Friday, February 25th, 2022

SINCE 1891

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2022

VOLUME CLVIII, ISSUE 13

BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM

SPORTS

METRO

Gymnasts cite practice facility issues

RI community orgs celebrate Black history

Student-athlete concerns include lack of soft landings, spacing in facilities

Directors, staff discuss special events, goals for continued advocacy

BY HALEY SANDLOW SENIOR STAFF WRITER Almost every Saturday at 6:40 a.m., the women’s gymnastics team boards two vans and drives 20 minutes away from campus to the Ocean State School of Gymnastics Center in Lincoln, RI, to gain access to what most of the gymnasts had previously as level 10, Junior Olympic gymnasts: soft landings.

The gymnastics team’s campus facilities, located on the second floor of the Pizzitola Sports Center, do not have a foam pit or a Resi-Pit mat, which allow for the soft landings needed to do many reps of high-level skills, particularly on floor and vault, according to multiple athletes who spoke with The Herald.

Doing too many reps on regular mats like the ones used in competitions can become strenuous on ankles and knees due to the high impact and may increase a gymnast’s risk of injury, athletes ex-

BY RHEA RASQUINHA SENIOR STAFF WRITER

TRACY PAN / HERALD

Brown gymnasts are only able to to practice specific skills like vault passes a few days a week when traveling to off-campus facilities. plained.

Having received injuries in the current facility, one gymnast believes the lack of soft landings and the cramped space are partially to blame.

Doing gymnastics so early in the morning is “brutal,” gymnast Abby Walsh ’22 said. They are often exhausted, and it can become difficult to warm up for practice. Asta Farrell ’24 said she gets nauseous if she tries to eat that early in the morning, so she will sometimes go to a three hour practice on an empty stomach.

The team is only able to use the off-campus gym a few times a week, Walsh said. The team goes to the facility on Saturdays, for half their practice time every Monday and Tuesday at 2 p.m. and occasionally other days of the week if athletes ask in advance. After an hour and a half, the team returns to the Pizzitola Center to finish practice and train on beam and bars, as the NCAA trains with a different rail of bars than what’s provided at the off-campus center. If

SEE GYMNASTICS PAGE 12

As Black History Month comes to a close, community service and education organizations throughout Providence and Rhode Island have held several events to celebrate and continue advocacy efforts for the Black community.

The Herald spoke to five organizations about how they commemorated the month.

Providence Children’s Museum The Providence Children’s Museum has an annual play “MLK: Amazing Grace,” which took place this year on Feb. 19. The play tells the story of Martin Luther King, Jr. and highlights the Civil Rights Movement in a way that focuses on children, said Caroline Payson, executive director

of the museum.

“It begins from the point of view of a little boy who’s trying to make sense of justice and injustice as he sees it,” Payson said. “Our hope from that play is that they see themselves, regardless of their background, as kids who can ask questions about things that might be troubling them in the world.”

The museum also has weekly recorded books and is featuring its partnership with the Rhode Island Black Storytellers Association this month, Payson said.

“I want kids’ experience at the museum to be what it is that they need,”’ Payson said, whether that be running down the ramp, exploring laser cutters and 3D printers in the innovation studio, or learning about the story of a Dominican immigrant through the Fefa’s Market reconstruction.

Programming and exhibits at the museum have been impacted by the pandemic: according to Payson, the museum saw about 180,000-190,000 patrons annually pre-COVID but is

SEE COMMUNITY PAGE 4

UNIVERSITY NEWS

SPORTS

Thompson discusses addressing racial inequity

Women’s hockey wins, ties in away games

Event hosted in partnership between CSREA, NAACP Providence Chapter

BY SOFIA BARNETT STAFF WRITER In a Feb. 24 webinar hosted by the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America in partnership with the Providence Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, journalist Bankole Thompson discussed the role of major institutions in addressing racial inequalities. Thompson currently serves as dean of The PuLSE Institute, a Detroit-based national anti-poverty think tank angled toward resolving socioeconomic disparities universally experienced by low-income Black communities.

The event, titled “Race and Democracy in the Era of Black Lives Matter,” featured welcoming remarks from President Christina Paxson P’19 and concluded with a question and answer session led by Tricia Rose, CSREA director, professor of Africana

Studies and dean of the faculty for special initiatives.

Paxson opened the discussion with an acknowledgment of the slow progress toward racial equity within and beyond institutions of higher education.

“I expect that everyone in this room knows that as a nation and a world, progress toward racial equity has been uneven,” she said.

“Time and time again, we see vivid evidence that discrimination and inequity is very much alive, and this leads to a question: What will the major institutions — and from my mind, universities — play in addressing racial injustice and systematic racism?”

Paxson asked. “The good news is that there’s so much we can do.”

Paxson explained that her goal for the University is to provide a safe and prosperous place for Black students to pursue their academics and flourish in a thoughtful and uplifting community.

“In terms of education, I believe that we have to ensure our campuses are places where Black students come in increasing numbers and that the environment is one in which they

Bears tie against Princeton, shock Quinnipiac with stellar defense

BY ADIZA ALASA STAFF WRITER The women’s hockey team (6-18-5, 6-12-4 ECAC) tied Princeton (1113-5, 9-10-3 ECAC) 2-2 in an away game Friday night. Following a comefrom-behind tie, the Bears traveled to Connecticut where they defeated the No. 9 nationally ranked Quinnipiac University team (23-8-3, 15-7 ECAC) 1-0 in Brown’s final game of the season.

Both games’ results come as improvements from the teams’ last matchups in October when Brown lost to Princeton 2-3 and Quinnipiac 3-5.

The six victories brought the program its most overall wins since the 2016-17 season and its most ECAC wins since the 2008-9 season.

The win against Quinnipiac marks Brown’s second victory over a top 10 ranked opponent this season. The Bears defeated No. 4 Yale in January.

SEE DEMOCRACY PAGE 11

S&R

Arts & Culture

U. News

Erica Walker discusses climate injustices for Love Data Week Page 8

Students in creative fields cite difficulties finding internships Page 9

CS community reflects on new intro course CSCI 0200 Page 10

COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS

Bears come from behind to tie against Princeton and shock Quinnipiac with stellar defense.

Brown 2, Princeton 2 Brown’s offense started the game strong with Shay Maloney ’22 scoring just 22 seconds into the opening period.

Megan Forrest GS advanced a pass to Maloney, who attacked through the slot and slid the puck past Princeton’s goaltender, giving the Bears a 1-0 lead they would maintain into the second period. Leading the team with 10 assists this season, the assist on Maloney’s goal marked Forrest’s ninth point in the last 10 games.

Princeton tied the game 1-1 two minutes into the middle frame and took the 2-1 lead five minutes later.

The Bears trailed the Tigers into the third period when they rallied to tie the score 2-2 with five seconds re-

maining on the power play. Lizzy Gross ’22 made an assist to Anna Hurd ’24 who scored inside the left post from the slot eight minutes into the final period. Following this, regulation remained scoreless.

Maya Mangiafico ’24 shot the puck off the crossbar during overtime in an attempt so close officials reviewed it after the game. Ultimately, the shot was determined not to have been a goal.

Brown’s goaltender Kaley Doyle ’24 made 21 saves in the game, including three in overtime to maintain the tie.

The final score marked the Bears’ third tie in their last four games.

SEE HOCKEY PAGE 11

TODAY TOMORROW

DESIGNED BY DANA TONEVA ’24 DESIGNER JULIA GROSSMAN ’23 DESIGN EDITOR

36 / 22

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NEIL MEHTA ’25 DESIGN EDITOR

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2022

ARTS & CULTURE

‘The Fallout’ masterfully captures trauma, coming of age Megan Park’s directorial debut delivers nuanced portrayal of teenagers, Gen Z

BY LIVIA GIMENES STAFF WRITER Every generation has its defining coming-of-age movies. Classics like “Dead Poets Society” and “Perks of Being a Wallflower” are hallmarks in cinematic history with their sad but compelling storylines that capture the angst of the teenage years.

With its complex portrayal of the consequences of trauma, HBO Max’s latest feature film “The Fallout” has the potential to be the “The Fault in Our Stars” of this generation.

The film follows the story of high school student Vada Cavell (Jenna Ortega) after she survives a mass shooting at her school. The movie delicately handles the complexity of trauma while also addressing the issues of growing up in the early 2020s.

Even though it handles two difficult topics, “The Fallout” delivers with extreme mastery and nuance.

Unlike other depictions of shootings in teen and adult media, “The Fallout” does not focus on the actual violence — it chooses not to dramatize or create any suspense around the tragedy that happens in the first minutes of the movie. Instead, it fo-

cuses on portraying the raw emotions associated with the violence and its aftermath. A stellar performance by Ortega expertly showcases these effects.

