Friday, October 20, 2017

SINCE 1891

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2017

VOLUME CLII, ISSUE 90

WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM

Bears raise awareness for breast cancer on Green Football, men’s, women’s crew hold fundraising events, sponsored bench pressing

U. researchers found lack of CLOCK gene exacerbates seizures, effect stronger during sleep

By COLLEEN CRONIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

This week, the football, men’s crew and women’s crew teams held events on campus to raise money and awareness for cancer research and survivors.

The football team held its annual Bench Press for Cancer event Monday on the Main Green. From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., players came together to raise money for Miriam Hospital’s Cancer Survivorship Program for Young Adults. Two bench press stations, pink t-shirts, a speaker and free food — donated from nearby businesses like Dunkin’ Donuts and Hope Street Pizza — welcomed students to the Green, encouraging them todonate and participate themselves.

Players were encouraged to get friends, family and alums to sponsor them, either paying a certain amount per rep or donating at a flat rate, said Brett Estes ’18, organizer of the event.

To Estes, it’s important to do events like these because “cancer affects everyone.” He said he feels that student

Modification of CLOCK gene to offer potential epilepsy treatment

By MIA PATTILLO SENIOR STAFF WRITER

LILLY NGUYEN / HERALD

The football team hosted Bench Press for Cancer on the Main Green Monday, raising money for Miriam Hospital’s Cancer Survivorship Program for Young Adults. The team provided free donuts to attract participants. athletes “have a lot going for them,”so it’s important to help those who aren’t as fortunate.

Other sports teams came out to the event, including women’s volleyball and hockey. From the volleyball team, Shirin Tooloee ’18 bench pressed 75 lbs 25 times while a small crowd cheered her on.

“I feel good out here supporting a good cause for some of my good friends

on the football team.” she said. “We had our ALS fundraiser last month and they supported us, so it was important to get my team out here and support as well.”

The football team has raised money under the name “Bench Press for Cancer” for ten years, but it originally began fundraising in 2004, when Lawrence Rubia ’04, team captain at the time, was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma. According to Head Coach Phil Estes P’18,

the team was at first trying to offset costs for the Rubia family. After Rubia passed away in 2005, the team starting giving to the American Cancer Society, but decided later to focus their efforts on local patients, and began donating to Rhode Island’s Miriam Hospital. “We have a chance to see local people,” the coach said, stressing the importance of athletes who spend a lot of time in the » See AWARENESS, page 2

A study recently revealed that seizures in epileptic patients correlate with the lack of the “CLOCK” gene, which typically regulates circadian rhythm.

This new finding could give rise to a potential treatment for severe cases of epilepsy.

There are currently medications that treat epilepsy, but disruptive and dangerous seizures can still occur while patients are on these medications, said Judy Liu, assistant professor of neurology and corresponding author of the study. As a last resort, the part of the brain that causes seizures can be surgically removed, she said. » See CLOCK, page 3

SCIENCE & RESEARCH

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Etzel ’19 earns 17th career shutout in victory over Harvard

Bruno’s goalkeeper played against twin sister for first time in Saturday’s matchup in Cambridge

By MARI HERREMA STAFF WRITER

The women’s soccer team traveled to Cambridge Saturday, taking down the Crimson 1-0 for the first time in seven seasons. Goalkeeper Christine Etzel ’19, who made four saves in a full 90 minutes of play, earned her third shutout of the season. Incidentally, the match was also the first time Etzel has competed against her twin sister, Danielle, who played in Harvard’s net for half of Saturday’s match-up.

Brown’s win also made Etzel the sole possessor of third place on the program’s career shutouts list, an accomplishment that earned Etzel the distinction of The Herald’s Athlete of the Week.

Herald: Congratulations on Saturday’s win. How does it feel to be third on Brown’s all-time shutout list?

Etzel: I did not even know that. It’s pretty cool. Obviously I’m going into every game looking for that shutout, making the biggest impact on the team

INSIDE

I can.

When did you first start playing soccer?

I’ve been playing as long as I can remember, as soon as I was in a recleague. I feel like parents just throw their kids in, and my parents were actually my coach for my rec league. Me and my sister were on the same team.

Was there a moment when you realized you really liked the sport?

It’s always been soccer. I didn’t always play in goal: It’s funny, I made my first club team as a field player and then my coach put me and my sister both in goal, probably because we were the tallest ones on the team at the time. But it worked out.

Was it always your goal to reach collegiate level athletics?

Yeah, … looking at schools, myfirst priority was academics, obviously, and soccer was kind of like that bonus.

Looking at the Ivy Leagues, you get the best of both. I didn’t really want to give up any sports, I didn’t want to just stop my athletic career for college and I really like being a part of a team.

Both of your sisters are collegiate

athletes — what is it like to be from such an athletically driven family?

Does that inform your play at all?

Having a twin sister who played the same position … we were competitive … you kind of push each other to each other’s best potential. So it was never a negative competition. My family is really close, so it was always more encouraging competition than any negative hostility.

How did it feel to play against your sister Saturday?

So weird! So weird. The past two years I haven’t actually played against her on the field, but I’ve seen her warm up. I remember my freshman year, just seeing her warm up on the other side of the field, I was so confused. I was preparing myself for it but it was still confusing because in my mind I was like, ‘She’s not on another team. She’s never been on another team.’ And then after the game, we’re the first ones to shake each others’ hand. So it was weird, but it was cool, too. Not many people can really say that they did that — played right against their sister — especially the same position.

