SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2019
VOLUME CLIV, ISSUE 41
METRO
METRO
Couple turns Subway into family operation
Wyatt board approves controversial agreement Wednesday vote prevents facility board from terminating contract with ICE
Masnyks savor time running Subway franchise on Waterman street for six years
BY OLIVIA GEORGE SENIOR STAFF WRITER
BY HENRY DAWSON SENIOR STAFF WRITER
During a public meeting Wednesday evening, activists turned their backs on the board overseeing the Wyatt Facility. tribal agencies” such as ICE and erodes any community oversight that previously existed. The vote was originally scheduled for Sept. 16, when the board abruptly postponed the vote over unspecified “concerns” before moving into closed session, The Herald previously reported. The version of the agreement approved Wednesday evening includes slightly different language than the document under consideration in September, but there were no substantive changes discussed during Wednesday’s public meeting.
UNIVERSITY NEWS
BY KAYLA GUO SENIOR STAFF WRITER Student collective RailRoad presented to the Undergraduate Council of Students on Wednesday evening, outlining its proposal for the University to make its hiring policies more inclusive of people with conviction histories. The Council also gave updates on committee work, the UCS Fall Poll, Project Tampon and other initiatives. RailRoad is asking that the University adopt “fair chance hiring” practices, such as including conviction history in its non-discrimination statement and committing to hiring a certain number of people who have been incarcerated. In addition to advocating for amendments to the University’s hiring policies, the group aims “to ensure that the (University) hire and retain an impactful number of people with past convictions, and to institutionalize support and inclusion of formerly incarcerated
“The UMB Financial Corporation’s forbearance agreement is still, substantively, a horrifying document,” said Aaron Regunberg ’12, Never Again Action organizer and former state representative, at the public meeting. “None of its inhumane elements have been materially changed.” The vote’s delay followed a series of clashes between community members calling for the facility’s closure and representatives of the Wyatt, who have struggled to address public outcry,
SEE WYATT PAGE 4
2013, a chaotic day that Mariusz can recall clearly. “Baptism by fire is the best. If you can get through the worst part of your life in something that you’re starting, you can do everything,” he said. After the business settled down, the couple adjusted to a steady routine. Anne oversees the finances and point-of-sale for the shop, and Mariusz takes care of operations: employees, stock and equipment maintenance. “What I like about this is I’m with family. It really means a lot,” Mariusz said. The Masnyks, who married in the summer of 1982, met when Mariusz, the son of two Polish immigrants, was a sophomore at Providence College, and Anne was attending Bay Path College. At the time, Mariusz held three jobs, Anne two. Prior to opening the Subway, Mariusz spent the majority of his time working in insurance for 25 years before traveling around the country as the risk claims manager
SEE SUBWAY PAGE 4
ARTS & CULTURE
RailRoad pushes U. to disregard conviction history in hiring UCS also discusses Project Tampon, Fall Poll at Wednesday meeting
The Subway tucked on Waterman behind the Sciences Library is more than just one of the franchise’s many quick stops. It’s a local, family-run business and an opportunity for its owners, Anne and Mariusz Masnyk, to connect with each other. Inside, their Subway is neat and by-the-books. Puffy chip bags sit regimented on the rack. Huge photos of tomatoes and bread hang on the walls. Beyond the stock decorations, little spots of personality dot the store. Behind the register, a laminated sign reading “Brown Wrestling” is stuck to the wall, autographs clustered around its edges. The Masnyks have operated the Waterman Subway since Sept. 11,
OLIVIA GEORGE / HERALD
community members,” according to their presentation. “For people who are coming out of incarceration, oftentimes getting that first job is the hardest part,” said Leah Shorb ’20, one of the representatives from RailRoad. RailRoad has worked since last fall to “build a world beyond prisons, and support people and communities affected by the prison industrial complex,” according to a petition presented at the meeting. The group’s petition also demands that the University revise its institutional background check policy so that it only conducts background checks for positions that legally require them and only considers convictions when they may be directly related to specific job responsibilities, Shorb said. RailRoad also advocates for University partnerships with local nonprofits, such as OpenDoors RI which provides “services and advocacy to people with criminal records,” according to its website. Such a partnership would “institutionalize support” for organizations committed to helping formerly incar-
SEE UCS PAGE 6
Lecture honors late professor, poet Feinsod ’04 discusses C.D. Wright’s use of poetry to address societal issues BY KAHINI MEHTA STAFF WRITER Each year since the unexpected passing of C.D. Wright in 2016, the late professor of literary arts has been honored through a lecture in her name. On Tuesday, Harris Feinsod ’04, associate professor of English and comparative literary studies at Northwestern University, delivered the third annual C.D. Wright Lecture, titled “Fifth and Final Cycle: C.D. Wright’s Americas.” The lecture series was established by Wright’s husband, Forrest Gander, professor emeritus of literary arts and comparative literature. It was “really important to (commemorate her) at Brown, where she gave much of her life to students who came to the University,” Gander said. Wright taught at Brown for 33 years. While at the University, she received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2004 and won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry in 2011, among other
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DANIELLE EMERSON / HERALD
Feinsod, a professor of comparative literature at Northwestern, spoke on how poetry can give voice to common crises of our time. honors. Gander told The Herald that the lecture series was inspired by the annual reading of George Oppen’s poetry at San Francisco State University. “I really admired how a place where he lived for much of his life honored him and remembered him. And that was kind of a good model for this lecture,” Gander said. Through the lecture series, Gander hopes to introduce students to Wright’s poetry and address how her decades of work relate to themes of contemporary poetry at large.
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The board overseeing the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility voted to continue its contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and set in motion a process for the potential sale of the facility during a public meeting Wednesday evening, as activists turned away in protest. The vote at the facility’s gymnasium approved a revised forbearance agreement with UMB Bank — which is structured to alleviate the financial problems of the Central Falls facility. The bank is a trustee for bondholders who claim they are owed an excess of $100 million, The Herald previously reported. Supported by three of the four board members who were present Wednesday, the agreement prevents the 770-bed prison from terminating any of its “service contracts with any federal, state or
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Gander and faculty from the Department of Literary Arts unanimously chose Feinsod to deliver this year’s lecture. Feinsod’s writing focuses on the Atlantic region, and his latest book, “The Poetry of the Americas,” details the relationship between Latin American and North American poets. “C.D. was very interested in Latin American poetry,” Gander said. “In fact, the last trip that she came back from was to Chile.” Gander described Feinsod as a poet and scholar who is
SEE WRIGHT PAGE 6
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