SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, APRIL 14, 2017
VOLUME CLII, ISSUE 49
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Paxson P’19 stresses advocacy, diversity in ‘State of Brown’ address In annual address, Paxson addresses executive order, faculty diversity, graduate program expansion By RHAIME KIM SENIOR STAFF WRITER
President Christina Paxson P’19 highlighted the increased diversity in faculty hires, expansion of master’s programs and challenges of the Trump administration at the annual State of Brown address held by the Undergraduate Council of Students at 85 Waterman St. Thursday. In this new federal landscape, “advocacy is important,” Paxson said. Though “not-for-profit universities are required to be nonpartisan, that doesn’t mean you can’t advocate for things that upset (the university’s) functions,” she said. “We’ve been very, very vocally opposed” to the executive orders on immigration, Paxson said. Paxson recently joined 47 university presidents in signing a letter asking President Trump to “rectify or rescind” the order. In response to the cuts to research proposed by Trump in his first budget request to Congress, the University set aside a $5 million contingency fund to support projects that are at risk of having their funding cut. If cuts occur, it will have “a big impact on . . . doctoral
SAM BERUBE / HERALD
President Christina Paxson P’19 answered questions from upcoming UCS president Chelse-Amoy Steele ’18 during her ‘State of Brown’ address Thursday. Paxson reaffirmed the University’s commitment to and current progress on measures of diversity. students, research labs and graduate students” who rely on government funding, Paxson said. The University has increased diversity amongst new hired faculty, such
as in “physics, political science and I hope — knock on wood — computer science,” Paxson said. There was also a 30 percent increase in the diversity of PhD applicants, which can be traced
to the efforts of Andrew Campbell, dean of the graduate school, and the University’s commitment to diversity, she said. The University has also added new
graduate programs, including fifthyear masters programs, which allow undergraduates to gain further depth in a discipline, such as the new data » See ADDRESS, page 2
U. celebrates second annual Class Week U. encourages diversity in U. explores issues affecting international programs first-generation, lowincome students in week of events
Newly-annual workshops prepare students about cultural differences before abroad experiences
By PRIYANKA PODUGU SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Brown is celebrating its first-generation, low-income student community through Class Week at Brown, which is taking place Apr. 10 to Apr. 15 and was planned and presented by student group QuestBridge Scholars at Brown. Class Week, which began in 2016, occurs annually and features events intended to guide campus conversation on the issues facing first-gen and low-income students. Kathy Thach ’19.5 and Ariel Gonzalez ’19, co-presidents of QuestBridge Scholars at Brown, played leading roles in organizing Class Week this year. Gonzalez said they began planning Class Week in February and modeled the week’s schedule after last year’s format. This year, Class Week started with a photo campaign on the Main Green and was followed by events
INSIDE
By UGOCHI IHENATU STAFF WRITER
COURTESY OF QUESTBRIDGE SCHOLARS AT BROWN
Chantel Brown ’17 started Class Week last year to provide an open space for discussion of the issues facing first-generation and low-income students. like “Quest Storytime,” an opportunity for students to share how their identities shaped their experience at Brown. Thach said that the event was “closed-door and meant for lowincome students only.”
“We told our stories, how we got here, what our inspirations are — that was another way to think about first-gen and low-income identity,” she added. » See CLASS WEEK, page 2
Last month, from Mar. 13 to 17, the Office of International Programs launched a series of workshops to encourage students from diverse backgrounds to study abroad. The week-long workshop series, titled “A Series in Conversations: Study Abroad and Me,” focused on how disability, sexuality, spirituality, gender, race and class can influence students’ study abroad experiences. The workshops evolved out of the essential areas of identity acknowledged in the diversity and inclusion report on the OIP website — race/ ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion and disability. Members of underrepresented groups tend to be more hesitant to go abroad because
they must come to terms with different historical and cultural attitudes as well as different national policies and laws affecting them in their study abroad destinations, said Kendall Brostuen, director of international programs and associate dean of the college. “These are the key student areas that we need to be more and more conscious of when it comes to advising students and preparing students to go abroad,” Brostuen said. “It’s important that they prepare themselves as much as possible … through informationgathering about their location,” Brostuen said. The OIP plans on making these workshops an annual event, said Ned Quigley, associate director of engagement for the OIP. In addition to these workshops, the OIP offers tools and resources for underrepresented groups on their website regarding other countries’ attitudes toward their identities. The OIP is also providing their onsite staff with diversity training so that » See OIP, page 2
WEATHER
FRIDAY, APRIL 14, 2017
SPORTS Goss ’20 leads Bears over Penn with career-high 19-save performance
NEWS Peltz ’82 P’19 explores effects of opioid addiction in new documentary
COMMENTARY Jacobs ’18: Semantics of political language mask true arguments, poison debate
COMMENTARY Krishnamurthy ’19: UCS should overhaul election process to improve student participation
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» CLASS WEEK, from page 1 The week also included an event Thursday open to all students that featured a talk by Yanely Espinal ’11 titled, “Let’s Talk about Money: FLife after Brown.” The event focused on financial literacy and taught students how to budget money after graduating, according to the event’s Facebook page. Friday, students will also have the opportunity to attend a faculty luncheon, which will include faculty members across all fields, Thach said. Gonzalez said that they also extended invitations to new faculty members in an effort to grow QuestBridge Scholars at Brown’s mentoring program. Thach added that the program
» ADDRESS, from page 1 science program. Paxson assured students that the expansion of graduate programs will not detract resources from the undergraduate program. She added that having a larger PhD program will help attract the best faculty, who often collaborate with advanced students. Despite the progress made under the Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, as summarized in the first report released last month, “We have a lot of work to do. This is not a one-year plan,” Paxson said. One major area of improvement is increasing accessibility across campus. A video project by a Brown student about the inaccessibility of Wilson Hall influenced the
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
played a crucial role in assisting the first-gen and low-income students at Brown. “It’s bringing professors out of their offices, and … (the luncheon) allows these students to practice talking to professors.” Chantel Brown ’17, who began Class Week in 2016, said that the week gives first-generation, low-income students the opportunity to “acknowledge (themselves) as a community (and) also have the broader Brown community acknowledge (their) existence.” Brown said she was inspired to create Class Week at Brown after hearing about Columbia’s Class Month. It was important for students to understand how class at Brown differs from class in the United States, she added.
