SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2019
VOLUME CLIV, ISSUE 57
UNIVERSITY NEWS
Students brave cold for Hasan Minhaj
Minhaj discusses ‘Patriot Act,’ career path, comedic style in conversation, Q&A
COURTESY OF NAOMY PEDROZA
Students waited in line outside of Salomon Hall for hours to hear comedian Minhaj speak about personal, political and social topics. dic style to students packed into the Salomon 101 auditorium and to more watching on screens in Salomon’s lower lecture hall. Students were offered free admission to the event, hosted by the Brown Lecture Board, on a first-comefirst-serve basis. By the time the doors opened Friday night, a long, winding line had stretched from the doors of Salomon across Main Green. “Hasan is a comedian, a writer, a producer, a political commentator, an actor and a television host,” Sobhit Arora ’21 said in his introduction to the event. Minhaj is known for his Netflix talk
Camila Pelsinger ’20 named Rhodes Scholar
BY ANNABELLE WOODWARD ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR Camila Pelsinger ’20 was awarded a 2020 Rhodes Scholarship Nov. 24, one of the most esteemed international fellowship awards. Pelsinger, along with 31 other award recipients from the United States, will pursue a master’s degree at Oxford University beginning Oct. 2020. She will undertake a M.Sc. in Criminology and Criminal Justice and the Master of Public Policy. “To be named a Rhodes Scholar is beyond anything I would have thought possible when I first got to Brown. In the past three and a half years, I’ve learned so much about myself and the ways in which I hope to serve the communities that I’m a part of through scholarship and activism,” Pelsinger wrote in an email to The Herald. Pelsinger is the 57th student from
GBC inaugural director departs to pursue Ph.D.
BY SOPHIA SAKER STAFF WRITER
UNIVERSITY NEWS
Pelsinger to study Criminology and Criminal Justice at Oxford
UNIVERSITY NEWS
Following Bonnell’s departure, Campus Life office to finalize new director selection
BY ELISE RYAN ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR When Hasan Minhaj was growing up in Davis, California, he never dreamed that he would become the host of a Netflix show beloved for educating viewers on politically and socially relevant topics through comedy. Later, when Minhaj performed for an audience of two in a college dining hall plastered with posters of his face — or, when his jokes at another college bombed so badly that the event’s organizer cut him off and denied him compensation — it might not have seemed possible that one day, college students would wait in line for hours in the windy Providence winter to hear him speak. “Being in Davis, just New York, Saturday Night Live or the Daily Show, seemed a million miles away,” Minhaj said. But in 2014, Minhaj made it to The Daily Show in what was just the beginning of his political comedy career. On Friday night, Minhaj recalled his early influences and outlined his come-
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Brown to earn the scholarship. Before Pelsinger, the most recent University student to receive the award was Rhea Stark ’18.5, who was awarded the scholarship last year. Rhodes Scholarships pay all expenses for two or three years of study at the University of Oxford in England, which averages at about $70,000 per year. This year, 2,900 students began the application process and 963 were endorsed by 298 different colleges and universities. For the third consecutive year, the Rhodes class is majority-minority and approximately half are first-generation Americans. One is the first transgender woman elected to a Rhodes Scholarship; two other Scholars-elect are non-binary. Pelsinger is concentrating in International Relations and Cognitive Neuroscience and has maintained a perfect grade point average. Her research as an undergraduate has taken “an interdisciplinary approach to examining violence and focuses on women in New Zealand and the United States who have created restorative justice programs to address gender-based violence in their
SEE RHODES PAGE 2
show, “Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj,” a weekly political commentary show that premiered on the popular streaming platform in Oct. 2018. The show came after Minhaj’s four-year stint on The Daily Show — a fitting progression after Minhaj joked in 2017 that working for Comedy Central was basically “an internship for Netflix.” A month after performing at the White House correspondents’ dinner, Netflix released “Homecoming King”— a stand-up special filmed in Minhaj’s hometown of Davis, California, which focused on
SEE MINHAJ PAGE 3
The inaugural director of the Global Brown Center for International Students Christina Bonnell left the University in early October after two years of working to develop the center. Bonnell began her directorial position in May 2017 when the center, then known as the International Student Experience, was just getting started. The center is meant to serve and support the international student community, through orientation programs and assistance on advocacy initiatives. Bonnell left her position Oct. 11 to pursue a Ph.D. in International Education at the University of Virginia. In addition to her desire to pursue higher education, Bonnell noted interpersonal conflicts with upper administration as a factor in her departure. Earlier this October, her supervi-
sor, Assistant Vice President for Campus Life and Senior Director of the Institute for Transformative Practice Nicole Truesdell, published an announcement regarding Bonnell’s departure, noting her accomplishments and the legacy she left at the GBC. “The success of Christina’s work as she has built up the GBC is both impactful and far-reaching,” Truesdell wrote. “While we are sad to see Christina leave, we are also excited for her future as she continues on her educational journey.” Bonnell’s departure follows that of Joshua Segui, the former director of the Brown Center for Students of Color, who left the University in June. Both the BCSC and the GBC are part of the coalition of seven campus centers known as the Institute for Transformative Practice, which are overseen by Truesdell. During her time at the University, it was Bonnell’s task to “create the center from scratch,” Bonnell said. In doing this, Bonnell expanded programming for international students and formed
SEE GBC PAGE 2
SPORTS
Historic women’s soccer season ends
COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS
Women’s soccer’s Friday loss against Florida State University marked the end of Bruno’s first NCAA appearance following an Ivy League title win since 1994.
Bruno loses 2-0 in NCAA second round to last year’s national champions FSU BY RANDI RICHARDSON STAFF WRITER Significant preparation, an intense gaze and a nothing-to-lose attitude consumed and fueled the women’s soccer team and its hopeful fans into the
second round NCAA game at Florida State University Friday evening. No. 16 Bruno showed up unafraid and with a competitive spirit against reigning national champions No. 1 FSU with the goal of clinching a spot in the highly coveted NCAA Sweet Sixteen. But the Seminoles scored during the 29th minute and again during the 87th, earning a spot in the third round and killing the Ivy League Champions’ NCAA dreams. “The result today can’t take away
News
Sports
Arts & Culture
Commentary
Professor Kellner explains success behind student favorite class BIOL 0210 Page 2
Football loses to late Dartmouth comeback in final game of the season Page 3
Fall dance performance marks 50th anniversary of Brown’s dance program Page 4
Brigham ’20: The Democratic Party should rank choice vote to end spoiler effect Page 7
from what we were able to do as a team this season,” said Head Coach Kia McNeill. “Going 14-2-3 as an Ivy League program (and) making it to the second round of NCAAs speaks volumes to what we were able to do this season. I’m really proud of the team.” A quiet start to the game involved both teams working the ball around and getting a feel for each other. Florida State controlled just over 70 percent
SEE SOCCER PAGE 2
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communities,” according to her Rhodes Trust profile. “More than anything, I am so grateful for the students across campus who have entrusted me with their stories of harm, and for those working to prevent and address violence in their own communities everyday. The Rhodes Selection Committee recognizing the value of this work gives me hope that more campuses will move towards decentralized practices and frameworks that support healing and transformation,” Pelsinger wrote. Pelsinger served as Vice President of the Undergraduate Council of Students but stepped down from the role to take a class related to her research, AFRI 1030: “Contesting the Carceral State.” She wrote about her decision and passion for her research in a Feb. 5 op-ed to The Herald titled “My time at UCS.”
