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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2019
VOLUME CLIII, ISSUE 1
Bats discovered in Sayles Hall CCB formal canceled after bat sighting, outside pest control company addresses issue By KAMRAN KING
By DANIEL GOLDBERG SENIOR STAFF WRITER
GRACE LI / HERALD
with one was two years ago,” wrote Director of Custodial Services Donna Butler in an email to The Herald. “Facilities Management has a contract with an outside pest control company.
Mayor launches menstrual product pilot program Four Providence Public Schools distribute free menstrual hygiene products to students By ALEX REICE SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Providence city officials announced the launch of a pilot program Feb. 20 that aims to make free menstrual hygiene products more accessible for Providence Public School students. The program aims to address stigma around menstruation and promote self-esteem in students, wrote Ben Smith, spokesperson for Mayor Jorge Elorza, in an email to The Herald. Elorza announced the program, which has a $75,000 budget for FY 2019, alongside Superintendent of Providence Public Schools Christopher N. Maher, Councilwoman Nirva LaFortune and the City’s Director of Healthy Communities Ellen Cynar. Four schools in the city — Hope High School, Classical High School,
INSIDE
Annenberg Institute rebuilds after mission shift Institute integrates with University, focuses on education inequality research
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
While setting up for the class of 2021’s Winter Formal in Sayles Hall last month, Lauren Reischer ’21 noticed “something swooping down from the ceiling.” Soon after the event began, it became apparent that there were three bats in the hall “swooping around despite the sound and the lights, so they clearly were not that afraid,” said Reischer, who was the public relations officer for the sophomore Class Coordinating Board at the time of the formal. The event was canceled after the bats were identified. “The unfortunate and unpredictable presence of bats in Sayles Hall that evening guided the decision by the (Student Activities Office) manager and student organizers to cancel the event,” Director of University Event and Conference Services Julie Haworth wrote in an email to The Herald. This is not the first time the University has addressed the presence of bats on campus. Bats “are a seasonal pest and the last time we had to deal
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DelSesto Middle School and Nathanael Greene Middle School — have installed timed dispensers carrying menstrual hygiene products in designated bathrooms, according to a press release. The program will eventually extend to all high schools and middle schools in the city once city officials have discussed details such as whether to include dispensaries in all bathrooms or just a few designated ones, Smith wrote. The mayor’s decision to launch the program comes after the city’s Healthy Communities office conducted a survey last year to “clarify needs of students,” Smith wrote. The study found that many students were unaware that menstrual hygiene products were available in the nurse’s office or felt uncomfortable going to the school nurse when in need. The study also found that many students or family members purchase the products themselves, with some students pointing to the products’ high costs » See PILOT, page 3
… In our experience, bats have been very uncommon in Sayles Hall,” she added. Though bats are infrequent » See BATS, page 4
Two years after the University decided to shift the Annenberg Institute’s mission, the institute — previously called the Annenberg Institute for School Reform — has begun rebuilding itself with a new focus on research and educational inequality. About two years ago, the University chose to transfer the entirety of the Annenberg Institute’s programs and most of its staff to other universities in an effort to align the Institute more closely with the University’s strategic plan, The Herald previously reported. While it has made some progress to actualize its new mission, Annenberg is operating under a tentative two-year timeline to implement the institute’s large-scale initiatives and projects, said Susanna Loeb, director of the Annenberg Institute and professor of Education and International and Public Affairs. Annenberg still has work to do before the institute is “in steady state.”
A New Mission Loeb’s appointment followed a 2017 University review of the institute, which resulted in the University’s decision to shift Annenberg’s focus away from school reform and community mobilization and toward educational inequality research, said Provost Richard Locke P’18. Warren Simmons, the former executive director of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, as well as four former Annenberg staff members told The Herald they did not support the University’s decision to shift the institute’s focus, The Herald previously reported. The University’s “core competence is research and teaching, not capacity building for community groups,” Locke said. He chaired the 2017 review committee made up of “faculty, senior University administrators and Annenberg Institute staff,” according to the committee’s executive summary. The institute’s new focus will allow it to “build stronger intellectual ties with academic departments” and University groups than before, Locke said. The new mission is also more compatible with Building on Distinction — the University’s strategic plan — as it » See ANNENBERG, BACK
University scientists accidentally discover new crystalline structure Researchers find new type of quasicrystalline structure with artistic applications By JOSHUA BRICKER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