Why did you choose Brown? » See AOTW, page 2

ANITA SHEIH / HERALD

Christine Etzel ’19, goalkeeper for the women’s soccer team, ensured a victory over Harvard Saturday by recording her third shutout of the season.

WEATHER

FRIDAY, OC TOBER 20, 2017

NEWS Four faculty members earn up to $500,000 in funding from DARPA’s Director’s Fellowship

COMMENTARY Raimondo: Rhode Island is working toward making higher education affordable for all

COMMENTARY Mitra ’18: Jimmy Fallon’s failure to acknowledge President Trump has comedic consequences

SPORTS COMMENTARY Grigo ’18: Gary Sanchez can improve his plate discipline for Yankees moving forward

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

» AWARENESS, from page 1 limelight getting involved.

Dewey Jarvis ’17.5 agreed that it was important to get involved. Even though the event isn’t mandatory for players, everyone should come out because it is relatively easy “to find donors, buy a t-shirt, hang out and have fun,” he said. Jarvis has been to Miriam Hospital and met with the people who benefited from the team’s donations. He said he loved seeing how “they appreciated it so much.”

According to the team’s Crowdrise fundraising website, it hopes to raise $25,000, adding to the more than $100,000 they’ve already raised since 2004.

Four rowing machines lined the edge of the Main Green from 12 to 1 p.m. Wednesday for the Pull for a Cure event, Brown Crew’s annual Breast Cancer Fundraiser. The one day event precedes this weekend’s Head of the Charles Regattain Boston.

Similar to Bench Press for Cancer, the crew team drew participation from other Brown athletes who were looking to compete for a good cause. Both men’s hockey and lacrosse were represented at the event, forming teams to row against each other.

The competition quickly heated up, with one of the “erg” machines damaged within 15 minutes of the event’s start. Teammates quickly worked together to get feet in and out of velcro straps, while others urged the “rowers” to go faster and faster. Some participants even went so far as to fall off the machines while their feet were still strapped in.

“We’re here to win, (to) stomp out cancer.” said Luke Kania ’21, after he and some of his fellow hockey players

» AOTW, from page 1 The ability to be both academically and athletically driven — we get the best of both worlds there. And the open curriculum really spoke to me. I really wanted to pursue my interests more in the sciences, so the opportunity to do that but also play soccer and get to take some other classes that I really wanted to was really exciting for me. From a soccer standpoint, I definitely wanted to come in, have an impact immediately … and help build the program a bit more.

What’s your favorite class that you’ve taken so far, either biology or

LILLY NGUYEN / HERALD

Both Bench Press for Cancer and Pull for a Cure drew participation from other athletes looking to compete for a good cause. Men’s hockey and lacrosse formed teams to row against each other and encouraged spectators to participate and cheer at the crew event Wednesday. took on the rowing machines themselves.

Funds raised from all the fun and games will be donated to the breast cancer research arm of the American Cancer Society. Dan Aziz ’11 started the fundraiser in 2009 when he was a junior on the men’s rowing team.

Aziz was inspired when a family friend — who saved him from drowning after he broke his neck in a childhood accident — was diagnosed with breast cancer. After learning that a

fellow teammate lost his mother to breast cancer, Aziz came up with an idea: The Head of the Charles event in Boston, held each October, could be a venue to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Up until 2009, the crew team wore “wacky costumes” to race in the event because the regatta didn’t count towards national standings. The team now shows up in colors to support breast cancer, after Aziz convinced Norman Alpert ’80, who rowed during

his years at Brown, to buy everyone pink racing suits. By asking friends, family and alums, Aziz and the team were able to raise $25,000 that first fall.

Every year since, a group of juniors from both the men and women’s teams are responsible for organizing the event.

For Claire Ryan ’19, who was one of this year’s organizers, the main goal of the event was awareness.

Jack Abeel ’19 of the men’s crew team emphasized the need for athletes to take advantage of their team’s

organization and large size in doing philanthropic work. “You also have these huge networks of alumni who bought into the team and they want to help you succeed,” Abeel said.

For Aziz, looking back to the event’s conception,“It feels super great … initially I didn’t know it would take off and now it’s become a part of Brown’s tradition.”

Nine years since its conception, Aziz says he is excited to see how much bigger Pull for a Cure can get.

not biology?

I took a really cool class my freshman spring — it was (EDUC 0860:) “Sports in American Society.” It’s taught

by Professor Hilary Levey Friedman.

She was so cool! I remember the majority of the class was guys, and so you’d walk in, and some guy would always ask a question like ‘Oh, what about this?’ and she’d immediately be like, ‘I know the team, I know the names, I know all their stats.’ So I think all the guys were a bit shocked. … I thought that was pretty cool. And the content was very interesting. The whole class was how sports really impact the world, past, present and talking about the future.

What’s the best part about being a member of the soccer team?

I can’t choose one thing. I really enjoy my position on the team, not only on the field but also off. I’ve always wanted to be as open as I can and have my teammates feel comfortable to talk to me. It’s really special that part of our team culture is that we do care about each other a lot.

about. When you graduate, you’re going to remember your record and the games you won, but you’re also going to remember your bus trips and smaller things like that. Those are the moments you remember the most.

the Ivy League.

What’s been your most memorable experience so far?

You always think about big wins that you have as a team, or big moments, big saves or something on the field. It’s the little moments also that people forget

How is the team feeling as it heads into the end of the regular season?

