Monday April 8, 2019

SINCE 1891

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2019

VOLUME CLIII, ISSUE 45

WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM

Providence Princess Prom donates dresses Bears lose battle for top

of Ivy League

Dress drive organized

by Providence Teacher’s Union, provides dresses, shoes to 200 students

Previously undefeated Bruno falls to Penn 16-9 on Lacrosse Alumni Day

By CELIA HACK METRO EDITOR

Mary Breen, a senior at Classical High School, exited the dressing room and twirled, gliding in a long white prom dress with blue and silver stones and a delicate flower print curling up the right side of the skirt.

Although she hadn’t been sure this was the right one when she picked it off the rack, she was convinced when she left the dressing room — to a crowd oohing and aahing at her pick.

“You look like a goddess in that dress,” a girl waiting in line for the dressing room told Breen.

“Oh my god. Just look at that. That is stunning,” said Kathy McDonough, a teacher at Nathanael Greene Middle School and secretary of the Providence Teacher’s Union, telling the crowd to give a thumbs up if they agreed — the crowd cheered.

This was the scene at Providence Princess prom dress giveaway — an annual affair led by the Providence Teachers’ Union to outfit hundreds of Providence Public School students in free prom dresses, shoes and

By AMELIA SPALTER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

MARIANNA MCMURDOCK / HERALD

Local Providence public school students gathered at the 15th annual Providence Princess event, where over 200 students took home dresses. accessories, from earrings to necklaces to bracelets. This Saturday at the 15th annual Providence Princess, over 200 students took home dresses.

The event has grown dramatically over the last decade and a half, said Debbie Pilkington, a member of the PTU who began running the prom dress giveaway 15 years ago. Pilkington changed the structure of Providence

Alum studies medieval puppets, cyborgs Michelle Oing ’07 talks humanity through medieval Christianity, science fiction

By GRAYSON LEE SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The worlds of medieval Christianity and science fiction collided in a lecture

by Michelle Oing ’07 last Thursday evening.

During the event, titled “The Medieval Cyborg: Performing Objects in the Late Middle Ages,” Oing examined the usage of puppets in medieval liturgy and compared them to cyborgs, or fictious figures that are part-man part-machine. She argued that both prompt questions about the relationship between mind, body and the essence of humanity.

Oing excavated humanity’s relationships with puppets and with cyborgs, saying that “through their hybridity, through their productive play with boundaries and binaries, both

INSIDE

the puppet and the cyborg ask: what makes the human, human?” Cyborgs, she continued, answer this question through “the logic of fusion,” unifying the machine and the organism.

Puppets, on the other hand, respond with “the logic of negotiation,” investigating the relationship between object and human. Oing argued that both cyborgs and puppets offer a “way out of the world,” but that puppets in medieval Christianity did so through the collective, not the individual. She finished by stating, “the puppet was neither goddess nor cyborg, but rather a powerful means of transcendence.”

To further explore the dynamic between humans and puppets, Oing referenced the “roraffe,” a movable sculpture in the dress of a peasant that has stood on the wall of the Strasbourg Cathedral in Strasbourg, France since 1385. The puppet has a compartment behind it for an operator to move its mouth, unlike all of the other sculptures in the cathedral, which are inoperable. » See CYBORG, page 4

Princess; instead of remaining invitation-only, the operation is now open to all students in Providence. The tactic has proven successful, she added, attracting more and more students every year.

PTU members, who help put on the event, saw that prom could be costprohibitive and felt they should find a » See PROM, page 4

The men’s lacrosse team was defeated in a battle for first place in the Ivy League Saturday in a 16 -9 loss against Penn at Stevenson-Pincince Field.

The teams entered the game as the only undefeated schools in the Ancient Eight, with Brown on a win streak of two against Yale and Princeton. The loss marked the Quakers’ first win over Brown in three seasons.

Captains Luke McCaleb ’20 and Michael Panepinto ’19 dominated for Bruno in shots on goal throughout the opening quarter. But Penn’s goaltender and Ivy League’s men’s lacrosse Player of the Week Reed Junkin proved a near impenetrable force against Brown’s 39 total shots in the game. McCaleb got the ball rolling for Brown after a goal with 12:47 remaining in the opening frame off a close jump shot to the top corner.