When Assistant Professor of Chemistry Ou Chen and his team set out to study the structures formed by tetrahedral building blocks, they instead stumbled across an entirely new quasicrystalline structure. In a December 2018 paper, these researchers described how their tetrahedral building blocks — a block also known as a triangular pyramid — unexpectedly “self-assembled” into quasicrystals, a discovery first noticed by post-doctoral research associate Yasutaka Nagaoka, the paper’s lead author. A quasicrystal is a physical structure comprised of building blocks that do not align in traditional crystalline patterns. Though the discovery of this
COURTESY OF OU CHEN
When studying tetrahedral nanoparticles, Chen’s team discovered that the building blocks “self-assembled” into quasicrystalline structure. particular new quasicrystal structure was a “happy accident,” the applications of this research span the fields of chemistry, math, pattern design
and art. “People already have this type of pattern in their art. Their glass designs » See RESEARCH, page 4
WEATHER
MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2019
SPORTS Men’s hockey finishes eighth in ECAC, set to play Princeton in first round of playoffs
SPORTS Men’s basketball wins over Cornell after loss to Columbia in race to Ivy League playoffs
COMMENTARY Sachan ’22: New football league adopts innovative rules that NFL should consider implementing
COMMENTARY Editorial: U. should make RISD courses more accessible or improve art classes on campus
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NEWS
PAGE 2 • MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2019
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Men’s hockey falls to No. 5 Quinnipiac, Princeton at home Bears close out regular season with pair of losses, secure home ice for first round of playoffs By ALEXANDRA RUSSELL SPORTS EDITOR
Following a victory over Dartmouth on the road last Saturday, the men’s hockey team closed out the regular season with a pair of losses to No. 5 Quinnipiac University and Princeton at home this weekend. With the week’s results around the league, the Bears finished eighth in the ECAC and secured home ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs. Bruno will host Princeton again in a best-ofthree series at Meehan Auditorium this weekend. The winner of the round will advance to the quarterfinals next week. Brown 1, Quinnipiac 4 Friday night, Michael Maloney ’22 scored midway through the final stanza to bring the Bears (11-13-5, 8-9-5 ECAC) within two of the Bobcats (25-7-2, 14-62), but Bruno was unable to recover from a trio of first-period Quinnipiac goals. Alex Whelan opened scoring for the Bobcats with a shorthanded goal nine and a half minutes into the first frame, collecting the puck in the neutral zone and sending a shot past netminder Luke Kania ’21 blocker side to claim the lead.
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As the regular season came to a close, the Bears finished eighth in the ECAC. Bruno will host Princeton in a bestof-three series at Meehan Auditorium this weekend. The winner will advance to the quarterfinals next week. Quinnipiac widened its advantage with a pair of goals in the final two minutes of the stanza, as TJ Friedmann found the back of the net on a shot from the slot and Odeen Tufto sent a snap shot over Kania’s catcher. Following a scoreless second period in which the Bears killed off a lone penalty, Maloney put the team on the board halfway through the third stanza. Brent Beaudoin ’20 worked his way into the Bobcats’ zone and sent a pass to Maloney in between the circles, where Maloney launched a shot past goaltender Andrew Shortridge to narrow the deficit. Bruno pulled Kania for an extra skater with just over three minutes
remaining, but the Bobcats put victory out of reach for the Bears when Nick Jermain notched an empty net goal in the final minute. Brown 1, Princeton 5 The following day, Zach Giuttari ’20 scored in the third period, but the Bears were unable to mount a comeback after Princeton (10-16-3, 8-12-2) notched four consecutive goals in the final two frames. The teams exchanged blows, dueling to a scoreless first period. Chris Berger ’21 was granted a penalty shot after he was hooked in the Princeton zone early in the second stanza, but the Tigers’ goaltender Jeremie Forget denied the
bid to preserve the blank slate. Midway through the frame, Jake Paganelli redirected a shot into the Brown net to give the Tigers the first lead of the evening. Max Véronneau converted on a power play with less than a minute remaining to double Princeton’s advantage entering the third. Princeton struck again in the third period when Mark Paolini and Corey Andonovski scored within 32 seconds of one another on a four-on-four. Giuttari opened scoring for the Bears at the 12-minute mark, firing a one-timer past Forget to trim the deficit. Tommy Marchin ’19 and Tony Stillwell ’21 recorded assists on the play.
Income Inequality and Social Mobility: Data Meets Policy in Providence
Véronneau tapped in an empty net goal with a minute and a half remaining to seal the victory for the Tigers. “We weren’t over pucks a lot, we were reaching, we were stick checking instead of playing through people and we couldn’t get to the second opportunities,” said Head Coach Brendan Whittet ’94. “We have to make sure that we’re on top of that on Friday.” Following the weekend’s contests, the Bears look to reexamine and reinforce their systems. “We struggled a bit just playing as a team and didn’t stick to our structures, and I think it showed on the scoreboard in both games,” Maloney said. “It’s just something that we need to refocus, get back to the way we were playing before and fix by playoff time.” Bruno also seeks to remain focused and capitalize on the benefit of staying at its home rink in the first round of playoff competition. “We worked to get home ice, so if we’re at home, we have to use it to our advantage,” Whittet said. “You can’t play for large stretches like we did these past two games in the playoffs — there are no second chances.” “Obviously we want to win as quickly as we can in the series,” Giuttari said. “It starts with the first game, first shift — we just go from there.” The best-of-three series will take place at Meehan Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Face-off is at 7 p.m. each night.
