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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021
VOLUME CLVI, ISSUE 8
UNIVERSITY NEWS
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UNIVERSITY NEWS
1990s ‘rape list’ incited The life of Brown’s first female applicant Despite ‘remarkable’ campus reckoning application, life, career, Taking matters into their own hands, students called out campus predators BY CAELYN PENDER UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR In October 1990, a list of names appeared on the bathroom walls of the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library. With growing concerns about the University’s inaction on sexual assault — Brown had been consistently unresponsive to criticisms about how it handled sexual assault allegations — women took matters into their own hands. The walls soon were covered with writing: not only the names of men who were alleged rapists, but also phone numbers for the Rhode Island Rape Crisis Center, lists of resources for victims of sexual assault and messages of encouragement and empowerment for women. Women wrote on the walls of the bathroom for a variety of reasons, said Jenn David-Lang ’91, whose work on
sexual assault brought her to the forefront of the campus conversation at the time. Some women had previously gone to the University with reports of sexual assault but had their concerns ignored. By writing on the bathroom wall, some wanted to warn their peers about specific men, while others wanted to connect with victims of the same perpetrator by leaving phone numbers. Some felt it was the only place they could tell the truth, and others did it because they felt powerless to do anything else. And in a time before social media or the internet, “the wall was the medium to have this conversation,” David-Lang said. “In some ways, calling it a ‘rape list’ is a bit of a misnomer … It really was much more of a conversation and dialogue.” “If we don’t start taking care of each other, no one will,” one woman wrote on the wall. By November, Brown’s “rape list” had made national headlines. A culture of tacit acceptance Before she left for Brown in 1987,
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Annie Smith Peck was rejected in 1874 BY BENJAMIN POLLARD METRO EDITOR When Annie Smith Peck submitted her application to the University in 1874 — the first woman to do so — she received a curt response from President Ezekiel Robinson. “Women are not encouraged to seek higher education,” he wrote, according to Peck’s biographer Hannah Kimberley. Later writing about her application to the University in her personal notes, Peck said she thought she had “made out so good a case so as to move their stony hearts,” according to Kimberly. Applying to Brown and educational career Coming from a line of Brunonians based in Providence — her father, a Rhode Island legislator and owner of a coal yard, went to Brown, as did her three brothers and uncle — she decided “pretty early on that she wanted to have” the education that all of the
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R.I. relaxes COVID-19 business restrictions Indoor dining capacity will increase to 75 percent for restaurants, bars, gyms, retail stores
men in her family had. According to John Hay Library Archivist Jennifer Betts, the reason for her rejection was clear. Peck “thought Brown should accept women” but was “turned down because of her gender.” “There were barriers put in front of women’s access to education at Brown and everywhere across the nation at the time,” said Mary Murphy, the Nancy L. Buc ’65 Pembroke Center archivist. “There were … kinds of stepping stones to access that education,” she added. Even when women achieved higher education, they often faced sharp opposition within academic institutions and society at large. The main source of the weariness around women’s higher education stemmed from “Sex in Education,” a book written in 1873 by Edward Clarke, a Harvard professor and member of the Massachusetts Medical Society, Kimberley said. The book argued that women who pursued an education were committing a “slow suicide” because they were directing energy to their brain which siphoned energy from their reproductive system, leading to potential infertility. While Kimberley doubts whether Peck’s parents believed Clarke’s book, she said they were likely influenced by this kind of thinking and refused
ship. Retail stores, gyms and personal services’ capacity will double, going from one person per 100 square feet to one person per 50 square feet. During the briefing, the governor expressed support for farmers, garden shops and local businesses in these difficult times. Director of the Rhode Island Department of Health Nicole Alexander-Scott said in the press briefing that the state is headed in the right direction and that
the goal is to maintain a similar trend after lifting business restrictions. “Our data picture for Rhode Island continues to be a good one,” Alexander-Scott said. “Our statewide positivity rate hovers around two percent as it has for the last month.” She added that hospitalizations and fatalities among the older population have dropped significantly, but reminded the public
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Commentary
Class-action lawsuit against Brown on spring 2020 tuition dismissed, no refund on tuition warranted. Page 2
Meghan interview with Oprah Winfrey reveals racism in royal family, struggles with depression. Page 4
Editorial Page Board: UCS need not be so complicated, should streamline system, focus on advocacy. Page 6
VICTORIA YIN / HERALD
The change in restrictions won’t have a significant impact on Wickenden Pub’s operations, owner Kenneth Loft said.
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Students help mutual aid groups during pandemic
BY JACK WALKER SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Just ten days into his term, Gov. Dan McKee announced an “incremental advancement” plan to lift COVID-19 restrictions on businesses at a March 12 press briefing. The governor emphasized the importance of discipline and adherence to public health guidelines in safely opening the economy. “We really need to have strong adherence to the protocols,” McKee said at the press briefing. Starting the day McKee made the announcement, indoor dining distancing requirements shifted from eight feet to six feet and bars were able to close at midnight, an hour later than before, under certain circumstances. Outdoor shopping capacity limits were also stripped away. On March 19, indoor dining capacity will increase to 75 percent for restaurants, catered events and places of wor-
to let Peck apply to universities. But after Peck refused to marry unless she was permitted to receive an education, her parents relented. This was one in a series of examples of Peck’s “stick-to-itiveness,” according to Kimberley. When Peck “set her mind on something, she just didn’t stop, and if someone told her no, that
UNIVERSITY NEWS
At home, close to campus, students lend a hand to local mutual aid organizations
BY VICTORIA YIN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
COURTESY OF THE HERALD
When Peck “set her mind on something, she just didn’t stop,” Hannah Kimberley said.
From the onset of the pandemic, communities across the country have navigated financial crises alongside unprecedented public health concerns. The Providence community is no exception and has depended on the work of direct outreach and mutual aid funds to stay afloat, with local activists using their own resources to support community members. Many Brown students have pursued their own efforts in raising mutual aid funds to benefit the greater Providence community as well as their hometowns. Throughout the pandemic, Aida Sherif ’22 has been involved in “one-off mutual aid funds,” working with community members to organize fundraising. Most recently, she
worked with a teacher in Central Falls, R.I. to create a GoFundMe page and raise money for the holiday celebrations of local families in need. “To me, the point of mutual aid is collective efforts to support each other within a community,” she said. “Part of that is recognizing that those larger systems (of governmental aid and charity) that are supposed to support our communities (sometimes) fail to do that.” Oftentimes, students think “we don’t have to care about the communities that are right next to us,” Sherif said. “But that’s not true, and to me the systems that create disadvantages for the people around us” are not separate from our presence on College Hill. She also emphasized that transparency around the allocation of money plays a crucial role in mutual aid. This makes “people more inclined to contribute” because they “know where the money is going” and can better “remember that our contributions impact real people.”