The Quakers would follow up with three goals, one of which was a man-up

goal after Jack Kniffin ’20 was fouled for pushing 10 minutes into the stanza.

But Ryan Aughavin ’21 managed to slip one past Junkin with 4:44 remaining in the quarter. Aughavin secured his 20th goal of the season during a power play by moving high from his hip to rocket the ball into a top corner, a signature move that fans have become used to seeing from him during his career with the Bears. Bruno fought ferociously to take the lead right up to the opening quarter’s final buzzer, as Colby Gendron ’22 nearly scored with 37.4 remaining.

April 6, Lacrosse Alumni Day, marked the 50th anniversary of Brown’s 1969 champion team winning the school’s first Ivy title in lacrosse, as well as the 25th anniversary of the 1994 team that took Brown to its first NCAA semifinals. The 1969 team was honored at the first break, with some players toting their wooden sticks from the game. The 1994 team was honored in a halftime ceremony with President Christina Paxson P’19.

The second quarter was owned by Kniffin looking to make up for lost time after the first frame penalty. Kniffin rained shots down on Junkin at the end of the first quarter and tore a shot just » See M. LACROSSE, page 3

Softball swept by Princeton in Ivy home opener

COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS

The Bears did not score a run until the final inning of a three-game series against Princeton. The team will face off against Yale in another home series this weekend.

Bears go silent as Tigers’ pitching prevails, Ivy record falls to 1-8, losing streak continues

By RYAN HANDEL SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The softball team dropped each of

its three games against Princeton this weekend, as the Bears could not overcome the Tigers’ stout pitching and defense.

Bruno did not score a run until the final inning of the series, a solo homer from catcher Madi Cranford ’21.

While the Bears pitched well throughout the series, including 11.1 total

innings of three-run ball from Emily Waters ’20, their offense could not do its part. The three losses extended Brown’s current losing streak to seven games as they battle through their Ivy League schedule.

In the first game of the series, » See SOFTBALL, page 3

WEATHER

MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2019

METRO Roundup: R.I. conference highlights personalized learning, Times2 Academy may lose charter

COMMENTARY Fernandez ’21: Puerto Rico’s debt restructuring deal exposes financial exploitation, negatively affects young people on island

COMMENTARY Schapiro ’19: Robot umpires in baseball would place focus back on players, increase call reliability

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NEWS

PAGE 2 • MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2019

Metro Roundup

BY SOPHIE CULPEPPER, METRO EDITOR

New England Board of Higher Education elects McNamara chair

Last month, Rhode Island Representative Joseph McNamara was elected chairman of the New England Board of Higher Education, according to a NEBHE press release.

McNamara currently serves as the chair of the Rhode Island House Health, Education and Welfare Committee. He was appointed to the board of the NEBHE in 2006 and chaired the Legislative Advisory Committee from 2014 to 2018, according to the press release.

He previously directed the Alternative Learning Program at the Pawtucket School Department.

McNamara will prioritize four areas of development, according to the Warwick Post. He hopes to identify “opportunities for adult learners, cost-savings opportunities, advancing PreK-16 alignment and articulating the public value of post-secondary education,” he said.

Conference showcases Rhode Island education methods

Last week, the Highlander Institute and The Learning Accelerator sponsored a Blended and Personalized Learning Conference attended by about 1,000 educators about the Ocean State’s vision for implementing individualized learning experiences for students, the Providence Journal reported.

Blended learning combines traditional education models with technology applications adaptable to individual students’ needs in classrooms, which can differentiate the pace of learning among students.

Rhode Island has spearheaded personalized learning programming, according to the Atlantic. The Rhode Island Personalized Learning Initiative launched under Governor Gina Raimondo in 2016.

While Providence School Superintendent Chris Maher did not embrace blended learning when he took on his current role, he has seen that personalized learning can positively influence his son’s learning, the Journal reported.

Rhode Island Commissioner of Education Ken Wagner has described personalized learning as necessary progressive innovation, according to EdTech Times, which can better engage every student and optimally center each student’s learning.

