Friday, December 7, 2018

SINCE 1891

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2018

VOLUME CLII, ISSUE 114

WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM

Students commemorate legacy, impact of 1968 walkout Students reflect on 1968 walkout, reiterate need for increased black student enrollment

In addition to reflecting on the protest that occurred 50 years ago, the students who organized the event demanded that the University fulfill the unresolved demands from the historic

proportional to the national percentage of black Americans, which currently stands at 13 percent.

“Institutions like (Brown), built on black people — through black people

walkout participants held a moment of silence before the Slavery Memorial on the Quiet Green before walking to Pembroke Campus, where they honored the legacy and contributions of black

By TRISHA THACKER, KATHERINE BENNETT & PRIYANKA PODUGU SENIOR STAFF WRITERS & UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR

On Wednesday morning, community members gathered on the Main Green to celebrate the legacy and activism of the students who participated in the 1968 black student walkout.

“When these students walked out, they spoke not merely for themselves, but for the countless generations of students after them,” said Kuno Haimbodi ’22, an organizer of the 2018 walkout, while addressing the crowd. “Through their own commitment, they paved the way for future students to recognize and understand that their voice on campus was not only to be present, but … to be heard.”

“We’re not here because of a moment of explicit racism,” said Jai Chavis ’21. “We are here because we love each other and because we want to celebrate the work and legacy of the students of 1968.”

CELIA HACK / HERALD

Students rallied on the Main Green on Wednesday to commemorate the 1968 black student walkout. From there, they walked to the Slavery Memorial on the Quiet Green and later the Pembroke campus. walkout. Specifically, students called — are not representing us,” said Abiola women to student activism at Brown. attention to the fact that the representa- Makinde, a RISD student who attended People frequently call the 1968 tion of black students within the un- the event. protest the “‘black walkout,’ but we dergraduate student body is not at least After gathering on the Main Green, must highlight that it all started with

the organizing work of black women in Pembroke College,” said Abrielle Moore ’20 while speaking on the steps of Alumnae Hall. “Let’s acknowledge the fact that we would not be here if it (were) not for black women.”

The walkout organizers then invited all attending students of color to walk with them to the Congdon Street Baptist Church, where black students participated in community-building activities.

Wednesday’s event allowed community members to commemorate the walkout and also reinforced the significance that the 1968 activism continues to hold for students at Brown today.

Legacy of the walkout The 1968 walkout “means a lot to me, in terms of being a black woman at a predominantly white institution,” said Daneva Moncrieffe ’21. “There is this rich history of activism of black students taking a stand and fighting for change.”

The Department of Africana Studies has an intellectual predecessor in the 1968 walkout, said Halle Bryant ’21, a concentrator in the department. “I can’t even begin to explain how much » See WALKOUT, page 3

Title IX office talks impact of Students prioritize societal impact, salary proposed federal guidelines More first-years than

said

writer,”

ISSUE

Amelia Spalter

NEWS Program run by Swearer Center, Democracy Works help to increase voter registration PAGE 10

Salary Across class years, students prioritized salary differently — 48.3 percent of first-years chose salary as a primary motivation, compared to only 30.9 percent of seniors.

“Over the years, I have grown less concerned about my salary just because it sort of sinks in that you have a Brown degree,” said Anina Hitt ’20. “You’re going to be fine wherever you go.”

Some also explained the trend as an indication of the University’s influence.

“It makes me happy to see this,” said Chloe Miao ’19. “Maybe Brown has some quirky stuff where it just kind of brainwashes you into thinking about something else instead of salary.”

First-year students may default to salary as a motivation since “it’s not always clear what your options are, or what you might be doing in four years,” said Matthew Donato, director of CareerLAB. “It might just be a maturation process. It might be a better understanding of yourself and what your own personal motivations are.”

The Herald’s poll also showed different responses across concentrations.

Physical sciences had the highest percentage of concentrators list salary as a motivation at 46.1 percent, while humanities and arts concentrators had » See JOBS, page 2

WEATHER

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2018

NEWS 28.9 percent of students say athletics “somewhat unimportant” to community PAGE 4

INSIDE

WINTER

The Undergraduate Council of Students, Brown NARAL and the Title IX Office hosted a town hall to discuss the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed Title IX guidelines Thursday evening.

Title IX Program Officer Rene Davis gave a presentation to students on what the changes could mean for how the University investigates instances of sexual misconduct under Title IX. Davis also outlined how students could provide feedback on the changes — which have not yet been implemented — to the DOE and the University.

According to Davis, the proposed rules mandate certain procedural changes related to hearing policies and cross-examinations, which drew student concern.

Under the guidelines, hearings for all involved parties would be required to determine culpability under Title IX rules. At a live hearing, any party

“Since I was seven years old, I wanted to be a television screen-

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

By ERIC CHOI & DANIEL GOLDBERG SENIOR STAFF WRITER & STAFF WRITER

By COLLEEN CRONIN

would have the right to cross-examine the other party, Davis said.

A party advisor performs the crossexamination and can be a lawyer, which Davis says could cause inequities, as not every student may be able to hire a private lawyer. The cross-examinations are technically voluntary, but if a party decides not to participate, none of their contributions will be considered by a hearing panel, Davis said.

Certain information can be excluded from the cross-examination, including “the complainant’s sexual behavior or predisposition,” unless this information is pertinent to the investigation, the guideline reads.

The University uses paper crossexaminations in their Title IX processes, Davis said.

In addition to these procedural changes, the DOE also proposed narrowing the scope of incidents considered sexual misconduct in its guidelines, Davis said. » See TITLE IX, page 6

Town hall discusses how potential Title IX changes may affect U. policies, procedures

seniors motivated by salary in choosing postgrad jobs, fall poll finds

’22. After deciding to drop out of high school, Spalter enrolled as a visiting student at New York University’s Tisch School of Arts to pursue screenwriting.

But after growing dissatisfied with the pre-professional focus of the school, she applied to Brown. Now a religious studies concentrator, she hopes to become a television screenwriter after graduation.

Spalter’s career motivation stems from her desire to make an impact — she wants her writing to stimulate political and social discussion while entertaining her audience. Her motivation is one of the many that drive Brown students as they search for jobs after they graduate.

According to The Herald’s 2018 Fall Poll, when students were asked to choose their top two motivations in considering a first job after graduation, societal impact was the top answer with 43.1 percent, with salary close behind at 40.4 percent.

However, students in different class years and concentrations varied in their responses. The Herald took a look at how these factors affected job motivations.

COMMENTARY Schmidt ’21: Discrepancy in research experience disadvantages students who enter STEM later

COMMENTARY Calvelli ’19: Cooking as hobby will build meaningful skills, enrich academic, social life

PAGE 12

PAGE 12

TODAY

TOMORROW

36 / 17

31 / 22

NEWS

PAGE 2 • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2018

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

» JOBS, from page 1 the lowest percentage at 31.2 percent.

Donato said there is a “higher salary expectation … just because of what the market is out there for those kinds of jobs,” he said. “There are a lot of opportunities around software engineering and coding right now.”

“I personally hear a lot more about benefits or salary” when thinking about job motivations, said Mounika Dandu ’20, a computer science concentrator and coordinator for Women in Computer Science. Dandu added that many computer science students believe the best jobs lie with large corporations, as they provide the best benefits.

Caitlin Takeda ’20, a departmental undergraduate group leader for visual arts, said her concentration provides few high-paying job opportunities right after graduation. Visual arts is “a really difficult profession to follow if you’re looking to” start off earning a high salary, she said. It’s difficult “to do that unless you start off with a ton of money.”

The small percentage may also reflect how those pursing the humanities and arts “are less worried about having to support themselves” financially after graduation, Miao said.

Societal impact Poll results also showed that while 54.6 percent of life science concentrators, 54.4 percent of social science concentrators and 50.8 percent of humanities and arts students chose societal impact as a top motivation, only 35 percent of physical science concentrators chose societal impact.

“I’m not surprised at all because a lot of humanities (concentrators) … feel so (strongly) about the cause that they have,” Spalter said.

Other humanities concentrators agreed with Spalter. Miao suggested that the trend might be explained by the fact that students in the humanities are “more inclined to do nonprofit” work.

“I believe very strongly that what I’m doing after undergrad should have a positive impact on the world,” Takeda said. “Maybe I’m an optimist for thinking whatever I do out of my

MARLIS FLINN / HERALD

own volition is going to have some sort of impact, but I do think it ultimately will be what helps me sleep at night.”

Benjamin Feinglass’ 20, an international relations concentrator and DUG leader, chose his concentration in part because of his desire to make an impact.

He has also seen other international relations concentrators “wanting to go into the public sector, wanting to

be involved in (non-governmental organizations)” right after graduation.

Karisma Chhabria ’19, a biology DUG leader concentrating in biochemistry, “found an appreciation for public health and the social determinants of health” through classes and clubs. In a biology class last semester, Chhabria and other students had the opportunity to discuss social determinants for

health such as race and socioeconomic status in the context of reproduction and fertility.

Chhabria has found a similar enthusiasm among other students in life sciences. “I’ve learned about a lot of different scientific pathways, and also the implications of said pathways, through conversation with my peers,” she said.

“I really appreciate that people are so

passionate about keeping the larger context in mind.”

There are computer science concentrators that care about societal impact, said Hitt, a computer science DUG leader. But a “decent amount of people don’t really care,” she added. For her own future, “I just want to roll in, (get) told what to do, get paid,” she said. “My big thing” is financial security, she added.

