Friday, October 16, 2020

SINCE 1891

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Friday, October 16, 2020

VOLUME CLV, ISSUE 38

METRO

U. sees overall decrease in crime in 2020

BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM

METRO

Students take time off to campaign virtually From local congressional races to presidential election, students share campaign trail stories

BY LIZA MULLETT SENIOR STAFF WRITER

VICTORIA YIN / HERALD

Brown’s Department of Public Safety has reported that the decrease in crime on campus can be attributed partially to having fewer students at the University than usual due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Providence Police also reports a decrease in almost all types of crime for year

BY COREY GELB-BICKNELL SENIOR STAFF WRITER Reported crimes on the University’s campus decreased by 58 percent compared to last year, according to Brown’s Department of Public Safety crime report, which was reviewed by The Herald. DPS has also seen a 54

percent decrease in reported crimes for September alone, compared to last year.

Because DPS only responds to incidents on University property, the decrease in crime is partially a result of fewer students on campus, said DPS Chief of Police Mark Porter.

“Students were sent home in March, and they didn’t return until August. We didn’t have a summer program,” he said. “We would naturally think that there will be less crime.”

Despite the general decrease in crime overall, Porter noted a “recent uptick in violent crimes.” There have

been five simple assaults and two robberies this year — up from three simple assaults and one robbery at this point last year, according to the crime report.

Both robberies occurred in September.

“To combat this, DPS and the Providence police have stepped up our patrols in the area, particularly during the evening,” Porter said.

In the first robbery on Sept. 12, a person walking on Thayer Street at approximately 12:50 p.m. was robbed of her purse and pushed to the ground, according to a DPS alert to the Uni-

SEE CRIME PAGE 3

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Nelson Fitness Center opens for students Students must maintain social distance, wear face coverings over noses and mouths

BY PERI SHEININ STAFF WRITER The Jonathan Nelson ’77 Fitness Center reopened Tuesday and welcomed members of the Brown community who are approved to be on campus this fall.

When the athletic complex was forced to close in March along with the rest of the University, many students and staff who remained in Providence were left without a readily accessible indoor space for exercise. The return of more students for the fall semester coupled with cooler weather exacerbated the need for indoor workout resources.

Starting Oct. 14, the Jonathan Nelson ’77 Fitness Center is once again open to Brown community members since its closure this spring.

Students must maintain six feet of social distance and wear a face covering over their nose and mouth at all times while inside the building, said Fitness and Wellness Coordinator Kelly Sorge.

To enter the fitness center, students must book a one-hour reservation slot and use socially distanced markers to

News

Commentary

News

Russell Carey ’91 says flu vaccination, COVID-19 testing efforts are going well Page 2

When Seth Goldstein ’22.5 voted in Wisconsin’s gubernatorial election in 2018, he woke up the next morning in tears — the candidate Goldstein supported, Democrat Tony Evers, had defeated Republican incumbent Scott Walker.

It was Goldstein’s first time voting in a statewide election, and the experience galvanized him.

“I thought, ‘I want to feel this way in two years and I want to do more about it’,” Goldstein said.

Now, Goldstein is taking time off from school to volunteer with the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. “I thought if Wisconsin’s going to be the state that decides the election this year, I want to make sure that if I can be helpful, I’m a part of it.”

Goldstein is one of several students at the University campaigning for political candidates during this abnormal fall semester.

Many students said the shift to virtual campaigning and remote classes has presented a unique opportunity to head out on a new kind of campaign trail. Some, like Goldstein, have chosen to take the semester off, while others have opted to balance both school and campaign work.

Alexandra Blitzer ’22.5 is taking a leave of absence to volunteer for former Vice President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.

“Working for Biden was a big goal of mine, especially once I decided to take the semester off,” Blitzer told The Herald. “I felt like I really wanted to throw myself into the presidential election and do everything that I can to ensure a Democratic victory.”

Blitzer has been organizing volunteers in “deep blue” states like Massachusetts and California to phone or text bank for Biden in highly contested, battleground states. Although

COVID-19 has presented challenges to typical campaigning, Biltzer said that the remote format of Biden’s campaign has allowed her to connect with voters across the country.