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
Friday, March 19, 2021
UNIVERSITY NEWS
No refund on spring 2020 University tuition, federal court rules One claim remains in class-action suit surrounding fee refunds from spring 2020 BY WILL KUBSANSKY SENIOR STAFF WRITER University students do not have the right to a tuition refund from the spring semester of 2020, a federal court in Rhode Island ruled earlier this month. Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. ’80, who sits on the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, ruled in favor of the University’s motion to dismiss a class-action lawsuit filed by students at Brown and three other Rhode Island universities — Johnson and Wales University, the University of Rhode Island and Roger Williams University. The plaintiffs claimed that the University’s sudden shift to online classes amidst the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a breach of contract, a breach of implied contract, unjust enrichment and conversion — the deprival of personal property from an owner without
PECK FROM PAGE 1 was just a signal to push harder.” Having already received her teaching certificate from Rhode Island College, at that time known as Rhode Island State Normal School, by the time she applied to Brown, she instead “looked west and realized that the University of Michigan (had) just opened its doors to women,” Kimberley said. Peck received an undergraduate and a master’s degree in Classics from the University of Michigan before becoming the first woman to attend the American School of Classical Studies in Athens where she studied archeology, teaching high school intermittently throughout her education. It was in Europe where she found a passion for climbing. After her time in Greece, Peck returned to the United States where she was a professor at Smith College and Purdue University for 11 years. Realizing that female teachers made less money than their male counterparts, she decided to quit teaching in 1892 to work on the lecture circuit, giving lectures on Greek antiquity which financed her climbing expeditions in Europe and Central and South America. She took
AID FROM PAGE 1 For Sherif, utilizing social media has been integral to finding and sharing information regarding mutual aid efforts, given current restrictions on in-person interactions. Though it’s difficult to quantify success in mutual aid efforts, Sherif reiterated that she feels responsible as a Brown student to “try to support the communities around” her. Harshini Venkatachalam ’23 has also relied on social media to find and spread awareness about fundraising and mutual aid efforts during the pandemic while studying remotely from her home state of Arizona. “I think that (giving) is important because, especially in the time of the pandemic, it’s been really clear that the government and the state doesn’t really support communities in the best way,” she said. Venkatachalam has found ways to
consent —, which would merit a tuition refund, The Herald previously reported. “Brown has continued to provide a world-class education under extreme and unprecedented circumstances,” wrote University Spokesperson Brian Clark in an email to The Herald. “We’re pleased that the court’s decision reflects this reality and emphasizes the University’s efforts in the context of the unique nature of the pandemic.” The three plaintiffs from Brown, Hyun Choi ’21, Anna House ’20 and Amy Pham ’23, all declined to comment. The University, in its motion to dismiss filed last September, claimed that the plaintiffs did not identify any contractual language requiring the University to provide “in-person, on-campus instruction.” Instead, the motion claimed the University agrees to provide up to five courses and credits towards a degree, with no condition stipulating the mode of instruction. McConnell largely sided with the University’s case, writing in his decision that the plaintiffs failed to “identify any contractual terms” that obligated Brown, or any of the other three schools served, to “provide in-person,
or on-campus instruction.” He added that the University’s “usual and customary practices” of in-person, on-campus education did not create a contractual obligation, implied or explicit, for in-person learning — and that one can “reasonably infer” that universities reserve their rights for situations as unexpected as pandemics. “The COVID-19 global health emergency … has not changed the core value of a Brown education,” Clark wrote. “Faculty and staff have undertaken extraordinary efforts to deliver courses remotely and to support students, and students
have continued to earn academic credit toward completion of their degrees.” The plaintiffs cited promotional material from the University — the University’s “classic New England College experience,” “dorm common rooms” and “community of world-class scholars” — as evidence of an implied contract. But McConnell determined that those advertisements were subjective and not meant to be taken literally. He additionally dismissed the claims of unjust enrichment and conversion, noting that the exchange of tuition for courses and credit was not “unjust,” nor
The plaintiffs did not cite evidence showing a contractual agreement for the University to provide in-person instruction, the judge wrote.
did it give students any “possessory rights” to “specific university facilities.” McConnell did not dismiss allegations that the University breached a contract with students in failing to provide full refunds for “recreation, housing and meal plan payments.” The plaintiffs criticized the room and board fee return procedure that provided credits or refunds for 50 percent of students’ fees, adjusted for parental contribution, as well as the lack of refunds for other fees. The court established deadlines for discovery for the “plaintiffs’ claims to partial refund of certain fees,” the University noted in a press release. “We are proceeding to pursue the claims the judge left alive,” Steve Berman, the managing partner of Hagens Berman, the firm representing the University students who filed the lawsuit, told The Herald. The firm is also representing students from at least 14 other schools — including Harvard University — in similar lawsuits. If the plaintiffs choose to appeal the case’s final ruling, it would then land in the jurisdiction of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, located in Boston.
summers off from lecturing to climb the White Mountains in New Hampshire, Kimberley said. As Peck began her career as a mountaineer, Brown — the school that rejected Peck because of her gender — was reaching new heights under the leadership of President Elisha Benjamin Andrews, a friend of Peck’s brother who frequently corresponded with Peck and financed her expeditions. According to Kimberley, Bennie, as Peck referred to him in letters, along with Sarah Doyle, Peck’s high school teacher and an enormous influence for the young mountaineer, founded a women’s college connected to Brown in 1891 that would later be named Pembroke College.
she once again gained recognition for reaching the top of Peru’s Mount Coropuna where she planted a banner reading “Votes for Women.”
Mountaineering career and fame Following several years on the lecture circuit, Peck returned to Europe in 1895 to climb the Matterhorn, a feat she only half-completed in 1885 because she did not have $50 to hire a guide when she was studying as a student in Athens, Kimberley said. She gained immediate international fame after her ascent of the Matterhorn, not because she was the first woman to climb the mountain (there had been
women before her) but because she did it wearing pants. “That becomes a big deal in the press, because at the time women (were) not wearing pants,” Kimberley said. “Some women are getting arrested for wearing pants in public — it was called an affront to men’s attire.” After her infamous Matterhorn ascent, Peck switched from giving lectures on antiquity to talking about climbing, which drew greater crowds, according to Kimberley. She also wrote about her travels, publishing four books throughout her life. This newfound notoriety led her to aspire to greater heights, setting her sights on a mountain no woman had climbed. Peck’s ambition led her to Mount Popocatépetl and Mount Orizaba in Mexico in 1897, two years after climbing the Matterhorn, where she achieved the altitude record for women at the latter. The next logical step for Peck was to go where no one else — man or woman — had ever gone before, “setting her sights on Mount Huascarán” in Peru, “believed to be the highest peak in the Western world,” Kimberley said. After failing multiple times to reach the summit, Peck reached the top in 1908 at the age of 58. Three years later, at the age of 61,
Politics, women’s rights and Peck’s legacy “She was quite political. She was a suffragist,” Kimberley said, adding that Peck was also the president of the Joan of Arc Suffrage League in New York. Peck’s political influence also extended to national politics, where “different politicians would hire her to campaign for them” given her oratory skills, according to Kimberley. One such politician was Woodrow Wilson, whom Peck campaigned for in 1912, she added. The mountaineer, educator and suffragist was so “well known” that she was “comfortable going to the White House, walking up to the gates and saying, ‘I think President Roosevelt would like to meet me,’ and the attendant would say, ‘Yes, I think he would too. Can you come back on Monday?’” Kimberley said. Her oratory skills captivated crowds when she gave political speeches. “When she (spoke), people (were) in awe of her … she (had) a wicked sense of dry humor,” Kimberley added.