NEWS

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2018 • PAGE 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

» WALKOUT, from page 1 (the walkout) has shaped my trajectory at Brown.”

As the protesters risked their academic standing “for demands that were intrinsic to their academic experience,” they “paved the way for black students (like) me to come to Brown (and) more people of color to come to Brown,” said Roysworth Grant III ’21.

Present-day students have found joy and solidarity through their involvement with black student organizations on campus. “When I first came to this campus, the black community was so loving and helpful, and this was something I was so grateful for,” Grant said.

The Black Student Union is “my home base, my sense of community and the people I resonate with on campus,” he added.

But students also mentioned the challenges they still face as students at a historically white institution. “Being a black student at an institution that has roots that trace back to slavery and, in many ways, continue to disrespect communities of color, … I wonder about my role in perpetuating oppressive systems,” Moncrieffe said. “It is something that I haven’t fully reconciled, and I’m not sure I ever really can reconcile.”

“I’m proud of my identity, but sometimes it is difficult to be the only person of that identity in the room,” said Azeez Adeyemi ’21. “That’s the importance of the 1968 walkout, … to try and adjust those issues.”

“Here at Brown, we pride ourselves with being student activists, and we have a mentality that we are open to change,” Adeyemi said. “The 1968 walkout was that first step, but we have yet to make that next step.”

Continuing to make the University “a truly inclusive environment” should be “everyone’s responsibility — students, faculty, administration,” Moncrieffe said.

The demands of the 1968 walkout still haven’t been met, Bryant said. “It’s easy for Brown to celebrate everything 50 years later, but now it’s a wakeup call

for black students to put the pressure back on to achieve everything that (we) set out to do.”

This week, a group of black students identifying themselves as NEO published a list of 32 demands with the goals of promoting transparency, representation and a more equitable distribution of power. Within their list of demands, the students called on the University to increase the proportion of enrolled black students, with “an explicit emphasis on descendants of American chattel slavery as well as black students from the City of Providence,” among other measures.

“We are fully committed to continuing to identify and expand on initiatives to ensure that we have full representation from the full spectrum of student backgrounds,” wrote Director of News and Editorial Development Brian Clark in an email to The Herald. “What we don’t employ is numerical formulas or quotas — we use an individualized, holistic review of applications because we believe that all applicants deserve to be reviewed one case at a time.”

Maintaining momentum and progress Ultimately, the changes set in motion by the students in 1968 laid the groundwork for campus activism that would take place over the next 50 years.

In their interviews with The Herald, alums who participated in the historic protest offered support, advice and understanding to younger generations of student activists.

Though the 1968 walkout would serve as a model for later walkouts to follow, the alums did not realize how their actions might inspire younger activists in the moment, said Glenn Dixon ’70. “We weren’t projecting future protests; we were projecting future solutions to the concerns of alienation of the African American and black community at Brown and at other schools like Brown and in the society as a whole,” he said. “We were looking to begin the progress of implementing future solutions.”

Despite the scale of the 1968 walkout, Ido Jamar ’69, a Pembroke College student who helped organize the protest, said activists should not feel pressured to place themselves in uncomfortable situations for their work.

“Activism doesn’t necessarily need confrontation to have a feeling that you’ve made a difference,” she said. Instead it should acknowledge a problem and find “a way to solve it,” she added.

In addition, students attempting to enact change should be mindful of their organizing tactics, wrote Zylpha Pryor-Bell ’72 in an email to The Herald. “Remember that you have a future, so try not to jeopardize it, regardless of how passionately you may feel about the issues at hand,” she added. “The walkout served as an excellent example of peaceful, but effective student activism.”

But activists must keep raising their concerns even when faced with pushback, said Bernicestine McLeod Bailey ’68, a trustee emerita of the University. “You have a voice — use it,” she added.

And when forced to confront opposition, students should consider how they frame their agenda and goals, said Kenneth McDaniel ’69. “Ask questions if you can. At all costs, don’t make any statements, just ask questions. If they happen to be well-structured and potentially embarrassing questions, all the better,” he added. “If you have to fight somebody, try to get things into a position where you’ll only have to fight them once. You line up your data, you line up your facts, you consider the arena.”

Though the University has become more inclusive since 1968, there is still progress to be made, McLeod Bailey said. While the University’s implementation of the Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan and appointment of “an African-American president … are great accomplishments, … the work goes on,” she added. “There are areas where we could still (better) support our students of color.”

NEWS

PAGE 4 • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2018

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Poll reveals 28.9 percent of students find athletics ‘somewhat unimportant’

ALEX SKIDMORE / HERALD

Brown athletics not top priority among students who are not on varsity sports teams

By TESS DEMEYER SENIOR REPORTER

Free pizza, t-shirts and Coca-Cola products have not been enough to draw students to Brown Stadium for football games, save for the annual Family Weekend contest and the high-

ly-anticipated rivalry against Harvard.

Throughout the rest of the season, the bleachers remain mostly empty, aside from devoted parents and a handful of undergraduates who leave campus to support friends.

The poor student attendance at Brown athletic events is consistent with the results of The Herald’s 2018 Fall Poll. While 79 percent of varsity athletes considered athletics to be at least somewhat important to the Brown community, just 42 percent of non-athletes shared this sentiment.

Thirty-one percent of respondents who are non-athletes consider athletics to be somewhat unimportant to the community and 15.3 percent felt they were very unimportant.

Both athletes and non-athletes who were asked about the poll were not surprised by the results. While athletes equated the measure of importance with the community service their teams participate in, camaraderie built among teammates and the potential of their sports to bring the Brown community together, multiple

student sources felt that the general student body associated importance with success in terms of wins and losses.

The divide in perspective between athletes and non-athletes is not unfamiliar to members of varsity teams that frequently lack broad student support. Field hockey co-captain Katie Hammaker ’19 noted that most of the fans in the stands are student-athletes who play on other teams. Claire Harrison ’20 pointed out that Brown excels in sports that don’t typically draw large crowds, such as crew. The gymnastics team “is ranked (nationally) in the 50s,” said Julia Green ’19, the team’s co-captain.

“If we were ranked in the 30s, we would get just as many people. For the more obscure sports, I don’t think (success) matters.”

“That’s just not the culture of this school,” she added.

But both athletes and non-athletes recognized that victories alone may not be enough to generate student enthusiasm.

“Everybody wants to go see a winning team,” Hammaker said. “If we did win, there would be more support, but you’ll always have those people who just don’t enjoy sports, don’t want to go watch sports ever — whether they win or whether they don’t win. (Winning) might help a little, but it wouldn’t completely alleviate the problem.”

Maddie Griswold ’21 hypothesized that a major sports team would have to perform exceptionally well to “change the culture” at Brown to one that is more invested in athletics. As a co-manager of the men’s lacrosse team and an editor for Brown Sports

Convos, a club that publishes online content focused on professional sports teams, Griswold has noticed that even Brown students who enjoy watching sports casually aren’t especially interested in the Bears.

“In coming to Brown, I knew what I was giving up,” she said. “I knew that I was prioritizing top-notch academics over (a big sports culture).”

Though the Ivy League started as an athletic conference, Brown students no longer feel a strong connection to that part of the college experience. Brian Solomon ’19 has never attended a sporting event at Brown and does not consider athletics important to the community.

“I have no need to watch Brown play Columbia (in football) and lose,” Solomon said. “That just sounds like a really boring game.”

Regardless of on-field performance, athletes identified the social aspect of athletic events as a potential draw for students.

“The most exciting thing at the football game isn’t getting a first down on a third-and-long,” said quarterback Michael McGovern ’21. “The most exciting part is being there, because the environment is fun to be in. Everybody that you’re with is on the same team. You’re all rooting for the same thing.”

Football co-captain Michael Hoecht ’20 shared his teammate’s view of games as a way to bring students together into one community.

But non-athletes didn’t view sporting events as social gatherings — none of the students interviewed recalled attending games solely to spend time with friends or meet new people.

STAY UP-TO-DATE. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK. FACEBOOK.COM/BROWNDAILYHERALD

NEWS

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2018 • PAGE 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Gaziano ’20 powers Bears to victory over Bryant U.

Women’s basketball guard scored thousandth college point, 14th all-time in Bruno scoring

By PATRICK NUGENT STAFF WRITER

Junior guard Justine Gaziano ’20 notched 35 points last weekend as the women’s basketball team breezed past Bryant University 84-68 at the Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament. Coming off Honorable Mention All-Ivy honors last year, Gaziano was named to the All-Tournament team and averaged 30 points per game against Bryant and the University of Rhode Island. The Natick, Massachusetts native is 14th all-time in scoring for the Bears and a recipient of the Royce Sports and Society Fellowship. For her standout performances in Bruno’s tournament play, she has been named The Herald’s Athlete of the Week.

Herald: You scored a career-high 35 points last weekend against Bryant.

How did it feel to be such a big part of the team’s offense?

Gaziano: It was just in the flow of

the game and everyone on our team was contributing and doing well. …

There were definitely some things we struggled with, but we were able to all come together, and I just happened to be hitting a lot of my shots that game.

You also led the team in scoring against URI. Do you feel like you’re hitting your stride on offense?

I’ve really just gotten into a flow of what I can do and (a flow of) the team as a group all working together and sharing the ball, which has been a great part of our success. We’ve been racking up the assists as a team, which has definitely allowed us to do well on offense.

