SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2019
VOLUME CLIV, ISSUE 30
BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM
METRO
Rhode Island to take control of PPSD Nov. 1 Brown University Community Council meeting covers public education, gift policy
BY DANIEL GOLDBERG SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Students evaluate Democratic presidential candidates
Watch parties feature discussion of impeachment, Sanders’ heart health
The Rhode Island Department of Education will officially take control of the Providence Public School District on Nov. 1, President Christina Paxson P ’19 announced to the community at the Brown University Community Council meeting Oct. 15. The takeover follows the release of a Johns Hopkins study detailing numerous critical problems pervading PPSD, The Herald previously reported. As part of the takeover, RIDE is now working toward appointing a new PPSD superintendent, and the consulting firm Ernst and Young is running a financial analysis of the district to determine the efficiency of its current allocation of resources, Paxson said. The University intends to focus its efforts and own role in the takeover of two schools in the district, and will determine the specific schools in coor-
UNIVERSITY NEWS
BY MORGAN MCCORDICK CONTRIBUTING WRITER
peated a sentiment he regularly shares with faculty and staff members. “You live in Providence, you need to send
Dozens of University students flocked to 85 Waterman St. yesterday for the Brown College Dems’ second primary debate watch party of the year. It was the fourth Democratic presidential debate in a primary race that has been cast as a contest between the progressive and moderate wings of the Democratic party, both of which are vying to offer the vision for a postTrump era.
SEE PPSD PAGE 8
SEE DEBATE PAGE 6
DANIELLE EMERSON / HERALD
President Christina Paxson P’19 spoke to the community at the Brown University Community Council Meeting Oct. 15. She expanded on Brown’s plans to support the Providence Public School District. dination with RIDE and PPSD, Paxson said. A steering committee will also be formed to run this “ten-year project,” although Paxson did not provide further details about that committee at
the meeting. When the meeting was opened up for community comments, Seth Rockman, an associate professor of history who is a parent of a PPSD student, re-
UNIVERSITY NEWS
SCIENCE & RESEARCH
New hire to help international students in U.S. job process
Chemistry professor honored for quantum work
ISP Coordinator to address international students’ need for career advising BY SOPHIE BUTCHER CONTRIBUTING WRITER Hiring began last week to fill a permanent new position for an all-purpose career advocate for international students based in the Global Brown Center, replacing a more limited pilot version of that role in place last year. The new coordinator will provide resources around professional development, career opportunities and visas to international students. Associate Dean for International Students Asabe Poloma said that she was excited about the progression of the search. “Within three days of posting, we’ve received over thirty applications, and this is picking up really fast,” she said. This position contributes to the University’s efforts to address challenges faced by international students in their search for work in the US after graduation. This role had its roots in a position
staffed last year by Divya Mehta ’18. The University was looking to improve programs for job-seeking international students; Mehta had, in her own words, “been there, done that.” She focused on “clearing misinformation about what international students will go through when they try to get a job in the US, particularly when they no longer have the F-1 permission after a year or after three years.” Mehta has since left the US for the London School of Economics because she had difficulty finding a sponsor for a visa for a different job. “Had it not been for the successful year we had last year” with Mehta, the Global Brown Center would not have been so eager to continue this role, Poloma said. Some University international undergraduates feel the need for enhanced advising capabilities around careers for internationals in America. The unwillingness of many American companies to hire and sponsor visas for workers from abroad frustrates Aanya Parikh ’21. “I’ve not been able to apply for a variety of different opportunities just because they are not okay with my international student status. I
SEE ISP PAGE 2
Brenda Rubenstein ’07 selected for Talented 12 Class of 2019, awarded $70,000 grant BY RAHMA IBRAHIM STAFF WRITER Brenda Rubenstein ’07, assistant professor of chemistry, was recently named to the Talented 12 Class of 2019. This exclusive distinction is given to researchers in varying chemical disciplines and from varying backgrounds to highlight their early-career work. Rubenstein was also recently awarded a Sloan Fellowship — a $70,000 grant given to researchers mainly in the fields of physical science “in recognition of distinguished performance and a unique potential to make substantial contributions to their field,” according to the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s website. The Talented 12 program started in 2015 as a way to highlight up-andcoming researchers. While the Nobel Prize acknowledges those at the peak of their career, the Talented 12 award signals to people that “this is someone you should be watching,” said Lisa Jarvis, Chemical and Engineering News senior correspondent. Rubenstein received this award
COURTESY OF BROWN UNIVERSITY
Brenda Rubenstein ’07 was named to the Talented 12 Class of 2019, which honors young researchers for contributions to their fields. for her research in stochastic electronic structure; stochastic refers to the random processes researchers use to calculate quantum numbers and represent systems of electrons. A quantum number represents a val-
News
News
Commentary
News
University renames Middle East Studies concentration as Center for MES. Page 2
Christy Turlington Burns presents on maternal care, mortality rate. Page 4
Lehrer-Small ’20: University should uphold commitments of Slavery and Justice Report Page 7
At monthly ACCRIP meeting, students debate for, against divestment Back
ue of a given property of a subatomic particle. Through her research, Rubenstein tries to refine a particular kind of stochastic process, known as Monte
SEE CHEM PAGE 4
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2019
UNIVERSITY NEWS