“The Fallout” approaches each character’s trauma in its unique manifestations. While Vada handles her trauma by isolating herself and eventually having a rebellious outburst, other characters manifest their grief and fears in different ways. Vada’s best friend, Nick Feinstein (Will Ropp) becomes a gun control activist, and Mia Reed (Maddie Ziegler), Vada’s love interest, isolates herself from everyone but Vada. These conflicting experiences not only provide insight into the varying manifestations of trauma, but they also expertly provide realistic tension among the characters.

Park, who recently transitioned into directing and writing, rose to fame as the star in classic teen TV shows of the late 2000s like “The Secret Life of an American Teenager.” In an interview with Teen Vogue, Park said that because she was an actress in a time where teen media was often discarded and portrayed in an unrealistic manner, she feels that it is her “mission” to translate and portray teen stories in a way that feels authentic.

The portrayal of teenagers in the movie feels so natural, it’s almost a bit strange to watch. All of the teenagers feel like they could easily exist in any high school across America.

Although some of the characters are

COURTESY OF WARNER MEDIA

Vada handles her trauma by isolating herself and eventually having a rebellious outburst, but other characters’ grief manifests in different ways. inspired by high school tropes, none of them ever feel like one-dimensional stereotypes. Even if they don’t have much screen time, the movie still does a good job at establishing each character and fleshing out their own uniqueness.

Park also succeeds in her authentic portrayal of teens by being able to perfectly capture the essence of Gen Z without even coming close to the realm of camp or cringiness.

Everything from costumes to the soundtrack — which was produced

by music giant FINNEAS — helps provide an ambiance that just feels effortlessly current. In addition, all the dialogue, especially when conducted over either text or FaceTime, flows authentically.

But, beyond just the ambience and dialogue, “The Fallout” delivers a realistic picture of Gen Z through the relationships between its characters. The movie does not seem to care for traditional gender dynamics in friendships and relationships — instead, every dynamic

feels authentic.

Currently, there is no way of guaranteeing that the HBO Max production will transform into a generational classic. While one can hope that the movie will have as much cultural impact as the aforementioned classics, one thing that “The Fallout” already showcases is that there is a place for compelling teen media. There just needs to be care and nuance in telling these stories.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2022

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

3

SPORTS

Men’s hockey wins shootout over Union to cap electric Senior Night Two seniors score against Union College after disappointing loss to RPI

BY NICHOLAS MILLER SENIOR STAFF WRITER The men’s hockey team (6-17-3, 6-113 ECAC) tied Union College (10-174, 7-11-2 ECAC) 2-2 Saturday night at Meehan Auditorium but picked up the full two points after winning the shootout 1-0. The game came a day after the Bears fell 4-2 at home to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (14-19-3, 9-11-0 ECAC).

The weekend’s results pushed the Bears past Princeton (8-16-2, 7-11-1 ECAC) and St. Lawrence University (816-6, 6-10-4 ECAC) to seventh place in the ECAC standings. Brown is currently on track to play at home in the first round of the conference tournament starting March 4.

Saturday’s tie with Union came on the team’s senior night, and goals from two senior centers, Tristan Crozier ’22 and Michael Maloney ’22, led the Bruno effort.

“We were fortunate enough to have a lot of alumni who graduated the past two years who were unable to have their own senior day, so it’s kind of like a big celebration for all of us,” Crozier said.

But before the festive atmosphere on Saturday, the Bears fell to RPI Friday despite outshooting the Engineers 30-23. “I thought we outplayed them in every facet,” Head Coach Brendan Whittet said. “Hockey is a cruel game.”

The Bears jumped out to a fast start, controlling possession and peppering the Engineers’ goal with shots.

A particularly promising chance came on a Brown power play midway through the first period. Dazzling Bruno puck movement culminated in forward Jake Harris ’22 playing a nolook, backhand pass to forward Justin

Jallen ’22, whose one-timer rocketed into the chest of the RPI goaltender, Jack Watson.

Later in the period, Watson denied forward Nathen Plessis ’23 at point blank range. Watson, who was not the starter when the Bears beat the Engineers 3-2 in January, finished the game with 28 saves.

“The goalie was excellent for them,” Whittet said. “He has really solidified their goaltending situation.”

The Bears won the shooting category for the period 9-5, but thanks to Watson, the game remained scoreless entering the first intermission.

Brown began the second period on the penalty kill, but a clever throughthe-legs move from Jallen while he drove to the net outshone the Engineers’ power play chances. However, his backhand was again saved by Watson.

But just minutes after killing the penalty, the Bears would commit another that would prove more costly.

An RPI shot from the blueline missed the goal by a sizable margin but rebounded off the boards right to a waiting Engineer attacker, Ryan Mahshie, who slotted it in the open net.

Brown committed a total of five penalties during the game. “We can’t be putting teams on power plays as much as we did,” Whittet said.

The Bears created several chances in response, including another mesmerizing move from Jallen who left his defender in the dust and snapped a backhander that Watson just barely saved.

But with less than a minute left before the second intermission, RPI defenseman Anthony Baxter fired a wrister from the blue line that found its way past Brown goalie Mathieu Caron ’25 to double the Engineers’ lead.

Whittet said that his message to the team at the intermission was “to play with a sense of desperation and intensity.”

It seemed that the Bears responded, regaining momentum at the start of the third when Jallen finally beat Watson to find the back of the net. Crozier sent

a crossnet pass to the backdoor to find his linemate who tapped the puck into the wide-open net. Jallen finished the game with six shots.

But, seconds after the goal, Harris was called for a tripping penalty, stopping the Bears’ momentum in its tracks.

Being on the penalty kill “weighs down our top players,” Whittet said.

Forward Wyatt Schlat ’25 would have his own open net opportunity later in the period, but he was unable to scrape the puck out of his feet and the chance disappeared with it moving slowly wide.

RPI punished the Bears for their missed opportunities when Shane Sellar snapped a howler into the top corner of the Bears’ net to expand the lead with four minutes left.

It proved a crucial insurance goal as a minute later, center Michael Maloney ’22 drove home a rebound to restore the one goal deficit.

But, after Brown pulled Caron in favor of a sixth skater, an RPI empty-net tap-in finally put the game out of reach.

“I think we had plenty of chances to put the puck in the net, it just boils down to executing them,” Maloney said.

But on Saturday against Union, luck was in Brown’s favor.

After a pregame ceremony honoring six Bruno seniors and one graduate student, the Bears began the game sluggishly. Brown recorded only four shots in the first period and conceded with five minutes to play when Union defenseman Brandon Estes wrapped around the Brown net and played a backhand pass across to forward Ville Immonen who netted a slapper from a tight angle.

“I don’t think we had a particularly crisp first period,” Whittet said.

After intermission, the Bears gained momentum and earned a power play opportunity five minutes in.

The Bears went 0-3 on the power play against RPI. Brown sits 57th among the 59 NCAA Division I teams in power play percentage. “They have to respond,” Whittet said of the power play unit after the RPI game. “They’re on the power play for a reason.”

COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS

After a disappointing loss to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute one day earlier, men’s hockey won a shootout over Union on senior night.

That response came after just 20 seconds of the man advantage when Crozier fired a wrister from the top of the circle that found the back of the net.

“We created some really Grade A opportunities (on the power play),” Whittet said.

Later, defenseman Samuli Niinisaari ’23 narrowly missed a chance to take the lead when he snapped a shot off the pipe, but it was Maloney that put the Bears ahead when he pounced on a rebound and lifted a backhander over Watson with a minute to play before intermission.

“They’re great players first and foremost,” Whittet said of senior goalscorers Crozier and Maloney. “Equally as important, they’re great people. I trust those guys wholeheartedly. I ask questions, I listen, I trust their opinions.”

But with the Bears entering the final period, protecting their first lead of the weekend, Immonen quickly slammed home his own rebound opportunity to tally his second goal of the game.

The goal set up a tense finish with both teams exchanging efforts to find the winner. Brown came closest with two minutes to play when a shot from forward Jonny Russell ’23 trickled past Watson but was cleared off the line by a Union defender.

Still deadlocked, the game moved to three-versus-three, sudden-death overtime. Both sides played the five-minute period cautiously, but strong saves

from Caron to deny open Union shots loomed large.

With neither team able to find the net, the game officially entered the record as a tie, but an extra point was up for grabs in the shootout.

After Caron poked away the first Union penalty shot, forward Jordan Tonelli ’24 cleanly dispatched his effort through Watson’s legs. Tonelli’s precise wrister was all the Bears needed with Caron making two more superb saves, including the clincher. While moving to his right, Caron kept his left leg stretched the other way to stuff Union forward Michael Hodge and give the Bears their first shootout victory of the season.

