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SINCE 1891

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2017

VOLUME CLII, ISSUE 105

WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM

Man shot by police near Providence mall Orchestra upset by

conductor turnover

Shootout ultimately proven to be unrelated to theft of police cruiser that occurred earlier Thursday

Strategic changes focus on holistic approach, students say former conductor led with fear

By KYLE BOROWSKI SENIOR REPORTER

A chaotic scene unfurled at the rear of the Providence Place Mall Thursday when a man was shot dead by police on the Route 95 north ramp. The incident occurred shortly before 11 a.m., though both Providence and State police were on the scene hours after the shooting, huddling beside a bullet-ridden white Ford pickup truck. At a press conference held on the ramp, Public Safety Commissioner Stephen Pare said police were investigating why the driver was driving erratically and why police were required to use deadly force to stop the car. He added that there was a woman in the passenger seat of the vehicle who had been taken to the hospital and that police were investigating her involvement in the matter. Multiple videos of the incident on social media show numerous officers slowly approaching the vehicle before shots ring out. Media reports have been

By EMILY DAVIES AND PRIYA PODUGU SENIOR STAFF WRITERS KYLE BOROWSKI / HERALD

The incident occurred after officers approached a truck driving erratically. A woman in the passenger seat was taken to the hospital. conflicting in regards to whether or not shots were fired from inside the vehicle before officers moved in. The shootout was ultimately proven to be unrelated to the theft of a state police cruiser that occurred earlier Thursday. That incident involved Donald Morgan, a Providence resident who was getting transported in the cruiser to a court appearance after he was arrested and charged with obstruction and possession of a stolen motor vehicle Wednesday, State Police Col. Ann Assumpico said in a press conference. At around 9:00 a.m. Morgan commandeered the cruiser while its officer exited to examine a car crash,

Assumpico said. She did not say how he was able to gain control of the vehicle, but did confirm that he had been in handcuffs at the time. According to a Rhode Island State Police news brief released Thursday, the cruiser had been abandoned in Providence and was recovered shortly after the incident, though Morgan was still at large. Assumpico hesitated when asked by a reporter whether or not Morgan should be considered dangerous. “We’re still looking into his history, but we definitely want him,” she said.

Student musicians were left scrambling after the University relieved conductor Brandon Keith Brown of his orchestra duties a day before their first concert of the semester. But the music department shake-ups started when former orchestra conductor and senior lecturer in music Paul Phillips announced in May he would take a year-long absence for the 2017-18 academic year. Though Phillips has since joined the faculty at Stanford University as director of orchestral studies, he has yet to formally leave the University, his workplace of 28 years. In June, just weeks after Phillips announced his departure, the University hired Keith Brown to fill the year-long vacancy. Keith Brown did not respond to

multiple requests from The Herald for comment. “If we hire someone as a visitor, it is very rare that we let them go in the middle of the year. It would have to be a really clear indication that they are not doing their job for us to let them go,” McLaughlin said. With short-term faculty hires, the Dean of the Faculty lets “the department make those one-year appointments pretty much on their own,” McLaughlin said. The department making the hire must submit a request and a candidate’s curriculum vitae to McLaughlin’s office. If the candidate’s credentials are appropriate for the position, the Dean of Faculty is only involved to approve the hire. Due to the temporary nature of his position, Keith Brown was hired without extensive involvement from the University’s administration, McLaughlin said. Faculty heads in the music department declined to comment on the specific nature of Keith Brown’s hiring. During his short time as orchestra conductor, students voiced concerns » See ORCHESTRA, page 3

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Cairo ’18 powers Bruno to comeback victory Elorza enacts municipal ID

program for Providence

Veteran libero reflects on time at Brown, Senior Day win over Crimson, final matches

Program created via executive order after City Council approval in June, cards to be issued in 2018

By TESS DEMEYER SENIOR STAFF WRITER

In the final home match of her Brown career, volleyball team captain Melissa Cairo ’18 recorded match-highs with 24 digs and four service aces as the Bears defeated Harvard for the first time since 2014. After dropping the opening set 2518, Bruno answered with a 25-20 victory in the second frame. A 25-12 decision in the third stanza gave Harvard the edge, but the Bears held the Crimson off in a 25-23 fourth-frame win to force a suspenseful fifth set. Following three lead changes and six ties, Bruno claimed four of the match’s final six points to complete the comeback. The victory over the Crimson could not have come at a better time, as Bruno celebrated Senior Day and snapped a sixmatch losing streak. The 3-2 triumph also marked the fifth time Cairo has notched 20 or more digs in a match this season, earning her Brown Athletics StudentAthlete of the Week honors. For her leadership on the court and

INSIDE

By JACOB LOCKWOOD CONTRIBUTING WRITER

COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS

Cairo ’18 tallied 24 digs and four service aces as the volleyball team defeated Harvard 3-2 Saturday night. willingness to dig deep for every point, Cairo has been selected as The Herald’s Athlete of the Week. Herald: How did you get into volleyball? Cairo: I started playing volleyball when I was eight. My older sister was playing, and they started allowing girls to play around that time. I was really into basketball competitively, and our basketball team also played as a volleyball team, which worked out great. Through there, I started playing club and through

my school. Congratulations on the win over Harvard. How did that feel? It felt so good! For the seniors to have our last game be a win on our home court was huge. Also, the season hasn’t gone as great as we’d hoped in terms of our record, so it was nice to end with a big win. What were you thinking going into the fifth set? I was thinking that I was happy it went to five because it was more » See AOTW, page 3

Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza signed an executive order to create a municipal ID program for the city Nov. 2. The program will draw upon the best practices of municipal ID programs implemented in other cities, including Washington D.C., New York City and Hartford, CT, said Victor Morente, the mayor’s press secretary. Morente expects the city to begin issuing ID cards in early 2018. Elorza intends to make IDs available to all residents of Providence, including undocumented immigrants, Morente said. Other municipalities require ID card applicants to present a government-issued form of identification, such as a birth certificate or a passport, as well as a document that proves their residence within the city, such as an electrical bill, but do not require any documents pertaining to citizenship. By adopting the same

requirements, Providence’s municipal ID program would allow immigrants to obtain ID cards and access city services regardless of their status in the U.S, he said. But if the city maintains a database of municipal ID cardholders, immigrants who hold cards may risk becoming targets of the Department of Homeland Security, said Marcela Betancur, the policy associate for the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island. The ACLU has voiced concerns that “if only undocumented people get (municipal IDs), then it’s going to be a very easy way to target that community.” To mitigate this risk, Betancur emphasized the importance of providing incentives to encourage other Providence residents to get municipal IDs and ensuring that the private information of ID cardholders “is not stored or shared with anyone.” Morente said that the risk of storing ID cardholder data “is a concern we’ve heard and a concern we’ll keep in mind moving forward.” But he stressed that “this identification card is not just for immigrants,” emphasizing that the mayor will work to ensure that the ID » See ELORZA, page 2

WEATHER

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2017

NEWS Study finds six- and 10-month-old infants have advanced cognitive development abilities

NEWS Hasbro, U. researchers to work together to build robotic pets for the elderly

OPINION Richardson ’20: Though a legitimate movement, #MeToo erases narratives of black women

OPINION Pandit ’20: Politicians must note the diverse, tolerant views of Generation Z

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NEWS

PAGE 2 • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2017

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Face recognition manifests early in infancy, according to U. research U. study tracks babies’ eye movements while locating faces, points toward early cognitive growth

of cognition. “We would hope we are tapping into mechanisms that are fundamental to human cognition. … These are attentional and learning strategies that we take through our whole life,”

Tummeltshammer said. The study has received praise from outside experts in the field of cognitive development. Janet Frick, associate professor of behavioral and brain

sciences at the University of Georgia and Julie Markant, assistant professor at Tulane University, both commented on the study’s goals and design. “It’s a very creative study and a great use of eye-tracking to ask some higher-level questions about the early development of cognition,” said Frick. “I thought the design was really creative. … It’s really the first paper to look at this concept of contextual cuing in infancy,” said Markant. Both researchers had high hopes for the implications of the research. “Any time that we have a better understanding of how early cognitive development typically emerges, then that’s going to be useful for identifying deviations to that, and trying to identify ways of intervening,” Frick said. “As developmental scientists, we are always thinking about the fact that understanding typical development is going inform our understanding of atypical development,” Markant said. “This is a stepping stone, because we need to know what is supposed to happen in order to understand what goes awry.” Plans for future experiments are also on the horizon. “With this study, it’s going to be scaling up the complexity of the scenes we’re presenting to infants and seeing whether they can take this skill of using contextual cues into a more naturalistic environment,” Tummeltshammer said. The researchers are intrigued by the real-life applications of these cues, Tummeltshammer said. “Hopefully we are tapping into something that is fundamental about human learning,” she added.

» ELORZA, from page 1

Providence should consider drawing from the municipal ID programs of other cities to implement additional perks for ID cardholders, Bentacur said. She pointed to New York City’s IDNYC program, which gives ID cardholders discounts at some businesses and free entry to spaces such as museums. City Councilman Luis Aponte said that there is “generally support for the idea” of municipal IDs among other council members, who approved a budget line item allocating $150,000 from the general fund to create the program in their June budget. But Aponte expressed some reservations about the implementation of the new program. He said the mayor’s office has focused primarily on what the ID cards “could and should do,” but he feels that “not enough emphasis was placed on what (ID cards) can’t do.” “All the limitations and expectations of the program should be explained thoroughly to people when they apply” for an ID card, Aponte said. ID

cardholders should know that a Providence ID is unlikely to be accepted in other municipalities and that a municipal ID card cannot completely replace state-issued forms of identification, he said. Aponte does not believe that his constituents in the Washington Park and Lower South Providence communities will be interested in obtaining municipal ID cards. “Out of many phone calls that I get from my constituents, … I have not gotten a phone call in almost 19 years asking for some form of municipal ID,” he said. “Unless there are incentives that you could not obtain otherwise, I’m not sure folks would view (municipal IDs) as something that would replace or augment what they have already in terms of identification,” he added. “My hope is that (the municipal ID card) is accepted and used, that there is a demand for the ID and that then we can start to evolve the idea of additional benefits working with private sector and nonprofit partners,” Aponte said.

