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VOLUME CLIII, ISSUE 32
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R.I. Sec. of State champions early voting Laptop theft peaks in Nellie Gorbea works to move Rhode Island’s primary elections earlier in year By DYLAN CLARK SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Rhode Island Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea has proposed a system for early voting in the Ocean State. House Bill 5292, which was introduced and referred to the House Judiciary Committee Feb. 6, would open polls 20 days before a primary or general election and would allow local municipalities to determine where voting takes place in their jurisdictions. The bill was introduced by state representatives Joseph Solomon DWarwick, Christopher Blazejewski DProvidence, Jean Barros D-Pawtucket, Robert Phillips D-Woonsocket and Cumberland and Bernard Hawkins DSmithfield and Glocester. Department of State Communications Director and Senior Advisor Nicole Lagace expects an identical bill to be introduced in the Senate, she wrote in an email to The Herald. This bill is consistent with a wider
effort of Rhode Island officials working to increase voter access in the state. State Senator Gayle Goldin, DProvidence proposed voting reforms last month, which include measures to repeal the state’s voter ID laws, The Herald previously reported. Unlike Rhode Island, 39 states and the District of Columbia already have a system in place for early voting. Gorbea has sought to enact progressive voting reforms for years. This is the fifth time Gorbea has tried to pass early in-person voting, Lagace wrote.“There is no silver bullet to increasing voter turnout, but implementing early in-person voting is an important step to improving access to the ballot box,” Lagace wrote. Beyond increasing voter participation, Gorbea hopes to make election day more manageable for administrators by shifting some of the voting traffic from mail ballots to early in-person voting. From 2014 to 2018, the Board of Elections saw emergency mail ballot use increase by 119 percent, and the number of regular mail ballots rise by 47 percent. Without this reform, election officials will not be able to keep pace with the excessive reliance on mail ballots, said John Marion, executive director for Common Cause Rhode
Island. “Without the legislature creating a system of early voting, we’re going to be in a crisis in 2020 because voters are increasingly using mail ballots … and it’s overwhelming the election administration,” Marion said. He added that failure to address this mail ballot increase could ultimately disenfranchise voters. H 5292 would not change the mail ballot system, as voters could still request an emergency mail ballot three weeks before election day and those who are unable to go to their polling place would still have access to emergency ballots. Previous efforts to ensure early voting have failed due to concerns over increasing costs for local municipalities, which would have to support early voting infrastructure. Gorbea’s office has worked with state and local officials “to address issues that have been raised,” Lagace wrote. “We reduced the numbers of weekends and hours (from previous proposals). We also added the actual machine voting process to the bill to reduce some of the administrative challenges.” Gorbea’s office has also been » See VOTING, page 3
late Jan., early Feb. At beginning of semester, laptops taken from dorm rooms, common areas, off-campus homes By JACKSON TRUESDALE SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The beginning of the semester saw a spike in laptop theft, with more laptops stolen on and around campus during the first three weeks than in that time frame for the past five years. Between Jan. 24 and Feb. 9, 10 MacBook laptops were stolen from campus dormitories and one off-campus student residence, according to the Department of Public Safety’s Weekly Crime and Incident Summaries. The value of the stolen goods totaled $17,880, including laptops and other objects taken at the same time, according to the crime logs. DPS had not seen such a concentration of theft since 13 laptops were stolen in September 2013. In 2013, DPS logged 54 cases of laptop theft. In 2014, DPS began a campaign urging students to lock their doors; that year students reported
12 cases of laptop theft. Laptop theft cases have remained in the single digits each year since. The first laptop theft this semester occurred on Jan. 24 when a student left his computer in Andrews Hall and returned four hours later to find the device gone, according to the crime logs. Another two thefts occurred Jan. 28 and Jan. 31. Over the weekend between Feb. 1 and Feb. 3, students reported five stolen MacBooks. In four out of the five cases, the student reported that someone had entered their dorm room and taken the computer. The first theft over that weekend occurred in Vartan Gregorian Quad A, when a student reported around 7 p.m. that someone had entered her dorm room and taken her backpack containing a MacBook laptop, iPhone, calculator and two sets of earphones. The next day, Feb. 2, Aaron Cho ’21, who lives in Sears House, reported around 9:30 p.m. that someone had entered his dorm room, taking his backpack and MacBook laptop as well as his roommate’s MacBook laptop. » See THEFT, page 3
