February 28, 2019

SINCE 1891

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2019

VOLUME CLIII, ISSUE 23

U. implements new bias reporting process New online form creates formal process for bias incident reporting, enables data collection

Brown Divest proposes referendum to UCS Council also discussed continuing Admissions Committee, UCS office hours

By SPENCER SCHULTZ SENIOR STAFF WRITER

A new bias incident reporting form will be released by the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity in mid-March, following over two years of work by the OIED and the Undergraduate Council of Students, according to Shontay Delalue, vice president for institutional equity and diversity.

The reporting form will be available for online submission by students, faculty and staff.

The new reporting system’s goals include tracking trends of bias on campus through an annual bias incident report and “immediately connect(ing) those filing reports to the appropriate campus resources,” Delalue said.

“We felt it critically important that there be one repository that would help inform us from an educational lens and track themes of what’s happening on campus,” Delalue said.

Before the form, community

WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM

By KAYLA GUO SENIOR STAFF WRITER

JASMINE RUIZ / HERALD

Shontay Delalue, vice president for institutional equity and diversity, said that the system will connect complaintants with appropriate resources. members wishing to report bias in- form,” they said. cidents could contact the OIED by As opposed to instances of bias — phone or email to voice their con- defined by the OIED as “favoring of cerns, but the University had no orga- or against one person, group or thing nized process for reporting instances compared with another, usually in a of bias on campus, said Shay Collins, way considered to be unfair” — indirector of institutional equity and stances of discrimination and harasscommunity engagement. “It’s not as ment already have a formal process if (a reporting process) didn’t exist, that can begin through a form. The but it just wasn’t as streamlined as new bias reporting system will allow being able to go through an online » See BIAS, page 4

During the Undergraduate Council of Students’ general body meeting Wednesday evening, student coalition Brown Divest gave a presentation to request that the council add a referendum to the UCS ballot for the upcoming March elections.

While the official wording has yet to be finalized, the group’s proposed referendum would likely ask students whether they want the University to “divest from companies that profit from Israeli human rights abuses in the occupied Palestinian territories,” according to a slide from the coalition’s PowerPoint presentation. The referendum would also call for greater financial transparency from the University. UCS will vote on whether to include the referendum on its ballot during next Wednesday’s general body meeting.

“We as Brown students have, for a long time, been focused on divestment, on political action in general,” said Brown Divest member Noah Mlyn ’20. “We are part of a long history of generations of Brown students who have recognized that money is always political, and that we as students have the power to push the administration and the Brown Corporation to hold themselves to higher moral standards.”

The coalition shared a list of criteria to describe companies from which the University should divest during their presentation to UCS. The targeted corporations include those that contribute to the maintenance and expansion of the Israeli military occupation, Israeli settlements and the Israeli West Bank separation barrier, in addition to those that contribute to violent acts against Palestinian and Israeli civilians.

According to Brown Divest, it is possible that the University has invested in at least nine companies that meet their criteria for divestment. The University’s financial investments are not public.

President Christina Paxson P’19 » See UCS, BACK

U. to add undergraduate New apartments unveiled in Jewelry District certificates to curriculum U. community members Certificates will focus on discrete fields of study, may include entrepreneurship, data fluency, sustainability

By AURIA ZHANG SENIOR STAFF WRITER

After lengthy debate among students and faculty, the University has reached the final stages of adding undergraduate certificates to the college curriculum.

Following the passage of a proposal during a December 2018 faculty meeting, the certificates will allow students “to explore a discrete field of knowledge organized around a set sequence and structure, although less in depth than a concentration,” wrote Besenia Rodriguez ’00, the senior associate dean of the curriculum and College Curriculum Council member, in an email to The Herald.

The earliest that any certificate will be approved is the end of this semester, said Rashid Zia PhD ’01, dean of the college and chair of the CCC. But official University policies have already been amended to include undergraduate certificates, according to the University’s faculty rules and regulations

INSIDE

on the Office of the Provost’s website.

Academic entities will have the ability to propose the creation of certificates, which must be distinct from existing concentrations, Zia said. These entities include groups such as the Jonathan M. Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship, the Data Science Initiative and the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society. These groups could create certificates in entrepreneurship, data fluency and sustainability, respectively, he added.

The CCC is in the process of finalizing the review guidelines , which will come from the CCC, Zia said.

To receive a certificate, students will have to take four or five predesignated courses, of which only one can be double-counted toward a concentration requirement. Students will also have to complete a capstone project, according to the faculty rules and regulations.

Students can only declare certificates after committing to a concentration. In their declaration, students will have to communicate their rationale for pursuing a certificate, which will be awarded during graduation.

The certificates are also not intended » See CERTIFICATES, page 4

have first right to lease 200 units of the new River House Apartments

By HENRY DAWSON SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Glitz with a waterfront view — River House Apartments has debuted in the Providence Jewelry District.

The development, located next to South Street Landing, is a modern structure in a historic, industrial district. Move-in days start June 1, said Development Leasing Specialist for River House Kasai Carter.

The apartments have been marketed to University students and staff through advertisements, fliers and free River House merchandise around campus.

The visibility of the new establishment on campus is no coincidence, as the University has a “preferred marketing arrangement” with the building’s developer, wrote O’rya Hyde-Keller, writer for University Initiatives and Student Life, in an email to The Herald. “Brown students, faculty and staff have the first right to lease 200 of the apartments in River House during the pre-leasing period,” Hyde-Keller wrote.

“Residential buildings, such as River

TIFFANY DING / HERALD

After open houses, promotional giveaways and extensive advertising on campus, the first tenants will move into the apartments on June 1.