By CHRIS SCHUTTE STAFF WRITER

University researchers analyzed object and facial recognition in six- and ten-month-old infants for a study published in Developmental Science. Kristen Tummeltshammer, postdoctoral fellow, and Dima Amso, associate professor of cognitive, linguistic and psychological sciences, collaborated on an experiment in which babies were tasked with using contextual cues in order to locate faces on a screen. An arrangement of four dots were displayed and, after a short time, were flipped to reveal either an animated face or mere objects. Though the arrangement would alternate randomly, half of the time the same arrangement would reappear, leading the babies to react and locate the face faster due to quick learning and association of the face’s location. The results point toward remarkable cognitive development in this skill early on in infancy. Babies “are efficient in using the structure in their environment to maximize attentional resources on the one hand and to reduce uncertainty and distraction on the other,” said Amso in a University press release. “We’re always interested (in our lab) in understanding how infants and young children typically develop,” said Tummeltshammer. “If we can understand

ALEXANDRA WESTFALL / HERALD

how these abilities are developing early on in a typical population then we can apply it to neurodevelopmental disorders,” she added. The research also helps illuminate the building blocks

program is “welcoming and accessible to all members of the community and not just the undocumented community.” The executive order will benefit a variety of non-immigrant groups who tend to have trouble accessing suitable forms of identification, including “students, the homeless and members of the LGBTQ community,” Elorza said in a statement. Morente listed a number of potential benefits the IDs may bring to these groups. For example: high school students in Providence may be able to use their IDs as RIPTA bus passes, gender non-binary residents will not need to select a gender for their ID cards and the homeless will be able to use their IDs to more easily access city services. He added that Elorza hopes to implement more generic ID card benefits, such as library card and debit card functions, to encourage more people to obtain a municipal ID.

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NEWS

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2017 • PAGE 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

» ORCHESTRA, from page 1 regarding Keith Brown’s leadership. Natasha Richmond ’20, a violinist who played in the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra prior to coming to the University, described a culture of fear that developed in the orchestra that does not exist among professional orchestras. Irene Tang ’19, the principal player in the violin section, said Keith Brown would regularly belittle her leadership as the orchestra’s concertmaster and “correct me in front of everyone else.” Two students in the orchestra at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst cited similar experiences under Keith Brown’s leadership to those expressed by Brown students. Keith Brown was at UMass-Amherst as assistant professor of music and dance from September 2013 to May 2015, confirmed Kelly Pleasant, supervisor of human resources at UMass-Amherst. UMass-Amherst declined to comment on the specific nature of Keith Brown’s departure. One of the UMass-Amherst students, who chose to remain anonymous for fear of professional repercussions, said Keith Brown mocked his accent in front of the orchestra. The second student, who also chose remain anonymous for fear of retaliation in the department, said Keith Brown gave the orchestra one six-minute break during a two- and-a-half hour rehearsal. Orchestra President Katie Rademacher ’19 and Vice President Evan Browning ’18 sat in on Skype

» AOTW, from page 1 opportunity to play on our home court for our last time. We all felt pretty confident because it was just a big win in the fourth, and we kind of came back from a big deficit. We were all in a really good head space. What did the victory mean to the seniors? It meant a lot. It was honestly

interviews, alongside five or six faculty members from the music department, with the four final candidates applying for the conducting position. Rademacher and Browning said that no questions involving Keith Brown’s time at UMass-Amherst were brought up during the interviews. “That’s where the disorganization and time crunch of this search really failed us,” Browning said. Of all the candidates interviewed in the final round, Keith Brown was ranked the highest. “He looked really great on paper, and he interviewed really well,” Browning said. As the University awaits to hear Phillips final decision of whether he will return to the University, Daniel Harp, teaching associate in music, will serve as the conductor of the orchestra. But Phillips’ return is unlikely as he has committed to leading a new music ensemble at Stanford beginning next year, and is now an associate professor of music there, he said. “At Brown University, that was not a rank that was open to conductors. We were in the lecturer ranks, which has some important differences and distinctions.” “If he decides not to come back, he’ll be replaced,” McLaughlin said. “We were just putting in place a oneyear arrangement with the visiting conductor.” The music department is putting together a search for a full-time orchestra conductor in case Phillips decides to not return, said Joseph Meisel, deputy provost and interim chair of the music department. “This will certainly

awesome because the three played the whole game together. I think all the seniors did really well. The whole team was just so supportive because for us all to play some people were sitting out, so it was just fantastic for the seniors to succeed in the end. As your volleyball career at Brown comes to a close, what has been your most memorable moment? My most memorable moments come

EMILY DAVIES / HERALD

Daniel Harp is serving as the interim conductor of the orchestra while the University waits to hear former conductor Paul Phillips’ formal decision to return to the University. He is currently the conductor at Stanford. be a full search with a full kind of vetting that that implies,” he said. Richmond felt that the hiring of Keith Brown and the problems that subsequently followed were a “symptom of a bad music program,” she said. But leadership in the music department are looking to reevaluate the position of orchestra director as part of its strategic plan, McLaughlin said. The strategic plan comes as a result

off the court with the team. I love playing volleyball, and it’s been so great. But our team is so close, so it would be the moments off the court. What will you miss most? I’ll miss volleyball a lot. It’s been the biggest part of my life for the majority of my life, but I’m going to miss this team so much, especially this year’s team. Our freshman class came in and was such a great group, and we’re all truly so close.