U. researchers develop tool to identify areas of toxic waste contamination Superfund Research Program creates contaminant detection algorithm, database By RAHMA IBRAHIM STAFF WRITER
A team of two current and one former University researchers has designed a geospatial tool and database that can map and identify likely regions of toxic waste contamination in Rhode Island, with applications in transportation, ecology, policy-making and quality of life, among others. The researchers, all members of the Superfund Research Program — an organization that aims to develop a better understanding of the effects of environmental contamination on human health — studied how certain demographics can be disproportionately affected by their proximity to waste hazards, as well as how this disproportionate risk changes over time. The team began by studying old manuscripts and directories, or what they called the “lost knowledge” of metropolitan Providence, to help regulatory agencies identify places where lingering contaminants remain. The researchers studied PFAS — Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances — a class of
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chemicals identified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as an emerging contaminant. While the term “emerging contaminant” may suggest modernity in the chemicals, Scott Frickel, professor of environment and society and sociology, explained that the term actually refers to old chemicals that were used in the 1950s and are only now being recognized by the agency as posing real environmental health risks. Some of those contaminants can be found in what used to make up Providence’s thriving industrial districts. For about a hundred years, Providence boasted a prominent jewelry industry, which used large amounts of harsh chemicals, many of which are biopersistent. Some of the information about these chemicals is available through the EPA’s toxic release database, but the team’s research uncovered a more detailed history of these sites and their waste. Frickel modeled this project off his earlier research that tracked industrial hazards in four cities, as discussed in his book “Sites Unseen: Uncovering Hidden Hazards in American Cities.” Meanwhile, Tom Marlow GS, a PhD candidate in sociology, worked heavily with collaborators at the University’s Data Science Initiative to create the algorithm used by these researchers. Jennifer Guelfo, currently an assistant professor » See TOXIC, page 4
WEATHER
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2019
COMMENTARY Hinch ’20: Proposed changes to International Relations wrongly discard invaluable courses
COMMENTARY Allums ’21: Fetuses must be protected from harm without violating women’s right to choose
ARTS AND CULTURE Production Workshop presents Shayna Toh’s ’20 original musical “Firefly in the Light”
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Photo Spread: Carnaval
R.I. state colleges experience decline in enrollment Rhode Island’s public university and colleges have seen a decline in enrollment, according to the New England Board of Higher Education, the Associated Press reported. University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College and Community College of Rhode Island have all seen enrollment decreases. While URI and CCRI observed decreases of less than two percent, RIC saw a decrease of 4.9 percent between Fall 2017 and Fall 2018. The decline in Rhode Island comes as many public colleges in New England have experienced similar realities. Following Gov. Gina Raimondo’s initiative to make state institutions tuition-free, in-state students fulfilling GPA requirements can currently attend all three public colleges tuition free for the first two years, The Herald previously reported.
Some flights out of T.F. Green halted after Ethiopian Airlines crash Norwegian Airlines is grounding its Boeing 737 Max planes, cancelling Tuesday’s flights from the Theodore Frances Green Airport to Dublin, the Providence Journal reported. The decision follows the deadly plane crash of an Ethiopian Airlines flight Sunday, which killed all 157 people on board. The plane involved was a Boeing 737 Max, the second of the model to crash in five months. A newer and more fuel efficient version of Boeing’s classic 737, the 737 Max was last evaluated after another crash that killed every passenger on an Indonesian Airline flight in December. Norwegian Airlines is one of 34 airline companies to sideline its 737 Max fleets until further information addressing the cause of the second crash is made available, according to the New York Times. China and the European Union have also prohibited the model from flying within their airspace. Southwest Airlines, which also uses the 737 Max in flights from Providence to Chicago, will continue using the model. A Southwest spokesperson told The Providence Journal it would work with individual customers who wanted to be moved off flights with the 737 Max, but it will not refund non-refundable tickets.