House, will help to support the ongoing to $3,750 for a river view-guaranteed growth of the Jewelry District as a vibrant 1000 sq. ft. two bed/two bath option, mixed-use neighborhood and innova- according to their website. Other options tion district,” she added. with varying floor plans and prices are River House had its first open available. Tenants can choose to rent the house Feb. 13, offering hard-hat tours, apartment without furniture, knocking a chocolate fountain and a chance to $100 off of the price. The apartment fee win a Canada Goose jacket at the end includes utilities, but not electricity. of the night. The tours visited furnished Interest for the apartments has come apartments fitted with leather couches, from medical students, medical residents induction stovetops, Amazon Alexas and and Rhode Island School of Design studoors you can unlock from your phone. dents as well as “young professionals who Carter said the building has street access have an interest in living in the Jewelry to “first world accommodations, Grub- District,” Carter said. “We do understand hub, UberEats, DoorDash, Chick-fil-a.” we’re going to have some interest from Rents for the apartments, which international students as well as visiting are subject to change, run from around scholars,” Carter added. At the moment, $1,895 for a 390 sq. ft. studio, $2,990 for River House does not offer multilingual a 763 sq. foot two bed/one bathroom, » See APARTMENTS, page 3

WEATHER

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2019

NEWS Four professors named Sloan Fellows, prestigious award for early career researchers in STEM

NEWS Newly opened Aleppo Sweets aims to act as hub for Syrian refugee community

COMMENTARY Calvelli ’19: Writing cover letters doesn’t have to be boring, instead find opportunity for creativity

COMMENTARY Matthew Ricci GS: Community should consider speaker Bill Kristol’s support for Iraq War

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PAGE 2 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2019

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Four University professors receive Sloan Foundation fellowship Kathryn Mann, Lorin Crawford, Amitai Shenhav, Brenda Rubenstein named fellows

By CORRINE BAI SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Four of the University’s assistant professors have received the Sloan Foundation fellowship to further their Fellowship recipients, who must hold a PhD equivalent, each received $70,000 to be used on their research is one of “the most prestigious honors for early career researchers in STEM

COURTESY OF BROWN UNIVERSITY

Kathryn Mann works on making math more accessible to students.

Brain Science Amitai Shenhav and Assistant Professor of Chemistry Brenda Though initially drawn toward science in high school, Mann later became excited by math due to its cre-

COURTESY OF BROWN UNIVERSITY

COURTESY OF BROWN UNIVERSITY

COURTESY OF BROWN UNIVERSITY

Brenda Rubenstein works on molecular and quantum computing.

Amitai Shenhav works on obstacles in cognitively demanding tasks.

Lorin Crawford works on genetic interactions and machine learning.

to continue to engage with graduate students, who have new visions and

students who plan to pursue a career in erate a vision and keep updating that

to “get involved in research in some

Crawford focuses his research on genetic interactions and shape statis-

as a way to “push changes at all levdown the line … and try to position

Among the 126 recipients of the fellowship throughout the nation, the University is represented by Managing Assistant Professor of Mathematics Kathryn Mann, Assistant Professor of Biostatistics Lorin Crawford, Assistant Professor in the Department of Cognitive, Linguistic and Psychological Science and the Carney Institute for

allows students to invent their own parameters, Mann said, adding that collaborative process with “an inprovided by the Sloan Fellowship, Mann hopes to start a workshop with so that it becomes more accessible to

Foundation for two projects, which he works on with separate interdisciplinford uses machine learning to study how interactions among genes and pathways give rise to traits and phenotypes such as type I diabetes and thera-

University, Rubenstein attributed some of her strengths as a researcher to the Meanwhile, Shenhav studies Shenhav hopes to use the fellowship funds to better delineate “the cost of

the Sloan Fellowship for her work in quantum mechanics, biophysics and alternative computing, she stressed the is always an uphill battle … you still

His second research project explores the human body on a molecular level

Sloan Fellowship as “exciting and

R.I. standardized test scores fall short of M.A. Recently implemented testing system enables comparison between Rhode Island, Mass.

By MAIA ROSENFIELD SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Rhode Island Comprehensive Assessment System test results from November 2018 show that Rhode Island school districts lag far behind their Massachusetts neighbors.

The standardized test was implemented in Spring 2017 for public school students in grades three through eight. Rhode Island students scored consistently lower than their peers in Massachusetts; the average gap between the states’ scores was 17 percent in English and 20 percent in math, according to The Providence Journal. These results were “sobering,” said Meg Geoghegan, communications director at the Rhode Island Department of Education, adding “If R.I. were a district in Massachusetts, we would be in the lowest 10 percent.”

The RICAS is identical to the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, so adopting this test allows for “an apples-to-apples comparison to Massachusetts,” Geoghegan said.

“This a comparison we want … (and) need to make.”

“The unexpected headline … is that the RICAS results are a huge success” because they have captured attention and sparked dialogue around long-term education strategies in Rhode Island, Geoghegan said. She added that the ability to compare local communities with those in neighboring Seekonk mobilized Rhode Islanders on this issue.

Kenneth Wong, professor of education policy and director of the Urban Education Policy Program, called the RICAS results “a wake-up call,” adding that “it is a good opportunity for educators as well as major stakeholders, the governor, the commissioner, even the state board and universities, for example, to work together to come up with a plan.”

The plan could mirror Massachusetts’ long-term plans, which have led

to an education turnaround called the “Massachusetts Miracle,” Geoghegan said.

Massachusetts wasn’t always doing so well. “Massachusetts in 1998, when (education reform) started there, was basically on par (with) where we are today,” Geoghegan said. “We’ve adopted elements of what they’ve done, but really Massachusetts has had a comprehensive long-term strategy, and we need to do the same.”

Today, Massachusetts is ranked the No. 1 state in public education nationwide, according to USNews & World Report. Rhode Island comes in at No. 9.

Rhode Island adopted Common Core State Standards in 2010, which set guidelines for performance in English Language and Mathematics. In conjunction with the recent adoption of RICAS, the state has prioritized promoting the standards in Common Core. These core principles include high-quality curriculum, ongoing professional learning for teachers and strong foundations for students, Geoghegan said. Particular areas of

focus will include early literacy, middle school math and “career pathways for students.”