“Brown first and foremost is an elitist institution, (and) … college access in general requires some socioeconomic privilege,” she said. “Talking about class and its relationship with Brown is important because you have to recognize what you lack as a low-income student at Brown but (also understand) what you have that other people may not have,” Brown said. The week also allows students to connect with each other and give upperclassmen a chance “to share their experience, … acknowledging how class played a role in their time here,” she added. Thach said she hoped to see participation from other student communities on campus during Class
decision to renovate the building to make it wheelchair accessible, she said. Over her five years at Brown, Paxson said she has overseen large increases in financial aid, from $88 million budgeted aside when she arrived for the 2011-12 academic year to $120 million budgeted aside for next year. “This is the single fastest growing part of Brown University’s budget,” she said. Progress to increase financial aid for international students is well on its way, Paxson added. Paxson, who recently visited three cities in China, said the University is trying to increase the socioeconomic diversity of its international students from China, where many of the University’s international students are from.
» OIP, from page 1
www.browndailyherald.com
they will be able to adequately advise students from diverse backgrounds while they study abroad. The on-site staff from many of OIP’s programs attended a two-day workshop on diversity in December in Granada, Spain. In addition, the OIP will be organizing a one-day diversity workshop to take place at the end of this month for all OIP staff, which will be led by Andrew Gordon, the president of Diversity Abroad Network. OIP staff are also required to complete an e-learning module about diversity in order to learn how to better advise students thinking of going abroad. Gabe Reyes ’18, a student who studied abroad in Denmark last semester, initially felt hopeful about studying abroad, but was apprehensive about some of the challenges he was going to encounter as a student of color there. Some of the major challenges Reyes faced were “leaving the sanctity of my campus that had a myriad of resources for students from disenfranchised backgrounds (and) also leaving such a diverse student body to (go to) a program that primarily served wealthy Caucasians,” Reyes said. The OIP will be reaching out to underrepresented communities as a follow-up to these workshops to further encourage students of diverse
Week. “That doesn’t have to be active participation but just thinking about how your identity shapes you. … This a week for you to understand privileges, what class awareness is.” Gonzalez also said that other firstgeneration and low-income student groups on campus helped QuestBridge Scholars at Brown plan Class Week through advertising efforts. “We want all first-gen (and low-income) students” to be involved, she added. Because she identifies as a firstgeneration, low-income woman of color, Thach knew that she would be at a disadvantage by coming to Brown, she said. Thach added that while she had a hard time during her first semester, she found affirmation and empowerment from the support
network that existed at the University to help students like herself. “It’s as simple as mentorship, friendship and mutual understanding” that makes the first-generation, low-income community at Brown so “amazing,” Thach said. Thach also added that being a firstgeneration, low-income student did not mean you have to be a part of all the first-gen and low-income student groups on campus. “Even if you’re not taking part in First Gens or Quest Scholars, we’re still working for you. We’re still trying to make Brown a better place for you. … You don’t have to contribute (to the community) to benefit (from) it,” she said.
PIA MILEAF-PATEL / HERALD
backgrounds to apply to study abroad. The OIP also intends to track student participation in study abroad programs, broken down by race/ethnicity, nationality and gender. The OIP is in the process of creating a Diversity and
Inclusion Action Plan, which will be available at the end of this academic year, Brostuen said. The OIP released a draft of its DIAP with the rest of the administrative offices under the Dean of the College early last month.