Times 2 Academy Funding at Risk

After the Providence School Board ordered charter school Times2 Academy to remove executive director Dr. Rudolph Moseley from his position, the Rhode Island Council on Elementary and Secondary Education may revoke the charter of the Times2 Academy. If the charter is revoked, it would be the first such revocation in state history, according to the Providence Journal.

When the Council reviewed the school’s charter in January, it found that Times2 did not obtain the school board’s approval for Moseley’s original appointment in 2016, according to NBC news.

Testimony to the Providence School Board that criticized the charter school’s administrative environment brought the school under scrutiny. Last month, Moseley dismissed almost half of the staff, citing insufficient special education and English as a Second Language training, according to the Journal.

If Times2 does not terminate the employment of Dr. Moseley, PSD will end their Charter School Management Agreement with Times 2 on June 19, according to a letter dated March 29 from President of the Providence School Board Nicholas J. Hemond.

Times2 thus far has refused to replace Moseley.

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NEWS

MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2019 • PAGE 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

» M. LACROSSE, from page 1 above Junkin’s head to score 6:57 into the second, assisted by George Grell ’21.

Only one of his shooting attempts managed to work its way through Junkin, but Kniffin said this will be corrected by the time Bruno squares up against Yale next week. “We had a bunch of great opportunities on offense. We just didn’t put the ball in the back of the net. I think that’s something that we can definitely look forward to doing,” Kniffin said.

After two goals for Penn and one for the Bears, a hold against Brown automatically turned possession over to the Quakers. Only eight seconds later, the Bears’ luck changed as a push was called against the Quakers, opening up an opportunity for Darian Cook ’22 to score with Riley Stewart ’21 on the assist to bring the score to 5-4, Penn.

It was at this point that the Bears lost the ball and were unable to locate it for the remainder of the period with Penn keeping near constant possession for the final six minutes. Phil Goss ’20, Bruno’s starting goalie for every game this season, made a flurry of impressive saves under rapid fire from Penn, ultimately surrendering a pair of rebound goals and a man-down goal in the final minutes of the quarter. This brought the score to 8-4 Penn entering halftime.

The Quakers came into the third frame confident, posting a goal 43 seconds in. Two minutes later, the momentum shifted after a goal from Grell, which was followed by a goal from Panepinto exhibiting solid composure with only two seconds remaining on the

COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS

Brown and Penn were the only undefeated Ivy League teams going into their matchup Saturday. The game celebrated the 50th anniversary of Brown’s 1969 champion team winning the school’s first Ivy title in lacrosse. shot clock. Penn would then follow with two goals of their own. Goss was the only defensive barrier in the Bears’ zone in this quarter, ripping down shot after shot. Most notably, he made a physics-defying save, blocking a top corner shot from down on the ground.

This save set the tone for a strong offensive showing by the Bears, which led to a transitional goal minutes later

by Stewart with Michael Brown ’20 on the assist. A tight Penn goal in the final 45 seconds brought the score to 12-7 Penn at the close of the quarter, despite

a noble scoring attempt by Panepinto in the final eight seconds.

At the outset of the final period, Junkin appeared to be losing control, sending two balls flying into the stands in the first five minutes. Aughavin came inches away from a goal, but Junkin managed to get in front of it just enough to take possession. Grell launched a missile at 7:27, managing to fake out Junkin to bring the score to 12-8. A minute later, Panepinto came through hot to score his 10th goal of the season, whittling Penn’s lead down to three with

a bounce shot in the top left corner.

It would be Bruno’s final goal of the match. Panepinto’s goal was followed by a trio of Penn goals before Brown called a time out with 2:17 remaining.

Cook saw an opportunity at 1:45 and took it, but a pair of Quakers rushed in, successfully blocking the ball and regaining possession. With 46.6 seconds remaining, Penn stole an empty net goal to finish the game at 16-9.

After the game, the Bears hung back to sign autographs at the request of youth lacrosse players. Goss spoke

» SOFTBALL, from page 1 Lauren Innerst ’22 turned in a solid pitching performance for Brown (817, 1-8 Ivy), tossing a complete game and giving up just one run. The only run Princeton (10-16, 6-3) earned came on a sacrifice bunt by Tigers third baseman Alex Viscusi in the fourth inning. But Princeton’s Allie Reynolds outdueled Innerst, throwing seven scoreless innings. The Bears were unable to manufacture any offense in the first half of Saturday’s doubleheader, only mustering three hits and one walk while losing the contest 1-0.

Princeton continued their dominance on the mound in Saturday’s second tilt. Tigers pitcher Ali Blanchard threw a complete game two-hitter and forced 12 strikeouts from the Bears.

“We were putting too much pressure on ourselves to get results, rather than just trusting our swings and seeing

COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS

the ball,” Cranford said.

B r u n o c o u l d n o t m at c h Blanchard’s pitching prowess, as

COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS

starter Grace Ladd ’21 could only get one out before being ousted from the game by the hard-hitting Tigers.

Princeton pulled ahead by five runs in the first inning, with RBI extrabase hits from Keeley Walsh and Alex Colón leading the way. While Waters pitched well in relief, allowing a single run over six plus innings, the Bears never recovered from their early game struggles, falling 6-0.

Although the Bears had a poor weekend at the plate, Waters pointed to their defense as a bright spot. “Our defense was rock solid, we made improvements coming from last weekend to this weekend, getting better in each game,” she said.

The same pattern continued in Sunday’s series finale. Reynolds toed the rubber again, throwing another complete game and letting up just four hits. Bruno was battered for six runs, including a solo home run by Princeton’s Mackenzie Meyer. Brown

finally ended its scoreless streak in the seventh inning of Sunday’s game, with Cranford launching a solo shot to left field. Still, Brown lost 6-1, giving up its second consecutive Ivy League sweep.

“They did a really good job moving the ball around, getting us to chase,” said Head Coach Kate Refsnyder of Princeton’s pitchers. “We did a lot better (Sunday), we just had a lot of lineouts, but really solid contact today. It just doesn’t show in the box score.”

Brown takes the diamond next weekend for another Ivy home series against Yale. The Bears will have another Saturday doubleheader before closing out the series Sunday. “We’re just going to work on getting our hitting back in order,” Refsnyder said.

“We hit really well in the beginning of the season, and we’ll focus on that this week to take on Yale.”

to the difference that school support makes for the team. “On behalf of Brown men’s lacrosse, we just really want to thank everyone for their support. It meant a lot to have President Paxson, (Adjunct Professor Emeritus of Engineering Barrett Hazeltine) and so many people in the stands who came out to support us.”

The Bears face off against Yale in New Haven next week for their fourth Ivy game of the season.

NEWS

PAGE 4 • MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2019

» PROM, from page 1 way to make it more accessible, said PTU President Maribeth Calabro.

“The prices of prom gowns and accessories (are) excessive, and we think that every person that goes to prom should have the opportunity to go without a financial burden,” Calabro said.

“We figured it’s important that they should look their very best and feel like they’re the best-looking person in the room, and not have to worry about not being able to go because they can’t afford something.”

Several students echoed her statement, noting that it was difficult to find a dress for less than $100. Particularly with post-graduate plans looming for seniors, investing in an expensive gown isn’t always the most feasible option.

“College is on the way, and I don’t have all that money to buy a dress just for one night, and then not use it again,” said Jeimmy Alonzo, a student at Providence Career and Technical Academy.

Providence Princess provides a solution for that — a popular one. The 9 a.m. open time drew a line of about 75 to 100 students outside the PTU building, McDonough said.

The event transforms the low-slung building into a virtual department store for one day in spring. One massive room holds hundreds of dresses — Pilkington lost count of how many — in every possible color, shape and size. There’s a dark navy blue piece, a slinky black one with a low back and gowns in shades like pastel green, light

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teal and hot pink.

“I didn’t expect to walk in and see so many dresses all around,” said Nikita Toe, a senior at Providence Career and Technical Academy.

Pilkington builds the collection of dresses any way she can, featuring both new and donated dresses. The PTU also hosts a district-wide teacher dress-down day where teachers can donate a minimum of $3 to Providence Princess to wear casual clothes to work on that day. This can garner individual donations of up to $100, Calabro said.

Providence College also hosted a dress drive, which brought in 158 dresses.

Finally, Pilkington herself makes a trip to the garment district in Manhattan to buy dresses at wholesale price.

“We have enough gowns that we can outfit anyone from a size 0 to 36,” Pilkington said. “Girls come in all sizes and shapes, as do boys, so we make MARIANNA MCMURDOCK / HERALD sure we can accommodate everyone.” The collection of prom dresses come from a wide variety of sources, including donations from teachers, dress Though the event is mostly attended drives and the garment district in Manhattan. by girls, they had six boys come in last display glittery silver and gold shoes. very big.”

For Breen and other seniors in year, Pilkington said, adding “we were The accessories section is Calabro’s “I loved my prom, I had a great time Providence public schools, prom is an able to outfit all six of them. Including terrain, as she sold jewelry for about at prom and I think everybody should important, exciting time to celebrate shoes.” twenty years before she became a have that opportunity,” she added. their last year of high school with For Pilkington, the event is an op- teacher.

Meanwhile, after deciding on the friends. At Toe’s school, other dances portunity to experience something To a prospective prom-goer decid- white dress, Breen had moved onto are held throughout the year, but prom she never did: dress shopping with a ing between potentially precarious high heels. is the most important. daughter. heels, she reminds them: “Remember, “Blue shoes would be a lot, right?”

“The prom is like the one event,” “I don’t have any daughters, so I live you’re dancing and you’re walking.” she said, looking across her options. “I Toe said. “It’s the last year before high vicariously through others,” she said.

“This was a district-wide, Provi- was thinking a silver, or a white.” school ends, so everyone wants to go.

“I get to dress a lot of girls every year.” dence Teacher’s Union effort,” Calabro She’d come to Providence Princess A lot of seniors go to prom.”

After students pick out dresses, it’s said. “It’s typically a year-round event expecting to support the event, along“It’s just the last time I see my onto the accessories section just down from planning and preparation to fun- side a group of friends who had also friends and we’re all going to hang the hall, where rhinestone bracelets and draising. We have taken this event from planned to do so — but “I found this out together before we go our separate bangles abound, and two long tables something very small to something dress, and I love it,” she said. ways,” Breen said.

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Oing, a University alum, discussed the relationship between humans, puppets and cyborgs in the context of the late Middle Ages.

» CYBORG, from page 1 Oing explained that the only evidence of the puppet’s usage in liturgy comes from those who disapproved of it, citing a letter complaining that the puppet yelled foul language and taunted at church-goers during mass.

She challenged the audience to put away preconceived notions about puppets as play toys, defining them as “object(s) which in both appearance and movement imitate a life-form … in the presence of an audience, which receives input from a human operator, which thus produces its action.”

Oing explained that many of her experiences while an undergraduate at Brown inspired the subject of her dissertation at Yale; her work examines a range of figural objects to highlight nuances of medieval and early modern conceptions of mimesis, which refers

to the representation of the real world in art and literature. She spoke fondly of her classes in art history and religious studies and her participation in theater. “My Brown education gave me a lot of tools to think with, not just facts and figures. All of my professors were somehow dealing with larger meta-questions,” Oing said, describing how she hopes that her work is able to incorporate ancient questions about humanity in relation to artificial intelligence.

Susan Harvey, professor of religious studies, commented that comedy had an important role throughout the history of Christianity, and drew on the example of “holy fools,” which Oing also spoke about. These holy fools — the most famous in the Western tradition being Saint Francis of Assissi — were outcasts of society who were revealed to be saints after

their deaths. Through their strange appearance and actions, they helped disrupt peoples’ everyday routines, performing a role similar to that of the roraffe. Harvey also emphasized how liturgical puppets made “ritual something that isn’t empty ritual but that involves people and draws people in to participate” in something other than everyday life, she said.

The lecture was part of a series by the history of art and architecture department titled “The Sensory.” Sheila Bonde, chair of the department of history of art and architecture, and Oing’s advisor on her undergraduate thesis at Brown, explained how Oing’s current work relates to the lecture series.

“It opens up issues that we’ve been looking at in the entire series, which is engaging with … aspects beyond the visual,” Bonde said.

TODAY

MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2019 • PAGE 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

menu

a s c e n i c wa l k d o w n t h ay e r

SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS

Sammy Special Pizza, BBQ Chicken Ranch Pizza, Caprese Pizza, Pho Bar, Baked Pasta, Queen’s Green Salad JOSIAH’S

BLUE ROOM

Cutting Board Salads, Grilled Portobello Mushroom Burger

Deli Sandwiches, Focaccia Bar, Fresh Baked Muffins

DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH

DINNER

Tunisian Style Grain Bowl, Beef Noodle Soup, Asian Style Salad Bar, Pasta Bar

Sauteed Broccoli with Garlic, Tempeh and Lentil Loaf, Chocolate Macaroon Cake

VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH

DINNER

Corn Chowder, Chana Masala, Buffalo Wings, Nacho Bar, Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Italian Meatballs with Sauce, Pizza Rustica with Spinach, Garlic Bread

sudoku

VICTORIA YIN / HERALD

crossword

Students stroll past Andreas, a Mediterranean restaurant located on Thayer Street. The budding springtime weather attracts students to the vibrant Thayer Street bazaar.

Q U O T E O F T H E D AY

“We think that every person that goes to prom should have the opportunity to go without a financial burden.”

—Providence Teacher’s Union President Maribeth Calabro

See prom on page 1.

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Sight and Sound: Andrew Owens 12:00 P.M. Watson CIT

From Brown to Congress 12:30 P.M. Stephen Robert ’62 Hall

Creating a Pitch: Goldman Sachs 4:00 P.M. CareerLAB 1st Floor

Michael Moffitt: Salary Negotiation 5:30 P.M. Watson Joukowsky Forum

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Hands on Workshop: Virtual Reality 1:00 P.M. Granoff Center, N320

Martha Nussbaum Public Lecture 4:00 P.M. 85 Waterman

Advanced Screening of The Farewell 4:00 P.M. Granoff Auditorium

Senior Performance: Zuriel Mbonde 8:00 P.M. Granoff Studio 1

COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2019

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Puerto Rico’s debt crisis MARYSOL FERNANDEZ staff columnist Puerto Rico has faded out of the public discourse as the captivating story of Hurricane Maria is replaced by the much less entertaining story of a long and slow effort of reconstruction. However, there is still a crisis taking place on the island that deserves to be talked about and, surprisingly enough, runs deeper than any natural disaster. The crisis threatens to cripple Puerto Rico for decades to come by further sinking its $74 billion debt.

As post-hurricane circumstances stabilize, the fiscal control board imposed

by Congress to manage Puerto Rico’s debt, part of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act, has been busy making decisions about the future of Puerto Rico and its people. More than anything, these decisions will have serious consequences for youth in Puerto Rico, a population that has been systematically disenfranchised.

The reality for young people in Puerto Rico has proven increasingly difficult since PROMESA was established in 2016. Since then, 60 percent of Puerto Rico’s youth has grown up below the poverty line.

One of PROMESA’s first acts was a provision that lowered the minimum wage for workers under the age of 25 to $4.25 an hour. This, along with high unemployment, has devastated young, working people, who pay more for gas, utilities and groceries than the average American does.

PROMESA has also drastically cut education across all levels throughout the island. The board has closed hundreds of elementary and high schools and has consistently fought to drain funds from the University of Puerto Rico, one of the island’s most important institutions.

Aida Diaz Rivera, the president of Puer-

to Rico’s Teachers Association, described these measures as a “massacre against Puerto Rico’s education.” Student enrollment on the island has dropped by tens of thousands of students, as families and young adults flee in masses. Middle- and higher-class students have begun searching for the first opportunity to join the exodus and attend school off the island, while those living in poverty are dropping out in increasing numbers to help support their family’s income. Prospects for young people on the island are bleak as the school system crumbles at the hands of PROMESA. However, what seems to pose the

cial laws that the United States has maintained in Puerto Rico since it acquired the colony. Now, the debt restructuring centers around bond holders, which brings no promise of alleviation to the Puerto Rican people.