Sitting in seventh, the Bears are now one of four teams in position to host the first round of the ECAC tournament (the top four teams in the standings receive a bye).

But Brown still has more work to do with games this weekend against St. Lawrence, which trails the Bears by just one point, and No. 17 Clarkson University (18-8-6, 13-3-4), a team that beat Brown 5-0 earlier this month.

“The ECAC still is really wide open,” Crozier said.

After the senior celebration Saturday, Whittet said he hopes the graduating class takes advantage of the farewell season that the classes of 2020 and 2021 didn’t have. “I want them to make sure they go out on a good note,” he said.

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2022

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

COMMUNITY FROM PAGE 1 currently seeing 70 to 75% fewer visitors. The day of the “Amazing Grace” play saw 725 visitors, the largest number in any one day since 2019, Payson said, but the museum would see twice that prior to the pandemic. As a nonprofit that does not have a large endowment, the museum is slowly starting to move back to more physical exhibits and hopes for visitor numbers to recover.

Redwood Library and the Athenaeum The Redwood Library and the Athenaeum in Newport, RI held a series of virtual lectures on Black history, said Executive Director Benedict Leca, PhD ’04. These included talks from Rhode Island Civic Chorale & Orchestra Conductor Laureate Edward Markward, Wellesley College Professor of History Brenna Wynn Greer, RISD Professor Christopher Roberts and Stages of Freedom Co-Founders Ray Rickman and Robb Dimmick.

The Redwood also opened an art installation Feb. 16 which features a sculpture by contemporary artist Nari Ward, Leca said. Ward redesigns tall case clocks with West African wooden sculptures, and the piece is permanently displayed in the library.

For both libraries, the pandemic has led to both disadvantages and advantages. In-person presentations have not been able to happen, but the libraries pivoted quickly in August 2020 to use Crowdcast for online programming, built a Youtube channel and revamped the website. The Redwood also hosts an annual gospel choir concert with singers from two Black churches in Newport which was canceled last year for the safety of performers and the audience.

“Newport has a certain reputation … and we’re working hard to change that,” Leca said. “We double our efforts online to compensate for programming that we’re unable to do on site.” The Redwood and the Athenaeum are both partially reopened, with reduced hours from the pre-pandemic schedule, but accommodations can be made for researchers who need access to materials.

In regards to Black History Month and the library’s work, “You celebrate accomplishments and you retain a cer-

tain element of criticality because the struggle isn’t over,” Leca said.

Leca added that she hopes visitors will make an effort to understand “the richness and the subtleties” of the library’s collections.

“You want to consider your sources … and weigh the material that you’re absorbing critically,” she said.

Providence Community Library On Feb. 24, Rochambeau Library Clerk Khamry Varfley led a Women in Business panel event to inform attendees about the importance of supporting Black-owned businesses and give entrepreneurs a platform to share advice and stories. According to Varfley, COVID-19 has disproportionately affected Black-owned businesses, and supporting these businesses encourages other entrepreneurs, which helps diversify the economy.

“I really want people to get a better look at how small businesses and Black businesses are functioning,” she said.

Systems Coordinator Dhana Whiteing runs the monthly Conversations Book Club, which features books written by people of color and those from marginalized groups. On Mar. 16, Mount Pleasant Library will have a Black photographers showcase featuring four local Black photographers, one of whom volunteered at the library as a child, according to Whiteing.

“There’s just not enough days (in Black History Month), but we’re doing the best we can,” she added.

Other events at the library include an annual jazz concert in April or May, a marketplace set for April 30, recurring author talks and the seed program, which “highlights the leadership of BIPOC farmers and educators,” according to the library website, and a maker marketplace set to be held April 30.

The outdoor-centered marketplace is designed to highlight small businesses and serve as a networking opportunity, said Varfley, who is also a small business owner.

There is also hope that more events this year will attract more visitors and support for events in the future, and both Varfley and Whiteing hope patrons take advantage of the programming and resources available. “Come to your local

for is that people see the breadth and the wealth and the depth of African American History in Rhode Island not limited to 28 or 29 days a year, but for the entire year,” Dimmick said. “The bottom line is to recognize that Black history is shared history.”

COURTESY OF CAROLINE PAYSON

The “Amazing Grace” play at the Providence Children’s Museum highlighted Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement. library,” said Whiteing. “It’s one of the sode highlighting a significant African few places that’s free.”

American in Rhode Island. Rickman also gave two talks — one at Middlebridge Stages of Freedom School in Narragansett and the other at Ray Rickman and Robb Dimmick, the Barrington Congregational Church co-founders of Stages of Freedom, — about Stages of Freedom’s Swim Emheld a virtual event with Redwood powerment program for Black youth.

Library and the Athenaeum on Disap“Our theme is to really bring to the pearing Ink, a newly released bibliogforefront significant African Americans raphy of writings by and about African in Rhode Island and their contributions Americans which examines the Black to shaping culture and discourse,” Dimpress. “We want to bring this story to mick said. The two send daily email both the white and Black populations messages to 12,000 people, highlighthere in providence and inspire young ing events, resources and information people who are interested in jourabout the pandemic and provide 1000 nalism to consider starting their own test kits a week to the community. newspaper,” Dimmick said.

Stages of Freedom is also continuing Rickman and Dimmick have also to work on a new museum, set to open connected with Amiri Nash ’24, who later this year. founded The Black Star Journal, The Stages of Freedom has also compiled Herald previously reported. The first the “On the Road to Freedom” database, issue of the new publication is set to a virtual guide to sites associated with be released on Feb. 25.

Black History on Rhode Island. The orRickman and Dimmick also had five ganization’s website features other inone-minute segments for the Martha’s formation and updates about programs Vineyard Public Radio, with each epi- and events. “What we’re really hoping

CA L E N DA R

Newport Historical Society The Newport Historical Society is working to highlight the archival research and other work that is routinely done. The “Know Your History” web page is a compilation of resources and blog posts, including a collection of BIPOC History and Heritage in Rhode Island. There was also a “Creative Survival” walking tour on Feb. 20 which highlighted the history of POC in Newport.

“There is no history without Black history, so if we’re not telling it all year long, we are deliberately excluding a central component of our local history,” Executive Director Ruth Taylor said.

The group is also interested in trying “to highlight and discover the authentic voices of POC from the past,” according to Taylor.

There is currently a group of scholars working remotely to look through archival documents and incorporate references to POC from history into a database. According to Taylor, the goal is to build biographies by cross referencing in order to “talk more completely about the authentic experience of people in early Newport.”

“It’s an endeavor, but it yields fruit,” she said.

The pandemic has shifted some of the work done by the NHS, as more resources have been uploaded to the website. Online events and programs have also provided the capacity to reach a broader audience, Taylor said, as it hosts about 200,000 people annually.

Overall, Taylor said she is an advocate for the study of history. “I’m really hoping that the world starts recognizing that history isn’t a purely academic activity… understanding the history, how we got here, can be hugely helpful in understanding where we go from here, how we fix things,” she said.

“History is like this gigantic database of human behavior, and why would we ignore that?”

COVID -19 AT BROWN FEB. 17 TO 23

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189* *APPROXIMATE

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2022

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | POST-

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FEB 25 — VOL 29 — ISSUE 2

FEATURE

5

See Full Issue: ISSUU.COM/POSTMAGAZINEBDH

NARRATIVE

Dreams from My Mother Small island, small world

by Emily Tom In my dreams, I wake up in my childhood bed.

I make my way through the house that is no longer my own and find my mother sitting in the kitchen, staring out the window. The sky is a sheet of gray, a blank face. I cannot even see Diamond Head. My mother cradles a black and white portrait of an old woman in her lap. I do not recognize the old woman.

I say, “Who is that?”

My mother says, “She doesn’t want you to leave.”

Her eyes fixed on the photograph. The blank face of the sky.

I say, “Why?” She repeats, “She doesn’t want you to leave.”

ARTS & CULTURE

Spirituality on the Mat A meditation on yoga and meaning

Terrible Mothers & Terrible People

by Ellyse Givens

the lost daughter, from across the gulf

illustrated by Joanne HanI, IG: @joaanne

by Lily Seltz

At YogaSix, the breath is our Bible. Follow it, and you will find your way. Interestingly enough, though, my body doesn't like to exhale fully. There’s comfort in the tiny reservoir of air I stow away in my lungs— always there, just in case. Yet I exhale slightly and surrender a bit more to its sinking trajectory, easing closer and closer to emptiness. It’s painful—my body so desperately yearning to resupply itself. But I pause for a moment longer, allowing another faint puff to seep from my lips, and open my eyes. My mother is beside me, breathing. Ted is in front of me, in his usual place. Jorie, Dan, Kristie, and Drew are here too.