Peck was “very much ahead of her time,” Betts said, referring to the many careers she held throughout her life. “She was a remarkable woman.” Despite Peck’s professional success, “she was always broke,” Kimberley said, “but she was always working, and she never stopped really.” Throughout her life Peck maintained financial independence, never marrying. Toward the end of her life, Peck decided she wanted to go back to Athens, reaching the top of the Acropolis in what would be her last climb. While in Greece, she became ill and cut her trip short, returning to New York City where she died on July 18, 1935 at the age of 84. In her obituary, The New York Times quoted the magazine Athenaeum, which wrote of Peck: “She has done all that a man could, if not more. She had sagacity, and with it, ‘nerve’ and ‘grit.’” Following her death, Peck was buried in the North Burial Ground in Providence alongside her family, where she remains. On her grave is an inscription from a tribute by New York Times Editor-in-Chief John H. Finley, given to Peck on her 80th birthday. Etched into stone it reads, “You have brought
support community members in her hometown thanks to the social media activism of others, leading her to donate to food drives and community fridges. Mutual aid becomes more powerful “when it’s delivered with a message,” said Samy Amkieh ’21.5. For example, some efforts from community members combine a “mutual aid element with political education,” or information on tenants’ rights, social organizing and community budgeting, he said. “Most of the time, the reason why there’s a need for mutual aid in the first place is because the folks that are representing us at all levels of government are doing a relatively poor job of keeping people healthy and financially stable,” Amkieh said. But, according to Amkieh, not all forms of student activism constitute mutual aid. “The way that Brown students throw mutual aid around is usually not entirely correct or accurate,” he said. Whereas Amkieh said traditional
charity is a redistribution of wealth from the wealthy, “true mutual aid is just people of similar or equal means helping each other out.” Charity itself is not bad, but “it’s just unfortunate” that individuals opting to support others financially through charity or mutual aid is “the only sort of safety net we have in this country,” Amkieh said. The origins of mutual aid funds lie in immigrant communities and communities of color. For example, Korean-American immigrants have historically depended on support from other community members in ethnic enclaves across the United States, using loans from community-driven “rotating credit unions” for start-up entrepreneurship. Individuals in immigrant communities across the United States “pool their money (and) resources together and actually loan amongst each other,” Jennifer Nazareno, assistant professor of behavioral and social sciences, said.
“Rotating credit unions have been a way to not have to deal with bureaucratic institutions and also the overhead costs” that come with them, she added. “It’s a faster way to support each other fiscally.” But rotating credit unions’ role in mutual aid for immigrant communities is also rooted in the discrimination and challenges they face upon arriving in the United States, she added. “Sometimes immigrants come here and, even though they have academic degrees, they are unable to access those same jobs because maybe their education or their diploma isn’t recognized here,” Nazareno said. For these immigrants, “thinking of ways to be entrepreneurial” is not just necessary “for socioeconomic mobility, but to survive in a new country where they don’t have access to the mainstream labor market.” Mutual aid is still present today in immigrant communities and ethnic enclaves across the United States. “It has
persisted ... like we see in Little Italy in Rhode Island and we see in Chinatowns throughout different parts of the country,” Nazareno said. “A lot of students at Brown come from families (that) started businesses as immigrants,” and it is important to make sure that their history is “highlighted as well as celebrated.” With the rise of anti-Asian sentiments and hate crimes against Asians and Asian-Americans during the pandemic, community-based support has also “become a safety measure” for Asian-Americans, she said. Ethnic enclaves have created space where “the community (rallies) together,” and where “mutual support happens.” “Even when something terrible happens, the community comes together,” Nazareno said. “It’s communal, it’s not individualistic … these communities have shown how they’re still very much supportive of one another.” — With additional reporting by Rebecca Carcieri
MUKUL KHANNA / HERALD
Friday, March 19, 2021
LIST FROM PAGE 1 David-Lang’s cousin warned her about date rape. David-Lang responded by asking, “What is that?” Conversations around rape were very different in the 1980s and ‘90s, David-Lang said. Not only was marital rape legal in Rhode Island up until the ‘80s, but “even the term date rape was not known,” she added. Lack of vocabulary limited discussions about sexual assault on campus. “I’m not sure how well known (sexual assault on campus) really was,” David-Lang said. “When you don’t have a term for something, people don’t talk about it as much.” She served on a subcommittee made up of students and faculty on the Undergraduate Council of Students that was part of the disciplinary process for those who broke the student code of conduct. At the time, these offenses were split into two categories: major offenses and minor offenses. A major offense was anything that caused major harm or showed “flagrant disrespect for the well-being of others,” David-Lang explained. But sexual assault was never named in the student code of conduct. “Whenever anybody went through the discipline process to deal with that sexual assault, it was often pushed off as a minor offense, or … the woman was encouraged not to report it at all and to deal with it in some other way,” David-Lang said. “It was so highly problematic on many levels.” The process for reporting sexual assault required a written complaint followed by an investigation, but “it was not very clear,” David-Lang said. Women were not told their rights, and the Office of Student Life didn’t even seem to know how the process worked. Sometimes women were given incorrect information about what avenues to pursue justice they had. Women who did try to report assault were often brushed off by deans or the Office of Student Life, whose staff had never received any form of sensitivity training. The women, David-Lang said, were met with a plethora of excuses for why they had been assaulted: “There was alcohol involved,” an administrator might have said. “Neither of you knew what you were doing.” “You just had different expectations than he did.” “It was your boyfriend. Sometimes he forced you and sometimes he didn’t. You can’t have it both ways.” When a woman did succeed in filing a sexual assault claim, any penalties incurred by the perpetrators did not match the severity of the crime. Often, the men would just have to write an apology letter, and other times, a dean would have “a father-son talk” or lead a mediation session, David-Lang said. Sometimes, the assault was instead tried as an “alcohol offense.” One woman’s perpetrators, who admitted to sexual assault, just had to run extra laps at football practice. Another woman who was talked into a mediation session instead of a formal complaint to the Disciplinary Review Board got nothing but an apology letter after being forced to face her rapist
