SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2022
VOLUME CLVII, ISSUE 19
BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM
U. MAKES MASK-WEARING, TESTS OPTIONAL Changes to masking, testing protocol begin Monday, two years after U. announced shift online because of COVID-19
TRACY PAN / HERALD
BY SAMEER SINHA METRO EDITOR Masking in most settings and testing for COVID-19 will become optional for undergraduates who are fully vaccinated starting Monday, according to an email from Executive Vice President for Planning and Policy Russell Carey ’91 MA’06.
The new optional asymptomatic testing policy applies to undergraduates “who are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines,” Carey wrote. Since the beginning of the semester, undergraduates have been required to take two COVID-19 rapid antigen tests per week. Graduate students, medical students, faculty and staff will continue optional testing.
Masking will become optional in most settings, with exceptions including healthcare facilities, the Alpert Medical School, University shuttles and classes and meetings where the professor or host requires students and attendees to wear masks. University community members who are unvaccinated must continue to test twice per week and wear masks
SPORTS
EJ Perry ’21.5 talks NFL Combine Former Brown quarterback earns top athleticism score among QBs at Combine
EJ Perry ’21.5 aims to become the first quarterback in the University’s history to be called in the NFL Draft or throw a pass in the NFL. become the first quarterback in Brown history to hear his name called in the NFL Draft or throw a pass in the NFL. The Herald spoke with Perry to discuss his standout performance at the Combine and his continued preparation for the Draft.
ticularly on the physical drills? Perry: Good, I felt good. I was right around where I was expecting to be for all the different drills and felt good about the week. What are your thoughts on receiving the best athleticism score
Herald: Overall, how do you think you performed at the Combine, par-
Arts & Culture
University News Metro
Review: “The Batman” aims high but fails to meet expectations Page 3
Ana Navarro speaks at annual Meiklejohn lecture Page 6
SEE PERRY PAGE 6
Activists push to remove school resource officers from PPSD Page 7
SEE MASK PAGE 7
Bryant Ford announced as new CAPS director
BY AKSHAY AMESUR STAFF WRITER
COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS
Carey wrote. University students who travel over spring break will be required to test twice upon returning to campus, with tests on day one and day three after returning. Students who test positive will continue to be required to report positive
UNIVERSITY NEWS
Ford comes to campus from Dartmouth, will begin new position Monday
BY RYAN HANDEL STAFF WRITER Former Brown quarterback EJ Perry ’21.5 participated in the 2022 NFL Combine last week to attempt to raise his stock before the 2022 NFL Draft in April, The Herald previously reported. Perry put in a strong performance at the Combine, earning the top QB athleticism score, according to NFL NextGen Stats, and posting the best 20-yard shuttle and three-cone drill of all QB prospects. Perry started as quarterback for Brown during the Bears’ 2019 and 2021 seasons — the last two full seasons the team played — earning first team All-Ivy honors both years and setting the Ivy League single-season record for total offense. Now, he is hoping to
indoors, Carey wrote. The University continues to recommend testing for individuals showing symptoms, those who may have been exposed to COVID-19 and those who may be in a situation where they could expose others to the virus, including “before traveling, attending large gatherings or interacting with those who are at elevated risk of severe COVID,”
Bryant Ford was announced as the new director of Counseling and Psychological Services in a Feb. 25 Today@ Brown announcement written by Vanessa Britto MSc’96, executive director of health and wellness. Ford, who previously served as associate dean for community life and inclusivity and associate director of the Counseling Center at Dartmouth, is set to begin his tenure Monday. Ford’s recent appointment comes at the end of a comprehensive national search conducted by a University selection committee that included representatives from Response Services,
BWell Health Promotion, University Health Services and Student Support Services, as well as administrators of the Graduate School and campus athletic programs. Britto told The Herald that Ford was chosen for the position by virtue of his “vast amount of experience,” including his background as a “consummate mental health professional” and over 20 years of experience in college counseling. Beyond his time at Dartmouth, Ford has also overseen the wellness center at the Maryland Institute College of Art and served as president of the New England College Health Association, chair of the Mental Health Section of the American College Health Association and member of the College Coalition for Alcohol and Other Drugs, according to the announcement. In his previous roles at Dartmouth and MICA, Ford supervised health ed-
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CAPS FROM PAGE 1 ucation and student support operations, spearheaded data collection to create evidence-based mental health programs, oversaw clinical and professional staff and coordinated with community mental health providers regarding campus resources for student patients, Ford told The Herald. He added that he also led a series of education programs to help students navigate the often inaccessible tools of health insurance coverage. As a first-generation college student, Ford said he found a passion for mental health work that he has carried with him to this day. The son of two tradespeople, Ford said that his community has long served as a source of support in his educational pursuits. “My eye doctor was a Black person, … my dentist was a Black person and my dad’s attorney was a Black person,” Ford said. “It was this sense of, ‘You can really dream big’ … And so I said, ‘Gosh, I really want to be in the medical profession.’” When searching for the new CAPS director, the committee sought out a candidate who not only understood the challenges and opportunities of
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS a college environment like Brown but was also a skilled manager, administrator, communicator and passionate worker, Britto said. The search committee looked for “someone who had a vision (and) who could engage the community fully,” Britto added. “It was important for us to identify a candidate who was experienced, forward-thinking and collaborative,” Alana Sacks, BWell associate director of response and member of the selection committee, wrote in an email to The Herald. “It was essential for us to find someone … who could balance clinically appropriate leadership with a non-pathologizing approach that embraces de-escalation tactics to meet students where they are at.” After reviewing eight semifinalist candidates from peer institutions, the search committee found its ideal prospect in Ford, who “rose to the top in terms of all that he could offer,” Britto said. Sacks further pointed out that in addition to his clinical, supervisory and directorial experience, Ford impressed the selection committee with his knowledge of the foremost challenges facing collegiate psychotherapy, including staffing issues, low morale and high demand. “At the end of the interview,
I could see our students working really well with him and benefiting from his approach,” Sacks added. Ford has several goals as the new CAPS director, including helping clinical staff achieve their professional objectives and meeting with as many external stakeholders as possible, including the Department of Public Safety, the Office of Residential Life and Student Accessibility Services. Ford said that he is “not really interested in making any major changes’’ in the immediate future. “First I need to understand how Brown operates and functions,” he added. Ford also hopes to increase awareness among the student body of the full array of services offered by CAPS. He intends to partner with BWell Health Promotion to help share student resources with the community. Sacks wrote that CAPS and BWell will also need to work closely together to “address the needs of student survivors of interpersonal harm, secondary survivors” — specifically “friends, partners and community members who are supporting those who have been harmed” — and “students navigating high-risk drug and alcohol use.”
FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2022
DANIELLE EMERSON / HERALD
Bryant Ford believes conversations about mental health can help reduce the stigma around accessing mental health services. In addition to a close partnership with BWell, Ford plans to partner with student government and mental health groups on campus to better accommodate both undergraduate and graduate student needs. “I don’t want to forget graduate students, because I think sometimes they may … feel alienated or isolated,” Ford said. He hopes to build upon prior experience with suicide prevention training, psychoeducation and identity-specific mental health work for graduate students to implement new initiatives on campus. Ford also said he intends to partner with faculty members to help prepare them in the event that they are
approached by a student in crisis. He aims to do this through innovative education and training programs, noting that “coming out of this pandemic … gives us the opportunity to try some new things.” Ford said he believes in the importance of having conversations related to mental health, stating that fostering dialogue can help others feel less stigmatized and concerned about accessing mental health services. “I love mental health work … and I’m excited about all of the possibilities at Brown,” he said. “We have lots to look forward to with our new director coming on board,” Britto said. “The future is bright.”
UNIVERSITY NEWS
Viral word game Wordle takes campus community by storm Students discuss merits, variations, weaknesses of daily virtual word game
number of Wordle-inspired games spanning a wide variety of interests and topics. Napolitano says that he plays three other Wordle-like games beyond the
BY SOFIA BARNETT STAFF WRITER Josh Wardle, a software engineer from Brooklyn, New York, created Wordle as a game to play with his partner, who “loves word games.” He formulated an online puzzle that gives players six tries to guess a five-letter word that changes daily. After each guess, the tile colors of each letter change from gray to yellow to green to indicate how close a user’s guess is to the final word. After receiving glowing reviews from family and friends, Wordle was released to the public in October 2021. What once was a game shared between a Brooklyn couple has now transformed into a worldwide phenomenon with millions of people playing daily. Community members have become hooked on Wordle, and many place it as a consistent checkbox on their daily to-do lists. Students with a variety of interests have been able to unite under the shared joy of the newest Wordle release when the clock strikes midnight. For Joe Napolitano ’23, Wordle has become an obsession. “Wordle was recommended to me by one of my friends,” he said. “As soon as I played my very first game, I was hooked. I told literally everyone that I know that they should start playing immediately after.” With midterms in full swing, Napolitano identifies Wordle as his favorite stress-reliever. The time he reserves for Wordle is the most relaxing of his day. “It’s just a great way to decompress and blow 15 minutes,” he said. “It’s something I know I can look forward to each day to relax and think in a non-stressful way.” Katie Jain ’25, another Wordle
SOPHIA HOPKINS / HERALD
fan, noted that the game is not only a means of relaxation. For her, it’s a way to keep up with friends. Jain discovered the game on TikTok, but she only started playing when a friend challenged her to. “It’s always a fun distraction from my work, and I love getting to share my responses with my friends,” she said. “But only if I get (the word) in three.” Mina Sarmas ’24 also shares her score with her friends. Just like Jain, she and her friends are competitive, aiming to beat one another with the least amount of tries. In order to maximize her chances of solving the Wordle, Sarmas has developed some game-changing strategies. “I like to start with words that have a lot of common letters,” she said.
Napolitano and Jain both noted that they have a designated starting word containing multiple vowels and other common letters that might be used in the hidden word. “I usually start with the word ‘crate’ since someone sent me a YouTube video saying that’s the best strategy,” Jain said. “I’m rarely creative enough to come up with something better, and ‘crate’ has two vowels and common letters.” Instead of “crate,” Napolitano typically uses “union” or “trace” as his first word. “From there, I don’t necessarily try to put every letter in its place right away, but I try to create a word or two that uses up letters that haven’t been used yet,” he said. “Then on move
three or four, I can just assemble the letters in a logical order.” Instead of playing the traditional Wordle, Arjun Chopra ‘25 plays Le Mot, a version in French. “My friends and I have started playing foreign language Wordles,” Chopra said. “French is my favorite.” Chopra isn’t alone in his exploration of spin-off Wordle games. Jain plays AlWird, the Arabic Wordle, regularly, but she isn’t as competitive with it as she is with the traditional version. “I’m not really good enough at Arabic to take it seriously, but I still find it to be super fun,” she said. “Honestly, I just find myself plugging in random letters and hoping for the best.” Wordle variations don’t just stop at foreign languages. There are a
original. “I play Byrdle and Lewdle, too,” he said. “And also Absurdle, but that one is only when I’m feeling extra bored.” Byrdle is choral themed, while Lewdle features explicit solutions. Absurdle gives the user as little information as possible as they play the game. Sarmas has ventured into Worldle, a geography mock-Wordle that tests players’ knowledge of maps and territories but with a twist. Instead of guessing a word, players work to guess which country silhouette is displayed on their screen. “Playing Worldle was definitely different because guessing a country is obviously a lot different than trying to guess a word,” Sarmas said. “It’s less tedious than the original Wordle for sure, but I don’t really have a preference between the two since they’re just so different in objective.” Although the traditional game’s tedious make-up doesn’t bother Sarmas, “sometimes the words are just too obscure,” she said. “I know that (Josh Wardle) is British, so I get why some of the words aren’t very common (to U.S. players). But it does annoy me sometimes.” Jain shares that opinion, but she believes that the puzzle’s words have actually grown to be more obscure since The New York Times bought the game from Wardle in late January. “I think one of the best parts of the original Wordle was how simple the words were. You’d figure it out and think ‘Oh! Why didn’t I get that sooner?’” she said. “Since The (New York Times) took over, though, the words have been a bit less common which is fine, but kind of removes that ‘aha’ moment.” Napolitano noted that he has one complaint about Wordle that “shakes him to his core.” “I hate how we only get one game a day,” he said. “I need more.”
FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2022
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
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ARTS & CULTURE
‘The Batman’ aims high but fails to live up to full potential Newest adaptation of classic comic book character ultimately doesn’t deliver BY FINN KIRKPATRICK SENIOR STAFF WRITER Before anyone saw “The Batman,” it already had quite a few targets on its back. For one, the titular character is a beloved icon of American culture. The caped crusader has been appearing in comic book stores since 1939 and on film screens since 1943, garnering a deeply-cherished legacy. On top of that, this is the first solo Batman film since Christopher Nolan’s mid-2000s “Dark Knight” trilogy, easily the pinnacle of superhero filmmaking. The second film in the trilogy, “The Dark Knight,” left little room for improvement in the character’s story. To tie it all together, the new film is a full three hours, a length that seems to be the breaking point for many moviegoers. So the question to be asked is twofold: Is its length justified, and does its creation stand out in an already crowded market of Batman adaptations? The first question is an easy one to answer: yes. For all its faults to be discussed later, “The Batman” is nothing if not a well-paced, tightly-crafted and action-packed story in which breathtaking cinematography is paired with atmospheric music to completely immerse the viewer. Typically, a movie nearly three hours long that can confidently justify its length is en route
COURTESY OF WARNER MEDIA
“The Batman” features Robert Pattinson playing the latest version of the caped crusader. Pattinson plays Bruce Wayne as a traumatized hermit rather than the billionaire playboy type seen in recent Batman films. to masterpiece status. “The Batman” is much like a hollowed-out redwood tree — from aesthetic principles alone, it is utterly awe-inspiring, but when examined closely, there’s not a whole lot to support it, causing concern that it may topple over at any moment. The answer to the second question is slightly more complicated. The film clearly sets itself apart from prior Batman films, opting for a detective story plotline as opposed that of a more general action film. Initially, it seems that this is a good idea considering that the character himself was originally set up as a skilled detective, a fact essentially overlooked in all previous adaptations. But in practice, the execution is a little rocky. The main issue here is that the film is trying to achieve a serious and realistic tone, while using characters and scenarios that are detached from reality and quite absurd. This absurdity can usually be somewhat excused in a standard superhero film because
in many instances the film’s lighter tone creates a suspension of disbelief. But since this film is leaving behind that same lighthearted self-awareness, major issues in conventional superhero storytelling are brought to the forefront. The film, which lands in the crime procedural genre, follows the investigation of a string of murders of corrupt local politicians who are tied to the mob, carried out by a masked figure named the Riddler (Paul Dano). The main investigators of these crimes are Commissioner Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) and Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson), better known as the vigilante Batman. This investigation into the identity of the Riddler leads them to a club run by the mob, which was previously involved in a police drug bust. Within the club, more implicated politicians reveal themselves. The mob is led by Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) and the Penguin (Colin Farrell). Circumstances in
the club lead to Batman joining forces with waitress Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz), also known as Catwoman, whose importance slowly comes to light throughout the film. The story is plotted in a fairly standard but compelling manner — it purely focuses on Batman and the steps he takes to uncover the nature of the crimes and the Riddler’s identity. This compelling story is undermined by the fact that many characteristics of the film completely conflict with one another. Within the main mob Batman is trying to bust, Carmine Falcone is a calculated, subtle and complex mobster, whereas the Penguin is a character straight out of a slightly culturally insensitive 1980s straight-to-VHS gangster movie. Commissioner Gordon, Batman’s closest ally, is another expertly-acted, complex character. His grounded realism is interrupted by a corrupt, strip club-frequenting police force largely suffering from drug addiction. A series
of grim and disturbing murders with deep political undertones are carried out by the Riddler, who has all of the “we live in a society” cringe of Joaquin Phoenix in “Joker” without any of the interesting acting to go along with it. The film also struggles to find any considerable depth within the two main characters, Batman and Catwoman. Robert Pattinson is a strong Batman, but he’s an even better Bruce Wayne. The film chooses to portray the billionaire not as some philanthropist playboy as he’s been shown in previous films, but rather as a hermit deeply traumatized by his past. When unmasked, Pattinson sheds a whole new light on the character that is easily the most interesting portrayal yet, but we only see him without the mask in about three scenes. Catwoman is also a character whose promising arc ultimately falls flat. A romance forms between her and Batman, but it is so underdeveloped and unbelievable that it should have been left out altogether. A lot of the fun and intrigue that is shown to be possible in moments of this film ultimately doesn’t reach the heights that it could have. Too often, the film toed the line between creating characters that feel grounded in the real world and characters straight out of a comic book. This leaves a severe conflict of tone that is hard to fully accept. Matt Reeves’ directing should be praised, but his writing should be questioned. At some points the movie is quite good, at others it is quite cringey. In the big picture, it is enjoyable, and in the minutia, a bit of a mess that tries a little too hard.