NEWS
FRIDAY, APRIL 14, 2017 • PAGE 3
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Documentary showcases effects of opioid epidemic Film premiere highlights consequences of opioid addiction on user, impact on families By JACKSON WELLS STAFF WRITER
One of the most highly abused types of drugs in the United States is not bought on the street — it is prescribed by a doctor. This is what Perri Peltz ’82 P’19 set out to illuminate in her new documentary “Warning: This Drug May Kill You,” which premiered in Sayles Hall April 12. The movie will be released to the public May 1. The HBO documentary set out to both bring awareness to the ongoing opioid epidemic in the country and generate a sense of empathy. “What I hope that we have done in this film is to provide a story of the humanity of people who are suffering. This is not a problem of drug abuse — this is a problem of addiction. These are good people who develop addictions to highly addictive drugs,” Peltz said. The opening scene of the film shows a montage of people who are high on opioids passing out in a number of scenarios. One person was sitting on a bus, one was driving a car and another was in the store with their child. This was the first public screening of the film as well as the first time Peltz herself had seen the final product. “What we tried to do with this film is show the human side of (opioid addiction),” Peltz said, adding, “All too often we want to say that it’s happening to other people. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.” The film was followed by a panel that was, along with Peltz, hosted by Nicole Alexander-Scott, director of the Rhode Island Department of Health; Josiah Rich, professor of epidemiology as well as a member of Rhode Island’s Overdose Prevention and Intervention Task Force and Rebecca Boss, director of the Department of Behavioral Healthcare. They answered audience questions and provided their own perspectives on the epidemic. The documentary itself centered on four families, each coping with various forms of opioid addiction. While the subjects of these stories were all prescribed painkillers for different reasons, they were similar in one regard: They never intended to become addicted. The film showcased in harrowing detail the ways in which prescription opioids ruin the lives of both those who take them and their families. The first story revolved around a girl named Stephany, who was prescribed
COURTESY OF HBO
Perri Peltz ’82 P’19 premiered her new documentary about the opioid epidemic in Sayles Hall Wednesday. The documentary followed four families coping with the effects of accidental addiction to prescribed painkillers. painkillers when she was a teenager in order to cope with pain caused by kidney stones. The other stories were all told from the perspective of families who had already lost someone to opioids and depicted the grief they were attempting to overcome. According to the documentary, 91 people die from opioids every day in the United States, and opioid deaths have quadrupled since 1999. Rich explained that when one takes opioids, they begin to require more and more, and eventually an addiction forms, sometimes in under a week.
As was the case in the documentary, people who are addicted will begin to take much more than was initially prescribed and sometimes even turn to heroin in order to increase their high. When one stops taking opioids, they go into withdrawal, Rich said. This affects the “reptilian” part of the brain, which causes them to want to take opioids again. Rich likens this experience to someone holding their breath: Eventually, survival instincts will activate and force them to breathe. This is why the majority of opioid users who quit end up relapsing.
Despite the debilitating effects of the opioid epidemic, both the documentary and the panel discussed the methods that are in place to help people rehabilitate. Peltz discussed the use of Narcan, which is used to revive people who have overdosed on opioids. “People are actually dying, and (Narcan) is able to kick the opioid off of the receptors, and people are able to come back to life,” Peltz said. While Rhode Island is one of the states most affected by opioids, Peltz says that it is also one of the leading states in the country in regard
to combating the opioid epidemic. She noted the availability of Narcan and the restrictions in place for the prescription of opioids. Peltz put particular focus on the stigma surrounding opioid addiction, pointing out that people sometimes wonder why addicts who continually overdose are being revived. Peltz stressed that the epidemic is not a case of bad people abusing good drugs, nor is it a moral failing; rather, it is a case of addiction, a brain disorder, to which she hopes the film will bring awareness.
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NEWS
PAGE 4 • FRIDAY, APRIL 14, 2017
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Goss ’20 lifts Bears over Penn in career-high 19-save effort First-year goaltender limits Penn to three goals on 18 shots, leads Bruno to comeback victory By NICHOLAS WEY SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The men’s lacrosse team continued conference play last weekend with a matchup against Penn Saturday at StevensonPincince Field. Coming off a tough loss to Princeton the week prior, the Bears (5-4, 2-1 Ivy) hoped to secure a pivotal win to get the season back on track. But with 11:24 left in the second quarter, Bruno trailed 5-1. Facing a four-goal deficit, the Bears’ defense rallied, led by a 19-save effort by first-year goalie Phil Goss ’20. Down the stretch, with the help of a strong defensive front, Goss allowed just three goals on 18 shots to help Brown mount a comeback in the 11-8 win. For his significant impact on the Bears’ come-from-behind victory, Goss has been named The Herald’s Athlete of the Week. Herald: You had a career-high in saves in the win. What does that mean to you? Goss: It’s a nice stat line on paper, but you really have to credit the defense. They did an incredible job of stopping guys — just allowing low angle shots. Penn took 41 shots but not many quality ones. The defense did a great job of
keeping them out of the middle and down the alleys, and giving me shots that any goalie could stop.
Can you talk a little about the Penn game and Brown’s comeback? I just try to focus on what’s going on right there immediately in front of me. The leaders out there are keeping everyone calm. We were just focused on keeping our cool and taking it one play at a time, getting back on top and doing the little things in hopes that they would compound and get us where we should be. What’s it like starting as just a freshman? Honestly, it’s a tough transition going from high school to college. The play is so much faster and the guys are so much more talented. But the older guys on the team have really been patient with me, helping out to the best of their abilities. There’s definitely some great leadership on the team. How much of playing goalie is a mental challenge? It’s definitely a huge component. I’ve worked a lot the past two or three years on that part of the game. As a goalie, you kind of have to forget about the swings and just tame your mental voice and focus on the task at hand. You really have to lock in. The defense has been an incredible part of it, and the coaches have been great all year. I really appreciate the team helping me get into a mental
state where I can just focus on stopping the ball when I see a shot and not having to think about the next play or the next game or anything like that. What’s the dynamic been like with a new coaching staff this year? I’m incredibly happy with the coaching staff. I couldn’t have picked a better head coach or assistant coaches. It’s a really experienced, really well-rounded group. Coach (Mike) Daly is a legend and has achieved so much in his career. I couldn’t be happier about the guys that I’m playing for, and I think programwide we’re all really impressed with what the coaches bring each and every day — their attention to detail and intensity. I have so much confidence with them, and hopefully we’ll see success.