Here, in emptiness, in complete exhalation, my body reaches its fullest state.

Growing up without organized religion, I never thought I would have a spiritual community, a place within which souls differing in age, origin, and perspective somehow find synchronicity. But I found this at YogaSix Carlsbad.

Two years ago, I would never have expected myself

I’ve been told movies on airplanes always make you cry. And so I guess I’m willing to concede the possibility: It was just the airplane.

to be here. I used to hate yoga. Its call for stillness angered me. I didn’t want to worship my body; I didn’t want to be still. My body needed to be changed—at least according to the stinging expectations of competitive sports regimes. A 40-minute spin class could rid 300 calories from my body. The faster I pedaled, the higher up the leaderboards I climbed, and with that productivity came praise.

loved The Lost Daughter. To be fair, it’s not a fun movie to watch.

“I have decided that it’s girl boss season until the trees start blooming. As soon as I see a blossom, girl boss season is over. I can’t do any more work."

“Wait…am I the nudist?”

“I feel like we should just bring back lying for fun”

It might have just been the airplane because no one I’ve talked to, no one my age at least, has really

I queued it up this winter break mostly because I thought I was supposed to see it, the way we were all supposed to see The Queen’s Gambit last year. It’s a supersize serving of smart female stardom: Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley acting, with Maggie Gyllenhal as director, and adapted from an Elena Ferrante novel of the same name—it had to be good!

LIFESTYLE

Spring Memories a collection of short stories

by Post Spring Chickens

“For someone who calls herself an introvert, I really hate being alone with my thoughts.”

—Liza Kolbasov, “Hey, What Are You Thinking About?”

10.23.20

“Here, Dylan fulfills his purpose as a prophet, overcoming his cynicism to circumscribe history in eighteen words—you know, like a badass.”

—Griffin Plaag, “Two Writers,” 10.25.19

post–

Want to be involved?

Email: kyoko_leaman@brown.edu!

Stepping into Spring

By Emma Schneider Every spring of my childhood when the snow was finally half melted, I would go to the golf course near my house. On a sunny day, I would take off my shoes and run in the half-snow until my feet felt frozen.

There would be icy water which would squelch between my toes in the grass, and the smell of wet earth. When the cold became too much to bear, I’d bury my toes in the sand of the sand traps. The snow was so cold, and the sun-baked sand was so warm, and from the home barefoot, practicing for summer.

February 25, 2022

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | COMMENTARY

6

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2022

Liu ’25: Commodified queer fashion undermines its value Clothing has always been a form of gender expression. For queer people, fashion can serve as resistance against the gender binary and a performance that works to destabilize heteropatriarchal norms. Entertainers, as performers by nature, have often stood at the forefront of the mainstream movement toward more gender-fluid dressing. Figures like David Bowie and Freddie Mercury are examples of people who have crafted their images around eccentric, queer expression through clothing. In an increasingly progressive 21st century, performers who reject the gender binary through their clothing have become almost ubiquitous in pop culture. Yet there is danger in the continued sensationalization of gender-fluid fashion.

When celebrities are seen as the standard bearers in the fight against cisheteronormativity because of their androgynous fashion choices, we can risk commodifying free gender expression. Using queer fashion for profit dilutes its meaningfulness as an authentic expression of identity.

In the modern entertainment industry, a prime example of someone who is praised as a gender-bending fashion icon is singer Harry Styles. From the lacy Gucci dress he wore on the December 2020 Vogue cover to the feather boas he donned at the Grammys, Styles’s fashion choices have garnered both praise and criticism for their femininity and flamboyance. His fashion has taken mainstream pop culture by storm, and he has quickly become one of the most — if not the most — prominent modern celebrities spearheading gender-fluidity in the fashion industry.

Styles’s progressive wardrobe deserves to be

celebrated. Every bold fashion choice he and his team make is a testament to his strength and vision in rejecting norms that pigeonhole men into masculine, heterosexual forms of expression. Compared to other performers of his fame and caliber, the image he has crafted for himself is unique and bold.

But there are aspects of Styles’s fame which

This is not to say that Styles is disingenuous in his exploration of gender-fluid fashion. But it is worth noting that a celebrity like Styles, who has become so saturated in modern pop culture, has a marketable and malleable image that can be easily exploited in the name of profit. The reality is that every public move Styles (and any other celebrity of his caliber) makes is thor-

“Using queer fashion for profit dilutes its meaningfulness as an authentic expression of identity.”

dilute the impact of his progressive dressing.

Despite being vocal about gender-fluid fashion and the importance of authentic self-expression, Styles has nevertheless benefited from breaking boundaries initially tested by marginalized queer people who remain less visible in the movement. It was trans women of color who spearheaded the movement for LGBTQ+ rights and who fostered a culture where Styles could dress boldly. Still, he is being praised as a trailblazer of the queer fashion movement. It is impossible to accept Styles’s position as an iconic and game-changing entertainer without acknowledging the white and cisgender privilege that allowed him to get there.

oughly examined on the basis of whether it will be good for his image, and, therefore, his fame.

This includes his fashion choices. It seems almost counterintuitive to praise a celebrity like Harry Styles, whose decisions are so inseparable from the manipulation of his image for profit, for trailblazing this modern conception of queer fashion.

Queer self expression in clothing should be about refusal — the refusal of normativity, of straightness and of the gender binary. Because Styles is such a massive pop culture figure whose image earns him profit, it is unclear to what extent his gender expression is an authentic attempt to destabilize heteropatriarchal

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power structures and to what extent it is a marketable aspect of his personality. When queer dress is so interconnected with the exploitation of his image for capital gain, we risk commodifying queer self expression. This is dangerous because we then diverge from the anti-normativity that gender-fluid self expression fundamentally represents. Profit-oriented queer self-expression thus takes away from this crucial focus on refusal. It thus loses its political power as a middle-finger to established norms.

Whether or not Styles is genuine in his true exploration of queer and nonbinary fashion, it is nonetheless dangerous to equate free gender exploration and queer performance with a dress that a celebrity wears on the cover of a famous magazine. The former is politically meaningful, whereas the latter is primarily designed for mass consumption. Individuals should be encouraged to explore free gender expression through fashion. But with a celebrity culture that is so oversaturated in our everyday lives, it is dangerous to consider celebrities — especially white, cisgender ones — to be the leaders in this fight. As much as queer dress is a form of performance for so many, it is also a form of protest. That aspect is lost when gender-fluid and queer fashion looks mostly like a shallow aspect of a celebrity’s public image.

General Managers Alexandra Cerda Sophie Silverman

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2022

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | COMMENTARY

7

Slusarewicz ’23: Spite is a great motivator, until it isn’t Clothing has always been a form of gender expression. For queer people, fashion can serve as resistance against the gender binary and a performance that works to destabilize heteropatriarchal norms. Entertainers, as performers by nature, have often stood at the forefront of the mainstream movement toward more gender-fluid dressing. Figures like David Bowie and Freddie Mercury are examples of people who have crafted their images around eccentric, queer expression through clothing. In an increasingly progressive 21st century, performers who reject the gender binary through their clothing have become almost ubiquitous in pop culture. Yet there is danger in the continued sensationalization of gender-fluid fashion.

When celebrities are seen as the standard bearers in the fight against cisheteronormativity because of their androgynous fashion choices, we can risk commodifying free gender expression. Using queer fashion for profit dilutes its meaningfulness as an authentic expression of identity.

In the modern entertainment industry, a prime example of someone who is praised as a gender-bending fashion icon is singer Harry Styles. From the lacy Gucci dress he wore on the December 2020 Vogue cover to the feather boas he donned at the Grammys, Styles’s fashion choices have garnered both praise and criticism for their femininity and flamboyance. His fashion has taken mainstream pop culture by storm, and he has quickly become one of the most — if not the most — prominent modern celebrities spearheading gender-fluidity in the fashion industry.

Styles’s progressive wardrobe deserves to be celebrated. Every bold fashion choice he and his

team make is a testament to his strength and vision in rejecting norms that pigeonhole men into masculine, heterosexual forms of expression. Compared to other performers of his fame and caliber, the image he has crafted for himself is unique and bold.

But there are aspects of Styles’s fame which dilute the impact of his progressive dressing.

Despite being vocal about gender-fluid fashion

is worth noting that a celebrity like Styles, who has become so saturated in modern pop culture, has a marketable and malleable image that can be easily exploited in the name of profit. The reality is that every public move Styles (and any other celebrity of his caliber) makes is thoroughly examined on the basis of whether it will be good for his image, and, therefore, his fame.