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25 2019
strong relationships with other student centers and departments on campus. Bonnell’s key accomplishments included expanding and enhancing the International Mentoring Program for undergraduates and the peer mentoring program for Graduate International Orientation, Truesdell wrote in the public announcement. Bonnell also fought for a number of services that would help international students with the logistics of moving to the United States, according to Anton Tekhneriadov ’20. She provided first-year international students with an airport shuttle to pick them up for pre-orientation, and advised international students on how to obtain a VISA or work permit. “Christina called up Bed Bath & Be-
students, international ones can’t ship a lot to campus when moving in.” Without Bonnell’s leadership, the program would not be what it is today, Program Coordinator for the GBC Soyoon Kim ’19 said. “As a concrete example, I would not be able to do nearly half of my job as Program Coordinator as effectively had Christina not taken the time to form strong relationships with all event stakeholders during her time at Brown, from (the) folks at media services to catering,” Kim said. The Campus Life office is currently in their final stages of the process to select a new program director, and they hope to have one in place by the beginning of next semester, Truesdell wrote. A six-person search committee, made up of three students and three professional staff, conducted a search
The Global Brown Center for International Students aims to support and serve the University’s international student community. In the meantime, Truesdell and to grow. “The GBC is in a really good Chief of Staff and Director for Strategic position to become more of a home Initiatives Loc Truong are providing away from home for students,” Bonnell
yond and got international students 10 percent off with their student ID,” Tekhneriadov said. “Unlike many domestic
and brought four candidates to campus Nov. 12 through Nov. 15 to meet students and staff, she added.
administrative support for the center. Though she left the center, Bonnell feels confident in the program’s ability
MUKUL KHANNA / HERALD
said. “I’m very confident in the search committee.”
SCIENCE & RESEARCH
Behind success of Kellner’s course ‘Diversity of Life’
Professor James Kellner’s BIOL 0210 attracts over 300 students
BY AUBREY YUESHAN LI STAFF WRITER James Kellner, assistant professor of environmental studies, holds up a Trilobite fossil, describing the ancient marine creature. “This animal could see in almost 360 degrees,” he said. Trilobites, which date back more than 520 million years to the Paleozoic Era, are just one of the many ancient beings discussed in Kellner’s popular class BIOL 0210: “Diversity of Life.” Known as “a must-take class” for both biology concentrators and non-concentrators alike, “Diversity of Life” — an intro course that examines the range of life on Earth and its functions and processes — has attracted more than 300 students this semester. The course is rated above 4.7 out of 5 in the Critical Review, and Kellner has received almost perfect ratings in previous years. Colin Olson ’23, a non-concentrator currently taking the class, said “I really want to be in (Kellner’s) class again … I
SOCCER FROM PAGE 1 of possessions during the first 23 minutes, but had trouble finding legitimate play-making opportunities and often resorted to passing it around the box. Even when FSU did get shots off, its attempts were not on target, Bruno’s backline stifled them or Brown goalie Kayla Thompson ’21 easily caught the dying balls headed toward her. “We were playing a shape that we hadn’t played before this year,” Thompson said. “In the beginning, we were figuring out how to utilize that best. Of course, we were a little more conservative and (prioritized) defending. But once we figured out our rotation a little bit more and kind of observed Florida State’s weaknesses and the holes that we could exploit, we transitioned a little bit more to attack.” With 17 minutes left in the first period, FSU sent in a strong attempt that looked as good as gold. Thompson extended for the block and forced a corner kick. A Seminole kicked it into the 18, which triggered a chain reaction that produced two staggered headers, the
think a lot of my positive association with the class comes from him as a person.” Kellner’s pedagogy is a highlight of the class, said Evan Mizerak ‘22, one of the course’s undergraduate teaching assistants. “His pedagogical approach to the class … is that the reasoning with which he takes you through all these concepts is such that you can apply it to other STEM classes,” Mizerak said. Amy Rutter GS, a graduate teaching assistant, added that even though Kellner makes the content highly approachable by giving examples and metaphors, he “does not tone down the science because there’s a wide range of students; he still maintains ... good and cutting-edge, ... in depth science.” Beyond Kellner’s teaching style, students say the course is successful because it contributes to their understanding of life and their relation to humanity, plants, animals and the environment. Kellner stressed the importance of understanding biodiversity in a contemporary setting. He remembers being educated to detest invasive species that had been introduced into America, but now he understands that some ‘invasive’ species are beneficial despite originating in other places. At the time, there was no push back against the notion that
“invasive species are bad and native species are good” in academia. “For a while I adopted that, but I was never comfortable,” Kellner said, wondering “why should the place of geographic origin determine how I feel about it?” Achieving biodiversity in ecosystems is complex, and often contested in academia — especially as issues such as species endangerment or conservation are discussed. The promise of biodiversity sometimes comes with a price, and nothing is simply black or white, Kellner said. After graduating college, he lived
this firsthand when he had the opportunity to work on a conservation project in Hawaii. He worked at a captive-breeding program of Achatinellidae, a Hawaiian tree snail found on O’ahu , which is now the subject of a lecture in BIOL 0210. “The whole lot of work we were doing in Hawaii was funded by the U.S. Army,” Kellner said. The Department of Defense keeps a large part of the federally owned land for conservation, since it is responsible for protecting the endangered species on these lands. Beyond biodiversity, “Diversity of Life” covers other topics such as sexual
selection of birds-of-paradise and human evolution. Students are always very intrigued when Kellner lectures on the complex birds-of-paradise mating dance. They also tend to find lectures on human evolution highly relatable, since it is important to understand humanity’s own history in a grand context, Kellner said. Outside of his teaching, Kellner conducts laboratory research focusing on the biology of ecosystems using high-resolution remote sensing. The drone remote sensing technology uses LiDAR — Light Detection and Ranging — to measure vegetation or other data across large areas, which provides scientists quantifiable data concerning the change of forests in time and space. Anna Odell ’20, a lab member focusing on the remote sensing technology, said, remote sensing “allows you to analyze population statistics … you basically have images of the entire world and imagery is becoming more and more accessible. I think it’s absolutely the future of understanding the environment.” Kellner believes in the optimistic aspect of biodiversity. “There’s all kinds of stuff that has happened, and life persisted all the way through … there’s this transcendent element … and that is the diversity of life.”
last positioned right in front of the goal post. The ball snuck into the net before Thompson’s fast reflexes could react in their signature save-making fashion. This was the first opposing goal against Brown since Nov. 9. Brown’s surges of offensive energy came few and far between. When they did occur, Ava Seelenfreund ’23, Brittany Raphino ’23 and Abby Carchio ’20 dribbled into the open field off long, over-the-top passes. Their attacks didn’t produce more than a pass or a turnover, but they kept Bruno in the game and comforted hopeful fans who were watching back on campus. The period closed with Florida State still owning over 70 percent of possessions and the Bears intending to write the most iconic underdog story since the sixteenth-seeded University of Maryland Baltimore County’s 2018 March Madness upset victory over the firstranked University of Virginia. The second half opened with Brown on defense, replaying the events of first period. Playing as the trailing team isn’t a tune that Bruno was used to singing this season, let alone overcoming it.