The Ivy League in general is so intense because you only play each team once. As a team, we’re very driven, and we just want the best outcome at the end of the year. That’s been the goal this week — just staying focused for the next couple of games, because it really doesn’t matter what place anyone is in

Do you have a team pump up song?

Yeah … (laughs). We always play — what is it? “Outta Your Mind” by Lil Jon. That’s probably our team song. It gets us hyped before games.

Anything else you’d like to say?

It’s weird talking in an interview by yourself, because I’m not the only one on the team. So I don’t know, give a little shout-out to my teammates too.

They’re awesome.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

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NEWS

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2017 • PAGE 3

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

» CLOCK, from page 1 “It’s a hard conversation to have with a patient when the epilepsy is so bad that the only thing you can do about it is take a part of the brain out,” Liu said. She realized, though, that the brain tissue in this removed part could actually be studied.

The seizure-generating part of the brain that had been removed in consentgiving patients was mapped out onto grids in as small an area as possible. The research team then searched for anything unusual, and they found the CLOCK gene had a strong effect on abnormalities.

“We got lucky. It turns out that, because CLOCK is a circadian rhythm gene, it cycles, but all of our surgeries for epilepsy are done at 8 a.m. on Friday mornings,” Liu said. “People have asked me why no one else has discovered this, and it’s probably because our surgeons are on time,” she said.

Because the researchers were unsure which type of neurons the effect was occurring in, they decided to model the seizures in mice, said Peijun Li, co-lead

COURTESY OF JUDY LIU

The arrows point to areas in a pre-surgical brain of an epilepsy patient with abnormal brain tissue. These areas were studied by U. researchers and others, who discovered that the lack of the CLOCK gene may worsen seizures. author and post doctoral fellow at the Children’s National Health System. They found that, without the CLOCK gene in firing neurons, the mice had a high risk

of seizures.

Likewise, the seizures in mice without the CLOCK gene occurred spontaneously during their sleep, Liu said. When

they went back and looked at patients, it seemed like a lot of them were having these problems during sleep as well.

Daniel Friedman ’97, associate

professor of neurology at NYU Langone Medical Center, said the findings were interesting “because we know that for some people, seizures tend to occur at certain times of the day.”

The concept of a CLOCK-related treatment, though it would require further research, holds potential for patients suffering from severe cases of epilepsy.

Because the CLOCK gene occurs in the brain and throughout the body, where it regulates metabolic state, it would be necessary to deliver a CLOCK modifier directly to the brain circuit with, for example, some sort of surgical implantation, Liu said.

“Certain strategies may include seeing if there are mechanisms to regulate the transcription factor (for CLOCK), using gene editing technology or even developing models that can turn (the gene) on,” Friedman said. More research and understanding is likely required to figure out how to do that effectively without influencing other things related to the CLOCK gene.

City takes action to enforce removing of notices on poles City passes resolutions on gun measures introduced in U.S. Congress in light of recent mass shootings

By LIORA MORHAYIM SENIOR STAFF WRITER

At Thursday’s Providence City Council meeting, the city passed several resolutions on gun measures, removing all notices posted on poles and training recreation department employees on

sexual assault and child abuse.

The council passed Councilman John Igliozzi’s resolution to have the city’s Police Department issue fines for posting notices on telephone poles in Providence and the Department of Public Works remove any notices.

Councilman David Salvatore told The Herald excess signage is already a violation according to a city ordinance, but the city’s new resolution allows them to enforce the ordinance.

Igliozzi said that this resolution is protecting the quality of life and will

encourage community members to respect their neighborhood. “We need to instill the sense of ownership,” Igliozzi said. He also drew attention to the fact that people outside Providence are responsible for the proliferation of signs and advertisements, and they get away with what they are doing.

Echoing Igliozzi’s opinion on the importance of enforcing the excess signage ordinance, Councilman Nicholas Narducci said it is very easy to find the people who post signs since they have phone numbers and addresses on their

notices, but the city did not want to take responsibility to enforce it.

The council also passed four resolutions introduced by Salvatore supporting congressional gun measures.

These resolutions include the “Automatic Gunfire Prevention Act” and the re-establishment of the Federal Assault Weapon Ban. Salvatore said that these are common sense gun measures that were introduced in Congress in light of recent mass shootings in the country.

“It is important for the city council to take a stand,” Salvatore told The Herald.

“We have a moral obligation to take a position.”

The council also passed a resolution that will require employees from the Recreation Department to go through sexual assault and child abuse training from the Department of Children, Youth and Families, which was introduced by councilman Luis Aponte.

The city passed resolution recognizing the month of October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, also introduced by Salvatore. The resolution was co-sponsored by the whole council.

NEWS

PAGE 4 • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2017

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Four professors awarded DARPA Director’s Fellowship Fellowship will provide extra year of up to $500,000 to Young Faculty Award recipients

By KENDRICK TAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Four faculty members have been awarded Director’s Fellowships by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, known as DARPA. Director’s Fellowships are given to the most exceptional performers of DARPA’s Young Faculty Award recipients.

DARPA’s Young Faculty Award aims to consistently establish and sustain groups of young scientists motivated to pursue high-risk, highreward research by pairing selected researchers with DARPA program managers and providing them with up to $500,000 in funding for a twoyear period.

Assistant Professor of Engineering David Borton, Assistant Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology Amanda Jamieson, Assistant Professor of Computer Science George Konidaris and Assistant Professor of Computer Science Stefanie Tellex won Young Faculty Awards in 2015, four of 24 awardees. The Director’s Fellowship will provide them with another year of funding of up to $500,000.