What are some of the expectations like for the Yale game this weekend? There’s definitely a tradition of the Brown-Yale rivalry, but we don’t really, as a team, try to think too much about the past or the future. The big hype behind the game for us is that we control our own destiny at this point. So, for us, it’s just one game at a time, one play at a time. We are locked in on this one game, because if we can take care of business, then we control our destiny. That’s what it comes down to for us. More generally, what are some goals for the season? Coming into the season everyone has the goal of making the Ivy League
SAM BERUBE / HERALD
Goaltender Phill Goss ’20 led Bruno to a victory over Penn Saturday. In his first season with the Bears, Goss has started all nine of the team’s games. Tournament, making the NCAA Tournament and winning the national championship. For us, those are all achievable goals. We know if we work hard and focus and take care of business, we can achieve all of those, and that’s the plan. It’s always been the plan. Taking a step back, when did you start playing lacrosse? I started playing lacrosse in kindergarten, but I kind of hated it so I quit. I started playing again in third grade, fell in love with it, and have been playing ever since.
Why did you decide to come to Brown? When I toured the campus, I just fell in love with the community and the school spirit. At a lot of other schools, I saw a lot of people walking around, not really interested in what other people were up to. At Brown, everyone cares about how you are doing or what is going on in the room next door. I just loved the sense of the community that the school had to offer. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
CENTER FOR
Physician Assistant Studies
OPEN HOUSE WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2017 Registration: 4:45 p.m. / Presentation begins promptly at 5 p.m. RSVP: 401-598-4558. Space is limited.
The ARC-PA has granted Accreditation-Provisional status to the Physician Assistant Studies Program sponsored by Johnson & Wales University. Accreditation-Provisional is an accreditation status granted when the plans and resource allocation, if fully implemented as planned, of a proposed program that has not yet enrolled students appear to demonstrate the program’s ability to meet the ARC-PA Standards or when a program holding Accreditation-Provisional status appears to demonstrate continued progress in complying with the Standards as it prepares for the graduation of the first class (cohort) of students. Accreditation-Provisional does not ensure any subsequent accreditation status. It is limited to no more than five years from matriculation of the first class.
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TODAY
FRIDAY, APRIL 14, 2017 • PAGE 5
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
menu
s p r i n g h a s f i n a l ly s p r u n g
SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS
Pizza: Bacon Alfredo, Harvest Cajun Chicken Pasta JOSIAH’S
BLUE ROOM
BBQ Chicken Burrito Bowl, The Farmer John Burger
Build-Your-Own Burrito Bowl, Minestrone Soup
DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH
DINNER
Roast Pork Loin Calypso, Red Rice Saute with Roasted Tofu, M&M Cookies
Flounder Provencal, Pork Chop Suey, Red Potato Frittata, Lemon Chiffon Cake
VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH
DINNER
Breaded Chicken Fingers, Sunny Sprouts, Yukon Potatoes, M&M Cookies
Mexican Cornbread Casserole, Chana Masala, Cajun Blackened Chicken, Boston Cream Pie
sudoku
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Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Campy dance gesture 10 Puts up 15 Like capybaras and piranhas 16 Exercise output 17 Caution to one who overlooks you? 18 Button material 19 Tom, Dick or Harry 20 Twisted, as a grin 22 “Get a __!” 23 Wall map insert 24 “Like __ not ...” 26 CIA progenitor 27 __-to 30 One of the Poor Clares 32 Oracle city 34 Start-up processes 38 Minute groove 39 Highland turndown 40 Fill again, as a flat 41 1991 film in which both lead actresses got Oscar nominations (neither of them won) 44 Lab verification 45 “Four Quartets” poet’s monogram 46 Abbr. on old maps 47 Stevedores’ org. 48 Promise 50 Friend of Pepé Le Pew 53 “My bad!” 55 Directly 56 Classic theater name 60 Something often intended? 62 Semimonthly period, roughly 64 Grenoble’s river 65 U.S. official whose office has been vacant for more than nine of the last 50 years 66 Gives up 67 Bring order to
DOWN 1 “Ali” actress __ Pinkett Smith 2 Main Theban deity 3 Buffoon 4 “Afterburner” band 5 Egypt’s Mubarak 6 WiFi necessity 7 Actress Vardalos 8 View opposed by the intelligent design movement 9 Kvack’s housemate 10 TV mall, basically 11 Like tongues in a gabfest 12 Giza attraction including the Great Pyramids 13 Flash 14 Folk tale meany 21 “Judge me by my size, do you?” speaker 25 Back in 27 Melodramatic 28 Running amok 29 Bugged
31 Wrist-to-elbow bone 33 Substitute word 35 Cedar shake alternative 36 Insistent retort 37 Puzzle pieces, in Sydney? 42 Not very much 43 Really went for 49 Massachusetts university
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SAM BERUBE / HERALD
Students and faculty members celebrated the warmer weather in Providence this week. The forecast is bright in the weeks leading up to Spring Weekend, a festival of music and arts held at the end of April.