UNIVERSITY NEWS
Jewish American community members discuss experiences in Israel “Stories @ The Underground” event brings together students’ stories BY TEVAH GEVELBER STAFF WRITER The tables at the Underground Coffee Co. were full Thursday night as community members came to listen to “Stories @ The Underground: Metamorphosis,” a storytelling performance. The event featured six panelists: Ronnie Shashoua ’25, Caleb Stutman-Shaw ’25, Lara Jacobowitz ’25, Zach Harris ’22, Hillel Rosenshine ’22, Tani Najman-Licht ’24 and Joe Blumberg, coordinator for Israel engagement at Brown RISD Hillel. Each speaker shared stories of personal transformations they experienced while living in Israel as Jewish Americans. Storytellers discussed their experiences in Israel, including taking bar mitzvah trips to Israel, participating in arguments-turned-discussions at the Western Wall, donating blood to an Arab Israeli man and watching a festivity grow violent at the Damascus Gate. Panelists recalled gap years in Israel at yeshiva — Orthodox Jewish seminaries — reflective family trips and post-graduation journeys to Israel. Blumberg said the idea for the event was generated several months ago by students who wanted to create space to share stories about their time in Israel. “Talking about Israel at Brown is rarely easy, no matter your background
or experience in the country,” Blumberg said. “We wanted to create a space where students could engage in meaningful, deep listening and honor each others’ experiences.” Shashoua and Jacobowitz came up with the idea to host the panel in November after they both finished a gap year in Israel. Shashoua said they mostly wanted a way to “celebrate Israeliness in a way that acknowledged its complexity and challenges.” Before the event, Blumberg said he hoped that the audience would engage with the panel “in the practice of open-hearted listening.” “Listening to each others’ stories makes room for us to bring our full selves into community, and that’s what we sought to model with this event,” he added. During the event, the six speakers took turns recounting their experiences to the audience, seated on a stool in the front of the room with microphone in hand. Shashoua shared her story as a gap year student in Tel Aviv the night Benjamin Netanyahu, the former prime minister of Israel, left office. As an Israeli American, Shashoua said her “whole life felt overshadowed by Netanyahu,” who held office for 12 years. She described the conflicted feelings she experienced marching through streets full of protesters and celebrators and concluded her story with a reference to the theme of the night: transformations. “Sometimes a transformation doesn’t look like triumph,” she said. “It just looks like hope.” Harris shared a story about his
gap year experience at a mechina, a pre-military academy. Harris described traveling to new regions and being struck by “overflowing shabbas dinner tables” standing in contrast with the “barbed wire fences” of Palestinian areas. Rosenshine reflected on his bar mitzvah trip to Israel, where he was born and where some of his family still resides. He described feeling like an “intruder,” someone who “came of age elsewhere and came to Israel to celebrate.” Rosenshine described a tense dinner after which his grandmother told him stories of her life. Though Rosenshine has a different relationship with Israel than many of his family members, he said that after listening to his grandmothers’ stories, he has come to recognize a gap that “opened up between (himself) and (his) grandparents and, by extension, the rest of (his) Israeli family.” Still, “when she spoke to me about her family, it sounded like my own,” he said. Stutman-Shaw spoke about standing in the press box overlooking a square in East Jerusalem on Jerusalem Day, an Israeli national holiday commemorating Israel’s establishment of control over Jerusalem after the 1967 war, and the final day of Ramadan. He described watching what began as the breaking of a fast among the Arab community escalate into a police interaction with tanks spraying “skunk water,” a foul-smelling liquid used to repel protesters. He juxtaposed this against taking
the light rail one stop away and emerging into the festivities of Jerusalem Day. “There was a disconnect between what was happening and what was seen,” he said. He added that he didn’t know what it would take to resolve the conflict, but that he knew “it would take seeing.” Blumberg, the only non-student who spoke at the event, shared a story about a yelling match-turned-discussion at the Western Wall. He took a year after college to go to Israel and work with Women of the Wall, an organization that brings women to pray at the Western Wall. Blumberg worked as a relayer on the other side of the wall, sharing the prayer on the women’s side with the men. He recounted an Orthodox Jewish man who came to yell at him throughout the entire service and how later, when the service concluded, the man approached him and they had a 45-minute discussion. Though he did not defend the man’s actions, Blumberg said the conversation helped him to better understand another person’s perspective. Blumberg concluded his talk by saying that this interaction, along with several chance run-ins with the man afterwards, raised his hopes for the transformative possibilities of conversation. Najman-Licht shared a story from his gap year at a yeshiva in Israel and how he broke away from his daily routine on a Thursday afternoon when he traveled to the Arab community in East Jerusalem. He went at the last minute to donate blood to an Arab Israeli man. As Najman-Licht was donating blood, the man told him about experiences he
had with Israeli officers, some painful and some humorous. He remembered wondering, “How could this person tell me all these really difficult stories and also laugh?” Jacobowitz shared the transformation she experienced in her gap year at a yeshiva and “the most important thing anyone ever told her.” Throughout her life, Jacobowitz felt conditioned “not to like her voice.” She described struggling with speaking up in group activities, especially in Hebrew, but how she grew much more comfortable throughout her experience. At the end of her gap year, Jacobowitz shared that the yeshiva leaders gave each woman a Jewish text that they felt described them. Jacobwitz said that night she went to bed and felt for the first time “that (her) words (had) value.” Following the events, attendees shared Middle Eastern desserts and tea. Joey Lipschitz ’24, who attended the event, said that he wasn’t expecting the stories to be political but that he “was pleasantly surprised by the topics.” Juliana Merullo ’24, who came to support her suitemate Najman-Licht, said that she loved how the speeches helped her connect to otherwise distant experiences. “I’ve never been to Israel — I’m not Jewish,” Merullo said. But the event helped her “find common themes” in her lives and those of others. “Storytelling is such a cool way of sharing experiences,” she said. “To hear from so many people that I pass on the paths every day about their experiences was also really interesting.”