You’ve recently been named the Ivy League Player of the Week. What does that award mean to you?

It’s a really nice honor that it’s recognized by the Ivy League, but … I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my team and the way that we’re able to work together.

You recently scored your 1,000th college point and sit 14th in all-time scoring for Brown. Do you focus at all on reaching milestones like that?

A thousand points was a goal I’ve want-

ed to reach since I came to Brown. I didn’t know when it was going to happen but it’s one that I’ve been working toward and wanting to reach, so it was really great that I was able to reach that milestone. But now I know that there’s even more that we can all achieve as a team.

What are you focused on achieving next?

Just continuing to be the best player and teammate that I can be to put our team in a position to do well.

You currently lead the team in threepoint percentage. Is that a part of your game you try to work on specifically?

I think three-point shooting has always been something that’s been a strength of mine and something I’ve really worked toward. So, when I’m in a game, (my three-point shot is) something I look for on offense. … And I think recently I’ve gotten into the flow of shooting.

What is the team expecting from the rest of the season as you approach Ivy League play next semester?

We’ve definitely struggled in a few games, but it showed us what we need to work on so we can be successful in

COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS

Justine Gaziano ’20 scored a career-high 35 points in the winning effort against Bryant University last weekend. the Ivy League, which is what we see as most important. It’s been a good way for us to recognize some of our weaknesses and things we need to work on so that when we do get into conference play

we’ll be able to capitalize and do well.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

NEWS

PAGE 6 • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2018

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Study finds stress responses in mice vary between genders

COURTESY OF KEVIN BATH

Researchers found that early life stress was linked to a lower density of parvalbumin interneuron cells, which are important for cognition.

SARA RUNKEL / HERALD

Title IX Program Officer Rene Davis spoke about proposed changes to the Department of Education’s sexual assault guidelines in a joint meeting hosted by the Title IX Office, UCS and the Brown chapter of NARAL. awareness of the proposed guidelines, two other community forums about » TITLE IX, from page 1 which were released by the DOE Nov. the guidelines. The University will also Sexual harassment and assault, as 16. send a form to students to allow them defined by the guidelines, must be The regulations are currently un- to voice specific concerns about the objectively severe enough to deny a der a 60-day comment period, which DOE guidelines, as well as give general student equal access to University fa- means that anyone can send comments feedback about the University’s Title IX cilities and academics. to the DOE with their suggestions or process, Davis said.

“What ‘equal access’ means is a opinions.

Still, Davis urged students to try little murky,” Davis said, explaining The University was already going to provide feedback on the guidelines that different universities will mostly to review its Title IX policies as this directly to the DOE in addition to the likely adopt different interpretations is the third year that current policies University. The federal deadline for of the term. have been in place. Before the end of public comments is Jan. 29 at 11:59 Davis is in the process of increasing the semester, Davis will hold at least P.M.

OUR BUS IS YOUR BEST BET. Plan your next group outing to Mohegan Sun on Flagship Trailways!

Why Drive?

For Information and Special Offers Call: Flagship Trailways 401.946.6705 or 1.800.672.6705 www.flagshiptrailways.com

Bonus packages are issued to individuals 21 years of age or older. To receive a casino bonus package, passengers must have a Momentum card or be able to sign up for a Momentum card on day of travel. Proper identification required. Please visit the Bus Marketing Window for official rules. Offer subject to change without notice. mohegansun.com

Why not extend your stay?

Visit mymohegansun.com to view your hotel rates.

Researchers analyze impact of early life stress, findings could apply to human responses

By JANET CHANG CONTRIBUTING WRITER

A study published last week identified a new possible explanation for the difference in neurological responses to early life stress between men and women.

The study, conducted on mice, showed that females exposed to early life stress saw a decline in cognitive ability when performing certain tasks and had lower cell density in the orbitofrontal cortex, the brain region responsible for decision-making. The male mice in the study, however, were not affected, despite being exposed to the same stress.

Though the study used mice, there is strong evidence to suggest that the findings can be applied to humans, said Kevin Bath, assistant professor of cognitive, linguistic and psychological sciences. “Women are two times as likely to develop depression or (post-traumatic stress disorder) from stressful or traumatic events in childhood. … We’ve known this for a long time, but this is the first time we can show the mechanism behind differences between how men and women might respond to stress differently,” he said.

The study was conducted with two groups. In the control group, mice pups were raised under normal conditions, with the mother taking care of their young from birth. In the early life stress group, the pups and their mothers were given an area with limited nesting materials for one week four days after birth, “equivalent to one year of being in a high-stress environment,”Bath said.

Afterwards, the mice in both groups were tested on their cognitive abilities using a variety of rule-learning tests.

Researchers found that females exposed to early life stress were more likely than males to be impaired in rulereversal learning. In this task, mice were

conditioned to associate food with a particular scent, such as lavender, and would then have to associate it with a different scent, like lemon, said Haley Goodwill GS, lead author of the study. Additionally, “this was compounded by the loss of parvalbumin interneuron cells,”a type of neuron in the orbitofrontal cortex that is important for cognition and flexibility and sensitive to stress, she said.

In the second part of the study, researchers used optogenetics, a technique that uses light to manipulate cells, to turn off parvalbumin interneuron cells in the healthy mice, which caused them to have the same impairment as the early life stress female mice. “That indicated to us it could be these fine-tuning neurons that affect this (response to) stress,” she said.

“This is a very new model of stress, … (but) the results of depression (for mice) map very well onto the human literature,” said Gabriela Manzano Nieves GS, another researcher involved in the study. Though the particular model of early life stress in mice used in the study has only been in scientific literature for “about 10 years or less,” this new study leads researchers in a promising direction, she said.

The researchers said that future studies should investigate the mechanisms behind the sex differences in parvalbumin cell density that might be causing the female mice to be more susceptible to stress. There are many potential explanations for these differences in early-life development, such as chromosomal sex difference, sex hormone differences or higher maternal nurturing of males compared to females after stress, Bath said.

Francis Lee, chair of the department of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, who is unaffiliated with the study, believes the research is a promising step toward advancing our understanding of the brain. “It’s conceptually novel. People don’t normally think of the orbitofrontal cortex when thinking about depression in the brain,” Lee said.

“This finding could have great potential in informing neuroimaging studies with regards to depression.”

NEWS

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2018 • PAGE 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

U. to provide college counseling to Native American students

IMAN HUSAIN

College Horizons will partner with U. to provide admission resources, workshops in 2019

By ISABEL INADOMI CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Next summer, the University will host College Horizons, a week-long program that directs college admission resources to Native American high school students. College Horizons works with Native American students every summer at partnered universities to provide college counseling, which includes preparing for standardized tests, completing college essays and researching schools.

The organization aims to increase the number of Native American students who continue on to postsecondary education. “The Native American high school graduation rate is 51 percent. Of those, approximately five percent proceed directly to four-year colleges and only 10 percent of those

students graduate in four years,” according to the program’s website.

Each summer, College Horizons partners with 45 to 50 schools across the country; every campus typically hosts 80 to 120 students, said Brown Admission Officer Tiffiney George ’08.

During the week, the program provides “workshops and teaching sessions about the college application process and the financial aid process,” George said.

Dean of Admission Logan Powell pointed out that the emphasis of the program is educating students about the overall college process, rather than encouraging them to apply to Brown.

“Our hosting of College Horizons is about a general commitment to college access for these students,” he said.

“It’s not intended as a point-A to pointB pipeline to enroll these students at Brown.”

Raelee Fourkiller ’22, who attended a College Horizons program before coming to the University, agreed that the program “exposes Native students

to what an Ivy League (school) is like,” she said. “As a high schooler, I had no idea that I met the qualifications for a student that could go here.”

Other than the educational and advisory aspect of College Horizons, the program also provides an opportunity for Native American students to find community. “There’s this sense of empowerment and resisting the oppression that we face within this country,” Fourkiller said.

The University originally planned to host College Horizons in the summer of 2018 but deferred due to construction conflicts. “It would have been less than optimal,” Powell said. “The students would have been a little more spread out, and the accommodations wouldn’t have been as up to par as they are now.”

With the right resources in place, Powell is excited to bring the program to campus this summer. “To be able to host College Horizons is a tremendous honor,” he said. “It’s not just an important statement, it’s the right thing to do.”

NEWS

PAGE 8 • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2018

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

University promotes DIAP designation for courses DIAP label replaces Diverse Perspectives in Liberal Learning category, revises criteria

By EMILIJA SAGAITYTE STAFF WRITER

Students searching for classes during pre-registration might have noticed a category in the bottom left corner of the Courses@Brown website: the Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan designation, which encompasses classes that address inequality, privilege and power, race and gender in a variety of contexts.

This is the first year that Courses@ Brown has listed this designation, wrote Dean Besenia Rodriguez ’00, senior associate dean for curriculum, in an email to The Herald. DIAP courses span 29 academic departments — including history, politics, anthropology

and biology — and range from small seminars to large lecture classes that can admit over 100 students. Faculty are encouraged to create new DIAP courses and receive funding from the University to do so, she wrote.

The DIAP designation replaces the Diverse Perspectives in Liberal Learning label. The DIAP designation has more stringent criteria for courses to qualify than the DPLL designation did, Rodriguez wrote. The new designation requires prospective courses to outline a “key course objective” related to race, gender or inequality according to the Dean of the College website.