Q U O T E O F T H E D AY
“This is not a problem of drug abuse — this is a problem of addiction.” —Perri Peltz ’82 P’19
See opioids on page 4. calendar FRIDAY MARCH APRIL
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Challah Sales 11:00 A.M. Faunce Campus Center
Skorts Breaks A Leg 7:00 P.M. List Art Center, 120
SATURDAY Spring Fermata Concert 7:00 P.M. Grant Recital Hall
Invasion! 8:00 P.M. Leeds Theater
SUNDAY Real Estate Modeling 101 1:00 P.M. CIT, 267
Easter Community Dinner 6:00 P.M. Manning Chapel
COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • FRIDAY, APRIL 14, 2017
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
BROWN BITES
Brown Bites Apr. 6-Apr. 13 Untangling a culture of entitlement A 2015 Association of American Universities survey revealed that 25 percent of undergraduate women at Brown reported having been sexually assaulted since they enrolled. Multiple stories from this week attempt to define rape culture and discuss the efforts to uproot that culture of entitlement through student legislation, leadership and training. The reporting also addresses the aftermath of assault — resources for survivors, options for adjudicating cases versus pursuing restorative justice and reintegrating sanctioned students to campus life. Strains in a shifting Swearer Center In 2016, the Swearer Center formalized its mission to combine education and service. Since then, some controversy has engulfed the center. Some applaud the effort to encourage students to engage directly with community problems while others are upset by the inflexibility of the programs and the lack of transparency from the center’s administration. A Den Den double Den Den Hospitality Group opened a new outpost on Thayer Street — Den Den Korean Fried Chicken — March 25. The spot leans heavily on its namesake, while also serving favorites such as gyoza and ramen. Crowds have not subsided in the restaurant’s first few weeks of operation.
D O R O T H Y W I N D HA M
comic Cat Ears | Najatee’ McNeil
Hollywood comes to Brown M. Night Shyamalan P’18 delivered the keynote address of the annual Ivy Film Festival Wednesday night. The director of “The Sixth Sense” and “Signs” used anecdotes to discuss breaking into the film industry as well as diversity and representation in Hollywood. Men’s lacrosse rallies to victory The Bears recovered from a 1-5 deficit to defeat Penn 11-8 Saturday. Goalie Phil Goss ’20 tallied a career-high 19 saves in the victory. The win sets up a showdown for the top spot in the Ivy League conference at Yale tomorrow.
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COMMENTARY FRIDAY, APRIL 14, 2017 • PAGE 7
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Empty language poisons political discourse JULIAN JACOBS staff columnist
Political discourse has a language problem. Though it’s easier than ever to share ideas and engage in conversation, almost any prolonged discussion about national or global issues will involve some semantic ambiguity and misunderstanding. This is a result of both the newfound ease of sharing language on the Internet and our general affinity for using morally-charged words that we don’t truly understand. For example, I was recently discussing the merits and weaknesses of consumer capitalism with a friend who was utterly bent on “smashing capitalism” and its reign of tyranny. It took about 20 minutes of debate before we realized that we were basing our arguments on entirely different notions of capitalism. My friend was not using capitalism as a term to describe free markets and the private ownership of productive capital — as I was — but instead to encompass historical injustices and the privileging of certain groups. As soon as we recognized this discrepancy, we were able to find common ground on the important part: the actual policies and worldviews that shape lived experiences.
The entire basis of our dispute was centered on our respective failures to articulate exactly what we meant by capitalism. And though we were ultimately able to push through our conversation and come to a sort of agreement, this was possible only by chance — and a mutual desire to procrastinate and try the bruschetta in the Ivy Room. In another scenario, we may have well abandoned the conversation altogether, each of us leaving the interaction believing that the other was either misguided or stupefyingly naive.
tion,” “white privilege” and “Western imperialism.” Moreover, greater access to digital academic literature seems to have allowed intellectual political language to funnel parts of its thesaurus into the vernacular. But these words — phrases like “capitalism,” “imperialism,” “neo-colonialism” and “privilege” — often mean entirely different things to different people. Moreover, these phrases are often understood to encapsulate specific political convictions, when in reality they are far more nuanced than people
cal apathy by distancing people from tangible issues, allowing them to camouflage in the comforting shade of intellectual language and jargon without any clear grasp of the arguments behind the words. Furthermore, these words are too often used as invectives to discredit opposition because of the emotional and moral value they are seen to possess. Much of political language has become moralized in a way that muddies our arguments and the coherence of our discussions. They are often no more
These tendencies have had a pernicious effect on public discourse and genuine political debate. We are removed from the possibility of engaging with one another in a thoughtful way because we talk past each other with imprecise language and the use of complex, loaded and often empty words. This is truly a pity. This is the danger of masking our arguments under the banner of complex political and social ideas. If we had simply stated our beliefs about the free market on the one hand, and the moral failures of a Western economic system that relied heavily on exploitation on the other, we may have circumvented disagreement altogether. This issue is particularly pernicious today. The advent of the Internet and social media allows us to converse with one another on an unprecedented scale and easily circulate complicated, academic terms like “cultural appropria-
often believe. Does being a proponent of capitalism require that one oppose social services and welfare? Does neo-colonialism describe physical meddling in other countries, or is it capacious enough a term to include international aid and cultural influence? There are no universal answers to these questions, and so their overuse and oversimplification undermines the vigor and sincerity of political debate. Beyond encouraging political polarization and neutering public discourse, this trend has induced politi-
substantive than a vapid contention that someone is either “good” or “bad.” If someone is dubbed a “neo-liberal,” for example, this is too often a synonym for having condemnable views about Western intervention. Or if someone else claims that they want to fight against “statism,” this only indicates that they disagree with people who are keen on a large government. In either case, words like “statist” and “neo-liberal” serve as a cheap replacement for an actual, active criticism or argument. These tendencies have had a per-
nicious effect on public discourse and genuine political debate. We are removed from the possibility of engaging with one another in a thoughtful way because we talk past each other with imprecise language and the use of complex, loaded and often empty words. This is truly a pity. That is not, of course, to say that these words do not have an important function. They can be entirely helpful if they are coupled with a mutual understanding of what they mean and how they are being employed. I’m an optimist when it comes to political discourse. I believe that when all the facts are laid out, the arguments are properly constructed and the words are defined, people will generally be able to reach some sort of common ground. It is essential to use precise language and abandon buzzwords when discussing politics, because doing so can help us reach greater mutual understanding, if not agreement. As political polarization continues to undermine the strength of public discourse, a bit more thought about the catch-all political words we use could go a long way. I think our classes, communities, public spaces and democracy would be better for it.
