SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2019
VOLUME CLIV, ISSUE 54
UNIVERSITY NEWS
BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM
UNIVERSITY NEWS
Grad students rally for improved benefits
Faculty talk history of presidential impeachment
SUGSE Rally attendees share personal experiences, deliver letters to Paxson BY LI GOLDSTEIN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
AREEZ KHAN / HERALD
Professors on the panel contextualized current proceedings by reflecting on impeachments of former presidents Johnson, Nixon and Clinton. Taubman Center Director Susan Moffitt moderated the panel.
U. panelists examine history, policy implications of impeachment BY SARAH WANG SENIOR STAFF WRITER As the presidential impeachment hearings unfold in the nation’s capital, the political science department
and the Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy brought the conversation to College Hill. In a faculty forum Tuesday evening, the panelists discussed various aspects of the impeachment process ranging from its history, the Congressional rul es and processes that govern it and the process’ political and policy implications. Moderated by Susan Moffitt, director of the Taubman Center and associate professor of political science
and international and public affairs, the forum’s speakers were professors Richard Arenberg, visiting professor in the practice of political science; James Morone, professor of political science and urban studies; Eric Patashnik, professor of political science and public policy; and Wendy Schiller, chair and professor of political science. The panelists reflected on the
ARTS & CULTURE
‘Luscious’: four decades of artwork by U. professor Bell Gallery exhibition features oil paintings, drawings by Wendy Edwards BY CLAIRE LIU CONTRIBUTING WRITER In the lobby of the List Art Building and within the David Winton Bell Gallery, works rendered in oil paints and soft pastels adorn the walls in a bold embrace of color. This retrospective exhibition of work by Professor and former Chair of Visual Arts Wendy Edwards opened at the Bell Gallery last Friday. The packed opening celebrated four decades of Edwards’ artwork and teaching, bringing community members as well as Edwards’ family, friends and current and former students to List. Titled ‘Luscious,’ the exhibit showcases 56 paintings and drawings that Edwards has created since arriving at
the University. The exhibit features only a small selection of Edwards’ large oeuvre, which totals to around 1,000 works. In the opening’s introduction, Director of the Bell Gallery Jo-Ann Conklin, stated: “We have (strived) to demonstrate the breadth and depth of Wendy’s practice, which is marked by her masterly use of color, her exploration of the physicality of media and her vibrant commitment to a feminist vision.” Edwards has been teaching at the University since 1980 and will retire in June. This year, her final classes include VISA 1310: “Beginning Painting,” which she taught this semester, and VISA 1340: “Accessorizing Painting: The Exalted Surface” which she will lead next semester. She was the first female professor in the Department of Visual Arts, and has since significantly contributed to increasing the representation of female and minority artists and faculty in the department.
SEE LUSCIOUS PAGE 3
SEE IMPEACH PAGE 3
Graduate students rallied on the steps of the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center Tuesday to reiterate demands for a union contract that would improve benefits for graduate student workers before delivering a book of letters from community members to the office of President Christina Paxson P’19. Tuesday marked one year since University graduate students voted to unionize. Since then, the union, known as Stand Up for Graduate Student Employees, has started negotiations with the University toward a collective bargaining agreement with aid from the American Federation of Teachers, its union affiliate. “Today, we are negotiating with the administration to have a contract that respects our work, that gives us living wages, health care that meets the needs of a diverse community
(and) respect for conditions of work that we face every day,” said Jeffrey Feldman GS in his introduction at the rally. Assistant Vice President for News and Editorial Development Brian Clark wrote in an email to The Herald that the University and SUGSE “have reached tentative agreements on a number of provisions important both to graduate students and to the University. On other topics, we continue to negotiate vigorously and in good faith.” Earlier this fall, graduate students protested a proposed measure from the National Labor Relations Board that would exclude graduate students from classification as employees of their universities, The Herald previously reported. By the start of the rally, SUGSE had collected over 275 letters of support from University community members, including graduate and undergraduate students, parents, faculty and staff, according to Audrey Massmann GS. Massmann read various letters speaking to the value of graduate students not only in their fields of study