of reviews conducted by the music department and the administration in the last few years, McLaughlin said. Retirements in the department and evolving interests in the field of music also contributed to the restructuring process, he added. The restructuring will be led by Miesel. The strategic initiative has been underway for four or five weeks, he said. The structural changes will

How does this win affect the team’s mentality going into the final two matches of the season? It definitely gives us the confidence that we can compete with any team in the league … and (gives) us that extra push to end the season on a high note with some wins. Do you have any superstitions or pre-game rituals?

explore both undergraduate- and graduate-level curricula that feature a common core for all students, McLaughlin said. Along with the attention to the academic side of the department, the orchestra “is a very important part of what the music department does,” McLaughlin said. “It’s one of the reasons why we are spending a lot of time and effort on the arts at Brown.”

As a team, something we’ve been doing this season is we wear red ribbons in our hair every game for our coach and her family for ALS awareness. The Bears will take the court for their final two matches of the season this weekend, facing off against Columbia Friday and Cornell Saturday. — This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

NEWS

PAGE 4 • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2017

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

U. professors, Hasbro Inc. to collaborate on creating robotic pets Project will advance current Hasbro line of realistic pets to help elderly with daily tasks By MIA PATTILLO SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Hasbro, the Pawtucket-based maker of beloved classics such as Monopoly and Play-Doh, will be collaborating with the University’s Humanity Centered Robotics Initiative to advance realistic robotic pet assistants for the elderly. The collaboration between the third largest toy-maker in the world and University researchers will build on Hasbro’s current line of animatronic dogs and cats, Joy for All Companion Pets. While the current pets provide comfort and companionship through purring and simple responses to petting, the upcoming project will program them to help with tasks such as finding lost items or remembering to take medication. Funded by a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation, the project, called Affordable Robotic Intelligence for Elderly Support, aims to not only add more capabilities to the pets, but also make them more economical. Currently many robotic pet products, such as the popular PARO seal from Japan, can cost as much as $5,000-6,000, said Michael Littman, co-principal investigator on the grant and professor of computer

COURTESY OF HASBRO

One of Hasbro’s priorities was making the toy pets look and act as realistic as possible, including tapered whiskers, purring and randomized responses to petting. The animatronics currently sell for around $100. science. By collaborating with Hasbro, whose Joy for All Companion Pets cost around $100, the team hopes to develop an affordable product. Moving an elderly person into a hospital can be a financial burden, Littman said. Going to the hospital may also make problems worse by exposing the elderly to a number of illnesses floating around, he added. “We’re motivated by this question of

what can we do to help people in their home environments?” Littman said. “It’s absolutely essential that we find ways to get people the services that they need.” In looking back at trend information, Hasbro found that a particular brand of toy aimed at younger children was actually more often being purchased to help an elderly loved one, said Ted Fischer, vice president for business development at Hasbro. After exploring this concept by

working with seniors and communities in assisted living, they found that the lack of play in these communities allowed isolation and loneliness to persist. “We really do believe in ‘Creating the World’s Best Play Experiences’ — our tagline — and I don’t think that there should be an age limit on this,” Fischer said. One of the main priorities in the toys’ development has been making them as realistic as possible, whether it be in

appearance, feel or response to actions. For example, the designers and animatronic engineers paid close attention to making the kitten have tapered rather than straight whiskers, a vibrational purr and randomized responses to petting, just like a real kitten would. Hasbro has decades of animatronics experiences, but working with Brown will bring in more cognitive and computer science expertise. The group will perform research and studies with senior citizens to better understand their needs and figure out what the research can do to help them the most, said Bertram Malle, co-director of the Humanity Centered Robotics Initiative and professor of cognitive, linguistic and psychological sciences. “If you live on your own, there may be no way to even find your glasses, and asking someone to help can be an emotional burden,” Malle said. With these new pets, users may be able to ask, ‘Where are my glasses?’ and be guided to a misplaced object through nudges and sounds. Both parties said the opportunity to combine their various areas of expertise within the Rhode Island community to create an impactful product is extremely exciting. “As a computer scientist, I’m getting to interact with behavioral scientists and clinicians and toy engineers that really care about how our design can touch people’s lives,” Littman said. “We want to make a product that makes a difference.”

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TODAY

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2017 • PAGE 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

a postcard of providence

SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS

Pizza: Harvest, Bacon, Ham and Alfredo, Buffalo Chicken JOSIAH’S

BLUE ROOM

Chicken Pot Pie Bowl, Quesadilla Station

Sushi Night

DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH

DINNER

Italian Style Meatloaf, Roasted Herb Potatoes, Green Thai Curry, Butterscotch Chip Bar

Garden Style Hake, Caribbean Grain Bowl, Garlicky Green Beans, Brownies

VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH

DINNER

Breaded Chicken Fingers, Baked Beans, Green Peas, Milk and White Chocolate Cookies

Romano Dijon Crusted Chicken, Spinach Pie Casserole, Pineapple Upside Down Cake

sudoku

JASMINE RUIZ / HERALD

The Rhode Island State House is open to the public Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except holidays. December, May and June are the busiest months for tours, according to the Rhode Island Department of State.