a discussion featuring JORGE O. ELORZA
Mayor of Providence
JOHN FRIEDMAN
Professor, Department of Economics and Watson Institute for International and 3XEOLF $LJDLUV
moderated by CHRISTINA PAXSON
President
Monday, March 4, 2019 | 4-5:30 p.m. *UDQRLJ &HQWHU IRU WKH &UHDWLYH $UWV Martinos Auditorium 154 Angell Street 6SRQVRUHG E\ WKH -DPHV 0 DQG &DWKOHHQ ' 6WRQH Wealth and Income Inequality Project
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NEWS
MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2019 • PAGE 3
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Men’s basketball earns second-highest win total in program history Win against Cornell gives Brown more control over fourth, final spot in Ivy League Tournament By RYAN HANDEL SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The men’s basketball team entered this weekend in the thick of the Ivy League Playoff race — despite a disappointing loss to Columbia Friday, the Bears delivered with a victory over Cornell Saturday. The latter victory has given the Bears 18 wins this year, the secondhighest total in program history. The losses of Matt DeWolf ’21 due to injury and Desmond Cambridge ’21 from fouling out doomed Brown in a hard-fought 80-77 defeat by the Lions. But on senior night, the Bears put on a show, dominating the Big Red 75-51 to pull a game ahead of Cornell in the standings. The win gave Brown control of the coveted fourth and final spot in the Ivy League Tournament with two regular season games remaining. Bruno (18-10, 6-6 Ivy) started off on a bad note against Columbia (917, 4-8), as DeWolf went down with a head injury on the first possession of the game. He would not return for the remainder of the weekend. With DeWolf out, the Bears struggled to defend Columbia’s 6’10 Patrick Tapé throughout the game, as he finished with 16 points. The teams battled for control over the game for the rest of the half, with neither squad able to pull ahead. Brown headed to the locker room with a fragile 39-37
COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS
Joshua Howard ’20 drives to the hoop for a lay-up against Columbia Friday. After losing to the Lions, the Bears rebounded against Cornell Saturday with Howard posting 16 points. advantage. The Bears jumped out to a sevenpoint lead early in the second half, but Columbia went on a run to take a six-point edge with under five minutes left in the game. Cambridge hit two consecutive threes to tie the contest at 67, but he fouled out of the game immediately afterwards, sapping Brown’s momentum. It was all Columbia from there, as Lion guard Gabe Stefanini hit consecutive threes of his own. The Lions never looked back en route to a 80-77 victory. Despite the loss for Bruno, Obi
Okolie ’19 emphasized that the team knew it would be able to recover. “I don’t think it was difficult (to bounce back),” Okolie said. “We’ve had some tough losses this year already, and it’s a quick turnaround. … We just take the same mentality just to get the next one.” Desperate to stay in the running for an Ivy League Tournament berth after being upset by the previously last-placed Lions, Bruno looked to get back on track against Cornell (13-15, 5-7). Following a ceremony honoring seniors Okolie, Chris Sullivan ’19
» PILOT, from page 1 as a prominent obstacle. Without menstrual hygiene products, “many students miss or are late to physical activities, school and social engagements,” Smith wrote. Through this program, “we want students to be able to manage their period(s) and be able to change products as frequently as they need,” Cynar said, adding that she also wants students to feel “empowered by having their period,” rather than “ashamed.” Officials hope this program not only increases access to these necessary products but normalizes a conversation around menstruation. “I think the more that we say ‘menstruation’ and make access to menstrual hygiene products akin to any other basic health need, the more normalized it will be,” Cynar said. Issues regarding access to and stigmatization of menstrual hygiene products are prevalent throughout the country and world. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization estimates that periods and a lack of period products are a leading cause of missed school for 100 million high school-age girls worldwide, though there is not a wide body of research regarding the impact of menstruation on student absences in the United States, Hart wrote. But recently, there has been more public debate surrounding not only menstrual hygiene product access but also how these products are
and Travis Fuller ’19, Brown got off to a sluggish start against the Big Red. Cold shooting from the field caused the Bears to go down 26-21 with three minutes left in the first half, but a 12-2 Brown run to close the period put them in control as they headed to the break with a 33-28 lead. Bruno’s momentum never slowed for the rest of the game as they continued to pull away from Cornell. A four-point play from Zach Hunsaker ’20 sparked another extended Brown run as the Bears pushed their lead to 50-34. Brown commanded
the remainder of the half, eventually winning the Ancient Eight battle by a 24-point margin. With 11 seconds left in the game, Davis Franks ’22 used an emphatic jam to cap off the Bears’ 75-51 win. “It wasn’t always pretty for us on offense, but our defense fueled our transition game,” said Head Coach Mike Martin ’04 following the win. Joshua Howard ’20 was pressed into the role of Brown’s big man for the weekend due to DeWolf ’s injury. Despite only receiving clearance Thursday to return playing following a broken nose injury, Howard performed admirably, posting 16 points against Cornell to lead the Bears. “I didn’t really know how many minutes I was going to get, I just knew that when I stepped on the court … I was going to have to play hard,” Howard said of his return. Okolie provided another notable statistic Saturday by becoming the 30th Brown men’s basketball player to surpass 1,000 career points. “It was great, it was my first time playing with my whole family here,” Okolie said. The Bears will face two all-important conference matchups to end their regular season as they take on Princeton Friday and Penn Saturday. Sweeping this final weekend would guarantee Brown a spot in the Ivy League Tournament, but a loss would put their hopes of qualifying in jeopardy. “When this team’s backs are against the wall, I like our chances,” Martin said.