The Bears contained the Seminoles as much as possible, but needed to channel their energy into offensive threats. Raphino and Seelenfreund ran the field and dribbled against incoming Seminoles, but it wasn’t enough to produce a corner kick, never mind a goal. With 32 minutes left in the game, Brown started having longer offensive possessions, but didn’t capitalize off them and often ended up right back on defense. Even when Brown was able to clear the ball, it didn’t make it across the midline because FSU easily got a foot on it and set up offense. “For the most part we did a good job trying to neutralize (FSU’s) opportunities in front of the goal,” McNeill said. “At this level, you have to minimize your mistakes in the back. Tonight, we made two and (FSU) scored on those two. Our backs and our goalkeeper played tremendous, but at this level and this stage in the NCAA Tournament, it’s about minimizing our mistakes and capitalizing on theirs.” With 20 minutes left in the game, Thompson made another acrobatic save to keep the score 1-0. It was reassuring
to see, given that Brown could not connect on passes or establish offensively threatening positions. “(Thompson’s) a big-time goal keeper,” McNeill said. “She thrives in these pressured situations day in and day out. She made some great saves to keep us in it. She’s been a big reason why we’ve had the success that we’ve had.” And from there, the same situations repeated themselves, just like in the first period. The final eight minutes saw a counterattack by Raphino, who took it to the center against five defenders and left the ball for a sprinting Star White ’21. White went one-on-one to send off a left-footed shot that trickled off before rolling up on the goalie. The last five minutes showed a re-energized Brown that picked up the pace, realizing that time was not on its side. Now, the offensive attacks were there, but it was too little and too late. During the 87th minute, Thompson attempted to clear the ball and send it downfield, but it hit Seminole Kristen MacFarland on the back and ricocheted back into the net, giving FSU a 2-0 advantage.
“That goal was definitely crushing and unfortunate,” Thompson said. “The chances of that happening are one in a million. I made a mistake and we got punished for it, (and) it was disappointing because the last 20 minutes of the game, we really felt like we were putting pressure on (Florida State). The momentum was kind of going our way a little bit.” The play deflated the Bears. The clock ticked down to zero. And the reigning national champion Seminoles secured their ticket to the Sweet Sixteen. “There’s mixed emotions because it’s hard when a season ends,” said Sydney Cummings ’21, “but there’s not really a better way to go out (than) traveling to the NCAA tournament, playing in the second round and giving a good fight against last year’s reigning champs.” Playing against top-tier teams gave Brown a feel for what to expect and how to prepare for championship runs. “The only way to train for post-season is to be in post-season,” McNeill said. “If anything, I think it’s just a confidence booster for us as a program and the Ivy League as well.”
VICTORIA YIN / HERALD
The professor of the popular biology class detailed his course’s main objectives and values as well as his personal career.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25 2019
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SPORTS
Football falls to late Dartmouth comeback in season finale at home Bears finish last place in Ivy standings after 29-23 Senior Day loss to Big Green BY RYAN HANDEL SENIOR STAFF WRITER The football team fell 29-23 Saturday in the regular-season finale against Dartmouth, which clinched a share of the 2019 Ivy League title with the victory. The Bears came into Senior Day off of a blowout victory over Columbia in the previous week, which broke a three-year conference losing streak. Bruno came out strong, taking an early 10-point advantage and holding the lead for the majority of the contest, but a fourth-quarter comeback by Dartmouth stifled Brown’s upset hopes. The Big Green took home the Ivy League trophy, but the Bears walked away encouraged after a close loss to the conference’s best squad. “(Dartmouth) was certainly worthy of the championship … they are a terrific team,” said Head Coach James Perry ’00. “I’m really proud of this group of players. We played our best game of the season today.” Quarterback EJ Perry ’21 broke the Ivy League record for offensive yards in a season during the third quarter of Saturday’s Ancient Eight battle. He finished the game with 3,678 total yards on the year, shattering the record previously set by Chad Kanoff of Princeton in 2017. “It shows how hard we’ve worked throughout this season on offense to get better,” EJ Perry said. Brown (2-8, 1-6 Ivy) took an early lead in a methodical first quarter where both teams traded long drives. Dartmouth (9-1, 6-1) kicked off the game with a 10-play, five-minute possession, but the Bears came up with a crucial third-down stop just outside of field
MINHAJ FROM PAGE 1 Minhaj’s upbringing, identity and personal trials — to critical acclaim. “‘Homecoming King’ is a roller coaster of emotions that will have you crying on the floor one moment and have you laughing with your friends the very next,” Arora said. The special “is the perfect example of Hasan representing the South Asian community in a way that it has not been done before.” After listing Minhaj’s many accomplishments, Arora concluded his introduction by poking fun at the comedian: “Unfortunately, there is one thing Hasan will never have, and that is a good SAT score.” For audience members less familiar with Minhaj’s repertoire, this jab might have seemed unexpected. But that SAT score (Minhaj received a 1310) is something Minhaj references often — he mentions the score in the first episode of “The Patriot Act” and during “Homecoming King.” As journalist Sloane Crosley wrote in Vanity Fair, Minhaj is “in on the self-infantilizing nature of the joke, of the ridiculousness of holding on to suburban disappointments,” and within that idea “lies the core of Hasan Minhaj.” As he conversed with Lecture Board’s moderator Nicole Yow Wei ’21, Minhaj admitted that topics like his SAT score and his childhood have made it into his comedic routines because he likes “to pick topics that scare me” in
goal range to force a punt. Bruno then responded with an 82-yard, nine-minute long march down the field, leading to a first and goal at the Big Green one-yard line. But a goal line stand by Dartmouth limited Brown to a Dawson Goepferich ’20 field goal. Dartmouth embarked on another lengthy possession as the second quarter got underway, moving 48 yards in 14 plays. But once again, Bruno came up with another important third-down stand to halt the Big Green. Dartmouth’s Connor Davis attempted a 45yard field goal, but missed the long try to keep Brown in front 3-0. The Bears capitalized on the Big Green miscue as EJ Perry launched a 41-yard pass to receiver Demitri Jackson ’20, who made an over-the-shoulder catch for the big gain. Perry then tossed the first touchdown of the game, finding tight end Emerson Logie ’20 wide-open in the end zone for the score. The scoring connection put Bruno 10-0 over the Ivy League leaders. The Big Green were able to fight their way back into the game before the first half came to a close. Caylin Parker burned the Brown defense for a 39-yard receiving touchdown to bring Dartmouth back within a field goal. The Bears had an opportunity to build on their lead, but running back Allen Smith ’22 was stuffed for no gain on fourth and one at the Dartmouth six-yard-line with 23 seconds left in the half. Brown struggled on the ground all afternoon, mustering just 75 rushing yards on 31 carries, compared to 412 yards through the air. Still, Bruno held a 10-7 lead over the Big Green heading into the locker room. As the second half began, Brown once again drove deep into Dartmouth territory, but the Big Green came up with another red-zone stop and forced a 23-yard field goal. Dartmouth then used another big passing play to score