Director of the Rhode Island Association of School Committees Timothy Duffy said that adopting the test of the best statewide performing school system in the country “sets a very high bar” and warned that “there can’t be any fundamental changes” to this current strategy. “We need to settle on a course of action,” Duffy said. “If these are our standards, and this is the assessment that measures our ability to reach those standards, then we have to stay with it, regardless of who happens to be running the department.”

Geoghegan echoed Duffy’s concerns, emphasizing that when faced with similar problems, Massachusetts remained committed to their original plan. “The most important thing for us right now is that we can’t blink. …We have to really stay focused on those core principles that influence education,” she said.

The switch to the RICAS is part of a more general effort to better inform the public of Rhode Island schools’

performance.

“We have kind of a new level of data transparency,” Geoghegan said. In addition to the new test, RIDE introduced an online Report Card platform last December to share diverse assessment information about every school.

Beyond assessment results such as an overall performance rating of the schools, the Report Card platform displays “a broader range of measures,” including student and teacher chronic absenteeism. “Rhode Island was the only state to include teacher absenteeism as an accountability measure,” Geoghegan added.

According to Geoghegan, the RICAS and Report Card platform are helpful in gaining “the most complete picture that you can for school and district performance and then using that to move forward on meaningful policy.”

RICAS has the potential to improve Rhode Island education, according to Geoghegan: “I think it’s a good starting point.”

NEWS

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2019 • PAGE 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Syrian eatery Aleppo Sweets draws crowd to Ives Street Photos by TIFFANY DING/Herald

Authentic Syrian bakery, café infuses cuisine, cultural experience into Providence community

By EMILY TENG SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Feb. 24 marked the one-month anniversary of Aleppo Sweets’ opening on Ives Street.

The shop has a warm and welcoming atmosphere: Copper Turkish tea sets decorate the front of the restaurant, a dozen plants and lamps hang from the azure ceiling and Arabic songs play softly in the background. The restaurant not only serves traditional Syrian baked goods and beverages but also reveals the story of Youssef Arkhtarini, a Syrian refugee who owned a few bakeries in Aleppo and now continues his passion for baking in Providence.

At the age of 16, Arkhtarini was already teaching others how to make baklava, a Middle Eastern sweet dessert pastry filled with layers of chopped nuts and held together by syrup.

At 24, he opened a few small sweet shops in Aleppo, selling baklava by the stacks every day, he said.

When he arrived to the United States in October of 2016 with only a handbag of belongings and his rolling pin, Arkhtarini’s mindset was, “I need to open the bakery, as I don’t have anything,” he said.

Sandra Martin, then a volunteer for Dorcas International Institute of RI, met the Arkhtarini family at the institute the day after they arrived in Providence. “It was their first full day in the United States, and it was my first day volunteering at Dorcas,” said Martin, who has continued to develop a relationship with the family.

“It was clear early on that being a baklava baker was part of his identity,” Martin said. After years of watching Arkhtarini make baklava first at home and then in a rented kitchen at a nearby pizza shop, Martin and her husband

» APARTMENTS, from page 1 support staff, but Carter said “it would be good to have that resource available.”

Some believe that River House’s addition to Providence may oversaturate the high-end market for student apartments. River House joins 257 Thayer in the high-end student housing game.

257 Thayer declined to comment on the story or provide price points for their apartments. In addition to 257 Thayer and River House, the Hope Point Tower project, if constructed, would add luxury apartments to the Providence market, The Herald previously reported.

“I think there’s going to be some oversupply,” said Marty Saklad, a broker at Samson Realty, adding that he thinks “middle-of-the-road” price ranges are

Victor Pereira decided to invest in a restaurant property last May as a space for Aleppo Sweets.

Martin added that Arkhtarini’s baklavas had already gained a small following through his presence at farmer’s markets, but the news of his pastries spread even more quickly after the opening of the store.

While Martin owns the restaurant, she said that when “the Arkhtarinis feel like they’re prepared and ready to fly on their own, and also the business is viable, … at that point (Aleppo Sweets) would become theirs.”

During the month since the bakery’s opening, customers have praised Aleppo Sweets for its variety of dishes, pastries and beverages and have resonated with the baker’s story. “It’s great that you have someone who has been doing this previously in their home country, and … continuing it (here),” said Jin Douglass, a customer visiting Aleppo Sweets last Sunday morning.

Martin explained that this Syrian bakery and cultural hub is staffed almost exclusively

by Syrian refugees. “What better way to convey a culture than (through) people from that culture?” Martin said. She added that the bakery has attracted a diverse customer base of various age groups and ethnicities. She noted that a lot of Arabic-speaking people and first- or second-generation Lebanese, Israelian and Syrian customers have visited the store in its first month.

The Providence community has also supported the Arkhtarini family’s adjustment to their new life in the United States. Arkhtarini said that each week, Brown Refugee Youth Tutoring and Enrichment (BRYTE) volunteers work with both his children and those of two other Syrian families at the bakery.

“It’s been great to have people come and be a part of something we created … and (to) feel like people are having the experience we hoped they would have,” Martin said.

more in-demand. “The largest demand is in the middle of the market, people looking for about one grand and twelve to sixteen hundred,” Saklad said, highlighting potential renters from universities and affiliated with the hospital.

“Providence is not in need of additional luxury housing. This city needs commitment, both public and private, to create affordable housing for all residents of the city,” read a statement responding to River House from Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere.

Though some are concerned about the addition of high-end housing, others support the growth in the Jewelry District.

Wexford Science & Technology has developed River House, South Street Landing and an upcoming 744-car garage across the street from the buildings as a

Sandra Martin met Youssef Arkhtarini, the baker, while she was volunteering with Dorcas International Institute of RI. Martin and her husband invested in the restaurant property last May.

Youssef Arkhtarini, baker at Aleppo Sweets, previously owned bakeries in Syria, where he sold baklava by the stacks every day.