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taxed and which types are available to people who need them. The University is also tackling issues of menstrual hygiene product accessibility. Last year’s “Project Tampon,” organized by the Undergraduate Council of Students, brought pads and tampons to the student body for free.
UCS Secretary Vanessa Garcia ’20 drew comparisons between the city’s new program and Project Tampon, with both serving as a “fundamental step” in showing acknowledgement and support “of something that is bottom line human,” Garcia said.
NEWS
PAGE 4 • MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2019
» RESEARCH, from page 1 actually use a quasicrystal, but they don’t actually know that they’re quasicrystals, only that they have 5-fold symmetry,” Chen said. Quasicrystals are also widely used in frying pans and other cookware because of their high thermal conductivity. The crystals have ordered patterns with five-, ten- or twelve-fold symmetries that do not repeat and “should not exist in conventional crystallography,” Chen said, the study’s senior author. “There’s no repeating unit to fill a space. They only have rotational symmetry,” he added. “You can always use a square to fill a two-dimensional space without gaps. But you cannot use a pentagon to fill a space without gaps.” The researchers originally set out to investigate what happens when tetrahedral nanoparticles are packed tightly together. “We never designed this project around discovering a quasicrystal,” Chen said. The team chose to use the tetrahedron as a building block because it is the most simple shape aside from the sphere. “One day, Yasutaka was really
excited to see this irregular symmetry from an electron diffraction pattern, (and) that is how we made this discovery,” Chen said. The existence of quasicrystals was thought to be impossible prior to materials scientist Dan Shechtman’s 1982 discovery of the structures. Before his discovery, materials scientists and chemists alike thought materials could only consist of traditional crystalline structures with periodically repeating units. These units typically take the form of squares and triangles, among others. All other crystalline structures, including those with pentagons, were considered by scientists to be “forbidden.” Shechtman was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his groundbreaking work. “Looking at nanocrystals, we know that (they) can be self-assembled without any human inventions,” Nagaoka said. These crystals self-assemble as a result of inter-particle interactions and not because of any outside intervention. In the case of this research, a quasicrystalline lattice with 10-fold symmetry and decagonal — ten-sided — shape self-assembled from the
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD tetrahedral building blocks used by the researchers. “We do expect more structures from this tetrahedron. That’s definitely one direction we’re still exploring. Also, we are trying to make this building block more complicated,” said Hua Zhu GS, a co-author of the paper. Because quasicrystals are a relatively new field in materials research, these scientists are looking to pioneer work investigating a number of the crystals’ properties. “Because quasicrystals have unique structures, they probably have unique optical and chemical properties, which will further their potential application in the future,” Chen said. The team believes the research applications span multiple fields and disciplines. “What we propose in the paper is not only for chemists, but also for researchers in many fields, such as math, and for people who are not in science, such as artists. That is something we are proud of,” Nagaoka said. Touching on potential future applications of quasicrystals, Chen said that “there will be a lot more to discover because this work is very underdeveloped. More research needs to be done with quasicrystals.”
» BATS, from page 1 visitors to Sayles Hall, the chance that they have rabies necessitates a quick response. “Rabies is not common in the bats here,” said Professor of Biology James Simmons, who researches bats’ biological sonar systems. “Over the many years we’ve had bats in captivity (for University research), maybe half a percent of the bats have tested positive for rabies,” he said. But “rabies is one death per customer, so there’s no room for messing around,” he added. The bats in question, big brown bats, “live in houses and buildings, not caves around here,” Simmons said. Bats “want to be somewhere where the temperature is just above freezing so they can hibernate,” so “if it gets too cold they’ll move somewhere further into the building,” he added. University Organist and Senior Lecturer in Music Mark Steinbach has previously encountered bats in Sayles Hall. For instance, about six years ago, a bat disrupted a concert. “One of our students was playing a piano concerto
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and a single bat started swooping the full length of the hall. We’re artists, so we’re used to suffering under adverse conditions — the show must go on and on it did,” Steinbach said. Simmons noted that “this isn’t the first time (Sayles) has had bats, and we’ve, over the years, caught bats in a lot of Brown buildings.” Sayles Hall also houses the historic Sayles organ, which was unharmed by the bats. The morning following the cancellation of the CCB formal, “the ‘bat man’ went inside the organ to look, and we crawled upstairs, but he didn’t see any remnants of bats,” Steinbach said. Though the organ has “had spiders inside of the pipes before” and “rats can eat through the leather of the bellows,” the worst damage “for a pipe organ in today’s climate is” caused by dry heat or moisture, Steinbach said. “It’s hard to imagine that there would be bats living in the organ in a way that would damage it,” Simmons said. “I wouldn’t think they’d even want to live in the organ.”