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS without an advocate. “The letter was an apology for a bad breakup, not a letter about sexual assault at all,” she said in a December 1990 article in The Herald. She also described inappropriate comments from the deans leading the mediation, who lauded her rapist as a “responsible young gentleman.” The incident was never put into the perpetrator’s file. To another survivor, the same dean said, “Boys will be boys, and it’s early in the year. They don’t know the rules yet.” Rape list sends shockwaves through campus Frustration over the state of sexual assault on campus began to grow in April 1990 after the sexual assault cases of two students were “handled poorly by the University,” David-Lang said. Women began presenting proposals to administrators of how sexual assault cases should be handled that month. Their suggestions included standardizing the complaint process for sexual assault and creating both a brochure of complaint options and a student-created booklet presenting the perspectives of survivors. The University convened a panel after these cases to begin discussions of how to better handle sexual assault on campus. In one panel meeting in September 1990, members discussed the implementation of Campus Incident Complaint Forms and improved training of sexual assault advocates. “Women had no idea how the disciplinary system worked,” David-Lang, who was part of the panel, said in a September 1990 article in The Herald. “They were not able to make an informed choice about whether or not to press charges. And there are few people out there trained and sensitive in sexual assault areas.” Panel members also mentioned a goal of listing sexual assault as its own offense in the student code of conduct, but others believed that such a policy change would not be accepted by the University general counsel. Women were unsatisfied by the results of the panel. The rape list was born from months of frustration. Though no one knows exactly who started it, many women began to add their contributions to the list. “They would have preferred to go through the proper channels to bring a complaint of sexual assault,” David-Lang said. “This was sort of a last resort when women were not being taken seriously by the Brown disciplinary system.” Though the graffiti was not limited to the names of perpetrators, the names were what the University found to be the most scandalous. “The administration did become deeply concerned about the men on the list,” David-Lang said, as did men who found their names on the list or feared that they might. They were all sent letters from a dean, who offered them the option of filing a complaint. Several men did file complaints with the University, but since the creators of the list were anonymous, there was not much that could be done. Many of the men who found their names on the list felt it was a “faceless indictment,” according to a November 1990 article in The Herald. Several pro-
fessed they had done “a confused thing” while drunk or had a relationship gone wrong, while others found themselves on the list completely by surprise and maintained their innocence. “From now on when I meet a woman for the first time and she learns my name, I’ll look at her closely (to see if she recognizes my name from the list),” one man said. “I know the woman who wrote it, and she’s a very vindictive and unstable person,” said another. Other men created a counter-list of women who needed to be raped. The University began to paint over the list in dark brown, but women copied down its contents in their notebooks so they could replicate it the next day. It moved several times, appearing in the first floor bathroom of the former dining hall the Gate, Alumnae Hall, the Level A women’s bathroom in the Sciences Library and the basement bathroom of Pembroke Hall.
Forced to hold a discussion several weeks earlier than planned, University officials gathered with about 350 students on a Thursday night. A sea of women dressed in red filled the audience, holding signs with phrases male students and administrators had said to them about sexual assault: “You can’t have it both ways.” “The men you accused said security coerced them into making that confession. I believe them.” “People who were drinking put themselves in a dangerous situation.” One survivor told her story of being assaulted two years prior. After she reported the incident, a dean said, “I think this can be all boiled down to a case of bad chemistry.” At the forum, the dean denied making the statement, so the woman stood and yelled: “Dean (David) Inman, you said that to me two years ago.” A New York Times reporter sat in the audience of the forum, and the next
3 “He sensationalized it,” David-Lang said. But the women really wanted to go on national television to “help popularize the idea that it doesn’t matter if you know your perpetrator, but ‘No’ means no … That was a radical idea back then.” Donahue asked the women questions about sexual assault on campus and the behavior of college men. “Finally, the administration starts to worry about whether men’s rights are being infringed upon, so now they start dealing with the issue of sexual assault,” David-Lang said on the show. “It’s a little ironic, but I think we’re thankful for that.” Sowing the seeds of change The University began to make changes after the rape list gained national attention. “I remember thinking to myself, ‘Oh, this is not like real life because these are a lot of changes that are happening quickly,’” David-Lang said. “Putting this
COURTESY OF THE HERALD
The creation of the Rape List in the 1990s in response to the University’s lack of action on and tacit acceptance of sexual assault led to a major reckoning on campus in the conversation around sexual violence. University custodians explained to The Herald at the time that it was policy to paint over all graffiti found in bathrooms, regardless of its content. But women pushed back against this explanation. “Graffiti maligning women has persisted for years and years with no concern being expressed by custodians, students or administrators,” Jesselyn Radack ’92 wrote in a November 1990 letter to The Herald. Radack, who was another prominent organizer against sexual assault on campus, was a member of Brown Against Sexual Assault and Harassment. The organization had mixed feelings about the rape list, reflecting the division more broadly on campus. “People generally have the same problems with the list that they do with women reporting rape in general,” she said in a November 1990 article in The Herald. “Women who charge rape are seen as hysterical and oversensitive, which are the same criticisms being applied to the women who write the names of their assaulters on the wall.” National attention catalyzes University response “Your outrage at the administration is justified,” said Dean of Students John Robinson at a November 1990 forum.
day, an article appeared in the national section of the newspaper. “This wasn’t a big topic, you weren’t reading about this in major newspapers, so it was a groundbreaking moment,” David-Lang said. “And then the phone started ringing off the hook, and different people wanted to interview us.” David-Lang and the other members of the so-called “Committee of Four” were offered interviews on several different national talk shows, with hosts such as Phil Donahue and Oprah Winfrey. They eventually agreed to an exclusive interview with Donahue, who had the largest audience at the time. One day before the women were interviewed, President Vartan Gregorian released a statement about sexual assault on campus. In it, he condemned women for writing the names of men on the walls, but he also condemned sexual assault nationally and on campus. On the day of the Donahue interview, the show paid for several bus loads of Brown students to be in the audience for filming. Donahue invited members of the administration. Toby Simon, assistant dean and director of health education at the time, accepted. A set was built of mock bathroom walls with graffiti written out on it, some of which were actual quotes from the rape list.
issue on the national stage helped to accelerate the rate of change.” The University agreed to meet with women on campus to draft clear sexual assault policies. They created sensitivity training for deans, counselors and advisors and created mandatory rape seminars for first-years to begin the next fall. The administration also appointed an ombudswoman to guide women through the sexual assault complaint process, as well as a coordinator of women’s concerns. They also worked to improve campus safety measures through new programs such as Safe Walk. Men on campus also began to reevaluate their behaviors. Many reached out to women’s centers and groups to learn how to stay off the list, while others attended date rape seminars. Some men created campus groups to talk about the issue. While the rape list succeeded in bringing the issue of sexual assault to the forefront of campus conversation, it was not able to incite all the changes needed to comprehensively mitigate sexual assault. “While it was impressive that there were some initial changes, I graduated that spring and I heard things certainly slid back,” David-Lang said. “It’s a spiral — it’s not a straight trajectory forward.”
