SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2019
VOLUME CLIII, ISSUE 32
WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM
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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