its second touchdown of the day, a 24yard toss from quarterback Derek Kyler to receiver Hunter Hagdorn. The strike gave Dartmouth its first lead of the afternoon, a 14-13 edge. Brown quickly responded with a double reverse pass play that Perry completed to receiver Livingstone Harriott ’20 for a 41-yard gain. This gave Bruno yet another trip into the Dartmouth red zone, but once again the Big Green defense held firm. The Bears had to settle for another Goepferich field goal to put Bruno back in front 16-14. Goepferich had a perfect kicking performance in his final collegiate game, finishing three-for-three on field goals and two-for-two on extra points. Perry continued his accurate passing performance on Brown’s next drive, spreading the ball to receivers Scott Boylan ’21, Dan Gemmell ’21 and Harriott. Perry took the ball into the end zone himself to cap the drive, using a misdirection fake before diving for a
one-yard touchdown. The drive gave Bruno a commanding nine-point lead as the third quarter drew to an end. But in the fourth quarter, the Big Green proved why they deserved to be Ivy League champions. With just over 10 minutes left in the game, Kyler calmly completed five straight passes to move Dartmouth 85 yards down the field, including a nine-yard touchdown pass to receiver Drew Estrada. Still down by two, Dartmouth locked down on defense, forcing a three and out to quickly retake possession. Estrada burst past the Bears’ secondary for his second score of the day, a 39-yard touchdown reception. Hagdorn caught the ensuing two-point conversion to put Dartmouth in front 29-23. Suddenly, after the season finale looked dire for the Ivy League leaders, they held a six-point fourth quarter advantage. The Bears got the ball with 2:13 left in the contest and two timeouts remaining, hoping to pull out a miracle
victory. Perry drove Bruno all the way down to the Dartmouth 14-yard-line, but was sacked for a 15-yard loss with 27 seconds left. Perry attempted a lastchance heave into the end zone intended for Boylan, but the pass bounced off the hands of Boylan and into the waiting arms of Dartmouth cornerback Isiah Swann. Swann corralled the interception to seal the Ivy League title. Despite the last-placed finish in the Ivy League for the third consecutive year, the Bears remain hopeful for 2020. This season, 24 different first-years got playing time for the Bears, so Bruno will return to the field with an experienced group. Linebacker Brendan Pyne ’20 emphasized the future potential of the team. “We can win a lot of games next year … we played (Dartmouth) extremely tough and had a shot to win at the end of the game,” he said. “With the experience we have now, next season the sky is the limit.”
both personal and political realms. “Comedy as an art form is built on pressure, and a punch-line releases pressure. … Things that we find too painful or humiliating — like my SAT score — it’s great fodder for comedy,” Minhaj said, noting that personal tribulations and feelings of nervousness or shame are what compose “the DNA of every great comic.” Rooting his jokes in the details of his own narrative or in more universal queries allows his comedy to resonate with a wider audience. “I’ve always wanted to make it feel like a living room type of vibe, where everyone’s in on the joke,” Minhaj said. Minhaj said that this is true of the show, “even in the way that we film it. … It’s kind of a hybrid between standup and a traditional late-night show, but you see the audience. There are moments where I’m sort of interacting with people who come to the tapings.” Sometimes this involves pointing out audience members, asking for their names or commenting on their reactions to his jokes — tactics Minhaj brought to Friday’s talk. In terms of his comedic journey, Minhaj “kind of stumbled into it,” first realizing he was capable of engaging a room while doing speech and debate in high school. Making jokes that resonated with the parent judges often earned him extra points. When he got to college, he realized that the stand-up he watched with his friends was “just
funny speech and debate.” Now, Minhaj continues to do the same — reckoning with the awkward, terrifying or confusing realities of the modern world in front of a studio audience on “Patriot Act.” He has discussed a range of hot-button issues, from the rise of streetwear brand Supreme to protests in Sudan or the origins of fentanyl and its misuse. Even when he covers intensely serious subjects, Minhaj finds a way to make people seated in the studio around him, and on their couches at home, laugh. When choosing topics to cover on the show, Minhaj and his team consider two main types of themes. “The first camp are stories that affect you, that affect your day-to-day-life, so things that you do care about. The second bucket are things that you should care about,” he said. The show is currently available on Netflix in 190 countries, with clips accessible to more on Facebook and YouTube. “We’re an American show — we film in America — but we have a global reach. … I see that as an opportunity.” During the talk, Minhaj alluded to the latest episode of “Patriot Act,” which was released on Netflix yesterday. Titled “The Ugly Truth of Fast Fashion,” the episode dives into the rise of mass-produced clothing and details the junction of social media-driven consumerism and fast fashion’s inherent unsustainability. In this episode, Minhaj is surround-
ed by pink-and purple-hued screens — even the floor he stands on projects digital renderings — and his commentary is punctuated by video clips from CNN, Fox News and YouTube, as well as animated graphs, statistics and images. The graphics have come to define Minhaj’s show. “The graphics department is really trying to visually storytell,” Minhaj said. “How do we take pull quotes, data visualization, mock-ups, all of those things and tell a story?” “The way we consume content these days, where, you’ll be at home, you’ll have your MacBook open while you’re watching Netflix, while you’re also talking to your friends on your phone. We’re able to kind of quickly sift through tons of information in real time and consume multiple different narratives all at once,” he said. The interactive, layered visuals of “Patriot Act” came as a response to this reality — freeing Minhaj from the constraints of the typical set of a late-night show. These visuals are the brainchild of the show’s lead animator Michelle Higa Fox ’04, founder of Slanted Studios, a multimedia company. This fall, Fox won an Emmy for Outstanding Motion Design for her creative direction on the show. Zachary Silverberg ’18 serves as the show’s digital editor and creates the digital content for the show’s social media. “Major shout out to this school because Brown University gave us two amazing people. … Brown alumni have
really shaped our show,” Minhaj said. Lecture Board intends “to bring individuals (to campus) who provide insight that complements the academic, developmental and extracurricular elements of the Brown experience,” Parisa Banani ’20, president of Lecture Board, wrote in an email to The Herald. “The way (Minhaj) describes his childhood and the seeming unreachability of comedic success, I think, displays an uncertainty that many of us feel toward our goals and dreams.”
COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS
Following their victory against Columbia last week, the Bears suffered a loss on Saturday against league champions Dartmouth at home. The team expressed optimism for the 2020 season.