At an Undergraduate Council of Students meeting in spring 2017, former Dean of the College Maud Mandel criticized the DPLL designation for being too “broad.” Following student activism on institutional inequality, a 2016 Task Force on Diversity in the Curriculum committee was formed by the DIAP. The task force developed

the new DIAP designation with the College Curriculum Committee and UCS over the course of 2016 and 2017, Rodriguez wrote.

The Dean of the College office promoted DIAP-designated courses when sending information to new students before the semester, Rodriguez wrote.

“We will continue to highlight these courses among vpeer and faculty advisors alike as well as among incoming students.”

A total 365 of the 1,639 undergraduates taking at least one of these courses in Fall 2018 are first-years, according to enrollment data, Rodriguez wrote.

In The Herald’s 2018 fall poll, 14.3 percent of students were unaware of the new DIAP designation. First-years and sophomores comprise the majority of students who were not aware of the meaning behind this designation.

Divya Santhanam ’19, a narrative section editor for post- and a member

of this year’s Meiklejohn Leadership Committee, said that Meiklejohn peer advisors are informed of the meaning behind the DIAP designation in their training, but it is ultimately at the discretion of the Meiklejohns to decide whether to discuss the label with incoming students. As an underclassman, she remembered learning about DPLL courses through the freshmen handbook. “As a person of color, I saw that that was an option when I was searching for classes, and I thought that that was interesting, and I definitely was interested in seeing that designated just because I hold an identity that makes me interested in learning more about diversity and inclusion, and the past experiences I’ve had made those classes very interesting.”

Breanna Cadena ’22 has not taken a DIAP-designated course and was unaware of the significance of the term while choosing her classes. But in the future she would consider taking a

DIAP-designated course: “It’s always important to consider different perspectives of a certain topic because there’s so many times in history where it’s only taught from this one perspective, and it neglects the other perspective.”

Uwa Ode-Osifo ’22 is currently enrolled in “ANTH 0300: Culture and Health,” a DIAP-designated course that explores disease, illness and health care in a social context. She had not realized previously that Culture and Health was a DIAP-designated course, though she was familiar with the designation. “I do think of taking classes that explore different parts of identities that I have not considered, different cultures, different experiences, and I think DIAP courses are definitely associated with that,” she said. But “course descriptions really interest me more than anything about the actual classification or designation apart from the writing requirement.”

CONGRATULATIONS SHEHRYAR HASAN (’19)

KEYSTONE STRATEGY SUMMER INTERN ON NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED ML BREAKTHROUGH As a part of his summer internship at Keystone, Brown Student Shehryar Hasan recently presented an academic poster at the National Association of Business Economists-TEC Conference in San Francisco. Considered one of the premier economic and technology conferences in the U.S., Shehryar was one of the only undergraduates to join on the academic stage.

Shehryar Hasan Brown ’19

His team presented a new, highly scalable and data-driven machine learning application that offers trademark infringement evaluations by analyzing thousands of images of products to measure their similarity within seconds. From summer intern to the academic stage, congratulations Shehryar!

Learn more about our unique summer ’19 internships here: info@keystonestrategy.com Learn more about Keystone here: www.keystonestrategy.com

NEWS

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2018 • PAGE 9

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

‘Free Solo’ offers slowburning thrills

Study evaluates success of weight loss surgery Research suggests possible ways to personalize obesity treatment for patient subgroups

By KSHITIJ SACHAN STAFF WRITER

In an attempt to understand what makes some patients with obesity respond better to surgery than others, Professor and Chair of Epidemiology Alison Field and her team analyzed over 10,000 patients who received weight-loss surgery. They found that patients that binge ate were able to lose weight more easily than those whose obesity was likely more rooted in genetics. According to Field, “We let the data tell us the story. We put in body weight, history of body weight, eating behaviors, hormone levels, factors related to cardiometabolic health, and asked how do these naturally cluster together?�

Field’s final model outlined four distinct subgroups that each responded differently to the surgery.

Field’s team studied patients for three years following bariatric surgery, which is commonly known as weight-loss surgery. Previous studies have shown that losing weight improves eating habits, creating a

positive feedback loop. This factor could possibly explain the sustained weight loss among binge eaters, Field said, since they may have changed their eating behavior.

According to Leonidas Bleris, associate professor of bioengineering at the University of Texas at Dallas who was unaffiliated with the study, obesity “is a complex problem. It has to do with a lot more than just genetics.� Bleris explained that other factors as wide-ranging as the diet of your parents to medical history affect how you process food.

Field’s group accounted for a much larger variety of factors than most other obesity classification studies, according to Jim Mitchell, a research scientist at the Neuropsychiatric Research Institute and a co-author of the paper. The dataset covered a wide range of factors, including psychological behavior, medical records and eating habits, he added.

What really makes this study unique is the size of the dataset that Field was using, Mitchell said. “It’s very unusual to have a sample of patients this large with this much follow-up data.�

While the findings preliminarily suggest that treatments be personalized for different subgroups, further

studies need to replicate the results before any doctors start treating patients differently, Mitchell said. The study identified subgroups that lost weight differently, but researchers have yet to determine the role that genetics play in controlling these differences, he added.

Field hopes that other researchers are inspired by her work and attempt to recreate her findings, eventually leading to clinical applications.

She also aims to examine obesity in teenagers using a similar data set collected by Mitchell that focuses on younger patients. “There are fewer ways you can develop extreme obesity when you’re younger. ‌ There’s probably a stronger genetic component, so we want to see (if )we see the same subgroups when they’re younger,â€? she said. She hopes to use this information to develop targeted treatments for young adults.

While the group found varied results among different types of patients, “overall bariatric surgery is by far the best treatment we have for severe obesity. It’s the only treatment we have that’s likely to result in sustained weight loss and marked improvement. It works for just about everybody. It just worked a little bit better for some people,� Mitchell said.

COURTESY OF KEVIN BATH

The documentary “Free Solo� depicts rock climber Alex Honnold as he prepares to summit a 3,000-foot mountain face without any equipment.

Documentary chronicles climber’s ambition to tackle towering height of El Capitan in Yosemite

By GRAYSON LEE SENIOR STAFF WRITER

“Free Solo,� a National Geographic documentary, is a film that examines the fear and motivation behind incredible human achievement, against a backdrop of stunning natural landscapes.

The nerve-wracking film chronicles the journey of Alex Honnold, a famous U.S. rock climber, as he prepares to “free solo� El Capitan, a mountain face in Yosemite National Park. Free soloing is rock climbing without any ropes or equipment at heights where falling almost inevitably results in death. Prior to Honnold’s attempt, no one had ever free soloed El Capitan, which towers around 3,000 feet at its highest peak.

The film is breathtaking, not only because of the natural beauty depicted, but because of the emotion and tension in such a treacherous feat. As the movie develops, Honnold’s personality becomes a central component of the film, as everyone around him seeks to understand his motivation for undertaking an endeavor that could easily lead to his death. Honnold seems fearless and obsessed with achievement, unsatisfied until he at least tries to free solo El Capitan. Everyone advises him against it, including his girlfriend, Sanni.

Other free soloists caution that it is too dangerous, and fear for his life.

Delving into Honnold’s childhood,

examining his relationships and even studying his brain, the film is mostly a portrait of an eccentric climber. At one point, when asked about his motivations, Honnold speaks about a warrior spirit that continually inspires him.“This is your path, and you will pursue it with excellence,� he said.

The majority of the movie focuses on Honnold’s preparation for the climb. Honnold details exactly how he plans to get through the most difficult parts, down to the tiny shifts in the cliff that he would cling to. In the thrilling scenes of Honnold’s climb, the abstract details of the danger and hardship illustrated throughout his preparation suddenly become edgeof-your-seat anticipation and apprehension.

Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi directed the movie and recruited a team of seasoned climbers to help them film. In the movie, the crew openly discusses with Honnold the details of shooting the film and recounts how they struggled with the ethics of filming their friend. Chin explains that he doesn’t want the camera’s presence to put pressure on Honnold, which could be potentially disastrous. One of the crew members, Mikey Schaefer, discusses his fear that as he was filming, he would capture Honnold “falling through the frame to his death.� In fact, during Honnold’s free solo climb, Schaefer looked away from the camera as he was filming the riskiest parts. “Free Solo� creates a disjointed picture. On the one hand, Honnold’s attempt is moving and awe-inspiring, but the film leaves the viewer wondering: Is it worth the risk?

campus fine wines Cultivating thirst

3URYLGHQFH¡V OLTXRU VWRUH VLQFH - 1DWXUDO RUJDQLF DQG ELRG\QDPLF ZLQH &UDIW EHHU DQG VSLULWV

ZZZ FDPSXVÀQHZLQHV FRP %URRN 6WUHHW ‡ 3URYLGHQFH 401-621-9650

NEWS

PAGE 10 • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2018

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Swearer, Democracy Works facilitate in-state, absentee voter registration Peer schools, U. work to clarify registration process, promote civic engagement

By SOPHIE CULPEPPER SENIOR STAFF WRITER

This year, the University hosted a voter registration and civic engagement initiative called the ALL IN Challenge, which encouraged absentee and in-state registration with an ultimate focus on turnout and was supported by the Swearer Center for Public Service. It sought to double student voter turnout from the previous midterm election to at least 26 percent, The Herald previously reported. 65.7 percent of eligible undergraduates polled self-reported voting to The Herald.

The ALL IN Challenge made use of the Democracy Works online tool TurboVote to register students to vote.