The event featured Brazilian and Portuguese food, music and dancing
Rhode Island ranked 8th highest tax rate in U.S. Rhode Island has some of the highest tax rates in the country, according to a study by WalletHub. The state ranked 8th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia for the highest tax rate. Rhode Island’s effective total state and local tax rates on Median U.S. Household add up to 13.21 percent, according to the study. Rhode Island also has one of the highest cigarette taxes, ranking second highest in the nation behind New York and Connecticut. Cigarettes cost $3.50 per pack and are taxed at 7 percent. While the state does have state income tax — ranging from 3.75 percent to 5.99 percent, according to the R.I. Department of Revenue — it is one of 35 states without sales tax. Tax policies have come under scrutiny lately, after Raimondo revealed her 2019 budget and garnered criticism with a Feb. Wall Street Journal editorial.
On March 5, the Department of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies sponsored Carnaval
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» VOTING, from page 1 working on a separate initiative to change the date that the state holds its primary election from September to “the third Tuesday after the first Monday in August,” Lagace wrote. This would allow overseas citizens and members of the military additional time to choose a candidate between primaries and general elections. According to federal law, states must send in military and overseas ballots 45 days in advance of the general election. As the 2020 election dates currently stand, Rhode Island would risk violating the law, Lagace wrote. “The single act of casting a ballot is fundamental to our democracy and critically important to making government accountable to the people it serves,” Gorbea wrote. “That’s why I continue to make it a priority that elections in the state are accessible to all eligible Rhode Islanders and that the voting experience is smooth and without delay.” The Brown Progressive Action Committee supports any reform that increases voter participation, said Jenna Israel ’21, co-chair of BPAC. The group has been working with Common Cause Rhode Island to institute early voting in-person in the state. Without an early voting system, “it makes it really hard for a lot of people to be able to vote,” she said, adding that the system would “make it easier for municipalities to process votes.” The Rhode Island Board of Elections plans to sponsor its own bill to enact early voting, though it endorsed Gorbea’s legislation last year. The Rhode Island Board of Elections did not respond to request for comment. Marion also advocates same-day voter registration. Currently, the state constitution requires voters to register 30 days before an election. But the Secretary of State is considering a referendum on the ballot for the next general election, which she can include without the proposed change earning a supermajority in both chambers because the General Assembly has not considered this specific change in the past 10 years. “Until we attack that, we’re probably not going to see a dramatic increase in turnout,” Marion said. “Early voting might provide a little bump … but the big gains would come in same-day registration.”
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On Feb. 3, between 5 and 6 p.m., two students reported their MacBook laptops were taken from their unlocked dorm rooms in Harkness House. One of the students, Caleigh Aviv ’21, said her laptop was stolen from her zipped backpack, while her roommate’s laptop, which had been under her blankets, was not taken. Aviv said that as soon as she found her laptop missing, she checked the Find My iPhone app to track her laptop’s location, but her computer was already offline. Another laptop theft was also reported earlier that day in Miller Hall. No similar thefts were reported until the early hours of Feb. 9, when two students living off-campus called DPS to say someone had entered their house and had stolen two MacBook laptops from their bedrooms. Since Feb. 9, DPS Weekly Crime and Incident Summaries show one laptop reported stolen from a student’s off-campus apartment March 3.