Julian Jacobs ’18 can be reached julian_jacobs@brown.edu.
Better elections for a better UCS ANUJ KRISHNAMURTHY opinions editor
Late last month, the Undergraduate Council of Students announced the winners of its annual elections. The results were a startling indictment of student-directed democracy at Brown. Five UCS races — for the positions of president, vice president, chair of student activities, chair of student wellness and chair of campus life — went uncontested, while no one at all ran for the chair of academic affairs. And only 22 percent of the student body voted, a precipitous decline from just two years ago, when nearly half of undergraduates cast their ballots. To put this into context, Haiti in 2011 mustered a greater proportion of voters — that too, a year after a catastrophic earthquake ravaged the whole country. Thankfully, while this year saw historically low participation in UCS elections, the democratic process doesn’t evaporate overnight. Indeed, it is eminently possible to rejuvenate broad interest in UCS contests and enhance voter turnout — but it will take a dramatic overhaul of the elections process to achieve any meaningful progress. At first glance, it may seem puritanical to take issue with something as mundane as the bureaucratic configuration of UCS races. Yet democratic participation is the bedrock of student government, which is, in turn, indispensable to the cohesion and contentment of the student body. As early as 1927, school administrators recognized that “under student government, the student comes to feel that the school is his school, its ideals his ideals.” And the eventual result of student government is a crop of students well-versed in the practice and discourse of self-determination, who can unify their school communities in common cause and facilitate the performance of democracy as adults.
To be clear, the suggestion that UCS elections are in need of substantial reform is not a critique of the students newly elected to lead UCS. By all accounts, they are talented individuals who care deeply about this university and are committed to supporting undergraduate life. But they deserve better than noncompetitive coronations. No selfrespecting democratic tradition should capitulate to complacency and accept the indignity of uncontested elections. Studies have demonstrated that candidates without any challengers are more likely to perform poorly as legislators and represent their constituents ineffectively. Further, it becomes impossible for voters to hold incumbents and their policy agendas accountable if there are no alternative candidates to choose from. After all, the biggest threat to democracy isn’t populism or tyranny — it’s apathy, on the part of citizens who don’t care enough to run for office and leaders who don’t do enough to prevent apathetic viewpoints.
getting hundreds of people to sign a piece of paper handed to them in the Ratty offers even the slightest indication of a candidate’s commitment to UCS or the Brown community. Besides, petitions that call for specific, feasible actions that garner public attention are most worthwhile — not that endorse something as nebulous and complicated as a person running for office. For all these reasons, UCS should abolish the petition requirement; it merely rewards potential candidates who have a lot of patience (and free time) without seriously testing their ability to make intellectual or organizational contributions to student life. Next, UCS should allow more student groups to endorse candidates and get involved in public discussions about candidates’ positions. Currently, all student organizations are permitted to endorse UCS candidates, “with the exception of individual Greek houses” and athletic teams, as the UCS elections webpage notes. I’m no frat boy, but
Indeed, it is eminently possible to rejuvenate broad interest in UCS contests and enhance voter turnout — but it will take a dramatic overhaul of the elections process to achieve any meaningful progress. To encourage more students to run, UCS ought to implement several core reforms, and lowering the barriers to declaring one’s candidacy should be the priority. According to Article 5.2 of the UCS Elections Code, candidates for UCS must “submit a petition with the signatures of 400 registered undergraduates” — Undergraduate Finance Board candidates need 250 and aspiring UCS general body members need 100 — “to qualify for the ballot.” Mandating that interested candidates collect such a large quantity of signatures — even to join the general body of UCS — is entirely counterproductive. Presumably, the whole point of this stipulation is to get candidates to demonstrate their sociability by either tapping into existing networks of friends or meeting new people. But 400 is a big number, and the process of getting that many signatures eventually devolves into rote mindlessness, not useful socializing. And it’s unclear how
this rule feels strangely undemocratic, considering that UCS often passes legislation that can affect life in Greek houses. Here’s a good example: In 2005, UCS called on the University to regulate and reintroduce beer kegs to campus — a move Greek houses supported — which were banned in 1991. Their defiance was immortalized as the “keg stand.” Nice. Moreover, I’m a little fuzzy as to why athletic teams can’t have collective perspectives on UCS candidates either. What’s the institutional difference — between, say, the baseball team and the debate team — that prohibits the former from issuing an endorsement but allows the latter to do so? And who says student-athletes necessarily can’t have a good reason to endorse candidates? Maybe they prefer UCS representatives who understand their specific experience of juggling various curricular and competitive obligations. That’s a perfectly reasonable position, worthy of encap-