Students can use the site to register, request an absentee ballot or simply receive election reminders. “We see ourselves as your lifelong voting concierge,” said Democracy Works Director of Communications Brandon Naylor. TurboVote redirected students who requested registration help “to their state online voter registration site or … got them a pre-filled out paper voter registration form that they can mail in themselves,” said Democracy Works Senior Partnerships Associate Sara Clark.

“For Brown, 701 students in all 2018 signed up for TurboVote,” Clark said. “Of those 701 students, 402 used the site to request registration assistance.” Democracy Works calculated this as roughly 10 percent of Brown undergraduates who had not already signed up. “Ten percent is nothing to cough at, and 700 signups is really good for 2018,” she added.

Peer school best practices In January 2018 Democracy Works established the “pretty ambitious” target of signing up 100,000 students through all of its “over 130 partners,” which they achieved and surpassed in mid-October.

Clark described this as “a huge success, something that we’re really proud of, especially in a midterm election year.”

The University of Michigan had the highest number of signups through TurboVote this year at 12,000 signups, she said, while the University of Chicago had the highest in terms of percentage, at over 80 percent of the undergraduate student body.

Multiple factors appear to have contributed to UChicago’s high turnout. “It’s really been impressive seeing the level of engagement from their faculty and administration, to the Institute of Politics on campus, all the way down to the students who basically ran their own sort of registration campaign, UChiVotes,”

Naylor said.

But a single strategy may go a long way toward explaining UChicago’s success and offer a guide for other schools.

PeopleSoft, UChicago’s equivalent of Brown’s Banner, required students to fill out voter registration as an item on a checklist of prerequisites for class registration, along with standard items such as emergency contact information.

UChicago is one of only three schools to have implemented this practice; the other two are Hobart and William Smith Colleges and Harvard, she added.

“It is incredible, because it institutionalizes voter engagement, and each year, they get thousands signing up through that one totally hands-off, really easy implementation strategy,” Clark said.

There is still room to increase engagement through voting at Brown, according to Assistant Dean of the College and Swearer Center Director of Student Development Betsy Shimberg . “Aren’t we supposed to be the activist Ivy? Shouldn’t we have more eligible students who are actually participating in voting? So, I’d like to see those numbers higher,” she said.

In general, “schools are waking up a little bit to their responsibility in promoting democracy in the United States,” said Director of Impact at the Tufts Institute for Democracy and Higher Education Adam Gismondi.

While schools previously have focused on temporary measures such as tabling, which remain “essential,” there is a shift toward “long-term infrastructure” to sustain civic engagement, he said. This shift is visible from the top down and the student body up.

Some senior administrators are allocating more resources to voter registration efforts, and building personal relationships with election officials.

When election officials are recognizable presences on campuses, they can clarify regulations, Gismondi explained.

This removes barriers for absentee and in-state student voters alike. In October, Rhode Island Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea led a workshop about voting at Brown, The Herald previously reported.

Other strategies across institutions of higher education for increasing civic engagement include dialogue and faculty from all fields discussing the “public relevance” of issues involved in their work, Gismondi said. Schools have also reported using “granular data” from the National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement, which breaks down voting patterns according to categories such as race, ethnicity, gender, age and major “to think about the specific issue of equity and representation in government,” he said.

TALIA MERMIN

Absentee voting and impact on turnout Of the 73.7 percent of students who reported they were registered to vote in the midterms in The Herald’s Fall 2018 poll, the overwhelming majority registered to vote absentee rather than in-state. The poll found that only 9.7 percent of students are registered to vote in Rhode Island, while 64 percent of respondents are registered to vote outside the state. The high number of absentee voters at the University has implications for voter registration initiatives.

In a presidential election, Rhode Island residents — including Brown students — are allowed to register to vote the same day as the election. On the day of the general election, “we see voter registration from Brown students in Rhode Island spike,” Shimberg said.

But students voting in the midterm elections have to meet registration deadlines months ahead of election day, she said.

This year, University students had an Oct. 7 deadline to register to vote in the midterms in Rhode Island.

“When institutions start to push voter engagement around the end of October, they’ve already missed the bus, because most students had to have their absentee ballot information in well ahead of that,” she said.

In fact, absentee voting regulations can mean de facto “disenfranchisement” for some students, Shimberg said. Michigan requires first-time voters to vote in person; Minnesota calls for another Minnesotan to “witness” an absentee ballot.

Deadlines and requirements for voter

registration across states can complicate the process of registering to vote for young people whether they vote instate or absentee, Shimberg said. The Swearer Center has worked to publicize and clarify the nuts and bolts of the process in different states. Efforts sought both to increase registration and close gaps between registration and turnout.

The Swearer Center worked to circumvent logistical barriers to voting absentee by offering “stamps, envelopes, a notary” for validating ballots. Shimberg even had “a Minnesotan on standby,” she said.

Engagement beyond the vote Voting data is not necessarily the most comprehensive measure of civic engagement on a campus, Gismondi said.

“Some schools would argue that the amount of resources they put in are an indicator of how civically engaged they are, but the reality is that not every school has the same amount of resources,” Gismondi said. In addition, the population of an institution can skew evaluations of the success of its voting efforts, because a less diverse institution that might serve a more wealthy and white population — demographic factors that research has shown are linked to high voter participation — is more likely to report high student turnout.

Shimberg has seen an increase in civic engagement among young people at Brown in the two years since the election of President Trump. But voting is merely the “tip of the iceberg” of civic

engagement, she said.

Shimberg remains “much more interested in encouraging students to have deliberate conversations about democracy, and in exploring: What is Brown’s role? What is higher education’s role in defending our democracy?” Other “beneficial” forms of civic engagement include conversing with someone who disagrees with you and calling your representatives, she said.

Students should also consider joining University committees such as the University Finance Board or the Public Safety Board, she added. “That’s a chance for you to be a part of a democracy,” she said.

It is essential to maintain high levels of student civic engagement, Shimberg said. “It can’t be a reactive thing” that disappears in the wake of an election, she said.

The Swearer Center continues a Beyond the Ballot campaign which encourages engagement beyond voting and elections. Shimberg described the campaign as “an integrated effort around defending democracy, and higher education democratic practices.” The campaign has run conferences, partnered with other campuses and holds monthly dinners on campus, she said.

Voting is “something that we latch onto because it’s easy to report, and you know about the data, and everybody wears a sticker. But there are lots of other ways that we want people to be civically engaged, and I think Brown students are civically engaged, in Rhode Island, even if they’re not voting” here, Shimberg said.

TODAY

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2018 • PAGE 11

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

“ s ay l e s ” i n g

menu

into reading period

SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS

Pizza: Buffalo Chicken, Italian Sausage, Four Cheese and Basil Pho Bar, Grinders JOSIAH’S

BLUE ROOM

Bread Bowl Soup Bar, Quesadilla Station, Guacamole Burger

Chunky Beef Chili, Grain Bowls, Bread Bowls

DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH

DINNER

R.I. Quahog Chowder, Kashooli, Falafel Burgers, Oreo Rice Krispie Treats

Winter Seasonal Vegetables, Italian Chicken Parmesan, Chocolate Cake

VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH

DINNER

Manhattan Clam Chowder, Spicy Dahl, Soy Chik’n Nuggets, Brown Rice Pilaf

Fried Asian Chicken, Red Hummus and Roasted Broccoli Sandwiches, Sticky Rice

sudoku JEFF DEMANCHE / HERALD

As finals approach, a few days of sunshine broke through the rain and below freezing temperatures. Students have retreated from the cold and into their favorite study spots to prepare for exams.

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

“Activism doesn’t necessarily need confrontation to have a feeling that you’ve made a difference.”

— Ido Jamar ’69

See walkout on page 1. crossword

calendar TODAY DECEMBER

S

M

T

W

Th

F

S 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

The Brown Legal History Workshop 9:00 A.M. Brown Faculty Club

Percussion Workshop 1:00 P.M. Grant Recital Hall

SASA Presents: Rajiv Satyal 5:00 P.M. Salomon DECI

Snow Ball 6:00 P.M. Alumnae Hall

TOMORROW Breakfast with Santa 9:00 A.M. Brown Faculty Club

AMP Piano Recital 2:00 P.M. Grant Recital Hall

Shades of Brown’stones Concert 8:00 P.M. 85 Waterman St., 130

Grad Student Winter Formal 9:00 P.M. R.I. Convention Center

COMMENTARY PAGE 12 • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2018

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Bridging the research gap for STEM students RACHAEL SCHMIDT staff columnist If you are a STEM concentrator at Brown, research is key. The sooner an undergraduate gets into research, the better and more competitive their resume will be. To students either deciding sophomore spring they want to concentrate in STEM without any prior research experience, or students who come from disadvantaged educational backgrounds and were not exposed to research early in their careers, peers coming to Brown with previous research experience can intimidate or disadvantage them. This discrepancy puts students on an uneven playing field for the internship and job markets, or the Brown research community. A course encouraging students to develop their own research projects and gain the handson research skills they’ll need in their future careers would help rectify the uneven playing field between students with prior experience and students without. Though such courses exist for a larger number of upperlevel STEM classes, for example BIOL 1870: “Techniques and Clinical Applications in Pathobiology,” they need to be available earlier on for students who are beginning their STEM careers at a seeming disadvantage.