SEE SUGSE PAGE 2
SCIENCE & RESEARCH
U. researchers analyze Hepatitis C spread Mosquito disease transmission contributes to new mathematical model BY JACK WALKER CONTRIBUTING WRITER To better understand and analyze how Hepatitis C spreads in communities through injection drug use, University researchers compared the spread to a similar means of disease transmission mosquitoes. Hepatitis C is a viral infection that can spread through contact with contaminated blood, a spread occurring with increasing frequency among communities where injection drug use is common. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the estimated number of cases of acute Hepatitis C reached close to 44,300 in 2017. This project created a mathematical model that documents the spread of Hepatitis C in injection drug-using
communities by treating it as a vector-borne disease, or a disease that uses an environmental intermediary like a mosquito to transmit infectious pathogens into an organism. The research was led by senior author of the study and Assistant Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Brandon C. Ogbunu. The team also included University researchers Miles Miller-Dickinson and Victor Meszaros and Professor Salvador Almagro-Moreno of the University of Central Florida. The model is an ordinary differential equation, which uses the averages of populations in its calculations. It allows for the calculation of how many people will be infected at the outbreak of the disease and is more simple and tractable than its predecessors. The model also allows researchers to examine how reducing the number of needles in a community affects the spread of Hepatitis C. Ogbunu has long held an interest in vector-borne diseases and the
SEE MOSQUITO PAGE 3
ELLA ROSENBLATT / HERALD
Arts & Culture
Commentary
Metro
TODAY
TOMORROW
Seth Meyers chronicles joys, challenges of fatherhood in Netflix special “Lobby Baby.” Page 2
Shanmugam ’23: Government should outlaw exploitative tobacco industry. Page 6
Mayor Elorza launches #ThinkPVD campaign to support small businesses, encourage shopping local. Back
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2019
TELEVISION REVIEW
‘Lobby Baby’ Netflix special reveals Seth Meyers’ vulnerability
COURTESY OF NETFLIX
Meyers, who hosts “Late Night with Seth Meyers on NBC,” made his stand-up comedy debut in a special which premiered Nov. 5 on Netflix. Meyers joked about the challenges of fatherhood and recounted the memorable baby delivery stories of his two sons. The show provides a humanizing and vulnerable look at Meyers outside of his talk show persona.
Seth Meyers’ standup special delves into personal, includes ‘skip politics’ button BY KAITI YOO SENIOR STAFF WRITER On Nov. 5, late-night talk-show host Seth Meyers released his Netflix special “Lobby Baby,” which marked his stand-up comedy debut. In the special, Meyers dons a sweater and jeans, a drastic departure from the attire of his “day” job. He acknowledges his fish-out-of-water state: “I know it can be very jarring to see someone out of context. … It might be weird to even be seeing my legs right now!” Meyers quips, referencing his latenight persona — a suit behind a desk.
SUGSE FROM PAGE 1 but also in the University community at large. Describing her own experience in the field of ecology and evolutionary biology, Massmann emphasized that “graduate women at Brown should not have to choose between a career in science and motherhood.” In addition, she said graduate students should be able to pursue harassment complaints outside of the University’s Title IX office. Attendees of the rally heard testimonials from various graduate students, who shared how they have been personally affected by a lack of contractually regulated working conditions. David Herrera GS, a graduate student in the department of political science, entered the University with
“Lobby Baby” is Meyers’ first stab at stand-up, so the first 20 minutes understandably get off to a slow start. Meyers opens with a joke only relevant to Minneapolis, where the special was filmed, in which he juxtaposes the city’s complex name with the duller one of its twin city, St. Paul. This joke is primarily directed at the live audience before him and not his broader Netflix viewership. The rest of his introductory banter is similar, tackling topics that only resonate with niche portions of his audience. But Meyers is eventually able to capitalize on this pent-up momentum — delivering a heartwarming ode to his wife, Alexi, and detailing the chaotic parenting of their two sons, Ashe and Axel. By incorporating his loved ones, he expertly impersonates and manipulates the perspectives of his family to ultimately poke fun at himself.