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Construction is underway on the new Jonathan M. Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship at 249 Thayer Street. Students anticipate the opening of Shake Shack, which will be located on the first floor of the building. RELEASE DATE– Monday, January 23, 2012
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ACROSS 1 Thumbs-way-up reviews 6 Knocks with oneʼs knuckles 10 Not feral 14 Low-budget, in company names 15 Happily __ after 16 October birthstone 17 Hexes 20 Dined 21 Twosome 22 Heart chambers 23 Positive thinkerʼs assertion 25 Cleopatraʼs river 27 Surprised party, metaphorically 32 Beelzebub 35 Oboe or bassoon 36 Baled grass 37 “Jurassic Park” terror, for short 38 Meanspiritedness 40 Home plate, e.g. 41 Above, in verse 42 Apple computer 43 Showed on television 44 Destination not yet determined 48 Detest 49 Oscar-winning film about Mozart 53 End of __ 56 Yard sale warning 57 British mil. award 58 Beatles song, and a hint to the hidden word in 17-, 27- and 44Across 62 Opera solo 63 Like a steak with a red center 64 “That is to say ...” 65 Double O Seven 66 “P.U.!” inducer 67 Willy-__: sloppily
4 USNA grad 5 Slight trace 6 Symbol of financial losses 7 State firmly 8 For each 9 Málaga Mrs. 10 Best-seller list 11 Mimic 12 West African country 13 Jazzy Fitzgerald 18 Indian bread 19 “To your health,” to José 24 Big-screen format 25 Russian rejection 26 “Thatʼs clear now” 28 Angels shortstop Aybar 29 Sear 30 Operate with a beam 31 Kept in view 32 Halt 33 Zone 34 Alaska, once: Abbr. 38 Obscene material 39 Glazierʼs fitting
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Q U O T E O F T H E D AY
“We’re artists, so we’re used to suffering under adverse conditions — the show must go on, and on it did.” — University Organist and Senior Lecturer in Music Mark Steinbach
See bats on page 1.
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EndNote Tips and Tricks 12:00 P.M. Rockefeller Library, 160
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COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2019
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
The AAF is changing the game of football KSHITIJ SACHAN sports columnist CFL. USFL. PPF. IFL. If you’re anything like the vast majority of Americans, these acronyms mean nothing to you. If, however, you have way too much time on your hands, then you might know that these are the football organizations outside of the iconic National Football League. Now there’s one more to add into the mix, and we should all be paying attention. The newly formed Alliance of American Football kicked off its debut game just five days after this year’s Super Bowl. The AAF is aiming to be a spring league that can hopefully maintain a high enough level of play
tate: I. No kickoffs. Kickoffs have been shown to be the most dangerous play, with a concussion rate over double that of a normal play. Instead of a kickoff, every AAF possession begins on the offensive team’s 25 yard line. II. Limitations on blitzing. No more than five players can blitz at once, hopefully reducing the chance of a season-ending injury for quarterbacks. Further, the rules don’t seem to limit the defensive line’s ability to get a pass rush. III. Mandatory two-point conversions. Let’s be honest, nobody wants to watch kickers make an extra point. Field goals, the extra point’s older brother, are exciting because they usually occur in make-or-break moments, while extra points merely slow
“However, if the AAF wants to have a lasting impact, it needs to challenge the way we play football rather than promote a nostalgic replica of heavy-hitting football.” to become relevant and attract talented NFL hopefuls. But this fledgling league is not attempting to replicate the NFL. Instead, with the experimental latitude of a new league, the AAF has been unabashedly innovative — it is perfectly poised to have a lasting impact on how football is played. The AAF has been forward thinking in every way. Its main focus is on producing quality football by recruiting the best coaches possible, which includes hiring three talented female coaches. Moreover, as the dangers of football are becoming more apparent — chronic traumatic encephalopathy, irreparable joint damage, among other widespread injuries — we need to change how we play and think about the game. The AAF has several rules that the NFL would be wise to imi-
down the game. The AAF’s rule forces teams to keep quarterbacks on the field for two point conversions, which should result in more trick plays. IV. Faster play. The AAF’s 35-second game clock and sparse ad breaks should alleviate the stigma of football as a multi-hour commercial interrupted occasionally by players running around with the ball. V. New overtime rules. Who else was frustrated that the American Football Conference championship matchup was essentially won by a coin flip? Star Kansas City Chiefs’ QB Patrick Mahomes didn’t even get a chance to step on the field in overtime. New overtime rules guarantee both teams get a possession in overtime. VI. Sky judge. With the coolest name of any officiating position in
SUMMER ZHANG / HERALD
sports, the sky judge provides a safeguard against referees making incorrect calls. Having some sort of sky judge could have avoided the SaintsRams pass interference controversy that decided the National Football Conference championship game. VII. Replacement for onside kicks. Last season’s success rate for an onside kick in the NFL was a meager eight percent. Onside kicks are basically decided by how the ball bounces, so the AAF came up with a far more exciting — and less arbitrary — alternative. Teams get the ball on their own 28-yard line and have to get at least 12 yards on a scrimmage play. Teams can
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A Feb. 27 article titled “University event highlights complexity of Yemeni conflict,” misquoted Hafithe AlGhosain GS. The quote has been removed from the story. The Herald regrets the error. The Feb. 28 article titled “New apartments unveiled in Jewelry District” attributed a quote about the University’s “preferred marketing arrangement” with the building developer to O’rya Hyde-Keller, writer for University Initiatives and Student Life. In fact, Hyde-Keller had attributed the quote to Vice President of Real Estate and Strategic Initiatives John Luipold. The Herald regrets the error.