Borton’s lab focuses on neural engineering techniques that aim to develop prosthetic limbs that provide sensory feedback to the nervous system, something that no prosthetic limb can do yet. Currently, users can only somewhat manipulate their prosthetic limbs.

“The only feedback that people get from their prosthetic legs is from the stump, which is where the end of the body meets the start of the prosthetic limb,” Borton said. “Learning about how nerves … recognize where the limb is and what the limb is doing … is especially important for people with lower limb loss because when you have a prosthetic leg, you don’t know where it is in space, and you have a tendency

COURTESY OF GEORGE KONIDARIS, AMANDA JAMEISON AND DAVID BORTON

George Konidaris, Amanda Jamieson, David Borton, pictured above, and Stefanie Tellex were four of the 24 professors who were awarded the competitive Young Faculty Award from DARPA in 2015. The four have now received another year of funding through the Director’s Fellowship. to fall more often.”

In the two years of research funded by the Young Faculty Award, Borton’s lab has successfully developed computational models necessary to recreate sensory feedback from the limbs as well as a system that can transfer this information to the spinal cord through electrical stimulation. With the extra year of funding, Borton hopes to divert his attention from the spinal cord to the brain.

“There are so many people, through no fault of their own, that are in the situation where there is a leg and arm missing, and they deserve the best technology that can help them regain senses,” Borton said.

With the funding from the Young Faculty Award, Jamieson’s lab explored the lung’s microbiome and how host organisms, bacterial infections and flu infections interact with different lung diseases. For the Director’s Fellowship,

Jamieson has proposed to examine how lung infections affect healing in the skin and develop therapies to increase the healing process in the presence of pneumonia and other lung diseases.

The researches found a drastic suppression in the body’s healing response to the wounds, Jamieson said.

“While we expected that responses would decrease because the immune system would be responding to two issues, it was surprising how drastic the decrease was.”

When people experience slower skin wound healing, it “increases chances of infection and lengthens hospital stays,” Jamieson said. Responding differently when treating skin wounds for people with pneumonia could potentially decrease these issues, she added.

“From a health perspective, understanding how the lung immune system

happens and how we can respond to different infections and wounds at the same time is essential,” Jamieson said.

“Wound healing is a huge area in terms of its impact on human health, but is very underfunded. … It is something that needs to be studied more.”

As a researcher in artificial intelligence, Konidaris explained that many AI researchers are currently failing to intelligently process both low-level tasks, like picking up and identifying objects, and high-level tasks, such as playing chess. His work focuses on building a specific way to connect these low-level tasks to high-level tasks by inventing abstract symbolic representations, allowing the robot to create accurate plans far into the future.

In his third year of research under DARPA funding, Konidaris hopes to generalize beyond one specific situation for robots and apply this method to any type of situation.

“I want to solve the questions that are most central to creating AI, and, at the moment, the most central question is, ‘How we can go beyond pixels and motors on robots?’ The reason why I focus on abstractions is because it’s so glaringly necessary (for robots) to be able to do intelligent decision making.”

Tellex’s lab specializes in humanrobot interaction, discovering ways to create robots that work collaboratively with people, according to a University press release. With her funding from the Young Faculty Award, Tellex has been working on algorithms that allow robots to combine signals translated from human speech and gestures.

This allows robots to execute simple fetching tasks with more speed and accuracy. With the Director’s Fellowship, Tellex will continue working on her algorithm, hoping to expand its scope, according to the press release.

TODAY

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2017 • PAGE 5

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

f lu - f r e e

menu SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS

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

BLUE ROOM

Chicken Alfredo Bowl, Quesadilla Station

Sushi Night

DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH

DINNER

Spicy Herb Baked Chicken, Indian Syle Chickpeas, Fried Samosa Patty, Blondie Bars

White Beans with Pork and Italian Sausage, Cheesy Zucchini Casserole, Magic Bars

VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH

DINNER

Breaded Chicken Fingers, Spicy Dahl, Brown Rice Pilaf, Blondie Bars

Tilapia with Provencal, Cavatelli Primavera, Panettone Bread Pudding

sudoku

JASMINE RUIZ / HERALD

Flu season is upon us, and Health Services is offering flu shots today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Underground in the bottom floor of the Campus Center. The flu shots are free for students who bring their Brown IDs.

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

“Give a shout-out to my teammates, too. They’re awesome.”

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—Athlete of the Week Christine Etzel ’19

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See aotw on page 1.

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 Post-op regimen 6 Ligurian capital 11 Pepper, e.g.: Abbr.

14 End of __ 15 “Paper Moon” co-star 16 Fight sound 17 FL? 19 A single might get you one 20 Tops 21 Herr’s home 22 Like always 25 One with an inflamed “I”?

27 Legal matter 28 CO? 31 Increasing in vol.

34 Swiss peak 35 AK? 40 Twist of a sort 41 Doohickey 43 OR? 47 Dixie product 48 Not at all light 49 Gets going after a crash 52 __ rock 53 Harum-__ 55 Blubber 56 ND? 61 Navig., for one 62 Gourmet mushroom 63 Sheets and such 64 Rocky hails 65 Kind of secret represented by each two-letter puzzle clue?