Middle East Studies program becomes Center at Watson Newly named center develops new initiatives, hires new faculty BY SARAH WANG SENIOR STAFF WRITER At the beginning of this semester, the Middle East Studies program was renamed the Center for Middle East Studies as it joined other regional centers within the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. The new name indicates the University’s permanent commitment to the concentration and grants the department greater visibility within and beyond the University for future growth and fundraising. Beshara Doumani, founding and former director of MES, said that since he joined the University in 2012, the concentration has grown into a center in everything but name. In the past seven years, the department has increased its number of faculty, taught more students at the University, attracted more concentrators and hosted numerous events on campus annually. The department began advocating to change its name to a center in spring 2018, according to Shahzad Bashir, MES director since 2018. The program’s new name as a center allows it greater formal recognition within the University and does not imply any change in department organization or substance, Doumani said. This recognition makes MES symmetrical with other regional studies within the Watson and provides a more legible way for its faculty and students to present themselves outside the University. “It’s like moving into a bigger apartment but already having all the furniture, all the people,” Doumani said. Beyond its naming as a new center, Doumani hopes that the innovative structure already defining the department can serve as a model for similar attempts outside the University. “We think of the Middle East not so much in terms of geography but in terms of … big topics and themes that we want Brown to be the best in the country
ISP FROM PAGE 1 believe that if I do not get sponsorship for my H-1B work visa I may not be able to stay back/work in the US,” she wrote in an email to The Herald. Parikh, who initially planned to double concentrate in Applied Mathematics and Economics, was delayed in switching to her preferred concentrations of International Relations and Economics because she did not fully grasp which classes contributed to a STEM visa extension. Meanwhile, Jennifer Xu ’20 found it difficult to know which college office to visit for help finding employment and found herself relying overwhelmingly on the internet. “It would be helpful if we were reached out to by the school, maybe during the (International Mentoring Program) period, during orientation or sometime freshman year. Just to walk us through what are some of the STEM majors, and then what are the implications of doing a STEM major as opposed to a non-STEM major,” Xu added. She said that she would also appreciate hearing from international alums about the paths they took after college.
ELI WHITE / HERALD
While the content of the Middle East Studies concentration will remain the same, the name change symbolizes a more permanent commitment by the University to MES, as well as more potential for further growth and fundraising opportunities. at,” he said. These topics and themes are addressed by six recent research initiatives that aim to develop new subfields by raising funds to endow designated professorships. This year, MES hired Paul Kohlbry, a postdoctoral fellow in Palestinian Studies. “We have the first chair ever in the country — if not the world — in Palestinian studies,” he said, adding that the University could serve as a worldwide center for the field. In addition, the department has hired Samine Tabatabaei, a specialist in contemporary art, as a visiting asssistant professor in Iranian Studies. The Center intends to develop academic
scholarship focused on other areas as well. Bashir wrote in an email to The Herald that CMES also plans to “expand Turkish studies and create new programming concentrating on Istanbul.” The center will also host a variety of events throughout the year, including conferences about North Africa, music concerts and topical events on Syria and the Sudan. A new faculty steering committee was also established within CMES. The committee consists of professors from departments across the humanities and social sciences. “Looking to the future, we remain committed to the innova-
tive and collaborative spirit that has characterized MES at Brown so far,” Bashir wrote. MES concentrators are looking forward to the increased student resources and opportunities for faculty collaboration that the center will bring. Ryan Saadeh ’20, an MES undergraduate fellow, said he was excited about the concentration’s change from program to center. “As a student, this is exciting not just in terms of commitment to academic resources and support for undergraduates but for the expansion of breadth of programming, events and opportunities,” he said. Benjamin Chiacchia ’20 said he has
felt the growth of the department with each passing year and appreciates the unique, interdisciplinary courses he has been able to take in MES. Although he focused on history for most of his time in the concentration, toward the end of his junior year he began to take comparative literature, anthropology and art history classes all related to the Middle East. “It’s cool that you can approach this geographic and demographic construct from multiple angles in a way that not every concentration is able to,” he said. “It is a unique opportunity and one that I really relish being able to experience.”
The new coordinator will reach out to students earlier in their college careers to address that common concern, Poloma said. Poloma has a personal interest in facilitating international students’ U.S. job application; while studying as both an undergraduate and graduate student in the US, she was an international student on an F-1 visa. She recalls “applying to more jobs than I even care to remember, and just how discouraging and utterly demoralizing that process was.” She hopes that the newest member of the Global Brown team will make the transition to working life in the US less difficult for international students. Poloma suggested the new coordinator may also enhance the lives of members of the broader University community. One of the goals of the position is to “support Brown faculty, staff and other students in terms of cultural competency and really thinking about the global assets that we have as a community, including our international students, and how we can leverage that so that our campus climate is inclusive,” she said. SUMMER ZHANG / HERALD
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2019
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
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ARTS & CULTURE
Project VOICE brings Sarah Kay ’10, Phil Kaye ’10 back to Providence
COURTESY OF TAYLOR LENCI
Kay ’10 and Kaye ’10 were united by their shared cultural backgrounds and passion for spoken word poetry. The longtime friends and performance duo co-direct Project VOICE — a program which brings poetry to schools to empower students.