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | COMMENTARY
FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2022
Slusarewicz ’23: What Disney remakes can learn from ‘Arcane’ Disney’s live action remakes are infamous in some movie review and filmmaking circles for being soulless cash grabs piggybacking off of the success of their classic source material. But certain creator-driven remakes in the past indicate that originality and artistry are not incompatible with success. Disney has missed its opportunity to create remakes that are artistically unique, culturally sensitive and experimental with their source material. If Disney were to focus funding on remakes that are creator-driven, its films could be both successful and innovative. Undeniably, Disney’s recent remakes have done well at the box office. The 2019 remake of “Aladdin” grossed over one billion dollars and “The Lion King” (2019) grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide. “Mulan” (2020) fell short of these numbers, grossing a comparatively dismal $66 million worldwide, though the film did premiere online at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the films’ high gross income corresponded with high budgets, as they cost $183 million, $260 million and $200 million, respectively. Disney’s recent blockbuster remakes are both wildly profitable and wildly expensive. Disney remakes have the potential to enhance their source content by fixing harmful stereotypes peppered into the more “vintage” films. But Disney rarely does this successfully. The live action “Aladdin” movie failed to eliminate the Orientalism of the original film, possibly due to the premise of the story itself, which the Council on American-Islamic Relations described in a press release as “rooted by racism, Orientalism and Islamophobia.” Furthermore, though Mulan originates from a poem written in the Northern Wei Dynasty, Disney failed to deliver a culturally faithful retelling with “Mulan” (1998), which was unpopular with Chinese audiences who saw the main character as inauthentic. But despite director Niki Caro emphasizing the improved cultural accuracy of the remake, the film was criticized by some Chinese
viewers for containing East Asian stereotypes and flopped in China yet again. Notably, Disney opted to hire white directors for both “Mulan” (2020) and “Aladdin” (2019). If they had chosen directors with relevant cultural experiences and who were passionate about representation, these oversights could have been spotted before release. Remakes also provide an opportunity to of-
script and visuals enough to create a distinct film but failed to capture the original’s charm due to dragging musical sequences, disruptive CGI and an overall creative restraint not present in the first film. The success of the Netflix series “Arcane,” set in the universe of the popular video game “League of Legends” and released in November 2021, demonstrated that Disney’s model is
tiche, the production company behind the show, elevated the source content to create an original story paired with a masterful visual experience. Instead of relying on existing plot points and dynamics, Studio Fortiche used the game’s established universe to write a story that can stand alone. Studio Fortiche employed an innovative animation style, blending the efficiency of 3D animation with the textural quality of 2D, which resulted in an engaging viewing while staying true to the essence of video game cartoon aesthetics. “Arcane’s” popularity expanded beyond “League of Legends” fans due to its quality animation and compelling storytelling. These creative accomplishments can be partly attributed to the fact that Studio Fortiche is owned by artists who exercise greater creative freedom than their counterparts at larger companies. Disney itself has proven that it can produce a quality remake of existing stories in the past. Its 1994 remake of “The Jungle Book” received positive critical reception and also performed reasonably well financially. Notably, “The Jungle Book’’ was initially going to be an independent project by Indian producer Raju Patel. Disney clearly has the capability to support artists to create critically and financially successful films. Instead, the studio has relied on nostalgia for classic stories to guarantee ticket sales for its recent remakes. But “Arcane” demonstrates that relinquishing creative control to artists can create entertainment that is both successful and innovative. Hopefully, “Arcane’s” reception will inspire Disney executives to elevate the voices of artists instead of rehashing the same films because they are safe financial bets.
“If Disney were to focus funding on remakes that are creator-driven, its films could be both successful and innovative.”
fer creative spins on old stories. But Disney has struggled to strike a balance between modernizing and honoring the source material. For example, “The Lion King” (2019) offered no narrative twist on the original story, essentially replicating the original film’s dialogue and camera angles. Disney instead opted to modernize the film by showcasing advanced computer-generated visual effects and designing hyper-realistic characters. Rather than improving the film, this change wiped the human expressiveness from the animals, making them completely unrelatable to many viewers. On the other hand, while the visual effects and costume design in “Mulan” (2020) were impressive, earning Oscar nominations, Disney leached the joy and humor from the original’s script. “Aladdin” (2019) fell short on both fronts — Disney changed the
not the only viable one for remakes. While estimates of revenue from streaming shows are not always publicly available, “Arcane” performed admirably in other streaming metrics. The show was the number one digital original series in the United States the week of its release, according to one report, and it maintained a spot in the top 10 for weeks after. The show was beloved by its viewers, despite receiving relatively little attention from critics at first. “Arcane” set audience score records for Netflix shows on multiple platforms, including Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and IMDB, garnering 163,000 reviews on the latter at the time of publication. Like Disney remakes, “Arcane” leveraged a popular franchise to guarantee a solid viewer-base, drawing inspiration from its video game material. But unlike Disney, Studio For-
CA L E N DA R
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.
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80 Students in On-Campus, Designated Off-Campus Quarantine Housing
51* *APPROXIMATE
FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2022
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | POST-
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MAR 11 — VOL 29 — ISSUE 4
FEATURE
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See Full Issue: ISSUU.COM/POSTMAGAZINEBDH
NARRATIVE
Something Like the Opposite of Loneliness a note on endings by Kaitlan Bui But first, I wish I knew where to begin. It is midnight again, and I am sitting at my computer, hoping this keyboard-clacking will somehow transfigure into the wisdom I need for tomorrow. The people I walked past today, avoiding puddles just like me, were hoping for wisdom too. I could simply be projecting, but that’s what I think. As sunlight signals spring and spring signals the end to another school year, maybe we are all asking ourselves where we’ll go from here. Seniors, freshmen, parents awaiting graduation, all asking: Who will hold us still? Are we as alone as we might feel?...
From Hobby to Side Hustle reclaiming hobbies for myself by Alex Choi illustrated by Connie Liu “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.” Kurt Vonnegut, Mother Night Growing up, my father had a common saying. “Work before you play,” he would tell me at every waking moment: when I was caught lounging on the couch watching TV, sitting at the dining table eating a snack, or just doing the normal, trivial activities a pent-up, boisterous kid does. The idea behind this statement was that leisure cannot be enjoyed until work has been addressed, that pleasure is only possible as an auxiliary reward for intense labor and discipline (this very message was taught to him by his own forefathers). Thus, he drew a clear divide between work and leisure; work was boring
and monotonous and kept me away from the joy of playing basketball in the driveway or scoring a personal best in Wii Sports bowling. As time passed, I would come to the realization that my father’s mantra was outdated and crude. Life is not meant to be segmented into binary parts where amusement is mutually exclusive with my work. Maybe it was the guidance counselors telling me to follow my passions, or simply getting fed up with the monotony of work, but regardless I was set on making my work more enjoyable. I had the perfect plan: if I could somehow do all the activities I usually enjoy doing, but pass it off as work, my life would be solved! I utilized my interest in writing and spent many sleepless nights drafting articles for a mental health blog...