Several senior bondholders, which are mainly hedge funds, are now expecting an even larger profit, as they bought loads of junior bonds in the midst of the chaos of Hurricane Maria, taking advantage of the drastically dropping bond prices. The debt restructure will grant those bondholders almost a full payment, while junior bondholders, many of whom are Puerto Rican, will receive

Chances are, everyone reading this has some kind of connection to a debt holder, meaning we all have a part to play in standing up for the future of Puerto Rico.

biggest challenge to young people on the island goes beyond the lack of educational or career opportunities: It is the recent approval of a debt restructuring deal for Puerto Rico’s Sales Tax Financing Corp., known as COFINA. The deal restructures the largest portion of the debt, held by private, predominantly U.S. bondholders. Before COFINA, the island’s debt had been addressed with a sales tax that had increased immensely over the past decade — reaching the current high of 11.5 percent. Under those measures, Puerto Rican people had been paying Vulture funds — funds that invest in weak debt or debt considered to be in default — for a largely illegitimate debt acquired because of the loose finan-

only 54 percent of the payout value.

Through the approval of the debt restructuring, the Puerto Rican government renounces its right to challenge the constitutionality of COFINA in the future, effectively locking the next several generations of Puerto Ricans into a system that will serve private debt holders at the direct expense of essential public programs.

Francisco Santiago Cintron, writer for the publication 80 Grados, astutely wrote that youth, particularly those under the legal voting age of 18, are “the great absent voice in Puerto Rico” right now. Young people must face the fact that a decision made when they had no voice and no vote will continue to affect

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the truth is that hundreds of U.S. institutions and organizations are involved as debt holders and are thereby implicated in the massive, systematic robbing of the Puerto Rican people.

Such implications lie closer to us than we might think; for instance, Baupost, one of the major debt-holding hedge funds, includes Harvard, Yale and Princeton as major investors. Public institutions such as the University Association in Maine or the Teachers Retirement Fund in Texas are also involved. Chances are, everyone reading this has some kind of connection to a debt holder, meaning we all have a part to play in standing up for the future of Puerto Rico.

The decision to approve the COFI-

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them well into their fifties.

As the government and the economy falter and the quality of life for Puerto Ricans tanks, this deal ensures that U.S. corporate profits soar. Puerto Rico’s position as a mere source of profit for U.S. corporate interests no longer lies in the shadows of questionable deals made behind closed doors. The exploitation of Puerto Rico is out in the open, blatant and unabashed. We can no longer hide behind the excuse of ignorance. The time to act is now because soon, it will be too late.

This crisis might feel far removed from the average American. However,

Directors Sales: Bersabel Yifru Finance: Rudra Srivastava, Reynaldo Blandon Strategy: Edwin Farley

NA deal and the consequences of doing so will affect several generations of Puerto Ricans, some of whom haven’t even been born yet. The lack of press that this issue has gotten among U.S. media is incredibly frustrating; while this is a problem that primarily affects those living in Puerto Rico, it is one in which all Americans are intimately involved.

There are now more Puerto Ricans living in the United States than there are living in Puerto Rico. Democracy in Puerto Rico has been almost entirely undermined since PROMESA was given total control of the island. U.S. residents voting for Congress now have more of a say on what happens to Puerto Rico than anyone currently living on the island, since they are denied representation in Washington.

Furthermore, a substantial portion of the Puerto Rican debt is held by private and public firms and individuals located on the U.S. mainland. Americans all across the United States have been passively enjoying the benefits of Puerto Rico’s colonial status, which has played the single most important role in creating the circumstances that have made such a colossal crisis possible. The important truth is that if you are currently living in the United States, Puerto Rico’s humanitarian and fiscal crisis is your problem, too. Own up to it.

Marysol Fernandez ’21 can be reached at marysol_fernandez@brown.edu.

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COMMENTARY MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2019 • PAGE 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Robot umps now!

JAMES SCHAPIRO sports columnist As Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch reluctantly left his dugout to confront the home plate umpire who was practically baiting him to come out, his mind was probably swirling with justified expletives and anger. But behind all of that, what was he thinking? Was he thinking about what has been becoming clearer for years — that baseball umpires need to change?