Alum slam poetry partners to perform at local Columbus Theater Oct. 18 BY KAHINI MEHTA CONTRIBUTING WRITER Poets Sarah Kay ’10 MAT’12 and Phil Kaye ’10 met at a first-year talent show at the University. “I was getting ready to go on, … and they said, ‘Oh, you’re Sarah’s brother,’” Kaye said, remembering his performance at the talent show during first-year orientation. Kaye was confused. Then he overheard a conversation backstage and realized another performer’s name was Sarah, and that her last name was also Kay. After chatting, the duo found that both of their mothers were Japanese, and their fathers Jewish. “So, we look vaguely similar to each other, which is a weird thing. And we’re the only two people doing spoken word poetry at the talent show,” Kaye concluded, summing up the string of coincidences culminating in their meeting. On Oct. 18, Kay and Kaye will return to Providence to perform at the Columbus Theater in a spoken word performance presented by Project VOICE, an educational poetry organization that Kay and Kaye co-direct. The two still remember the night they met, which was only a glimpse of collaborations to come. Sarah Kay: Finding a VOICE Kay’s lifelong love affair with words can be traced back to her high school years. “I fell in love with poetry in school, when I was 14,” she said. “It became a huge part of my identity. … At some point, around my sophomore year of high school, I realized that the other kids I knew felt a lot of frustration and anger about not being heard,” she said.
As a spoken word poet, Kay had the opportunity to stand up and speak to a crowd of adults every week, so she did not share those feelings. She was determined to share this with others. She wrote a collection of poems and convinced her friends to perform them with her at her school — all so that poetry would seem like a popular art form. “Which was definitely not the case,”
strategy. I think of poem as a verb,” she said. She taught poetry workshops after hours at Hope High School and joined the University’s spoken-word poetry group WORD! with Kaye. Fellow poet Franny Choi ’11, a former member of WORD! and Project VOICE teaching artist, attested to the long-lasting friendships formed within the group. “In my junior year, a fellow student who I was very close to passed
Kaye also worked with Space in Prison for Arts and Creative Expression (SPACE), a group in which he facilitated poetry workshops with his friend, Tomas Landes ’11.5. SPACE is “a program out of the Swearer Center that focused on giving art workshops to inmates in Rhode Island’s female and male detention facilities,” Landes wrote in an email to the Herald. “We spent a lot of time together talking about workshops,
she can always find her way to me.” Kay captivated her audience with a fascination that lasted long after her final words rung out around the auditorium. The video now has 5.6 million views on YouTube. Opportunities began to flood in after Kay’s TED performance. In another one of their collaborations, Kaye and Kay recall their fateful meeting: “And we swear, we’re not related, and we’ve never dated, and we’re
she laughed. “But they went along with the ruse. And we did a performance that everyone in high school could see.” Then she brought professional poets to teach workshops and organized her school’s first open mic night for students. “That was the original version of Project VOICE.” Kay founded Project VOICE — the same program which brings Kaye and Kay back to Providence this week — in 2004 to educate and empower students through poetry. Still, she was not set on pursuing poetry as a career. She came to the University as a chemistry major, before ultimately switching to modern culture and media. “My original plan was, I would take a year off in between college and film school. And in that year, I would perform and teach at anywhere that would have me,” she said. “And then, eventually get a grown-up real job.” Remembering how poetry was just another one of her many extracurriculars, Kay reflected on finding her career while at the University. “A lot of times, you know, kids that go to Brown are arriving, hoping that by the time they graduate, they have a clear vision and cause and passion. And sometimes it works out that way. ... Four years is somehow both a ton of time and not nearly enough time.” Kay emphasized that her path was never set in stone, but resulted from her changing aspirations that stayed true to her passions. At the University, Kay explored her affection for verse, which allowed her to “use poetry as like a puzzle solving
away suddenly. I remember that Sarah came over with a big book of poems by Rumi,” Choi wrote in an email to The Herald. “I held onto that book pretty fiercely as a source of healing and strength. ... I’m grateful to be able to count (Sarah) as a friend for so many years,” Choi added. “She was in many ways, my first link to a larger community of poets.”
working with inmates and our unique experience seeing the insides of the criminal justice system,” he added. At its baseline, Kaye regards poetry as a humbling art form. “I think being a human is hard. ... I want people to leave our poetry feeling at least a little bit more empathetic,” Kaye said. “I’m constantly learning new definitions of what poetry can be and how it can operate.” Kaye offered advice: “Write as much as possible,” he said. “This is the easiest time to write... You have the least pressure. And you just get to write what’s on your mind and see what happens,” he continued. “Write when it brings you joy.” Finally, he urged students to “find a community of writers, and Brown in particular is an amazing place to do it.”
never, ever going to,” they state in “An Origin Story.” The poem was written at the University, on the eve of a show that the two had organized and invited a community of poets to speak at. They still recall being nervous about the show, and eventually deciding to put together a small piece to open it. Now, while performing, the pair takes care to shape their shows to their audience, performing the poems they think will be well received. “So as I’m performing poems, I’m learning about where an audience is at. Are they in the mood to laugh? Are they being thoughtful and quiet? Are they jittery and you know, scattered?” Kay explained. On Friday night, they will do this in Providence. “Providence and Brown has meant a great deal to both of us in our friendship and working relationship, and also just as individuals,” Kaye says. “It’s always held a special place in my heart.” Kay also fondly recalls her time in Providence — remembering trips to Bagel Gourmet and savoring Meeting Street Cookies. While at the University, she wrote a song about Providence, which can still be found online. “There’s a very embarrassing video of me singing it, which I somewhat am horrified by, but also, specifically Brown kids will love,” she said. Both poets are excited to take the Columbus Theater stage on Friday at 8:00 p.m., performing in Providence together for the first time since their undergraduate careers.