The issue of getting new college

graduates, or even current students, jobs or opportunities in STEM industries without prior experience is slowly growing. Quickly, more and more undergraduates are doing research in their short time during college. According to a 2007 study by the National Science Foundation, 72 percent of chemistry students and 74 percent of environmental science students applying for graduate schools had research experience. Now, having undergraduate research experience is crucial, and many of these research

percent of entry-level jobs required at least three years of experience.

But students need jobs and internships for experience. These two facts seem at odds with each other because they are; the more competitive the job market, the more likely that applicants teeming with an eagerness to learn but possessing a scant resume will slip through the cracks.

There are already ways Brown gives students a fair chance at succeeding through structured courses introducing concepts that may not

These classes, as well as others, were crucial for students like me who did not realize they were interested in STEM until either very late in high school or early on in college. Why would we not have a similar system for students oriented toward skills in research?

A course that introduces the basic procedures any lab requires will properly prepare us for research jobs we apply to and positions we may hold during the academic year with faculty, ensuring we are properly prepared to

A course encouraging students to develop their own research projects and gain the hands-on research skills they’ll need in their future careers would help rectify the uneven playing field between students with prior experience and students without. experiences, such as fellowships and associate positions, prefer candidates with prior experience in research.

Just as the job market is advancing toward favoring applicants with a basic university degree as the standard amount of education and practice, applicants with previous research experience and/or publications are more likely to be favored than those with no research experience at all — ­ even for entry-level jobs. According to a study done by TalentWorks, 61

have been taught to students in high school. These are classes that bring students from varying backgrounds up to speed: Think MATH 0090: “Introductory Calculus” and other introductory courses that are essential to bridge the gaps from a multitude of high school educations. This puts everyone on a relatively even playing field, ensuring students without the proper background can get the knowledge they need to succeed before pursuing their respective paths.

begin cutting-edge research without the need for extensive training on the job. And if not applicable during the school year, this will better prepare students for summer positions where the application process is known to be lengthy and especially competitive for students with no prior lab experience or knowledge of procedures. A course introducing research and encouraging students to think critically would give those without a research background a fighting chance during the

application process, especially if they are able to take charge of their own research projects or produce a thesis at the end of it.

Previous experience or a fluffy resume is obviously not a surefire way to land the research position of your dreams, but having relevant experience is always helpful. Students can be discouraged when a research listing says “no previous experience required, but preferred,” and they are often passed over. Of course, reaching out to faculty directly and getting involved in a specific project is always an option, but students can only benefit from having experience as soon as possible. A course at Brown bridging the gap between students with and without research experience could be the first step toward equalizing students who come from different backgrounds and making them more competitive for research jobs and graduate programs.

Rachael Schmidt ’21 can be reached at rachael_schmidt@brown.edu.

Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and other op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.

A recipe for success in college AIDAN CALVELLI staff columnist First, brown one diced onion in butter in a large pot. Next, add about two pounds of chopped carrots, along with a tablespoon or two of minced ginger and a tablespoon of chopped fresh herbs such as parsley, tarragon or lemongrass. Saute until the onions are soft and the carrots are starting to pick up a hint of sweetness. Add just enough water or light vegetable stock to cover (and no more!), throw in a hearty palmful of salt and black pepper, then bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer until the carrots are fully cooked. Puree the soup (immersion blender or regular blender — whatever crumbles your cookie), stir in about a tablespoon of red wine vinegar or lemon juice and adjust seasoning.

Serve garnished with fresh herb salsa, and voila — you have yourself a smooth carrot-ginger soup.

Simple to prepare, pretty healthy, loaded with micronutrients and totally doable for a college student on a busy schedule and a tight budget. This right here is your recipe for success.

I hope you didn’t think this article was going to be a “recipe” in the sense of steps you can take to succeed in college. This is literally a recipe for carrot soup. Fortunately, though, this soup recipe yields benefits beyond flavor and nourishment; it illustrates how cooking — or, more broadly, doing what you love outside the classroom — is integral to getting the most out of your higher education experience.

College, despite all the freedom it’s said to provide, can be an all-consuming endeavor.

With no formal separation between work and life (we live where we work and vice versa!), it’s easy to feel like the endless pages of reading and

perpetual problem sets can (or should) fill every waking hour. To me, when schoolwork — or anything else, for that matter — becomes so ubiquitous, my productivity suffers, and, more importantly, the work becomes less enjoyable.

Tasks that hang over your head tend not to fill you with enthusiasm.

That’s why I think, banal as it may sound, that it’s crucial to continually engage in a hobby that takes you away from schoolwork. Some people might see this idea of me-time as a way to mitigate the stresses of college and take breaks to enjoy ourselves. However, I see it differently. To me, a major goal of the outside activity isn’t to

meaning and helps keep work in its rightfully limited space is great, but I think cooking has the most universal potential.

For one, cooking (or, at least, eating) is a necessary task. If you can imbue fun into your everyday tasks, you’ll be well positioned for a healthy daily perspective on life. It’s empowering to take something — meal prep — that can seem like a chore, and use it instead to build skills that are both useful and sources of pride.

Learning to cook while you’re in college helps in life beyond your undergraduate years, too.

What better time, with our unstructured schedules, to practice this skill that will make you a

This is literally a recipe for carrot soup. distract from school, but rather to infuse it with more purpose and enjoyment. Work and play here are complementary. I’ve found that when I can derive meaning from multiple facets of my life, I feel less distraught when one of those facets temporarily seems like a burden. Boring day of seminar? At least I had a good workout.

Undercooked pie crust? At least I got to learn about bird mating in class. Having those outlets helps me remember that schoolwork doesn’t need to consume my life; I can dislike a problem set without hating the entire academy, and the worth of my time here is greater than my grade on an essay.

Finding activities that give you those reminders is unfortunately easier said than done.

That’s why, to get back to the point of this article (soup), I’m here to suggest that cooking is the best one. Of course, anything that gives you

more attractive partner, a better dinner-party host or a praiseworthy parent?

Cooking also fosters traits helpful in college and in life. The process of making meals from scratch requires thoughtfulness and creativity.

It demands that you take the time to consider why you’re doing what you’re doing. It also shows how rewarding it is to refine your work until it’s exactly the way you want. Failing in the kitchen is a low-stress way to see how mistakes are opportunities for growth. (Burned the crust on your bread? Sounds like French toast, not failure!) And for all the humanities people out there, the kitchen can be a simple introduction to STEM, teaching the practical value of understanding physics and chemistry by applying it to the glorious act of eating.

Last but not least, cooking is an excellent way to forge community. From time imme-

morial, humans have come together over food, whether around a fire, in a mead hall or at a bistro. In college, it’s easy to rush for a quick coffee to catch up or to replace social interactions with doing work together. Cooking and sitting down for a meal with friends new and old inspires you to slow down, to focus on your food and your friendship; sharing the experience of eating is a way of sharing the experience of life. College is the last time we’ll be surrounded by this many potential friends, so I see any opportunity to bring people together as one worth taking — especially when it can involve a Balkan cucumber salad or maple-walnut pie.

So, if you feel like your work has become your life and you need a new outlet, consider putting down your pencil, picking up a chef ’s knife and getting to work chopping carrots.

Hopefully, this carrot-ginger soup will inspire you, as it did me, to see how much cooking adds to the college experience. But even if it doesn’t, and you still see cooking as a bore, making the soup will still have been worth it. Why? Because now you have soup you can eat whenever you want. And there’s not much better than that.

Aidan Calvelli ’19 is head chef at Maizie’s, where you can find this carrot-ginger soup and more vegetarian fare. To make a reservation or to leave a review of the recipe, please email aidan_calvelli@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and op-eds (or soup) to opinions@browndailyherald.com.

COMMENTARY FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2018 • PAGE 13

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

For global perspective, see the DailyChatter SARAH LESER

op-ed contributor Many of us want to stay up-to-date on the news. More than 250 Brown students take it one step further. They wake up to DailyChatter, a short newsletter that covers vitally important but under-covered events.

DailyChatter drops into inboxes at six o’clock every weekday morning. Its ambitious mission is to brief readers on “the world in two minutes.” Recent topics have included a rare meeting between two major opponents seeking to lead Libya, a crackdown on corrupt politicians in Malaysia and court convictions for the murder of an indigenous rights activist in Honduras.

DailyChatter is an independent and non-partisan newsletter, which for the past year, has been available and free for Brown students and faculty.

The DailyChatter’s news service team partnered with the Brown Journal of World Affairs to give students and faculty access to their subscription last semester. The Journal seeks to start seri-

ous academic discussions about pressing global issues. Its leaders believed that campus-wide access would allow students to contribute meaningfully to those discussions. In a few concise paragraphs, DailyChatter provides the essentials on all the topics it covers — necessary background information, news and analysis.

Fellow students and DailyChatter

on the Boston waterfront, he supervises a team of nine dedicated professionals who create DailyChatter’s original content.

DailyChatter fills an important gap in the market. It responds to a growing demand for clear and complete, yet accessible information. It is more comprehensive, not to mention more global than your Twitter feed or even

newsletter always ends with a globally-focused scientific “Discoveries” section, meant as a change of pace from more conventional news.

Front page news involving the United States and other major powers is, when warranted, featured in DailyChatter. Recently, it has not failed to include the G20 summit in Argentina, the conflict in Yemen, the unfolding

In a few concise, manageable paragraphs, DailyChatter provides the essentials on all the topics it covers — necessary background information, news elements and analysis. subscribers have found the newsletter a useful tool to learn about parts of the world that often escape mainstream media attention. The format of the newsletter is particularly convenient, allowing busy students to set aside a few minutes and learn something new.