“COVID has obviously changed the game. I think it also has gotten a lot of people to volunteer who wouldn’t have necessarily signed themselves up in the past,” she said. “There’s this urgency to the whole thing.”

Caleb Apple ’21, who is currently a Herald columnist, is balancing a five class course load with his work supporting the campaigns of several Democratic candidates — including Sima Ladjevardian for Texas’ 2nd Congressional District and Shaun Donovan for mayor of New York City. Apple also served as policy director for Tiara Mack, who successfully won a Democratic primary bid for Rhode Island State Senate earlier this fall.

“I’ve known for a year or longer now that this is the stuff I want to be working in after college,” Apple said.

“I’ve felt that getting real experience as opposed to just learning about politics in the classroom is really valuable. So since I enjoy it so much and I’m taking a lot of seminars as well, it hasn’t felt like I’m ever really overburdened.”

The remote nature of Ladjevardian’s campaign has “strangely given me the opportunity to work in a place like Texas where I would’ve never been able to work while in school,” Apple said.

While Apple is volunteering in a state far from his Providence residence, other students are campaigning closer to their homes.

Emery Shelley ’22 is volunteering in Ohio, her home state, while also taking University classes remotely. Shelley is a press and communications intern for Democrat Kate Schroder in Ohio’s 1st Congressional District, who is looking to unseat Republican incumbent Steve Chabot. Shelley said she was drawn to Schroder’s history as a public health official, a qualification she sees as an advantage for the candidate during the pandemic.

While Goldstein is also volunteering in his home state of Wisconsin, a thou-

SEE CAMPAIGN PAGE 2

VICTORIA YIN / HERALD

Han ’23: ‘Succession,’ ‘I May Destroy You’ resonate with current cultural moment Page 6

SEE NELSON PAGE 3

Eat Local Challenge returns to Brown Dining, boasts New England food producers Page 7

SUMMER ZHANG / HERALD

TODAY

TOMORROW

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

Friday, October 16, 2020

UNIVERSITY NEWS

VP Carey: ‘We feel very good about where things are right now’

No indication that COVID-19 exposures increased following long weekend

BY MARLENE GOETZ SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Executive Vice President of Planning and Policy Russell Carey ’91 and University Spokesperson Brian Clark discussed the seasonal flu, asymptomatic testing following the long weekend and the second week of activity level 2 in a conversation with The Herald Oct. 15.

Both students and employees have been taking advantage of the flu vaccination program, and Carey said reports about the program “have been very positive.” The flu shot is “important every year,” particularly so this year “because anything we can do to keep seasonal flu at bay certainly helps in terms of general health and safety (and) with regard to COVID,” Carey said.

The University is concerned about “higher volumes of seasonal flu” in the winter and colder weather causing more people to stay inside, where the risk of transmission for both the seasonal flu and COVID-19 is greater. “But the measures

we are taking will hopefully help mitigate both of those risks,” Carey said.

With regards to the potential double outbreak of both the seasonal flu and COVID-19, Carey said that “the strategy right now is to push the flu shot as much as possible” and to encourage people to take the same personal steps they are already taking to stop the spread of COVID-19. If the community can continue to do so and receive the flu vaccination, “we should be in good shape,” Carey said.

In the last seven days, the University’s asymptomatic COVID-19 testing program has returned one positive case, which was from an employee, The Herald previously reported. There has not been a positive test result from a student through asymptomatic testing since Oct. 5. The University continues to watch for any situations with “significant amounts of contact or spread.”

But they haven’t seen such a situation “in general and certainly not in the last week,” Carey said.

There is also no indication that activity over the long weekend led to increased exposure, Carey said. “Our testing volume went down a little bit over the long weekend, particularly Saturday and Sunday, but not much,” and Monday’s testing volume was in the normal range. Overall testing is “continuing to go well” and the University continues to have “very low positivity

COMIC

rates,” Carey added.

The University is “not keeping track of people in any particular way,” including whether or not they travel, and it did not do so over the long weekend. But greater scrutiny would be used “if we were seeing positive cases and in contact tracing it came out that they had traveled, for example,” Carey said.

Despite the recent national increase in cases, the University has no plans at this point to amend its policies. But Carey said the University is “following both national, and probably even more importantly, local and regional measures and metrics very carefully.”