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

“If you live on your own, there may be no way to even find your glasses, and asking someone to help can be an crossword

”

emotional burden.

— Betram Malle, co-PI of ARIES project

See pets on page 4.

calendar FRIDAY NOVEMBER MARCH

CAAS Rounds 12:00 P.M. 121 South Main, 245

Black Arts Showcase 6:30 P.M. Campus Center, Leung Gallery

SATURDAY Shabbat Service and Lunch 10:30 A.M. Hillel

Meditation Community Sit 4:00 P.M. Manning Chapel

SUNDAY Catholic Mass 10:30 A.M. Manning Chapel

Baha’i Club Meeting 7:30 P.M. J. Walter Wilson, 402

COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2017

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

EDITORIAL

Where did all the money go? The Undergraduate Council of Students recently decided to increase the student activities fee from $274 to $295. In the meeting, the leaders of the Undergraduate Finance Board recommended the increase, attributing the board’s $130,000 deficit to an influx of clubs requesting categorization that were previously funded by some academic departments. With this information, a question remains: Why is the University adding a financial burden to students by forcing us to pay for groups that were previously funded by our tuition? According to the resolution, the group must now fund seven Category II and three groups “previously funded by the Department of Engineering and service groups funded by the Swearer Center.” It’s unclear why UFB is taking on Departmental Undergraduate Groups when other documents, such as the DUG leader tip sheet, indicate that DUGS fall under the jurisdiction of academic departments, the Dean of the College and the Curricular Resource Center. Each DUG is eligible for up to $1,000 in annual funding. According to the sheet, last updated on Sept. 22, 2017, the Office of the Dean of the College will match up to $500 provided by an academic department. If this has changed recently, the University certainly hasn’t let us know anything. As for any groups formerly funded by the Swearer Center now in need of funding — what are they? BRYTE, which was previously funded by the Swearer Center, is now housed under the Alpert Medical School. But that’s all we’ve learned about. If the University has decided not to fund certain groups, then we should be made aware of that, as those costs will now need to be supplemented by our student activities fee. We encourage the Department of Engineering to explain why it is no longer funding certain groups. And we ask the Swearer Center to be clear about how funding for its groups has changed, as well. Along with the University, UFB — while it is trying — is not yet transparent enough. It did not name the seven groups that they are now forced to fund, although that would help us to understand the situation they have seemingly been forced into by the University. This problem stems from a general lack of transparency coming from UFB about how they allocate funds. If we are going to be paying the possible $295 dollars for the student activities fee, we’d like to know where our money is going.

HA NA O D S O N

comic Comic | Zachary Silberberg

Editorials are written by The Herald’s 127th Editorial Board: Lauren Aratani ’18, Matthew Brownsword ’18, Rebecca Ellis ’18 and Kate Talerico ’18. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.

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COMMENTARY FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2017 • PAGE 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

How #MeToo has forgotten black women RANDI RICHARDSON staff columnist All of a sudden, the entertainment industry has started to see a plethora of women come forward with sexual assault allegations against Hollywood powerhouses such as James Toback, Ed Westwick, Kevin Spacey and Harvey Weinstein. The growing number of allegations against Weinstein in particular has culminated in the emergence of the #MeToo campaign as a means of standing in solidarity against gender-based violence and harassment. The movement is much-needed, yet I can’t help but ask a simple question: “Why now?” Why didn’t a similar mass movement emerge from the many allegations against Bill Cosby and R. Kelly, for example? Let’s brainstorm for a moment: Maybe because Weinstein’s accusers were famous, white, wealthy women with platforms to amplify their voices. When we look more closely at the #MeToo movement and how we have responded to sexual misconduct in Hollywood, the social and racial undertones are unavoidable. Don’t get me wrong: It’s great that sexual harassment is finally being given the attention that it deserves, but it is disappointing that

it appears to privilege some survivors over others. As significant as it is to the landscape of gender equity across the country, #MeToo has become a mouthpiece for well-off white women while excluding and shunning the voices of black women. This should startle us, because black women face higher rates of sexual assault than women of other races. And to make matters worse, the hashtag’s original creator — Ta-

cess to the same support systems as the more privileged women whose voices we are currently elevating. In the four weeks since the allegations against Weinstein first emerged, additional women have come forward to accuse Weinstein, an entire movement has snowballed on social media and the New York Police Department has reportedly began preparing a case against him. This reaction is both admirable and a bit

rant the response they engendered. But the fact that the voices of black women are not granted the same agency given to other women is a severe injustice. Their consistent allegations, across decades, against Hollywood men like Bill Cosby and R. Kelly never managed to create a national campaign like #MeToo. The high rates of sexual violence faced by many black women have been shrugged off by indifferent

The movement was much-needed, yet I can’t help but ask a simple question: “Why now?”

