Friday, October 9, 2020

SINCE 1891

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Friday, October 9, 2020

VOLUME CLV, ISSUE 37

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Brown returns to in-person classes

VICTORIA YIN / HERALD

Students, professors reflect on in-person classes following level 2 of reopening

BY CAELYN PENDER SENIOR STAFF WRITER Eleven students take their seats in a lecture hall meant for more than 100 people, each staggered among the rows and wearing a mask. A professor stands at the front of the room, 50 feet away from the closest student. On a projector screen are seven faces: the students who are attending class virtually. Brown stu-

dents were allowed to gather for socially distanced, in-person classes starting on Monday for the first time in more than six months.

The University transitioned to Level 2 of reopening Oct. 5, according to a Today@Brown announcement from Russell Carey ‘91 MA’06, executive vice president for planning and policy. In addition to in-person classes, Level 2 allows students to access more food options, reserve study spots in the libraries and gather with their pods without masks, The Herald previously reported.

“This move to Level 2 is a testament to the collective commitment of Brown students, staff and faculty to promote and sustain a safe and healthy campus,”

Carey wrote. “Your dedication and hard work to follow public health guidance — including mask wearing, hand washing, symptom monitoring, social distancing, seeking medical advice when sick and active participation in the routine testing program — has enabled us to take this important step.”

Preparations for in-person classes this week were largely a continuation of processes begun in the summer, including “assessing what rooms would be able to accommodate classes … with the amount of social distancing that was required to make that feasible, and then (determining) where would (the classes) be assigned and how would they be managed,” Carey told The Herald in

an Oct. 8 conversation.

While the transition to in-person learning was not flawless, students and professors generally agree that it went smoothly considering the circumstances.

“It felt like, not a return to normalcy but definitely a relatively good substitute,” said Olivia Siemens ’21. “The pandemic has been long and sad and lonely for a lot of people. I think it’s pretty encouraging to just feel like you can get back into the classroom in whatever way is possible.”

Joe Sciales ’21 “did feel oddly out of place” in his in-person class. “It took a bit of time to get into the learning mode because my brain hasn’t associated a classroom with learning in a while,”

Sciales said. “The dynamic of the class was a little bit different at first, simply because it was such a stark change to the past few weeks of lecture.”

Rachel Warner ’23 met in a large classroom with rows of desks for her discussion section on PHP 1070: “The Burden of Disease in Developing Countries.” “It reminds me of when you were a little kid and you were going in for the state standardized (test) … when it’s rows really far away from each other,” Warner said. She was also surprised when meeting her classmates in person for the first time, as she realized that she had “never seen these people below their

SEE IN-PERSON PAGE 8

ARTS & CULTURE

SPORTS

Campus creators talk TikTok culture

Seniors reflect on extra year of NCAA eligibility

Molly Chambers ’21, Ben Michals ’22 offer insight into the #FYP phenomenon

As many students sat down in their childhood bedrooms in early March, confronted with remote classes or omnipresent families, they began to give in and download TikTok — the short-form video content platform first created in September of 2016 under the original moniker of Musical.ly. Though these downloads may have been under the

guise of a joke at first, long, rote quarantined days were soon spent scrolling interminably through the prophetic #FYP (For You Page).

The ByteDance-owned social media company describes its platform as “the leading destination for short-form mobile video,” according to its website.

“Our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy.” And this mission apparently resonated from March 16 to 22 — the first week Brown students were sent home from campus — as the app saw a national 18 percent increase in downloads from the week prior. Soon, no matter the intentions behind those initial downloads and account creations, many college students once averse to

the assumed dance-video app saw their screen times skyrocket.

Some took their TikTok-ing past scroll and spectacle, taking the initiative to make their own videos. The Herald spoke with two Brown students who grew TikTok followings under the stay-at-home orders.

“During the quarantine, I had the time to sit down and say, ‘What do I want to invest my energy in doing, how do I want to come out of this time period and change as a person,’” said Ben Michals ’22, who started his account in May and has since amassed a following of 80.6k. “And that led me to needing

News

Commentary

Commentary

Students, clubs participate in events virtually; online socializing affects social behavior. Back

Hong ’24: It’s easy to become blind to the faults of our hometowns, but we must face them. Page 7

Editorial Page Board: U. should not send false punitive emails, should adjust its COVID-19 policies. Page 7

BY NICHOLAS MICHAEL SENIOR STAFF WRITER

SEE TIKTOK PAGE 3

Three senior athletes share plans for the future after new NCAA eligibility ruling

BY PERI SHEININ STAFF WRITER In light of the cancellation of many fall athletic seasons and all Ivy League fall sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA granted fall student-athletes an additional year of athletic eligibility.

Three Brown senior student-athletes

spoke with The Herald about their plans regarding their newly awarded extra year to engage in college athletics.

For women’s soccer defender and captain Sydney Cummings ’21, the pandemic paused her momentum from last season. After garnering All-Ivy honors every year since joining the team, Cummings helped the Bears capture the 2019 Ivy League Championship and compete in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1994. This performance earned

SEE NCAA PAGE 4

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TOMORROW

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

Friday, October 9, 2020

METRO

Armed guards and campus lockdown: Brown’s 1918 pandemic experience Historian, librarian, journalist reflect on Brown’s pandemic history

BY OLIVIA GEORGE METRO EDITOR When Brown University students woke up on the morning of Oct. 8, 1918, they learned they had two choices: pack up and return home or remain on campus indefinitely. A campus-wide quarantine was being imposed, due to the growing threat of a raging strain of influenza.

Armed guards were stationed at the gates of campus and outside the John Hay Library. Anyone who needed to leave or return to campus had to have a pass from the administration. Downtown Providence was strictly off limits.

The Herald detailed the University’s plan: “The entire army and navy units will be incarcerated in the dormitories and as many civilians as possible will be quartered in the Alpha Delta Phi and Phi Gamma Delta fraternity houses.”

A telegram had reached University officials from Washington almost two weeks before. “Exercise great care,” it began, in blue-purple uppercase letters.

It was from the Education Committee, and instructed the University to ensure suitable health safeguards were in place in preparation for potential disaster.

This disaster was the Spanish flu.

It would go on to kill more Americans than World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War combined. There was nothing Spanish about the lethal strain; it ran rampant across the globe and soon touched almost every country on the map. Worldwide, at least 50 million people were killed.

The flu had arrived in Rhode Island

by September 1918. Sailors in Newport first contracted the virus, and it soon spread to civilians.

In the weeks that followed, Providence Health Superintendent Charles Chapin, an 1876 Brown graduate, indicated that the virus had reached Providence and warned of an impending epidemic. But Chapin believed that there

could be “no such thing as an effective quarantine in pandemic influenza.”

Still, when there were early calls to shut down the city’s theaters, cinemas and dance halls, Chapin refused, arguing that “the epidemic must run its course.”

Providence was slow to act compared to other towns and cities across the state due to economic concerns, said Catherine DeCesare, senior lecturer in history at the University of Rhode Island. “It was certainly recognized that it would impact the community economically to start closing down businesses and closing down social entertainment venues,” she said.

A century later, Rhode Island leaders have acted more swiftly. State-enforced social distancing, mask mandates and group-size restrictions were quickly commonplace across much of New England. Residents saw their work places close and their children home from school. On March 9, Rhode Island declared a State of Emergency. A stay-at-home order was issued in Rhode Island from March 28 to May 8.

But in 1918, as the flu spread, life continued as usual. On Sept. 28, despite mounting apprehension that sickness was festering, 3,000 people crowded into a theatre for a Liberty Loan Parade, a patriotic rally to encourage buying war bonds, DeCesare said.

The illness circulated through crowded communities. First the numbers rose slowly, then they soared — a trend that would be repeated 102 years later.

On Oct. 4, the state Board of Health met and, again, Chapin voiced his hesitancy at closing public spaces. But shortly after schools, theaters, cinemas and dance halls were ordered shut.

Liquor establishments stayed open, DeCesare said.

More than 2,300 people died across Rhode Island in 1918. October proved the cruelest month of all, with nearly 6000 residents falling ill in Providence alone. “No death has occured in the student body, a fact which is indeed remarkable in view of the severity of the epidemic in the city,” The Herald reported Oct. 26, 1918.