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Kshitij Sachan ’22 can be reached at kshitij_sachan@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@ browndailyherald.com and other op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
CORRECTION
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only attempt this when they are down more than 17 points or in the last 5 minutes of the game. These aggressive changes demonstrate the AAF’s desire to protect its players and make the game more exciting for fans. Along with these new on-field rules, the AAF is also focused on becoming increasingly transparent. A new policy allows networks to mic up coaches and even refs — fans are able to hear the decision-making process behind some of the most important calls in the game. While I question the AAF’s ability to showcase players who will actually make an NFL roster, these rule chang-
es should absolutely affect how NFL football is played. There is a precedent for smaller leagues to have a big impact on professional play. The XFL was the first league to broadcast from a skycam suspended on wires — now a staple of any NFL game. The NFL, similarly, adopted instant replay and the two-point conversion from the United States Football League. My one complaint with the AAF is its gladiatorial celebration of big hits. During opening weekend, Shaan Washington hit Mike Bercovici hard enough to send his helmet flying. Twitter blew up, and the AAF got an undeniable surge in popularity. But in the long term, commoditizing players’ health will not work. I’m not saying the AAF should attempt to fully legislate out big hits, but the league should be wary of allowing these helmet-flying hits. If the goal of the AAF is to make a quick buck, then a spectacle like this might prove effective. However, if the AAF wants to have a lasting impact, it needs to challenge the way we play football rather than promote a nostalgized replica of heavyhitting football. Keep your eyes on the AAF. Soon enough, the NFL might be looking to them for innovation.
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COMMENTARY MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2019 • PAGE 7
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
How to fix the Lakers GEORGE KLEIN sports columnist When LeBron James signed a fouryear, $154 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers last offseason, the traditional NBA powerhouse seemed like a sure contender in the Western Conference for years to come. With James staying long-term, a young core and the city’s attraction to stars, most assumed that the Lakers would be a threat to win championships. But those high hopes have certainly not come to fruition so far. After an unsuccessful trade bid for Anthony Davis, the Lakers are 30-33, 10th in the Western Conference, and James looks fed up with the team already. Is there any way to fix the Lakers? First of all, team president Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka must stop looking for shortterm solutions. Trading away Ivica Zubac for Mike Muscala was a perplexing move when announced and only looks worse as the days pass. Zubac, at the age of 21, is talented enough already to have a role on a playoff team, while still rapidly improving. This season, he has averaged 8.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game in just 16.4 minutes. Why trade a solid asset for Muscala, a journeyman three-point shooter who could never play major minutes in an important playoff game? Yes, the Lakers need threepoint shooting, but not at the price of a young starter when the team isn’t contending for anything this year.
The Zubac trade only compounded Johnson and Pelinka’s previous mistakes. The signings of Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, JaVale McGee and Michael Beasley were met by confusion from the basketball world, and deservedly so. James excels when surrounded by shooters and rebounders who work well off-ball — players like Kyle Korver, who can drill open shots set up
to sign the right role players in the offseason than try to chase them and give up assets. Beyond providing the right supporting cast for James, the Lakers must acquire another star to pair with him. At the age of 34, James hasn’t shown his customary bounce and suffered a groin injury that kept him out for a considerable period. Gone are the days when James could
tions. Los Angeles will have the cap space to add another max player: Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler and Kemba Walker could all look at the Lakers. Maybe even Kyrie Irving? Leonard and Irving represent LA’s best chance at creating a contender through free agency, since Butler and Walker can’t transform the Lakers on their own like the former two can.