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
Friday, March 19, 2021
ARTS & CULTURE
Disappointed but not surprised: Meghan’s interview with Oprah In bombshell interview, Prince Harry, Duchess of Sussex talk monarchy’s prejudice BY LIZA MULLETT SENIOR STAFF WRITER The highly-anticipated interview of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry sent shockwaves through the British and American media after the couple revealed Meghan’s experiences of racism and exclusion within the royal family. In the two-hour special with Oprah Winfrey Mar. 7, Meghan — who is biracial — explained that during her pregnancy there were “concerns” expressed about the potential darkness of her unborn son’s skin color from within the royal institution, as well as refusals to “protect” the family from the press. Markle also revealed that she suffered from depression and had contemplated suicide, but received little support from the institution. The revelations of bigotry and ostracism from within the royal family split opinion globally, with the British
COVID-19 FROM PAGE 1 of the importance of social distancing, masking, washing hands, getting tested and staying home when sick. For some local businesses, the loosened restrictions are a welcome change. “As a small business owner, this was very great news for me because I feel like it is a step closer to bringing things back to how they were before the pandemic,” wrote Mike Boutros, owner of Mike’s Calzones and Chinatown On Thayer, in a message to The Herald. Boutros said that his businesses struggled after restrictions were first put in place. Limiting the number of customers allowed in restaurants led
tabloid press railing against Meghan and Harry, and American fans of the royal family rallying behind the couple. The couple has previously taken legal action against the media for libel. As with British princesses and duchesses of eras past — Princess Diana, Harry’s mother, being the most popular — Meghan, a former actress and an American herself, has become somewhat of a starlet for American fans of royals. Still, polls have shown a drop in Meghan’s U.S. popularity after the insurgent interview. In 2019, Harry made an official statement likening the British media’s treatment of his wife to their treatment of his late mother. “Because my deepest fear is history repeating itself,” he wrote. “I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.” Professor of European History Tim Harris said the British media has undoubtedly been racist in its coverage of Meghan. “There’s no doubt about that,” Harris said. The British tabloids “just made Harry and Meghan’s life intolerable.” In the interview, Meghan and Harry cited negative press coverage as a motivating factor in their decision to leave
the United Kingdom and step back from their royal duties. Yet the bigotry they experienced also came from the royal family itself, as well as the press, as the couple discussed. Renee Andam ’24 said she was “not surprised” by the allegations of the royal institution’s colorism toward the couple’s son, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, who was born May 6, 2019. “This is the royal family, after all,” Andam said. “I was actually surprised that commenting about baby Archie’s skin color was the most racist thing
they did.” In response to the allegations, Prince William — Harry’s brother — told the media the royals are “very much not a racist family.” But the claims of racism and colorism have further stressed discourse surrounding the British legacy of colonialism. Commonwealth scholars and politicians have cited the revelations as unsurprising and reflective of royal history. “If someone had said to me before this interview that British monarchs (could be) racist, I would have been
like, well … of course,” Sophia Saker ’23 said. “It’s the pinnacle of social elitism and exclusion.” Harry confirmed during the interview that the racist comments did not come from his grandparents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip. With Elizabeth aging and her husband in ill health, many have raised questions about the future of the royal family. People are beginning to ask: Is the Crown, which seems to many an antiquated symbol of colonialism in the modern era, bound to fall? Harris explained that while he sees the monarchy as “obsolete and anachronistic,” he does not see the interview and the allegations of racism impacting the royal family’s status. “People seem to have a need to want to have a sense of adulation for a charismatic leader,” Harris said. “Not that the queen is particularly charismatic as an individual, but she’s a charismatic symbol of what Britishness is.” The royal family “survived the negative press from Princess Diana’s tragic death. Many people thought that the royal family wouldn’t survive the (public relations) nightmare of Charles and Diana’s relationship,” Andam said. “I think the royal family will be fine.”
to long lines and frustrated customers, he said. Lifting the restrictions will increase business and allow more people into his restaurants, both of which are on Thayer Street, he added. “I am hopeful that with Governor McKee’s new (loosened) restrictions we will be busier and more successful, welcoming both Brown students and customers overall back in,” Boutros wrote. Consultant Medical Director for RIDOH and Associate Professor of Medicine at the University Philip Chan said that the lifted restrictions were meant to help local businesses while still preserving public health. Local businesses were hit hard by pandemic restrictions, he said. But from
the public health standpoint, lifting restrictions can lead to increased cases if people are not vigilant, he added. “It’s been a challenge the entire year in terms of balancing business and public health against the pandemic,” Chan said. “Obviously even from the public health standpoint, people’s livelihoods are on the line.” “It’s always been a tough balance and no one really knows where the line is,” he said. “Things can open and we can be safe if people continue to adhere to public health measures that we’ve stated.” Other small business owners told The Herald that the lifted restrictions will have little effect on how they operate.
Owner of Like No Udder Karen Krinsky said that the restrictions won’t affect her business, which is mostly takeout. Like No Udder currently serves ice cream and other vegan desserts and dishes through one of the shop’s windows. Krinsky said that she isn’t planning to open indoor dining again until she believes it’s safer to do so and when staff are vaccinated. “With the restrictions I could probably only fit five or six people in here,” Krinsky said. “When things get back to normal, I’ll probably serve out of the window and inside.” Kenneth Loft, owner of Wickenden Pub, said the change in restrictions won’t have a significant impact on his
bar’s operations because of its small size. The looser restrictions, which allow for tables to be closer together, have helped marginally increase capacity, allowing him to use an extra table, he said. “Our problem has never been the seating capacity, it’s always been spacing people out,” Loft said. He added that the bar is likely running at less than 50 percent capacity because of the limited space available and spacing restrictions. Because of the seating limitations, the bar often turns people away on busy nights, he said. But he added that the fast approaching summer and vaccine distribution both give him hope. “I also see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Loft said.
COURTESY OF MARK JONES
During the interview, Meghan revealed that the royal institution had expressed concerns about the darkness of her unborn son’s skin.
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. Periodicals postage paid at Providence, R.I. Postmaster: Please send corrections to P.O. Box 2538, Providence, RI 02906. Advertising: The Brown Daily Herald, Inc. reserves the right to accept or decline any advertisement at its discretion.
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post-
MAR 18 — VOL 27 — ISSUE 7
FEATURE
See Full Issue: POST.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM
NARRATIVE
Driver's License protective parents and taking the wheel When learning to drive a car for the first time, I practiced in a small, safe space designated for beginners. An instructor took me to a yellow car and demonstrated the basic maneuvers. I slid into the driver’s seat, nervous with anticipation, and started handling unfamiliar dark buttons and gadgets. I slowly got the hang of stepping on the gas pedal with
Were all stars to disappear or die, I should learn to look at an empty sky And feel its total dark sublime, Though this might take me a little time.