The bakery has gained a diverse following in Providence, attracting a customer base that includes locals with roots in Lebanon, Syria and Israel.

part of the effort. Wexford is a company that “deals with startups and scale-ups,” said Sharon Steele, acting president of the Jewelry District Association. Wexford looks for “areas where there’s a high density of high-performing universities,” Steele said, adding that the company seeks out districts with innovation and design talent.

The projects are part of an overarching goal to develop the sparsely populated district into a community of “like-minded people, … venture capital, insurance types, physical designers, real estate developers. … If you bring all those people together in the right environment, it … allows them to interface,” Steele said.

Development for the Jewelry District is modeled after Kendall Square in Cambridge, MA, a “hub … of innovation

technology,” Steele said. The square is also home to another Wexford project, the Cambridge Innovation Center, which houses several start ups and businesses.

Steele hopes surplus workers will come from the CIC to new Providence developments. The JDA is also hoping a company will build a grocery store, pharmacy and other business developments.

Construction at River House was handled by Shawmut Construction, which was the highest-compensated independent contractor for the University in 2016 to the sum of $51,133,808, according to the University’s 990 forms of that year. “Pretty much any building at Brown right now, Shawmut has touched,” said Holly Mahoney, project coordinator for Shawmut Construction. The construction company was involved in the building of

the Perry and Martin Granoff Center for the Creative Arts and the Engineering Research Center, among other projects.

Brett Swidey and Danny Michaelson, Providence College graduates, attended the open house. “I saw that it was in an up-and-coming area that I liked,” Swidey said. Both work at Medtronic in Plainsfield, MA, and cited the easy commute and relatively cheap rates in Providence as reasons to live in the city.

“The place was nice, I thought the floor-to-ceiling windows were gorgeous. … As the ceilings are concrete, you’re not gonna hear the clomping (above) which is a low-key plus,” Michaelson said. “A place like this is fifteen hundred dollars a month, … if it was in Boston or any other city, a place like this would be $3,000 a month or probably more.”

NEWS

PAGE 4 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2019

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

State Senator proposes reforms to voting, campaigning accessibility

By DYLAN CLARK SENIOR STAFF WRITER

State Senator Gayle Goldin (DProvidence) sponsored five bills proposing various reforms to the way Rhode Island voters and candidates participate in the electoral process.

The five bills include the following proposals: allowing for paid time off on election day to vote (SB 316), requiring presidential candidates to release their tax returns in order to be included on RI ballots (SB 342), allowing 17-year-olds to vote in primaries if they will turn 18 before or on the general election date (SB 318, 319), allowing candidates with children to use campaign funds to pay for childcare (SB 323) and repealing Rhode Island’s voter ID law (SB 339). All of these bills were referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee Feb. 13.

Goldin has seen opposition in attempts to codify paid time off

» BIAS, from page 1 and harassment already have a formal process that can begin through a form. The new bias reporting system will allow complainants to report “hurtful acts that could rise to level of discrimination and harassment” but may not necessarily reach that level of extremity, Delalue said. Additionally, bias incidents do not need to be unlawful or break any University policies. “If it’s a hurtful act and that’s how it’s seen by a person, then they may file a bias incident report,” she added.

The University will run the bias reporting system through Maxient, a software platform currently in use by the Office of Student Conduct, Collins said. The software service will give the OIED the ability to both maintain and analyze data securely. Maxient “allows us to do reporting through online forms that are securely housed in sites that have gone through the highest level of security clearance through (Computing and Informational Services),” they said.

Maxient’s data and analytics will be critical to the success of the new reporting system, Delalue said. The OIED plans to create annual, aggregate, de-identified reports that will allow the University to follow trends and themes of bias on campus.

“It will allow us to put a snapshot together of what’s happening” and “how the campus climate is being impacted,” Collins said.

Still, the annual report will keep the identities of complainants completely confidential. “We know from engaging with other institutions who have done this work that people have to trust the process. We want individuals in this community to know we will never publish something that would very clearly identify who said it, because we’re still building in terms of compositional diversity,” Delalue said.

on election day, with previous legislation failing to reach Gov. Gina Raimondo’s desk. This bill, inspired by 21 other states with similar practices, would help further the discussion about “how people access their right to vote,” Goldin said.

Goldin was motivated by her son, 17 years old, to support opening primaries to 17-year-olds who will turn 18 before or on the general election. “It doesn’t really make a lot of sense to allow you to vote in the general election but not in the primary because of when your birthday falls,” she said.

The proposal to allow campaign fund usage for childcare supports the State Senator’s goal of widening the field of potential candidates.

Goldin hopes to follow the lead of the federal government, which allows candidates to use campaign funds for childcare as of May 2018.

The law would “remove a barrier” to running for office that parents face, Goldin said.

The proposals are not all new.

Since Goldin’s election to the General Assembly in 2011, she has twice proposed a bill requiring presidential candidates to release their tax returns to be included on the ballot.

The proposal regarding tax returns failed in the State Senate in 2017 but passed in 2018. Yet the House never voted on the Senate’s bill.

Goldin has also “introduced a bill to repeal voter ID (every year) since (she) was elected to office,” she said. Goldin expressed some doubts that the bill would pass the Senate, as there are “several people who voted for (the voter ID law who) are still in office,” yet she remains hopeful due to the increased number of Senators co-sponsoring the bill this legislative session.

To garner support for the antivoter ID bill this year, Goldin cited a recent study about the effects of the RI voter ID law on turnout and registration published in the National Bureau of Economic Research. The study, conducted by University Professor of International and Public Affairs and Economics Justine Hastings, found a decline of total votes by 0.42 percent since the law was enacted in 2011. “This study is an example of how science can help further our understanding of public policy,” Hastings wrote in an email to The Herald.

Common Cause Rhode Island, “a nonpartisan organization that

In conjunction with the annual report, the design of the new system will allow the University to put complainants in contact with the appropriate campus resources, Delalue said. “If we have a certain subset of our community that is experiencing hurtful acts at an abnormal rate, we want to make sure that they are connected to resources,” she said.