sulation in an endorsement. We must not forget that the positions taken by UCS can affect all students, no matter their affiliations outside of class. Finally, UCS should extend the timeline of the elections season. This year’s election lasted eight days. Candidates first got to start campaigning after the candidates’ meeting on March 15; the results of the election were announced on March 23. And the UCS debate happened on March 19, just two days before the voting period began on March 21. These timeframes are much too short for students to understand candidates’ positions, hear the debate and cast their ballots in a clear-headed, thoughtful fashion. This saturation of election activity in two weeks is all the worse with view to the fact that many students reach the peak of midterm season in the weeks preceding spring break, and students are unable to get meaningfully involved. So that the process of democracy can unfold at a more reasonable pace, UCS seriously ought to spread all these events out, perhaps throughout the whole month of March. It is ultimately the prerogative of UCS to consider reforming well-entrenched bureaucratic mechanisms: I can only recommend solutions; I can’t implement them. But a commitment to reform — to reflect, self-assess and continually seek out a broader audience of undergraduates — is an enduring UCS tradition. And now is the perfect time to build on that past, at a time when the Brown community and the country at large face so many concurrent challenges. Three years ago, former UCS president Todd Harris ’14.5 expressed a similar sentiment. He expressed hope that candidates participating in UCS elections would be able to “make UCS a more general body,” and “make sure that we’re still bringing folks in and not just making it kind of a closed group.” Fulfilling this vision is a profound, ongoing mission; reforming the elections process is the perfect place to start.
Anuj Krishnamurthy ’19 can be reached at anuj_krishnamurthy@brown.edu.
SPORTS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
FRIDAY, APRIL 14, 2017
How to fix the NBA’s losing problem GEORGE KLEIN sports columnist At the end of every NBA season, the inevitable discussion surrounding the tactic of “tanking” emerges. For those who are unaware, NBA teams with no hope of reaching the playoffs “tank” — lose games on purpose — in order to secure a better position in the NBA draft lottery. The flawed lottery system, in which the worse a team’s record is, the higher its chance of getting a top pick, creates this phenomenon. The team with the worst record in the league has a 25 percent chance of getting the number one pick, the second worst team has a 19.9 percent chance, the third worst team has a 15.6 percent chance and so on. The problem with this system is that once a team knows they have no hope of reaching the playoffs, they will begin to tank. Tanking does not mean players playing badly and losing on purpose. Jobs are on the line and players have too much pride and incentive. Teams will rest their better players or hold them out with “injuries,” and bench players will get more playing time so the team’s performance will suffer. For example, the Lakers shut down Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng on March 15 for the rest of the season, even though both players have massive contracts. The Phoenix Suns, in their Tuesday night game against the Sacramento Kings, played 33-year-old guard Ronnie Price — who averaged 1.0 points per game on .167 per-
cent shooting in 14 games — for 19 minutes. A look around the league’s basement-dwellers reveals similar tactics across the board. And why wouldn’t teams employ this strategy? The NBA is a star-driven league, and stars are found at the top of the draft. The worst thing to be in the NBA is mediocre. The Oklahoma City Thunder rose to prominence thanks to high draft picks, such as Kevin Durant in
fruits of his labor have ripened. The 76ers now have the unfairly talented — albeit oft-injured — Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons alongside Rookie of the Year contender Dario Saric and a host of other advantageous pick swaps. Philadelphia is widely considered to have one of the brightest futures of all the current nonplayoff teams. The tactic of tanking puts fans in an awkward position. In many cases,
recent years. One popular proposal is the “wheel,” in which teams would cycle through a certain series of picks, getting the first pick once every thirty years — thirty teams, thirty picks on the wheel — and one topsix pick every five seasons. The issue with this proposal is that it would be easy for bad teams to lose fans. A team could come in last and not have a top pick for another four seasons. As fans of the Brooklyn Nets
DOROTHY WINDHAM / HERALD
2007, Russell Westbrook in 2008 and James Harden in 2009. Their success would not have been possible without losing first. During the reign of Sam Hinkie as general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers, tanking came under fire. Purposefully losing games season after season, Hinkie stockpiled assets above all else. Though the losing eventually cost Hinkie his job, the
it’s better for their teams to lose, but it is not much fun to root for a tanking team. The Lakers won five consecutive games toward the end of the season — and this upset Lakers fan. Tanking is a no-win situation. The fans don’t get to see their team’s best players, and the joy of short-term victory is tainted by long-term loss. How can this be fixed? A number of theories have gained attention in
know, it’s hard enough to wait two seasons — four would be an eternity. Sports personality Bill Simmons popularized another possibility, which he calls the “Entertaining-AsHell-Tournament,” a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the regular season for the eighth seed in the playoffs. While this certainly is a more exciting and intriguing idea, there are problems
with its implementation. Scheduling would be an issue — a weeklong tournament held after the regular season and before the playoffs would be a hassle for waiting fans of playoff teams. The biggest issue, though, is that this tournament simply wouldn’t matter very much. The NBA playoffs have less parity than other major sports’ postseasons, since it’s easier for stars to dominate the proceedings. A tournament for the honor of being obliterated in four or five games by the first seed isn’t intriguing enough for this to be sustainable. I suggest a far better option: A tournament among the lottery teams for the first pick. This tournament could run concurrently with the first round of the playoffs, eliminating the long waiting period. Fans would be far more invested in the possibility of taking the first pick, as there is a lot more at stake than a lowly firstround exit. Teams would no longer tank in the regular season, since seeding matters. Imagine the drama of a tournament championship next week — Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets versus Hassan Whiteside of the Miami Heat battling it out to play alongside potential number one pick Markelle Fultz in order to form a title contender. As long as there’s no more Ronnie Price playing big minutes on a languishing, lackadaisical Suns team in front of a bored arena, it’s a winwin.