rana Burke, a black woman — was initially ignored and arguably forgotten until Alyssa Milano, a white woman, co-opted the hashtag and broke the Internet. It’s frustrating that a movement created by a black woman has now become an accessory to the erasure of voices like her own. Though the United States finally seems ready to comfort and support sexual assault survivors, this sense of solidarity still isn’t available to all women. We consistently overlook the struggles of women of color and low-income women who need ac-

unsettling. Where was this sense of urgency when yet another underage black woman was left alone in a studio with R. Kelly? The lack of attention given to these stories implies that the claims of women of color are invalid or unimportant, which plays into the invisibility of black women. The inability of this country to rally around black women, as it did for #MeToo, showcases who it places its importance on — and who it doesn’t. This isn’t to say that the collective claims against Weinstein are not legitimate and did not war-

policymakers and stakeholders. I’m not arguing that we need a movement that solely seeks justice for black women, but any movement to rid the country of sexual harassment must include them. Plus, it’s hard enough for black women to speak out in the first place — studies suggest that only one in 15 black women reports her sexual assault to the police. Since they face the highest rates of sexual violence from black men, the last thing many of them want to do is aid in the criminalization of their black brothers. And considering there’s gener-

al distrust between the black community and police departments, the likelihood of black women coming forward is slim to none. Then, add in the fact that low-income women may stay silent to avoid alienating their family members or employers, and we can see that black women must overcome hurdle after hurdle to report sexual assault. So just what is united about the United States? Instead of responding equally to the valid accusations from women of all races, we have — consciously or unconsciously — placed their rights second to their race in deciding whether or not they’re worthy of invoking nationwide change. This is a sad sentiment considering that the overall goal of this movement is to confront powerful men, or all men really, who use their positions to prey on women. Clearly, we need a more equitable campaign that includes all women and gives women of color equal weight and space. Excluding their intersecting concerns and needs because they’re people of color will only set the movement for gender equality back. If nothing else, the least we owe black women is an active effort to re-center attention on them and their struggles, because it’s long overdue.

Randi Richardson ’20 can be reached at randi_richardson@brown.edu.

Generation Z and the future of American politics VIVEK PANDIT

op-ed contributor “Trump is a relationship builder. It’s what he does well.” That was the answer I received from Mercedes Schlapp, a Fox News contributor, when I asked her at a panel discussion earlier this year why I should support Trump. I was hoping for an answer that would restore my confidence in the president and the future of our nation. Suffice it to say, I was disappointed. My five-year-old cousin is a good relationship builder, too — and he really shouldn’t be president. Though discomforting, Schlapp’s reply was notable because it elicited distinct reactions from the students and adults in the room. The students seemed dissatisfied with Schlapp’s remark, while the adults seemed more receptive. This dichotomy perfectly illustrated the differences in political opinion between generations — a topic I wrote about in my book, “We Are Generation Z: How Identity, Attitudes, and Perspectives Are Shaping Our Future.” My generation, Generation Z, was born between the mid-1990s and 2010. It is the generation that comprises most college and high school students — an important constituency for politicians. As many Gen Z’ers become eligible to vote, they will play an increasing role in defining American politics. Specifically, Generation Z views politics through a unique prism, one that emphasizes inclusion, economic justice and other progressive ideals. Politicians on both sides of the aisle would do well to pay attention. However, officeholders

have generally failed to recognize and address Generation Z’s political perspectives. Trump won the 2016 election with only 36 percent of the younger generation’s vote — a figure that suggests he won’t fare well amongst the next generation of voters. Generation Z’s political inclinations have been shaped by their exposure to technology, the ubiquity of which has led to an increasing awareness of the diverse cultures, viewpoints and beliefs around our country and the world. This, in turn, has led to arguably the most tol-

believed that American anti-terror policies have gone too far in restricting civil liberties increased by 50 percent. Furthermore, 72 percent of young people — compared with 49 percent of Baby Boomers and 46 percent of those in Generation X, born before the early 1980s — said that civil liberties do not need to be infringed to curb terrorism. Economic justice, with respect to higher education and big business, is also important to Generation Z. The exponential growth in college tuition disproportionately affects

Generation Z views politics through a unique prism, one that emphasizes inclusion, economic justice and other progressive ideals. Politicians on both sides of the aisle would do well to pay attention. erant generation in history. We can expect to see current trends amongst millennials only further strengthened in Generation Z. For example, a 2010 Pew survey found that respondents between the ages of 18 and 29 were three times more likely than those above the age of 65 to support interracial marriages and the raising of children by gay and lesbian couples. This tolerance also manifests itself in Generation Z’s views on civil liberties and terrorism. Many Gen Z’ers are too young to meaningfully remember 9/11. As such, we do not see the “War on Terror” with the same sense of urgency and insecurity that older Americans do. In fact, between 2010 and 2013, the proportion of young people aged 18-29 who

young people, 35 percent of whom have trouble buying daily necessities and 55 percent of whom say they must defer home and car ownership because of student loans. In fact, student loans weigh so heavily in the lives of young people that nearly half would forfeit the right to vote in the next two presidential elections to have them forgiven. Gen Z’ers are also concerned about the larger economy since we came of age during the latest economic recession in 2008. Business deregulation, bank bailouts and widening inequality in the recession’s aftermath made us feel uncertain about our own futures. Gen Z’ers are far more likely than older Americans to say that businesses enjoy more con-