Complainants will also be able to indicate on the form that they do not wish to engage with University resources, Delalue said. The new system “is really a gateway for some people” to be put in contact with the appropriate University resources, “but for others it’s just for informational purposes, ” she added.

Once the form is submitted, the individual will immediately receive a written notification via email acknowledging the receipt of the form.

From there, a bias review team, headed by Collins, will review the report to “determine what available additional resources and educational responses might be necessary,” Collins said.

If the impact of a particular incident is significant, Collins or another member of the team will meet with the complainant to discuss possible steps toward resolution. In this process, the OIED will consider the complainant’s desired outcome, which is specified on the form. If needed, the OIED may recommend that the complainant file a formal complaint of discrimination and harassment, Collins added.

Rather than replacing any other adjudication processes that exist, the new bias reporting system is meant to put the complainant in contact with the recommended resources, such as the Office of Student Conduct or Title IX coordinators, Delalue said.

“Student voice was critical” in starting discussions about a new bias reporting form, Delalue said.

Those discussions were led by former

Undergraduate Council of Students president Chelse-Amoy Steele ’18, who began working with the OIED on the project in fall 2017, alongside other students, The Herald previously reported.

Since those initial talks, Collins has worked alongside UCS to develop a bias reporting system that would encompass best practices in the area of bias reporting.

As part of the research that went into developing the bias reporting system, Collins attended the Hate/ Bias Symposium sponsored by the University of Wisconsin - Madison. At the event, they were able to collaborate “with folks who have been doing bias work for a significant amount of time and have been navigating different issues,” Collins said.

The symposium also enabled Collins to examine the bias incident protocols used at other institutions.

Some aspects of the University’s bias incident form were modeled off programs at University of Wisconsin La Crosse, University of Michigan, Emory University and Cornell.

Additionally, Collins received feedback from various University student constituent groups across the undergraduate, graduate and medical school levels, including the Graduate Student Council and the Diversity Advisory Board. Collins also solicited views from University faculty and staff groups.

The release of the form by midMarch represents the culmination of over two years of work by the OIED and UCS. This process “entails a whole lot of intentional work. We’ve invested a lot of time to ensure that we do this right,” Delalue said.

“UCS is very excited for its launch, and looks forward to continued collaboration with OIED to ensure its successful implementation,” wrote Tahir Shanze ’19, UCS president, in an email to The Herald.

!"#$%&'(%)"(#&*"%&+,"-$&./01)-&20$3#4")/ Across the years 2012 to 2016, the number of people registered to vote in Rhode Island increased. Over this same timeframe, the number of people who voted in elections fluctuated by over 130,000 voters.

Rhode Island Residents

Five bills sponsored

by Sen. Gayle Goldin referred to Judiciary Committee

800000

782, 693

752, 050

725,309

Voted

700000

Registered

600000 500000

469, 589

450,030

400000

329,233

300000 200000 100000 0

2012

2014

2016

Year Source: Rhode Island Department of State Elections Data

SARAH MARTINEZ/HERALD

promotes representative democracy,” according to their website, has supported efforts to repeal the voter ID law as well as attempts to make election day a holiday. “As an organization, of course we’re very supportive of increasing voter access to the ballot for eligible voters,” said John Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island.

This support was echoed by the Brown Progressive Action Committee. “We support all of those bills. … We’re very passionate about voting rights and voter accessibility,”

said Jenna Israel ’21, co-chair of BPAC. Israel went on to say that BPAC has supported a repeal of the voter ID law for “as long as I’ve been a part of the organization.”

Support for the other bills is also consistent with BPAC’s mission.

Senate Bill 323, regarding the use of campaign funds for childcare, especially excites the progressive group. “We’d love to see more diverse candidates in government.

That bill would certainly impact women and make a positive impact on their lives,” Israel said.

» CERTIFICATES, from page 1

“people doing things because they want another thing on their transcript or … to help them get a job,” he said.

“You (don’t) want people … declaring a certificate with no thought put into it,” he added. “You don’t want people to just do it on a whim.”

Conversation surrounding certificates is not new. In 2011, the University considered adding language certificates, as The Herald previously reported.

In part due to the success of the Engaged Scholars Program, which was established three years ago, change is happening now Rodriguez wrote. “In allowing students to pursue community-engaged work, not in addition to, but in close conversation with their academic course of study and … in a multi-disciplinary community, (the ESP) laid a foundation for exploring a curricular option like certificates,” she wrote.

“Providing students with recognition for their learning is completely consistent with asking them to be active participants in framing their own education,” Zia said.

“This is providing scaffolding for a cool thing that already existed at Brown,” Bielenberg said. “How can your education at Brown push you to (become) a better person? The answer is to let you do what you want, but to really push you while you’re doing that.”

during graduation.

The certificates are also not intended to resemble minors. “We don’t want certificates to be a venue for credentialing or to get in the way of student choices about their learning,” Zia said.

Ultimately, the certificates would offer structured learning pathways that complement traditional concentrations, Zia said. “Many Brown students complete specialized work in a field other than (their) concentrations,” he added.

The certificates will create a mechanism “for formally recognizing or providing structured advising for this work.”

For instance, an English concentrator interested in textual analysis or natural language processing could earn a certificate in data fluency, he said.

Students can only receive one certificate from the University. “We don’t want the certificate … to become a substitute or replacement for that in-depth learning that you have in a concentration,” Zia said. “We really think that they can be complementary.”