With James staying long-term, a young core and the city’s attraction to stars, most assumed that the Lakers would be a threat to win championships. But those high hopes have certainly not come to fruition so far.
by James’ penetration, and Tristan Thompson, who secures extra possessions via the offensive glass. Why surround James with role players illsuited to his needs? Rondo and Stephenson especially need the ball in their hands to create and show little effort when not involved in a play. The lack of three-point shooters led Johnson and Pelinka to make the desperate Muscala trade. Far better
carry a subpar team deep into the playoffs. As mentioned before, the Lakers tried to trade for Davis before the deadline, but the Pelicans demanded a great amount in return — Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, other pieces and more than five draft picks. If New Orleans remains hesitant to trade with the Lakers, LA must look for free agent op-
James himself must adapt as well. In past years, he has taken to conserving energy on the defensive end of the floor, not expending much effort so that he can control the offense on every possession. But now, his defensive lapses are actively hurting the Lakers. After the team’s recent loss to Memphis, several video clips circulated of James standing around and providing little help, sometimes
blaming his teammates, as Grizzlies players made open three-pointers and dominated in the paint. James could change matters by playing more off-ball offensively, sacrificing on that end of the floor so he can participate on defense and actually guard opposing players. It wouldn’t hurt to show a little more patience with his teammates, too. Team chemistry is an important part of successful defense and pointing fingers after every play doesn’t help. In the end, the success of the Lakers will come down to how much Ingram, Ball and Kuzma improve. Ingram is already on the right track: He continues to get better each year, averaging 18.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game this season while wreaking havoc defensively with his long arms. The better those guys play, the more likely it becomes that New Orleans will actually accept a trade from the Lakers for Davis. And if a trade does not go through, Los Angeles will need the three as playoff starters. Leonard or Irving would solve most of the Lakers’ problems, but they remain unlikely targets. If the Lakers end up with Walker or Butler, at least one of Ingram, Kuzma or Ball must become a bona fide star to mount a championship team.
George Klein ’20 can be reached at george_klein@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@ browndailyherald.com and op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
EDITORIAL
Brown should improve partnership with RISD, arts offerings Recently, The Herald reported on the overlap between the start of the University’s spring term and the end of Wintersession courses at the Rhode Island School of Design. Brown students enrolled in RISD Wintersession courses described problems juggling the scheduling overlap. This concern is not isolated to Wintersession, as the standard structure of University classes is inherently incompatible with course scheduling at RISD. Because many studio art classes at RISD span upward of four hours and occur during the middle of the day, they rarely fit into a Brown student’s typical course schedule — ultimately detracting from the Brown-RISD partnership celebrated by the two institutions. Further, Brown-RISD dual degree students must cope with these scheduling conflicts on a regular basis. Given that the University promotes courses at RISD as an integral part of its art curriculum, Brown must either do more to facilitate student access to RISD or must enhance its own art offerings. Art exploration is a central tenet of Brown’s academic mission. Generations of students on College
Hill have benefited from the University’s unique emphasis on liberal learning exploration through the open curriculum. One of the 11 liberal learning goals, the personal development of “aesthetic sensibility,” encourages students to take courses that will allow them to develop “creative abilities in one or more art forms,” such as 3D design, dance, music or poetry. Thanks to Brown’s unique partnership with a world-renowned art and design college, students should be especially well-positioned to explore the creative study our learning goals emphasize. There is opportunity for an especially in-depth exploration of the creative arts during Wintersession, when students with busy academic schedules may find themselves more able to accommodate a RISD course. Unfortunately, there is a 15-day period in January when students enrolled must precariously balance shopping period with the end of their RISD Wintersession courses. This scheduling incompatibility may deter students from enrolling in Wintersession RISD courses or prevent them from fully
thriving in the courses if they do. Though the University has not intentionally placed hurdles in the path of its students, it needs to do more to ensure that RISD’s Wintersession and Brown’s spring semester can coexist in a manner that better serves its students. It would be advantageous for the University to engage in dialogue with RISD regarding Wintersession and inform the Brown community of progress on the issue. While the overlap of Brown’s spring shopping period and RISD’s Wintersession courses is troubling, the real problem extends much further than those 15 days. With the semester-long conflicts between course schedules at RISD and Brown, some areas of study are largely inaccessible to University students. For example, ceramics classes are not offered at Brown, and the basic pottery class offered at RISD is five hours, occurring twice a week in the middle of the day. In order to accommodate the two five-hour slots for the RISD course, students may be forced to sacrifice a number of their other academic interests. It should be ac-
knowledged that there is always a cost to enrolling in one class and not another, but the extreme limitations of two five-hour blocks put students who are interested in exploring ceramics in a particularly unfortunate bind. For the University to allow its students to have ample opportunity to fulfill the liberal learning goals, it must critically assess the barriers that Brown students face in taking creative arts classes. As the stucture of classes at RISD and Brown is admittedly challenging to reconcile — for administrators and students alike — a potential solution may have to come from within University course offerings. Beyond working with RISD to find scheduling solutions that work well for both RISD and Brown students, the University could also explore adding studio art courses to its Visual Arts department. While the option to take RISD classes should certainly remain open, exploring alternatives could be a great way to ameliorate the inaccessibility of certain subject areas. This way, students unable or unwilling to adjust their
course schedule to fit the demands of a RISD class would be able to explore their interests at Brown. As an institution that certainly acknowledges the acute pedagogical values of the arts, we need to work harder to eliminate hurdles that restrict Brown student access to art and design courses. The open curriculum plays a critical role in facilitating academic exploration in many subject areas. It should just as adeptly facilitate exploration in the arts.
Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board: its editors, Grace Layer ’20 and Krista Stapleford ’21, and its members, Elisheva Goldberg ’22, Eduard Muñoz-Suñé ’20 and Riley Pestorius ’21. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
NEWS
MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2019 • PAGE 8
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
» ANNENBERG, from page 1 advances “academic excellence in areas of pressing societal importance, such as … educational equity,” wrote Marisa Quinn, chief of staff to the Provost, in an email to The Herald. “We’re trying to think about (educational inequality) fairly broadly,” said Ellen Viruleg, managing director of Annenberg. Among potential areas within educational inequality research, the institute may focus on the educational access, teacher effectiveness and outside-of-school opportunities that shape student achievement and early life, Viruleg added. The new mission is “a different lens on how to approach the work,” Viruleg said. “We hope to do the same level of quality work that’s been done before … in a way that’s respectful and empowering to folks who do the work in different ways.” Currently, Annenberg is refining its research strategy and direction, building partnerships with the University and local schools and expanding its staff. The institute is also working to obtain research grants from the Spencer Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as working to determine how much of its work will be supported by the institute’s endowment, Viruleg said. The endowment currently supports about 75 percent of work at the Institute, she added. Annenberg’s website currently lists a staff of 29 people; however, only two staff members have remained with the institute since its transition — Stacey Ferreira, financial and operations specialist, and Mary Arkins Decasse, program coordinator. Ferreira did not respond to The Herald’s request for comment. The institute is looking to hire “between five and ten folks (for)partnership
University. “We could start to think together more systematically about whether we’re responding to the needs of the local area” and have a general unified goal, Loeb said. But the institute is “not there yet,” she added. The institute is also building connections with a new public policy center run by Adjunct Associate Professor David Yokum, as well as the A. Alfred Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions, Loeb said. Liu and Kathleen Lynch, another postdoctoral research associate, have been developing an “undergraduate fellow program in education and social policy,” Liu said. This program will train eight to 10 undergraduates in the “developmental skills” needed to be effective research assistants, Liu said. The training will begin summer 2019, and applications for the fellowship closed March 1. GRACE LI / HERALD
The Annenberg Institute recently moved into 164 Angell St., along with several other University programs. This new space will allow the institute to increase collaboration with the University’s Department of Education. work and other Annenberg initiatives,” which will be complemented by roughly three to four postdocs and three to four visiting faculty a year, as well as several undergraduate and graduate students, Viruleg said. Creating Local Partnerships Annenberg is building a partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Education and is “trying to make sure that the agenda” is mutually beneficial, Viruleg said. Annenberg does not have “community organizers on staff, like some of the good work that was being done” in previous years, Viruleg said.“I don’t think we’ll be doing (community capacity building) locally or across the nation,” she added. But the institute is looking to
“directly engage with” community organizations and start a dialogue on how its research can “be a meaningful part of the solution. But first we need to figure out what’s already underway and how we can build on it,” she added. The Providence Public School District is interested in partnering with Annenberg to study “personalized learning (techniques that) they have … implemented,” said Jing Liu, a postdoctoral research associate at Annenberg. As the institute has had just “one meeting with Providence Public Schools,” the partnership is “still in the very initial stage,” Liu added. The “specific topics” within Annenberg’s new research direction — as well as a significant portion of the staffing — will in large part depend on the status of the agreements made between
Annenberg and its partners, Loeb said. University Integration A large part of the institute’s new mission is to “build stronger intellectual ties with the academic departments, because before (the transition) there was very little interaction” between the Annenberg Institute and the rest of the University, Locke said. The institute and the University Department of Education now share the second floor of 164 Angell Street, which allows them to collaborate further, Locke added. The institute is also working to integrate faculty from departments like economics, political science, Africana studies and sociology into its work. Over the long term, the institute aims to become a hub for information about education initiatives at the
Research and Projects While the institute is still developing its overall research direction and strategy, members of the research team have been working on their own projects. All of the researchers currently on the Institute’s staff have “focused on issues of (educational) inequality” like teacher effectiveness, school finance and health, Loeb said. Loeb herself is directing a set of studies on “parenting for young kids” and has partnerships with schools in Los Angeles, Miami and Dallas; she also has “studies going internationally in the U.K., Denmark and rural China,” Loeb added. “We’re still trying to put some of (the) pieces together,” Viruleg said. But Annenberg is committed to its goal of conducting “grounded … rigorous research to influence peoples’ lives,” she added.