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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25 2019
UNIVERSITY NEWS
Students, faculty consider climate action strategy in wake of Harvard-Yale protest Protest at HarvardYale game Saturday gains national attention BY MORGAN MCCORDICK STAFF WRITER The widely covered interruption of Saturday’s annual Harvard-Yale football game by climate activists has prompted members of the University community to reflect on how they can help combat climate change through fossil fuel divestment. The protest, coordinated by the Yale Endowment Justice Coalition, Fossil Free Yale and Divest Harvard, interrupted one of the Ivy League’s most popular sporting events of the year when over 200 students and alums from both schools occupied the field just before half time. Foremost among the protestors’ chants were calls for both universities to divest their endowments from fossil fuel holdings and Puerto Rican debt. Operating under #NobodyWins, the two student groups issued a statement after the game, citing the vast influence the two institutions wield with the $71 billion managed between them. The statement read, “We call on Harvard and Yale to fully disclose, divest, and reinvest their holdings in the fossil fuel industry, putting an end to business as usual and taking meaningful action towards building a more just and stable future.” Responding to the Harvard-Yale protest, Professor of Environmental Studies J. Timmons Roberts underscored the role of student activism in the realm of climate change, telling The Herald, “Students have been the leaders of many protest movements. … Their efforts to awaken their nation’s conscience is responsible for many of
the advances we’ve seen in history.” In the arena of combating climate change, elite academic institutions have been “dragging their feet,” he added. Three students involved with environmental activist and research groups at the University told The Herald that they were shocked at the expanse of the protest and were excited to see student activism attract so much attention. Yesenia Puebla ’21, the co-coordinator of Sunrise Brown and Rhode Island School of Design, told The Herald, “I was super surprised … and glad that it was so effective in getting a lot of media attention.” Puebla added that the protest was equally important in highlighting the lesser-known role elite institutions play in buying Puerto Rican debt. “What you saw at the protests were people not only recognizing that one of their universities’ biggest impacts in the world is how their money is used, but also really smartly recognizing that as students at universities with vast privilege, we have the ability to conduct protests and target our universities in a way that other people at other schools don’t have the ability to,” said Brown Divest member Ben Bienstock ’20. Brown Divest is leading a campus-wide movement for divestment from companies “complicit in human rights abuses in Palestine.” Students have previously urged the University to consider a divestment strategy around climate change. In 2014, Fossil Free Brown pushed for the University to divest from its fossil fuel holdings, but the Corporation, the University’s governing body, defended its divestments. This came shortly after the Brown Divest Coal Campaign, the group that would later evolve into Fossil Free Brown, was unable to persuade the University to abandon its coal investments in 2013. Despite these past roadblocks, some students believe that the Harvard-Yale protest could help augment
support for a fossil fuel divestment model at Brown. Cole Triedman ’21, who works at the University’s Climate and Development Lab, recognized the community’s past failures in pushing for divestment but expressed hope that present momentum of climate activism could bolster a resurgence in demands for fossil fuel divestment. “In this moment of environmental activism, divestment movements could proliferate in a way they couldn’t a few years ago. It’s proven to be an effective mechanism in the past,” Triedman said. Nina Wolff Landau ’20, a member of Environmental Justice at Brown and another co-coordinator for Sunrise Brown and RISD, also expressed support for fossil fuel divestment. “I’m thrilled and support (the protest) and obviously think that Brown should divest from fossil fuels,” Landau told The Herald. Yet Sunrise Brown and RISD, one of the larger climate activist groups on campus, is unlikely to begin formally advocating for the University to divest from fossil fuel holdings. Puebla, speaking for the group, said they would stay focused on advocating for a Green New Deal in Rhode Island. “We don’t see ourselves doing divestment. … We focus on the Green New Deal at the local level,” she told The Herald. Puebla said the upcoming climate strike organized by Sunrise is one of the group’s priorities: “If we continue to mobilize for the strike, that will be more effective in opening the path to a statewide Green New Deal.” While Sunrise Brown and RISD is likely to avoid a foray into divestment advocacy, Puebla nonetheless said she would “encourage” other groups to push for such policies. In another comment to The Herald, Roberts said, “The crisis of climate change is getting more apparent, and the action is still wholly inadequate. … The movement is back, and it will keep coming back until we divest.”
ARTS & CULTURE
Fall dance performance marks 50 years of dance program at U. Faculty-produced dance concert celebrates student choreography, features two companies BY KAHINI MEHTA STAFF WRITER In 1969, Julie Strandberg, distinguished senior lecturer in theatre arts and performance studies, founded the University’s Dance Program in the physical education department of Pembroke College. Fifty years later — last weekend — Strandberg produced the department’s fall dance concert alongside Sydney Skybetter, lecturer of theatre arts and performance studies. The performance was showing from Nov. 1 to Nov. 24 at Ashamu Dance Studio and was “all about student choreography and supporting them in their work,’’ Strandberg wrote in an email to The Herald. The show was presented by Sock & Buskin, a board comprised of University students and faculty that is responsible for selecting and producing performances at the University Theater.
This year, the performance featured two dance companies: Dance Extension, created by Strandberg, and Divine Rhythm, Brown’s only step dance team. Guest choreographers included jazz performer Danny Buraczeski and artistic director David Parsons, as well as Ryan T. Smith ’02 and Wendy Rein ’99, the founders and co-artistic directors of RAWdance, a contemporary dance company based in San Francisco. Many student artists performed their own choreography as well, with each dance bringing something new to the stage. “Each choreographer chooses his or her theme. The show is about individual creative voices,” Strandberg wrote. One such student choreographer was Benjamin Morris ’20. Morris has been dancing with Extension since his first year at the University and is a double concentrator in Theatre and Performance Studies and Modern Culture and Media. “I started dancing my sophomore year of high school,” wrote Morris in an email to The Herald. He explained that, every year, the performing arts elective he was taking put on a dance concert that he was extensively involved in.
“When I first started dancing, it served as a form of self-expression — a way for me to explore my relationship with music, art and my body,” Morris wrote, reflecting that over time, his focus on performance became more about collaboration. “In a group piece there may be one goal in mind — a sentiment, a concept — but everyone approaches that goal in their own way.” By performing together, artists influence each other — shaping the artistic process and their end result, he added. Morris performed the Parsons Etude, the well-known medley, at the fall dance concert with his close friend, Claire Hawkins ’20 — a dance he was revisiting for the first time since high school. His senior capstone dance, set to “’Til It’s Over” by Anderson .Paak, was also featured in the showcase. “It attempts to look at the complex reality of endings in an optimistic way to gain a better appreciation for the things that made/ make us who we are,” Morris wrote. Other acts in the Nov. 23 show included solo performances by Kira Clarke ’23, Lily Edgerton ’21, Anna Nolte ’21, Megan Gessner ’20 and a composition by select members of Divine Rhythm. Members of Dance Extension also per-
COURTESY OF JULIE STRANDBERG
Dance Extension’s and Divine Rhythm’s performances featured students and guest choreographers such as Danny Buraczeski. formed a dance titled “A Celebration of Joy,” followed by a poignant dance to “Riverside” by Agnes Obel, the Buraczeski Etude (2002) and Slipstream (2017), the latter of which was choreographed by RAWdance.
The concert ended with thunderous applause. “It makes me want to take a dance theory class. I couldn’t dance myself, but I feel like I would like to understand it better,” said audience member Eli Grossman ’23 after the show.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25 2019
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | TODAY
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Global Health Conversations: Ying Xin 10:00 A.M. 121 South Main Street
Theory Seminar - Jacopo Perego 4:00 P.M. Page-Robinson Hall
Why Are Teachers Striking? 5:00 P.M. 164 Angell Street
Leavetaking Roundtable Discussion for Sophomores 6:30 P.M. Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center
TOMORROW Teaching Talk: Linked Lists in Java 12:00 P.M. Watson CIT
Stop the Bleed 3:00 P.M. Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center
Political Concepts Reading: Capitalism and the Human 6:00 P.M. Cogut Institute, Pembroke Hall
Women’s Basketball vs. Merrimack College 7:00 P.M. Pizzitola Sports Center
Q U OTE OF TH E DAY
“There’s all kinds of stuff that has happened, and life persisted all the way through. ... (T)here’s this transcendent element, ... and that is the diversity of life.” —James Kellner, assistant professor SEE BIO PAGE 2
SI T TI N G P RET TY CR O S SWO R D
LEON JIANG / HERALD
This picnic table outside Buxton is one of the many spots students can sit, study and eat around campus. Other student-favorite areas include the Quiet Green, the steps of Faunce and even the alumni garden.