Phil Kaye: Writing for joy Kaye spent his time at the University also exploring diverse interests, ultimately graduating with a concentration in urban studies. “The open curriculum really allowed me, at a young age, to ask myself what I was drawn to and to create that intellectual path.” Kaye, too, did not intend to pursue poetry professionally, despite nurturing his fascination with crafting and performing poems throughout his youngadult life. At WORD!, Kaye found a community of like-minded individuals who pushed each other artistically and emotionally. “Poetry is such a personal, vulnerable act that it can be a hard one to get feedback on.” He found a solution to that challenge in Sarah and in the WORD! cohort. “I had fallen in love with spoken word poetry already before Brown but didn’t realize when I came into it that there was already this thriving poetry community,” Kaye said. “It gave us permission to explore ourselves, and explore our voice, and develop it together as a community.”
Performing together In their second year at the University, Kaye and Kay began working together on poetry workshops and performances. At that point, both considered bringing poetry to others through careers in education. It wasn’t until their final year that Kaye and Kay both decided to pursue poetry as a profession. “It was hard at first,” Kaye said. “I think that the huge break was Sarah spoke at TED in 2011,” he said, referring to Kay’s viral performance of her poem, “If I should have a daughter.” Kay began her talk by reciting these lines: “If I should have a daughter, instead of mom, she’s going to call me Point B / because that way she knows that no matter what happens / at least
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2019
UNIVERSITY NEWS
Event spotlights rising U.S. maternal mortality rate Every Mother Counts founder, Women & Infants OBGYN discuss obstacles to care BY ISABEL INADOMI SENIOR STAFF WRITER Community members packed into a room in the List Art Center Tuesday evening to learn about the maternal mortality rate in the United States — a figure that has more than doubled over the last two decades. “Women report constantly that they’re not listened to, that they’re ignored, that they’re told to leave,” Christy Turlington Burns, founder of nonprofit Every Mother Counts, told the audience. She added that fear of seeking care can be exacerbated when other factors, such as immigration status or substance abuse habits, are taken into account. Tuesday’s event included a film and an accompanying panel featuring Burns and Erika Werner, director of the division of maternal-fetal medicine at Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island. The film is part of a series entitled “Giving Birth in America,” which chronicles the challenges of pregnancy throughout the United States. The film focused on California and recounted the story of an immigrant mother during pregnancy and childbirth. Burns was inspired to create the film series after conducting research about the United States’ maternal health in comparison to other countries’. She told the audience that the United States’ maternal mortality ratio dropped from 41st in 2003 to 55th in 2019. The United States has the worst mortality rate for maternal health of the 11 most “high-income” countries in the world, according to a December 2018 Common Wealth Fund study.
CHEM FROM PAGE 1 Carlo methods. “You can think of Monte Carlo methods as mathematical tricks,” said Tong Shen, a second year PhD student in Rubenstein’s lab. Monte Carlo methods allow researchers to generate numerous random samples of possible molecule combinations, which help accelerate the process of determining electronic structures and understanding possible properties of materials. The method eliminates a slower process — solving numerous mathematical problems called functions — and instead analyzes the ratio of atoms in
DANIELLE EMERSON / HERALD
Christy Turlington Burns led a conversation about the importance of proper care to expecting and new mothers. Burns has previously conducted research about the maternal mortality rate in the United States, which is the highest among the world’s wealthiest 11 nations. “That questioning and that interest is what got me this series, ‘Giving Birth in America,’” she said. Both Burns and Werner described a number of factors that they believe contribute to the incidence of maternal deaths in the United States. They pointed to the rise of chronic health conditions like obesity and hypertension in addition to racial disparities in maternal complications that have become increasingly evident. Burns said that though the evidence and data about racial disparities in ma-
ternal mortality rates has existed for years, she has noticed increased publicity on the topic as of late. “In the last couple of years, what has been exciting about the additional media attention and the stories that are rising to the surface is that it’s something we really can’t look away from,” she said. The panelists also highlighted the connection between poor maternal care and the United States’ health insurance system. Werner said that almost 50 percent of pregnancies in the United States are unintended, which can
lead to deficiencies in preconception counseling and information. Insurance complications can also prevent women from seeing a doctor during their first trimester and from receiving care after childbirth. “The insurance issues lead to a system where we’re very reactive and not very proactive,” Werner said. “All of these are reasons why we keep getting worse and not getting better.” Burns stressed the importance of extending health care to mothers after childbirth. “Most of these deaths are
happening postpartum,” she said. “It just emphasizes how important it is to continue, as long as you can, care for moms.” The event was co-sponsored by the School of Public Health, the Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation Institute and Every Mother Counts. Patrick Vivier, director and executive committee member of the Hassenfeld Institute, emphasized that the work done by Every Mother Counts, which focuses on maternal health, is “critically important.”