Ultimately, one Brown University student and two students at Pembroke College would die from the virus, said Robin Wheelwright Ness MA’18, the senior library specialist in digital services within the University’s special collections. And of the 42 men listed on Brown’s Honor Roll (41 students and alumni and one faculty member who lost their lives in World War I), 22 lost their lives to illness, namely influenza-pneumonia.

Ness’s archival research work on the 1918 influenza meant she had been thinking about the University’s handling of a global public health crisis long before COVID-19 hit. But she could have never imagined how personally relevant this work would become.

Ness began sifting through documents, photographs and newspaper clips in 2015 as part of a broader project on the University’s involvement in World War I. “The University was essentially a training ground for the army and the navy,” she said.

Strict regulations governed daily life for civilians and soldiers alike. All of the University’s dormitories had been transformed into barracks, each room outfitted with three or four sleeping cots. A rifle range was constructed in the basement of Sayles Hall. And Rockefeller Hall, now the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center, was turned over for a mess hall, accommodating about 600 men.

Unlike in the fall of 1918, when news broke of the COVID-19 pandemic a century later, Brown’s campus largely emptied. Of the 5,000 students that typically reside on Brown’s campus, only a few hundred remained. Libraries were locked, the chairs in the dining halls vanished, and hallways — normally resonant with the sounds of life from within dorm rooms — were silent.

When he wrote about the 1918 flu pandemic in Rhode Island in a Providence Journal article published this March, Tom Mooney was shocked by the scale of the lock-down efforts put in place by local and state governments.

“That seemed extraordinary to me,” Mooney, a visiting lecturer in English

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and a reporter at the Journal, told The Herald. “Now, in October, that’s just daily life.”

The number of reported COVID-19 cases in Rhode Island currently stands at 25,776; dozens more are added every day and at the time of publication, 1,126 people in the state have died.

Reminders of our new reality now appear all over, and in unexpected places. The occasional surgical mask or singular glove, missing its pair, lay discarded on the sidewalks.

In 1918, the quarantine on campus was lifted Nov. 4, just under a month after it began. It was viewed mainly as an inconvenience: “The shutting of 600 students into a small campus for four weeks is not conducive to effective

study,” noted President Faunce. “Quarantine is hard on the boys.”

Providence’s physicians began to notice a resurgence of influenza in Dec. 1918 and early 1919, but it did not come near the devastation of Oct. 1918. In the months after the quarantine was lifted, the University continued under an unofficial quarantine, asking students to voluntarily stay on campus. Members of the naval and army units continued to be prohibited from leaving the campus without passes.

This fall, students returned to campus in phases; limited classes resumed in-person this Monday. But the path ahead for Brown, and the broader Rhode Island community, remains uncertain.

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Friday, October 9, 2020

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

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BILAL ISMAIL AHMED / HERALD PHOTOS COURTESY OF MOLLY CHAMBERS AND BEN MICHALS

TIKTOK FROM PAGE 1 to invest in my music more,” he said Michals, who started his account to further pursue his passion for music production and mixing, shifted his content to adapt to the time constraints of the platform. “My videos are now short, catchy jingles or songs, and I try to take relatable aspects of life in quarantine … and put it into this relatable format,” he said. This adaptability is what Michals accredits to his account’s burgeoning success.

Molly Chambers ’21, an international student from England, started her account after being sent home during her year ‘abroad’ at Oxford: “I started making videos because I thought if I was going to spend that much time scrolling, I should at least try to create some videos too,” she said.

In order to gain a following, Chambers thought it was important to find a niche. She started off her account, which now has almost 300k followers, making videos about the experience of being “a Brit studying in America, the experience at Brown and Oxford,” she described. Chambers’ comedic influence was also informed by her time in a sketch comedy group while at Oxford.

“I was doing informational but jokey videos highlighting differences and their idiosyncrasies, but as soon as I built up a following, I decided to move into comedy,” she said.

Chambers’ TikToks seem to have a spirit of comedic nostalgia that appeals to viewers, often gesturing towards what university social life was like prior to quarantine — both in the U.K. and the U.S. Sketches range from parodies on influencer culture to Ivy League stereotypes to party life.

Michals, who cites one of his influences as ex-Viner Bill Wurtz, had his first hit video in July, nearly six weeks after he started creating videos on the platform. The video, which now has roughly 4 million views, plays on the relatable quarantine concept of boredom and sibling relationships with the lyrics “I don’t have anything to do today / so I guess I’ll just go into my sibling’s room and stand there.” Michals says his jazz background informed the six-second tune, and he thinks “it worked especially well because the beginning was spoken in a meme type of way, and then it went into a catchy tune.”

“I think (the jingles) do especially well on the platform because they are something that, when you’re scrolling through, you want to share with your friends,” he added.

A unique element of the TikTok platform is the ability to duet videos or make videos using other users’ sounds, which has been great for the expansion of Michals’ following, he said. A song Michals’ calls “Future Me’s Problem” has now been used in over two thousand videos by other creators, and was

even used by rapper Iggy Azalea in a video from September. “The coolest part is seeing other people have fun with the music I make, because I’ve been making music for years in my bedroom and never really putting it out there,” Michals said.

It is these community based aspects of TikTok, these opportunities for collaboration, that Michals and Chambers appreciate most about the platform.

“They’re able to curate content and make the platform very community based because of how accurate their algorithm is,” Michals said. It’s the algorithm’s accuracy that makes TikTok “the easiest platform to grow on as a creative,” he said.

Chambers added that the communal-based nature of the platform, and the creators themselves, are integral to its enjoyability. “I mostly think it is special because of the creators on the app — the talent that TikTok has in terms of the sheer number of users is unlike anything else that has ever happened on a fad app,” she said.

It might even be considered that TikTok is more than a “fad,” and has rather pushed its way into becoming a cultural phenomenon that is critical in reshaping other media landscapes.

Songs like ‘WAP’ by Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B, ‘Old Town Road’ by Lil Nas X and ‘Yummy’ by Justin Bieber have largely been informed by the succinct, catchy moment required to

garner popularity on TikTok. “I also think that that is why it’s the future of the music industry, the marketing industry. Short-form content is really good, especially amongst people in our age demographic,” Michals said.

It is the adaptability to this new, shorter attention span that ostensibly points one towards TikTok success.

Michals has even reconsidered his approach to his own personal musical pursuits, searching for that 15 second ‘moment’ of a song that will make people want to listen again and again, he said.

When Michals came across UCLA student Pavari Das’ cover of TikTok star Dixie D’amelio’s ‘Be Happy,’ he had an instinct for Das’ ability to achieve TikTok virality. Michals reached out to Das over Instagram DM, offering to mix and produce a 15 second TikTok song for her, so he was surprised when she sent back the audio file to a full length cover of BØRNS’ ‘Electric Love.’

This production experience emulated a professional one, and Michals elucidated how the mixing elements led to the song’s eventual success: “The reason that the song did so well, is that there’s this pre-chorus that builds up really well, then drops off...hits a super-chorus,” he said. The cover, which now has over 1 million streams on Spotify, boasts a surround sound best listened to through headphones, which Michals deliberately engineered.

“It’s the first song I have ever produced that’s been put on Spotify,” he said.

Michals’ and Chambers’ success on TikTok in the realms of music and comedy respectively have encouraged them to pursue entertainment-related career paths. “I always had performance tendencies but lacked the confidence growing up, but this last year was transformative in terms of confidence building,” Chambers said.

And, although geopolitical conversations about TikTok and its future in the US are at the forefront of many creators’ minds, there is also a sense that the cultural impact will be far greater than the app itself. “If TikTok goes away, I don’t believe that everything it stood for will be a flash in the pan,” Michals said. “Whether it be meme culture or otherwise, everything has been getting a lot more compact and a lot shorter — but none of that stuff will go away if for some reason TikTok does not exist in the U.S. in the same way,” he said.

It seems as if the anxieties around TikTok and cybersecurity are more hinged upon existential, creatorial ones. But in the panic surrounding TikTok’s future, Chambers’ and Michals’ experiences gesture towards the persistence of not only our digital footprints — but also our ability to mimic, dance, sing and produce meaningful content and community.

Brown student creators Ben Michals ’22 and Molly Chambers ’21 share their experiences building a TikTok following and shed light on the #FYP phenomenon.

VICTORIA YIN / HERALD

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

Friday, October 9, 2020

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Brown libraries welcome back undergraduate students

VICTORIA YIN / HERALD

Libraries opened on Monday as part of Brown’s transition to level two of the reopening plan, providing students the ability to book a two-hour study slot on the library website.

Most of the University’s library buildings open their doors to undergraduate students

BY VICTORIA YIN STAFF WRITER As the University welcomed back undergraduate students into classrooms Monday, it also allowed students back into three of the University’s libraries as part of the school’s move to a Level 2 Campus Activity Status.

Starting on Oct. 5, undergraduate students were able to reserve two-hour time slots at the John Hay Library, the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library and the Sciences Library. Graduate and medical students have had access to libraries since Sept. 16, when they resumed in-person classes.

NCAA FROM PAGE 1 Cummings national recognition as she earned both First Team All-Ivy honors and Second Team All-America laurels.

Although the cancellation of her final season at Brown was disappointing to Cummings and her teammates, it resulted in an opportunity for her to be recruited by top soccer programs as a future graduate transfer. Since Ivy League student-athletes can only compete as undergraduates, Cummings will be joining a team outside the Ivy League for her final year of athletic eligibility. “I owe so much to (Brown’s) program,” she said.

“All of my coaches and teammates have helped me get here, so any opportunity I have is credit to this program. Brown will always have a place in my heart.”

The libraries’ online reservation system allows users to book a socially distanced study space at any of the three libraries up to a week in advance.

Students are required to show their reservation confirmation on their phones to library staff and wear masks before they can proceed to their study spot and check-in.

As for maintaining health and safety, the libraries are operating under a “clean in/clean out” system, where students are given 30-minute time slots in between reservations to wipe down their study area before departing. Cleaning resources are distributed throughout the library spaces.

“I think it’s been going really, really well,” Nora Dimmock, deputy University librarian, told The Herald. “Students are generally wearing their masks in their library and they’re finding their seats pretty easily.”

Isabella Yepes ’23 and Alyssa Steinbaum ’23 both said the reservation pro-

cess “was pretty easy, you just log on and select a seat and when you click on information it tells you where the seat is.”

Being able to return to the library felt “really nice,” Yepes said. “It’s so much better than my room.”

The total capacity across libraries is around 422 seats. As of Wednesday, there were 481 unique site users and a total of 1,069 bookings on the reservation website for October.

Currently, all students are prohibited from entering the library stacks and finding materials themselves. Students can instead submit a request for materials for contactless pickup. Carrels are reserved for graduate and medical students only.

“While the stacks are closed, we are committed to getting students whatever resources they need, however we can get it to them,” Dimmock said.

Librarians are available for virtual reference inquiries or consultations,

and will not be interacting face-to-face with students on-site, University Librarian Joseph Meisel said. Many new resource guides and video tutorials made by librarians are also available online.

“We’ve been reinventing how we do our business,” Meisel said.

In addition to offering in-person study spaces, the libraries have expanded their digital collections and resources during the pandemic.

“We used to have about 500 textbooks and books, full-volume, on reserve in the Rock every semester,” Dimmock said. “What we’ve done is digitize those books this semester and they’re linked through Canvas on a virtual hold shelf so students can check that book out for two hours.”

The libraries are also digitally distributing course materials and readings that were previously sold in the Brown Bookstore as “course packs,” helping faculty transition courses to online delivery and digitizing or finding digital

surrogate library materials and excerpts online for faculty and students.

Between July 6 and Oct. 5, more than 8,000 pages of special collections material from the Hay have been scanned for undergraduates.

“I want to reiterate how happy we are that we can welcome students back into the spaces and ... that this is your library and we’re trying to make it as user-friendly and welcoming as possible and a whole lot of us have been spending a whole lot of time trying to put that effort into it and we will continue,” said Amanda Strauss, associate University librarian for special collections.

“We’re all still here and really accessible and the resources are as accessible as we can make them,” she added.

Students are encouraged to send feedback to welcometoyourlibrary@ brown.edu or through the anonymous Library Environment Feedback form for continuous improvement of library resources and spaces.

After capturing the Ivy League Championship last season, Cummings had the opportunity to play in front of the top college coaches at the NCAA Tournament. Little did she know that this exposure to national soccer programs would be beneficial during the graduate transfer process. Cummings emphasized her continued commitment to soccer in light of the cancellation of her final fall season at Brown. “I don’t feel finished. Feeling unfulfilled is a hard way to end my soccer career.”

According to Cummings, the decision to continue her career as a student-athlete is a logical next step. “Brown has given me the tools to improve,” she said.

“To get another degree and continue to improve in soccer? That is a no-brainer.”

Her teammate, Goalkeeper Kayla

Thompson ’21.5, brings a unique perspective to women’s soccer. A transfer from West Virginia University, Thompson made an immediate impact on the field for the Bears last season.

She ranked sixth in the NCAA in save percentage and notched a season-high seven saves in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Her 2019 performance earned First Team All-Ivy honors along with the team’s Ridgely Most Valuable Player Award.

Thompson spoke to The Herald about her experience as a Bear. “I loved my teammates, the environment and the school. I loved playing for the coaching staff at Brown. The team is incredible.”

Thompson chose to stay in Providence and take this semester off from academics and athletics so she would

be able to compete for Brown next fall as a second-semester senior.

“I was not looking to transfer again.

I tried to stretch my (time at Brown) because I have really enjoyed playing here,” Thompson told The Herald.

Senior right-side hitter Eliza Grover ’21 was set to enter her final season on the women’s volleyball team after earning Honorable Mention All-Ivy honors for the second straight year. As a junior, Grover was one of three Bears to play in all 23 matches and all 87 sets of team competition. Among Ivy League players, she ranked eighth on the season in hitting percentage.

Grover revealed her growing passion for volleyball since arriving at Brown.

“Over the past three years, I have grown to love the sport even more. I have loved

the team and the competition. … I’m very grateful.”

Since she does not plan to attend graduate school next year, Grover does not see herself using an extra year of NCAA eligibility. As a cognitive neuroscience concentrator, Grover is exploring different paths in the medical field, some of which may require enrollment in a post-baccalaureate program. The intensity of this curriculum would leave little time for Grover to continue her competitive athletic career.

Regardless of her athletic and academic decisions, Grover remains thankful for her time in the Brown volleyball program and supports her fellow Bears as they look to continue their athletic endeavors. “I am very excited for them. … It makes me want to play as well.”

Friday, October 9, 2020

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | COMMENTARY

5

EDITORS’ NOTE

With a return to in-person classes, a return to limited print When we all abruptly left campus back in March, we packed up two homes: our dorms, and the office of The Herald at 195 Angell St. We did not know when we would see our friends again, or when we would be back on campus — and we certainly didn’t know when we would be able to print a paper again.

In July, President Christina Paxson P’19 announced that we would return to campus, and we determined that the safest way forward would be for us to prioritize daily online news and print weekly, as we wrote in our last Editors’ Note. When the delay of in-person classes was announced in August, along with the chance that the entire semester might be remote, we thought that even printing weekly might prove impossible. But today, marking the first full week of limited in-person classes, we are so grateful to continue our print tradition with the publication of our first weekly issue of the semester — and our first issue ever produced virtually and designed in our new office at 88 Benevolent St.

This issue is the first of seven weekly printed issues we have planned for the semester, which will all be published on Fridays. We encourage you to pick up a copy every Friday until Thanksgiving at these locations. Please continue to subscribe to our daily online newsletter and to read news published daily on our website.

In an abnormal semester, and our last as an editorial board, we hope once again that you continue to stick with us in print and online, and most importantly, that you take care and stay safe.