66 Saw DOWN 1 Battle of Britain gp.

2 Like mil. volunteers 3 “What’s the big idea?!”

4 Recital pieces 5 Language family common in southern Cameroon 6 Split with the band 7 Fangorn Forest denizens

8 How cognac is usually served 9 It fits in a lock 10 Key used in shortcuts 11 Wrench 12 Tank 13 Little wrench 18 Ally Financial Inc., formerly 21 Exuberant cry 22 Pop-up path 23 Balkan native 24 Tech support caller 25 I can follow them 26 Do a Sunday morning church job 29 “The Threepenny Opera” star 30 Really be into 32 Grabbed 33 Pool shot 36 Band with the multi-platinum album “Follow the Leader” 37 Liszt’s “Piano Sonata __ Minor” 38 Psychotic penguin in “Madagascar”

39 Letter-shaped fastener 42 Rte. finder 43 Elaborate style 44 Outs 45 Nurturing place 46 Saw cut 48 Impertinent 50 Weightlifter’s pride 51 All, to Caesar 53 Poet Teasdale

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54 Site where techs get news 56 Execs who make trades 57 Balderdash 58 Hill worker 59 Wrangler competitor 60 Apt puzzle answer, in this case

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CORRECTION A previous version of an article published Oct. 18 titled “D’Amico speaks about different nations’ incarceration rate” stated that Daniel D’Amico is a visiting professor of political science. In fact, he is a lecturer in economics and associate director of the Political Theory Project. The Herald regrets the error.

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Flu Clinics 9 A.M. The Underground

Mesa de Conversacion 12 P.M. Sharpe Refectory, 6

SATURDAY Orchestra Concert 8 P.M. Sayles Hall

Set GO In Motion 8 P.M. Ashamu Dance Studio

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

Getting Started with CareerLAB

12 P.M. CareerLab

COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2017

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

BROWN BITES

Brown Bites: Oct. 15 – 21 Legend on the court, activist in life Brown Lecture Board welcomed former NBA player, author and activist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Oct. 16. Far from just a legendary basketball player, Abdul-Jabbar spoke about his activism and leadership. He began his lecture by describing the turning point in his life when he met Martin Luther King Jr. in Harlem and, later, boxer and activist Muhammad Ali. He discussed his commitment to the civil rights movement, citing activism as his “guiding light.” A devout Muslim, Abdul-Jabbar said that the most important aspect of his life is “being able to assert an identity that is in harmony with who I am and what my ancestry is all about and what my moral and political feelings are all about.”

Grappling with Hurricane María Amidst the aftermath of Hurricane María, Puerto Rican students and faculty have formed the Asociación Puertorriqueña of Brown University to provide a place of comfort while discussing the hurricane and its emotional toll. Students have waited days and even weeks to hear from family members affected by the disaster. The Asociación is working to raise funds and advocate for Puerto Rico and is planning a teach-in about Puerto Rican political and economic problems, which have been magnified by the hurricane. Rafael Gonzalez Cruz GS, who has yet to make contact with his brother in Puerto Rico, said, “A lot of people … were expecting the (United States) to come to our aid immediately, because we are part of the (United States),” yet “that didn’t happen.” Irelys Cordero ’19, who waited two weeks before hearing from his mother, noted that students must continue to advocate for, talk about and post about what’s happening in Puerto Rico online. “Don’t let this issue go quiet in the media,” he said.

Giving meters The new orange meters around Providence, including on Thayer Street, may be a strange sign for pedestrians who stroll by them. Installed throughout Providence, these Giving Meters accept donations on behalf of PVD Gives, Mayor Jorge Elorza’s initiative to support services for homeless individuals. The collected funds will go through a grant application process and get donated to non-profit organizations. Victor Morente, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office, noted that though the meters are not “a direct measure intended to curb panhandling,” those who give money to panhandlers may not know what the funds will be used for. While this initiative has received positive recognition, Gabriel Zimmerman ’17.5, a site leader for Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere argues that the city should first focus on affordable housing in order to solve homelessness.

Proposal to change drop deadline The College Curriculum Council held a public forum to discuss putting a motion forward to move the drop deadline date back to the middle of the semester. The University’s current drop date deadline is one of the latest in the Ivy League, but around 20 students gathered for this forum held in the Underground. Students who drop courses later in the semester often drop the course before finals to avoid getting a poor grade. Dean of the College Maud Mandel says that this “grade management strategy” counters the Open Curriculum’s purpose of encouraging students to explore and take risks. Forum attendees also discussed concerns about mental health and applicability to graduate programs, as losing the ability to drop a course late in the semester could cause them to get a low grade. Others at the forum said moving the deadline earlier could induce stress from being trapped in a course they’re struggling with. Nothing is official as the CCC can make a proposal but not an ultimate decision. If the CCC votes in favor of the motion, it goes through Faculty Committees and the full faculty for a vote, Mandel said.

Project Tampon The Undergraduate Council of Students’ “Project Tampon” will switch tampon distributors after student complaints about the branding of the company Tampon Tribe. The name and branding of the company has generated student concern, particularly from students in the Native community at Brown, according to UCS president Chelse-Amoy Steele ’18. To solve the issue, the council will instead source the sanitary products from Boxed, an online retail company which was used last year for Project Tampon. Steele said that they were able to reclaim funding from Tampon Tribe, and, though negotiations are still going through, they will find a way to source the funding. UCS general body members broadened the discussion to talk about the effects of President Trump’s move to end DACA on students and student protests on campus directed at visiting speakers.