Meyers fully throws himself under the bus while retelling his rocky wedding planning experience. Specifically, he lets the audience in on his reaction to his wife telling him she had food poisoning the day before the wedding. “I did something called mansplaining — which, uh, if you don’t know what that is, uh, ladies — it is when a man with no shared experience to what you’re going through tells you what is actually happening.” His ironic insertion of the word “ladies” immediately elicits cheers and uproarious laughter, a crowd-sourced token of appreciation for his self-awareness. Later, with the recount of his two sons’ outrageous baby delivery stories, Meyers only continues to elevate his wife onto a much-deserved pedestal. In amazement of her persistence and strength, he confides in us: “I have never felt more like a sidekick to some-
three pre-existing medical conditions and was recently diagnosed with sleep apnea, the bills for which have posed a significant financial burden for him. Herrera said that “better pay and better medical insurance” on the part of the University would empower graduate students to prioritize their health. Babak Hemmatian GS, a fifth-year PhD candidate in the department of cognitive, linguistic and psychological sciences, has “done all of the different kinds of work that make Brown a leading educational and research institution,” he said. “My passion doesn’t devalue my labor.” Melody Chapin GS of the department of music said that though she was initially impressed by the University’s health care coverage for graduate stu-
dents, after just one year she was given “three weeks of turnaround time and fair warning to scramble and figure out what my new situation would be when Brown suddenly … decided to change (its) provider.” Chapin struggled to balance the mounting pressures that came with being a second-year graduate student while also finding sufficient health care coverage to insure that she would be able to receive insulin, which she depends on as a type 1 diabetes patient. Following the student speeches, the crowd of rally attendees marched into University Hall repeatedly chanting the word “contract” as they approached Paxson’s office to deliver the letters.
one else.” While his first son was nearly born in an Uber while Alexi screamed “I do not like this!” the whole ride to the hospital, his second was born in the lobby of Meyers’ apartment, surrounded by five firemen and seven policemen. Meyers then continues on his self-deprecating streak, describing his disappointment with the fact that his son had already met “twelve kick-ass dudes” instantly cooler than his own father within the first fifteen minutes of his life. In telling a dramatic story of a common human experience — childbirth and fatherhood — Meyers earns the audience’s approval, humanizing himself by revealing that he is more imperfect, or vulnerable, than his polished, late-night persona. As a tribute to “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” Meyers incorporates a small politics section into the night’s
agenda. In supposed consideration to the viewers who might not want to hear about the topic, he introduces a feature unprecedented in a comedy special: a “Skip Politics” button that appears at the bottom of the screen. The button does exactly what it claims, with a Meyers-style twist. Upon clicking, viewers are indeed transported past his mainly Trump-centered monologue but are also nudged into a witty ruse that is guaranteed to pique their curiosity enough to rewatch the very portion they skipped. This manipulation of the digital medium was original, ironic and certainly memorable as one of the best moments of Meyers’ special. Overall, “Lobby Baby” expertly engages with themes of family, love and humility, coating them in the snappy sarcasm that Meyers consistently masters time and time again.
TIFFANY DING / HERALD
Graduate student protesters marched into University Hall chanting “contract” as they delivered letters to Paxson’s office.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2019
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
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IMPEACH FROM PAGE 1
VICTORIA YIN / HERALD
Professor and former Chair of Visual Arts Wendy Edwards’ exhibition, ‘Luscious’ opened last Friday, showcasing 56 of her paintings and drawings. Edwards has been teaching at the University since 1980.
LUSCIOUS FROM PAGE 1 In an interview with The Herald, Conklin stressed the challenge of selecting which pieces from Edwards’ large body of work to include in the show — given the limited space of the gallery. “We started by saying, what couldn’t we possibly do the show without? Which ones absolutely have to be in? Then we started adding things in to balance everything out.” Signature aspects of Edwards’ work can be seen throughout the exhibit. In a conversation with curator Ruth Fine during the opening, Edwards touched upon a series of drawings titled “Iceberg,” which involves three framed depictions of icebergs hung on a pink wall. Bright red pastel outlines the shapes
MOSQUITO FROM PAGE 1
in Visual Art, was a student of Edwards as an undergraduate. Evans, who was double-concentrating at the time and considering dropping visual arts, described the life-changing impact that Edwards had on her. When she confided in her professor, Edwards responded with full support for the young artist. “And I believed her. I dropped the (other) major, I got into grad school because of her and I’m an artist because of her,” Evans said. Fine, who curated the exhibit with Edwards and Conklin, echoed Evans’ sentiment: “So many students state that Wendy changed not only their art, but their life. That she taught them not only how to make paintings, but how to summon the depth and discipline to be a painter.”
value, actively decreasing the number of any needles used for injection drugs in a population might help stop the spread of disease. But this approach fails to consider the detrimental outcomes which may arise from offsetting the ratio of needles, Ogbunu said. The researchers acknowledged the stigma surrounding drug use and the barrier it places between people and necessary help. The idea that people who are using drugs may need aid from the community could be conceived by some as a radical notion, Ogbunu said. Additionally, the prevalence of Hepatitis C in rural areas that have limited access to safe injection sites and limited needles in circulation is much greater. The dissemination of knowledge about safe drug use and more specialized efforts in rural areas will prove to be necessary steps to
further prevent the spread of disease, Ogbunu said. Future work aims to account for variations within communities to create more accurate results. When using an ODE, “everyone’s kind of clumped in the same population, and you kind of have to average over a number,” Miller-Dickinson said. “In reality, different folks will have different sharing networks.” By modeling the spread of disease in specific communities, the researchers anticipate that upcoming work can fill in any gaps that might be missed in the model. Ogbunu hopes that his model can be used as a “framework for thinking about the public health problem,” and one that will create more conscious efforts to limit the spread of disease in injection drug-using populations.
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role of environmental intermediaries in disease transmission, as shown in his previous research regarding the spread of cholera through drinking water. Research focusing on the spread of disease may offer influential insights into the issue of disease prevention, particularly within drug-using communities. The implications of this model are crucial in Hepatitis C prevention efforts. “One of the things that our model suggests is that the key to decreasing the rate of infection in a population is really about changing the ratio of uninfected to infected needles,” Ogbunu said. The greater number of uninfected needles relative to infected needles, the less likely it is that Hepatitis C can spread through the community. At face
of icebergs on white parchment paper, demonstrating her interest in bold color and natural forms, as well as her tendency to draw inspiration from her travels. Edwards sees each of the paintings in the exhibit as “a singular piece within a large series of work. It’s important to be aware that within each one of those years, I was investigating very thoroughly a particular idea, using a particular material.” Edwards has impacted the community as both an artist and a professor. She was the first person Conklin met at the University. “I was amazed at her energy and exuberance then, and I still am. She has a great zest for life and also for teaching,” Conklin said at the talk. Ayana Evans ’98, adjunct instructor
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significance of the current impeachment hearings for President Donald Trump. Morone discussed three similar situations of the past — the impeachments of presidents Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton—that each created
was the presiding officer. When Rehnquist had to make an important ruling during deliberations, he swiveled around in his chair to face Dove. In a “whisper that could be heard throughout the chamber,” he looked at Dove and asked, “what the hell do I do now?” The panel discussion next
a “change moment in American history.” Morone pointed to Johnson’s impeachment at the end of the Civil War to demonstrate that “impeachment really reflects the parties and what they believe.” While the Democrats sided with a president who held “deep racist urges” and called for a return to white supremacy, the Republicans who initiated impeachment advocated for equality and liberation of slaves. As for Nixon’s impeachment, Morone said it was more of a matter of wrongful behavior and character than guilt in the Watergate scandal, adding that Nixon’s “holier than thou” public persona was shattered after the release of the White House tapes. The importance of moral personal behavior from presidents was emphasized again in Bill Clinton’s impeachment for perjury regarding his relationship to White House staffer Monica Lewinsky. When asked by Moffit if the partisanship on display in current proceedings differed from the past, Morone responded that this is a highly partisan era “because there is just no overlap in the party.” Morone added that in the past “identity politics were diffused between the two parties,” but for the first time since the 1990s, there has been one party that has captured both African Americans and immigrants. Arenberg, who spent 34 years in high-ranking staff positions on Capitol Hill, touched upon the rules and procedures that govern the actions of the House and Senate. Building off the topic of partisanship in impeachment, Arenberg contrasted today’s climate with the climate in 1998. Though Clinton’s impeachment was also highly partisan, the Senate was able to pass a bipartisan resolution—100 to 0—to govern impeachment proceedings in the Senate. Arenberg also explained the current impeachment process in the House, which includes a public hearing, is followed by a report by the Intelligence Committee to make a recommendation of impeachment to the judiciary. The judiciary will then write articles of impeachment that go to the House floor for a vote, Arenberg said. On the other hand, the Senate has 26 rules for impeachment “with lots of holes” that make “it very difficult to say for certain how the procedure will unfold,” Arenberg said. If the House presents articles of impeachment to the Senate, the Senate must hold hearings and meetings “until judgment is rendered.” The Chief Justice who rules on the matter is expected to follow the recommendation of the Parliamentarian. To exemplify this process, Arenberg ended with a story he heard from Bob Dove, Parliamentarian during Clinton’s impeachment, about Chief Justice William Rehnquist when he
turned to Patashnik, who spoke about the impeachment’s impact on policy decisions. Pastashnik said historically, impeachment and law making “were reinforcing each other.” But the reason it is not happening now — for example, through laws that protect whistleblowers—is because the force of “polarization is just too great.” When imagining what a second Trump term would look like, Pastashnik said that people should instead ask if the GOP will remain the party of Trump. “A second Trump term would be highly consequential,” he said. “It would entrench shifts in partisan coalitions, in America’s place in the world and in the constitutional foundation of the federal role in the economy.” Schiller gave remarks on the impeachment hearings’ possible impact on the 2020 congressional and presidential elections. She told the audience not to “discount the power in increasing voter turnout,” citing that 2018 had that highest midterm turnout since 1974 and delivered political changes in the same states Trump won. Schiller also emphasized that “everything is a matter of margin” and that Democrats need to focus on moving the needle on a small group of moderates because of how consequential their votes could be. Schiller said this small group is prone to “Trump fatigue.” Schiller compared it to 2016 voters’ reactions after former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation James Comey announced an email investigation into Hillary Clinton four days before the election. The announcement scared voters into thinking the Clinton presidency would be marred by investigations, possibly paralleling how voters might feel after Trump’s impeachment hearings. Kevin Monclair ’23 came to the forum after recently writing a paper that detailed the history of impeachment. He asked the panelists what they believed was a “constitutionally accurate” way to go about impeachment. Patashnik responded that while people today want and need “rules and regulations” in their society, the founders who wrote the Constitution simply wanted people to “use their judgment.” Monclair said Patashnik’s remarks stood out to him and that it opened his mind to “something I never thought about before.” Responding to the future of policy making in an era of entrenchment politics, Morone pointed to the changing numbers of new voters who are increasingly millennials and democrats. “We might see this as the last gasp of an old white party hanging onto power.” “It would really be interesting to look back 10 years from now — remember this moment — because we’ll know stuff that we won’t know now,” Morone said.
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2019
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT FALL PRIZES 2019 The Barbara Banks Brodsky Prize for Excellence in Real World Writing - $800 Awarded to a full-time junior or senior enrolled at Brown. Submission may come from the spectrum of nonfiction: literary journalism, memoir, or narrative based on travel, science, history, or cultural critique. Submission of brief essays or one longer essay should be limited to 3,000 words. ~~~~~~~~~~~
The Barbara Banks Brodsky Prize in English - $800
Brown University Community Council
For the best essay on 20th-century literature in English by a junior or senior. ~~~~~~~~~~~
David Rome Prize - $175 For the best lyric essay by a currently enrolled undergraduate. This form includes essays written in poetical or experimental forms that emphasize artfulness. ~~~~~~~~~~~
Wednesday, November 20, 2019 4 – 5:30 p.m. • Report of the President • Draft Sustainability Plan • Library Strategic Plan Meetings are open to members of the Brown community and held in the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center, Kasper Multipurpose Room. To learn more about the Community Council visit: brown.edu/go/council
Arlene Rome Ten Eyck & Peter H. Ten Eyck Prize - $175 For the best essay on literary theory by a currently enrolled undergraduate. ~~~~~~~~~~~
Rose Low Rome Prize - $175 For the best poem or poems by a currently enrolled undergraduate.
Entries must be submitted online at: !
Barbara Banks Brodsky Prizes: http://brown.edu/go/brodsky-prize-2019 Rome Prizes: http://brown.edu/go/rome-prizes-2019
by 3:00 pm on Tuesday, December 10, 2019. *NO HARD COPIES OR LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED* *ESSAYS THAT HAVE PREVIOUSLY RECEIVED AN ENGLISH DEPARTMENT AWARD ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR ADDITIONAL AWARDS.*
For submission details, please visit http://brown.edu/go/fall-english-prizes
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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2019
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | TODAY
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Virtual Fair: This is Public Health 10:00 A.M. Online
Passport Day at the OIP 1:00 P.M. Page-Robinson Hall
Brown EMS Open House 6:00 P.M. 13 Brown Street
Kappa Alpha Theta Open House 6:30 P.M. Diman House
TOMORROW ‘Brown Gives’ Bake Sale 8:00 A.M. 121 South Main Street
Brown Bag Concert 12:00 P.M. Sayles Hall
From Spatial to Platial Data Science 3:00 P.M. 165 Angell Street
Brown University Orchestra Concert 8:00 P.M. Sayles Hall
Q U OTE OF TH E DAY
S U D O KU
“A second Trump term would ... entrench shifts in partisan coalitions, in America’s place in the world and in the constitutional foundation of the federal role in the economy.” —Professor Eric Patashnik SEE IMPEACH PAGE 1
C ORRECTI ON RELEASE DATE– Thursday, January 24, 2013
Los Angeles Times Puzzle CR O SDaily SWOCrossword RD Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Polynesian tongue 6 Early Democrat’s foe 10 Diary closer 14 Pump name 15 Premoistened cloth 16 Still-life subject 17 Luminous Spanish king? 19 Practitioner of meditation 20 Lassie’s “In a pig’s eye!” 21 Monopolize 22 Seed source of omega-3 23 Back-of-the-book items 27 Bloodhound’s 48-Across 29 Chart containing only threes? 31 Salt’s “Halt!” 35 Flat hat 36 Like a comics Pea? 37 Close tightly, as one’s hand 38 Groggy response 40 “Welcome to Maui!” 42 Seldom seen, to Seneca 43 Grinch portrayer 45 Myrna’s “Thin Man” role 47 KoKo or YumYum, in Lilian Jackson Braun mysteries 48 Plus 49 Turkish sty leader? 51 Bulldogs’ home 53 Seven-time MLB All-Star Soriano 54 Fair 57 Sighing sounds 59 Consume 60 Bee’s charge 61 Rock in actress Susan’s path, perhaps? 66 Hon 67 Lang of Smallville 68 “Monster” (2003) co-star 69 Like many LAX flights 70 First place? 71 Trap
DOWN 1 Large body of eau 2 Dismiss 3 Acne treatment brand 4 Longtime “60 Minutes” pundit 5 Babies 6 Teens conflict, briefly 7 Up in the air 8 Droid alternative 9 Day one, informally 10 Casual greeting craze? 11 One who might get caught off base 12 Company with a hedgehog mascot 13 __ fixe 18 Took out in handcuffs, say 23 1971 prison riot site 24 Works on stage 25 Expresses doubts 26 Biblical brother 28 ESPN reporter Paolantonio 30 Sierra __ 32 Analgesic brand
33 Skinny types 34 “Oh, really?” 37 Itinerant Yuletide singer 39 How owls know when mice are bluffing? 41 Georgetown player 44 LAX posting 46 Business matters 49 Execute, in old France
50 Deep-dish comfort food 52 Soup dispenser 54 Author Picoult 55 Supported by 56 Bank deposit 58 Last word on New Year’s Eve? 62 Brown in a bed 63 Loan no. 64 Old French coin 65 Upholsterer’s target
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
The Nov. 19 article “Panelists discuss complexities of BDS” incorrectly referred to one of Israel’s contested territories as “West Gaza” due to an editing error. In fact, the territory is the West Bank. The Herald regrets the error.
C ORRECTI ON The Nov. 19 op-ed “Hall ’20, Winsor ’22: Ban oil money, recruiters from campus” incorrectly referred to authors Galen Hall ’20 and Galen Winsor ’22 as geology students. In fact, the students are not both geology students. The Herald regrets the error.
I L LUST RAT I ON
xwordeditor@aol.com
01/24/13
LEON JIANG / HERALD
By Michael Sharp (c)2013 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
01/24/13
The barren branches of College Hill have lost their fall foliage and stand out starkly against a gray, cloudy sky. As the last signs of fall leave campus, students prepare to hibernate for finals season.
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | COMMENTARY
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2019
Tobacco use should be illegal ARJUN SHANMUGAM ’23 STAFF COLUMNIST
Google a list of the world’s most addictive substances, and some of what you’ll find is to be expected: illegal Schedule 1 drugs like cocaine, methamphetamines and heroin. One item on this lamentable list, though, seems out of place: good, old-fashioned nicotine. Located in virtually all tobacco products, the drug remains perfectly legal in America — unlike its equally habit-forming counterparts. Nicotine is the foundation of a $100 billion industry, profitable only because it exploits bodies, brains, pocketbooks and healthcare systems. The government has a responsibility to carefully limit our rights when public interest is at stake, and in this case it is: one in five American preventable deaths are a result of smoking. These lives — along with the billions of dollars that smoking costs our healthcare system each year — can be saved if lawmakers take action. Because of the deadly impact that tobacco use has on lives and the burden it imposes on all of us via the healthcare system, the federal government should impose an absolute ban on tobacco. Should government be in the business of protecting individuals from their own behavior? That question is difficult to answer when it comes to dangerous substances, and legal experts don’t have a clear answer. What is clear, however, is that the government has an obligation to step in when those behaviors negatively impact others. The most obvious of these negative externalities is secondhand smoke, the carcinogenic cocktail of over 7,000 chemicals that floats off the burning end of a cigarette. This inadvertently subjects even non-smokers to the health risks that come from these chemicals. Despite the growing prevalence of smoke-free zones, secondhand smoke exposure continues to exact a grave toll on lives and the economy, running up $5 billion in medical costs, $4.6 billion dollars in lost wages and 33,950 heart disease-related deaths every year. Worse still: those statistics only count adults. When Americans smoke cigarettes, they
are endangering not only themselves, but also their siblings, children and grandchildren. Children whose parents and siblings smoke are exposed to the medical consequences of secondary exposure; but even worse, they are also more likely to pick up smoking themselves. When a behavior comes with about a $10 billion price tag — and when it is actively killing people — it is impermissible. Yet tobacco use inflicts even more severe and wide-reaching damage. When tobacco users need to be treated for a host of resultant diseases — Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, lung cancer, heart disease and more — they aren’t the only ones paying the $170 billion yearly expense of smoking. Healthcare costs in Amer-
ica are shared among taxpayers, in part via programs like Medicare, Medicaid and the Veterans Health Administration, which offer critical support to those in need. But because smokers tend to be less wealthy than non-smokers, a worrying trend emerges: 60 percent of the $170 billion dollar yearly cost of smoking is paid via these programs, which are funded mostly through taxpayer dollars. The link is indirect but obvious: our tax dollars are handing big tobacco a light. Even in the private insurance markets, non-smokers end up footing the bill. Insurers are permitted under current health care law to demand up to 50 percent higher premiums from smokers — on paper, that is supposed to prevent non-smokers from subsidizing self-destructive behavior. In practice, though, there are two caveats. First, because it is impractical to test all policyholders for nicotine use, insurance companies have to depend on the honor system. Consequently, some tobacco users are
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Managing Editors Anna Kramer Priyanka Podugu Senior Editors Anita Sheih Sarah Wang Editorial Page Editors Grace Layer Krista Stapleford post-magazine Editor-in-Chief Anita Sheih
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a chilling finding in their analysis of cigarette sales in California neighborhoods among a large proportions of young and nonwhite residents. A 10 percent increase in the proportion of African American students enrolled in a school district correlated with a 12 cent decrease in the cost of a pack of Newport cigarettes sold in that district. A 10 percent increase in the number of adolescent residents in a school district correlated with an 11 percent increase in the frequency with which menthol cigarettes were advertised. Both these findings show that when more African American students were in a given school district, tobacco companies lowered prices and pushed flavored cigarettes (more popular among young people) in these areas. These
“Nicotine is the foundation of a $100 billion industry, profitable only because it exploits bodies, brains, pocketbooks and healthcare systems.”
SINCE 1891
Editorial Leadership Editor-in-Chief Emily Davies
thus paying premiums equivalent to those of non-smokers, and passing on costs to the rest of us when it comes time for health insurers to pay up. Worse still, the high premiums demanded of smokers could cause many of them to forgo insurance altogether. It might seem like a good thing for the rest of us when fewer smokers buy insurance— after all, it eliminates the risk that insurance companies have to account for, and this brings down premiums — but that raises a new set of problems. When hospitals and insurance companies have to unexpectedly foot the bill for uninsured smokers in the event of acute, life threatening illness — such as stroke and heart attack — those firms maintain profit margins by raising costs for the rest of us.
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If all of this makes it tempting to demonize smokers, consider that quitting is a daunting challenge, pitting one’s mind and body against the thrall of addiction. Instead, the real blame lies on the companies with business models that prey on health to make a profit. Addiction distorts one’s ability to evaluate goods relative to their prices. Arguments that free market conventions and excise taxes can deter people from buying cigarettes ignore that fact. Only an absolute ban on tobacco can fix this market failure. In the absence of prohibition, Big Tobacco has an incentive to get people hooked. The industry’s $9.5 billion marketing budget often targets people in insidious ways. About $7 billion of this goes to discounts that temporarily reduce the prices consumers pay — making it easy for consumers to say yes to cigarettes, until they can no longer say no. Even more problematically, tobacco marketing targets specific demographics, like young people and African Americans. Stanford Medical School researchers made
practices are clearly predatory. Congress should take the hint. Arguing for the end of cigarette sales, Robert Proctor, professor of History of Science at Stanford University, calls the cigarette “the deadliest artifact in the history of human civilization.” Tobacco is unequivocally destructive to society, to the economy and to the human body. It provides no benefit to its users or those around them. Faced with an industry that profits off the taxpayer’s dollar, that feeds on the weakest members of society and that sells a product which kills millions of Americans, we need to quit smoking for good. Arjun Shanmugam ’23 can be reached at arjun_shanmugam@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and op-eds to opinions@ browndailyherald.com.
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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2019
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | COMMENTARY
ILLU ST R AT IO N
ISABEL INADOMI / HERALD
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2019
METRO
Mayor Elorza kicks off #ThinkPVD campaign to support local businesses
KATIE CHEN / HERALD
At nearby restaurant Plant City, Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza launched a city-wide campaign called #ThinkPVD to promote small businesses. The campaign will include a free parking initiative and partnerships with some local businesses to offer discounts to city residents. Speakers also encouraged supporting small businesses during the holiday season.
Campaign launched at Plant City by Elorza encourages shopping locally BY KATIE CHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER At an abandoned-building-turned-vegan eatery, Providence Mayor Jorge Elozra kicked off #ThinkPVD, which encourages residents to shop locally. Speakers included Elorza, City Council President Pro Tempore Michael Correia, Director of Art, Culture and Tourism Stephanie Fortunato, Plant City co-owner Kim Anderson and Providence Flea Market Founder
and Manager Maria Tocco. Launched
their municipal IDs, Elorza added.
local shopping due to Providence
the holidays to consistently support
Nov. 19 at Plant City, the campaign creates a few different initiatives to facilitate shopping at small businesses. The eventwill encourage residents to explore and shop at local businesses by offering two hours of free parking daily between Nov. 30 and Jan. 1, 2020. Since parking is currently an issue in business districts and throughout Providence, this initiative is intended to eliminate one of the barriers to resident patronage of small businesses, Correia told The Herald. #ThinkPVD has also partnered with several local businesses including Providence Rink and Roger Williams Park Zoo to offer Providence residents year-round discounts when they show
Small business owners such as Anderson and Tocco expect #ThinkPVD to have an enormous impact. “Having someone as high profile as the mayor of Providence bringing attention to the cause helps us immensely,” Tocco told The Herald. Both Anderson and Tocco have seen their local businesses grow over time. Plant City, which opened five months ago, has served “over 200,000 guests” and has grown from nine to 200 employees, Anderson told The Herald. The Providence Flea Market started with 30 vendors seven years ago and now hosts over 1,000 vendors, Tocco told The Herald. He believes that there has been an increase in
promoting itself as the “Creative Capital” since 2009. “We have a perfect storm of creative food and retail to really take hold here,” Tocco added. Speakers also highlighted the importance of promoting small businesses during the holiday season. “We give a lot of care and attention to how we’re spending our dollars this season,” and the campaign encourages customers to contribute to local prosperity by shopping local, Fortunato told The Herald. “By supporting that local retailer … there’s a real ripple effect that I hope people will think about,” Fortunato said. Speakers added that residents should continue to shop local beyond
the local economy. “Rhode Island is a state of small businesses … There (are) around 90,000 small businesses in Rhode Island, so the extent that we put local dollars in the local economy is vitally important to the small businesses that make their home here,” Tocco told The Herald. “When we spend our dollars locally … we ensure that we are helping local homegrown businesses thrive, and we are reinvesting our dollars into our cities and its economic engine. We should be supporting them as often as we can,” Correia said. “Our small businesses are the backbone of our economy,” Elorza added.
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