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of civil, environmental and construction engineering at Texas Tech University, led the sampling effort and worked with Marlow to develop a risk index, which is the criteria for labeling different areas as high or low risk. The algorithm created by the researchers allowed them to extract data from historical directories and use that information to map and obtain the longitude and latitude of toxic waste sites. This algorithm created high quality PDF scans of the book pages of the Rhode Island Directory of Manufacturers and converted those scans into Excel spreadsheets. Prior to this algorithm, undergraduate students would instead manually enter the data into spreadsheets. The algorithm, perhaps the first of its kind, was a key technological advancement from Frickel’s earlier work, since it greatly increased the speed of data recording. The directories contain company information such as the name, standard industrial classification, number of employees and addresses, among others. The researchers used the information within these directories to infer the facilities’ locations and, “just as importantly, where they aren’t” located, Marlow said. The information helped the researchers understand how the geography of industries changes over time, where contaminants remain and how populations have changed to create inequitable environments. The Rhode Island Department of Health used this analysis and worked with the researchers to select sites to sample and test for PFAS contamination. The idea of using geospatial tools to understand the effects of contamination on the environment is not specific to the University and has been in play since the 1990s. Steven Fleming, a professor of the practice of spatial sciences at the University of Southern California, used geospatial tools in an earlier project that aimed to remediate the effects of nuclear waste on the Savannah River. Still, the future of geospatial design is uncertain. As Fleming noted, while the implications of this field on humanity are large, not enough people have developed interest. The University’s broad, liberal education granted by the Open Curriculum could help students become more suited for geospatial design, Fleming argued. The researchers now intend to take this study beyond Rhode Island. Specifically, they plan to replicate the study in Ohio. They also plan to use their findings and work to inform the fields of politics and ecology, topography, hydrology and transportation. Additionally, the team hopes that policymakers and others will make use of this information to improve their work.
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During midterm season, students flock to campus study spots such as Tealuxe. Hunched over laptops and worksheets, they prepare for upcoming tests with spring break around the corner.
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“The single act of casting a ballot is fundamental to our democracy and critically important to making
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government accountable to the people it serves.
— Rhode Island Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea
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Assertive Speaking 9:00 A.M. South Street Landing
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COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2019
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
IR concentration needs reform, but not like this OLIVIA HINCH
op-ed contributor To be honest, I have never been a passionate supporter of the International Relations concentration, and I have spent most of my time at Brown debating whether to continue my studies in IR or pursue a concentration in which I found fewer faults. Yet, as the Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs has submitted a finalized plan to combine International Relations, Development Studies and Public Policy into one conglomerate “International and Public Affairs” concentration, I feel it imperative to argue in favor of the concentrations’ continued individuality. Although I believe that Watson should consider reform within IR, I worry that its current plan eliminates important pieces of an education in global studies. Specifically, I worry that the conflation of International Relations, Development Studies and Public Policy into one concentration undermines each discipline’s unique role in fostering an academic community and approaching politics through an interdisciplinary lens. In the process of streamlining Watson’s managerial work, IR concentrators will lose valuable components of their degree. Development of a new concentration may indeed address certain flaws in the IR concentration as it currently stands. The phrase International Relations in and of itself connotes an outmoded Cold War era model of great power politics that privileges the role of elites and security institutions. Consequently, I believe that the IR concentration will better fulfill the needs of current Brown students with a title more like “International Affairs,” as suggested by Watson.
The new concentration proposal, however, permanently relegates invaluable courses and requirements to the concentration graveyard. The IR concentration currently mandates 14 requirements (15 with Honors) plus six semesters of modern language study. This means that I will take 21 courses for my concentration by the time I graduate, more than what I would need to receive an Sc.B. in a science concentration. In the process of reducing the required work to only 12 courses under the new concentration,
students little to challenge global standards or create more effective solutions. Although under the new concentration a single course like “Nuclear Weapons and International Politics” would fulfill the same introductory requirement, I find it hard to believe that such a course would serve the same purpose in promoting discussion. The new Watson concentration also removes all language requirements. While those who do take a language may opt out of a second methods requirement with four semesters
Although I believe that Watson should consider reform within IR, I worry that its current plan eliminates important pieces of an education in global studies.