“I have a theory: The earth is a diamond. At the top of it, the Netherlands” “I’m not down bad for him, I’m down bad for the vibe.” “Did you guys ever read that book about holes?” “...You mean Holes?”
ARTS & CULTURE
My Year of Rest and Relaxation unlikeable women in the 21st century by Elliana Reynolds It’s early November, and I’m bored. I lie on my bed and stare at the ceiling. A sigh escapes from me, unintentional. I reach for my phone and mindlessly open TikTok, my short attention span appreciating the immediate satisfaction each video gives me. I pause on a video of someone recommending My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh, and a sort of excitement fills my stomach. In the past four years of my life, I’ve only had time to read during the slower months of summer, and even then, I’ve read one or two books at most. As a double concentrator in History and Education Studies, I’m constantly tasked with reading academic papers, so I suffer from reading fatigue and find it difficult to read for fun. But on this November day, I’m bored. Incredibly bored. I’m only taking three classes, and just one of them makes me read academic papers...
LIFESTYLE
A Love Letter to perkins
by Olivia Cohen
Holes 1. By Louis Sachar
6. Gopher
2. Georgia’s O’Keeffe
7. Nostrils
3. Taurus? Torus?
8. 1E1740.7-2942 (Great Annihilator), a Milky Way microquasar
4. Man 5. That sinkhole that opened in New York and plummeted a man into a pit of rats post–
Want to be involved? Email: kyoko_leaman@brown.edu!
9. Donut 10. Great Blue
Maybe I started loving you in the kitchen. I remember one late Sunday morning in fall: I could smell something cooking, cinnamon-sweet, wafting down my hallway. I looked in to find a group of my friends huddled around the stovetop, French toast a-sizzling in the pan and dinner-party jazz ("Happy Moods" by Ahmad Jamal) filling the light-soaked room. The smell drew more and more people until the kitchen was filled with friends and mismatched plates and borrowed silverware and merry chatter. We all sat shoulder to shoulder around the too-small dining room table, and... March 11, 2022
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
6
FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2022
UNIVERSITY NEWS
Ana Navarro speaks at annual Alexander Meiklejohn lecture
Political analyst, commentator discusses state of politics in lecture BY CHARLIE CLYNES SENIOR STAFF WRITER Ana Navarro, a Republican political analyst and commentator who co-hosts ABC’s “The View” and frequently appears on CNN and Telemundo, spoke with Director of the Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy and Professor of Political Science Wendy Schiller at the Taubman Institute’s annual Alexander Meiklejohn Lecture March 10. Throughout the conversation, Navarro discussed her personal political beliefs and opinions on current events. Navarro attracted attention in 2016 for maintaining a resolutely anti-Trump position as most Republicans embraced his ascension to the presidency. She remains solidly anti-Trump, a position she attributes to his politics and personality. “I don’t think he represents the principles of the Republican Party that I grew up with,” Navarro said, noting that his comments about women and his mocking of a person with disabilities
PERRY FROM PAGE 1 among all QBs at the Combine from NextGen Stats? It was cool to see the statistic(s) and I think the Combine is a good event to show off your agility and your ability to move and do different things. It’s also a great event to interview and be around coaches and get feedback on your film and the things you need to work on. So the whole week was good. One thing you garnered attention for outside of those drills was that
HUAYU OUYANG / HERALD
Navarro attracted attention in 2016 for maintaining an anti-Trump position as many other Republicans embraced his presidency. She described her decision to stay with the party as “a masochism issue.” were particularly influential in turning her away from Trump. “Having the moral character and fitness to serve in the highest office in the land, to me, counts more than whether there’s an ‘R’ or a ‘D’ in front of your name,” she added. Navarro’s decision to adopt a position that conflicted with her party had consequences, she said, jokingly referring to her decision to remain a Republican as “a masochism issue.” “I ask myself why I’m still a Republican. I think having two functioning parties offering solutions, competing for our vote, earning our support, is so very important,” she said. “I’m a creature of habit, and I hate the idea of being pushed out of the party that
I’ve been a member of for my entire life by Donald Trump.” Navarro also spoke about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and how the Russian government has successfully exacerbated American political divisions in recent years to sow discord about the war. In her eyes, while comments such as Prince William’s — who said that people are used to seeing conflict in Asia and Africa but that it was “very alien to see this in Europe” — are repugnant, giving these comments media attention only distracts from the war itself. “Should we be focusing on what some prince in England stupidly said? And how is that going to help one
Ukrainian refugee?” Navarro asked, affirming that it is in Russia’s best interest to highlight comments such as these. When asked how long she thinks Americans will tolerate the economic consequences of imposing sanctions on Russia, Navarro said, “The minute … (when) everybody picks up their tent and pitches it elsewhere because there’s a bigger story somewhere … you’ll see action wane.” “The harsh, sad, real truth is that we have a limited attention span in this country. And if we’re not seeing it, hearing it, feeling it — if it’s not tugging at our hearts — it’s out of sight, out of mind,” she added. As a Floridian and a Nicaraguan
you were caught on video picking up trash around the Combine after Friday’s events. Tell me why you decided to do that. I was just picking up my trash in front of me, and there’s two benches where all the guys sit … as I was walking out, just the trash around me, I just grabbed (it) and put it in the trash. It wasn’t a significant amount of trash or anything; I think it was kind of blown out of proportion. But, as I was walking out, (I was) just trying to not walk over the trash and leave it for someone else to … pick it up. I think it’s gone kind of
crazy … I’m not some great guy because I picked up a few water bottles — it took about two minutes to do.