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | COMMENTARY
Providence needs the circus
EDITOR’S NOTE
What we’re grateful for 195 Angell. Broken chairs and no concussions. Computers that always crash and then sometimes wake up. The old printer, for dying, and the new printer, for barely staying alive. Expo markers. The coffee cups we forget to recycle and the chargers we abandon. Google Calendar for keeping our lives in order. Back massages, Adobe Creative Suite, Trello, white Jettas, OnCall before 2 a.m. and Brown Department of Public Safety for anytime after. Slack. Sarcasm. Happy hours that last (way) longer than an hour. Diane Silvia, our office mom who keeps us afloat. Ravi Betzig ’20 and Phil Masiakowski ’20 for spending hours in the front office every day. TCI Press and especially Kim, for her emojis and patience. Pete for his truck and flexibility. Our section editors, for setting the tone and pace of our news every day. Our opinion editors, who never stop talking and never fail to make us laugh. Senior Staff Writers, who can fill out a When2meet and whip out a breaking story with equal skill and speed. The Editorial Page Board for their long deliberations and thoroughness. Our columnists for engaging our readers in critical conversations. post- magazine for making The Herald cooler every Thursday night. And for bringing 9-spot snack donations, Oxford commas, and personality to every piece. Our Design Heads — Bilal Ismail, Dylan Tian ’21 and Keelin Lyons ’22 (and Taylor Swift?) — for understanding that loose lips sink ships. The old server, for getting us this far, and Jon Douglas ’20, for getting us farther.
The food that has sustained us (not #sponsoredcontent, we swear): Heng Thai & Rotisserie, B.Good, Baja’s Taqueria (lower Baja’s), by CHLOE., Starbucks, the Metro Mart, La Creperie. Bubly, sparkling water of any kind, gum, coffee coffee coffee. Daniel Nishimura, Ricky Devin and Kristina Van Schoorl. Herald alums, including, but not limited to, Ben Leubsdorf ’08 and Sydney Ember-Bechek ’12 for answering our late-night phone calls; Chris Hatfield ’06 and his cat for keeping us calm; David Grossman ’89 and Michael Dubin ’16 for their attention to detail. Everyone who took time out of their busy schedules to come back to 195 Angell to train and talk to our reporters. The 128th and 127th Editorial Boards for their friendship and guidance. James Egan for his unconditional support and for his office that’s always missing one chair. Our copy editors, graphic designers, illustrators, photographers and the brand-new Immersive team. Their talent, warmth and focus make our paper the best it can be every day. Our family members and friends who love us despite the unanswered texts and canceled plans. The 130th Editorial Board for all they have done and for all they will accomplish. Nick Fabrizio ’21.5 and Mariel Jackson ’21 for the same. We are grateful for each other. And lastly, for our readers, who make our journalism better. Thanks for reading. —Editor’s Notes are written by The Herald’s 129th Editorial Board: Emily Davies ’19.5, Priyanka Podugu ’20, Anna Kramer ’20, Anita Sheih ’20 and Sarah Wang ’20.
Famed circuses Barnum and Bailey and the Ringling Bros. may have shut their doors for good, but the populari-
offers almost nothing. In fact, the entire state of Rhode Island is almost barren of circus opportunities. A quick Google search uncovers only one standard circus school in the area, Arielle Arts in Greenwich. I’ve taken classes there, and it’s a good circus space, but getting there is in-
in place. Better still would be a new venue dedicated entirely to circus in one of the many buildings currently standing empty around town. But neither of these solutions are possible unless circus instructors, business owners and city institutions know that there is a demand. The city could
ty of circus is actually on the rise. This is in no small part due to the increasing accessibility of the circus. What used to be only witnessed on the stage — or in the ring, as the case may be — is now a participatory activity. Circus studios have been opening all across the country, where people can not only watch high flying acts but actually learn the art themselves. So with this increasing popularity, why is it that Providence is such a desert for circus arts? Providence should cultivate a circus community and engage with this national trend by welcoming local circus schools. To make this happen, we need to let the city know that this is what we want. Circus schools provide instruction in a number of traditional performing arts that used to be found under the big top — aerial silks, lyra, trapeze, tumbling, tightwire and many more. Many people now take regular classes in these once esoteric skills as part of a regular fitness routine. But circus is about more than the need to “stay fit” — it’s an art form in its own right. Many cities are home to at least one circus school for interested students. In fact, in most of the places I’ve lived, I’ve had my choice of multiple circus schools. Unsurprisingly, Chicago, the cultural center of Illinois, offered numerous different
convenient — it’s not within anyone’s definition of walking distance and more than an hour away by public transportation. So why doesn’t Providence have any circus schools? Perhaps this has to do with Rhode Island’s location between Boston and New York, two hubs for the circus scene. It’s also mere hours away from the Vermont-based New England Center for Circus Arts, the premier full-time circus school in the country. But New England isn’t small, and studios in Vermont and Massachusetts are not readily accessible to the Providence community. We need our own circus space. Brown does offer a student circus group, the Brown Aerial and Acrobatics club. However, this group is severely limited in the frequency and type of instruction it can offer based on practice space availability. Many circus arts in particular have stringent space requirements due to the necessary rigging of the apparatus, so lessons are not easily movable. The restrictions on space, due to the nature of circus arts, and availability, as the group is subject to the scheduling requirements of the University, make participation inconvenient. Furthermore, this group is only accessible to students from Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design. The benefits
offer tax breaks to entice new studios to open, but only if they know that there’s a need and a desire for them. Practitioners looking to open their own circus school could set up shop in Providence, but they won’t do so unless they know that we want one. So consider this column my official plea: Providence is a community ready to welcome the circus. With little other access to instruction in these arts, it’s a notable cultural lacuna that is ready to be filled. The community of students — from Brown, RISD, Johnson and Wales University, Providence College and Rhode Island College — ensure a wide pool of potential participants. Out-of-state students — like myself — may already have exposure to the circus arts, so there is likely an undercurrent of demand for the circus that is currently not being met. But it’s not just the students — I think the wider community is ready for a circus school too. I attended “A Magical Cirque Christmas” show at the Vets Theatre last year, where I watched a packed audience of all ages admire the thrill of the circus. Here was an audience that might enjoy trying their hands at juggling, swinging, climbing or flying, but without a circus school in the area may never get the chance. Our community is ready for more circus, so it just re-
circus venues, from the artsy Aloft to a flying trapeze school, which requires significantly more space and different safety procedures, to more yoga-based, fitness-style circus. But even the smaller college-town of Ann Arbor, MI boasted at least three different places to train and study in the circus arts. But Providence, the state capital and self-styled “creative capital,”
of having a full circus studio available to the Providence community include having a much wider variety of times for instruction, and individualized attention from trained instructors. Addressing the lack of circus instruction in Providence may be as simple as working with one of the local rock climbing gyms, where much of the necessary infrastructure for installing aerial apparatus is already
mains for the city to cultivate this aspect of its arts scene and work to bring more circus to Providence.