This includes his fashion choices. It seems al-

“Once spite stops being empowering, you must challenge your relationship with it.”

and the importance of authentic self-expression, Styles has nevertheless benefited from breaking boundaries initially tested by marginalized queer people who remain less visible in the movement. It was trans women of color who spearheaded the movement for LGBTQ+ rights and who fostered a culture where Styles could dress boldly. Still, he is being praised as a trailblazer of the queer fashion movement. It is impossible to accept Styles’s position as an iconic and game-changing entertainer without acknowledging the white and cisgender privilege that allowed him to get there.

This is not to say that Styles is disingenuous in his exploration of gender-fluid fashion. But it

most counterintuitive to praise a celebrity like Harry Styles, whose decisions are so inseparable from the manipulation of his image for profit, for trailblazing this modern conception of queer fashion.

Queer self expression in clothing should be about refusal — the refusal of normativity, of straightness and of the gender binary. Because Styles is such a massive pop culture figure whose image earns him profit, it is unclear to what extent his gender expression is an authentic attempt to destabilize heteropatriarchal power structures and to what extent it is a marketable aspect of his personality. When queer dress is so interconnected with the exploitation

of his image for capital gain, we risk commodifying queer self expression. This is dangerous because we then diverge from the anti-normativity that gender-fluid self expression fundamentally represents. Profit-oriented queer self-expression takes away from this crucial focus on refusal. It thus loses its political power as a middle-finger to established norms.

Whether or not Styles is genuine in his true exploration of queer and nonbinary fashion, it is nonetheless dangerous to equate free gender exploration and queer performance with a dress that a celebrity wears on the cover of a famous magazine. The former is politically meaningful, whereas the latter is primarily designed for mass consumption. Individuals should be encouraged to explore free gender expression through fashion. But with a celebrity culture that is so oversaturated in our everyday lives, it is dangerous to consider celebrities — especially white, cisgender ones — to be the leaders in this fight. As much as queer dress is a form of performance for so many, it is also a form of protest. That aspect is lost when gender-fluid and queer fashion looks mostly like a shallow aspect of a celebrity’s public image.

Megan Slusarewicz ’23 can be reached at megan_slusarewicz@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@ browndailyherald.com and other op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2022

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

8

SCIENCE & RESEARCH

Community Noise Lab studies urban pollution, environmental injustice University professor Erica Walker speaks at annual Love Data Week

BY KATHLEEN MEININGER SCIENCE & RESEARCH EDITOR Through her work with Community Noise Lab, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology Erica Walker studies the ways in which water, noise and air pollution impact urban living. She investigates urban pollution in areas affected by environmental injustice and conducts fieldwork in New England and Mississippi.

On Feb. 16, Walker presented her research in a talk, “Measuring Water Quality in the Forgotten Corridor: Case Study of Jackson, Mississippi.” The event was co-sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research and the University’s Love Data Week, The Herald previously reported.

During the presentation, Walker described her journey from being an artist in Mississippi suffering from noise pollution to a researcher studying the impacts of noise pollution on public health in New England. She has now expanded her research to study water, air and other forms of pollution in Mississippi as well.

Throughout the talk, she emphasized the need for researchers to listen to the individuals that they’re studying in order to address questions relevant to the needs of that community.

“Working in the Community Noise Lab has shown me that academic research can have real impact if you are willing to listen to what a community really needs,” said Nina Lee, a research assistant in Walker’s Lab. Ride sharing science “Way before I even became interested in public health, I was an artist working in my studio in a basement apartment,” Walker said in an interview with The Herald. “This family with two small kids moved in above me, and they used to run across their floor — my ceiling — like 24 hours a day.”

In the process of trying to get her

neighbors to be more quiet, Walker started researching noise and noise pollution in cities. She discovered that she enjoyed the data collection process and developed a specific interest in how noise impacts health.

“My interest in noise pollution stem(s) from that experience, but it’s grown over the years,” Walker said. At the time, “there was really nobody to talk to, no one to take (her research) seriously.” She decided to sell her art supplies and move from Mississippi to Boston to pursue a masters and then a PhD in public health.

After earning her PhD, Walker came to Brown for her postdoctorate and founded the Community Noise Lab to continue her research on urban noise. She began conducting what she referred to as “ride sharing science,” partnering with community interest groups on their specific noise-related issues, ranging from the conversion of a baseball park into a live concert venue to the development of a new power plant, she said.

Walker and the communities she worked with would analyze noise data collected using sound meters, providing “the input necessary to come up with a good neighbor agreement” between the communities and the source of the noise.

“Most of the people who reached out to me to work on these community-based projects were very wealthy, privileged people,” Walker said. Although she enjoyed conducting this research because it allowed her to directly study noise, “I knew that I could move my research in a way where it had more impact by working with people who needed it most.”

“I wanted to go back home and work in Mississippi,” she said. “But I knew I couldn’t come to Mississippi and say ‘hey, we’re going to study noise,’ because there are a lot of other issues … it would seem tone deaf.”

Walker had to pivot to what she calls “storm-chasing science.” Rather than seeking out communities interested in her field of research, she started asking people what issues in their community her research could help address.

“People told me, ‘yeah, we know noise is a problem.’ A lot of the communities here are next to highways or industrial plants or railroads or in agricultural areas that are really loud,

but that’s not (their) priority. Their first priority is clean water. (Their) second priority is addressing failing infrastructure. And then yeah, we could consider sound as well,’” Walker said.

Storm chasing science Walker started researching water quality issues in Jackson, Mississippi by looking at the number of boil water notices per year. Boil water notices are issued when there is high turbidity in the water supply, which “may indicate the presence of disease-causing organisms,” according to the City of Jackson’s website. People have to boil their water before using it to drink, bathe, or even brush their teeth.

“I remember, growing up, there would be boil water notices every now and then, maybe twice a year,” Walker said. When she wrote to the city asking for the total number of boil water notices since 2015, she expected them to give a number in the 15-20 range. Instead, she found out there had been 5,000.

This finding solidified Walker’s decision to conduct water quality research in Jackson.

“I’m not a water expert. I’m not an air pollution expert. I am a noise expert.

But I know that having those additional tools will help me better serve the priorities of the community,” Walker said.

Community Noise Lab is currently working with students from two Jackson high schools — Piney Woods High School and Mendenhall High School — to collect 1,000 tap water samples across Jackson and test them for contaminants. Additionally, these students are analyzing boil water notice data to calculate who in the city is most at risk. The students are also beginning to collect noise and air quality measurements for future projects, Walker said.

By comparing boil water notices and water quality data to public health areas of interest such as school attendance, hospitalizations and economic impact, Walker plans to quantitatively assess how low water quality is affecting the citizens of Jackson.

“We want to create a metric, like ‘every time you have a boil water notice students miss this amount of school,’ to kind of put a value to how disruptive boil water notices are,” Walker said.

She is also working with The Sen-

KATHLEEN MEININGER / HERALD

On Feb. 16, Professor of Epidemiology Erica Walker presented her research regarding environmental injustice. seable City Lab at MIT to create an interactive data visualization people can use to understand their water situation. The Senseable City Lab studies how “data changes the way we live, understand and propose cities,” and uses “data visualization as both science storytelling and civic engagement,” Fabio Duarte, principal research scientist at the Senseable City Lab, wrote in an email to The Herald.

“Dr. Walker’s work combining environmental sciences and social justice is within an area we can contribute (to) by bringing our data- and design-driven approach to tackle urban challenges,” Duarte wrote.

Walker hopes her research will get policy makers to “pay more attention” to water quality issues. Poor water quality will be “harder to ignore when high school students are testing tap water in your community,” Walker said. “And when we have information on how (water quality issues) are impacting school enrollment, it’s even harder to ignore.”

“We can hope that our research will put data into the hands of the people who need it so they have evidence to advocate for their communities,” Lee wrote in an email to the Herald. “Exposure assessments and epidemiology (are) important because it is hard to make (changes) when the facts are still unknown.”

Academic noise Too often, researchers enter communities “blindly, not really thinking about the needs of the community and weighing them against their own research interests,” Walker said. This contributes to a phenomenon that she calls “academic noise,” where researchers with the best intentions chase the wrong

question because they fail to see the bigger picture.

To avoid academic noise, researchers need to listen to the communities they work with by conducting interviews, surveys and going to community meetings to listen to what people have to say. Hearing a wide range of opinions can help researchers determine not only which issues are most pressing, but also which issues are interconnected.

Walker used the issue of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy as an example. “In Mississippi, where there is substantial vaccine hesitancy, it could be that people are just prioritizing other issues … it’s more important for them to have their water quality addressed.”