George Klein ’20 can be reached at george_klein@brown.edu.
Fun with MLB’s small sample sizes ANDREW FLAX sports columnist As of Wednesday, most Major League Baseball teams have played nine games this season. Any baseball fan could tell you that nine games is surely not enough to evaluate a team, but it is very hard not to fall into that trap when those are the only nine games you have. So let’s delve into the data so far and see what fun things have happened that will definitely continue all year long. The Cincinnati Reds are 7-2 and have the best record in baseball. None of the 54 experts on the advanced statistics site FanGraphs picked them to make the playoffs. A .778 winning percentage would result in a final record of 126-36 or a full 10 games better than the all-time best 2001 Seattle Mariners. At 1-7, the Toronto Blue Jays have the worst record in baseball. American League runners-up last
season, the Blue Jays were projected by 33 of the 54 FanGraphs predictors to make the playoffs. The team is on pace to finish with a final record of 20-142, which would shockingly only tie them for the fewest wins of all time, matching the 1899 Cleveland Spiders. Of course, the Spiders only played 154 games as opposed to the modern 162, so the 2017 Blue Jays would take the, uh, crown. The Reds are led by third baseman Eugenio Suarez, who has a batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage of .429, .529 and .750 respectively — good for a 232 wRC+. wRC+, or weighted runs created plus, is a stat that measures a player’s total offensive contribution and indexes it to a percentage of league average. Suarez is 132 percent better than the average hitter after being 7 percent worse than average last season. He is on pace to have the fifth-best offensive season of all time, only trailing two seasons each from Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds. In fact, four Reds have a wRC+ of 178 or higher. The highest wRC+
in baseball last year belonged to AL MVP Mike Trout, at 171. Those four Reds have an average career wRC+ of 96. Of course, the Reds are not alone. Thirty-three players have a wRC+ of at least 171 so far this season. This pendulum also swings the other way. The worst full-season wRC+ of all time belongs to Jim Levey, who posted a putrid 23 in 1933. Eighteen players are worse than that so far this year, bottoming out with Byron Buxton’s eye-popping -58 wRC+. In five at-bats this season, pitcher Madison Bumgarner has hit two home runs. Bumgarner’s career batting average is .186. Meanwhile, infielder Jose Reyes has just two hits in 37 at-bats. He is a career .288 hitter and hit .337 to win the NL batting title in 2011. Bumgarner also has more home runs than reigning MLB home run king Mark Trumbo, who launched 47 out of the park last year. But the league leader this year is Houston’s George Springer, who has five home
runs in 10 games. At that pace, he would hit 81 home runs this year, shattering Barry Bonds’ record of 73 set in 2001. Or, if you’re less inclined to acknowledge the records of steroid users, Roger Maris’ mark of 61 set in 1961. The scene is similarly wacky in pitching. Three pitchers so far have gotten every out via the strikeout, which is very impressive. But in their combined 2 2/3 innings, they have allowed eight runs including two home runs. That’s a collective earned run average of 27.00. New York Mets starter Noah Syndergaard is off to a hot start, with 0.8 wins above replacement, or WAR, through two games started. WAR is a stat meant to measure how many more games a team would win with a certain player as opposed to a player that could be acquired for nothing, such as from the minor leagues. Syndergaard is on pace to produce 12.8 WAR, which would almost equal the WAR of the top two pitchers from last season combined. Of course, one of those pitchers was him.
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There is also good and bad news for the league’s bullpens. Nine teams’ relief corps already have a worse ERA than the worst bullpen in baseball last season: the Colorado Rockies, with a 5.13 ERA. Baseball’s two Missourian teams, the Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals, are both plugging along with a 7.86 bullpen ERA. But 11 teams have a better bullpen ERA than the league-best Los Angeles Dodgers’ 3.35 mark last season. That pack is led by our old friends, the Reds, at 1.23. So there you have it. Baseball is more polarized than ever, with some of the worst and best seasons of all time primed to happen across every stat category. Eugenio Suarez should start posing for his plaque in Cooperstown; the Blue Jays should start looking for cities to relocate to. Or maybe it’s too early to judge. I guess we’ll see.
Andrew Flax ’17 can be reached at andrew_flax@brown.edu.