The possibility that students will treat the certificates as a credential is a potential problem, said Aliosha Bielenberg ’20, an undergraduate representative on the CCC and a member of the Undergraduate Certificates Working Group. Education should not be about

DAPHNE ZHAO/HERALD

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Los Angeles Times Puzzle C R O SDaily S W OCrossword RD Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 Defense lawyers’ adversaries, for short 5 Otherwise 10 Smidgen 14 Certain 15 Motored 16 Agitate 17 Member of Hook’s band 18 Ear-related 19 Time-half link 20 Shooter of soft confections 23 Gp. that issues canine pedigrees 24 Blue wearer, usually 25 In reserve 26 Satchel __, aptly named dog in the comic “Get Fuzzy” 28 Make fun of 31 Beatty of “Deliverance” 32 Formal coif, perhaps 33 More sleazy 36 Minor motoring mishaps 40 Exercise popularized by Jim Fixx 41 Tennis do-overs 43 JFK alternative in NYC 46 Certain stove filler 47 In a convincing way 48 Palmer with an army 50 Show about Capote 52 Avenues of access 53 Strains credulity 58 Rock’s partner 59 “... never see __ lovely as ...”: Kilmer 60 Build a tree house 62 Chevy subcompact 63 __ firma 64 Mötley __ 65 Greenhorn 66 Overwhelm, or a relative of the first syllable of 20-, 36-, or 53-Across

67 Overdone publicity

DOWN 1 Obstinate beast 2 Dolt 3 Alaska’s 907, e.g.

4 Clairvoyant 5 Where Moscow is 6 Dowdy dresser 7 Author Ephron 8 Racetrack 9 Tattle 10 Sketched 11 Welcome, as a new year 12 Moniker for Mussolini 13 Hit with a pitch, in a way 21 Academic inst.

22 Seeped 23 Kwik-E-Mart proprietor on “The Simpsons” 27 “And” or “or,” e.g.: Abbr.

28 Overly enthusiastic 29 “I’m all for that!”

30 Pizazz

33 Bell-shaped lily 34 Therefore 35 Depend (on) 37 Fastening pin 38 Oil plant 39 Gets to one’s feet 42 Jun. grads 43 Maze runner 44 Old-style “Cool!”

45 Rod-and-reel wielder

47 Mooch, as a smoke 49 Domed home 50 Heat unit 51 Plot anew 54 Welcome sign for a hungry traveler 55 Eject, as lava 56 When tripled, a 1970 war film 57 Waistline unit 61 Golf bag item

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

HUAYU OUYANG / HERALD

One of the less well known but spectecular features of the new Stephen Robert ’62 Hall is the ground-level cafe. On a recent morning the cafe offered apple-filled donuts and hot coffee.

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

“I think one of the keys to being an artist … is that you like being alone, because there is a lot of time alone.”

— Jane Dickson, visual artist

See NEW YORK CITY on BACK.

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Brown in the UK Information Session 4:00 P.M. Page-Robinson Hall

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COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2019

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Bill Kristol is no ally against Trump MATTHEW RICCI OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR Tonight at 5:30 p.m., Brown will welcome right-wing media personality Bill Kristol to campus for a discussion on the future of conservatism in America. Kristol, former editor of the now defunct neoconservative journal The Weekly Standard and a prominent proponent of the Iraq War, has experienced something of a revival since aligning himself very publicly against fellow right-winger President Trump.

Though quietly removed from public discourse in the aftermath of the Bush administration, Kristol is now regularly heard on supposedly liberal outlets, like MSNBC, calling for a return to sensible conservatism away from a poisonous and racist Trump insurgency. Yet, on issues of war and peace, of American domination and oppression across the globe, one struggles to find a serious difference between Kristol and Trump. During Kristol’s visit, the Brown community should take note both of the striking similarities between Kristol and Trump and of Kristol’s lifelong defense of criminal American wars.

Formerly chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle, Kristol went on to co-found the influential neoconservative think tank Project for a New American Century in 1997.

PNAC’s members, including Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz and Elliott Abrams, called on the United States to adopt a “Reaganite policy of military strength and moral clarity.” This project was presumably inspired by the United States’ campaign of state terrorism waged in Latin America throughout the 1980s, which made Reagan the first president to be condemned by the Inter-

national Court of Justice in 1986. In 2000, PNAC released “Rebuilding America’s Defenses,” a report which argued for American military dominance across the globe, especially in Iran and Iraq, the latter of which the report includes in “the American perimeter.”

Iraq remained Bill Kristol’s favorite target throughout the early 2000s.

Speaking on ABC’s “Nightline” fifteen

called it “illegal” and as Iraqi civilian deaths climbed to at least 165,000, according to Brown’s Costs of War Project. Nevertheless, Kristol steadfastly supported this illegal and immoral war, which journalist Patrick Cockburn called “the earthquake whose aftershocks we still feel.”

Kristol and his neoconservative allies were gradually shunned from polite society as Americans grew war-

On issues of war and peace, of American domination and oppression across the globe, one struggles to find a serious difference between Kristol and Trump.

days before the U.S. invasion, Kristol told Ted Koppel that “We’ll be vindicated when we discover the weapons of mass destruction and when we liberate the people of Iraq.” A charitable observer might forgive Kristol for initially believing that the effects of the American invasion would be “very healthy,” but little charity can be afforded to him as he continued to ardently support the war even after U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan

weary at the end of the Bush years.

But a neoconservative renaissance is taking place today as the David Frums and Max Boots of the world join with liberals in resisting Trump.

But, in Kristol’s case, what exactly is he resisting? Both he and Trump supported the Iraq war; though Kristol’s PNAC traditionally justified its support by citing “American interests in the region” as opposed to Trump’s more honest interest in “oil.” Both

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for war with Iran. Kristol, for example, has called for strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities and funded ads in 2012 arguing for an invasion of the country. Trump, for his part, hired John Bolton, which is all one needs to know about his stance on Iran.

Beyond geopolitics, those who claim Trump has singlehandedly cheapened American political discourse should also take issue with Kristol over his support for Sarah

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Kristol and Trump peddle the tawdriest sort of American myopia with Trump using the expression “America first” and Kristol’s PNAC using the politer “promotion of American principles abroad.” Both Kristol and Trump were staunch critics of the Iran Nuclear Deal, which Trump called “a horrible one-sided deal” and which Kristol called “a very bad deal.” Both Trump and Kristol long

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Palin, who stoked the country’s latent xenophobia during her vice-presidential campaign in 2008. In light of these commonalities, Kristol and Trump seem like natural allies instead of opponents.

Nevertheless, Kristol and other neoconservatives have ridden the anti-Trump wave back into the public spotlight, boosted by the increasingly bellicose MSNBC and CNN, which have supported calls for the reassertion of American military power in Syria, Afghanistan, Korea and elsewhere. In 2008, it seemed obvious that many neoconservatives within the Bush administration, including Kristol, committed indictable offenses under the Nuremberg principles.

Today, these same politicians are being normalized and even celebrated.

For example, Kristol was featured on MSNBC in a feel-good segment about his newfound friendship with rapper “Fat Joe.” We should welcome Bill Kristol to Brown, but only as a fascinating example of Trump-era political maneuvering, the shortness of historical memory and in Kristol’s own words, “a simple-minded believer in benevolent American hegemony.”

Matthew Ricci GS is a member of Brown War Watch, which will hold a peaceful protest outside of Kristol’s speaking venue during the event. He can be reached at matthew_ricci@ brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and other op-eds to opinions@ browndailyherald.com

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COMMENTARY THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2019 • PAGE 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

President Paxson should apologize for University involvement in private dinner To the Editor: I was disheartened to read President Christina Paxson’s P’19 statement regarding the Granoff dinners, which was quoted in The Herald Wednesday.

I would have preferred for her to take this more seriously, and acknowledge how this could be perceived instead of using her editorial to say that the writers of the article in the Providence Journal provided “no data or facts,” and that the article failed to mention all the good the University does for middle and low-income students.

What I fail to understand in Paxson’s statement

is how any of the “good” that the University does outweighs the negative connotations of having an event such as this facilitated by the University.

Ignoring the allegations of preferential treatment in the housing lottery, the fact that administrative staff perpetuated an exclusive dinner designed to give wealthier students an opportunity to interact with both each other and a wealthy donor only seems to enhance the elitism that the University seemingly tries to distance itself from. While the University should be commended for its past efforts to combat this, Paxson’s letter seems to argue

that this event should never have been exposed in the first place because it seems to challenge the “proper” narrative that the University wants to strive towards. I’m not sure why having ambitious goals makes the University any less responsible for the actions that occurred.

I was also surprised to hear Paxson claim that the central administration was “not aware” of these occurrences. Again, I’m not sure what Paxson is trying to say here; contrary to distancing the University from the situation at hand, it actually seems to make the central administration seem

both inept and unable to handle its administrative duties effectively. A wealthy donor such as Martin Granoff P’93, combined with a large conglomeration of wealthy students in one setting, would seem to warrant the knowledge and approval of the central administration; the fact that this was not the case makes me question what other things the administration is not aware of.

An apology would have been more appropriate than this sort of rebuttal.

Eamon McKeever ’22

How to write a cover letter AIDAN CALVELLI STAFF COLUMNIST For us high-achieving college students, late February doesn’t mean winter: It means job and internship application season. (Unless, of course, you sold your soul to an on-campus recruiter last fall.) Like Halloween in fall, writing cover letters is the most haunting part of this season. Everyone I know hates doing them. They seem robotic and superfluous, both self-congratulatory and boring. Yet maybe the problem isn’t with cover letters themselves; it’s in the rote approach we often take to writing them.

Instead of seeing them as unavoidable necessities, we should try to see the cover letter in its ideal light: as an opportunity to express our passions and explore how the job we’re applying for fits within our values and goals. This, admittedly, takes a rosy vision of work, and many people, myself included, have to apply to jobs for the more mundane purpose of earning a living. Still, part of the privilege of attending a university like Brown — with its expansive network, elite reputation and insanely good post-graduate employment statistics — is that there’s an incredible range of opportunities available to us.

I’d like to believe the stereotype that Brown students actually want to change the world, that our four years here teaches us how we can best serve our communities. If that’s true, then our cover letters can and should reflect the full breadth of our creativ-

ity and enthusiasm.

That sounds nice in theory. The question remains, though, how can you actually write an interesting cover letter. Well, for starters, you’ll have to move beyond the standard template. I’m sure you’ve written a version of this letter (just maybe with a few more words): “I’m writing to apply to Job X. I want this job because it aligns with my career goals. Look at this experience I’ve had that shows how talented I am. Look at this other experience I’ve had that shows again how talented I am. To repeat myself,

why the job would make you excited to get out of bed every morning.

Conveying that with sincerity will show that you’re interested in the organization’s work, not just the idea of having employment anywhere. Then, of course, you have to explain why you’d be valuable to the company — they will be the one paying you, after all. But this shouldn’t be a tepid rehashing of your most highfalutin accomplishments; it should tell an engaging story about an achievement you’re sincerely proud of and how that experience will inform your

ple, my final draft started not with “I’m writing to apply…” but with “The SAT is fun.” Since then, my letters have gotten more boring. (Hopefully, I haven’t too.) Regardless, the point remains: the cover letter is an expression of yourself. It should embody all of the imagination, zeal and dedication that makes you, you.

When I first sat down to write this column, my advice for writing a cover letter was a satirical five-rule process. Each of those rules involves breaking a standard cover letter convention. Rule 1: start every sentence

But the fear of rejection that comes with applying to any job shouldn’t stop you from applying as the full version of yourself.

this job sounds great and you should just give it to me already. Interview me please. All the best, [your name].”

Booooo-ring. If I were an employer who wanted to hire someone with real personality, there’s no way I’d give that letter-writer a second look. (Coincidentally, I’ve written lots of cover letters like this, and have never been hired for any of those jobs.)

The first step is to allow yourself creative leeway. Start by thinking of

perspective in the new job.

Most importantly, the letter should be uniquely yours. This means not copying the example you found on resumegenius.com during your frantic 2 a.m. “howto rite a covr letter” Google search.

In my high school creative writing class, the first assignment was to write a cover letter. This seemed like the opposite of creative. Once you start having a little fun, though, the opportunities are endless; for exam-

with “I.” Rule 2: consult a thesaurus for every adjective you want to use.

Rule 3: copy-paste your resume, just with transition words. Rule 4: transform your letter into a mini-memoir.

Rule 5: close every letter with “love, [your name].”

Of course, you probably (read: definitely) shouldn’t follow that advice. Though if you do and it works, please cite this column. And in all honesty, there is something to be said for much of the standard advice.

You probably won’t get an interview if you submit a poem or a memoir in place of an actual letter.

But the fear of rejection that comes with applying to any job shouldn’t stop you from applying as the full version of yourself. The cover letter is a place for you to take the most creative license in doing just that, writing with all the eagerness you feel about the opportunity to find meaningful work. After all, what’s the point of going to a unique school like Brown if you present yourself like a Standard Applicant From University Just Outside of Boston? There isn’t one. So go sit down at your computer, and try to have at least a little fun writing. If you’re really stuck, give my five rules a try.

They might not make it into the final draft, but it’s good to smile through a process that’s usually a yawn.

I look forward to hearing more from you about this column.

Love, Aidan

Aidan Calvelli ’19 is not and has never been affiliated with CareerLAB. If you’d like personal feedback on your cover letter for just $19.99, he can be reached at aidan_calvelli@ brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and other op-eds to opinions@ browndailyherald.com.

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2019

Jane Dickson discusses artistic career in 1980s New York City Painter, animator

Jane Dickson reviews celebrated ‘Time Square Show’ in artist talk

By KATHERINE OK SENIOR STAFF WRITER

University community members gathered at the List Art Center Wednesday for a talk with Jane Dickson, an active artist in New York City in the 1980s. The talk was sponsored by the Visual Art Department and centered around Dickson’s work in the street, installation and digital art scene.

Dickson began her presentation by screening a video of her works depicting scenes of New York City nightlife. The videographer, artist Loren Munk, moved the camera to focus on certain aspects of the paintings, which were completed on unconventional canvasses such as sandpaper and astroturf. As he filmed and

» UCS, from page 1

previously rejected a proposed resolution brought to the Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investment Policies from a 2013 Brown Divest campaign, which sought greater transparency over the University’s financial connections with corporations involved with the Israel/Palestine conflict. ACCRIP “considers issues of ethical and moral responsibility” in

commented on Dickson’s work, audience members were able to see the pieces in great detail, emphasizing the vivid colors and textures of her paintings.

Shortly after showing the video, Dickson went on to give a summary of her work and career. She showed a number of photographs of animated advertisements that she designed when she started out as a digital animator for the first Times Square light boards during the ’80s. Much of her inspiration for her other artworks came from her experience on the night shift working the Times Square light boards, she stated in a video. As she explained in her talk, “When I went home, I kept finding myself painting canvases black because I wanted to recreate that power of light coming out of darkness, and working the night shift. … I was looking at this neon, … and I felt like that was my world.”

These late, solitary hours influenced her understanding of the artistic process. She continued, “I think one of the key things

to being an artist … is that you like being alone because there is a lot of alone time.”

Many of Dickson’s paintings feature the underbelly of New York City, such as strip clubs and bars illuminated by glowing signs. However, Dickson is also known for her mosaics in the NYC’s Metropolitan Transport Authority, which feature New Year’s Eve revellers. Dancing figures, either alone or with a partner, colorfully celebrate in their own ways on the walls of New York subways. These more joyous figures strongly contrast the earlier dark subjects in her paintings. Dickson explained, “As a young person, I really wallowed in angst, and as I got older …

(I wanted to) look for the brighter side.”

Dickson also took part in organizing the radical exhibition in the summer of 1980 titled “Times Square Show,” which included famed conceptual artist and RISD-MFA graduate Jenny Holzer.

Dickson explained the creative process behind designing a hand-and-card

graphic that became a motif for the show. She detailed the experiences, both her own and those of her friends, of being an artist in the gritty New York City art scene. Dickson was influential in shaping her peers’ careers; much of her colleagues’ art gained exposure through her animations displayed on the Times Square light boards.

Many of her paintings are now featured in acclaimed museums such as The Whitney and The Museum of Modern Art. Dickson concluded the talk by discussing her current work, such as her recent collaboration with her friend, famed street graffiti artist Crash, on a series of cardboard artworks. Showing a series of her more recent paintings, whose subjects ranged from motels to tunnels, Dickson mused on the elusive ideas of American darkness and fear, harkening back to her original experience with the New York City night.

the University’s investment policies, according to its website.

ACCRIP is “not a representative committee, so it was a bit easier, we think, for the president to reject it,” said a Brown Divest member who requested anonymity out of fear of personal repercussions. “Whereas if we get a referendum representing the whole undergraduate population, we think that has more sway.”

But a UCS referendum would not oblige the University to any action, said election board co-chair Kathryn Stack ’19.

Calls for divestment are not without precedent as previous student activism includes rallies for divestment from companies invested in apartheid in South Africa in 1987, companies in the tobacco manufacturing industry in 2003 and companies facilitating

genocide by the Sudanese government in Darfur in 2012, The Herald previously reported.

“Divestment does have a rich history at Brown,” Mlyn said. “It has worked in the past, and it is a very important part of our history.”

“We have the opportunity to make a real impact because we’re making a bold and brave political declaration,” Mlyn said. “We’re actually making real

COURTESY OF JANE DICKSON

Jane Dickson’s paintings primarily focus on New York City’s underbelly.

Many of her subjects revolve around nightlife and neon colors. change by changing the conversation, not only on campus, but in the country,” in passing a referendum.

Other UCS announcements included the continuation of the Admissions Committee, which looks at how to support first-generation and low-income students, as well as the continuation of UCS’s office hours held on the first of each month.