Watson administrators have eliminated the five IR core courses. The core has been replaced with various Gateway Courses — introductory courses — and a nondescript foundational course for the student’s chosen track, whether Development, Security or Policy & Governance. The IR core as it stands approaches global studies through a critical lens, dissuading concentrators from embracing more problematic narratives in the International Relations field. Two IR core classes, ANTH 0110: “Anthropology and Global Social Problems” and SOC 1620: “Globalization and Social Conflict,” specifically ask students to question the modern system of wealth inequality and the international capitalist order. By eliminating the IR core, Watson prepares
of language study at Brown, this policy hardly encourages concentrators to learn valuable regional and language skills. I understand that this change is meant to incorporate Public Policy students whose focus remains in English-speaking realms, but this compromise greatly lessens the rigor of an education in IR. I do believe the addition of a second methods course will positively contribute to a global studies education. But the ability for students to optout diminishes the efficacy of the new requirement, as many International Affairs students will likely continue to take language. Further, exchanging methods study for only four semester of language, instead of the current six required, does not optimize learning for students — as two years of language
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affairs education. The new concentration elicits no obligation for students to learn through this crucial lens. Furthermore, Watson’s proposed changes overlook the fact that International Relations, Public Policy and Development Studies are all unique disciplines. I worry that the name “International and Public Affairs” will discourage students most interested in domestic policy from pursuing the Watson concentration. In line with this name, most courses included in the proposal emphasize foreign affairs at the expense of domestic policy. I would estimate that the Public Policy concentration did not double in size after the 2016 U.S. presidential election because students wished to explore international politics. Separate spaces for international and domestic policy serve
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study will not leave you proficient. Additionally, the proposal wrongly removes any requirement or incentive to take an economics course. The IR concentration currently has two tracks: Security and Political Economy. Although the new proposal includes its own “Security” track, Watson administrators have entirely removed the Political Economy track. Trade and commerce play an invaluable role in domestic politics and foreign policy; economics must be featured in any interdisciplinary public
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different, yet equally important purposes. Forcing these two realms into one tight space may diminish their unique and essential roles. In the spirit of Brown, Watson would accept any student with a passion for public affairs into this concentration, not requiring any sort of application beyond the standard declaration. In 2018, there were 116 students concentrating in International Relations, Public Policy and Development Studies. If all of these students joined the new concentration, it would prove difficult to build a sense of academic camaraderie among such a large number of concentrators. This is especially true since under the new proposal, not one single course is required for all Watson undergraduates. I hold that the combined Watson concentration would remove valuable components of the IR concentration as it stands — with negative consequences for the core, language requirement and study of economics. By privileging international affairs, the new concentration also undermines the value of a focus on domestic policy essential to many public policy concentrators. I have never found IR to be infallible, and many areas the proposed plan tackles — such as greater access to faculty and a second methods requirement — should be applauded. However, fixing the problems inherent to the concentration does not require its entire eradication. Watson should pursue a less drastic option in pursuit of a better IR.
Olivia Hinch ’20 can be reached at olivia_hinch@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and other op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
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COMMENTARY WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2019 • PAGE 7
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The fate of abortion rights in Rhode Island JORDAN ALLUMS staff columnist Given the conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court and unclear fate of Roe v. Wade, the fight to protect a woman’s right to abortion continues to be waged at the federal level and in Rhode Island. On March 7, Rhode Island’s House of Representatives voted 44-30 to protect legal abortion at the state level in case Roe is overturned. The legislation prohibits government regulation of an abortion “prior to fetal viability” — the stage at which the fetus can survive outside of the womb, either independently or with “artificial support.” After this window, abortion would be banned unless deemed necessary for the woman’s health or survival. The legislation must be approved by the state Senate before it is enacted into law. While abortion rights activists get to celebrate this incremental victory, many, including anti-abortion activists and members of the Roman Catholic Church, are expectedly disappointed. The legislation’s proposed overturning of the 1970s “quick child law” is a point of particular contention for these individuals. The law protects pregnant women and their fetuses by classifying actions that result in “the willful killing of an unborn quick child” as manslaughter. Opponents of abortion warn against the state’s only protection of an ‘unborn child’ terminated as a result of a physical attack upon the mother. Meanwhile, abortion rights advocates argue that the “quick child law,” also known as the fetal homicide law, is just a strategy to advance the anti-abortion agenda by granting fetuses separate personhood rights. Rhode Island’s fetal homicide law sheds light on a complicated question: Should the assault or murder of a pregnant woman be counted as two separate crimes? In 2004, then President
George W. Bush thought so when he signed “Laci and Connor’s Law,” following the murder of Laci Patterson, then eight-months pregnant, by her husband Scott Peterson. Peterson was charged for murder on two counts for both Laci and her unborn son. The federal act stated that any harm inflicted upon a pregnant woman that also causes either death or bodily injury to the child would be held legally accountable for two separate crimes. Many would agree that the injury or murder of a pregnant woman is in its own category of
summary, Casey evaluated the following provisions in a Pennsylvania law: a 24-hour waiting period before a pregnant woman could receive an abortion, the ability to try and persuade a woman to choose birth over an abortion, the need for parental consent for minors and the requirement that a married woman notify her spouse prior to receiving an abortion. Through its decision in Casey, the Court upheld the most crucial provision of Roe v. Wade — a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy before viability. But the case did not grant
How do we assert that the assault or murder of a pregnant woman deserves special punishment while being wary of fueling the anti-abortion movement through granting fetal personhood rights?