Gov. Gina Raimondo held her most recent press briefing Oct. 15, and Carey said “we have paid a lot of attention to the briefings she has done this week.”

Generally, measures discussed by the Governor are “very consistent with communications we have been sending out.”

The second week of hybrid classes has continued to go “very well,” Carey said. “Reports that I have been hearing, particularly through the Healthy Ambassadors program, have all been positive.”

There have been “really no concerns at all this week.”

The University also continues to facilitate outdoor activities, including setting up tents across campus, Carey

RÉMY POISSON / HERALD

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said. But “in early November, tents have to come down because of the possibility of snow. They are not meant for that time of year.” Still, Carey said “there will definitely be ongoing work to try and create opportunities outside,” but this becomes more difficult as the weather worsens.

Carey reiterated that progress to this

point has been positive. On campus, people are wearing masks, participating in the testing program and practicing social distancing. “We feel very good about where things are right now,” but “the commitment needs to be maintained in order for all of us to continue to feel good.”

CAMPAIGN FROM PAGE 1

explained. He noted that then, in 2018, Democrat Tony Evers defeated the Republican incumbent governor by 28,000 votes — about seven votes per precinct.

“Basically, no matter what we do,” he said, “Wisconsin is going to be a close race this year.”

Goldstein’s own experience campaigning in a swing state like Wisconsin has shown him the potential impact that connecting with individual voters can have on a race.

“I think huge numbers of Brown students are in districts that don’t really have competitive races right now, but there is, especially in the virtual world, so much you can do when you’re out of state,” he said.

Although away from the University’s campus and not enrolled in classes, Goldstein and Blitzer both said they don’t regret choosing to work on campaigns this semester.

“I and everyone who I’ve talked to who’s also on leave feel really, really good and secure about their decision to not be Brown students this semester,” Blitzer said. “Especially as someone who’s interested in politics and working in politics, this opportunity seemed too important to pass up.”

sand miles away from College Hill, he has managed to convince some of his peers in Providence to help him out.

Goldstein has recruited the Brown Democrats to help in the Wisconsin Democrats’ phone banking efforts. He said that the Brown Democrats “probably talked to over 100 people in an hour. And those 100 people could be a crucial part of what decides the state.”

Goldstein has been helping coordinate “neighborhood action teams” in Juneau and Adams Counties, two “swing counties” that voted for Obama twice and flipped to Trump in 2016. “We’ve just been building relationships there, trying to build up some infrastructure to last beyond” the 2020 election.

Since the Democratic National Convention in August, Goldstein has focused his efforts on phone banking. He emphasized the importance of connecting with individual voters, especially in states like Wisconsin that could determine the outcome of the 2020 presidential race.

“What we know is that in 2016, Trump won Wisconsin by 23,000 votes,” which is about six votes per electoral precinct, he

COVID -19 AT BROWN LAST 7 DAYS*

OCTOBER S

NAT HARDY / HERALD

U. has seen positive reports on the seasonal flu vaccination program and continued asymptomatic testing for community members.

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Completed Tests

People Tested

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Positivity Rates

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SINCE AUGUST 24, 2020* Completed Tests

People Tested

65,767

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Prevalence

27

0.4 %

*AS OF OCT. 15

Friday, October 16, 2020

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

3

FILM REVIEW

‘On the Rocks’ runs out of lighthearted allure

COURTESY OF A24

An otherwise half-hearted film far from her best, Sofia Coppola’s newest dramatic comedy relies on Bill Murray’s effortless charm.

‘On the Rocks’ leans on Murray’s charm in an otherwise forgetful Coppola film

BY IRENE CHOU SENIOR STAFF WRITER The latest drama-comedy ‘On the Rocks’ reunites writer-director Sofia Coppola and actor Bill Murray, as he takes on the role of Felix, a seasoned debauchee and wealthy art dealer. Rashida Jones joins Murray as Felix’s daughter Laura, a writer troubled by the disinterest of her husband Dean (Marlon Wayans) and tired of the tedious day-to-day.

As Laura begins to suspect Dean of infidelity, she confides her intuition to her father. Slyly positing that the worst is indeed happening, Felix proposes that they spy on Dean. Laura, mentally drained of any better ideas, reluctantly agrees.