The founder and co-executive editor of DailyChatter, Philip Balboni, is an international news enthusiast and entrepreneur who has spent the past 50 years working in print, television and digital journalism. From his office

the New York Times’ Morning briefing and The Wall Street Journal’s The 10-Point. There is no app to download and nothing to type into your search bar: DailyChatter is a truly low-effort endeavor for readers.

Each edition focuses on five different topics from around the world. The daily digest includes a “Need to know” section, a detailed yet pithy report on a noteworthy region. The same country is never featured two days in row, nor twice within the same week. The

of Brexit and protests in France. However, DailyChatter does not highlight American or European interests and viewpoints. It strives to remain fair — one of its core values.

The condensed nature of its 1,200word format must not, however, be misinterpreted for a lack of journalistic rigor. DailyChatter is written and edited by highly-experienced reporters. They collect information through a variety of reporting sources, but the newsletter publishes original work,

Balboni said.

While Balboni is based in Boston, the rest of the team is scattered around the globe. Some of the other members are based in vastly different places, ranging from Delhi, Berlin and Paris to Washington, D.C. Though many subscribers pay to receive DailyChatter, it is available for free at more than 36 universities around the United States. The company is able to fund its university initiative through grants from the Knight Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York, as well as through partnerships with media outlets such as the Boston Globe and individual subscriptions.

DailyChatter does not seek to usurp readership from traditional American media. However, a few minutes spent a day learning about issues affecting those whom we otherwise rarely read about is time well-spent.

Sarah Leser ’19 can be reached at sarah_leser@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and other op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.

Reflecting on leavetaking at Brown SOYOON KIM, ADDY SCHUETZ op-ed contributors The first Halloweekend of 2018, we — leavetaking coordinators at the Curricular Resource Center — traveled to Duke University to participate in the Returning Students Conference with Associate Deans of the College Peggy Chang and Mary Greineder. The conference brought together deans of student and academic affairs from across the country to discuss support and share resources for students returning from leaves of absence. As students ourselves, we were privileged to have the opportunity to share our stories with representatives from 30 different colleges and universities. Two undergrads among a sea of deans and college staff, we caught a glimpse of how student leavetaking experiences, philosophies, cultures and policies differ across campuses. Despite these differences, all these schools are coming to embrace a shared understanding of the importance of centering student voices — which will hopefully manifest in more opportunities for us to make leavetaking more accessible and less prohibitive here at Brown.

We write and reflect here to share how, behind the scenes, deans, staff and student advocates work to make managing and navigating university resources around leavetaking more accessible and transparent. We want to share our experience to demystify leavetaking for students and reiterate the fact that deans and students like us are here to provide support throughout the process — and that we’re here to encourage, rather than discourage, students to make the choices right for them.

At Brown, while taking a leave of absence is certainly not a norm, leavetaking is far from unheard of. According to our conversations with staff in the Dean of the College, an average of 200 undergraduates take time off from Brown every year, and reasons to take leave vary as widely as the human experience does. Students at Brown can take off for one semester, two, eight or even more than 50 years and still return to complete their degrees. For students at Brown, taking leave can be as simple as meeting with one of us,

talking with any Academic and Advising Dean or communicating with a Dean from the Office of Student Support Services to coordinate a plan of care before, during and after leave. Some students may plan their leaves several semesters in advance, incorporating a leave of absence into a clear and determined path. Others may take a leave unexpectedly right before or during the semester and have to navigate other complicating factors, which may include stigma, family support, family obligations, cultural values and expectations, citizenship status and varying definitions of success.

Taking a leave of absence is a prime example of charting one’s own education. Conceptions of

when she shared how she felt that the process of leave was never quite over even when she returned to campus. She described how we never really shed the time we’ve spent away, as it is inextricably part of who we are now. Though we may be considered “returned leavetakers,” we are as much molded by the time we have spent away from school, as we are being students at our respective institutions. Our audience at the conference treated the panel as a holding space — a challenging platform to recall difficult moments, but also a place to find healing by sharing experiences. Through these intimations, it almost felt as if we were participating in some collective uplift and validation of what we’d gone

Leavetaking can seem like an overwhelming process with lots of complicated policies to navigate on your own, but it doesn’t have to be. leavetaking as a legitimate option are shaped in part by being at place like Brown. The prestige of having been admitted to such an elite institution can compound the normative myth that college is a simple four-year journey. But the narratives and lived experiences of leavetakers, past and present, attest to the validity and power of these alternative paths. As Attayah Douglass ’18.5 shared in her Mid-Year Completion speech, she is proud of the ways in which her peers “are all reclaiming what it means to have a quintessential college experience.”

The challenges faced by students who take leave are not often well-understood by their peers. Near the conference’s close, we got a chance to speak on the “Student Voices” panel.

We shared our experiences upon returning and the general transition back to campus. When someone asks you how your semester — or year, three years, even more — away from Brown was, or why you took leave, or how it feels to be back, how are you supposed to respond? The answer has never been quite clear to us, but we did get a chance to respond on our panel.

Our moderator, a fellow student, put it best

through, albeit with the differences between our individual experiences.

As leavetaking coordinators, we work to motivate that kind of radical acceptance of our own personal journeys. This is the environment we seek to cultivate at the CRC. Leavetaking can seem like an overwhelming process with lots of complicated policies to navigate on your own, but it doesn’t have to be. At the end of the day, taking leave is about self-care and restoration — about coming to terms with yourself, what you need and how those around you can help. In this vein, we offer a range of services and support for students considering taking leave. We offer peer-advising open hours, provide online information clarifying all stages of the leavetaking process, compile resources for students to plan their time away, liaise between students and Brown administrative offices and create platforms for students to share their leavetaking stories — both in-person and through various media — to be shared with future generations of leavetakers.

As we disembarked from the plane and drove back to campus after the conference, a

swell of emotions overswept us. There are so many people, including college staff, who are doing significant work on behalf of students — who are advocating for us, making historically gated communities (like private universities) easier to maneuver. With them, we can build on this work together to aspire and manifest the changes we seek. Leavetaking at Brown is still far from perfect, so we’re still looking ahead to fill the gaps. We’ve been in conversation with the Undergraduate Council of Students Wellness committee to introduce a care-package program to forge stronger bonds between current undergrads and leavetakers, and are currently working to waive the $70 re-admission fee that is not widely advertised for returning students.

Above all else, this conference gave us an opportunity to look back to our experiences as leavetakers ourselves, remember the feelings that led up to our decisions to take a break from Brown and dig back into how we took care of ourselves in the ways we knew best at the time.

In the work we do today, we’re glad that we can intentionally empathize with our peers and do what sometimes goes ignored in building relationships and forging human connections: Just be there for each other. It’s the least we can do — and we’re glad that we can do it together.

Soyoon Kim ’19 can be reached at soyoon_kim@brown.edu. She’s working through it, as we all are. Addy Schuetz ’19.5 can be reached at addy_schuetz@ brown.edu. They believe that time, love and stories are the most valuable things we have. As leavetaking coordinators at the Curricular Resource Center, Soyoon and Addy can be reached at leavetakers@gmail.com. Soyoon and Addy want to extend a special thanks to Dean Chang and Dean Greineder from Brown for their unfaltering love and support, and Duke University’s Dean Sabrina Thomas and the Office of Student Returns Ambassadors there for their hospitality, generosity and care.

COMMENTARY PAGE 14 • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2018

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

EDITORIAL

Editors’ Note

Comment on proposed Title IX changes

The 128th Editorial Board published its final issue of the semester today, which marks our last issue as an editorial board. The Herald will continue to publish breaking news and updates online during finals and over winter break. The paper will resume publishing for the spring semester Jan. 23 under the 129th Editorial Board. Thank you for reading.

Editor’s Notes are written by The Herald’s 128th Editorial Board: Elena Renken ’19, Kasturi Pananjady ’19, Alex Skidmore ’19, Madison Rivlin ’19, Ben Shumate ’19 and Hattie Xu ’19.

STAY UP-TO-DATE. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK. FACEBOOK.COM/BROWNDAILYHERALD

In a Nov. 16 press release, the U.S. Department of Education proposed significant modifications to its existing Title IX regulations, the set of rules prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex in educational programs that receive federal financial support. These proposed regulatory amendments come over 14 months after the Department of Education unveiled interim Title IX guidance that rolled back 2011 guidelines issued by the Obama administration, though those interim changes did not immediately affect the University’s Title IX policies.

Procedures for modifying government policy often seem like impenetrable technobabble, but we cannot overstate how much the fate of federal action on Title IX will affect the dayto-day lives and welfare of all members of the Brown community — students, faculty and staff alike. The DOE has afforded 60 days for public comment on its proposals, and the University has committed to soliciting feedback as part of its review of those new rules. In a community-wide email sent Nov. 16, President Christina Paxson P ’19 wrote that the University “anticipate(s) making comments — alone and/or with peer institutions — on any aspects of the regulations that might make our processes less fair and effective, or hinder our ability to support Brown community members who have experienced sexual harassment or assault.” In these 60 days, students at Brown have a vital opportunity to influence the trajectory of federal education policy, the implementation of Title IX policies on campus and civil rights outcomes on College Hill.