immorality. However, many pro-choice advocates view Bush’s legislation as a crafty method to extend separate personhood rights to fetuses. This strategy justifies the “abortion is murder” argument and weakens the case for a woman’s right to choose. How do we assert that the assault or murder of a pregnant woman deserves special punishment while being wary of fueling the anti-abortion movement through granting fetal personhood rights? The Supreme Court’s 1992 decision in Planned Parenthood of Southern Pennsylvania v. Casey created a framework that established the grounds for punishment for the assault of a pregnant woman should be established. In
abortion advocates everything they wished for: It removed the trimester framework set in Roe, thus allowing regulation of abortion throughout a woman’s pregnancy and not just in the final two trimesters. At the same time, the Court instituted the powerful stipulation that no one can place an “undue burden” on the woman’s decision to give birth or to have an abortion. Therefore, even with the unfortunate dismantling of the trimester rule, the “undue burden” provision prevents the government from completely denying a woman’s right to decide the fate of her pregnancy. Thus, Casey ultimately places great emphasis on the central principle that a woman has the final authority over her
pregnancy. With this guideline in place, the “right to choose,” as ruled by Roe and reinforced by Casey, should be the grounds on which the criminal justice system punishes those who injure or murder pregnant women. When an individual harms a pregnant woman and consequently injures or terminates her fetus, the action is a theft of the woman’s constitutionally protected reproductive rights. In other words, when a woman and her fetus suffer harm clearly against her will, her pregnancy is put at risk without her consent. This is a violation of the woman’s right to decide the outcome of her pregnancy. Punishment on these grounds delivers justice to victims without setting the dangerous precedent of extending personhood rights to fetuses. When a woman suffers an attack that either injures or terminates her fetus, one can easily consider such an unfortunate event as a double offense, given that one life and another potential life have been harmed. However, one must recognize that this seemingly justified framework ultimately works against women as a whole. Extending personhood status to fetuses through legislation and even language like ‘unborn baby’ or ‘unborn child’ would legitimize the antiabortion argument and criminalize women who want to end their pregnancies. Instead, we must deliver justice to pregnant women who are victims of injury or murder on the basis of punishing those who infringe upon their right to determine the destiny of their bodies.