The father-daughter duo then embark on an unlikely urban caper. Coppola, in a more pared down version of her highly stylized works, seems to interrogate the appearances of both her film and Laura’s relationships.

The title of the movie may be witty, with a clever doubling of both a sophisticated cocktail and a fracturing relationship. But the movie itself also seems to be on the rocks, its shallow charm drawn out over the nearly 100 minutes of runtime and dramatized in predictable emotional outbursts.

The film relies heavily on Bill Murray’s entertaining performance of Felix, the eccentric man-of-the-world with too much money and time on his hands. Employing a loyal chauffeur, Felix regularly pops up at the entrance of his daughter’s Soho apartment, often uninvited.

He appears even more frequently once Laura’s distress about her marriage is evident. On Laura’s birthday, Felix comes to share long-overdue quality time with his daughter, despite her hesitation.

They visit the private clubs of New York reserved for the absurdly rich, where every maître-d’ is a friend of Felix’s. After deciding that hiring private detectives isn’t enough, Felix then takes Laura on an “incognito” ride in his flaming red vintage Alfa Romeo to tail Dean. Of course, before that, there was a delightful stakeout consisting of inessential binoculars, wine and a tub of caviar. Here, Coppola even seems to poke fun both at whirlwind dramas and ostentatiousness itself.

These grandiose, spontaneous adventures yield nil to Laura’s marriage, but they do offer some quiet, contemplative moments with increasingly beautiful backdrops on childbirth, heartbreak and a daughter’s hurt from a father’s cavalier attitude towards love and commitment.

In one moment, Felix recalls falling in love with Laura’s mother, someone he eventually cheats on in spite of the birth of his two daughters.

At the film’s emotional climax, Coppola reveals the cracks in Felix’s style.

Why do you do it, Laura demands to know, as uncomfortable parallels are drawn between her situation and her mother’s.

Well, because he wasn’t the center of adoration anymore, Felix admits. Because it wasn’t fun to be settled.

Where there is nuance in the characters of Felix and Laura, paternal love shadowed by irresponsibility and a daughter’s love mingled with disappointment, there is less structure in the relationship between Laura and her husband Dean. In a slightly Freudian gesture, the film seems unsure whether to pit Laura’s husband or her father as the source of her turmoil — while the answer could be both, Coppola noncommittally fluctuates between the two relationships and evades any sort of indictment.

Despite inciting the narrative’s essential caper, Wayans’ character makes a surprisingly surface-limited showing. The audience only sees him hurriedly leaving the apartment, networking with business partners at a distance and occasionally playing with his two gorgeous daughters.

There are also sparsely-sprinkled hints of a husband-wife bond throughout the film: a wedding night dip in a pool, knowing smiles shared in the few minutes Laura and Dean are together and not much more. Perhaps that is the film’s vague thesis — their marriage may be struggling, but not gone, because fleeting, somewhat satisfying moments still remain. Still, Wayans is a comedic actor — rarely playing roles outside of spoofs and comedy — and his performance might be disappointing for audiences going in anticipating a demonstration of serious acting chops.

The film does reach an ultimate narrative climax in a vacation condo in Mexico, though it is hardly a point Coppola dwells on. It’s a dramedy that doesn’t linger on emotionally heavy moments but dwells on the minor lighthearted ones, taking its time to show a comedic performance from its cast. Jenny Slate plays a talkative fellow mother and Barbara Bain is introduced as Felix’s equally suave, personable mother.

With opportunities for greater statements on the public and private, or style and substance, Coppola misses a clever gambit, one that might have been bolstered by her own famous directorial signatures of high-scale costume design, pop-culture saturated soundtracks and star-studded cast. Nonetheless, Murray is perhaps the only shining anchor, even a directorial force, in an otherwise lackadaisical film.

ELISE RYAN / HERALD

The Providence Police Department has seen a decrease of overall crime rates in the larger Providence area. Crime rates have decreased by at least 10 percent in 13 of the 15 crime categories.

CRIME FROM PAGE 1 versity community. In the second incident on Sept. 25, a man walking through the parking lot at 155 Angell Street around 11:30 p.m. was robbed by two people with firearms who stole his backpack and fled the scene, according to another DPS alert. Neither victim was Brown-affiliated.

Still, the Providence Police Department has seen a decrease of overall crime rates in the larger Providence area, where the population size is far more stable. Crime rates have decreased in 2020 by at least 10 percent in thirteen of fifteen crime categories, as compared to a weighted

five-year average, according to the most recent Providence Police Department Crime Report. The number of homicides and aggravated assaults have increased, but violent crime as a whole, which also includes robbery, forced sex offenses and aggravated assaults with firearms, has decreased by 17 percent.

In light of the decreased crime rates, DPS officers have not had to run the same overtime that they would in a typical academic year, according to Porter, which saves the University significant expense Luci Jones ’23, whose bike was stolen in September, urged students to stay cautious. “If you have valuable

belongings, (they) can be stolen,” she said, “even if you’re in what you think is the safety of campus.”

Another University student, who requested anonymity due to potential personal repercussions, became the victim of a burglary and a separate suspected break-in attempt in his off-campus apartment, both of which occurred since the semester began.

“I left the house for maybe ten minutes, and I mistakenly left my window open with a screen down. …When I came back, my laptop was gone,” the student said. “People may feel like they’re safe on campus, but I wouldn’t rest on that,” he said. “Life throws you these curveballs.”

COURTESY REBECCA ZUO

To enter the gym, students must make a one-hour appointment. Only 20 students are allowed inside the gym at one time, and they must clean exercise equipment before and after each use.

NELSON FROM PAGE 1 wait outside the building until they are admitted. Only 20 students are allowed inside the facility at one time and locker rooms are not available. Students must also clean exercise equipment before and after use.

“We put a lot of thought into this,” Sorge said. “We have the best possible plan in place to ensure the safety of everyone.”

Facility Operations Manager and Aquatics Coordinator Ray Grant said

that the fitness center’s opening demonstrates a focus on reopening slowly to maximize safety. Although pool access and group fitness classes have not yet returned to the facility, Grant said he is satisfied with the current state of the fitness center. “This was a great first step in getting the students back in the building and giving them an opportunity to focus on their physical health,” he said.

Rebecca Zuo ’21 said she “felt comfortable” exercising in the facility on opening day. “The equip-

ment and machines were spaced out and available. It was quite nice to be around fewer people in the gym,” Zuo said.

For staff and students at the Nelson Fitness Center, the first day back in business was seen as a success.

“We had a very enthusiastic response … many of our reservation slots were either full or almost full. There was a lot of excitement from the students … and we are just as excited to be back as they are,” Sorge said.

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | COMMENTARY

4

Friday, October 16, 2020

The unfair advantage of applying early decision

BY JORDAN DE PADOVA ’24 STAFF COLUMNIST

As we move further into fall, many people look forward to apple orchards, hayrides and Halloween. But for high school seniors around the world, it’s the day after Oct. 31 that they have circled on their calendars. On Nov. 1, scores of hopeful Brunonians will submit their Early Decision applications. An ED application is marketed as a way for passionate applicants to show the Admission Office just how interested they are in the University — interested enough that, if accepted, they are contractually obligated to enroll.

On its surface, the ED option seems like a harmless way to select a class of students with intense school spirit. However, looking more closely at the details, it becomes apparent that the ED application option is yet another aspect of the college admissions process that disadvantages those from lower-income backgrounds.

By applying ED and confirming that they will enroll if accepted, students usually get stuck with whatever financial aid they are offered. To its credit, the University meets 100 percent of demonstrated financial need.

The issue is that it is extremely difficult for applicants to foresee how much they will actually have to pay before they are accepted.

Brown determines each student’s Estimated Family Contribution using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and the College Scholarship Service, two forms of measuring a student’s financial means. These means of calculation are both very dense and time-consuming to complete, not to mention difficult to understand. For families with less financial literacy, it can be challenging to understand

what the calculations from these forms mean.

While there are resources like Net Price Calculators, a tool that provides families with a mock calculation of their EFC, these tools are only ballpark estimates. In short, by applying to the University ED, students are effectively agreeing to contribute as much as the University deems

So, the wealthy can more comfortably apply ED. Why does that matter? In the University’s case, it’s because ED applicants are about three times as likely to get in, as compared to Regular Decision applicants. The ED option, among other aspects of college admissions that favor the wealthy, may be part of the reason why 72

likely offer the same financial aid package following the ED process as it would to that same student following an RD application, other schools’ aid packages can help students bargain down Brown’s financial aid office.

For the University to equate passion with a willingness to give up financial autonomy is

appropriate.

The University does claim that if an ED admit can prove that it didn’t meet 100 percent of their demonstrated need and make a compel-

percent of students at the most selective colleges come from families in the top quartile of income. Students from families in the lowest quartile make up only 3 percent of students at

classist. It suggests that an applicant’s desire to consider the full financial ramifications of their decisions is actually just a sign that they “don’t want it enough.”

The good news is there are numerous alternatives that still allow students to convey preference and interest without requiring tens of thousands of dollars to back it up. After realizing the unfairness of the ED option, Harvard and Princeton both replaced it with a Restrictive Early Action program. Students can apply to only one school REA, allowing them to demonstrate their interest, but are not contractually obligated to enroll if admitted. A second option would be to have more faith in the application process. Brown requires supplemental essays as part of its application for a reason. They are specific to the University and can be used to gauge how interested a student is. Instead of deadlines and contracts, why not trust students’ written testimonies as proof of their passion for Brown?

Inclusion, diversity and progressivism are central parts of the University’s identity. By abolishing the ED application option, Brown would be showing its commitment to those values, giving students from all economic backgrounds a fairer shot at their top school.

“Instead of deadlines and contracts, why not trust students’ written testimonies as proof of their passion for Brown?”

ling case that they cannot afford tuition, they can occasionally wiggle out of their contract.

However, the University is the ultimate arbiter of this decision. Putting the burden on students to prove their inability to pay once again complicates the college application process for people less financially well-off. Plus, there is no guarantee their appeal will be approved. This might deter certain applicants from even applying ED in the first place.

Because applying ED comes with numerous financial barriers, it is no surprise that students whose families make over $250,000 annually are two times more likely to apply ED than students whose families make under $50,000.

these schools. Some may claim the higher acceptance rate for ED applicants is due to the higher proportion of qualified students in the ED pool or the higher percentage of recruited athletes who, through a slightly modified process, apply ED. While this may be true, it might not fully account for the large difference in ED and Regular Decision acceptance rates.

The University claims that the applicants who apply ED are those who are the most dedicated to the school. But a wealthy student who applies ED is not proving themselves any more passionate about going to the University than someone who, due to their financial situation, can’t afford to forgo comparing financial aid offers. While the University will

Jordan De Padova ’24 can be reached at jordan_de_padova@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and op-eds to opinions@ browndailyherald.com.

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | COMMENTARY

Friday, October 16, 2020

HBO has moved on from ‘Game of Thrones,’ and their new shows are more raw than ever

BY BLISS HAN ’23 STAFF COLUMNIST

This opinion contains spoilers from “Succession” and “I May Destroy You” and discusses sexual assault.

Nearly a year and a half ago, the dominant story in pop culture was the conclusion of “Game of Thrones,” a television show that had transcended what we thought television could be. HBO brought a silver-screen spectacle to the small screen, and the show’s immense popularity and cultural significance resulted in HBO becoming colloquially known as “the ‘Game of Thrones’ network.” When the show was wrapping up its eight-season run, John Oliver, whose latenight show “Last Week Tonight” aired directly after “Thrones,” quipped that, “in two weeks’ time, this network is so deeply f*****.” HBO isn’t quite the pop culture behemoth that it was during the reign of “Game of Thrones.” But for those like me who are interested in watching and writing about TV shows that are both well-made and have a definite societal message, HBO’s best is still unmatched in the ever-expanding television landscape.

But what I consider to be its best has changed, from the fantastical spectacle that was “Game of Thrones” to two shows that, while less popular, are more incisive and directly relevant to what it means to be alive in this moment of time — “Succession” and “I May Destroy You.” Both provide unique, engrossing viewing experiences on their own, but the two shows also create a fascinating double feature.

They are completely different in terms of tone, pacing and focus, executing the different visions of two creators, Jesse Armstrong and Michaela Coel, respectively, whose only similarity might be their English roots. But they deliver two sides of a message that is necessary now more than ever: Living in this world is often agonizing and brutal, briefly beautiful and vulnerable, and overwhelmingly messy. “Succession” focuses on those in power who have purposely created a cruel world. Meanwhile, “I May Destroy You” trains its eye on the destructive effect that the world can have on normal people.

Together, they create a vision of how our harsh reality came to be and what we might have to do to exist in it.

If I had to describe the most recent season of “Succession” in one word, it would be unrelenting. Between the razor-sharp dialogue, the piercing glares and the breakneck pacing that accurately captures the callous spirit of corporate life, made entertaining by the show’s flair

for profanity-laden dark humor. “Succession” is essentially about the struggle for control over a legacy media company owned by the Roys, a family loosely based on the Murdochs. Never before has a show about rich white people felt so urgently necessary — and the Emmys agree.

It turns out that, in the right creators’ hands, a show about the conversations between the obscenely rich and powerful can inform us all about the forces that created the world we live in while also providing a hugely enjoyable hate watch.

Central to the second and most recent season of “Succession” is a scandal: The company’s leadership has long covered up the rampant sexual assaults committed on its cruise line, many of them by a former executive who coerced workers into sex in the 1990s. When the story breaks, the patriarch, Logan Roy, quickly

ant. Michaela Coel writes and stars as Arabella, a burgeoning writer whose quest to figure out what happened on a night when she was roofied and raped is central to the show. “I May Destroy You is an achingly beautiful portrait of how exhausting it is to try to be a good person in a cruel world. It is overwhelming, and deliberately so. The show touches on all of today’s most complex issues and emotions in one way or another, and it visibly drains both its viewers and characters as they attempt to figure out how they are supposed to care about so many problems at once. In her brilliant, singular voice, Coel’s fictional story, based on her real-life sexual assault, offers no easy conclusions. As a viewer, “I May Destroy You” is by no means an easy watch, but one that keeps viewers on their toes and displays a full variety of experiences, particularly Black experiences, set in a vi-

“Unfortunately, if ‘Succession’ and ‘I May Destroy You’ truly represent that kind of ordinary cruelty, the everyman is capable of extraordinarily destructive actions.”

emphasizes the family’s PR strategy: “It’s cultural splash back. We’re being punished for the sins of others. No one real gives a f*** … Condemn and move on.” A couple of episodes later, the Roys are hit with a second gut punch: A former employee exposes a company policy known as NRPI, or “No Real Person Involved,” which is how the company describes assaults

brant London, almost unrecognizable from the glossy city that often appears on our television screens.

“I May Destroy You” is a collection of moments, each one more viscerally authentic than the next. Consider one moment when Arabella indifferently locks her friend Kwame in a room with another man, thinking she was facilitating

involving sex workers or immigrant employees at foreign ports. The indifference with which “Succession” brushes off the disgusting nature of its characters’ actions and attitudes toward such unforgivable crimes shines a harsh light on the true corporate stance on sexual assault: It’s worth the effort to pretend to care, but not worth it to actually do so, because “no one real gives a f***,” because there was no “real” person involved.

If “Succession” treats sexual assault with a callous, dishearteningly accurate reflection of reality, “I May Destroy You” fully leans into the other side of that truth: the utter anguish and ruin that an assault leaves in its wake. The exact same heinous act is weighty rather than brushed off, traumatic rather than unimport-

a normal hookup. In reality, Kwame is terrorized by flashbacks to his own sexual assault. A few episodes later, Arabella discovers the truth and is wracked by guilt. Rather than admonishing her, Kwame embraces her, saying that it’s all okay, that he understands what she’s been going through. In those small, understanding and forgiving moments between friends, we are able to see the warmth within the pain. More than anything, this show does justice to the complexity of modern life. “I May Destroy You” continually asks its viewers to trust no one while empathizing with everyone — even and especially ourselves. Memories and concepts of self are fallible, and sometimes we bury the things that we don’t want to remember so deeply that we convince ourselves they never happened.

And sometimes, the full context of a moment is revealed so suddenly that it tilts the ground underneath our feet, forcing us to reevaluate who we are and whether we are doing the right thing.

Like anyone who enjoys analyzing and writing about pop culture, I am biased toward specific themes. I prefer works that depict what I describe as “ordinary cruelty” — something common rather than rare, like indifferent glances rather than grisly murders, and a concept that is crucial to both “Succession” and “I May Destroy You.” It’s rarer in film and television than I would like: Many of the foremost creators of our time seem to prefer to use graphic violence instead. Think Quentin Tarantino, David Fincher and, yes, “Game of Thrones” itself.

Violence is both the surest way to make an impact on the viewer and a fascinating delve into the depths of human depravity; it is an effective tool of filmmaking, and honestly, who am I to argue with the methods of such masters? But as a pretty normal human being, I’ve always been more interested in what normal people are capable of doing to each other without blinking an eye. Unfortunately, if “Succession” and “I May Destroy You” truly represent that kind of ordinary cruelty, the everyman is capable of extraordinarily destructive actions. If committing and covering up sexual violence is in any way ordinary, what have we come to as humans?

And it is, in fact, devastatingly “normal” and way closer to home on this campus than some might think.

Last week, I wrote about “The Good Place,” and its message about basic human decency as our only hope to save each other from ourselves. But there’s a caveat to that uplifting message: All of the decency in that show happens after the characters have already died, when they have millennia to figure out “what they owe to each other.” But HBO’s “Succession” and “I May Destroy You” illustrate why it’s not quite so easy to be decent to each other during our time on Earth. Some people refuse to do decent things in order to hold onto money and power. With this behavior, they create a world where people who are trying to be decent find it almost impossible to do so. “Succession” enlightens and educates; “I May Destroy You” makes the viewer’s innermost struggles feel seen. They are both shows worthy of your attention.

Bliss Han ’23 can be reached at bliss_han@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.

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Friday, October 16, 2020

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UNIVERSITY NEWS

Eat Local Challenge Celebrates Sourcing and Sustainability

TRACY PAN / HERALD

Althouth COVID-19 affected the logistics of the annual Eat Local Challenge, many local producers still supplied their ingredients for this year’s menu, highlighting food producers.

Brown Dining Services holds Eat Local Challenge to support local businesses

BY MICHAEL SEONE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

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Brown Dining Services hosted the annual Eat Local Challenge Sept. 29 to promote the work of New England food producers and to inform students of how dining hall food is sourced.

Although COVID-19 affected the logistics of the event, many local producers were still involved with procuring ingredients for the menu, featured

below, according to Jesse Curran, assistant director of wellness and nutrition for the University.

Annually, Dining Services challenges their chefs to produce locally sourced meals as part of the Eat Local Challenge. Although the event showcases partnerships between the University and these producers, Curran emphasized that many of these products are regular features on University dining menus. For example, this year’s challenge featured a special tomato galette with golden cheese from Narragansett Creamery whose many products are available year round.

“In a traditional year, we would take over entire stations of the dining halls, featuring far more menu items.

Additionally, we (would) invite local producers and farmers to come and talk with students,” Curran wrote in an email to The Herald.

Last year’s event saw representatives from New Harvest Coffee Roasters discussing coffee and farmers from Red’s Best handing out apples. However, due to limitations resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the event had to be scaled down and no vendors could visit campus.

“I think we were more hindered

by COVID from a presentation standpoint, not so much with regards to actually sourcing ingredients and making items,” said Barb Kempken, associate director of dining services. “We didn’t have any issues sourcing the food that

we needed.”

Zane Ruzicka ’23, a member of the Undergraduate Council of Students Dining Council, was involved in coordinating the event and emphasized how the Eat Local Challenge promoted Brown Dining’s sustainable sourcing practices. “Dining cares a lot about where its food sourcing comes from — everything down to the salt is locally sourced, and you can look up the menu and see where everything is coming from,” he said.

Like many students, Ruzicka is currently studying remotely, and so was unable to attend the event.

In addition to modeling more sustainable sourcing practices, the challenge came with some culinary and environmental benefits. “The event

is also important from a food quality standpoint,” Kempken said. “I’ve been cooking for more than half my life, and (locally sourced food) always has better flavor. It is also an environmental statement since local sourcing creates a lower carbon footprint.

Planning future events has been difficult with the unpredictability of the pandemic, but the challenge is an annual tradition that Brown Dining Services intends to continue for the future, according to Kempken. “We’ve had pretty strong, ongoing relationships with our vendors, and it is an event we always enjoy doing,” he said.

“We’ll have to see what next year looks like.”

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Friday, October 16, 2020

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