—Editors’ Notes are written by The Herald’s 130th editorial board: Colleen Cronin ’21, Allie Reed ’21, Sophie Culpepper ’21, Elise Ryan ’21 and Alex Smolar ’21

EDITORIAL

It’s time for better COVID-19 guidelines As students have adjusted to a new normal of mask-wearing and social distancing on College Hill, the University has done well keeping student COVID-19 cases in check, boasting a remarkably low positivity rate. More students have been invited back to campus, and as we enter level two of campus activity, limited in-person classes are being offered for the first time since March.

It is precisely at such a time, when the coronavirus may feel within our control, that we are reminded that our own ambition and optimism must not override caution and reason. Despite the comprehensive nature of Brown’s planning, negotiating a pandemic on a college campus remains a precarious balancing act. As policies relax and social interactions increase, we urge the University to address troubling gaps in its communication with students and its guidelines surrounding the virus.

Just last month, the administration mistakenly sent out emails threatening suspension to registered remote learners who were accused of being in the Providence area — even when they had been thousands of miles away during the fall semester.

Though the University quickly attempted to remedy the error, their mistake seems indicative of a broader organizational failing. Will the University be able to accurately identify misconduct in the case of an outbreak? Does this mistake reveal greater issues with how the administration handles the many important virus-related communications across offices like Campus Life, ResLife or the College?

The aforementioned emails were also troubling in a deeper way. While we respect and appreciate the University’s desire to minimize community spread, threatening suspension should not serve as an all-encompassing punishment for violators.

It should only be done after an exhaustive review of the evidence — not in response to suspected but unconfirmed infractions. Even disregarding the mistaken recipients, will grossly punitive threats really motivate all students actually in violation to come forward?

We urge the University to implement policies that are more in tune with student behavior. While threatening suspension in the above case was draconian and likely ineffective, there are other aspects of Brown’s conduct requirements that are not strict enough.

Currently, students who are engaging in goodfaith compliance with University policies can still manage to skirt the bi-weekly testing requirement.

The University requires undergraduate students

to track their daily symptoms and register for their biweekly COVID-19 test appointments through Healthy at School. We’d be remiss not to mention that this platform is relatively user-friendly, and that the process itself of getting tested at the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center (or 1 Davol Square) is streamlined and efficient. What is concerning, however, is the apparent lack of true enforcement of testing requirements within the program. When a student can no longer attend their appointment, Healthy at School allows you to quickly reschedule, up until the literal minute of the appointment’s start time — but what this means is that with just a few clicks, we as students can continually reschedule and delay our testing for days.

And this doesn’t seem to trigger any concern within the system: After all, that individual is technically scheduled to come in for testing soon. Emails are sent (albeit apparently auto-generated) when appointments are completely missed or an appointment hasn’t been scheduled when a student is due.

But, again, the solution is simply to pick a time slot and delay it at one’s convenience. Of course, the ability to reschedule is part of the flexibility that makes the current testing program run smoothly; when students don’t abuse this, it is a great benefit for us to be able to shift our tests by a few hours or a day when a conflict comes up. So while we don’t imagine many students are deliberately abusing this, we do worry that by being so accommodating, the system makes it too easy for us to deprioritize testing — even without necessarily intending to break the rules. After all, we are all still students during this pandemic, replete with full course loads and schedules — and with the potential to place frequent testing on the back burner when our days are eaten up by midterm and finals seasons.

There are also other gaps in Brown’s testing program. For instance, students currently on leave living in the Providence area are precluded from accessing University testing. While many of these students may not maintain a daily presence on campus, it is inevitable that many will interact with their friends who do. If the goal is to truly ensure the integrity of the campus bubble, every attempt should be made to allow all students connected to campus in some way to be tested. Doing otherwise is counterproductive to the culture of health and safety Brown is trying to promote.

There is also little guidance on how students should hold each other accountable. For example, Residential Peer Leaders living on campus are not even required to report parties “unless they are a serious risk to public health,” a poorly defined standard

— and one that even public health experts have a difficult time discerning. As virtually the only source of oversight in student housing, RPLs ought to be given more concrete resources and guidelines so that they can effectively address improper behavior.

We recognize that it is certainly unfair to place the entire burden of policing student behavior on RPLs. But both RPLs and their residents would likely benefit from a clearer description of responsibilities and an understanding of who to turn to when student behavior makes others uncomfortable.

This is especially true in cases where the behavior may not be acute enough to report to the Office of Student Conduct but nonetheless subverts health and safety norms in some fashion.

But of course, the obligation to hold each other to a high standard should not fall on RPLs alone, and at the end of the day, there is also only so much that University administrators can do. We know we are not the first to say this — nor will we be the last — but there is a vital role we must all individually play in keeping each other safe.

We understand how challenging it can be to forgo social interaction, especially when the pandemic has continued for so long. We know what it’s like to long for a day without Zoom. We are living it, too.

Still, we must be willing to sacrifice some personal freedom for the sake of each other’s wellbeing. To our fellow students: Please remember, guidelines are not meant to be gamed ― they should be followed even when nobody’s watching.

Ultimately, we remain cautiously optimistic about Brown’s ability to weather this storm. At the same time, the failures of other universities, not to mention our country at large, have illustrated the dangers of optimism gone awry. Brown’s present success does not indicate mastery over this pandemic, which still remains vastly unpredictable, and even its most calculated plans remain a gamble. With lives on the line, the stakes are far too high for the University and its community members to take any unnecessary risk. It’s time for practices to be updated.

Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board. This editorial was written by its editor and assistant editor, Krista Stapleford ’21 and Johnny Ren ‘23, and members Amanda Brynn ’21, Lola Olabode ‘21, Vicky Phan ’21 and Dylan Tian ’21.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

6

A timeline of University COVID-19 decision-making

Friday, October 9, 2020

Feb 1

March 11

Due to the spread of COVID-19, the U. encourages the Brown community to observe increased health precautions in a campuswide email from Russell Carey ’91 MA’06, executive vice president for planning and policy. At the time, the U. said the immediate health risk to Rhode Island “remains low.”

The Ivy League c events for the re academic year.

March 5 Brown professor tests negative after coming into contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19 on a trip to Portugal. The professor previously said he had been denied a COVID-19 test.

An overview of the University’s historic moments amid the pandemic Since early March, the conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic have forced the University to reconsider important aspects of campus life and the student experience. The following is a timeline of the University’s historic moments and administrative decision-making, as it was announced to the Brown community.

BY JACK WALKER SENIOR STAFF WRITER

SINCE 1891

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Editorial Leadership Editor-in-Chief Colleen Cronin Managing Editors Sophie Culpepper Allie Reed Senior Editors Elise Ryan Alex Smolar post- magazine Editor-in-Chief Amanda Ngo

Sections Arts & Culture Editors Katherine Ok Emily Teng

Special Projects Coordinators Jacob Lockwood Melanie Pincus

News and Metro Editors Olivia Burdette Henry Dawson Olivia George Daniel Goldberg Li Goldstein Kayla Guo Clara Gutman Argemí Isabel Inadomi Kamran King Spencer Schultz Sarah Wang

Commentary Opinions Editors Jordan Allums Johnny Ren Krista Stapleford

Science & Research Editors Emilija Sagaityte Cate Ryan

Multimedia/Production Design Editors Hee Won Chung Keelin Lyons

Sports Editor Ryan Handel

Head Photo Editors Rebecca Ho Victoria Yin

Editorial Page Board Amanda Brynn Lola Olabode Vicky Phan Krista Stapleford Dylan Tian

Copy Desk Chief Vicky Phan Illustrations Editor Summer Zhang Graphics Editor Usha Bhalla Director of Technology Jed Fox Business General Managers Nicholas Fabrizio Mariel Jackson Office Manager Diane Silvia Directors Rey Blandon Arman Lateef Michael Wang

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195 Angell St., Providence, RI (401) 351-3372 www.browndailyherald.com Editorial: herald@browndailyherald.com Advertising: advertising@browndailyherald.com

March

All in-p instruc remain and stu vacate March campu

In-person Brown events with 100 attendees or must be canceled or offered virtually, Christina P’19 writes in a campus-wide email. Further, Br suspends all upcoming U.-sponsored internatio

Brown cancels “A Day on College Hill” and limi event attendance to players, coaches and essen according to an email from Provost Richard Lo and Vice President for Campus Life Eric Estes.

March 6 Members of the Brown community are asked to self-isolate and contact health services if they exhibit a combination of symptoms — including a cough, shortness of breath or fever above 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit — as well as if they have recently traveled to a country with widespread transmission of COVID-19 or have had close contact with a person confirmed to have COVID-19, Carey writes. Additionally, Brown-sponsored travel to China, Iran, Italy or South Korea was temporarily prohibited for students, staff and faculty.

Feb 29

Submissions: The Brown Daily Herald publishes submissions in the form of op-eds and letters to the editor. Op-eds are typically between 750 and 1000 words, though we will consider submissions between 500 and 1200 words. Letters to the editor should be around 250 words. While letters to the editor respond to an article or column that has appeared in The Herald, op-eds usually prompt new discussions on campus or frame new arguments about current discourse.

All submissions to The Herald cannot have been previously published elsewhere (in print or online — including personal blogs and social media), and they must be exclusive to The Herald.

Submissions must include no more than two individual authors. If there are more than two original authors, The Herald can acknowledge the authors in a statement at the end of the letter or op-ed, but the byline can only include up to two names. The Herald will not publish submissions authored by groups. The Herald does not publish anonymous submissions. If you feel your circumstances prevent you from submitting an op-ed or letter with your name, please email herald@browndailyherald.com to explain your situation.

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Friday, October 9, 2020

cancels athletic emainder of the

h 12

person academic ction is canceled for the nder of the semester, udents are required to their residences by 22, Paxson writes in a us-wide email.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

7

April 3

June 4

U. announces plans to support Providence and Rhode Island during the COVID-19 crisis, namely through a community meal service, a COVID-19 research fund and financial support for local businesses and nonprofit organizations, Paxson writes.

Paxson testifies before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, emphasizing the importance of working to reopen college campuses in the fall and advocating for governmental support of higher education due to the issues presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

April 7

July 7

Oct 5

Brown announces the financial impact of the pandemic on the U. has topped $20 million, Locke writes.

Brown announces its three-semester plan for the 2020-21 academic year, Paxson writes.

Quiet Period ends. Campus moves to Level 2 of Campus Activity Status, allowing inperson instruction for classes and sections of 19 students or less, while planning to gradually reopen campus facilities, Carey writes.

more a Paxson rown onal travel.

its athletic ntial staff, ocke P’18 .

Brown postpones commencement and Reunion Weekend, Paxson writes.

Brown suspends on-campus summer programs through July 1, Locke writes.

Brown announces it will move forward with Phase Two of its phased reentry plan, Paxson writes.

March 24

April 27

Sep 10

U. confirms the first positive COVID-19 case in the campus community in an email from Locke.

The date by which students are required to vacate campus is moved forward to March 17, Estes and Barbara Chernow, executive vice president for finance and administration, write.

U. announces the creation of the Healthy Fall 2020 Task Force, Paxson writes.

Due to worsening conditions in Rhode Island, the U. announces its phased reentry plan in an email to the Brown community from Paxson. Classes are to be taught remotely until Oct. 5, when in-person classes of less than 20 students may resume.

March 14

April 13

Aug 11

Find Post- magazine on Facebook! facebook.com/postmagazinebdh

8

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

Friday, October 9, 2020

UNIVERSITY NEWS

VP Carey: Personal travel ‘strongly discouraged’ over long weekend Asymptomatic testing program has returned 26 positive tests since it began Aug. 24

BY MARLENE GOETZ SENIOR STAFF WRITER Executive Vice President of Planning and Policy Russell Carey and University Spokesperson Brian Clark discussed the results of asymptomatic testing, the first week of undergraduate in-person classes and the travel risks of the upcoming long weekend in a conversation with The Herald Oct. 8.

Since COVID-19 testing began Aug. 24, the University’s asymptomatic testing program has returned a total of 26 positive results, according to an Oct. 9 Today at Brown announcement. Carey said that three of these individuals have been removed from the asymptomatic testing program for 90 days following their initial positive test.

Ten of the positive results were due to “research laboratory derived contamination,” Carey said. These results were from faculty, staff and graduate students, who are working on grants for COVID-19-related research. The material they are working with is not the live virus but can cause a positive result on the COVID-19 test.

The University moved into Campus Activity Status Level 2 this week, and undergraduate classes of 19 or fewer students had the option to meet in-person beginning Oct. 5. In addition, libraries opened to undergraduates with limited, reserved seating. “We have a total of 281 courses that have at least some in-person component,” though only a subset of these met in classrooms due to professor discretion and other

IN-PERSON FROM PAGE 1 shoulders.”

Overall, Warner thought that the dynamic was much better than online sections because the students were more focused and the conversation flowed more naturally.

Mia Stone-Molloy ’22 said that the first in-person session of her POLS1822U: “War and Human Rights” class had some hiccups but overall went smoothly. “The professor had some trouble recognizing us with our masks,” Stone-Molloy said. There were also minor technical issues setting up the Zoom for the remote student.

Stone-Molloy also enjoyed the class more in-person than she did when it was online. “I think people were more focused in person,” she said. “You have to walk there, and go to a separate space, and see people in person, and have other people see you a little bit more, so it forces you to be more engaged.”

English Professor Philip Gould ‘83 said he was happy to be back in person with his students after such a long period of virtual classes. “I really liked being back in a classroom … (my students) could listen to my bad jokes in person,” Gould said. “Being able to see students and scan the room and get a sense through eye contact … I’m glad we’re doing it.”

To accommodate the hybrid format, Gould altered his ENGL 1561Z: “American Renaissance” class to be more lec-

factors, Clark wrote in an email to The Herald.

The transition to Level 2 has been “overall quite positive,” and Carey said he has “no particular concerns” at the moment. He attributes the relatively successful transition to the continued commitment from undergraduate students and community members. “I would say with confidence that so far so good — no major or minor, really nothing that I would characterize as a hiccup so far,” Carey said.

No University exercises will be held on Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Monday.

Despite the risk of travel over the long weekend causing a spike in cases, Carey believes people have a “clear sense (of) minimizing and reducing their risk.”

Travel restrictions are widely known, and many locations require a 14-day quarantine on arrival from out of state.

“Travel for University purposes is prohibited, and personal travel is “strongly discouraged. … Our expectation is that people are staying on campus and we are not particularly concerned,” Carey said.

Adherence to these travel restrictions would fall under the general student commitment, whose other stipulations include compliance with specified public health practices. Violations are subject to “holistic and individual case by case review,” Clark said. “The nature of the allegation has something to do with them, but it is reviewed more holistically and then worked through that process.”

Compliance with twice-a-week testing is also part of the student commitment, Carey said. Violations are subject to a similar, individualistic review process. Students are encouraged to schedule tests right away and will receive emails to “promote this behavior.” In addition to testing, students

ture-based during in-person classes, with a separate hour-long discussion section online. “There’s still discussion … and we communicate over Canvas and email, but I don’t think you can entirely reproduce the seminar,” Gould said.

History Professor Harold Cook is teaching his class HIST 1977J: “War and Medicine Since The Renaissance” as a hybrid this semester, with the students split roughly half and half between in person and online learning. “The reason I was interested in teaching in a hybrid way was that, especially for a seminar, picking up clues from people in the room, being able to make eye contact when you’re talking… is a lot better for discussion than the formalities of Zoom,” Cook said. “There continued to be a bit of awkwardness about (the online and in person) mixture, but I think it worked.”

Ian Gonsher, professor of computer science and physics, is teaching CSCI 1951C: “Designing Humanity Centered Robots,” a hands-on design-based course.

“You can’t translate the whole experience online,” Gonsher said on his decision to create a hybrid course. With so many design elements, it was important to Gonsher to recreate as close to an in-person experience as possible.

Gonsher’s biggest obstacle has been forming a community while socially distanced and wearing masks. “It’s very hard to kind of establish rapport,” Gosher said, “and that’s something that

NAT HARDY / HERALD

Russell Carey ’91 MA’06 and Brian Clark discusspersonal travel risks, transitioning to Campus Activity Status Level 2 and the asymptomatic testing program, which has had 26 positive test returns since it began Aug. 24. are required to fill out daily symptom check-ins. Though the symptom tracker is “very important,” the “compliance priority is on testing,” Carey said.

Students with remote status but residing in Providence have previously been urged to come forward and enroll in the University’s testing program in a community-wide email sent Thursday, Sept. 24 by President Christina Paxson

is really important, especially to these types of classes where … the team that we’re trying to create is so central to the class.” Hybrid classes place “more of a burden on students who just need to warm up a little bit more and get to know people a little bit more, and we’re working through it.”

Students taking classes remotely are also having trouble integrating into the new hybrid format.

Ellen Yoo ’23, who is taking both ENGN 0490: “Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering” and EEPS 1130: “Ocean Biogeochemical Cycles” as a remote student, explained that she prefers the fully online classes to hybrid. During hybrid class, the professor is “more lecturing to in-person students rather than the online kids,” Yoo said.

Siemens also noticed that students attending class virtually were having trouble getting the attention of the professor. “It was a little bit difficult with the hand raising function on Zoom because the professor was lecturing in person and not necessarily checking the Zoom all the time,” Siemens said. “I think the people who were virtual were at a slight disadvantage in that regard.”

During class, Yoo could not see the in-person students, and because the only microphone was near the professor, she could not hear them either. “Obviously online learning wasn’t ever ideal, but I feel like kids who get to go in person now definitely have a better side of the deal,” Yoo said.

P’19, The Herald previously reported.

Since the announcement, there have been individuals who identified themselves, but it is a “relatively small population,” Carey said. People have been forthright, recognize the reasons and have been “cooperative.”

Carey underscored that the educational philosophy behind handling student conduct violations is the desire “for

people to recognize that these things are not that burdensome — wear a mask, practice social distancing, wash your hands and engage in testing — because it is important for their own health, and I think even more importantly, the health of others,” Carey said. “We want to continue to support people in a positive way,” rather than punish them.

The University resumed in-person classes on Monday after the move to level 2 reopening.

VICTORIA YIN / HERALD

“It felt like, not a return to normalcy but definitely a relatively good substitute,” said Olivia Siemens ’21.

post-

OCT 9 — VOL 26 — ISSUE 4

See Full Issue: WWW.POST.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM

NARRATIVE

FEATURE

September and October? stills from home

By Jordan Hartzell

Pod People

where relationships start and covid doesn’t end

by Olivia Howe, Amelia Wyckoff, Jasmine Ngai, and Victoria Yin illustrated by Chloe Chen Olivia Howe When my parents dropped me off in front of Keeney in September 2018, we were all thinking it: I would never really live at home again… Except winter breaks. Except freshman summer.

Except quarantine. I had already stepped out of my childhood and closed the door, holding my foot over the edge of a life I wanted so much to drop into. This independence required all the flags of teenage rejection: the eye-rolls on FaceTime, the monosyllabic texts, the “you just don’t get what it’s like to live at Brown” rants. I spent my first year bristling at my mom’s hail of questions and at my dad’s unrippled silence.

Back home last March, I bit off conversations, stuffed myself into my room to glaze away the hours “working.” But as I realized my friends would indefinitely remain muffled voices in my headphones, I took a big-girl breath and decided to re-meet my parents.

For my mom, I set aside the pretense of eternal homework on weekends to renew our tradition: Sunday Baroque radio and a long bike ride in the bitter hills. I let my mom gush about yet another of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos and tried to hear what she loved in the cellos that sawed my nerves. Later, as we rode, I laughed with her about the icy sweat on our necks and the family of Canada geese babbling on the roadside.

At first, my dad and I mostly pelted each other with our respective political anxieties at the dinner table.

As the spring unfolded, I began to accompany him on forest walks like I had when I was five, and I let the leaves remind me of the love we share for quiet. Pausing at the old quarry in the woods like we always did, he pointed to a pine tree polka-dotted by woodpeckers, and I showed him an eft and a memory from school.

As I stepped back into their life, we softened. My mom left me in peace; my dad checked in with me. And I was able to give them my time when they wanted it.

This fall, I hesitated about returning to a restricted Brown. I had two friends at home, and I would never get the chance to live with them again.

Amelia Wyckoff Depending on texting for social interaction has not been good for my anxiety. I’m an overthinker: I analyze a missing exclamation point or a terse abbreviation and immediately jump to conclusions.

In an article entitled “Are All My Friends Mad At Me?” Katie Heaney writes, “If the vibe with a friend seemed off over text, there was (and still is) little you could do about it except text more—or wait and hope you’re wrong.” For the first few weeks of quarantine, I felt paralyzed with anxiety as I waited for friends to text me back or ask me to FaceTime .

“Mega bats… some sort of bat that was, like, mega.”

“I gotta say, Thomas Jefferson's campaign jig kinda slaps. Like, you could stride over a mountain to that.”

Pandemic Pick-Up Lines

1. If Covid doesn't take you out can I?

6. Are you Covid-19? Because you take my breath away.

2. So...come ‘round here often? (at the OMAC testing center)

7.

3. Tested positive for vibez (negative for Covid)

8. Did Covid give you a fever or are you always this hot?

4. It’s a good thing you’re wearing a mask, aren’t goddess’s faces supposed to be blinding?

9. I’d pin your video on my Zoom screen

5. I’d let you join my pod ;)

post–

Want to be involved?

Email: amanda_ngo@brown.edu!

You can’t spell quarantine without “u r a qt”

10. What if we both raise our hands in the breakout room… haha jk… unless?

My dad has picked up airbrushing over the last month. He told me this morning that he’s expecting a new acrylic green in the mail. At night, after work, Dad has been going out to his barn, a tall-ceilinged open workspace with a kiln, most of a canoe, glassblowing materials, some miscellaneous wood—and metalworking equipment. He paints fine detail on models of Range Rover defenders and Corsair fighters, sending updates to our family group chat. The airbrush tool is small and sleek, a precision instrument for the trained craftsman. Dad is convinced that it takes some kind of natural-born skill to stay inside the lines, but that he’s still trying to learn. He wants to paint a miniature house next.

ARTS&CULTURE

Be Gay, Do Crimes radical normalcy in la casa de papel

By Moe Levandoski

It’s hard to pin down exactly which secret ingredient in Netflix’s La Casa De Papel (Money Heist in its English translation) makes it so enthralling (other than the conveniently placed cliff-hangers at the end of every. Single. Episode.). Something about the adrenaline of a 12-day standoff against Spain’s best investigators, the romance of a heroic antiestablishment robbery, the ultimate human weakness for love (or is that just me?), the aesthetics of a swath of red behind an army of Salvador Dali masks against a melancholy grey ground. Maybe it’s that, going in, you expect a heist, but you definitely don’t expect the heist to stretch across multiple seasons and become increasingly labyrinthine until you have absolutely no idea how they’re going to get out of this but they’d better, doggonit. Maybe it’s just that the cast is… hot? Whatever the reason, this show is like whatever addictive substance you care to insert here. And to my little gay heart’s delight, the characters are not all cishet.

LIFESTYLE

Reasons You Should Vote 2020 edition By eashan das

**This article is written in the opinion of the writer.

Well, folks, as you breathe in the crisp New England-fall air and stress out about, well, everything, I’d like to remind you that it's Election Season! In case you’re not already psyched to perform your civic duty, here are a few reasons (they’re rather dumb intially but there are more valid ones later) you should vote and info on how to do so. october 9, 2020 7 9

10

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

Friday, October 9, 2020

METRO

RIPTA riders and community organizations push back on RIDOT bus plan Community members cite longer transit times if bus hub moves from Kennedy Plaza

BY KATIE CHEN SENIOR STAFF WRITER It takes Edilberta Trejo one whole hour on the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority every day to travel from her home to the library where she works.

Trejo says this isn’t unusual for transit riders like her, and she worries that the Rhode Island Department of Transportation’s new proposed multihub plan will lead to lengthier trip times and more transfers.

The transit plan, put forth by RIDOT, would break up the current bus hub at Kennedy Plaza into three separate bus hubs spread throughout the downtown Providence area. The money to fund this plan will come from a $35 million transit bond, The Herald previously reported.

“The multi-hub system is designed to attract new riders and provide service to future employment centers,” RIDOT Chief of Public Affairs Charles St. Martin wrote in an email to The Herald. “This includes the strategy to attract new riders by locating each hub in closer proximity to areas projected to have increases in new housing and businesses.” Two of the hubs are expected to be located at Providence Station and on Dyer Street.

“The Multi-Hub plan is being developed in parallel with plans to modify and electrify the bus system as a way to provide a better rider experience,” he added.

But some long-time riders believe the plan will make their RIPTA experience worse.

For Elaine Heebner, a Rhode Island resident who has been using RIPTA long before Kennedy Plaza was first used as a hub back in 1983, the plan just doesn’t make sense.

At first, Heebner was uncertain about the hub at Kennedy Plaza. “We all felt a little uneasy about it. But once we started using Kennedy Plaza, it was so obvious that it was very convenient, no matter where you were going.”

Heebner said. “I don’t like the idea of

Transit riders are frustrated by the lack of stakeholder input in the development of the RIDOT multi-hub proposal. potentially having to take a bus to get to the bus that I’m actually taking.”

“It’s really better to have a single bus hub rather than multiple bus hubs,” RI Transit Riders Coordinator Patricia Raub said. “It makes everything easier. … If buses are coming in one place or another, it becomes more difficult for passengers to know where to transfer to get onto another bus.”

Others were concerned about the accessibility of the new hubs, even though RIDOT maintains that they would be within a short distance of one another.

“I’m really thinking about other people who would struggle, … people who have a hard time walking, or need a wheelchair,” Trejo said.

Community members have rallied to push back on the plan. In a Sept. 30 Providence City Council Committee on Urban Redevelopment Renewal and Planning meeting, 21 people spoke in opposition to the plan, and, as of Oct. 8, 868 people have signed a petition

asking Governor Raimondo to withdraw the plan.

What infuriates transit riders the most is how much input they had in the project — which was none at all, Grow Smart RI Deputy Director John Flaherty said.

Riders “have not been involved in the development of the plan,” he said.

“The plans are being developed largely by people who don’t use transit, and so it shouldn’t be surprising that plans that they come out with don’t meet with the approval of people who use transit.”

“It’s not just the stops and the inconvenience of transit riders,” Rochelle Lee, an educator who uses the RIPTA as her main form of transportation, told The Herald. “It’s a principle of process and how we conduct infrastructure that’s for everybody. We can’t have three people making decisions for 50, or 100, or 200 (people) … True experts on the trains are the bus drivers and the transit riders. So when you talk

about $35 million or any kind of money, … talk to patrons, talk to transit riders,” Lee added.

And it’s not just transit riders that are frustrated by this plan and the way it was conceived; city advocacy groups like Grow Smart RI, The Providence Foundation and the Providence Preservation Society have all come out with letters of opposition.

The Jewelry District Association also joined the opposition.

“We were told out of nowhere on July 22 that we were going to inherit (a bus hub) in a Zoom call,” said Jewelry District Association President Sharon Steele. “So that was our first notice that the Jewelry District was going to get 47 percent of the Kennedy Plaza bus service, and on that call we were told that the stakeholder outreach would end at the end of July.”

Steele felt that the window for stakeholder outreach was too short.

She added that one of the proposed hubs that would be on Dyer Street is

CA L E N DA R

DANIELLE EMERSON / HERALD

too small to handle the volume of transit that would be required.

“I really can’t give you one fan out of how many stakeholders I speak with literally multiple days every week,” Steele said. “I can’t find one person.”

But according to St. Martin, RIDOT has worked to incorporate community input: “In each iteration of RIDOT’s plan, we have listened to stakeholders and refined the plan accordingly.”

The transportation tussle is far from over.

“Our number one goal is to persuade the governor to have RIDOT back off on this plan. Just stop it now.

And let us have a more thoughtful planning discussion of exactly what would be best for Providence and for riders,” said Raub, RI Transit Riders coordinator.

“It seems like it’s just an ordinary custom to include people who are going to be the end users, but for whatever reason this proposal has not done that,” Lee added.

COVID -19 AT BROWN LAST 7 DAYS*

OCTOBER S

4

M

5

Tu

6

W

7

Completed Tests

People Tested

Th

F

S

10,888

6,671

1

2

3

Confirmed Positives

Positivity Rates

7

0.1 %

8

9

10 SINCE AUGUST 24, 2020*

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

Completed Tests

People Tested

54,983

7,256

Total Cases

Prevalence

26

0.4 %

*AS OF OCT. 8

Friday, October 9, 2020

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

11

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Exercise in the time of COVID-19: Finding new ways to stay fit Students have adapted workout routines due to lockdowns, safety precautions

BY TYLER JACOBSON STAFF WRITER When the University shuttered its doors in March along with gyms and recreational facilities across the country due to the coronavirus pandemic, many students found themselves forced to adapt how they work out and reflect on the significance of their exercise.

Before the Jonathan Nelson ‘77 Fitness Center closed, Jon Mallen ’22 held himself to a strict four-day rotating workout routine that targeted specific muscle groups. When Mallen was sent home to Redondo Beach, California, the lack of gym access made it more difficult for him to keep up his workout regiment.

But “even though I didn’t have a gym, I’ve found ways to stay active,” he said. While he was home, Mallen often went to a fitness park near his house, where he continued doing calisthenics on the rings, bars and platforms it offered.

Nicole Lim ’22 also has seen her workout routine altered by the pandemic. A member of the women’s club tennis team, Lim said that after the pandemic disrupted the team’s weekly workouts, she no longer had a regular exercise commitment.

Since then, Lim, who is studying

remotely this semester, has found that she has been working out more consistently by going on runs and doing virtual floor workouts from Peloton and YouTube. She has even led some video workouts over Zoom with the tennis team.

“My routine now is better than what it was at school, and I am hoping that will continue when I go back,” Lim said.

Other students interviewed by The Herald have found it difficult to maintain their prior levels of physical fitness during quarantine.

Maura Driscoll ’22 was training for the Providence Half Marathon until the pandemic hit. She ran nearly every day with the Brown Running Club, and did additional workouts by herself to supplement her training. After the pandemic canceled the marathon and sent Driscoll home, she stopped training, “which was kind of fun, but it is always nice to have something to train for,” she said. “Not having the specific time every day where we can all meet has also been tough.”

Caitlin Takeda ’20 MS, who used to go to the Nelson four to five days per week, said that she has lost a lot of muscle mass, “and that’s been frustrating.” She added that she’s also no longer playing Gendo Taiko, a form of Japanese percussion, “which was a lot of exercise. And I’m not walking places anymore since I’m just doing classes on Zoom, so it’s all these factors where I’m not moving as much.”

Takeda tried virtual yoga and pilates, but she “found it really hard to do home workouts and keep myself

motivated.” She ended up joining CORE Cycle Studios in Wayland Square. “It’s annoying to pay money to work out, but I also know I need some sort of delineation between home and working out,” she said.

Lamel Moore, executive director of the East Side/Mount Hope YMCA, said that he has noticed a small increase in membership among college students as the Nelson remains closed. “More and more athletes (have) taken use of our facility,” he said, including members of the women’s and men’s swimming team and women’s fencing team.

The pandemic “has put such a strain on people’s mental health and physical health,” Moore said. “If the YMCA can (help relieve that strain) while, unfortunately, the Brown facilities are closed, we’re here to help.”

Despite having returned to working out at a gym, Takeda said she is still “wary” of the risks of contracting and spreading the coronavirus. She usually selects the spin bike furthest from others in the class, and she noted that CORE Cycle Studios has separated bikes 12 feet apart and installed plastic shields between them.

But “if Providence’s numbers were to keep going up,” she said, “I would definitely reconsider going to spin.”

Moore said he recognizes that not everyone is fully comfortable returning to recreational facilities, but notes that gyms such as the YMCA have taken many precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

All equipment is sanitized twice per hour, and members must make

reservations online to use any fitness equipment and the pool, which helps the gym keep records for contact tracing and prevents overcrowding, Moore said.

Mallen has also considered purchasing a gym membership while the Nelson is closed. Mallen has relocated his calisthenics workouts from California to the Brown Street Park in Providence, but said he needs access to a bench press, dumbbells and pre-loaded barbells. “Those are essential for a lot of my workouts,” he said, adding that the “last few months have been a lot of improvisation.”

The pandemic has forced many students like Mallen to reimagine their workouts, and in doing so, reflect on what their workouts mean to them.

“It was difficult for me to figure out how to be active (during the pandemic), especially because soccer was not an option,” said Kiley Kellum ’21, a two-year captain of the women’s club soccer team. “It was kind of difficult post-COVID going from always exercising with teammates … to trying to initiate (exercise) by myself.”

Kellum and her roommates ended up joining CRG Warwick, a local rock climbing gym where she now climbs three to four times a week. “Most of what I’ve gained from soccer … was the social interactions I benefited from being on a team,” she said. Climbing “has reintroduced another social element that I’ve really enjoyed.”

Prior to the pandemic, Brown Running Club member George Daccache ’21 said that running for him was “more of

an auxiliary thing if I had time after studying and finishing all the other things that I had to do.” But since the pandemic, he has started “looking at (running) in a new light.”

“Running is accessible, and having the benefit of staying in the same location, it’s familiar to me,” Daccache said.

“It provides a sense of repetition. And it also gives me an excuse to go outside.” He added that he used to run for the physical exercise, but now does it for the mental health benefits, as well.

But Daccache also misses the social element of the Brown Running Club. “I always had a group of amazing people to run with,” he said.

“Not having the ability to have social events outside of practice keeps us more disconnected,” Brown Running Club member Driscoll said. “Sometimes I’ll meet with one or two other people, wear masks and run, but it’s nothing like running with big groups of people like pre-COVID.” Many students are simply anxious for the return of organized athletics and gym access at Brown.

“I’m definitely looking forward to getting back to playing lacrosse, getting back to playing a team sport,” said Thomas Wilson ’22, a member of the men’s club lacrosse team. “I am excited to be physically active with a group of people who share a sport with me.”

“Over time I’ve been able to find ways to adapt,” Kellum said, “but I am looking forward to things returning back to normal or in some way being able to socialize with more people in a safe way.”

PAVANEE GIROTI / HERALD

12

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

Friday, October 9, 2020

SCIENCE & RESEARCH

Connecting through the screen during COVID-19 Students, groups bond in virtual spaces, researchers offer input on digital relationships

BY CLAIRE LIU SENIOR STAFF WRITER Campus life — encompassing organizations including clubs, community centers and program houses — is a staple of the college experience and led largely by students themselves.

Maisy Meyer ’22, a student leader of the Chemistry Departmental Undergraduate Group, said that “virtual events are, in some ways, even better than the events that we could have done in person.”

By promoting social events to firstyear students seeking an introduction to the chemistry department and maintaining a full event calendar, the DUG utilized the virtual semester to create a sense of community. “We’ve been able to come together as a department and become more accessible to underclassmen,” Meyer said.

The ChemDUG, normally a relatively small group due to a low number of chemistry concentrators, has seen its highest turnout this semester. The group hosted a panel with its leaders over Zoom in August that brought together over 200 attendees.

Connecting with other students virtually has been less uncomfortable than expected. “People are so starved for social interaction that honestly everyone is dropping all of their pretenses,” Meyer added.

Even if given the opportunity to hold some events in person, the DUG plans to continue hosting popular events, like screenings of old episodes of “Bill Nye the Science Guy,” with a virtual component for remote students.

For the University’s Black Student Union, keeping members engaged has taken the form of virtual mixers and collaborations with other affinity organizations like the Brown Center for Students of Color.

To create a friendly atmosphere, the group has incorporated Kahoot! games and played background music as attendees joined, said Christina Crockett ’23 and Faith Hardy ’23, BSU co-event coordinators.

Worried about Zoom fatigue — a drained mental state resulting from constant video calls — they gathered members’ input on what they’d like to see from events. “It’s easier to get engagement when you’re actually plugged into what the members want,” Hardy said.

They hope to continue virtual events targeted toward first-years given their success, as well as use livestreams on social media, Crockett and Hardy said.

For example, BSU hosted a livestream over Instagram for A Day on College Hill, which had over 100 viewers.

“This period has really been a strain for me,” Hardy said. She prefers to socialize in person rather than over text and other online channels. Crockett feels more accustomed to socializing online as an active member of large group chats. Both have become avid users of Netflix Party and online games like Among Us as entertaining ways to spend time with friends online.

First-years meet other classmates from home Newly admitted students face an

SUMMER ZHANG / HERALD

unprecedented first semester. Though first-years have the option to take one fall course, they remain at home, unable to experience a traditional introduction to college life on campus — “half-students,” as Surya Khatri ’24 described.

Khatri, who is living in Baltimore, is a member of a GroupMe chat for the class of 2024 with over a thousand members.

Students in the chat have organized weekly game nights as well as socially distanced meet-ups, he said.

Amiri Nash ’24 has also connected with classmates through this GroupMe chat and has exchanged letters with a University student pen pal.

Being in isolation has made Nash more introverted and less inclined to go out, he said. When meeting up with friends in person, “there’s other factors that I have to think about now,” such as social distancing and whether others are wearing masks, which has made him more anxious, he added.

The role of social media has also changed for him. Before the pandemic, “it was just a way to connect with people that you didn’t necessarily see, but now I don’t see anyone. My existence is performed through a digital realm of social media, rather than in real life,” Nash said.

Both first-year students share a de-

sire to experience social life on campus when it becomes possible, stressing that there is no comparison to meeting their classmates in person.

Researchers discuss effects on social behavior The suspension of physical social interactions raises questions of how people’s social behavior and perceptions of themselves have changed.

The pandemic “changes everything.

Human beings need to be in face-to-face contact. It’s how we affirm our connections most solidly,” said Gregory Elliott, professor of sociology.

Social media, presently the main alternative, leads to superficial relationships and is a threat to community building, Elliott said. Intimate relationships involve conflict, and, because of easy options online like blocking those you disagree with, social media fails to create deeply meaningful relationships.

If people sparsely interact, we receive limited information in understanding who we are, Elliott said, referencing a social phenomenon called reflected appraisals, where people learn about themselves through others’ reactions to them.

Social media and other virtual communication channels are also largely an act of “self-presentation,” a highly selec-

tive version of oneself that is shown to others, according to Elliott. For instance, virtual backgrounds on Zoom can mask a messy room, or a bookshelf positioned in the backdrop serves to make the person appear well-read.

Liesel Sharabi, assistant professor at the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at Arizona State University, studies interpersonal relationships with a focus on dating apps. Based on research showing that more modes of communication are added as relationships progress, maintaining established relationships online should theoretically be easier than forming new ones.

“You can still maintain quite intimate relationships online,” Sharabi said.

Some people might feel more comfortable interacting and opening up online than in person. She has noticed this in her own experiences teaching over Zoom, where some students prefer to actively participate using the chat feature.

But Oriel FeldmanHall, assistant professor of cognitive, linguistic and psychological sciences, said that humans rely on visual cues for social interactions to gauge the emotions of the other person.

Limited visual cues resulting from virtual communication affect the fabric of collaboration, FeldmanHall said.

Working completely virtually “protracts the experience of what it’s like to work with someone, (meaning you figure) out whether they’re a good person to work with or not on a much longer time scale.”

Friendships and romantic relationships also often involve physical signs of affection, FeldmanHall said. Especially for those living alone, they are “missing out on a huge component of what it means to be a human being, which is to socially engage with people in a deep way.”

From a media perspective, a lot of our lives have already been digitalized, and the pandemic has merely foregrounded our digital lives as our physical lives have been curtailed, said Jinying Li, assistant professor of modern culture and media.

The boundary between the virtual and the physical is unclear, Li said. The pandemic has not changed our relationship with media, but rather, is causing us to better understand how digital interactions are already integrated into our lives.

While researchers note some shortcomings to digital interactions, they acknowledge some positives. Virtual communication is “better than nothing, but don’t ever let it be good enough,” Elliott said.