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COMMENTARY FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2017 • PAGE 7

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

Cutting the cost of college textbooks GINA RAIMONDO op-ed contributor This past summer, I met a mom in southern Rhode Island. She was dressed for work, and her kids were about the same age as my son, Tommy. We started talking. She told me about how she dropped out of high school when she got pregnant, then later earned her GED. She worked a few different jobs at deli counters for various grocery store chains, but had trouble supporting her family on the hourly wages they paid. So she enrolled at Rhode Island College and eventually got her degree.

Thanks to that degree, she told me, “I finally have a real job.” She works at an accounting firm full-time. And she told me to keep investing in education.

“I’m living proof of the power of a degree,” she said.

I hear stories like hers from Rhode Islanders everywhere I go. It’s more important than ever to have some kind of education or credential past a high school degree. By 2025, it’s estimated that 70 percent of jobs in Rhode Island will require post-secondary education.

But, according to our state Department of Labor and Training, less than 45 percent of Rhode Islanders have that right now.

We know that most high school students want to go to college. Every year, the R.I. Department of Education surveys seniors graduating from high school. About 90 percent say they want to go to college, but only

Over the past two and a half years, we’ve made progress. We started offering the SAT and PSAT free of charge to every high school junior and senior.

We expanded programs like the Advanced Coursework Network, which

in the nation offering free community college to our students. Already, more than 1,400 students have taken advantage of the scholarship at the Community College of Rhode Island, resulting in a more than 40 percent

PIA MILEAF-PATEL / HERALD

65 percent actually do. The number one reason students cite for not going? Money.

As governor, that’s a red flag to me.

We need to do more to help students succeed.

allows students to earn college credit for free while still in high school.

And, with the passage of this year’s budget, we created the new Rhode Island Promise Scholarship, adding our name to the list of just four states

increase in enrollment since last year.

We need to attack the problem of college affordability from every angle. It’s not just the cost of courses or standardized tests that price students out of getting a degree — it’s also the

cost of textbooks. That’s why last year, I launched the Rhode Island Open Textbook Initiative, challenging every college and university in the state to save students money by switching to free, openly-licensed textbooks.

The goal is to save college students $5 million over five years by supporting faculty in updating their syllabi and produce results. One year into the initiative, we can report over $870,000 in savings for over 6,000 Rhode Island students. And that number is still growing.

As students and faculty, there’s so much you can do to help. Brown hasn’t yet switched out any texts, but you can help us get there. So students: Talk to your administrators and professors.

Let them know there are resources out there to support them in adopting open textbooks. Let them know how much this matters to you. And faculty: Talk to your librarians. Campuses across the state are hosting regular open textbook trainings, and every school has a trained librarian on staff who can help guide you to quality open resources in your subject matter.

This is just the beginning. Together, we can lower the cost of higher education for everyone and increase opportunity for all.

Gina M. Raimondo is the governor of Rhode Island.

Dear Jimmy Fallon MILI MITRA opinions editor The Trump administration, with its many foibles and missteps, has been a boon for late-night television. Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert have seen their ratings skyrocket after their scathing critiques of President Trump and his enablers. Jimmy Kimmel had one of the most viral moments of the year in May, with a heart-wrenching monologue that took down a Republican healthcare proposal gutting protections for people with pre-existing conditions.

Saturday Night Live has re-emerged as a major driver of national conversation — and become all the more hilarious for it. (If you haven’t watched the skit “Kellywise” from this weekend’s show, you’re missing out.) But there is one late-night show that has failed to take advantage of the remarkable political era we are living in: The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

The story of The Tonight Show’s unanticipated fall from grace began last September, when Fallon was at the top of his comedy game. Fresh from ratings boost after ratings boost, he decided to invite then-presidential candidate Trump to his show to talk about the election. The interview that followed was one of the most cringeworthy moments in modern late-night comedy, with an obsequious Fallon groveling — and normalizing — a truly indefensible candidate. Though he later

apologized for his error in judgment, his ratings took an irreversible hit: In the last year, his show has fallen from first to second in the rankings and, with the growing popularity of Jimmy Kimmel Live, could even find itself third in the months to come.

Yet Fallon has doubled down on his apolitical approach to comedy. When

First of all, how does one separate politics and pop culture in the era of Trump? Trump’s shadow looms large and impacts all aspects of American life. His presence is felt on the football field as the NFL becomes the new political battleground of our time; in Hollywood, as the Harvey Weinstein saga has been transformed into a political

he is ignoring a key driver of popular culture — and, in the process, making his own show culturally irrelevant.

Not to mention the fact that Fallon is only in a position to shy away from politics because he is not directly targeted by Trump’s unabashed hatemongering. I doubt comedians like Trevor Noah, Samantha Bee or Hasan

Fallon’s distinction between politics and pop culture is either disingenuous or misguided; the line between the two has never been more blurred. By sidestepping the specter of Trump, he is ignoring a key driver of popular culture — and, in the process, making his own show culturally irrelevant.

NBC host Willie Geist asked him about his failure to take on Trump in the same way as his late-night peers, Fallon admitted, “It’s just not what I do. I think it’d be weird for me to start doing that now. I don’t really even care that much about politics. I’ve got to be honest: I love pop culture more than I love politics.” Cue the backlash.

brawl; and on our television screens, as programs like Black-ish, How to Get Away with Murder and even Miss America tackle politics more than ever before. So Fallon’s distinction between politics and pop culture is either disingenuous or misguided; the line between the two has never been more blurred.

By sidestepping the specter of Trump,

Minhaj would announce that they don’t “care that much about politics” right now. Fallon’s nonchalance is a reflection of his privilege as a wealthy white man — a privilege that much of the comedy on his show embraces. As New Yorker writer Jia Tolentino once pointed out on Twitter, “Never forget to be extremely wary of every person in your life who

has not experienced this last year as a personal moral emergency.”

I’m not saying that Fallon should turn every single show into a political diatribe. He’s right in one respect: His brand of comedy has always centered on pop culture, and he can and should embrace that. If that means inviting celebrities to play “Wheel of Musical Impressions” on the show, then he can go right ahead. But that doesn’t mean he can’t also address Trump’s new travel ban in a monologue, ask guests to weigh in on the news of the day if they are willing or, heck, call out the president when he shrugs his shoulders at the devastation in Puerto Rico. I never thought I’d say this, but Jimmy Kimmel set an example of how to merge light-hearted celebrity gossip with political relevance earlier this year.

Fallon doesn’t have to abandon his style and become what he’s not — but he should at least try to use his platform for more than just the same old laughs.

My favorite Fallon moment of the year by far has been his opening monologue after the horrifying events in Charlottesville in August. He began his speech by saying, “Even though the Tonight Show isn’t a political show, it is my responsibility to stand up against intolerance and extremism as a human being.” I just wish he’d continue to take his own advice.

Mili Mitra ’18 can be found watching SNL on repeat and can be reached at mili_mitra@brown.edu.

SPORTS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2017

With Farrell ousted, where can Red Sox find a new manager?

CHARLIE BLASBERG sports columnist After finishing atop the American League East division for the second consecutive year, the Boston Red Sox has sent manager John Farrell packing. His resume with the Red Sox includes three division wins, a World Series Championship and two last-place finishes. With Farrell completely out of the picture, who will Dave Dombrowski, president of baseball operations, tap next for perhaps the most prestigious managerial position in baseball?

Dombrowski was clear about his intention to fire Farrell after the Houston Astros knocked the Red Sox out of the Divisional Round of this year’s playoff. This marked consecutive years in which the Red Sox won the AL East but failed to advance to the second round of the playoffs. Just two days after their season-ending defeat, Dombrowski fired Farrell, who was five seasons into his role as the Sox’ skipper.

To put that in perspective, the only Red Sox managers to stay in town longer than five years in the team’s history are Terry Francona (2004-2011) and Joe Cronin (1935-1947). When the team fails to meet its high annual expectations, as it did this season, something has to change. That change often comes in the form of a new manager.

Recently, changing managers has brought new life to the Red Sox. The team fired Grady Little after he brought them to within a game of the World Series in 2003, and, in Terry Francona’s first season with the Red Sox the next year, the Red Sox won the World Series — its first in 86 years.

Again, in 2013, after the Sox ousted Bobby Valentine, John Farrell won a World Series with the team in his first campaign as manager. Though Farrell’s record with Boston is far from bad, shaking things up has proven effective in getting the team over the hump in the past.

Dombrowski, having fired Farrell so soon after the season, must act quickly to secure a new manager.

The Red Sox have a two-year window to win, as many players in the team’s

young core are coming up on the end of their contracts after 2019. The time is now, and John Farrell was clearly not making the most out of the tools he was given. The weight of the club falls on Dombrowski’s shoulders as he is tasked with hiring a manager who can turn this team of could-be all-stars into World Series champions.

In the running for the position are three major candidates: Alex Cora, Brad Ausmus and Ron Gardenhire.

The media briefly toyed with the possibilities of having former Red Sox captain Jason Varitek and current Red Sox infield coach Brian Butterfield fill the vacancies, but there has been no evidence of Dombrowski giving either a hard look.

Alex Cora played with the Red Sox from 2005-2008, helping the team win a championship in 2007. He is now the bench coach for the Houston Astros and is regarded as an asset within the organization. John Farrell struggled with the constant media pressure in Boston, but Cora may be better equipped after being a baseball analyst for ESPN for four years after retiring from the majors. At 42, Cora would be

a young manager in his first season at the Major League level. With a city expecting a championship and only two seasoned clubhouse veterans to aid him, Alex Cora would be in for a roller coaster season.

Next on the list, Brad Ausmus is now without a job after the Detroit Tigers opted not to renew their now ex-manager’s contract past 2017. Dave Dombrowski was with the Tigers when the team hired Ausmus in 2014, and the two worked well together before Dombrowski departed in 2015.

Ausmus also managed the Sox’s struggling pitcher David Price for a year, during which he recorded a 13-8 record and a 2.90 ERA. A safe choice, Ausmus would provide little spark for the underperforming Red Sox. But then again, maybe the Sox need someone to underthink things and just let them play.

Finally, Ron Gardenhire, the current Arizona Diamondbacks’ bench coach, met with Dave Dombrowski Wednesday. He brings experience to this role that neither Cora nor Ausmus have, having been a manager or coach in the Major League for 25 years. He

managed the Minnesota Twins for thirteen years but definitely lost his touch towards the end. He has been compared to Terry Francona, who is slightly more hands-on than Farrell was, both in keeping players accountable and in creating a positive clubhouse atmosphere.

All three candidates have been interviewed, and, while Dombrowski has left open the possibility for more candidates to be considered, these are the frontrunners for now. The Red Sox would definitely like to act quickly so it can assemble the right cast of coaches to surround the new manager. But with a decision this weighty, I would not be surprised if Dombrowski takes until November to announce Farrell’s replacement. Regardless of who he hires, a change will do the Red Sox good. A fresh perspective on the lineup and a new face in the media will only benefit the team, whether it comes from Cora, Ausmus or Gardenhire.

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

Breaking down Gary Sanchez’s playoff slump SAM GRIGO sports columnist Since he arrived in the big leagues at the beginning of August last season, the Yankees’ Gary Sanchez has been the best catcher in MLB, and it hasn’t really been close. Over the last two full seasons, only Buster Posey has accumulated more Wins Above Replacement than Sanchez: Posey leads 8.3 to 7.6 by Fangraphs’ WAR, but he has also played in 111 more games. During that same time frame, Sanchez’s weighted runs created plus, a measure of offensive performance, is 142 — meaning he has performed 42 percent better than league average at the dish — while no other catcher with more than 200 plate appearances has produced a wRC+ over 129. And for all the worry about his defense, Sanchez rates well by defensive runs saved at throwing runners out, and he has only been a touch below league average according to Stat Corner’s pitch framing metric.

Games four and five of the ALCS notwithstanding, that success has not translated to the playoffs. Even counting his recent two-game outburst, Sanchez has posted an anemic 62 wRC+ in 11 postseason games — a disastrous 38 percent worse than league average — and he has only reached base in a little more than 20 percent of his plate appearances, a 14-percentage-point drop below his career rate.

Surprisingly, Sanchez’s batted ball profile in the playoffs has changed very little from the regular season. Per Baseball Savant, Sanchez’s average exit velocity is down just 1.6 mph in the postseason to 89.1 mph, and his average launch angle of 13.5 degrees is only .2 degrees higher than it was from April through September. Still, Sanchez ran up a robust .379 expected weighted on-base average — a metric that bases hitter performance off only strikeouts, walks, exit velocity and launch angle

SAM GRIGO / HERALD

— during the regular season, a figure that has dipped to .286 through game five of the ALCS, according to Baseball Savant.

Given Sanchez’s quality of contact thus far in the playoffs, that difference can be attributed to his playoff strikeout and walk rates, both of which have moved in the wrong direction since October. Sanchez has walked in just 2.1 percent of his plate appearances this postseason compared to 7.6 percent in the regular season, and he has struck out in an Aaron Judge-like 36.2 percent of his plate appearances, up from his regular season rate of 22.9 percent..

Pitchers have approached Sanchez differently in the playoffs, a factor that might be contributing to those unpleasant walk and strikeout trends. In the regular season, Sanchez saw 56.8 percent fastballs to go with

32.7 percent breaking balls, per MLB’s PITCHf/x data. So far in the postseason, pitchers have gone to a more even mix, throwing him just 48.7 percent fastballs along with 46.8 percent breakers. Considering Sanchez’s history, that adjustment might seem surprising. While he hit fastballs reasonably well during the regular season — ranking 52nd out of 144 qualified hitters in runs above average per 100 pitches against heaters — Sanchez thrived against sliders, ranking 33rd versus that pitch type, per Fangraphs’ pitch type linear weights model. Scouts must have looked at Sanchez’s dismal numbers against curveballs and decided to take their chances by throwing more breaking balls.

For the most part, that strategy has worked. As of this morning, Sanchez’s whiff rate is up nine-percentage-points

against sliders and four-percentagepoints against curveballs for the playoffs, in part due to poor pitch selection on the part of the Yankees’ backstop. Through game four of the ALCS, Sanchez has swung at 50 percent of the breaking balls thrown to him outside the strike zone, a figure almost ninepercentage-points higher than his regular season chase percentage, according to numbers derived from MLB’s PITCHf/x data.

But it’s not just the pitch mix that has been different against Sanchez in the postseason — pitchers are attacking him with strikes more often, too.

Postseason hurlers have thrown their breaking balls in the strike zone 55.6 percent of the time, a seven-percentage-point jump from their regular season percentage. And their fastballs have found the zone 56.1 percent of the

time this postseason compared to less than half the time during the regular year.

The graphics that accompany this article chart all the fastballs and breaking balls Sanchez has seen through game four of the ALCS, with the results of his swing attempts coded by shape. The charts show that pitchers have made many mistakes with both pitch types to him in the playoffs — Sanchez has simply failed to capitalize at his usual clip.

In the breaking ball plot, you can see that most of Sanchez’s contact has come on breakers down and away, while he has swung through or fouled off hangers up and over the plate. And in the fastball plot, you’ll notice a cluster of swinging strikes and foul balls versus heaters in the middle horizontal third of the dish. The effect of missing those pitches is twofold: Not only does Sanchez lose the opportunity to punish a mistake by the pitcher, but also it puts him into a worse count for the remainder of the at-bat. This point might be helpful for understanding why Sanchez’s strikeout rate has spiked in the playoffs. By fouling off or whiffing on hittable pitches rather than putting them into play with authority, Sanchez has been working himself into pitcher’s counts where he’s less likely to be successful.

Of course, games four and five against the Houston Astros highlighted what Sanchez can be when he’s locked in and crushing mistakes. In game four, Sanchez sprayed a fastball over the plate to right-center for a two RBI double, and in game five he hammered a pair of loopy breakers for a single and a home run.

To close out the Astros and take down the winner of the NLCS in the World Series, the Yankees could use that version of Sanchez.

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