E. L. MESZAROS GS STAFF COLUMNIST
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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25 2019
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | COMMENTARY
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Spoiling the 2020 campaign GREER BRINGHAM ’20 OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR It was one of the great nightmares of the Democratic Party: On the night of Nov. 7th, 2000, the Presidential Election between George W. Bush and Al Gore was a toss-up, with the final result dependent on the outcome in Florida. The final tally? Bush won the state, and therefore the presidency, by a margin of only 537 votes. As Democrats would lament for years afterward, Green Party candidate Ralph Nader received 97,488 votes in Florida — over 180 times the difference between Bush and Gore. To this day, many Democrats believe that Gore would have won the White House had Nader not been in the race, since Gore’s advocacy for pro-environment policies would likely have won over many Nader voters. Concerns over similar ‘spoiler’ candidates have plagued the Democratic party since the 2000 election, springing up recently with Green Party nominee Jill Stein’s performance in the 2016 Presidential Election and former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s short-lived independent candidacy earlier this year. However, we usually ignore the problem of spoilers right where solutions (like ranked choice voting) are the most feasible: party primaries. Let’s look at the 2020 Democratic Primary race over the past month. Right now, the race is divided between moderates — led by former Vice President Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana — and progres-
sives led by Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Voters tend to cluster in these two groups; for example, we could assume that a typical Sanders supporter would likely prefer Warren to Biden. This leaves the race highly susceptible to spoiler effects.
“Clearly, Democrats should not determine the direction of their party based on the decision of one man or the heartbeat of another.” On the progressive side, Sanders and Warren are currently acting as spoilers for each other, since they split the progressive vote. We saw the effects of this phenomenon when Sanders suffered a heart attack in early October, leading to a drop in his polling numbers. Presumably, some of his voters switched over to Warren, which resulted in an immediate polling boost (to the point of briefly surpassing Biden in national polls). However, when Sanders quickly returned to the campaign trail — proving to some that his health concerns were not as serious as they had presumed — his polling numbers re-
bounded, and Warren saw a simultaneous decline. Throughout all of this, Biden’s numbers have remained largely unchanged, and he once again leads in national polls. On the moderate side, we have seen the entry of a potential spoiler, as former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced his candidacy on Sunday. As a moderate with good name recognition and millions of dollars at his disposal, Bloomberg could poach voters from Biden and Buttigieg, to the benefit of Warren and Sanders. Doesn’t this all seem arbitrary? Clearly, Democrats should not determine the direction of their party based on the decision of one man or the heartbeat of another. To fix the problem of spoilers, we need look no further than Bloomberg’s own city; this past month, New York City voters approved a ballot initiative on ranked choice voting. In the NYC system, voters rank up to five of their favorite candidates instead of choosing just one — for example, a hypothetical voter could create a ranking of: 1) Sanders, 2) Warren, 3) Buttigieg, 4) Biden. If a candidate were to receive more than 50 percent of all first choice votes, that candidate would win. If not, then the candidate with the fewest first choice votes is eliminated, and the votes for everyone who preferred this eliminated candidate are moved over to their second choice candidate. In our example, if Sanders received the fewest votes, then he would be eliminated, and the hypothetical vote shown above would move to Warren. Proponents of RCV note that it is more democratic, since spoiler effects are no longer pos-
sible. In such a system, Bloomberg would pose no threat to other moderates, and progressives wouldn’t have to worry about Warren and Sanders splitting their votes. Citizens can also freely support less mainstream candidates like Andrew Yang ’96 without fearing that their vote would be wasted, since it was not cast for one of the front-runners. In addition, RCV should lead primary races to be less divisive, with candidates refraining from harshly attacking each other since they hope to be ranked second by supporters of their competitors. Critics of RCV note that it could support the influence of elites over the general public, as elites are more likely to know all of the candidates and be able to rank them, thereby maximizing their personal influence. However, while this may be a real concern for little-known candidates in a local election, the extreme (or exhausting, if you like) amount of attention centered on presidential primary candidates should allow the vast majority of voters to develop a sense of their top choices. While I have written from the perspective of Democrats due to the state of the 2020 campaign, spoiler candidates can distort the democratic process in both parties. In order to fix our primary process and make every vote count, let’s move to ranked-choice voting.
Greer Brigham ’20 can be reached at greer_brigham@brown.edu.Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
EDITORIAL
U. must improve actual, perceived sense of student safety Recently as part of The Herald’s Fall 2019 poll, students were asked how safe they feel both on and off campus after dark. The results indicated that while a vast majority of students feel safe on campus after dark,
necessitates investigation. In order to fully participate in college life and interact with the nearby community, students need to feel comfortable traversing streets on College Hill and occupying spaces beyond the
safety and its perceived sense, there are steps the University can take now — as the working group forms — to begin addressing both concerns. For example, we urge the administration to consider how it can
tend its presence into the city. But this simple change in certain areas could make a huge difference — through both perceived and actual enhancements of street safety. Indeed, a recent experimental study
about 40 percent of undergraduates — including a disproportionate number of women — feel unsafe off-campus, including on Thayer Street. Given that 28 percent of University students live in off-campus housing, according to US News, and a much larger proportion spend their time frequenting popular off-campus destinations, these findings are highly disconcerting. In light of this survey, the University should make it a priority to improve students’ perceived and actual senses of safety and well-being in areas surrounding campus. As shown in the fall poll, even city streets that run through or adjacent to Brown’s campus can be uneasy areas for students to traverse after dark. For example, students have described Thayer Street — the popular food destination and hub of student activity prominently bisecting campus — as an intimidating space at night. Students emphasized these concerns in interviews with The Herald following the fall poll and discussed experiences of catcalling on Thayer in a 2017 Herald article. There is a difference between the sense of safety reported in the fall poll and physical safety among students, but both are deserving of University attention. Students may feel safe or unsafe for a variety of reasons. For many students, for example, coming to College Hill may be their first experience residing in a city. While it is impossible to determine every reason a student may report feelings of uneasiness near campus, the percentage of undergraduates who reported feeling unsafe after dark — 40 percent — indicates that the problem
college greens. The University also ought to do more to address crime on College Hill, which certainly contributes to limited senses of security. This semester alone, the Brown Department of Public Safety has alerted the campus community of three situations in which students were victims of crimes — robbery and attempted robbery — on streets adjacent to Brown’s campus. Moreover, DPS, which published its annual crime report for 2019 this past October, reported a sharp increase in burglaries in the neighborhoods on College Hill, where many University students live. In 2018, 102 reported burglaries occurred in areas from Power Street to Olney Street, up from 37 in 2017. We acknowledge that College Hill will never be free of crime and that the area remains relatively safe compared to many cities nationwide, but nonetheless, it is important that the University strives to do better. Given the importance of student safety and the room for improvement in both mitigating crime and addressing perceived security, the University should establish a working group focused on investigating the source of student concerns and ultimately improving off-campus safety on College Hill. The group could host a series of roundtable discussions to establish a formal and accessible avenue for students to explain their experiences and build on existing initiatives. These focus groups could play an integral role in ensuring that University resources are directed toward initiatives that target the source of the problems. While there is a difference between
increase awareness of resources that are already available. Chief of Police Mark Porter recently acknowledged that perhaps “a lot of students are unaware of the safety measures we have in place.” If they were, their senses of safety off-campus may very well improve. We encourage the University to increase student involvement with and awareness of its current efforts through the Officer/Student Dialogue Program and the DPS Listening Session Initiative for Students. These programs facilitate opportunities for students to engage in intimate dialogue with DPS officers “to share thoughts and recommendations” on “campus safety programming.” But not all students feel comfortable interacting with the police, and thus it is equally as important that Brown explore increasing awareness of its other resources, such as by incorporating a map of blue light stations and campus security guard locations in its new app, BrownU. In addition, the University should consider installing more lighting on streets near campus. As one goes farther off-campus and the shops and University buildings become fewer and farther between, more streets become sparsely lit. Even just one block removed from Thayer, streets can be pitch dark. More extensive lighting could make students and other community members feel safer simply by improving visibility. It is important to acknowledge that the University cannot and should not provide lighting or security throughout the city of Providence; there are limits to what students consider to be “off-campus” and the University should be careful not to over-ex-
conducted in New York City found that providing a greater number of street lights to a random sample of communities reduced crime — defined as a “subset of serious felony crimes and certain property crimes” — in the affected areas by 36 percent at night compared to peer communities. Though these findings may not be entirely generalizable to Providence and the types of crime that most commonly occur near Brown’s campus, they do suggest that more extensive street lighting could improve safety on College Hill. Ultimately, we hope that both students and the administration will be encouraged to mobilize around the issue of off-campus safety — both perceived and physical — and brainstorm meaningful solutions. While the University currently employs several measures to improve safety around campus, there is ample room for implementing new strategies as well as building on current practices that would make everyone feel more comfortable walking on the periphery of campus at night. The average Brown student has chosen to spend four years of their life on College Hill; we hope the University can take seriously its obligation to ensure that their time here feels safe and fulfilling. —Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board: its editors, Grace Layer ’20 and Krista Stapleford ’21, and its members, Dylan Tian ’21, Eduard Muñoz-Suñé ’20, Jonathan Douglas ’20 and Riley Pestorius ’21. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com. Send comments to editorials@ browndailyherald.com.