Was he thinking, in short, that it’s about time baseball instituted robot umps?

I know I was. This has been on baseball fans’ minds for a while, but it was driven home for many last Wednesday when Hinch’s Astros played the Texas Rangers. Home plate umpire Ron Kulpa made a bad call on a Rangers pitch in the first inning, then appeared to attempt to provoke a confrontation with several Astros players when the inning ended.

Then, in the second, with the Astros batting, Kulpa saw a ball in the dirt and called it a strike. The Astros dugout understandably got angry, and Kulpa tore off his mask and started hollering back at them. Hinch came out and calmed the situation down. An average adult might have contained himself and gone back to umpiring. Ron Kulpa didn’t.

Instead he stared down the Astros’ bench.

“Don’t look over here!” Hinch shouted. “There’s nothing to see!

Look out there,” he continued, pointing to the field. Again, a professional umpire might have listened and turned toward the field, toward the pitcher he was supposed to umpire.

Instead, Kulpa kept staring at the Astros’ dugout. His mask was off. He was smirking. So Hinch came out to stand up for his team. Remarkably, he was still calm. As TV broadcasters explained that Kulpa had turned

“I can do whatever I want.” And somewhere during this mess, Kulpa ejected Alex Cintron, the Astros’ hitting coach.

So why do we need robot umps?

There are a few reasons.

For one, it doesn’t seem like an impossible task to come up with a robot that won’t scream “I can do whatever I want” at a manager in a game that’s supposed to be a showcase for

the game, of course, is supposed to be about the players. Baseball players are some of the most impressive athletes in the world. Half of them can throw a leather covered ball with ridiculous spins at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour — and the other half can hit those throws 400 feet. And meanwhile, we’re all focused on Ron Kulpa, an angry 50-year-old man whose name we had all forgotten until he

Maybe Ron Kulpa will tone down the tantrums, knowing that a robot can do his job.

away from the pitcher to stare down the Astros, Hinch walked back to his dugout again.

And still, Kulpa’s tantrum wasn’t through. The next pitch was a strike.

After he called it, Kulpa stared down the Astros’ dugout again.

“You can’t keep doing it! You can’t keep doing it!” Hinch shouted. And as the Astros’ manager came out again and started to argue, Kulpa, mask off in full bluster, responded:

the players and not the umpires. The role of the umpire is to do as little as possible, to make themselves invisible until they need to make a call. It’s not a glamorous role, and it’s not supposed to be.

Any time a baseball game becomes about an umpire — an umpire blustering, hollering, taunting, gratuitously ejecting or doing whatever else a rogue umpire might do — it stops being about the players. And

stole the spotlight.

But ignore Kulpa for a moment.

The real reason we need robot umps isn’t to avoid ump shows — that will be a benefit, but they’re few and far between. Kulpa’s biggest problem wasn’t his game-long tantrum. It was his strike zone.

Remember the pass interference non-call that cost the New Orleans Saints a chance at the Super Bowl? As long as umpires like Kulpa continue

calling balls and strikes, it’s inevitable the same thing will happen in baseball. Most baseball calls are reviewable by now, but balls and strikes — like pass interference — are not.

So we could make balls and strikes reviewable, which would be a nightmare. Imagine managers challenging every close pitch, and pausing several times an inning to review. There’s no good way to do it. Either you give managers lots of ball and strike challenges, and see dozens of stoppages every game, or you give them only a few, and make them meaningless. No one will challenge a bad strike call in the third inning because they’ll be worried about the ninth — and bad strike zones will persist.

We can’t start challenging balls and strikes. So we need robot umps.

It’s not a radical idea: the technology exists and could be easily implemented. An umpire on the field with an earpiece could listen to a robot umpire and relay the call. It might be a tough adjustment at first, but it will be worth it. We won’t have to worry about a bad ball or strike call ruining a team’s season. And maybe Ron Kulpa will tone down the tantrums, knowing that a robot can do his job.

James Schapiro ’19 can be reached at james_schapiro@brown.edu.

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NEWS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2019