Jordan Allums ’21 can be reached at jordan_allums@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and other op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
The Herald must appoint a public editor To the Editor: In the wake of the Providence Journal’s exposé of Martin Granoff ’s P ’93 exclusive dinners, numerous students took to the Dear Blueno Facebook page to criticize The Brown Daily Herald — the supposed premier source for news about Brown — for missing the scoop. One anonymous Dear Blueno post (authored by a person claiming to have attended the dinner) suggested that The Herald may have not reported on the dinners earlier because members of their own senior staff were attendees. These criticisms were absent from The Herald’s own vox pop reporting on the dinners, and the accusation of a conflict-of-interest remains unanswered. Ultimately, whether these criticisms of The Herald are well-founded is immaterial; by remaining silent on these concerns, The Herald implicitly confirms the community’s very worst prejudices. So long as The Herald lacks the trust of the community, it will be a second choice venue for compelling student journalism. To regain the community’s trust,
The Herald must commit itself to greater transparency. I urge The Herald to appoint a public editor: a dedicated advocate for The Herald’s readership whose purpose is to report on The Herald’s own journalistic practices. This editor would hear any credible concerns raised by The Herald’s readership during office hours, speak with The Herald’s staff and report their findings in a feature on the editorial page (regardless of whether the concerns turned out to be well-founded). Additionally, the public editor could provide the readership with a fly-on-the-wall view of The Herald’s journalistic operations. For instance, The Herald may have sensible internal policies that would preclude it from publishing the sort of exposé that appeared in the Journal. A public editor could communicate the value and tradeoffs of these policies. In appointing a public editor, The Herald will be a more attractive outlet for both readers and writers. As an avid reader of The Herald, I hope this is the very last time it misses the scoop. John Wrenn GS
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NEWS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2019
‘Firefly in the Light’ depicts youth’s search for fame
GRAYSON LEE / HERALD
Shayna Toh ’20 began writing “Firefly in the Light,” a pop-rock musical, when she was 17 years old. Toh previously shared the musical with audiences in New York and Singapore.
Junior writes, composes, directs, original musical, currently showing at Production Workshop By GRAYSON LEE SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Production Workshop presented “Firefly in the Light” last weekend, an earnest pop-rock musical composed, directed and written by Shayna Toh ’20 that probes “the many competing life options which await every young and older person,” according to the show’s website. The musical centers on famestarved protagonist Wendy, played by
Clara Pritchett ’22, and her best friend, the accidentally famous Jake, played by Corey Morrison ’19. The show opens on their senior year of high school as Wendy prepares to audition for a prominent music school. Jake, who has just moved back to the town they grew up in, realizes he’s in love with Wendy, but her lust for success blinds her to his affection and his artistic dreams, as well as to the advice of anyone who disagrees with her. When her mother doesn’t support her plans, Wendy moves to Los Angeles and effectively disowns her former life. The second act follows Jake and Wendy seven years later, with Wendy working as a burlesque performer. Jake signs a record deal and goes to Los
Angeles, determined to find Wendy. “A big part of the story is about growing up and realizing who you’ve left behind and who you choose to love after all of that,” Toh said. The development of characters was a compelling part of the plot; Wendy’s failures turn her petulance into a strength rooted in humility, while Jake’s shy warmth becomes confidence in his love and art. “I like the distinct comparison between Jake’s point of view and Wendy’s point of view and I think the juxtaposition is really clear,” said Carmen Ferran ’20.5, one of the executive producers of the show. Pritchett enjoyed working with an original show. “It’s really cool doing an original show because we changed stuff on the go, like the ending that we
had here was not the ending that we read at the beginning,” said Pritchett, who made her debut in theater during this musical. Toh started writing “Firefly in the Light” when she was seventeen and originally intended it to be a 70 minute show with 12 songs. This version of the show premiered at The Arts House in Toh’s home country of Singapore. In 2016, the New York Musical Festival’s Digital Dramaturg Program gave Toh the opportunity to workshop the musical and expand it to a full-length, two-hour, 22-song production. It was then selected to be performed by the New York Music Festival and shown as a staged-reading at Playwrights Horizon Rehearsal Studio in New York
in 2017. “I’ve worked on it three times now, and it’s always been different every single time,” Toh said. She added that this production was the first full staging of the full-length show. “I was a little intimidated because there are a lot of students here that are used to doing big-name musicals who were going to be part of this process,” Toh continued. But she appreciated the ways that the actors and other people involved were able to add to her understanding of the show. “Putting it out there and letting it sit with other people and having them contribute to it (and) seeing it come to life in other people’s minds has been very rewarding for me,” Toh said.
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