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25 2019
SPORTS
Men’s hockey bests St. Lawrence 3-2, edged by Clarkson 2-1 in overtime Three Bears score in first period to fuel Bruno past Saints at home Saturday
BY ALEXANDRA RUSSELL SPORTS EDITOR The men’s hockey team rounded out its four-game homestand this weekend, toppling St. Lawrence University 3-2 Saturday after being edged 2-1 by No. 8 Clarkson University in overtime Friday. Saturday night, three different Bears scored in the first period to power Bruno past the Saints. The weekend also saw a pair of impressive performances in net from goaltender Gavin Nieto ’20, who combined for 62 saves in the contests. Brown 1, Clarkson 2 (OT) Friday night’s contest against the Golden Knights (10-3-1, 5-1-0 ECAC) marked the Bears’ first overtime tilt of the season. Zach Giuttari ’20 equalized the game with a power-play goal late in the second stanza, before a scoreless third period sent the teams into extra time. The two sides exchanged blows in a physical, fast-paced first period, which was capped off by a late goal from the Golden Knights’ Anthony Callin. Callin sent a wrist shot from the right circle top shelf into the Brown net for the early lead. The Bears (3-5-0, 3-5-0) killed off a
pair of penalties in the first half of the second period, which was highlighted by several critical saves from Nieto. Giuttari notched his first goal of the season in the final minute of the stanza, scoring on a one-timer on the power play to even the tally. After receiving a feed from Tony Stillwell ’21 at the top of the left circle, Giuttari fired a shot past Clarkson goaltender Frank Marotte for the equalizer. Tristan Crozier ’22 also recorded an assist on the play. “Our special teams have been really good — our power play has really given us a boost this year with some timely goals and our PK has been really solid,” Nieto said. “Our new coach (Jason Smith) has done a really good job of implementing a new PK system — we kind of keep teams to the outside and don’t give them too many chances, so it’s been working really well for us.” The Bears continued to exert offensive pressure as both teams peppered one another with shots in the third period. Marotte drove away consecutive bids from Ben Taylor ’21 and Jack Gessert ’20 in the 17th minute to preserve the tie and force overtime. Nieto turned away six shots in the extra frame, but Golden Knights defenseman Greg Moro scored with just under two minutes remaining to clinch the victory for Clarkson. We “take the positives and there are a lot of them — (Clarkson is) an excellent hockey team,” said Head Coach Brendan Whittet ’94. “We battled them tooth and nail, and that game could have gone either way — it just didn’t
go our way tonight.” Brown 3, St. Lawrence 2 The following day, Justin Jallen ’22, Luke Krys ’23 and Brent Beaudoin ’20 each scored in the first period to give the Bears an early advantage over the Saints (3-10-1, 1-5-0). Colin Burston ’21 also notched a pair of assists in the victory. Jallen put Brown on the board in the fourth minute of the first period with his team-high seventh goal of the season. After Burston capitalized on a turnover in the offensive zone and sent the puck to Jallen in the slot, Jallen buried a shot in the St. Lawrence net for the early advantage. Krys followed late in the period with his first career goal for the Bears, launching a clean shot from the edge of the right circle past Saints netminder Daniel Mannella. Chris Berger ’21 and Cole Quisenberry ’23 each notched assists on the play. Beaudoin tacked on another goal to widen the lead with just under three minutes remaining in the stanza. After receiving a pass from Trey Dodd ’20 in the offensive zone, Burston fed the puck across the crease to Beaudoin, who finished the play for the 3-0 advantage entering the first intermission. “We passed up a lot of opportunities on Friday night so we really had an emphasis of trying to get every opportunity we could toward the net, and it paid off with three goals in the first period,” Nieto said. Following a scoreless second period, St. Lawrence notched a pair of
COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS
The Bears finished a four-game homestand with a victory over St. Lawrence Saturday. Bruno will visit Bentley and PC this week. goals in the final frame to trim Bruno’s lead to one. The Saints started to gain momentum and began to pressure the Brown net in the final 10 minutes, but Nieto made multiple key saves to fend off the attack and secure the victory for the Bears. “We need to keep generating shots — we were shooting the puck in the first and we were capitalizing on our chances,” Krys said. “We’ve got to bear down on pucks more often, and when we get a chance to score, we’ve got to put it in the back of the net.” As the team progresses further into its season, Whittet emphasized the importance of remaining persistent and present for the full three periods of each contest. “We’ve got to play the game with energy and tenacity every time we step on the ice,” he said. “We can improve on playing a full
60 minutes and not taking any time off there, and just really trying to take a step forward every game that we play,” Krys added. The Bears seek to carry the energy from Saturday’s victory into a pair of non-conference matchups against Bentley University and No. 12 Providence College this week. “Winning this game is huge — it’s going to give us some momentum and confidence,” Nieto said. “We’re excited where we’re at, and we believe in this team so it’s an exciting time.” “We’re moving in the right direction,” Krys said. “We’ve just got to keep moving forward, and all eyes (are) on Tuesday and trying to get two points again.” Bruno visits Bentley Tuesday and Providence for the annual Mayor’s Cup contest Saturday. The team will resume conference play at Union College Dec. 6.