When possible, Walker tries to involve community members directly in her work.

“It’s always been important to provide opportunities for people to work on research — people that are traditionally overlooked, but very motivated to participate,” Walker said. As a student growing up in rural Mississippi, she felt like she needed to “escape” to pursue a career in research. By opening her lab to local high school and community college students, Walker provides access to the research opportunities she never had, empowering students to change their communities through science instead of leaving their hometowns. “It’s a way to get people to invest in their home,” she added.

“Dr. Walker is incredible to work with,” Lee said. “She thinks big and is devoted to justice in a way that’s very refreshing in academia. Being a very early career researcher, I also really appreciate that she values my ideas and opinions.”

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2022

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

9

ARTS & CULTURE

Students in creative fields highlight internship differences, difficulties Imbalances in compensation, different recruitment timelines among concerns

As the spring semester begins, so does the internship search for students across campus. While many students interested in fields like business and tech may have already secured internships, the job search process for students interested in creative industries can present unique challenges.

“There’s definitely such a big presence of consulting and because there’s not a big presence of creative roles,

want volume.”

Recruitment season typically occurs in the fall for summer roles in finance, tech and consulting, with employers often hosting events and interviews with students. Typically, students in these roles receive offers of employment in December, almost three months before most creative fields begin posting open positions, according to Kidd.

CareerLab is aware of the cultural dynamics regarding internships on campus, Kidd said. “Unfortunately, we’re up against peer pressure,” she added.

“I’ve had conversations with people about how when you are choosing a school like Brown, you’re in this expectation of reaching for the best,” Bibbey said. “If consulting and business roles are considered the best next step, then

it feels like ‘is this something that I should do?’” said Mary Bibbey ’22, who recently interned with a Brown alumnus for a nonprofit that supports the use of sustainable textiles practices.

For the class of 2020, 47% of graduates working their first year out of college reported they had jobs in finance, consulting or technology.

Students working in communications, media and arts made up nine percent of the total. This imbalance leads to a significant presence of recruiting events for consulting, computer science and finance, while recruiting for the arts ends up being more ambiguous, according to Aixa Kidd, deputy director of the University’s CareerLab. “We’re dealing with a problem of student population and student interest,” Kidd said, referencing the relatively lower popularity of internships in the arts. “We have a smaller population at Brown that’s interested in these opportunities, and that impacts employers wanting to recruit here because they

it feels like people are craving that elite role when it’s misaligned with what they should do to be most fulfilled in life.”

Despite the social pressures present on campus, many students still choose to pursue other paths. “You have to be confident in what you do,” said Natasha Poster ’23, who has interned twice at Los Angeles-based record label The Darkroom.

“I’ve had a moment, too, where I thought, maybe I should’ve been an econ major,” Poster said. “But, I know that in the long run, I’ll be happier doing what I love (rather) than pursuing what everyone else wants to do.”

Securing funding is another complicating factor for students finding internships in the arts. In contrast to business and CS internships that frequently pay full salaries for work, students in the arts often receive small stipends that pale in comparison to the cost of living in media hubs like New York or Los Angeles, according to Maddie Groff ’23. Groff has found multiple remote internships through

BY DECLAN JOHNSON CONTRIBUTING WRITER

and BrownConnect of business roles.”

Other students find more success managing job outreach efforts on their own. Poster got her first internship in the music industry by cold messaging an alumni of her high school who ran The Darkroom, the label that signed Billie Eiliish. She has also capitalized on the connections she developed in Los Angeles to pursue other internships.

“Showing that you’re passionate about something and continuing to follow up, even if you’re being annoying, is how I made sure that these opportunities came to fruition,” Poster said. In addition to messaging alumni on LinkedIn, she also keeps in contact with peers doing similar work at other universities.

For younger students without existing networks to reach out to, CaBrownConnect and worked in three separate roles this past summer to explore her interests and afford living in New York City.

“I didn’t want to spend my whole summer not getting paid in Los Angeles,” Groff said. “But during COVID, I had more freedom where I could work on multiple things.”

To assist students with low and unpaid internships, CareerLab offers its summer LINK program, which awards roughly 120 summer stipends to students pursuing unpaid or low-paid internships, according to its website.

One often misunderstood feature of the program is that students need to secure work before applying for LINK grants, Kidd said. Rather, they only need to be in the process of applying to a low-paying position to meet the requirements.

Adding to the difficulty of finding an internship in the arts is the lack of outreach to students from art and media organizations, Kidd said. Whereas large companies have the resources to

LOKI OLIN / HERALD

send recruiters to campus, students in the arts often have to reach out to organizations themselves, Kidd added.

Media and artistic organizations “don’t recruit in the same way as (computer science), consulting or banks.

They don’t have the money or staff, so we have done the outreach for them,” Kidd said. CareerLab regularly communicates with alumni in the arts to set up Bruno Internships, roles where two of the final candidates must be Brown students. Past opportunities have included jobs with local film festivals, art museums and media organizations.

“Brown resources have been helpful in finding internships,” Groff said. “But, I wish that they were more widely promoted. The resources exist, but I don’t think they do enough to help students (in the arts) in the way they do with STEM students.”

“At a high level on campus, there could be a bigger presence of the paths to take to find these other opportunities,” Bibbey said. “There’s such a dominating presence on Handshake

reerLab hosts an internship matching program for students looking to work in media in Los Angeles. Students apply and then are matched in internships at documentary, film and audio production companies, Kidd said.

“We’re trying to get the word out that there are many opportunities in the arts — they’re just later,” Kidd said.

“Connections are key to finding open opportunities in media and the arts, and we’ve focused mainly on alumni and parent connections.”

Students have said that the dynamic nature of creative work often makes it difficult to provide structural support for students. For example, theater companies may not know how many interns they need until a few months before summer shows, Groff said.

“I think it’s good practice because the nature of media and arts is you never really know exactly what you’re doing,” Groff said. “It’s always going to change if you’re creative, so the silver lining of this work of looking for an internship being taxing is that’s what life is once you graduate college.”

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2022

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

10

UNIVERSITY NEWS

CSCI 0200 finds its footing as new introductory course requirement Course created to reduce redundancy in introductory sequence, offer flexibility

BY STELLA OLKEN-HUNT SENIOR STAFF WRITER This semester, CSCI 0200: “Program Design with Data Structures and Algorithms” was introduced as the new final course in the Department of Computer Science’s undergraduate introductory sequence.

In previous years, students could choose between two alternate courses — CSCI 0160: “Introduction to Algorithms and Data Structures” and CSCI 0180: “Computer Science: An Integrated Introduction” — to fulfill the latter half of the concentration’s introductory sequence. CSCI 0200, which is taught by Professor of Computer Science Research Kathi Fisler and Lecturer in Computer Science Milda Zizyte, effectively merged these two options.

Creating CSCI 0200: The initial inspiration According to Fisler, the rationale for implementing CSCI 0200 was twofold.

Around three years ago, the computer science department “noticed the similarities (between CSCI 0160 and CSCI 0180) and started … working together on changes,” Fisler said.

In recent years, content between the introductory courses was growing increasingly similar, and both classes required “similar modernization” to ensure all students had knowledge of data structures, socially responsible computing and software development practice, Fisler said.

“There were certain things that all students needed to see,” she added, “but neither of the courses were really doing … justice (to that).”

Professor of Computer Science Andy van Dam added that another issue with the department’s original introductory sequence was that CSCI 0160 and CSCI 0180 were only offered once a year, “traditionally … (during the) second semester.”

Fisler said this structure created a “bottleneck effect” in which students could be left behind if they were unable to take CSCI 0160 and CSCI 0180 in

RHEA RASQUINHA / HERALD

the spring.

Van Dam noted that the department did not have enough faculty to teach CSCI 0160 and CSCI 0180 both semesters. By consolidating the courses into one, van Dam said CSCI 0200 could be offered every semester.

Course content and structure According to Fisler, CSCI 0200 utilizes both Java and Python, teaching object-oriented and functional programming skills.

We “started the course by pointing out that there are … two trains of thought that emerged in the 1960s,” Fisler said. One used computers to mimic decision making which led to the rise of functional programming, and the other simulated real physical systems which led to the rise of object-oriented programming, she added.

“Real systems need both,” Fisler said. “You both need to model knowledge and … simulate practices and computations.”

The hope is that students leav-

ing CSCI 0200 will be “multicultural, multilingual, multidisciplinary … and comfortable using the right tool for the right job,” van Dam said.

Students enter CSCI 0200 from a range of introductory class backgrounds. Some have taken CSCI 0150: “Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming and Computer Science,” which is rooted in object-oriented programming, while others have taken CSCI 0111: “Computing Foundations: Data,” CSCI 0112: “Computing Foundations: Program Organization” or CSCI 0170: “Computer Science: An Integrated Introduction,” which include more functional programming.

To accommodate for these differences in experience, the first two weeks of the class are split into two parallel tracks, according to Zizyte.

“I think it was beneficial to do (the two tracks) just because the students are coming from such different backgrounds (and) there were different things that we wanted to catch them up on,” Zizyte said.

Some students in CSCI 0200 said the first two weeks felt overwhelming but noted that the staff have been incredibly supportive and flexible.

“I definitely learned a lot, but it felt rushed because they had to try to fit a bunch of material from the opposite introductory track into just a … few lectures,” said Karma Selsey ’24.

“Shifting back and forth between programming languages … so early on in the semester is definitely a bit confusing and (can sometimes) take away from truly being able to learn the programming concepts because we spend so much time just trying to get comfortable with the syntax,” Nadya Tan ’24.5 said.

Still, Tan said that professors have been “accommodating” with unforeseen challenges that arise due to the difficulty of the assignments and logistics of the course. “The professors (are) really trying their best … and accommodating for the fact that it’s a new course and there are a lot of bumps in the road,” Tan said.

In addition to oversight from the professors, the class has been assisted by “a huge army of TAs,” said Isha Ponugoti ’24. CSCI 0200 currently has 468 students enrolled, according to Courses@Brown. There are 63 TA staff, according to Annie Cimack ’23, a Head TA for CSCI 0200.

“Because the CS department keeps (an) eight-to-one TA-to-student ratio, … you also have a huge TA population,” Zizyte said. “And our TAs are phenomenal.”

In order to accommodate different backgrounds, the TAs learn the content from both parallel tracks for each side over winter break. “We’d like the TAs to be able to answer questions from any student coming in … and be as accommodating as possible,” Cimack said.

“On the whole, we’ve been happy with how it’s going,” Fisler said. We’re certainly learning things … We’ve been adjusting as we go, which is what you do on a new course: just stay flexible.”

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2022

DEMOCRACY FROM PAGE 1 thrive,” she said. “And though we’ve made progress, there’s certainly much more to do.”

Paxson recalled advice from a University-led anti-racism task force that recommended the University strengthen its relationships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities nationwide, specifically Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi. Paxson shared news of a $10 million gift that was donated to bolster the Brown-Tougaloo partnership earlier this week, increasing the number of Tougaloo students who will be able to explore academics through the University while also providing additional research and fellowship opportunities.

Thompson began his speech by thanking Paxson for the University’s partnership with the NAACP Providence Chapter and then discussed the challenges racial inequity poses to democracy.

“The nation is at a crossroads,” Thompson said. “Our democracy is on life support.”

Thompson said that it is time for the United States to enforce its foundational principles of equity, starting with

HOCKEY FROM PAGE 1 Brown 1, Quinnipiac 0 Mangiafico’s late attempt at a game-winning goal the night before fueled her efforts the following afternoon against Quinnipiac. After a scoreless opening period in which Quinnipiac outshot Brown 11-5, Mangiafico scored on the power play early in the second frame. When Hurd’s shot attempt was stopped by Quinnipiac’s goaltender, Mangiafico knocked home the loose puck, scoring the winning goal.

Brown’s defense quelled a penalty late in the second period and denied any shots on goal in the final minute and a half of the game, despite Quinnipiac’s extra offensive attacker.

Doyle stopped all 36 shot attempts by Quinnipiac in the win, marking the sophomore’s second shutout of the season.

“It was our last game and we weren’t going to let up. We wanted to show them what we were made of and that’s what we did,” Doyle said.

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changes to large institutions.

“We must summon the conscience of the nation and insist that white America lives up to the true meaning of the Declaration of Independence that all are created equal,” Thompson said.

“But to challenge the conscience of the nation, we must demand accountability from the institutions that bear the nation’s strength.”

Thompson outlined the influence of institutional operations on public opinion. “We’re reminded repeatedly that it’s the institutions that represent the hallmark of what the nation stands for,” he said. “Whether they are educational institutions, business institutions, religious institutions, the media — they all represent America.”

“Our mega institutions must confront the oppressive social conditions that Black people face in this age, and this institution should not place any limitation to the possibilities of the freedoms that we see,” Thompson said. Thompson added that the University can continue working against racial inequities by furthering partnerships with HBCUs. “Brown must see the urgency of this quest to provide leadership in pushing

for racial equality,” he said. “The partnership between the office of the president of Brown and the leadership of the Providence branch of NAACP is crucial.”

Briefly recognizing the conclusion of Black History Month, Thompson presented a question on what freedom really means in America if Black people remain societally disadvantaged.

“What does freedom mean in America,” he asked, “ where despite measured progress, Black people are still at the bottom with unbearable social and economic hardships with no breathing room?” Thompson pointed to white privilege and the fight against critical race theory as ongoing barriers Black Americans face, with institutions at the heart of change to these issues.

In conclusion, Thompson emphasized that major institutions “cannot be silent in the face of inaction over rights in legislation and in Congress.”

“What am I saying tonight, Paxson, is with Brown University, you have in your hands a marvelous instrument,” he said. “This institution of higher learning can be unquestioned and reliable in pushing for Black liberation in the modern era.”

Her performances in goal over the weekend and throughout the season have earned Doyle ECAC Rookie of the Week Honors and finalist for ECAC Rookie of the Year.

“As she gained confidence in her play, her game just took off,” Assistant Coach Justin Simpson said of Doyle. “She never looks fazed in the net. And having her back there provided the team with a lot of confidence because they knew, ‘I don’t have to be perfect defensively because Kaley will be back there.’”

Head Coach Melanie Ruzzi, who wrapped up her first season at the helm of the Bears, is a finalist for ECAC Coach of the Year.

The Bears have seen improvement throughout the season as their majority underclassmen team grew accustomed to playing collegiate hockey.

Since returning from winter break, the team has earned a 3-2-3 record, compared to their 1-9-4 start to the season.

Having not faced Princeton and

Quinnipiac since October, Simpson expected better results during the rematches. “We knew that we were … a different team because it had been so long,” Simpson said.

“The first half (of the season) was this learning experience for our program,” Simpson said. “We returned after Christmas break and the lightbulb went off for all of our young players and even our returning players who hadn’t played in over a year.”

Brown had been eliminated from playoff contention prior to its final two games, but remained competitive for a strong finish to the season.

“Some teams may not have been as diligent or as focused as our team was. Our coaching staff came in and said, ‘We’re gonna approach this the same as any other week,’” Simpson said.

Knowing they had earned more wins than the program had in recent years motivated the Bears to maintain their intensity through the final weekend.

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COURTESY OF BANKOLE THOMPSON

Thompson said that it is time for the United States to enforce its foundational principles of equity, starting with large institutions.

“We brought those statistics to our players and we said, ‘Hey, this is a big weekend for Brown women’s hockey,’” Simpson said. “We used it as a great way to cap off our seniors’ senior year but also a great launching off point for our returning players for next year.”

“After beating Quinnipiac on the road … it felt like a playoff win. (It was) a super cool way to see a very impactful senior class move on from Brown women’s hockey,” Simpson said.

The team’s increased confidence was key to their successful final weekend of the season. “Going into Quinnipiac we were like, ‘We can freakin’ do this. They’re just like us, they’re another D1 program. I know they’re number 9 in the country, but we can beat anyone if we really believe it,’” Mangiafico said.

Competing on Quinnipiac’s home ice on their senior night added an additional challenge for the Bears, who entered as underdogs. Mangiafico welcomed this adversity.

“I love their fans and (that it was) their senior night and just having the opportunity to kind of ruin that,” Mangiafico said. “I have that competitive edge and it gave me some energy and helped us want to win.”

Mangiafico highlighted the efforts of her teammates, particularly those who played their last game in the win against Quinnipiac. “Kaley Doyle in net was absolutely unbelievable. Everyone gave everything they had, especially our seniors. Everyone was playing for our seniors,” Mangiafico said. “Being the one to put it in the back of the net was really a special experience and I will never forget it.”

Brown’s impressive cap to the program’s best season in years is matched by a bright future with 18 players returning for the Bears.

“It’s really just a testament to how much we believe in ourselves now, and that’s happened throughout the season,” Mangiafico said. “It was really just a matter of time.”

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2022

GYMNASTICS FROM PAGE 1 athletes have a 2 p.m. class, they may have to skip training at the off-campus facilities, Walsh added.

While they would normally practice their skills almost daily, Brown gymnasts are only able to practice certain skills, such as vault passes, a few days a week when traveling to the off-campus facilities. This impacts the team’s performance at meets, two gymnasts said, as well as their confidence in their skills when it comes time to compete.

Gymnasts discuss current facilities The equipment in the Brown gymnastics practice facility is “top-level and updated each year,” with frequent evaluations of equipment to replace any worn matting or equipment, Head Coach Sara Carver-Milne wrote in an email to The Herald. But since the gym is located on the second floor of the Pizzitola Center and does not have sufficient space, it can’t be modified to include a foam pit, according to Walsh.

The NCAA has issued several updates to gymnastics equipment standards aimed at preventing injuries and softening landings. These changes include introducing “sting mats,” balance beam pads and an updated vault table with improved cushioning, Assistant Athletic Trainer Kathryn Calpino wrote in an email to The Herald.

“All of those improvements are available to our athletes, in addition to access to an offsite gym with foam pits to decrease landing loads,” Calpino wrote.

Because of the lack of a foam pit, athletes don’t use the vault at their practice facility, Walsh said. Gymnasts instead practice their vaults once or twice a week when they go to the off-campus gymnastics center — or sometimes just once a week at a meet. Home meets are not hosted in the team’s practice facility but rather use separate equipment set up in the basketball court on the first floor of the Pizzitola Center, according to Walsh.

As a Junior Olympic athlete in high school, Walsh said she vaulted onto a hard landing once a week. Every other day she vaulted into a foam pit or another soft landing. She and her peers also worked their tumbling passes with soft landings, practicing them once a week on the spring floor as they would in a meet — “just to protect our ankles.”

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“We’re doing very, very high level skills,” Walsh said. If a gymnast makes a mistake on a regular, harder landing mat, “it’s unforgiving” and risks injury, she added.

“A big thing about not having good landings in the gym is that it makes us a lot less confident in our gymnastics, just because we don’t do as many reps as we need to,” Walsh said. For the athletes who vault at competitions, “I’d say they trust themselves, but they are a little bit more unsure of what they’re going to do.”

According to Asta Farrell ’24, a shared sentiment on the team is that the lack of access to soft landings and the subsequent lack of repetitions impacts the team’s competitive edge at meets.

“Everyone here was a very good, very talented (Junior Olympic) athlete,” Farrell said. With the team’s current facilities, you “can’t do the skills that you used to do. You can’t train the same way you used to. And we go to meets feeling not confident in ourselves because we’re throwing passes on the floor that we’ve literally done maybe one or twice a week.”

Another significant issue, Walsh said, is the lack of space in Brown’s facilities. “It’s super cramped … The gym is set up in a way (so) you can’t add people into it and have it function effectively.”

“There’s 23 of us, so … where do we go? Where are we supposed to stand?

We’re always going to be in someone’s way,” she added.

The uneven bars in the facility are set up so that the high bars are positioned against the floor apparatus, with the bars’ dismount mat positioned half on the 40x40 spring floor, Walsh said.

Additionally, only one of the two beams has a dismount mat at the end. When athletes do a routine on the beam without a landing mat, they jump down and get up on the other beam to do their dismount.

Because the beams are close together, some gymnasts won’t do routines at the same time, Walsh added. “A lot of people are like, ‘Oh, I’m not going to go until you’re done with your (skill).’”

Gymnast describes injuries suffered in Brown facilities In October, Farrell bruised her spine after a mistake on a release move on bars, which required her to transfer from the low bar to the high bar. Upon

catching the high bar, Farrell swung backwards and flew off, landing on the floor apparatus just beyond the dismount mat on her chin and chest with her feet over her head.

“Would I not have hurt (my back) if I had done the (skill) right? Yeah,” Farrell said. “But also I shouldn’t have to be perfect in order to not seriously get hurt.”

Colin Sullivan, deputy director of athletics for intercollegiate programs, said he was not “familiar with the incident” and could not comment on it as a result.

Farrell explained that at her gym at home, there would be more mats for her to land on, padding her landing if she made a similar mistake. But at Brown’s practice facility, “we don’t have any space … We also don’t have that many mats,” she said. “Even if we did have mats, there’s nowhere to put them anyway.”

“Gymnastics is a really dangerous sport and no one is perfect all the time,” Farrell added. “I shouldn’t have to have that expectation of myself just to literally stay safe.”

In late November, when her injury was finally starting to heal, Farrell was practicing without her back brace and could feel she was having an off day.

Normally, she would have stopped and tumbled on a tumble track or into the foam pit instead, but “we don’t have that option,” she said. “It’s kind of just tumble on the floor or don’t tumble at all, and you can’t just not tumble.”

While doing a pass Farrell is usually consistent on — a two-and-a-half twisting flip out of a roundoff — Farrell landed with a hyperextended knee, tearing her ACL, PCL, LCL and part of a calf tendon. Looking ahead at her recovery, Farrell questioned how she is going to bounce back in the current gymnastics facilities without a tumble track or soft landings.

“How do you come back to gymnastics in a gym that doesn’t support that?” Farrell said. “How are you going to come back from an injury in a gym like this, where you can’t mess up (or) you’ll get hurt again?”

Athletes, coach consider implications of facilities, equipment While injuries prevent certain gymnasts who would have otherwise competed from doing so, other gymnasts have stepped up to take their places and performed well, Walsh said. According to Carver-Milne, the

team has been working hard to “build depth” in each line-up, resting some individuals while retaining a competitive line-up for each meet.

“We minimize the amount of impact our student-athletes have on their bodies and ensure they have substantial recovery time,” Carver-Milne wrote.

“Injuries occur in every sport at this level, so we work together with our athletic trainer, strength coach and nutritionist to ensure our student-athletes have healthy and safe training and competitive experiences.”

Athletes who specialize in a sport from an early age may be at increased risk for overuse injuries, according to Calpino. These injuries develop over long periods of time and involve some sort of underlying tissue damage as a result of repetitive trauma to that tissue, Calpino wrote.

“In order to perfect a skill, in gymnastics and (in) any sport, repetition is required,” Calpino added. “It’s important for gymnasts to communicate with their coaches, athletic trainer and strength coach about what they are feeling and for all parties to communicate with each other to create a comprehensive practice, strength and rehab plan in order to prevent overuse injuries.”

Both Walsh and Farrell recalled their visits to the gym when they were being recruited for Brown gymnastics. For Walsh, the facilities weren’t a priority in her decision, but she wishes she had put greater consideration into it. “I don’t think it would’ve changed my mind, but I wish I would’ve thought about it.”

During Farrell’s official visit to the gymnastics facilities, she recalls thinking, “‘Oh, this can’t be good,’” she said.

“Of course it was the first thing I noticed,” Farrell added. “I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is really bad.’” But seeing Brown was very exciting, she said, and when she asked the team about their practice facilities, they responded that there’s an off-campus gym they train at “all the time.”

“So in my mind, I was like, ‘Okay, that could work,’” Farrell said. “I didn’t realize how big of a problem it would be until (I was) there and I (realized) how frustrating it was to have to go to another gym.”

Past, future requests for facility upgrades In November 2019, Walsh and a few other gymnasts met with Jack Hayes, the athletic director at the time, to

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lay out the issues the team had with their current facilities, Walsh said.

The meeting took place about seven months after the University announced its plans to build a new soccer and lacrosse complex, Walsh added.

Caroline Warren ’21, a former member of Brown’s gymnastics team, also attended the meeting. The gymnasts approached the meeting with “a cautiously optimistic plan,” she said.

“Our goal was to bring administrative awareness to the program as a whole including our safety concerns and hopes for the future of Brown Gym.” During the meeting, the gymnasts were informed that other programs, including rugby and ice hockey, were “ahead of” them in line for new facilities, Warren said.

“I believe I speak for my teammates when I say how lucky and proud we feel to compete for Brown,” Warren added. Brown gymnastics “wants to be a competitive program that can offer the best, safest experience to current gymnasts and future Bears.”

“The current facilities are not in line with that vision,” Warren added.

The University evaluates its facilities based on needs and limitations but also looks at how athletics and recreation facilities fit into institutional planning and University initiatives, Sullivan said.

“We continue to look at a number of our facilities where there might be opportunities to enhance or improve, and it may mean a new location,” Sullivan said. “We’re looking closely at where there might be opportunities within our athletics footprint to improve a number of programs.”

“Gymnastics is certainly part of that conversation because it’s an area that we want to continue to improve,” he added.

Walsh hopes that the athletic administration will “listen to us, hear us out and be a little bit more supportive of the smaller teams” in the future, she said.

“We need more space, and we need soft landings,” Walsh said. “It’s really frustrating to be in a position where you’re like, ‘I know that we could be so much better, I know that we have so much more potential, (but) we just don’t have that ability.’”

Walsh added, “We cannot live up to our full potential in the facility that we’re in now.”