The More Loving One to the moon and back
The More Loving One By W. H. Auden Looking up at the stars, I know quite well That, for all they care, I can go to hell, We have to dread from man or beast. How should we like it were stars to burn With a passion for us we could not return? Let the more loving one be me. Admirer as I think I am Of stars that do not give a damn I cannot, now I see them, say I missed one terribly all day.
*** I first fell in love with the cosmos on the dim shore of a Maine lake when I was 10. My older sister, Shreya, had poked me awake at 2 a.m. “Come outside. The stars are amazing.” The cabin my family and I were staying in stood behind us as we laid on the dock. A lazy July breeze danced over my arms. Tall evergreens climbed into the sky around the lake and loons sang their muted calls in the distance. I wrapped my arms around myself, basking in the empty light of what felt like a billion stars. They glimmered like silver dust in the heavens. I couldn’t move from the solid earth below me; a strange weight had settled into my stomach, peering into the pulsing chaos of an infinite abyss. I felt wonder and reverence and fear and veneration as the scope of the universe crashed over me like a wave. I turned to my sister and said the only thing
“I cleaned this, I cleaned that. Cinderella is quaking.” *Points at Kraft Dinner* “This is cheese the same way that I’m happy.”
Things We Could’ve Done in the Hour We Lost…
1. Dorm room dance party!
7. Sleep.
2. Cram for that midterm you forgot was happening.
8. Answer your emails (just kidding, can you imagine).
3. Spent the daylight instead of saving it. Screw wise financial decisions.
9. Live, laugh, love.
4. Have a nice sit-down tea party with sandwiches and pretty cups. 5. Not waste an extra hour trying to understand Daylight Savings. 6. Braid train with your hall.
post–
Want to be involved? Email: olivia_howe@brown.edu!
10. Play “3AM (Pull Up)” by Charli XCX and MØ exactly 15 times.
a safe angle, and parking. The instructor sat beside me to prevent any dangerous mistakes. This learning environment reminded me of when I was younger and in school with fellow beginners in life—a place where we practiced exploring our identities in a mini-society, and we learned to develop our values under the guidance of parents and teachers. Once I was able to skillfully drive alone in the practice space, I was let out on the roads with drivers that were more adept and less forgiving than the ones in the safe spot. Another instructor sat by me while I learned to constantly adjust the wheel so as
ARTS & CULTURE
Living Fruitfully when life imitates art
I used to find the phrase “practice makes perfect” reassuring. It made me feel like I could accomplish anything as long as I spent all my energy on it, never relenting or losing focus. Simple, right? Of course everyone would want perfection. But it turns out that there are many reasons to revel in imperfection, and my newfound passion for drawing fruits and vegetables is one of them. Like many of my fellow classmates, I decided to aimlessly through life and becoming emotionally fatigued from so much self-reflection, my feet
LIFEST YLE
Nighttime in Providence Warmer weather has begun its initial descent upon Providence, and that means it’s time to start taking night walks (with friends, to be safe). Of course, some of y’all might have already found the joy of walking during the winter in order to cool down from studying too much—or stressing from not studying enough—but walks during the beginning Because it’s the perfect temperature to sit down and take in the nighttime air without either shivering too much from the cold or sweating too much from the heat. Here are five destinations in Providence for
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | COMMENTARY
Friday, March 19, 2021
EDITORIAL
UCS, an unnecessarily complicated system It’s that time of year again: The weather’s improving, student government campaigns have begun and the student body, as usual, appears indifferent. This is not a new phenomenon. In 2013, the editorial page board wrote that “a strong culture of apathy undeniably exists” among students with respect to student government. Since then, a lack of competition has frequently plagued contests for top positions on the Undergraduate Council of Students, and student participation rates have remained dismal. While we cannot speak to the causes of student apathy in past years, in recent years, UCS has ostensibly placed a disproportionate amount of its public focus on the minutiae of rules and optics, rather than actually serving students. We believe actions like this discourage students from engaging with UCS and undermine the Council’s ability to represent the student body. In recent months, there appears to have been a shift in focus. Multiple candidates for various UCS positions have included calls for internal reform in their platforms. At least one campaign explicitly mentions the long and troublesome bylaws and generally complex nature of UCS as barriers to student engagement. Some current UCS members have also publicly called on the Council to revise its bylaws and to implement “uniform transparency and accountability rules.” And this year, a referendum to inaugurate an ethics and accountability board within UCS is on the ballot. This board would serve as a mechanism for resolving disputes, both external and internal, that hamper the Council’s ability to effectively operate. We are pleased to see a surge in recognition that the Council’s practices need improvement. If UCS members truly want to help the student body, they should continue pushing for reform of UCS itself rather than working within a broken system. But these structural reforms are not enough — and if they
add even more layers to UCS’ bureaucratic quagmire, they could perpetuate the chasm between the student body and its government. At the heart of the issue, UCS is in need of a cultural transformation. To be clear, we aren’t criticizing UCS members as individuals, who are, by and large, genuinely passionate, capable and well-intentioned. The problem lies in the Council as an institution. As of late, UCS has appeared to place symbolism over substance. In an attempt to legitimize itself, the Council has embodied the worst parts of government bureaucracy. Between its endless bylaws and convoluted voting procedures, the Council has chosen formality over efficacy. It’s not that UCS hasn’t produced meaningful policy. Initiatives like Project Tampon, the free airport shuttle program and recent campaigns to reduce campus fees are all a testament to this. But we wonder how much more the Council could accomplish if it adopted a system that spent less time on administrative procedure and more on making it easier for students — both inside and outside of UCS — to use it as an avenue for actualizing policy ideas. The disconnect between UCS and the student body comes, in part, from a failure in communication. UCS needs to do a better job of sharing what it has accomplished, and the student body needs to do a better job of listening. We’ve written on this before. But we also think the Council could benefit from greater self-awareness. Cumbersome guidelines and processes inherently create barriers to understanding and engagement. To be sure, UCS candidates may work exceedingly hard to advertise their campaigns come election season, and UCS members may make earnest attempts to engage with their respective constituencies throughout the school year. But the Council’s opaque and complex processes have left many students disillusioned. If an average student wanted to
use UCS as a vehicle for change, they likely wouldn’t know where or how to begin. Or they may not trust that the Council’s process — burdened by draconian bylaws and voting procedures — would allow their ideas to be actualized. Red tape is best left on Capitol Hill, not College Hill. UCS’ bureaucratic emphasis on rules and procedures has other failings: It has fueled misplaced priorities, such as the Council’s disproportionate focus on bolstering its own legitimacy. Quarrels over whether the Class Coordinating Board should be viewed as a legitimate branch of student government are a concrete example of this. Defining these boundaries is certainly a worthy task. But the highly public nature of this debate and the undue amount of time and energy attached to it have turned a semantic problem into something that merely exacerbated student indifference and annoyance towards student government. Whether or not CCB is a form of student government is not an issue that most students particularly care about — something that should be of fundamental concern to an assembly that purports to represent the interests of students. A functional student government is one that fosters engagement. UCS, despite its best intentions, has inadvertently bred student nonparticipation. Through its flurry of overcomplicated language and procedure, the Council continues to distance itself from the important work of advocating for its constituents. But amending this chronic issue must start at the organizational level. An election season is an inflection point to begin thinking about a renewed culture under fresh leadership. — Editorials are written by The Herald’s editorial page board. This editorial was written by its editor and assistant editor, Krista Stapleford ’21 and Johnny Ren ’23, and members Olivia Burdette ’22, Devan Paul ’24 and Kate Waisel ’24.
Want daily headlines or weekly Brown Bites in your inbox? linktr.ee/browndailyherald CA L E N DA R
COVID -19 AT BROWN LAST 7 DAYS*
MARCH S
7
Completed Tests
People Tested
M
Tu
W
Th
F
S
14,521
8,466
1
2
3
4
5
6
Confirmed Positives
Positivity Rates
22
0.2 %
8
9
10
11
12
13 SINCE AUGUST 24, 2020*
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
Completed Tests
People Tested
299,596
10,521
Total Cases
Prevalence
466
4.4 %
*AS OF AUG. 24
Friday, March 19, 2021
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | COMMENTARY
7
Pipatjarasgit ’21: An ode to the Brown University Library BY POOM ANDREW PIPATJARASGIT STAFF COLUMNIST
It has now been over a year of living in the COVID-19 pandemic and learning largely in a virtual environment. Yet, academic functions at Brown must continue. One of the unsung heroes involved in some shape or form in all our academic journeys is the Brown University Library. We owe a great deal of gratitude to the Library, particularly for the services it has managed to continue providing despite the challenges of operating in a virtual environment. But even without the context of a global pandemic, the Library is truly one of Brown’s marvels. The Brown University Library is composed of the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library, John Hay Library, Sciences Library, Orwig Music Library, Annmary Brown Memorial and the Library Collections Annex. When we think of Brown, our educational journeys and our fields of study, the University’s academic units (departments, schools, institutes, centers, programs, etc.) often come to mind first. Yet, the Library is an equal partner in education without which Brown’s teaching and research would not be possible. Subject librarians help students, faculty and other researchers in their projects and classes. During my time at Brown, I have personally had consultations with eight different subject librarians to discuss all sorts of issues: exploring research topics, finding a starting point for a niche topic in Native American studies, eval-
uating publishers, conducting biographical research and using technology to support and optimize the research process. As a concentrator in both French and Francophone Studies and Latin American and Caribbean Studies, I have received assistance in finding and evaluating materials in French and Spanish. The Library also offers plenty of workshops open to Brown students. One of my best time investments was
zerland and Denmark, all at no cost to me. When I was studying abroad in Paris and needed materials for a research assignment that weren’t available at Sorbonne Université, what did I do? I found relevant materials that were available through the Library’s Annex and requested that they be scanned and emailed to me.
“The Library is an equal partner in education without which Brown’s teaching and research would not be possible.”
attending a workshop in fall 2018 on Zotero, a powerful, free-to-use citation and reference management tool; it has saved me countless hours in writing citations and bibliographies over the past few years. The actual process of getting materials can also be a challenge in and of itself, but the Library has specialized teams to tackle this. For example, the Interlibrary Loan office has helped track down unusual materials that I have requested, which are delivered to College Hill from across the country and the world; I have received materials from states like New York, Kansas and California, and from as far as Swit-
Nothing is perfect, and the Library is no exception. Books that I had requested have been inadvertently sent to my sister (also a Brown student), the online catalog is frequently glitchy and I once went on a scavenger hunt in the Rock stacks to find two improperly catalogued books that, according to the curator at the Hay, should have been in Special Collections. I was also dismayed that, pre-pandemic, undergraduate students could not request staff to pull or hold non-Annex materials, while faculty and graduate students have this privilege; it is as if undergraduates’ time is less important. But everyone at the Library has been working hard,
especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the Access Services and Resource Sharing teams were recently recognized jointly by Brown University Human Resources with this year’s Excellence Award for Innovation at Brown Employee Appreciation and Recognition Day for their adaptability in continuing to support the Brown academic community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even after I have graduated from Brown, I will have reason to come back to the Library. The President’s Papers of the University’s presidents are restricted for 25 years, but you can bet that I will be back to see the papers of Brown’s most recent presidents. I would be particularly interested in the papers from the presidency of Sheila E. Blumstein, the first female president of Brown University, who stepped into the role after the unexpected departure of the controversial E. Gordon Gee. A slight, but entertaining aside: The Harris Collection of American Poetry and Plays, housed in the Hay, has an anonymously written satirical poem about Gee. Without doubt, I know that I will be applying for my Brown Alumni Library Card once I graduate, which, for the one-time fee of $15, will give me lifetime access to the marvelous treasure that is the Brown University Library.
Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit ’21 can be reached at poom_pipatjarasgit@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
Ruzicka ’23 and Meirowitz ’22: Restore accountability in student governance ZANE RUZICKA AND DEBORAH MEIROWITZ OP-ED CONTRIBUTORS
Constitutional disputes, student government power struggles and member misconduct — these are the barriers holding Brown’s undergraduate student government back from fulfilling its purpose. Brown’s student government cannot fight for students if we spend our time fighting each other. At the moment, we do not have the mechanisms in place to address student government-related issues and to restore communal relationships. This needs to change. As such, we have created a proposal for the establishment of the Student Government Ethics and Accountability Board, a shared board across the branches of Brown’s student government that would help facilitate productive dialogue and settle internal and external disputes. While nominations to the SGEAB currently would come from the combined consent of UCS and UFB, future amendments would include new branches in the nomination process. For the SGEAB to be established, it must receive an affirmative vote from the student population on this year’s election ballot. There are a number of issues between branches of Brown’s student government and the community that make this proposal urgent and imperative. Currently, there is a lack of accountability and institutional checks to ensure diplomatic relations between the Undergraduate Council of Students, the Class Coordinating Board and the Undergraduate Finance Board. One of the most visible examples of this has been the recent tension between CCB and UCS about whether CCB is or should be a branch of student government. With no methods to solve disputes, members of both organizations wrote op-eds, negatively impacting their public reputations and their relationship with one another, inhibiting effective student governance. Unfortunate events like these call for mechanisms that facilitate productive discussions among organizations. To resolve this issue, the first major
function of the SGEAB would be to provide organizations a place to resolve disputes by hosting Interbranch/Community Remediation Meetings, moderated by the SGEAB as an impartial and co-appointed group. These meetings would provide for structured, productive dialogue, allowing groups to move forward. Another accountability issue in student government can be seen in last year’s funding policy conflicts between UFB and student organizations. For instance, service-based groups recently expressed concern about inadequate funding. Currently, UFB funding appeals are not reviewed by an external body. With the implementation of the SGEAB, student groups would
tatives and their constituents from engaging in productive discussions. Another issue which has recently come up is the question of what is and is not student government. With UFB and CCB’s referenda, which will ask students this election season if they support recognizing the two bodies as official branches of student government, there will be constitutional issues to settle and an impartial referee will be needed. To remedy these legislative and procedural issues, the SGEAB would have the power of judicial review, as it would be authorized to form Constitutional Judgment Panels. These panels will ensure a speedy review process which would allow the branches of student government to get back to