relation to that function. “In principle, you could get everything from that (ratio),” added Daniel Staros, a first year PhD student in the lab. Rubenstein is trying to push the boundaries of the Monte Carlo methods by using them to model larger systems, like heavy elements and dense matter. She wants to create a more efficient way of understanding and predicting structure, which is critical information for chemists and physicists before they can use materials. For example, if researchers want a material that can conduct electricity, they must find a molecule whose quantum property allows that process to occur. Quantum property
refers to the interaction of particles at the subatomic level. The early exposure from the Talented 12 has resulted in significant opportunities for many recipients, including an invitation to the board of the National Institutes of Health for one award-winner. “We’ve seen that people have benefited from getting this attention early on,” Jarvis added. The Talented 12 program is run by the American Chemical Society’s weekly magazine, CE&N. Nominations for the award occur over a span of about eight months through a combination of online forms and staff nominations. The committee typically receives nominations for over 370 individuals. After
the staff narrows the list to around 70 names, members perform extensive research and offer interviews to colleagues of those nominees. Rubenstein said that she did not know that she was receiving the award until she was interviewed three months prior to the award announcement. “I still don’t know who nominated me.” “(The award) highlights some of the hard work I’ve been doing in the theoretical field. Other people know me more for my collaborations,” she said. In one project, Rubenstein tried to store huge amounts of information, sometimes gigabytes, in organic molecules. Then she tried to get the molecules to perform functions that she
hoped would be used for drug discovery and modeling proteins. “People know me for that,” she added. As an undergraduate, Rubenstein conducted research in Professor of Chemistry and Physics Richard Stratt’s lab for two and a half years, so she knows most of the faculty in the physical science department. This allows her more collaboration opportunities. As a message to undergraduates, Rubenstein said: “Look for your passion, think creatively, as all Brown undergraduates do, and keep up the good work. You will encounter lots of ups and downs, but you’ll be rewarded at the end.”
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2019
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | TODAY
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Faculty and Staff Flu Clinic 9:00 A.M. Sayles Hall
Lunch with Credit Karma 12:00 P.M. CareerLAB
LingLangLunch Seminar Series 1:00 P.M. Metcalf Research Building
Brendan Fernandes Artist Talk 5:00 P.M. List Art Center
TOMORROW Gallery Exhibition: ’20 Honors 8:00 A.M. List Art Center
#BrownTweetUp 10:00 A.M. Watson CIT
National Pasta Day Buffet 11:30 A.M. Faculty Club
Brown Bag Concert 12:00 P.M. Sayles Hall
Q U OTE OF TH E DAY
S U D O KU
“We think of the Middle East not so much in terms of geography but in terms of … big topics and themes that we want Brown to be the best in the country at.”
—Beshara Doumani, former director of MES SEE MES PAGE 2
WHE N I N W RI STON . . . RELEASE DATE– Monday, October 20, 2014
CR O SDaily SWO RD Los Angeles Times Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Toast spreads 5 Head-andshoulders statuette 9 Charitable sort 14 Cain’s victim 15 Lotion additive 16 “Drab” color 17 Ashram authority 18 Agent Scully on “The X-Files” 19 Rubber tree product used in paint 20 “What is our flatware made of, Lone Ranger?” 23 Pea container 24 “Sonic the Hedgehog” developer 25 NFL scores 28 Red, White or Black 30 Reddish-yellow 35 Toward the ship’s rear 36 “What does it take to succeed in Hollywood, Tonto?” 39 Quahog, for one 41 In the past 42 Write with acid 43 “What makes up my mane, Roy Rogers?” 48 Environmental prefix 49 Meryl who played Julia Child 50 Nine-digitnumber issuing org. 51 Bad-mouth 52 Rock concert gear 55 CBS forensic drama 57 Start of the “Mister Ed” theme song, and hint to who is asking 20-, 36and 43-Across 64 North Carolina fort 65 “It’s a __!”: “Easy!” 66 Abound 67 Quotable Yogi 68 “Canterbury” story 69 Eve’s mate
70 Bakery array 71 Google find 72 VAIO PC maker
53 Orkin targets 32 Pre-eminent 54 Mount in Exodus 33 Designer Aldo 34 Spirit of a culture 56 Greek i’s 57 Field of expertise 37 With 38-Down, 58 Quaint “Listen!” yuletide quaffs DOWN 59 Fairy tale baddie 38 See 37-Down 1 Sporty English 60 Crystals in a 40 G.I. field ration autos shaker 44 Riot squad’s 2 Lie against 61 Change the supply 3 Nothing more decor of 45 Readings on 25than 62 Actor Connery Down: Abbr. 4 Drink inelegantly 63 Television award 5 “I wouldn’t do that 46 Bloodhound’s 64 “Doctor Who” quarry if I were you” network 47 Unthinking 6 __ Bator 7 Top 40 numbers ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: 8 Poke fun at 9 Cents partner 10 One of five Norwegian kings 11 Evening, in ads 12 Above 13 Tyrannosaurus __ 21 ABC drama about a missing plane 22 “__ Rhythm” 25 Dials next to speedometers, for short 26 C sharp equivalent 27 Step in a flight 29 Jai __ 31 Blackjack half 10/20/14 xwordeditor@aol.com
By David W. Cromer ©2014 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
REBECCA HO / HERALD
10/20/14
The Classics clash in this epic duel between Roman emperor Caesar Augustus who presides over the land of the Greek program houses. The answer may lie in the Ratty salad bar options: Caesar or Greek?
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2019
DEBATE FROM PAGE 1 Students headed to the College Dems’ watch party eager to hear about how the 2020 contenders felt about the recent impeachment inquiry against President Trump — with many of them hoping that it would not overpower discussions about policy. The group most frequently applauded the contributions from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who has risen to the top of the Democratic field in recent national polls. In contrast, the punch lines from Andrew Yang ’96 fell flat in the room, often met with silence. “I think Elizabeth Warren did a good job,” said Jed Fox ’23, who has not yet decided who will earn his vote. “I just think she had the most coherent responses.” An Oct. 2-3 Herald poll of 1,000 Brown students found split candidate preferences among those who plan on voting in the Democratic primary. The poll found Warren to be the most popular candidate on campus — with 24.2 percent of students polled responding that they would vote for the senator if the Democratic primary were that day. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) garnered the second-most responses with 12.2 percent, and Yang came in third with 10.1 percent of student support. The Tuesday debate was the first time the majority of 2020 Democratic candidates were in the same room since House Democrats launched an impeachment inquiry into President Trump. The move to formally investigate the president followed a whistleblower complaint alleging that Trump had asked the Ukrainian president to investigate former vice president Joe Biden. “It is definitely an important issue that we have to discuss because the things Trump has been charged with definitely need to be considered,” said Ben Lipson ’22, political director for Brown Dems. “I have faith in the Democratic candidates to have these discussions” Students listened carefully to Biden’s response to the whistleblower revelations. On the debate stage, the former vice president framed Trump’s attacks against him as proof that he
REBECCA HO / HERALD
Students gathered at 85 Waterman Street to watch 12 Democratic presidential candidates speak about why they are best suited to lead the nation and take on President Trump in the general election next November. could “beat him like a drum” in the Samy Amkieh ’21, an organizer for and donation numbers last month. “She just shines in debates, it’s hard to general election. The remark elicited a Brown Students for Bernie, did not The Brown Dems were not the only really expect a lot more,” he said. weak applause from the student crowd. think Sanders’ recent hospitalization ones to host debate watch parties. The For Gus Stephens ’20, President of According to the Herald poll, only 8.7 should be cause for concern. “It’s a Brown Political Review, Machado’s Lat- Latinx House, the debate was a chance percent of students polled would vote very common procedure,” Amkieh said. inx House and Students for Warren also for the house to engage with the prifor Biden if the Democratic presidential “He’ll put it to bed during the debate.” hosted students to watch the debate. mary debates and celebrate the end of primary were that day. Nationally, the Although the qualification requireMarianna Scott ’21, an edi- Hispanic Heritage month. “We decided former vice president has a polling av- ments for the debates have grown tor-in-chief of BPR, said she wanted to make this our way of staying civically erage of around 29.4 percent, according increasingly stringent, the stage was to see the candidates “spend more time engaged after the month,” he said. “One to RealClearPolitics. packed with 12 candidates, two more on things I think are really, really im- thing that came up in the discussion Watch party attendees were also than were present in September. Both portant issues, like foreign policy.” She of hosting the debate was that there is eager to see how Sanders would per- Tom Steyer — the billionaire former walked away from the evening satisfied one Latino candidate on the stage, but form in his first national event since his hedge fund manager who launched his with the quality of discourse on stage, it is nice to see some representation.” campaign confirmed he suffered a heart campaign in July — and Tulsi Gabbard she said. attack Oct. 1. During the debate, Sand- — the Hawaiian congresswoman who Nathaniel Pettit ’20, one of the orga—Additional reporting by Dylan Clark ers assured voters that he was “feeling recently threatened to boycott the de- nizers in the Students for Warren group, great!” Students applauded in response. bate — barely met the requisite polling praised Warren’s preparedness on stage.
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2019
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | COMMENTARY
7
Revisiting the Slavery and Justice Report BY ASHER LEHRER-SMALL ’20 STAFF COLUMNIST
In October 2006, a committee made up of faculty members, undergraduate students, graduate students and administrators presented a report to then-University President Ruth Simmons. The report, entitled Slavery and Justice, detailed the University’s historical relationship to slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. At the time, the investigation — and the University’s formal response delivered the following spring — were the first major efforts by a university to address its complicity in the institution of slavery. The report proposed a number of recommendations as steps toward justice. Now, over a decade later, what progress has the University made? The short answer is that Brown has followed through on some of its commitments, but has let others fall to the wayside. The longer answer is that most institutional changes are multi-layered and involve more gray area than black or white. It can be hard to evaluate exactly how much progress Brown has made — and to evaluate whether that progress is “enough.” I don’t aim to give a comprehensive evaluation of Brown’s response to the Slavery and Justice report. Instead, I hope to start a conversation that collectively considers Brown’s obligations and follow-through. Students and faculty should hold our University accountable to its commitments made in the wake of the Slavery and Justice report. This piece summarizes some key findings of the report, reviews the central commitments our University made in its 2007 response and evaluates the actions Brown has taken to follow through. For many students, the body of the Slavery and Justice report may be eye-opening. Students ought to know some of the complicated history of their institution. The report details Rhode Island’s, and Brown University’s, economic dependence on the slave trade. For much of the 18th century, sixty percent— and in some years more than ninety percent — of North American slave trading voyages came from tiny Rhode Island. In 1764, the year that Brown University was founded, Rhode Island had more than thirty operational distilleries producing rum that was exchanged for captives in West Africa as a part
of the infamous “triangle trade.” Those in the state who didn’t work directly in the slave trade often still contributed to it. The report shows that as a part of the Rhode Island economy, Brown University profited from the slave trade. It received gifts from individuals who had made their fortune through the slave trade, and at least four enslaved men labored to build Brown’s first building, University Hall. Confronted with this information, what did the University do? In its formal response, Brown committed to twelve action steps. Here
to as many as 10 admitted graduate students per year who, after successful completion of a master’s degree in teaching or a master’s degree in urban education policy, agree to serve in Providence-areas schools or surrounding area schools for a minimum of three years.” The Urban Education Fellows Program offers loan forgiveness to graduate students in the Urban Education Policy program and for teachers in the MAT program in return for a commitment to work for three consecutive years in the Providence urban core after graduation. This option helps train effective educators and incentiviz-
“Students and faculty should hold our University accountable to its commitments made in the wake of the Slavery and Justice report.”
are six of the key commitments they made, along with the actions I see that the University has or has not taken to uphold them.Some promises have been upheld, others have lacked follow-through: 1) The University “will undertake a major research and teaching initiative on slavery and justice.” In 2012, Brown opened the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice. The CSSJ promotes research into the links between slavery and present-day phenomena such as mass incarceration and de facto segregation in public schools. It hosts events on campus, sponsors research efforts by faculty and students and coordinates exhibits with museums across the world. This work is invaluable. The CSSJ should be proud of its contributions and should continue to uphold its mission. 2) “The University will provide free tuition
es them to stay in Providence. With the Urban Education Fellows program, Brown followed through on its original commitment. Scaling up this program would only increase its impact. 3) “The University will disseminate the report and make it accessible to anyone … free of charge.” The Slavery and Justice report is available for free online. But distribution of this report has fallen short of the committee’s vision. The original report recommends that the University “circulate (the report) widely among students” and “include discussion of the University’s historical relationship to slavery as a normal part of freshman orientation.” Many Brown students graduate without being aware of the report’s existence, and that should change. 4) The University will work with city and state officials “to determine how this history should be memorialized in the state, city and on
College Hill.” In 2014, the University erected the “Slavery Memorial,” a sculpture by Martin Puryear, on the northern corner of the Quiet Green. A plaque recognizes that “Brown University was a beneficiary of (the slave) trade.” This physical monument memorializes Brown’s complicated past. But it is accessible only to those who enter campus. Thus, Brown has made concrete steps toward memorialization, but must still do more. 5) The University will “maintain high ethical standards in investments and gifts.” In spring 2017, students called for divestment from Citizen’s Bank for its support of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investment Policies agreed to address the issue the following fall. There is no mention in ACCRIP’s 20172018 Annual Report about this issue. Separately, the committee chose to take no action on Brown ACLU’s request to divest from holdings in private prisons. This lack of response to student-brought ethical concerns appears to represent nothing other than business as usual in Brown’s investments. 6) “The University will raise a permanent endowment in the amount of $10 million to establish a Fund for the Education of the Children of Providence.” Brown has failed to follow through on this commitment. Twelve years later, the fund has raised only $1.9 million. Though the University has explained that they contribute more to the public school district per year than the endowment would have provided annually, a recent Boston Globe article pointed out that many of these contributions pre-dated the promise of a $10 million fund. Here too, Brown must do more to maintain its commitment. In actively recognizing its historical ties to slavery with the original Slavery and Justice report, Brown took an important step. But the report was only a start. The University has had significant successes, but still has work to do. Students must understand the commitments our University has made. Only then can we push Brown administrators to fully follow through. Where the University has already reached its goals, it’s on us to ask “what’s next?” Asher Lehrer-Small ’20 can be reached at asher_lehrer-small@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@ browndailyherald.com and op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
8
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2019
UNIVERSITY NEWS
Students debate divestment at ACCRIP meeting New working group member to attend ACCRIP’s monthly meetings BY OLIVIA BURDETTE SENIOR STAFF WRITER Students spoke for and against University divestment from companies allegedly contributing to human rights abuses in Palestine at a public meeting of the Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investment Policies yesterday. The meeting came as ACCRIP continues to solicit information about the University’s investment in companies that potentially cause social harm. At the meeting, Professor of Medical Science Chi-Ming Hai, chair of ACCRIP, said that before the committee begins to examine specific companies for divestment, “We ought to look at whether the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory qualifies as ‘significant social harm.’” In order to recommend divestment, the committee must find that a company is contributing to social harm, which its charter defines as “the harmful impact that the activities of a company or corporation have on consumers, employees, or other persons or on the human or natural environment.” In response to a request from Hai, members of student group Brown Divest showed slides detailing information about Israeli detainment of Palestinians and arguing that Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory violates international laws. Brown Divest is demanding University divestment from “companies complicit in human rights abuses in Palestine,” according to the group’s Campaign Handbook. After the presentation, Hai concluded that the committee needs to “understand a little bit more about daily life in Palestine and how Israeli control causes harm to the community.” He also asked Divest to send him more of their research on the topic. Hai emphasized that even if ACCRIP votes to support Divest’s proposal to pull funds from companies like Boeing, Caterpillar and RE/MAX, “we don’t have to go along with everything on (Brown Divest’s) proposal.” “If the committee feels that just one
PPSD FROM PAGE 1 your kids to PPSD. And when you don’t, you cause harm to our community.” He also voiced his criticism with the University’s decision to focus resources on specific schools rather than the district as a whole. “I worry about the way in which this creates, effectively, Brown charter schools,” he said. The University also intends to speak with staff and faculty members like Rockman that are parents of children who attend PPSD schools, although Paxson did not describe what this process would look like or what would be discussed.