At a town hall held Thursday evening, students raised concerns about the ways in which the DOE’s proposed rule changes will affect the execution of Title IX policies across several dimensions. As The Herald previously reported, the rules will permit universities to

Find us online! facebook.com/browndailyherald

browndailyherald.com

Location: 195 Angell St., Providence, R.I. www.browndailyherald.com

@the_herald

@browndailyherald

youtube.com/browndailyherald

Editorial Leadership

Sections

Multimedia & Production

Business

Editors-in-Chief Elena Renken Kasturi Pananjady

Arts & Culture Editors Ethel Renia

Design Editors Kyle Cui Eduard Muñoz-Suñé Assistants: Julie Wang, Kelvin Yang

General Managers Michael Borrello Matilda Lynton

Managing Editor Alex Skidmore

Metro Editors Emily Davies Isabel Gensler

Senior Editors Madison Rivlin Hattie Xu Ben Shumate

News Editors Eduard Muñoz-Suñé Priyanka Podugu Sarah Wang

Editorial Page Editor Anuj Krishnamurthy

Science & Research Editors Jonathan Douglas Jackson Wells

POST- MAGAZINE Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Osborne

Sports Editors Alexandra Russell James Schapiro COMMENTARY Opinions Editors Connor Cardoso Anuj Krishnamurthy Clare Steinman Emily Miller

Photo Editors Sam Berube Anita Sheih Copy Desk Chief Kelley Tackett Illustrations Editor Daphne Zhao Video Editor Celia Hack Graphics Editors Marlis Flinn Sarah Martinez Web Director Rahul jayaraman

use a “clear and convincing” standard of evidence — a higher bar than the “preponderance of evidence” standard allowed by the previous administration — when adjudicating cases of sexual assault. Further, the proposal will “adopt a clear definition of sexual harassment” and restrict universities’ ability to intervene only when alleged violations occur in their own “education program(s) or activities,” per the factsheet published by the DOE. Under these new rules, the DOE will also compel universities to presume innocence for the duration of the adjudication process, refrain from employing a single-investigator model and permit live hearings and cross-examinations of survivors.

Several national organizations and prominent individuals have criticized the DOE’s proposal. The American Civil Liberties Union stated that the rules would promote “an unfair process, inappropriately favoring the accused.” Janet Napolitano, former secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, wrote in a Washington Post op-ed that, in proposing its new rules, the DOE “is mistaken.”

As the University works to craft an institutional response to the changes, Rene Davis, the University’s Title IX program officer, said that the administration will “consult with constituents across campus to review the guidance proposed and take in initial feedback.”

The review process will include open forums and an electronic comment box that will be made available to students soon. At Thursday’s town hall, Davis recommended that students, in addition to attending town halls and submitting comments electronically to the University, also visit the Federal Register and submit their comments to the DOE directly. We urge students to take full advantage of these avenues for feedback. While the 60-day comment period coincides with winter break — unideal circumstances for generating

Office Manager Diane Silvia Directors Sales: Shreya Raghunandan Finance: Ravi Betzig Strategy: Edwin Farley

widespread public engagement — the cost of complacence, indifference and inaction is too high. According to its Annual Outcome Report, the University Office of Title IX and Gender Equity received 59 reports of sexual misconduct for the 2016-2017 school year.

Across the country, the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, an antisexual violence organization, finds that 11.2 percent of students (and 23.1 percent of female undergraduates) experience some kind of sexual violence.

We hope that, in the coming days, the University’s electronic comment form will be introduced and distributed widely. We also hope that the dates of future community forums, where the implications of the DOE’s revised Title IX guidance can be discussed, will be fixed soon and heavily publicized by the University. And we hope that students are able to set aside just a few minutes of their day, in this hectic season of finals and holidays, to provide feedback. The federal government will only accept comments until Jan. 28, 2019, which gives students around the nation just 52 days to express their views. But, altogether, every comment submitted, every voice raised and town hall attended, can make a difference in the process of amending existing Title IX policy — in the effort to make sure that all students at American universities are treated with equal dignity under the law.

Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board: Anuj Krishnamurthy ’19, Rhaime Kim ’20, Grace Layer ’20, Mark Liang ’19 and Krista Stapleford ’21.

Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.

Editorial contact: 401-351-3372 herald@browndailyherald.com

Advertising contact: 401-351-3372 advertising@browndailyherald.com

Submissions: The Brown Daily Herald publishes submissions in the form of op-eds and letters to the editor. Op-eds are typically between 750 and 1000 words, though we will consider submissions between 500 and 1200 words.

Letters to the editor should be around 250 words. While letters to the editor respond to an article or column that has appeared in The Herald, op-eds usually prompt new discussions on campus or frame new arguments about current discourse.

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

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

You can submit op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com and letters to letters@browndailyherald.com. When you email your submission, please include (1) your full name, (2) an evening or mobile phone number in case your submission is chosen for publication and (3) any affiliation with Brown University or any institution or organization relevant to the content of your submission.

Please send in submissions at least 24 hours in advance of your desired publication date. The Herald only publishes submissions while it is in print. The Herald reserves the right to edit all submissions. If your piece is considered for publication, an editor will contact you to discuss potential changes to your submission.

Commentary: The editorial is the majority opinion of the editorial page board of The Brown Daily Herald. The editorial viewpoint does not necessarily reflect the views of The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Columns, letters and comics reflect the opinions of their authors only.

Corrections: The Brown Daily Herald is committed to providing the Brown University community with the most accurate information possible. Corrections may be submitted up to seven calendar days after publication.

Advertising: The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. reserves the right to accept or decline any advertisement at its discretion.

The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. is a financially independent, nonprofit media organization bringing you The Brown Daily Herald, BlogDailyHerald and Post- Magazine. The Brown Daily Herald has served the Brown University community daily since 1891. It is published Monday through Friday during the academic year, excluding vacations, once during Commencement and once during Orientation by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. Single copy free for each member of the community. Subscription prices: $200 one year daily, $100 one semester daily.

Copyright 2018 by The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.

Periodicals postage paid at Providence, R.I. Postmaster: Please send corrections to P.O. Box 2538, Providence, RI 02906.

NEWS

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2018 • PAGE 15

Exhibition explores how Asian identity intersects with life experiences RISD exhibit features works from Asian/ American, Pacific Islander/American artists

By EMILY TENG CONTRIBUTING WRITER

“He remembers those vanished years.

As though looking through a dusty windowpane, the past is something he could see, but not touch. And everything he sees is blurred and indistinct.”

This quote from the 2000 film “In the Mood for Love” by director Wong Kar-wai serves as a common thread in the latest exhibition of the same name, which opened at the Rhode Island School of Design Gelman Student Exhibitions Gallery Nov. 29. As if sweeping the dust off the windowpanes, curators of the exhibition, RISD seniors Christine Cho, Emi Chun and Zak Nguyen, presented a show that featured works by Asian/American and Pacific Islander/American identifying artists, which shed light on the collective memories of their multiple identities.

Growing up with varying backgrounds, the curators recognized the diversity within Asian populations.

They further acknowledged the “carelessness” of the term “pan-Asia,” Cho said. Nguyen said that the show is not solely about Asian identity, but also “how that interacts with other identities.”

When selecting art for the show, the curators sought to include a wide spectrum of artists. “Someone who is queer and Asian has an equally important voice as somebody who is disabled and Asian or someone who was adopted,” Nguyen said.

As co-presidents of the RISD Asian Intersection + Diaspora, the three curators purposed the exhibition as a representation of their existences that have otherwise been “flattened” by the surrounding spaces, Chun said. In an

effort to highlight the varying ways Asian identity is experienced, Chun said that their intent was to provide “a space within those intersections to exist,” and to “find that moment of safety in between all those intersections where we can have different conversations that are relevant to our existence here in RISD and the diaspora of living in this country.”

Although unique in their experiences and backgrounds, each artist generated work that converses with other exhibited work, Nguyen said.

“One of the most important lines in our statement was the fact that even though the artists may not even know it, we’ve always been in conversation with each other in one way or another,” Chun said.

Among the featured pieces is an animation created by RISD senior Xiner Jiang, which depicts a woman whose features seem distorted and restructured with each change in frame.

Right across from the video is a series of three photographs taken by Jono Cheong, also a RISD senior, featuring a cowboy with a powdered white face and red blush. Both works similarly challenge Western beauty standards.

When visiting the exhibition, there are “themes you begin to see … you can begin to notice overlaps,” Cho said.

Artists grappled with themes including conflicting standards of beauty and cis-heteronormativity, traversing of multiple realities, burdens of family expectations and renewed memory of intergenerational traumas. The conversations exchanged in the artworks “reaffirm that our experiences were real, not skewed by our insecurities,” Cho said. “We’re in a space where the artists are thinking similar ideas. It becomes a moment of collective memory.”

While providing a space that allows the artists’ voices to be expressed authentically, the curators acknowledged that the efforts of vocalizing Asian/American and Pacific Islander/ American identities do not stop in

COURTESY OF KENNETH ZIRKEL

The exhibition at RISD’s Gelman Student Exhibitions Gallery, titled “In the Mood for Love” after the 2000 film of the same name, features multimedia works from animation to photography. the gallery. When talking about the omens” between Wong Kar-wai’s film to challenge our community, not only inspiration behind choosing the title and the Asian/American community thinking about what solidarity looks “In the Mood for Love,” Cho said that at RISD. “It is not enough just to have like within the Asian/AAPI commuwhen she was curating, she discovered this show and benefit from it and nity, but also with other (people of “so many more rich connections and move on. We have to really continue color),” she added.

NEWS

PAGE 16 • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2018

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD