SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, MARCH 01, 2019
VOLUME CLIII, ISSUE 24
WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM
UCS program keeps students on leave connected to campus Wellness Committee program sends care packages to students on personal, medical leave By TRISHA THACKER
Graduate School, Medical School tuition set to increase by 5.1 percent, 3 percent, respectively
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The inaugural leavetaking peer program is working to help students maintain a connection to campus while on leave this semester. The Curricular Resource Center is collaborating with the Undergraduate Council of Students Wellness Committee and Student Support Services to support the program, said Peggy Chang, director of the CRC and associate dean of the College. “The idea, that came out of the UCS Wellness Committee was to contact students while they are on leave — personal leave or medical leave — and ask them if they wanted to receive a care package or news updates,” Chang said, adding that it is an “opt-in program” that ensures the privacy of students on leave. Shivani Nishar ’20, chair of the UCS Wellness Committee, said that the committee is working on collecting names of students who opted-in to the program. They plan to send care packages toward the end of March and early April. The initial implementation of the leavetaking peer program is funded by the UCS Raised Funds Accounts — “the product of past budgets that we hadn’t spent, which we’ve designated towards sponsoring pilot projects,” Nishar said. She added that the committee has developed a feedback
U. increases Graduate, Medical School tuition
By KAMRAN KING SENIOR STAFF WRITER
wants to receive this sort of connection and support,” Garcia added. Soyoon Kim ’19, leavetaking cocoordinator of the CRC reflected on the challenges of her experience on leave. “I knew at once what an isolating process it can be,” she said, adding that she wants to do her best to help facilitate connections for students like her. Julian Jacobs ’19 stressed the importance of maintaining a relationship
Tuition for the University’s Graduate and Medical Schools will increase by 5.1 percent and 3 percent respectively next year following approval by the Corporation, the University’s highest governing body, earlier last month. The Graduate School’s tuition will rise to $57,112, mirroring Undergraduate tuition, while the Medical School is set to charge $63,082. The graduate school tuition increase will help the University fund larger stipends for graduate students, bolster support for graduate students who are parents and support a transitional stipend for all incoming PhD and master of fine arts students, among other initiatives, said Provost Richard Locke P’18. The transitional stipend helps students make initial purchases and payments prior to their first year. “These were concerns that (graduate students) brought to the table and we thought it was important to fund,” Locke said.
» See WELLNESS, page 9
» See TUITION, BACK
TALIA MERMIN / HERALD
mechanism to continually improve the program over the coming years. “Once students receive the packages, they have the option to share their feedback with us and indicate if there are other things they would like to be getting or seeing from the program or the office as a whole,” she said. The idea for the program originated with Vanessa Garcia ’20.5, a member of the UCS Wellness Committee who has taken a medical leave. “I decided to try a pilot program with the Filipino Alliance where we would
send care packages and handwritten letters to our members who were on personal or medical leave,” Garcia said. The care packages for students in the Filipino Alliance included personalized letters and “self-care” items like bath bombs and socks, she added. They also ensured that the packages had a creative flair, sometimes adding cereal from the Sharpe Refectory and jars with grass from the Main Green.“The program was really successful … So I thought why not do that for everyone who is on leave and
Fentanyl test strips can Anderson ’20 leads Bears to dual victories change young adult drug use Men’s basketball team School of Public Health researchers distribute fentanyl test strips to test drug contamination By LAVANYA SATHYAMURTHY STAFF WRITER
University researchers found that when young adults are provided fentanyl test strips, the majority use those strips to test the purity of their drug paraphernalia and a number change their drug use habits based on those tests, according to a recent study published January in Harm Reduction Journal. Fentanyl is a powerful opioid used in the treatment of severe pain, but other drugs laced with the opioid can lead to overdoses with potentially
INSIDE
lethal effects. Overdoses from contaminated drugs have become a prevalent problem across the country, and test strips can be used to determine whether other drugs are laced with fentanyl. In 2017, a team of researchers led by Brandon Marshall, an associate professor of epidemiology at the University’s School of Public Health, studied a sample of young adults in Rhode Island to test the effectiveness of fentanyl test strips in reducing the risk of drug overdose. Specifically, the researchers were looking to learn if the test strips would be used by the young adults and how it would affect their drug intake. Recruiting for the study took a couple of months, and Jacqueline Goldman GS, a masters student at the » See FENTANYL, page 2
defeats Harvard, Dartmouth in first Ivy weekend sweep since 2014 By EMORY HINGORANI STAFF WRITER
Last weekend, the men’s basketball team downed Harvard (14-9, 7-3 Ivy) and Dartmouth (11-15, 2-8) in a pair of nail-biting clashes at the Pizzitola Sports Center, earning its first Ivy weekend sweep since 2014. Brandon Anderson ’20 led the team in scoring with a career-high 21 points in the victory over the Big Green and contributed 13 points in Bruno’s first win against the Crimson in 10 years. The junior guard from Mahwah, New Jersey went 7-for-8 on free throws in the final 1:14 against Dartmouth, giving » See BASKETBALL, page 2
MARIANNA MCMURDOCK / HERALD
Anderson scored 13 points against Harvard and a career-high of 21 points against Dartmouth, aiding in the Bears’ victories over both schools.
WEATHER
FRIDAY, MARCH 01 , 2019
NEWS R.I. representative defends bill to end panhandling at State House hearing
NEWS City Council members propose resolution against monetization of Providence’s water
NEWS UCS, UFB hold info sessions for prospective candidates in upcoming election
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NEWS
PAGE 2 • FRIDAY, MARCH 01, 2019
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Panhandling bill sparks debate at State House ACLU, homeless advocacy groups oppose bill that could prevent panhandling in the state By CLARA GUTMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
There were more speakers than listeners at a Rhode Island House Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday evening that included debate over a bill that could prevent panhandling in the state. Representative Charlene Lima, D-Dist. 14, is sponsoring bill H5330 which, if passed, would make it illegal for a driver in an active lane of travel to hand any object to someone standing outside the vehicle. The bill’s opposition — primarily the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island and members of homeless advocacy groups — argue that the so-called “panhandling bill” is an attack against those who are most in need, some of whom are homeless. The law would not prevent individuals from pulling off the road to offer money to panhandlers. The Judiciary Committee recommended the bill be held for further study. Lima testified that the bill would address issues of road safety in light of accidents involving panhandlers. In December 2018, a woman panhandling was hospitalized after she was struck by a car, according to WPRI. The bill cites national traffic crash statistics, including the 4,735 pedestrian fatalities and an estimated 66,000 pedestrian injuries that took place in 2013. The bill
also included pedestrian fatalities from the first six months of 2015 and the number of median crossover crashes that resulted in fatalities in 2006. Lynn Ladinger, a lawyer for the R.I. ACLU, refered to the bill’s citation of traffic-related accidents as “complete(ly) bogus” because “there is no correlation between those numbers and either panhandling or the specific targeted conduct.” Barbara Freitas, director of the Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project, agreed. “Don’t let the large numbers from the national statistics fool you. Framing the argument around road safety makes the bill more unique,” but “it’s pretty transparent in what it’s trying to accomplish.” In addition to their criticism of statistics, opponents argued that the law is unconstitutional. The bill impedes “an act of communication” between the person inside the vehicle and the person standing outside, Ladinger told The Herald. “Panhandling is clearly a form of protected speech; it’s been recognized as such by case after case.” Community Outreach Director at House of Hope Megan Smith ’10 emphasized the importance of the communication between panhandlers and the person who pulls over to donate to them. “People don’t just throw change. What happens is conversation,” she said. Lima defended the constitutionality of the bill. “It is my constitutional right to regulate the rules of the road,” she said. During her testimony, Lima said
CLARA GUTMAN / HERALD
Representative Charlene Lima, D-Dist. 14, is sponsoring bill H5330. Speakers at Wednesday’s Rhode Island House Judiciary Committee discussed the intentions and necessity of the proposed panhandling bill. that her intentions are being misinterpreted. She insists it is “totally not true” that she’s attacking panhandlers. “The bill does not prevent someone from donating,” Lima told The Herald. “It’s demeaning to throw change to somebody on the road,” she said, explaining during the hearing that the law encourages people to “donate to associations that are actually legit.” The bill, she said, can in fact be used to help those in need. “I would like to see a portion of the fines go to help the homeless. This is not about panhandling. It’s about safety on the roads,” Lima said. Opponents believe that the bill’s
exceptions clause proves it does target panhandlers because it would allow certain groups to circumvent the law. This clause grants cities or towns the right to distribute “special solicitation permits” to any individuals or groups who meet standards specified by the municipality. Any party that carries these permits would be allowed to receive donations from drivers in active lanes of travel. “There’s an intention here about who this bill is meant to affect. People who are experiencing homelessness don’t have much power within the legislative structure” to get one of these
permits, Smith said. The exceptions clause “carves out the opportunity for charities to do what sponsors claim is too dangerous. (It) creates favoritism for one type of speech over another,” Ladinger said. In 2017, Lima proposed a similar bill, which she characterized as “basically the same,” but it did not pass. She said it was blocked because of “little political shenanigans.” She would not elaborate. The R.I. ACLU and RIHAP, among other groups and individuals, testified against the bill, while Lima was the only person to speak for it.
» FENTANYL, from page 1
» BASKETBALL, from page 1
School of Public Health, explained that recruitment mainly occurred through advertisements on Craigslist and fliers in places at which drug users are known to congregate. Since previous data had shown that the majority of overdoses in Rhode Island occur among young adults, the advertisements were targeted specifically toward adults aged between 18 and 35 who had injected any drug or used an opioid as not medically directed in the 30 days prior. Once the participants were selected, researchers conducted an initial thirty-minute survey in which the participants were asked about their drug use history, current use and demographic information. The participants were shown how to use the fentanyl test strips through a series of YouTube videos. For example, the test strips could be used with either urine or drug residue. When an individual uses urine to test whether they have ingested any fentanyl, they would simply need to urinate in a cup and dip the test strip in the urine for a couple of seconds. The results appear rather quickly, which makes the test strips marketable and consumer-friendly. The participants were each given ten test strips, which were covered by grant funding. If users are testing fentanyl contamination for powdered drugs like heroin or cocaine, they must add a small amount of water to a bag and dip the strip into the solution. If the user is testing a pill, they must shave off a small part of the pill, crush it up and then add water, said Maxwell
the Bears (17-9, 5-5) the narrow edge they needed to come out on top with a 68-65 win. For his impressive performances in the victories over Harvard and Dartmouth, Anderson has been named The Herald’s Athlete of the Week.
And then in middle school I played for an AAU team called FACES, which is Future Athletes Connecting Education and Sports. My coach, Rob Cole, over there taught me so much about the game, and I would say those two people have had the biggest impact on my development in basketball.
COURTESY OF STEPHEN CROCKER
Researchers found that young adults are likely to test their drugs for fentanyl contamination when they are given easy-to-use test strips. Krieger, a research assistant at the Rhode Island has made fentanyl test School of Public Health. strips legal and has begun distributParticipants were invited for a fol- ing them. low-up interview two or three weeks Goldman spoke about one parafter they received their test strips. ticular participant whose cousin was According to Goldman, 88 percent a drug dealer. The participant made of the initial participants returned her cousin test his samples, which all for the second visit. At this visit, the came back positive, so she made him participants were asked questions dispose of all the heroin. approved by the Institutional Review Though the participants were not Board about whether they had used provided with more test strips after the test strips, how the test strips were the completion of the study, they used and whether they would use the were informed where they can find test strips in the future. more strips. Krieger was surprised by the Krieger, who grew up in Rhode number of people who found the Island, feels an especially personal strips useful. Goldman, who con- connection to this research. As someducted the interviews and wrote the one who had friends who have been manuscripts, reported that “people affected by drug overdose, he shared really liked the test strips and found that “it affects a lot of people on a them easy to use”, which is what the personal level to have known people researchers had been hoping to see. who were involved in (this) crisis.” In addition, “the majority of peoThe researchers hope to pursue a ple who used them changed how they larger study that follows more indiused drugs,” Krieger said. viduals over a longer period of time, “We are already seeing the ef- Goldman said. fects of this research in Rhode Island,” Krieger said. Since the study,
Herald: Congratulations on beating Harvard and Dartmouth! Can you talk a little about how important these games were for the team? Anderson: It was great to come out on top in both of those games. From here on out, every game is so crucial for us to make the (Ivy League and NCAA) tournaments — we were all just locked in and we executed our coach’s game plan. When did you first start playing basketball, and when did you decide that you wanted to play in college? I started playing basketball probably around the age of four, and I fell in love with it right away. It’s always been my favorite sport, and it’s been a dream of mine to play at the (college) level since I started playing. Are there any individuals who have had a big impact on your basketball career? My dad is my number one supporter, so my dad’s had a huge impact. I’ve always worked out with him a lot.
How did you choose Brown? I spoke to a lot of the Ivy League schools in the recruiting process, but I just felt a special connection with Brown in the open curriculum and the diversity of the school. I just felt at home when I stepped on campus, and I knew it was the place for me. How do you see your role on the team, and what is your favorite part about playing at Brown? I’m a junior now, so I see myself as a leader, but everyone on the team has leadership qualities and together we form a true brotherhood. We all love each other, and we play for each other, and that’s what’s taking us far right now. What are the team’s goals for the rest of the season? Our goals are definitely to make the Ivy League tournament, and then win the Ivy League tournament and move on to the NCAA tournament. That’s been the goal of ours since day one, and we’re going to keep working towards that. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
In This Issue
Weighing in on Freshman 15
Abbie Hui 4
Forever Leung
sarah lettes 2
Naomi Kim 4
Dog Days Jackson Barkstom 5
Prouston, We Have a Problem post- night owls 6
Midnight Mumbles
postCover by Rachel Shin
MAR 1
VOL 23 —
ISSUE 17
FEATURE
Forever Leung
Community in Faunce’s Leung Family Gallery By sarah lettes
I
Illustrated by Ashley Hernandez
n the middle of campus lies a sort of oasis. Just beneath its heavy wood floors, the Blue Room buzzes with noise and energy. Just outside its tall glass windows, the Main Green is a pinball machine of students bouncing from class to class. Just above its high ceilings, the Providence gods sling every possible combination of water and ice onto the roof. But in this one space, the chaos disappears. The only sounds are the fluttering of turning pages, the rustle of jackets as friends hug each other in greeting, and the occasional clank of the startled student standing up and colliding with one of the lamps.
Light streams in from all directions, bathing the couches in the bright glow of winter mornings or the deep pink hues of Providence spring evenings. The sweet smell of Blue Room muffins wafts through the room and tickles the noses of students poring over their books. The room is the Leung Family Gallery, a 2,252-square-foot space on the second floor of the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center, also known as Faunce House. The space in which Leung now sits has undergone more changes than a first-year’s cart during shopping period. But through all these shifts, this space has always remained devoted to
community. Even in its current state as a silent study room, this value remains a core part of the Leung Family Gallery. Throughout Brown’s history, Faunce has been a center for community on campus. The building was constructed in 1904 for the “social and religious uses of the students” and with John D. Rockefeller Jr.’s wish that the work in the space “shall be under the direction of the Young Men’s Christian Association . . . so long as such direction shall be deemed wise.” Known as Rockefeller Hall at the time, the space was crammed with everything University students had never known they needed, including a billiard
Letter from the Editor Dear Readers, It’s March: the end to fates foretold in Roman fashion and the end to delusions of maintaining good grades this spring semester. We’re here again, waiting out the days until spring break, procrastinating on midterms, and hoping that the senior we have a crush on will make a move before graduation. Nevertheless, we delve into the new, fresh ideas and articles sprouting out of post-, bringing a touch of hope into the monotony of academic destiny and soothsayers’ predictions. We begin this issue with our Feature recounting the Leung Family Gallery’s history and its many iterations that have led to its current quiet but friendly space. Perhaps it will re-contextualize the room we nervously walk through each day to find a place to study in between classes. Continuing our consideration of the in-between, we reflect on developments in
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Arts & Culture, both old and new, in a compilation of post- staffers’ midnight musings. Moreover, we can examine our own identity through sharing our lives—past, present, and future—with those around us, regardless of what the French novelist Proust might have to say, also discussed in these pages. Narrative brings us thoughtful reflections on the routines and realities of the present, from all the events that go into a mere week of caring for a delightful dog to the evolution of daily eating habits and the emotional weight of “freshman 15.” These pieces allow us to contemplate how we choose to care for ourselves and others before our lives are threaded onto new paths, into the future. So enjoy post-’s delightful selection of our latest pieces; the ides of March are still far away.
Sydney Feature Managing Editor
Things that Will Live Forever 1. That last chunk of snow on the grass that just won’t melt 2. Crocs 3. Your data in Shiru’s servers 4. Celine Dion's heart 5. Stray baby hairs 6. The Jonas Brothers (apparently) 7. Nokia phones 8. My existential crisis 9. Awkward eye contact you make with “friends” from orientation 10. Our love for our readers <3
room, barber shop, and smoking room. The second floor, where Leung now sits, included a seating hall for 400, a large meeting room, and YMCA offices. In 1930, the building was renamed Faunce after the late President William Faunce and expanded to include the Stuart Theatre. The Blue Room, once featuring a soda fountain, was constructed soon afterwards in 1939. Over time, the vision of Faunce as a community space for students began to blur as administrative offices took over, so in the eighties, efforts were made to transform the building back into a center for student life. The principal benefactors of the donation were the Leung family, after whom the Gallery was named. Sally and Henry Leung dedicated the space to their daughter, who had just graduated in 1983, and later rededicated it to include their sons and grandchildren who attended Brown. Throughout the next couple of decades, Leung served primarily as a space for formal gatherings. By 2009, there was yet again a general feeling that Faunce was not meeting the need for community space. Faunce was formally renamed the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center, and Leung was renovated and stuffed with couches and coffee tables to become the “living room” of Brown we have come to know and love. At that point, the physical layout of Leung stopped changing. But the space soon experienced an identity crisis unlike any it had ever known. Shortly after its completion in 2010, Leung visitors adopted “an informal code of silence.” Students flocked in, armed with paperback books and pens, and quickly began using Leung as a quiet study space. Then, around 2015, the Student Activities Office (SAO) began to hear murmurs of mutiny circling through Leung. Some students, it seemed, opposed the silent nature of the Leung Family Gallery. Some students wanted a place to eat a Blue Room muffin and read Jack Kerouac without interruptions. Others saw a need for a more social space at the center of campus. Students used the methods they knew best to advocate for their desired noise levels, publishing op-eds to “Unsilence Leung Family Gallery” or responding to the Blog Daily Herald’s poll: “Should we be allowed to breathe heavily in the Leung Gallery?” SAO set to work investigating this contentious issue, trying everything from online surveys to open forums to figure out what students really thought. The Brown student body remained relentlessly divided, split almost exactly halfway on the nature of noise in Leung. So SAO put together an advisory board, which came up with an attempt at a compromise: board games scattered throughout the space and designated hours during which SAO blasted music. Seniors may still remember walking into Leung at 4:50 p.m. in the spring of 2016 to do homework, setting themselves up for a productive afternoon, and then being jolted by the sounds of Justin Timberlake blaring over the sound system at 5:00 p.m. Students at the time would typically exchange a sigh and either pack their bags in exasperation or ignore the music completely. The
most passive-aggressive war ever waged on like this for some time. Anyone who has studied in Leung in recent years knows that the silent denizens emerged victorious. The persistent determination to study silently was stronger than the power of Top 40 hits. The space has returned to its de facto laws of silence for the majority of the time, but it is also used for the occasional event. SAO now allows student organizations and departments to reserve the space in the evenings as a part of their hope of having the “space be as accessible and open to use as possible,” according to Ana Barraza. The funny thing about Leung is that even though the main activity in the room is silent studying, the communal orientation of this space, which has existed in all of its many permutations since 1904, has persisted. The casual observer might see nothing but a room full of students lost in their own worlds, immersed in their screens and books. But ask any Leung devotee about the room, and their face will light up. To start with, Leung’s cult-like following is solidified by its Facebook page. In November 2016, Isabelle Doyle created the group “Leung and Wild and Free.” Isabelle welcomed any “Leung friends/ frequenters” who “like to hang out/study/eat the strange food they leave out/go on their phone for 45 minutes/whisper to people really loudly for a long time and pretend it's ok even though it's a quiet space/glare at people who are doing the same thing IN LEUNG GALLERY.” In this group, which now includes over 200 Leung lovers, students express the shared joys and frustrations of Leung. This group embodies the sense of support and camaraderie that permeates the space. Frequenters keep each other updated about free food and drinks (“SPRITE CITY COME THRU”). They provide warnings about noise issues (“ADOCH youngsters are very cute and very charming and very excited and very interesting, and they very very very much CANNOT READ A ROOM!!”). They call attention to special moments in Leung, posting pictures of the “transient beauty of a Leung afternoon." And they make sure love never goes unnoticed (“Spotted: Saturday nite Leung makeout sesh”). A more scientific approach is necessary to observe other expressions of community in Leung. Imagine sticking a video camera into a chandelier in Leung, pointing it downward, and leaving the camera running for a day. Come back the next day, take it down, play it silently like an old-fashioned film, and watch the scene unfold below you. At first, Leung looks just like a library. At double speed, you watch students shifting around in their seats, unfolding and refolding their legs, bending over to check their phones just one more time. Then, it starts getting interesting. The doorway, you notice, acts like a sort of magic forcefield that affects people differently based on their attire. When anyone in a suit—especially middle-aged adults and Model UN high-school students—steps through
the doorway, their pace of walking and talking does not change, but the rest of the room reacts. As if a puppet master above is tugging at strings attached to each head, each person’s neck immediately swivels towards the doorway. The suit people seem immune to the intense stares coming from around the room. But when anyone in Blundstones or thrift store attire crosses through the doorway, a wave of positive energy appears to wash over the room and shift the scene into slow motion. That student stepping into Leung suddenly slows down, looks around. They exchange a series of nods, smiles, and waves with others throughout the room, then calmly settle into a spot on a couch. The puppeteer on high seems to return when the food comes. When someone places a pizza box or fruit platter left over from an event onto the main coffee table, the heads all swivel once again in unison. Like a choreographed dance team, the students then jerk their heads back to face their laptops, as if trying to ignore the primordial lust for free food. And then, within seconds, the room remobilizes. Calmly, but with excitement, the students drift toward the halfeaten cheese platters, exchange thoughtful glances as they wonder whether the leftover cookies are chocolate chip or raisin, make their selections, and return to their work. As senior Isabela Karibjanian put it, Leung is “a community built on shared glances.” There are many moments at Brown when students use their voices to express support and camaraderie. After concerts, plays, and games, students stand up and cheer for their classmates. TAs talk through problem sets with students. Friends get coffee and catch up. But there are very few times when this sense of student body community is expressed without words and among strangers. In Leung, this is expressed through little more than exchanged glances and a smattering of Facebook posts. I felt the full power of Leung magic one late afternoon in May. I was among the stragglers still finishing my exams, and Leung had been fairly empty throughout that day. As the afternoon wore on, heads started turning toward the window overlooking Waterman Street, where a glorious sunset was turning the sky a deep shade of pink. I don’t remember who took the lead, but the next thing I knew, the window was propped open, and the students had stood up from their desks and walked toward the window. One by one, we filed onto a little balcony just outside the window and stood in the cool evening, watching the sunset in silence. We soaked in the sun making its descent for a few minutes, then crawled back inside, and knocked out the last of our work. This moment shared between friends and strangers embodied what Leung is. It’s mostly a study space, but it’s also a bit more than that. It may not be the buzzing YMCA the Rockefellers had once imagined, but it’s still a pretty great space to come get some work done and feel a sense of Brown community.
“As someone who lived in Em-Wool, I lived close to greatness but never quite touched it." “This is really ambitious popcorn.”
march 1, 2018&3
NARRATIVE
Weighing in on Freshman 15
For a Healthier Sense of Self by Abbie Hui Illustrated by Kira Widjaja Before I actually stepped foot on campus, I heard about the foreboding “freshman 15” from family and friends: “You won’t notice the weight gain until it’s too late, so watch out for the 15 pounds that will sneak up on you over the course your first year.” I found this shocking, to the point that I have since done some online reading—what I learned, thankfully, is that freshman 15 is more of a myth. According to a study done by Jay Zagorsky, research scientist at Ohio State University’s Center for Human Resource Research, 25 percent of students reported losing weight, and fewer than 10 percent of freshmen surveyed gained 15 pounds or more. What I gathered is that weight gain, of course, does not apply to everyone, and that in fact, some even lose weight. I wondered if this was because college students have to make their own choices about what, when, and how much to eat, some of which are not necessarily the most healthy or balanced. Having skipped meals while experiencing the unfamiliar environment and stress of freshman year, I wanted to reflect on what I have learned and what I'm still working on to embrace a healthier lifestyle. Brown requires first-years to choose a meal plan, and I have quickly befriended the Blue Room muffins and Ratty omelets through my Flex 330 membership. The first couple of weeks of school, I found the food at each dining hall decent, but the similar options got boring. Every visit, I wondered to myself—is this really the food I want to and should eat? How could I make the most of my meal credits? With the buffetstyle Ratty and V-dub, I sometimes max out my portions and struggle with how many of the curly fries I should eat, or think that the special pasta looks really cheesy tonight, so hey, I should get another scoop. I’ve combatted this temptation by going on a grand tour of the Ratty or V-dub to survey my options first before actually putting food on my plate—judging less with my eyes and more with my stomach. Freshman year was a time to learn about myself— what healthy habits I like (such as exercise and sleep), how to navigate the generally unhealthy college food pyramid (caffeine, ramen, fast food, and alcohol), and how each of my preferences really came down to how I was feeling that day. Say, drinking that delectable grande caramel macchiato before breakfast to jumpstart the day because I felt lethargic with only six hours of sleep and hadn’t fit in any workouts to burn out the negative energy. Or sometimes, I would skip dinner because I either didn’t feel hungry or didn’t want to venture out to a dining hall when I was already situated in my studying. I found my personal struggles with self-image and weight fluctuations to be extremely prevalent after finals season, when I tended to push most of my non-academic responsibilities to the side and burrow into my studies. Coming off the
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stressful rollercoaster of finals, I found that the time fed into my existing struggles with self-image because I’d let my healthy eating and exercise habits slide and consequently feel guilty. Such factors continued to influence me during my first year and still do, but what keeps me grounded is Colbie Caillat’s song “Try”: “Wait a second / Why, should you care, what they think of you / When you're all alone, by yourself, do you like you? / Do you like you?” The song taught me to learn to feel good about myself. I’ve realized that I feel best about my lifestyle when I consistently have balanced, well-portioned meals. A “cheat” day is alright once in a while, say when I want to treat myself to that gooey red velvet Blue Room muffin in addition to some Pokéworks the day before my 7:00 p.m. exam. I try to not use “cheat” days as an excuse to justify frequent stress eating. I need to be honest with myself and my conscience to work towards a healthy lifestyle.
Having skipped meals while experiencing the unfamiliar environment and stress of freshman year, I wanted to reflect on what I have learned and what I am currently still working on to embrace a healthier lifestyle. As a sophomore, I’m still working on finding my healthy balance. I have adopted intermittent fasting to refine my diet and portion control for the past two years, and while this may not work for everyone, I’ve found it has helped me. I don’t avoid any particular foods for my meals, and I enjoy eating whatever I feel like during the eight-hour eating window I have per day. I am working on substituting my love for coffee—lattes are my last resort for the days that I really need that boost of caffeine—with unsweetened caffeinated teas, like matcha, English breakfast, or Earl Grey at Starbucks. And last but not least, I made myself a promise that no matter what happens each week, I would make it to the Nelson at least once in the morning (I highly recommend going with a gym buddy to keep each other accountable). According to a recent blog post I read, students experience an average weight gain of only two pounds during freshman year, and 25 percent of the two pounds was due to an increase in muscle. I now think of freshman 15 as more of a saying that scares first-years into making better food choices for themselves. We need to debunk the myth and remove the perceived sense of losing control over one’s weight during this time. Weight gain should be viewed as a normal part of getting older. Instead of adding the unjustified concern of freshman 15 to our list of worries, it is better to live a healthier lifestyle by eating more food groups, exercising, and developing healthy habits that make you feel good about yourself.
Dog Days
A Week with Rosie By Naomi Kim Illustrated by Ali Pirl You’re a hunter-gatherer. Despite the wild beasts stalking in the dark and the harsh weather, you cling to life as fiercely as muscle clings to bone. You are sinew and ligament, rough hands and dirt-caked fingernails. And you have a dog who runs with you, sniffing, hunting, guarding. You’re a farmer, putting down roots in an agricultural lifestyle. You are earth and seeds, grains and harvests; you are at the mercy of sun and rain and wind. And you, too, have a dog. Your dog runs among your livestock—cattle, sheep, goats—herding them, guarding them from wild animals. You’re a girl in a suburban town in the middle of nowhere. You are a stack of library books you won’t be able to get through and a heavy Dell laptop, laughingcrying emojis and scrawled to-do lists that never get done. And you, too, have a dog. Only for a week, but still, you have a dog, who lounges on the sofa or your bed, who sits under the table at mealtime and constantly wants your company. *** Rosie has velveteen ears and a big fluffy tail. No one is quite sure what breed or mix she is, but there’s definitely some shepherd in her. Almost wolf-like, save for the round black eyes that give her a gentle, docile look, Rosie is light brown with a white snout and white paws. She’s undergone surgery for an arthritic hip and sometimes won’t use her problem leg. She will lie down as soon as you start to pet her, sprawling on the floor so that you’ll give her a belly rub. When you return home after a few hours away, she’ll come greet you, ears flattened back happily, whining at a high-pitch, and she’ll have to bite a shoe like it’s a pacifier. Rosie is actually my friend’s dog. Rosie stayed with us while her family went to New Hampshire for Christmas because she hates “doggy jail,” known more commonly as the dog boarding center. *** I watched Rosie sniff-sniff-sniff her way around the yard. I wondered what she smelled with that wet black nose of hers—perhaps dirt and dead grass and the deer that always left their round droppings in the backyard, and the hundred thousand other odors I could never detect myself. Maybe the stunted runt of an oak tree in the yard had its own smell. Maybe the wind carried the scent of pine or the bushes from across the street. *** My prior exposure to dogs was limited. A family friend once had an old black dog named Pee Wee and later a high-energy Scottish terrier puppy named Hannah. In the park near our apartment complex, I ran with a dog named Baby who loved to play chase. Mostly, I encountered dogs in books and movies. For some reason, stories that feature animals are often tragic. When I was little, I watched an animated version of The Dog of Flanders. The boy and his dog both die at the end, outside in the cold, winter night. I cried for about an hour afterwards. Meanwhile, my younger brother, about four or five at the time, threw
ARTS&CULTURE a tantrum about my incessant sobbing, insisting that the boy and the dog had not, in fact, died because they had been shown prancing about in the stars during the credits. They couldn’t be dead, so I should just stop crying already. When we were little, my brother and I both wanted a dog for the longest time. It would be so fun, we thought—playing fetch every day, walking the dog after school. We checked out books from the public library about taking care of dogs and different dog breeds. Our parents both had dogs when they were children. I asked once if we could at least rent one. And then, and then, and then—we got Rosie, a childhood dream come true. *** What no one tells you about having a dog for a week is that you'll feel almost embarrassed when the dog pees in your neighbor’s yard. You dart your eyes around here and there and pray that no one’s watching from the windows because there are almost no Asians in this town, and everyone will know you were the one who let the dog pee on the nice pine straw piled neatly around the mailbox. What no one tells you about having a dog for a week is that the dog will ask to go outside at 10:30 at night, in the cold and the dark, and because you don’t have a fence, you’ll have to put her on a leash and stand there shivering, hoping she’ll just pee already. What no one tells you is that you’ll find yourself trying to speed up the process by saying, “Shhhh,” like a mom pottytraining her toddler. What no one tells you about having a dog for a week is that you won’t get anything done. The first thing anyone does in the morning will be petting the dog, and of course she’ll sprawl herself out, and you’ll end up petting her for a lot longer than you thought you were going to. You and your brother will just lie on the floor beside the dog, rubbing her belly and complimenting her ceaselessly. Your ears are so soft, Rosie. You’re so nice, Rosie. You’re so cute, Rosie, you fur baby, you. *** What did you smell in the yard, Rosie? If you could talk, what would you say? That early this morning, three deer with white tails raised high ran lightly through the yard and stopped there—right here, no, not there, here—to nibble at the dry grass? That two days ago, one of our neighbors grilled hamburgers over hickory charcoal? Could you smell December itself? The fragrance of a year ending, the faint burning smell that lingers after a candle goes out and gray tendrils of smoke curl through the air. Maybe you could smell the year turning over, the newness of it. Maybe you caught a whiff of a memory forming in my head and my heart. A dog-shaped memory. What did it smell like, Rosie?
Prouston, We Have a Problem
The Rigors of Time, Memory, and Canonized French Novelists By Jackson Barkstom
examining his life, from a childhood in Combray to
life in our old house and what it meant to me, and
his time in the world as an older man. In revisiting
he said something along the lines of, “You know, I
his past, Proust unearths how he sees and how he
don’t remember it like that. I see it more like this.”
previously saw the world. In this way, the novel
Surprised, I thought to myself, “How can there
is something of a credo, advocating for its own
even be another way to remember this? We lived
form and calling its readers to piece together their
through the same thing!” But after asking him a
own pasts and discover the nature of individual
few questions and hearing the way he saw things,
experiences through art. Proust wanted to help us
I realized that there are any number of ways to
realize that we are, especially with regard to memory
remember the same experience. It was as if my mind
and experience, unbelievably complicated.
had glimpsed another dimension, a greater truth
A noble thought, certainly, but Proust’s method
that neither my memory nor my brother’s could
of self-discovery preferences the individual’s reality
perceive alone. Taken together, our perspectives
at the expense of all else. “The artist who gives up
pointed to the truth of memory as a creative act
an hour of work for an hour of conversation with
far removed from any individual documentation of
a friend knows that he is sacrificing a reality for
the past. I didn’t feel like I’d reached any profound
something that does not exist,” he wrote. Yikes.
truth at the time. However, after reading Proust I
If “reality” is to be understood only through the
understood that this realization was on the level of
creation and consumption of your own art, what’s
old man Marcel’s epiphany in the seventh book of
to differentiate Proust’s method from solipsism (a
Remembrance of Things Past. Stepping on a stone
personal philosophy in which other people quite
a certain way and hearing a certain sound, Marcel
literally do not exist)? Surely there must be a happy
triggers a childhood memory, inspiring pages and
medium between other people and oneself.
pages worth of text about the limitation and beauty
I thought about the importance of others a lot
of human experience and memory. As I sat there
during the Proust, Joyce, and Faulkner class I took
with my brother, I remember thinking, "Whoa,
last semester with Professor Arnold Weinstein. At
memory is wild.” And I didn’t need a book—just a
the beginning of the semester we discussed ways we
good conversation.
could “recover our own story” through texts—the
We get this “whoa” feeling every time we
quoted phrase being the Weinstein-approved way
truly share perspectives with someone else. The
to describe the feeling of Holy crap—after reading
Proustians might say, “Well, you can never truly
this, I feel I know myself better! or Whoa, this makes
know someone else’s perspective, only infer it from
me realize I know so little about myself, and I want to
their communication,” but this doesn’t matter—if we
work to find out the Truth! Figuring out this Truth
can at least think of other people as having different
(or acknowledging that it cannot be figured out,
perspectives from ours, mission accomplished. As
which is a Truth in and of itself ) is recovering one’s
long as we’re at least trying to understand these
story. This was the pitch to students taking the class:
perspectives, we can reach something closer to
read these incredibly detailed accounts of human
truth by realizing the limitation of our individual
consciousness, think about them, and you will learn
perspectives and memories.
something profound about yourself. If Proust had
Anyway, I don’t mean to bash Proust too much,
been in our class, he probably would have loved it.
but I think that when you put his thesis in simple
In the eyes of Proust, profound learning must be a
English—essentially, “Hole up for years, search
solitary process of reading, writing, and thinking:
yourself, and overcome your individual blindness
Self-discovery requires one to journey alone and
to produce a work of art that will let people sort of
“plumb the depths” of oneself.
understand you,”—it sounds a little ridiculous. Art
However, I think self-discovery on a Proustian
is great; and if it helps you understand yourself,
scale can and should happen with the help of others.
hats off to you, but all I need in order to overcome
After all, our relations with other people add meaning
my individual blindness is good conversation and
The French novelist Marcel Proust often wrote
to our lives, and the people who we’re friends with
connection with others, sharing memories and
that it is the individual’s duty to recover their own
are the people who share stories and experiences
experiences. I feel fulfilled when I’m talking to my
story—that in order to understand our true nature,
with us. Sure, “recovering one’s story” does take
best friends about more profound subjects because
we must understand how we see and have seen the
some individual effort and thinking—Proust is right
they see me as someone with a perspective different
world. Essentially, if you want to live a conscious—
about that part—but I think it’s important to find
from theirs and try to understand me. They’ve gotten
that is to say, “woke”—life, you must take some
ourselves as we truly are: not alone, but surrounded
better at this as we’ve done more things together. I
time alone to shuffle through your mental library
by people who color our lives.
feel like my friends and I occasionally approach true
Illustrated by Gaby trevino
of memories and experiences; you must study what
I was talking with my brother a while ago
understanding—there are certainly a good number
makes you you. Proust achieves this objective in
about some of our defining memories growing
of “whoa” moments. So if I write my novel, I don’t
his masterpiece Remembrance of Things Past by
up together. I was explaining how I remembered
think I’ll be hiding away. Sorry, Proust.
march 1, 2018&5
ARTS&CULTURE
Midnight Mumbles
post- Staff Has Some Thoughts By post- night owls illustrated by nina yuchi Music Lil Pump’s Harverd Dropout: The SoundCloud sensation celebrates turning 18 by ceding creative control of his second album to a boardroom full of middle-aged white men, former Tosh.0 gag writers, and Quavo. Beirut’s Gallipoli: After four albums spent mining the lush textures of Balkan folk music, Zach Condon has dedicated himself to unearthing the latent romantic potential of trap rap. It does not bang. Deerhunter’s Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared?: And, sometimes, you just own yourself in the album title. Go away, indie rock. Ariana Grande’s Thank U, Next: This is good, but Ariana Grande depicts her romantic life as a frighteningly vivid Hieronymus Bosch hellscape, and there’s no world in which any of the theoretical straight males listening to this album would break up with their girlfriends to chill with her, right? People are sleeping on the Your Name soundtrack, just saying. Film The upcoming Detective Pikachu trailers have fans wondering if technology has gone too far. Pikachu is basically Deadpool shoved in a tiny rat body, and the hyper-realistically rendered Mewtwo & Lickitung are the stuff of nightmares. The Pixar animated short film directed by Domee Shi, Bao, was a beautifully crafted masterpiece surrounding the relationship between a Chinese mother and her son (the bao). While some audiences seemed to misunderstand the film, this did not stop Bao from scoring the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film this year. Television Roswell, New Mexico is the perfect mix of vaguely trashy and surprisingly substantive television. Following the daughter of undocumented immigrants, the show makes the occasional thought-provoking statement about class or race, or a clever jibe against our current political climate. All the while, the main character is dealing with the revelation that her sister was murdered by a literal alien, who may or may not be her high-school
crush, and you’ll think he’s a bad actor until he says something like, “I have loved you my entire life,” and you’re like, oh. Hm. Compelling. Books American-Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang offers an insider’s perspective on what it means to grow up as a Chinese immigrant in America. The graphic novel pieces together ancient Chinese mythological heroes and contemporary Asian gangsters, high-school sweethearts and wannabe jocks, and even Buddhist monks with traditional clean-shaven heads with the trendiest Asian afros. If it sounds like an achronological hodgepodge, that’s because it is. And it works! The women in Marjane Satrapi’s Embroideries share intergenerational family wisdom about love, sex, and marriage through conversations over tea time, gossip, and scandalous escapades from their youth. Watch the lives of these Iranian women come alive through their witty, eccentric, but nonetheless down-to-earth recollections. Food Since Shake Shack insists on holding out on us while it undergoes its seemingly unending construction, it’s only right we direct your burger cravings to another stellar spot for now. Harry’s Bar and Burger is an unassuming little joint on North Main Street, but don’t let its simplistic facade fool you. The bar serves two sliders with each order (but gives you the option to ask for a third—and trust me, you will want a third). While limited in the toppings you can choose from, each slider is guaranteed a patty just crispy enough on the outside for you to be pleasantly surprised with the juiciness of each bite.
“Brown University has successfully created a microenvironment of wealth, disparate from the rest of Providence.” Rebecca Ellis, “a city within a bubble” 3.3.16
“Is it too much to ask that Asian Americans be portrayed as… normal people? (Or in that last case, portrayed at all?) Pia Ceres, “Asian American Slackers” 3.23.17
6!post–
And sliders are half off during happy hour every day from 3 to 5 p.m., a blessing and a bargain for all you burger lovers. Double Chin in Boston’s Chinatown may give you a double chin, but you’ll be happy about it because the food is like everything you could want when you’re high. Not that I would know. But pineapple bun sandwiches with pork katsu? HKstyle french toast? Mapo tofu nachos? Can I get one of everything, please? Fashion On the runway, during the Gucci 2018 Fall/ Winter Show, a white model walked the walk wearing a black turtleneck. Except, it wasn’t not your ordinary, high-end black turtleneck. This one covered half the face and presented a pair of thick red lips. This adds to the growing list of controversial, racialized clothing in the fashion industry that continues to exist despite rightful public outrage. Podcast Optimal Living Daily can be the perfect motivational pep talk during your morning routine or the reassuring voice that lulls you to sleep. Regardless of when you listen to it, you’re bound to wonder if you should finally make that commitment to minimalism or drop out to travel the world with only $100 in cash. Museum The Museum of Modern Art recently concluded an exhibit titled “Disappearing Acts,” which features the work of American artist Bruce Nauman, whose repertoire includes a strange mix of Instagrammable neon lights and unsettling coffin live feeds.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Anita Sheih a FEATURE Managing Editor Sydney Lo Section Editors Kathy Luo Sara Shapiro Staff Writers Sarah Lettes Caroline Ribet
NARRATIVE Managing Editor Celina Sun Section Editors Liza Edwards-Levin Jasmine Ngai Staff Writers Danielle Emerson Abbie Hui Naomi Kim Anneliese Mair Kahini Mehta
SOCIAL MEDIA Caleigh Aviv Camila Pavon
ARTS & CULTURE Managing Editor Julian Towers Section Editors Griffin Plaag Emily Teng Staff Writers Rob Capron Kaela Hines Pia Mileaf-Patel
Want to be involved? Email: post@browndailyherald.com!
HEAD ILLUSTRATOR Rémy Poisson BUSINESS LIAISON Saanya Jain
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NEWS
FRIDAY, MARCH 01, 2019 • PAGE 9
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Opposition mounts against water monetization By ISABEL INADOMI SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Three City Council members introduced a resolution opposing the monetization of Providence’s water supply Feb. 21. Ward 13 Councilwoman Rachel Miller, Ward 12 Councilwoman Katherine Kerwin and Ward 1 Councilman Seth Yurdin are advocating against legislation proposed by Mayor Jorge Elorza which would authorize the city of Providence to profit from its water supply through long-term leases with public or private organizations. Elorza hopes that this potential revenue from monetization will go toward addressing the city’s pension debt, while opponents fear passage of the bill would raise the price of water for ratepayers. The resolution was referred to the Committee on City Property. Miller cited negative consequences from other cities that have attempted to monetize their water to explain her resistance to the bill. “What we know from previous proposals to privatize, to monetize water, is that rates go up for ratepayers, quality goes down and too often workers’ rights are eroded and infrastructure is eroded,” Miller said. Kerwin and Yurdin expressed similar concerns, with Yurdin noting that monetization would be a “one time fix with unacceptable long-term consequences.” R.I. Senate Majority Whip
» WELLNESS, from page 1 to campus while taking time off from school. “I was pretty engaged in what was happening at Brown, and that was important for me as it made me feel like I was still very much a student,” he said. “Without this, it could have felt pretty disconnected and like I was wandering a bit,” he added. Chang said the leavetaking peer program is one of many initiatives that the University has developed to make the leave-taking process easier on students. “It grew out of the feeling that some students away on leave don’t want to feel cut off from the community because they are not here,” Chang said. Other programs include a “welcome back” dinner and the Mid year Graduation Ceremony, she added. The CRC is also working on a monthly newsletter and a video-series with stories from students reflecting on their leave experience, said Addy Schuetz ’19.5, the CRC leavetaking co-coordinator. “We’ve been trying to work on building connections with student groups and centers such as the Undocumented, First-Generation College and Low-Income Student Center to make the information and resources around leave-taking as accessible as possible,” Schuetz said. Schuetz and Kim have also made an effort to waive the $70 re-admission fee that students must pay upon re-enrollment. “We sent an official proposal (over January break) to the Dean of the College who along with a working group on financial need is in the process of reviewing it,” Schuetz added.
Maryellen Goodwin D-D1 and R.I. House Deputy Majority Leader Scott Slater D-D10 introduced the bill to the state house Feb. 14. “We’re proposing a collaborative approach that will safeguard reliable, low-cost and high-quality water while providing the capital city an opportunity to address its pension obligation once and for all,” Goodwin stated in a press release. The bill has been introduced in prior years without success. Rhode Island House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello “has not supported this legislation in the past because of the potential impact of higher rates impacting other communities in the water supply district,” Larry Berman, a spokesperson for Mattiello, wrote in an email to The Herald. Alleviating the city’s $1 billion pension debt is vital to the Elorza administration, and a water monetization plan could play a key role in that. “Any revenue from the transaction would be applied to the city’s pension liabilities,” wrote Emily Crowell, chief of communications and senior advisor to Elorza, in an email to The Herald. “Revenue would come from a long-term lease or similar model.” According to WPRI, the lease could bring in $300 million to $400 million. The city has explored other avenues to address the city’s debt, such as introducing legislation to increase the hotel tax and create non-profit taxation bills, Crowell wrote. The legislation would also affect multiple communities outside of Providence, as 60 percent of the state’s residents get their water from the Scituate Reservoir, where Providence sources
COURTESY OF DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR
Three members of the city council introduced a resolution opposing the monetization project, citing troubles encountered by other cities. The mayor has advocated for water monetization. its water, according to the Providence sources of funding. financial crisis.” Journal. “They need to look at other ways The mayor’s plan has also elicited Some politicians outside of the city of streamlining their government and concern from advocacy groups. John are opposed to the legislation, citing cutting costs,” Lombardi said. Gonzalez, a core organizer of the Land costs to their communities without any Elorza’s office also emphasized the and Water Sovereignty Campaign, financial gain. For example, Mayor of time sensitivity of improving the city’s spoke out against the bill, referencNorth Providence Charles Lombardi long-term financial state. “Providence ing times when indigenous commuis among the many representatives of cannot continue to provide and pay nities have been “heavily impacted” municipalities that use Providence for a safe, reliable water supply for a by privatization of natural resources. water and would not benefit from the majority of Rhode Island districts,” “We’re here to maybe give a little bit of revenue directed toward the city of Crowell wrote. “If proactive steps a historical education,” he said. “Water Providence. He has advocated against are not taken now, there can be no is life, and there’s nothing more preElorza’s legislation and has commented guarantee of future reliability, quality cious to us than the land.” that the city should look for alternative and price in the event of a Providence
UCS, UFB candidates kick off election season UCS election board holds three information sessions for prospective candidates in March elections By KAYLA GUO SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The Undergraduate Council of Students elections board held three information sessions this week for prospective candidates for UCS and Undergraduate Finance Board positions, marking the beginning of the UCS and UFB spring election process. The information sessions were held to “give (prospective candidates) an opportunity to see what it’s like (to run) and get as much information as possible,” said Elections Board Co-Chair Katie Barry ’19. Students considering running for a position must attend at least one information session in order to be eligible to collect signatures for their petition for candidacy. Students will not be officially
confirmed as candidates until the end of the Candidates’ Meeting, which is scheduled to take place on March 10. “We’ve definitely had an issue in the past with people who haven’t done this before, not knowing some of the rules and maybe overstepping some boundaries without knowing … so we just want to make sure that we’re all on baseline, same page on the things that are most important,” Barry said. A student interested in running for UCS President or Vice President said that the information session was helpful, but they still had some remaining questions about specifics they “don’t think should or would be presented in a very general info session anyway.” The student could not be named due to eligibility requirements for potential UCS and UFB candidates. “Overall this process has been done so many times so clearly it must work,” the student added. “It’s definitely pushed me closer to thinking that I do want to run.” On why they are considering
Read Join
Mayor Jorge Elorza hopes to direct revenue from proposed water monetization to city pension debt
running, the student discussed a lack of representation of their identities in student leadership. “I don’t think I’m doing it just because I want to do it, but to represent stories and narratives and viewpoints that have historically never been represented at Brown or really anywhere,” they said. In prior years, several races for UCS and UFB positions went uncontested, The Herald previously reported. The elections board is working on making elections more competitive and accessible this year, Barry said. “We’ve been doing a lot of publicity. We’re doing our best to get the word out,” Barry said. “We want to make sure that as many people run as possible, the elections board is made up of as many people as we can get, and also that as many people vote as possible.” The board is also reaching out to “groups of people who might be interested in running,” she added. This year, UCS approved changes to the elections code so that candidates
The Herald browndailyherald.com/join herald@browndailyherald.com
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 will now only need 100, The Herald previously reported. Last year, all candidates needed to receive 200 signatures from registered undergraduate students in order to run. “We just want to make it a little bit more open to anyone who might feel intimidated by having to get that many signatures,” Barry said. The elections process includes an open-to-the-public debate between candidates for UCS President, UCS Vice President, UFB Chair and UFB Vice Chair March 17. It will be moderated by Vice President for Campus Life Eric Estes, the current UCS President Shanzé Tahir ’19, the current UFB Chair Lisa Schold ’19 and a representative from The Herald. Online voting for all undergraduate students will occur from March 19-21. The successful candidates will begin their term after the end of the spring semester.
COMMENTARY PAGE 10 • FRIDAY, MARCH 01, 2019
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Divestment is the only responsible option GALEN HALL
OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR The university recently announced plans to aim for net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, with a 75 percent reduction below current levels by 2025. Brown’s net-zero goals are a great improvement – but by no means exceptional, given the scope of the ecological crisis facing our planet. And, while President Paxson P’19 attempts to use these goals to position Brown as a “leader” on addressing climate change, she ignores the fact that many other universities are setting (and achieving) similar goals. American University has already reduced its emissions to net-zero, and Stanford is set for an 80 percent reduction by 2021. Yet there is one area in which Brown still has plenty of room to distinguish itself from the pack — to “build on distinction,” if you will — and that is divestment. Paxson has been quite clear about her and the Corporations’ views on divestment. Mirroring the administrations of many other well-endowed universities, she argued in 2013 that divesting from coal was an impractical and inefficient way to further the necessary transition to clean energy. Paxson recently brushed aside questions about divestment from EcoRI News, saying only “Nope. Nope. We rejected that.” She was wrong then and is wrong now. Divestment, not only from coal but from all fossil fuels, would comprise both an effective blow to the fossil fuel industry and a financially sound decision for the University. A 2013 study from Oxford University points out that divestment damages the fossil fuel industry regardless of whether the strategy actually causes financial harm; the act of divestment
encourages widespread social, financial and political stigmatization, which is needed to loosen the industry’s tight grasp on our energy and political systems. Paxson argued in 2013 that “divestiture would not have a direct effect on the companies in question,” and that as a symbolic message, it “would convey only a nebulous statement — that coal is harmful — without speaking to the technological and policy actions needed to reduce the harm from coal.” No single message about climate change can address the complexity of this issue, but as seen in the Oxford study, divestment is still an important step. In addition, fossil fuel companies will continue to dominate our energy industry, even in the face of re-
of the production and use of coal would itself create significant economic and social harm to countless communities across the globe.” These arguments are seriously misguided. First, a single institution’s divestment from coal in no way amounts to sudden cessation of coal production, and this implication appears to be almost intentionally misleading. Furthermore, the comparison to tobacco is in fact instructive: Brown did not divest from tobacco until 2003, thirteen years after Harvard divested. We failed to lead then, and now the stakes are much higher. Coal, more than tobacco and more than any other fuel, threatens the future of global civilization and therefore the futures of all Brown students. It is the highest-emitting source of
Brown’s Corporation has an opportunity to simultaneously take the ethical lead and position the University for financial success in the coming decades. newable technology advancements. These companies continue to spend millions of dollars on obstructing renewable energy installations, avoiding policy restraints in the US and abroad and misleading the public. The industry lobby is deeply entrenched in Washington and in financial markets. Divestment will play a key role in ending this entrenchment, and Paxson has not demonstrated a clear understanding of its power. “To divest in response to anything but the most clear-cut and widely acknowledged cases of social harm would violate our duty to maintain a sound financial policy,” she wrote. “The comparison to tobacco is instructive. Unlike tobacco, which arguably has no social value, cessation
greenhouse gasses and kills hundreds of thousands each year via pollution. To claim that the benefits of coal power offset these catastrophic effects ignores the fact that there are extremely viable alternative fuel sources which don’t kill thousands of people and threaten to destroy societies. The Corporation’s lack of transparency about its investments undermines the anti-divestment argument as well. Paxson claimed in 2013 that Brown’s coal investments were “much too small for divestiture to reduce corporate profits.” Their official numbers for 2017 place oil and gas investments at 3 percent of the endowment, though we don’t know exactly how much of that investment goes
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meant to generate long-term returns: Brown is free from the kinds of short-term pressures which plague other institutions. Fossil fuels are not a reliable long-term investment, and firms which avoid them, such as Al Gore’s Generation Investment Management Fund, have consistently outperformed the market even in the short term. It appears that the demise of fossil fuels is inevitable: the crucial question is how fast the world can drop them. The slower their downfall, the more intense the harms to nature and human society will become. What’s more, a recent study in Nature Climate Change confirmed that fossil fuel stocks of all kinds are in a very real sense massively overvalued: their prices reflect the total value of all of
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toward coal. Further, Brown, like most but not all universities, does not release its indirect investments in fossil fuels — its holdings in companies which themselves invest in fossil fuels. Doing so might reveal holdings significant enough to have more of an impact than Paxson credits them for. Regardless of my argument, the Corporation and Paxson must not believe that divestment is in Brown’s best financial interests. Fossil fuels may be bad for the planet, but they guarantee steady returns. Further, divesting entirely from fossil fuels must seem like a ridiculous notion, since it likely requires moving funds out of large and trusted equity firms and into those which are willing to avoid fossil fuel investments. But University investments are
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the oil, coal and gas reserves they own, which are massive — and which they cannot be allowed to actually use without triggering runaway global warming. Studies of the financial system have pointed out that irrational biases help maintain the continued widespread investment in fossil fuels. Fossil fuel companies currently sit on enough oil, gas and coal to put the Earth well over 7°C warming above pre-industrial averages; to keep below an already disastrous 2°C of warming, we’d have to leave at least 80 percent of known reserves in the ground, which would tremendously reduce the value of these companies. Within this context, it is clear that there are plenty of financial incentives to divest. Brown could “build on distinction” by acting as a leader among large universities and potentially reap enormous rewards for preempting an inevitable market swing. But if this shift away from fossil fuels happens too late, the disastrous effects of warming will already be locked in. Due to political and institutional inertia, this is the outcome that looks most likely. Large and reputable institutions can catalyze the process of stigmatization, and they must do so soon. Brown’s Corporation has an opportunity to simultaneously take the ethical lead and position the University for financial success in the coming decades. We can only hope they don’t squander it.
Galen Hall ’20 can be reached at galen_hall@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald. com and op-eds to opinions@ browndailyherald.com.
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COMMENTARY FRIDAY, MARCH 01, 2019 • PAGE 11
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
There is no justification for perpetuations of inequality and elitism SIBELES TORRES
OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR On Feb. 24, an article titled “VIP dinners offer peek at culture of privilege at Brown University” was published by the Providence Journal, detailing an exclusive and previously obscure tradition called the “Marty Granoff Dinner.” This sparked a general debate and an outpour of disbelief among the undocumented, first-generation and/ or low-income community. According to the article, Granoff holds these dinners for the children of “U.S. politicians, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, business executives, financial moguls and otherwise wealthy individuals.” The supposed purpose of these dinners is “so people who would not usually get to know each other, do.” It is hard to believe that affluent people would not meet other affluent people in the course of their days at an Ivy League institution where 70 percent of students come from the top 20 percent, and 19 percent of the students come from the top 1 percent. No, dinners and events such as this one only alienate and segregate Brown’s most marginalized group: its undocumented, first generation and/ or low income students. About the dinners and the Providence Journal article, my friend Hannah Ponce ‘22 tweeted, “I work 18+ hour weeks on top of my school work, extracurriculars and trying to find summer internships that aren’t made readily available for people like me. This article was a slap in the face.” In addition, my friend pointed out the stark reality in which U-FLi stu-
dents must “work twice as hard to come by the resources already available to wealthier students, and yet, the university continues to cater to and benefit those who are lucky enough to have been born with accessibility to certain social/economic/political connections.” Many others in the U-FLi community, including myself, felt similarly. These dinners are only a fraction of the elitist culture I have experienced at Brown, a culture which divides students along socioeconomic lines, alienates U-FLi students and confers even more advantages upon students that already benefit from the advantages of generational wealth, high family incomes and well-connectedness.
ation students has decreased from 17 percent in 2013 to 11 percent in 2018. As a low-income, first-generation college student and daughter of immigrants, I am an outlier at Brown. Every day, U-FLi students struggle to navigate an elitist and completely foreign space that was not originally created for us. We face issues such as impostor syndrome, feelings of invisibility and microaggressions from fellow students. For example, one of my friends was deeply hurt while overhearing a conversation in which a student described U-FLi students as not deserving “handouts.” Wealthier students frequently do not realize that their peers may not share the same backgrounds. Another friend was told
you are not in control of whether you and your family are wealthy. But I know you can control whether you attend events that marginalize U-FLi students. You can control whether you are actively working to dismantle elitist systems and support your U-FLi peers. To people in positions of power like Marty Granoff: I want you to think about the consequences of your actions. I want you to think about exactly which groups your apparent good deeds benefit and which groups they hurt. Ending the dinners certainly would not magically end institutionalized socioeconomic inequality at Brown, but it would definitely be a step toward dismantling the culture of
We are not lucky to be here — Brown is lucky to have us. Yes, Brown publicizes several efforts toward diversity and inclusion meant to “break down barriers for students from low-and middle-income families,” as President Christina Paxson P’19 stated in her response to the article in a letter to the editor in the Providence Journal, but that does not mean elitism and inequality do not exist here anymore. As an Ivy League institution, Brown is still part of this country’s institutionalized system of oppression, which sustains socioeconomic inequality by replicating elitism and protecting the upper classes. For all of Brown’s publicized efforts toward diversity and inclusion, only 11 percent of students enrolled in the Class of 2022 are first-generation college students. Furthermore, the number of first-year undergraduate first-gener-
to treat herself rather than send money back home, because providing for her family is her “parents’ job.” Aside from experiencing a sense of alienation from our peers, many of us also lack prior experience with networking, as we are the first in our families to attend college and have no one to turn to for college and career advice. My friend Alexis Cruz ‘22 recently shared an experience with me in which she visited the CareerLab to ask about internships, and a staff member told her to start off by asking her parents and family friends. “There’s just an assumption that I have that professional network of family members that I can just tap into any time,” she said. To wealthy students and invitees to Marty Granoff ’s dinner: I am not demonizing you for being rich. I know
elitism and alienation I have experienced at Brown. There is no good reason for these dinners or similar elitist practices to remain. As for the argument that practices like this help fund my education: events like the Granoff dinner should not be necessary for me to be here. Accepting this trade-off as the status quo tokenizes U-FLi students and creates the sense that Brown’s efforts to improve diversity and inclusion are performative. There is much more to be done to make Brown a truly inclusive and diverse place. Rather than spending about $18,000 a year — an amount that equates to the yearly parental income of some U-FLi students — on these elitist dinners, Marty Granoff should repurpose his funds toward initiatives that empower U-FLi stu-
dents and put us on more level ground with our affluent peers. For example, funds could be put toward a building for the U-FLi Center to provide a better space for U-FLi students to get support. Further, students and faculty should stop imagining the “default” student as wealthy and privileged; UFLi students exist. Networking initiatives should be inclusive of U-FLi students, since, unlike some others at Brown, internship and career opportunities are not accessible to us via our family connections. In addition, admission into Brown should still be more accessible for U-FLi students. And to U-FLi students: you should not have to put up with alienation on campus. We belong here, and Brown needs to take diversity and inclusion more seriously. Without us, the student body would be very homogeneous. We may not have the same networks or resources as our affluent peers, but we have each other, and we enrich the school through our unique strengths, backgrounds and experiences. Our community is exceptionally vibrant, supportive and tight-knit. Each one of us brings a unique perspective. From witnessing the extreme sacrifices performed by our families, to fighting hard our entire lives against a system set against us, we are not lucky to be here — Brown is lucky to have us. It should act like it.
Sibeles Torres ’22 can be reached at sibeles_torres@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
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FRIDAY, MARCH 01, 2019
High score vaults Costa ’22 to top of Ivy League podium The first-year scored a 9.800 to snag her first Ivy Classic title, First Team All-Ivy Honors By TESS DEMEYER SENIOR REPORTER
“Layout first. Pop off the table.” Those are the words gymnast Mei Li Costa ’22 says to herself before she sprints down the strip of carpet that leads to a springboard and a vault table, a piece of equipment that resembles a giant tongue. At the Ivy Classic, Costa notched a career-high 9.800 to tie for first and help the Bears to a season best 48.550 on the event. Vault happens more quickly than beam, bar and floor routines, making it difficult for the untrained eye to fully observe. Costa’s near-perfect performance took less than 10 seconds to complete but, upon closer inspection, consists of multiple distinct elements. Before saluting the judges to signal that she is ready to compete, Costa jumps around to stay loose and receives a pep talk complete with two fist bumps from team co-captain Gabby Hechtman ’19. As the anchor of the lineup, Costa watches five of her teammates complete their skills before stepping up to perform her vault. First comes the all-important run.
Costa begins her trip down the runway with a slight skip, then steps with her left foot to initiate the explosive sprint she will need to generate power going into the springboard. She takes ten steps before hurdling into a roundoff a few feet from the board, where her feet will land to bounce her backward onto the table. This skill is named after the first woman to do it in competition, Soviet gymnast Natalia Yurchenko, and is very popular among collegiate gymnasts. The roundoff — a cartwheel that lands with both feet together — generates more speed and power, which Costa uses when pushing off the vault table to get as much air time as possible. Once airborne, Costa flips in a laidout position with her body perfectly straight. While flipping, she pulls her arms into her chest to initiate a 360-degree twist to the left. She rarely focuses on the landing, because if she tries “too hard to just stick it, (she) loses the rest of the vault.” Instead, she concentrates on going “as big as (she) can.” At the Ivy Classic, Costa had a small form break in her layout and took a step on her landing, but because she maintained control and kept her chest up, the judges only deducted 0.15 off the start value. In 2015, the NCAA devalued fulltwisting Yurchenko vaults from a 10 to a 9.950, meaning Costa is incapable
COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS
Costa’s Yurchenko vault earned the first Ivy win for a Brown gymnast since Caroline Morant ’17 claimed three in 2017. Costa was awarded First Team All-Ivy Classic Honors on vault and Second Team on the uneven bars. of scoring a perfect 10 unless she adds another 180-degree twist. But the extra half-twist may not be necessary, considering Costa put up a winning score without it. “She was higher and farther back than everybody else was in the field,” said Assistant Coach Jim Hayes. “She broke out her best, biggest vault, and that’s what won her the Ivy League title.”
That individual Ivy win was the first for a Brown gymnast since Caroline Morant ’17 claimed three in 2017. When Costa was called up to the podium in a tie for first place, she thought it was a mistake. After her vault, the scoreboard showed a 9.775, but the judges had actually given her a 9.800. The error went unnoticed until the award ceremony, where she thought
she tied for second. “They never called my name, and I was like, ‘Oh okay, they just forgot about me.’ I was just going to sit there,” she remembered with a laugh. “When they called my name for (first place) … it was a nice surprise!” In addition to the event title, Costa also picked up First Team All-Ivy Classic Honors on vault and Second Team recognition on the uneven bars.
CORRECTIONS The Feb. 28 article titled “University to add undergraduate certificates to curriculum,” stated that Dean of the College Rashid Zia received a PhD in 2001. In fact, Dean Zia received his undergraduate degree from the University in 2001. A previous version of the article also stated that a December 2018 faculty meeting saw the passage of a proposal regarding the certificates. In fact, it was a motion. The Herald regrets the errors. The Feb. 28 article titled “New apartments unveiled in Jewelry District” stated that Brett Swidey and Danny Michaelson work at Medtronic in Plainsfield, MA. In fact, Medtronic is located in Mansfield, MA.
!"#$#%&'()$*+',-'.(%/()0')&1'-*)( Tuition rates for graduate and medical programs at Brown University increased between the 2016 and 2020 fiscal years. $80000
M.D. Tuition Graduate Tuition
Dollars
70000 $63,082 60000
$57,112
50000 40000
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Fiscal Year Source: University Resources Committee Report
» TUITION, from page 1 Neither PhD nor MFA students pay tuition, so within the graduate school any increases in tuition affect master’s students, said Associate Dean for Master’s Education and Interim Associate Dean for International Graduate Students Shayna Kessel.“The University is concerned about the cost of master’s education; we are concerned about access to master’s education and the debt that students take on,” Kessel added.
Graduate Student Council President Alastair Tulloch GS said “most master’s programs don’t provide adequate or enough financial aid, especially for people who are coming from underprivileged families where they wouldn’t be able to support their education without taking out significant loans.” Although undergraduate tuition is increasing at the same rate as graduate tuition, master’s students will likely be affected “more so than undergraduate populations,” Tulloch said, “because there is no equivalent
SARAH MARTINEZ / HERALD
to the undergraduate Brown Promise,” which guarantees loan-free financial aid to undergraduate students with demonstrated financial need. While “unfortunately, the Graduate School does not have the resources to offset master’s tuition,” individual departments sometimes “offer small tuition scholarships” and “are really happy to support a master’s student in whatever way they can,” Kessel said. Locke said the University does not expect the tuition increase to affect “our graduate school populations.
People are going to see that linked to the increase in tuition and fees has been a significant increase in benefits.” For medical students, financial stress is “the hidden cost of medical school,” said President of Medical School Senate Peter Mattson MD ’20. Costs can pose particular burdens to students from “underserved backgrounds” along with those considering entering lower-paying fields of medicine, he added. “One of the things (the MSS has) been looking into is helping people with financial aid more (by) trying to improve the financial resources for students like connecting them to certified financial advisors that the Office of Financial Aid cannot provide,” Mattson said. Though the University “compared to most other places, is more generous” when it comes to providing financial aid, initiatives like free medical school tuition at New York University are “attracting applicants in higher numbers,” Mattson added. The tuition increase came after the University Resource Committee deliberated and voted in favor of the uptick, Locke said. The URC’s members include undergraduate, graduate and medical students in addition to faculty, staff and administrators. Locke emphasized that student members of the committee are “there as full members” and “have the same power, influence and voting status on that committee that I do.” Tulloch works to “keep in touch”
with the two graduate student representatives on the URC “to make sure the GSC is aware of what is being discussed at the meetings.” In addition, “we regularly meet with the deans of the graduate school, with the Provost, with the President, and we regularly bring up” topics such as tuition and stipend increases, Tulloch said. Kessel noted that graduate students are “really essential partners in this process.” In addition, Mattson and Tulloch expressed a desire for increased transparency in tuition deliberations. “This is something we’re talking about as a Senate, and we’re very aware that students want more transparency,” Mattson said. Tulloch noted that “transparency about process and consideration of how (tuition increases) will affect master’s students is something that the GSC is concerned about.” Looking ahead, a Brown Promise equivalent for m aster’s students “would be a worthwhile investment on the University’s part,” Tulloch said. Mattson said, “we can always do better with financial aid,” evidenced by the fact that “a lot of students, including myself, are going to leave medical school thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars in debt.” Tulloch added that the GSC is prioritizing “making sure that the University is supporting any student who would be interested in (graduate) programs, and providing the support for those programs so that financial aid can be provided.”