HERALD FILE PHOTO
At ACCRIP’s first meeting of the academic year, members of the committee and students discussed whether Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories constitutes social harm. ACCRIP Chair Chi-Ming Hai facilitated a conversation between student groups for and against divestment. company necessitates divestment, I think we could make that recommendation,” Hai said. Students against divestment action also brought their concerns to the attention of the committee. “This conversation is very one-sided and has only allowed for one point of view to be shared,” said Micaela Raviv ’20, president of student organization Brown Students for Israel. “This is a conflict that is deep and personal to so many of us on both sides of the issue.” Raviv said that though the divestment referendum passed in March, only 27 percent of the student body voted in favor of divestment. She hopes to “present to ACCRIP why Divest is harmful to our campus community, and why ACCRIP should not recommend Divest’s proposal.” One student also encouraged AC-
CRIP to consider the perspective that divestment is a form of antisemitism, which Hai said was a concern he would explore in future meetings. “The question of antisemitism is absolutely a real issue that should be considered in Brown Divest and whether or not the committee goes forward with their actions,” said Jon Mallen ’22. Brown Divest member Ben Bienstock ’20 argued that antisemitism is frequently used to discredit pro-Palestine activism. “As a Jewish person, I stand in solidarity with everyone who wants to fight against antisemitism, but we have been nothing but respectful and open in the way that we have conducted ourselves,” Bienstock said. “This is a campaign about Brown’s investments and how they deal with companies that are conducting human rights abuses in
Palestine, which is an entirely different topic.” At the meeting, Hai also requested that a member of the new working group formed last week to consider options to replace ACCRIP attend the committee’s monthly meetings moving forward. The idea for the working group was put forward and agreed upon at a community forum last week, which was held to discuss a now inoperative proposal to replace ACCRIP with an Advisory Committee on University Resources Management. The working group will consist of students, staff and faculty members and will work to create “a proposal for what is going to become of ACCRIP,” said James Morgan, chair of the Faculty Executive Committee, at the ACCRIP meeting. The FEC sponsored last week’s forum, along with the
Undergraduate Council of Students and the Graduate Student Council. Hai said that once the working group is fully formed, it will be useful to have a representative from the group at ACCRIP meetings in order to “have a little bit of continuity.” “Nobody knows down the road whether issues from ACCRIP will become the issues for discussion” in ACCRIP’s replacement committee, Hai said. Morgan announced that the FEC, GSC, UCS and the Staff Advisory Council will soon be soliciting interested members for the working group. He hopes that the working group will have a proposal for a new committee in time for ACCRIP to be replaced by the end of the academic year.
The Annenberg Institute will work to better inform the PPSD’s decision-making process by researching issues selected by the district, RIDE and other local partners, said Ellen Viruleg, managing director of the Annenberg Institute, at the BUCC meeting. When a research center hopes to aid a community, it is important to prioritize “following the lead of your (community) partners,” Viruleg added. Betsy Shimberg, director of student development at the Swearer Center, highlighted the center’s current programs in PPSD, such as the Brown Elementary Afterschool Mentoring program. BEAM has shown considerable
success at William D’Abate Elementary School, where students who participated in the program demonstrated significantly higher scores on math and reading exams than non-participating students, as well as higher attendance percentages, Shimberg said. In conversation with Rhode Island Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green, the University has already announced its plan to create programs for teachers’ professional development, The Herald previously reported. Additionally, they hope to strengthen student tutoring and resources like school libraries at the two yet-unidentified schools, Paxson said.
The University also seeks to increase college access pathways for PPSD students by collaborating with the Community College of Rhode Island, The Herald previously reported. At the meeting, Paxson also outlined the University’s gift acceptance policy, stating that the University intends to make the policy more transparent and accessible to the public. The University recently announced it would be redirecting gifts made by the Sackler family’s foundation, La Fondation Sackler, The Herald previously reported. Paxson also addressed the controversy surrounding reports that Massachusetts Institute of Technology had
secretly accepted gifts from Jeffrey Epstein.“We would never use anonymity as a shield” for a donor, she said. The University’s acceptance of a gift “does not imply nor mean that the University endorses … the donor’s views, opinions, businesses, or activities,” according to a slide during her presentation. Paxson also summarized results from the 2019 AAU Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Misconduct,, released Oct. 15, on campus sexual assault. She said that while reports of sexual assault had increased slightly, campus awareness of University resources had increased significantly.