“Brown’s student government cannot fight for students if we spend our time fighting each other. ” have a separate body to discuss their cases when a well-documented issue concerning funding policy occurs. The SGEAB would be a more accessible and impartial forum for student groups than directly appealing to UFB. The aforementioned Interbranch/Community Remediation Meetings would also be the setting for resolving these funding conflicts. The SGEAB could also help solve a number of internal failures currently plaguing student government. For instance, UCS recently had a constitutional crisis wherein UCS’ general body was simultaneously serving as both a legislation-writing and constitution-interpreting body, leading to institutional gridlock. Such bureaucratic failures have hindered UCS’ ability to amplify student voices. For example, conflicts over the legality of a specific bylaw caused UCS to delay the statue discussion brought by Decolonization at Brown for an entire week. As a result, a community conversation that should have been amplified by UCS’ platform fell into a bureaucratic lull, preventing student represen-
working on initiatives for the student body. The final issue the SGEAB would address is election conduct. During the internal UCS treasurer and UCS/UFB liaison elections in fall 2020, UCS was forced to conduct a recount after one of the candidates violated election procedure. Once discovered, the candidate in question simply left UCS. However, this did not help UCS heal from the experience, nor was it, as a manner of addressing misconduct, conducive to individual healing. Past election misconduct cases have involved violations such as the inflation of candidates’ resumes and dishonest platforms, which have marred the election process. The SGEAB’s power to take up Election and Voting Member Hearings would help moderate these election misconduct cases. These hearings will be crucial to ensure that election integrity is maintained, while simultaneously establishing a fair and clear process for those involved. When we began writing the proposal to create the SGEAB, we realized that justice and accountability in student government at Brown is deeply
flawed. How can we, as a student government, expect to be representative when our organization’s sole accountability mechanism — an under-defined punitive trial that sees removal via impeachment as the only way to achieve justice — is based on a system which does not reflect the sentiments and values of the student population we represent? Therefore, we must write processes that reflect our community values by centering restorative justice, prioritizing victims, reintegrating those who have broken rules and uplifting our community. With this in mind, we worked to establish restorative justice practices in the SGEAB’s Code of Operations, an approach that derives from the talking circles that Indigenous communities use to settle disputes. The SGEAB is modeled off of restorative justice practices; instead of seeing conflict resolution as a purely punitive issue, restorative justice seeks to produce dialogue between the victims and offenders. The SGEAB will show Brown leaders, administrators and students alike, that traditional retributive justice systems are not the most effective structures to resolve community issues. We hope that modeling our policy off this alternative justice system can have better impacts and outcomes than our current status quo. We can shift from questions of “what law was broken, who broke it and what punishments are in order?” to “who was harmed, what are the needs and responsibilities of all those affected and how do the parties address needs and repair harm together?” — a shift which calls for the entire community to settle issues as a collective. By creating the SGEAB, we set the precedent for future leaders at Brown to usher in progressive reforms and use Brown’s student government’s platform as an elevation point for societal change.
UCS Chair of Campus Life Zane Ruzicka ’23 and Deborah Meirowitz ’22 can be reached at zane_ruzicka@brown.edu and deborah_meirowitz@brown.edu. The authors’ opinions are their own. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
METRO
Providence educators discuss vaccination progress McKee’s vaccination plan for R.I. teachers, staff, childcare workers elicits excitement BY STELLA OLKEN-HUNT CONTRIBUTING WRITER Gov. Dan McKee announced a plan last week to vaccinate all teachers, staff and child care workers who wish to be vaccinated in Rhode Island. Per the governor’s plan, all teachers and staff in Providence will be provided with the opportunity to sign up for a vaccination appointment administered through municipal clinics. There is a designated clinic at 335R Prairie Ave. in Providence, for public, private and charter school educators
and staff who work in Providence, according to Providence Public School District Spokesperson Laura Hart. This clinic, which is supported by the Partnership for Rhode Island and Lifespan, is especially helpful “given the size of the school communities in Providence,” Hart wrote in an email to The Herald. Linda Castellone, an English as a Second Language teacher at Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School in Providence, said the new vaccination plan was communicated to her and other teachers via an email from the superintendent several days after the governor’s initial announcement. The plan specifically offers appointments to teachers and staff, providing an alternative route to vaccination than the typical online sign-up. “We were four or five days into the process of trying (to get the vaccine)
CLARA GUTMAN ARGEMÍ / HERALD
when the email came out,” Castellone said. While the news came as a relief to teachers who have been in classrooms since September, “many of them (had) already been vaccinated for the first shot in the series of two, and (had) appointments for the second shot” by the time of the announcement, according to Providence Teachers Union President Maribeth Calabro. The email to teachers said the 335R Prairie location would be open on Wednesdays and Saturdays for a duration of six weeks, and instructed them “not (to) call to make appointments prior to your designated date,” Castellone said. Teachers working both in high schools and the Virtual Learning Academy, a high school education program for families who desired a fully remote learning experience, will be first to get the vaccine, according to Calabro. High school teachers were prioritized “because their students are out in the community more,” and VLA teachers were included among the first to be vaccinated as many of them are high risk, she said. “I just think that’s a big insult,” Castellone said, referring to the restrictions on which teachers will receive the vaccine first. “We have been face-to-face in school since Sept. 1 every single day in one of the top two cities in the state for COVID rates,” she said. But many teachers are glad to have an alternative method of signing up for vaccines at CVS, Walgreens and Vac-
cinate RI, according to Calabro. She also said that teachers generally believe that McKee was quick to prioritize the vaccination of teachers. “We truly believe that we should have been prioritized and we (are) glad that our new governor … was able to do that for us,” Calabro said. “It came as a huge relief to teachers.” The widespread vaccination effort will put Rhode Island educators “at ease,” Castellone said. She said that once fully vaccinated, teachers will be able to focus entirely on student needs without having to worry about their exposure to COVID-19. While requiring staff vaccinations down the road “is not an issue we are discussing at this time,” Hart wrote, PPSD “prioritizes the health and well-being of all its community members and welcomes every science-based tool to combat the spread of the virus.” Despite the prioritization of vaccines for teachers, “the way that class sizes (are) currently running” are unlikely to change, Calabro said. That being said, “parents may feel a little more comfortable sending their students (to school) once they feel like the majority of educators have been vaccinated. So we may see a resurgence of students coming back into brick and mortar.” But Calabro said there are still concerns that there will be a shortage of the second COVID-19 shot and that, due to side effects, staff will have to take “a day or two (off) until the reaction subsides.”
Friday, March 19, 2021