trol over our lives than government and that government should take more action to combat economic injustice. How our society comes to terms with Generation Z’s new brand of politics — and its associated nuances — has serious consequences, both for politicians seeking office and for our democracy at large. First, as more Gen Z’ers reach adulthood, they will begin to solidify their political leanings. To resonate with young people and encourage them to be lifelong supporters, Democrats and Republicans must address youth voters’ interests now. That means talking about college affordability more forcefully — instead of making vague policy proposals about tuition like Trump did — and combatting inequality more aggressively — instead of relying on mega-donors, like Hillary Clinton did. But more importantly, politicians need to answer the concerns of young people if they want to properly train the next generation of citizens. Youth engagement now will increase civic participation down the line. This is extremely important for the future of our democracy. We need to educate voters so that they feel comfortable wrestling with tough political issues and setting high expectations for candidates. After all, as the past year has shown, ordinary people who are organized and politically active can make a difference in our political system. And if we don’t reach out to young people, respond to their needs and encourage them to care about politics now, they won’t be ready to stand up for our democracy and for our values later.

Vivek Pandit ’20 can be reached at vivek_pandit@brown.edu.

NEWS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2017

Give Kershaw the ball in a hypothetical Game 7 SAM GRIGO sports columnist

Imagine you’re the manager of a made-up team we’ll call the San Francisco Dodgers, because I’m not very creative. It’s game seven of the World Series, and, for whatever reason, your pitching staff is so loaded that you have both Clayton Kershaw and Madison Bumgarner available to throw on full rest. Who do you start? And yes, it’s against the spirit of the question to say, “It doesn’t matter. I would pitch both for four innings, avoid the third time through the order penalty and hand the ball to my closer in the ninth.’” That’s the question that sparked what has become an ongoing debate among my friends and I. It’s a silly argument to have in the sense that it revolves around how to optimize a hypothetical team’s chances of winning a hypothetical game seven of a hypothetical World Series. But it’s not so silly in an important way: Your choice of pitcher reveals how you grapple with small, noisy statistical samples that seem to contradict mountains of other evidence. I’m, of course, alluding to the apparent divide between both Kershaw and Bumgarner’s regular season versus postseason stats. The conventional answer to the question of who to start in a game seven is Bumgarner for one simple reason: In the playoffs, Bumgarner’s numbers, measured by traditional statistics, suggest that he has performed substantially better than one would expect given his regular season output, while Kershaw has performed substantially worse. I don’t think anyone would dispute that Kershaw has been the superior regular season pitcher, but Bumgarner’s heroic postseason history seems to weigh heavily in people’s minds.

But is it the case that Kershaw typically struggles against playoff teams while Bumgarner excels? Aggregating both pitchers’ career regular season numbers against teams that went on to reach the postseason shows that no such differential exists. Excluding their rookie seasons — 2011-2017 for Bumgarner and 2009-2017 for Kershaw — Bumgarner has posted a 2.95 ERA against playoff teams compared to a 3.02 overall ERA, while Kershaw

regular season ERA! Kershaw’s is nearly two runs higher,” they might say. The problem with putting so much emphasis on postseason ERA is that you’re relying on a tiny, volatile sample to determine how a pitcher will likely perform in the playoffs going forward. Kershaw has thrown just 122 playoff innings, and Bumgarner only 102 1/3. With so few observations, ERA is relatively meaningless

pared to the regular season. That’s very bad. Without getting too much into the weeds, the graphic shows that Bumgarner owes his playoff success — and Kershaw his playoff struggles — to factors that sabermetricians have identified as largely out of a pitcher’s control. For example, the biggest difference between postseason Kershaw and regular season Kershaw can be seen in

SAM GRIGO / HERALD

has registered a 2.25 ERA against playoffs teams and an identical 2.25 overall ERA. The argument for starting Bumgarner in game seven must then rely on the idea that there’s something different about the postseason that brings out the best in him and the worst in Kershaw. I don’t deny that this might be the case for certain players. But given the sample sizes, how can you possibly know which ace is the better playoff pitcher? For some, the answer is easy. “Just look at Bumgarner’s postseason ERA, it’s almost a full run lower than his

— baseball is notoriously random, and it’s easy for a pitcher’s ERA to get hopelessly skewed over short stretches. Consider the graphic attached, which shows the percent change in Kershaw and Bumgarner’s different statistical indicators from the regular season to the postseason. Keep in mind while looking at the chart that, except for the strikeout per-nine and left on base percentage columns, positive changes are not good. Take the ERA column, for instance. Kershaw has seen his ERA rise by 84 percent in the playoffs com-

the home runs per nine innings column. In the playoffs, Kershaw has given up 122 percent more homers per nine innings than in the regular season, while Bumgarner has surrendered 20 percent fewer long balls. But those figures are driven in large part by each pitcher’s abnormal home run per flyball rates, a statistic far more reflective of random luck than pitcher skill in the short term. Balls lifted in the air against Kershaw in October have turned into home runs 86 percent more often compared to 30 percent less often for Bumgarner. Bumgarner has also benefited

from an artificially low batting average on balls in play, another statistic prone to wild short run fluctuation. It’s not pictured in the graphic, but batters are hitting just .236 on balls in play against Bumgarner in the playoffs, down from .284 in the regular season. To combat that sort of randomness, researchers developed statistics that only include factors pitchers can control — think walk percentage, strikeout percentage and groundball percentage — to estimate a hurler’s ability to prevent runs. Those statistics are represented in the chart as the FIP and xFIP columns, the difference being that FIP penalizes pitchers for every home run allowed, while xFIP estimates the number of homers a pitcher “should have” given up assuming a league average HR/FB rate. Sure enough, even though he has declined in the playoffs more than Bumgarner relative to his regular season baseline, Kershaw actually owns the better postseason xFIP, outpacing Bumgarner 3.34 to 3.60. After a little more than 100 postseason innings for each ace, we’re left with Bumgarner, who has gotten better results due to what appears to be favorable random variation, and Kershaw, who has been more effective accounting only for the elements of the game in the pitcher’s control. So which pitcher has been better in the postseason? I have no idea. As I’ve tried to illustrate, there’s evidence Kershaw has been the superior playoff pitcher, but at only 122 and 102 1/3 innings apiece, the error bars are just too wide. But which pitcher am I starting in game seven? Give me Kershaw, the guy who over 1,935 regular season innings owns the lowest era-adjusted ERA of any starting pitcher in history.

Sam Grigo ’18 can be reached at samuel_grigo@brown.edu.

Will United States mens’ soccer ever be up to snuff? CHARLIE BLASBERG sports columnist

With a 2-1 loss to Trinidad and Tobago this October, the United States Men’s National Soccer Team was eliminated from World Cup contention, missing out on the tournament for the first time since 1986. Even before Trinidad and Tobago sealed their fate, a string of losses and poor play early in the qualification stages raised major doubts for the USMNT. How did the United States get in this mess, and is there a way out? Despite having resources and opportunities, the team has been mired in mediocrity, compared to America’s success in other sports. The United States enjoys perennial success in sports that it invented and has monopolized, like baseball, basketball and football. But the country also wins on the international stage in other sports with a more level playing field. Recent medals in

hockey, track and field, swimming and gymnastics show that the United States does not need to invent the sport to succeed in it. So why is soccer different? The answer is that the bar is simply a lot higher in soccer. In most countries besides the United States, soccer is a way of life. Dribbling, juggling, passing and shooting are second nature, similar to the way throwing a baseball or shooting a basketball is natural for many Americans. As the most popular sport in many countries around the world, soccer attracts the premiere young athletes, whereas many of the best young Americans gravitate toward the four “major” sports that are visible in the media and dole out the biggest paychecks. The United States already starts at a disadvantage to countries that have soccer ingrained as the primary sport in their culture, but it does have the resources for national team development and support that other countries cannot match. As a result, the United States has been able

stay relevant in World Cup competitions, sneaking into the top eight in 2010 and tying Portugal to advance to the round of 16 in 2014. This time around, the building came tumbling down in the early stages of World Cup qualification, with back-to-back losses against Costa Rica and Mexico and the ousting of long-time head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. However, in the later stages of qualification, the United States turned things around, revealing some bright signs for the future. Bruce Arena replaced Klinsmann as head coach and the team bounced back with a stretch of wins and draws, bringing them closer to qualification. In this period, 19-year-old Christian Pulisic emerged as the team’s undisputed best player. He was involved in 12 of United States’ 17 goals in the last round of qualification. He provides promise at the striker position with the finesse and quickness needed to score on the international stage. Were it not for a last-minute tie against Honduras in the third-to-last match and a loss to Trinidad and To-

bago in the final match, the United States would have been able to successfully right the ship and qualify for the World Cup in Russia. Hope for the USMNT resides in youth. Pulisic leads the group as a starter in the latest international matches, but the United States’ investment in its junior teams is paying off. Weston McKennie, Jonathan Gonzalez and Tyler Adams are all teenagers playing professionally ready to answer the bell in the next round of World Cup qualifying in 2019. A stagnant midfield unable to feed the strikers is one of the main issues for the team right now, and Gonzalez and Adams will be able to fill that hole. On a larger scale, Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber has a plan for the rise of soccer as another one of America’s major professional sports. Between 1999 and now, the MLS has almost doubled in size, from 12 teams to 22, not including two additional clubs slated to spring up in Miami and Los Angeles by 2019. The value of these teams has

increased about 80 percent over the last four years, and with more prominent television spots and stadiums, the MLS has grown in visibility. Garber has also implemented programs to incentivize youth participation in soccer. With involvement in football steadily declining due to the dangerous consequences of head injuries and brain trauma, soccer may be well suited to act as a substitute fall sport. Despite the inexcusable loss to Trinidad and Tobago that excluded the USMNT from World Cup participation, it has a number of bright spots in the young players who will fill in at midfield. The role of the MLS is also increasing in American culture and media and that will do favors for the national team going forward. While the United States missed out on this World Cup this year, they are well-positioned to be a team of the future.

Charlie Blasberg ’18 can be reached at charles_blasberg@brown.edu.