What was it like being around so many other top prospects who are hoping to hear their names called at the NFL Draft in April? They’re all really nice people, really good people, and they love football just like I do, want to get better and want to play the game at the highest level. So it was cool, we all had good relationships. It was fun getting to know a bunch of those guys and then going out and being on the field with them. So it was a good opportunity to meet some great guys and then go compete.
How do you think the interview aspect of the Combine went for you? I felt good about it. I think it was a good opportunity to get to talk (to and have) face time with coaches and show your knowledge of your college and your ability to focus. So, it was a good time, and interviewing with these coaches and getting to know (them) … it was a good opportunity.
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— she fled the country with her family when she was a child — Navarro spoke at length about the growing shift among Latino voters to the Republican Party. In the 2020 election, Trump made significant gains with Latino voters in some counties, according to data reported by FiveThirtyEight. Democrats, Navarro believes, have made the mistake of taking the Latino vote for granted. “There’s no groupthink in the Latino community … you don’t leave (courting Latino voters) for the last minute; you don’t leave it for the last eight weeks of the election,” she said. This feeling of being taken for granted, she said, combined with the increasing ability of Republicans to portray their opponents as radicals, is spurring political realignment among some Latinos. “There’s been a huge loss of support in places like the district where (my family) lived … because there was a steady drumbeat from Republicans portraying Democrats — any Democrat, every Democrat — as socialist.” Navarro emphasized that she doesn’t shy from disagreement, calling political diversity “fun,” “exciting” and “enriching.” “One of the problems we have in America is the lack of diversity of thought,” she said. “It’d be so boring to be with people who were just one homogeneous blob.”
What will you do in the next couple of months until the NFL Draft to continue to raise your draft stock and get ready for the league? (I’ll be) continuing my training physically, working out and then continuing my throwing regimen. I have Pro Day coming up on (March) 22, which will be another good opportunity through this process to build, to get better. And then, (I will) go compete on Pro Day in front of scouts and put in some more good work. And then after that, getting ready and turning focus on being extremely fit and ready to go for training camp/mini-
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FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2022
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
7
METRO
After incident, community groups push to remove SROs from schools A Mount Pleasant high school student’s assault propels protests, plans for legislation BY EMMA MADGIC SENIOR STAFF WRITER A school resource officer allegedly physically assaulted 16-year-old Mount Pleasant high school student Jay-Juan Guillen-Watson Feb. 1, according to a live video posted on Facebook by the boy’s mother, Evelyn Guillen Rincón. In the video, Rincón said she learned of the assault when a fellow student video-called her around 3 p.m. She said she saw a police officer on the video “choking” her son and that he “was vomiting on himself and spitting up blood.” She immediately drove to the school, but, by the time she arrived, her son had already been transferred to the police station, she said. She added that she received no calls from Mount Pleasant High School before the transfer occurred. Rhode Island State Senator Sam Bell, a Democrat representing Providence, said to The Herald that he was “obviously horrified” upon hearing about the assault but “not particularly surprised.” In a letter written by community organizations and state politicians to Gov. Dan McKee Feb. 14 imploring him to remove SROs from Providence Public School District, Bell wrote, “ever since I saw a cop knee a fellow student in her crotch repeatedly in middle school, I’ve felt we shouldn’t have SROs in our schools.” Although Bell doesn’t “pretend to know the context about that instance,” he nevertheless expressed that the incident forever changed his perspective on police presence within schools. “It sticks with you,” Bell said. McKee did not respond to a request for comment. Representative David Morales MPA’19, a Democrat representing Providence, also signed the letter, writing that “it is time we begin to adequately fund mental health resources and remove school resource officers from Providence Public Schools.” Only then, Morales said, “will we be taking the active steps to close the school-to-prison pipeline and intentionally support the needs of our youth, particularly youth of color.” Morales agreed with Bell about the atrocity of the assault, and told The Herald that “regardless of what offense was committed, there was no reason for that police officer to act in such an aggressive, forceful manner.” Morales added that he has personal experience with SROs from growing up in a “low-income community” in Soledad, California. “I’ve always been
MASK FROM PAGE 1 test results to University Health Services, while faculty, staff and postdoctoral researchers are required to report positive results to University Human Resources. Carey thanked community members for their diligence “in masking, reporting their vaccination status and
against having school resource officers in public schools ever since I was in high school,” he said. “This has been a lifelong value for me.” “One thing I remember is feeling uncomfortable being a young person of color and being in an environment where there was a level of law enforcement that I would expect to see on the street but not necessarily in the hallways of my school,” Morales added. The letter Bell and Morales contributed to was signed by 24 community organizations and many state representatives, community organizers and other politicians. Twenty community organizations also signed a separate letter to the governor and Angélica Infante-Green, R.I. commissioner of elementary and secondary education, that was published Feb. 11. Infante-Green did not respond to a request for comment. Community organizations, student groups comment on assault Since Guillen-Watson’s arrest, several community organizations have advocated for removing SROs from schools. Brown’s Students for Educational Equity was among the 24 student groups and organizations that signed the Feb. 14 letter to the governor. “A lot of (SEE representatives) were really horrified that something could happen at a school, where students are supposed to be safe and protected,” said Zoe Fuad ’23.5, co-president of SEE. “And not only that the incident itself happened but that the guardians were not at all notified, and that over five hours later there was no information given and that everything broke Mount Pleasant’s own rules.” “The fact that (Rincón) had to livestream her own reaction in order to get any kind of response is really terrifying,” Fuad added. Eliminating SROs, she said, ranks high on SEE’s list of priorities. SEE became involved with the Providence Student Union’s “Counselors Not Cops” campaign in 2020. The group, she added, is focused on “uplifting the voices” of PPSD students and organizers as opposed to inserting its own opinions. “SEE has always worked from and with the community,” Fuad said. “We’re going to get behind what all of our community partners are advocating for, what our community partners know is going to be right for the students of Providence.” Jennifer Wood, executive director of the Rhode Island Center for Justice, emphasized that youth-led organizations are, and should be, at the center of this work. “The Rhode Island Center for Justice works with student organizations who have been advocating for the removal of police from the Providence public schools, typically through the (Prov-
participating in testing requirements,” which allowed the University to ease restrictions as the “(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and the state report improved health conditions in Providence and Rhode Island.” Carey wrote that cases on campus have continued to remain low, and that the “cases we are seeing are generally characterized by no to moderate symp-
DANIELLE EMERSON / HERALD
Since Jay-Juan Guillen-Watson’s arrest, several community organizations have advocated for removing SROs from schools. idence Alliance for Student Safety) Coalition,” Wood said. “We stand in solidarity with their position that police make schools less safe, not more safe.” The PASS coalition, founded in 2019, has fought to remove SROs from PPSD since its inception, including by organizing the “Counselors Not Cops” campaign and the PASS Plan for Public Safety, released in June 2021, The Herald previously reported. The diverse array of community groups that signed the letter is impressive, according to Samy Amkieh ’21.5 MPH ’23, former Brown Refugee Youth Tutoring and Enrichment coordinator and former co-chair of Providence Democratic Socialists of America’s Defund the Police, Reimagine Safety, Invest in Providence Working Group. “There’s been a huge outpouring of support from places that wouldn’t necessarily come to mind right away but make a lot of sense,” Amkieh said. For example, many arts and culture-focused organizations such as Urban Arts and Providence ¡CityArts for Youth! signed the letter. These organizations “understand that the sacrifice of kids’ enrichment beyond the classroom is at the hands of money spent on policing,” Amkieh said. “You can’t try to uplift and educate and enrich youth and also have these structures in place that criminalize them.” Controversy of SROs The problems surrounding SROs in schools are rooted in a fundamental disconnect between police training and their actual responsibilities, Bell explained. “Police officers are frequently asked to do things they are simply not qualified to do,” such as dealing with mental health, addiction crises and solving crimes, he said. “It’s a difficult job, it’s an important job and it’s a job people really have to be trained for,” Bell said. “And police officers are just not equipped.” “They’re given excessive authority
toms.” “Over the seven weeks of the semester to date we have had no instances of hospitalization, severe illness, clusters or outbreaks,” Carey added. Carey recommended that community members “continue to carry a well-fitting KN95, KF94, N95 or disposable/surgical mask at all times in case a situation arises where a mask
and a lack of training,” Bell noted, “and together those things result in deeply problematic outcomes.” Harrison Tuttle, executive director of the Black Lives Matter R.I. Political Action Committee, emphasized the need to raise teachers’ salaries and hire “a diverse set of teachers that reflect the student body” in addition to bringing more mental health specialists and counselors into schools. 77% of teachers in PPSD identify as white while 6.5% of students in Providence public schools are white. “It’s disappointing that we can’t focus our efforts on things like that,” Tuttle said of greater investments in hiring and maintaining racially representative teachers, counselors and mental health specialists. “We don’t see police officers in other school districts that are wealthier,” Tuttle added. “This really disproportionately affects Black and brown folks, (which) ultimately creates and furthers the school-to-prison pipeline.” Bell acknowledged that while low-income districts often have higher rates of crime in schools, that doesn’t necessarily warrant SRO presence and higher rates of arrest. “Sometimes the realities of our laws can be problematic if they’re fueling arrests,” Bell said. “These more aggressive forms of policing can have problematic outcomes.” Tuttle’s grievances with having SROs in PPSD schools reflect his fundamental concern with the safety and security of students of color in schools. “Why are we criminalizing education?” Tuttle said. “Why are we putting police officers in places of learning?” Future actions State representatives, community organizations and students said they are unsure how much immediate change will result from their efforts. But according to Amkieh, there is a new energy that makes him optimistic. “Rather than sitting around and
waiting for the change that the youth have been calling for for years now, people are ready to do what it takes to force that change,” he said. Assaults such as the Feb. 1 incident are not isolated events, Amkieh said. What makes this situation different, he explained, is that “right from the start (the student’s) mother went on Facebook Live and … basically rejected the narratives that were being spun by the police about her son, by the school about her son … She rejected the blatant lawlessness that the cops operated with.” A spokesperson for the Providence Police Department did not respond to The Herald’s requests for comment. State representatives and community leaders are looking to the youth, who have led and continue to lead the movement, according to Wood. “I absolutely expect the police to be removed from the Providence public schools,” Wood said. “This has been a multi-year campaign and the students are not going to rest until this result is achieved.” On Feb. 28, Providence students and residents protested police presence in schools in front of Providence City Hall, The Herald previously reported. The protest was organized by Alliance of Rhode Island Southeast Asians for Education and the Providence Youth Student Movement. The students “feel that their educational environment is being made unsafe and that investments aren’t being made in their health and wellbeing and educational success,” Wood said. “It’s just so basic and fundamental.” Morales said he doesn’t expect the letter to the governor to have an immediate effect. “As for the impact of the letter, I do not see there being an immediate divestment from SROs,” he said. “I believe it is going to require legislation.” Morales is planning to introduce a bill in mid-March that addresses SROs in PPSD. “I’m working alongside PASS to introduce legislation to remove state support for SROs but most importantly prohibit SROs from contracting with Providence public schools.” “This year, this piece of legislation is going to be a lot more intentional and direct and will have more of an opportunity to pass because it’s not affecting the entire state,” he said. According to Morales, Bill 6029, which failed because it was “deferred to study” last spring, would have removed state funding for SROs. “(These) demands have been around for a while,” Morales said. “They’ve really been ignored by the governor, by the education commissioner who obviously runs PPSD.” “This isn’t like a wishlist,” Morales said of the bill. “It was really thoughtout and it has a bunch of evidence from a whole bunch of academic and policy reports and data.”
is required.” He also reminded the community that wearing a mask is still a personal choice, despite not being required.
NEIL MEHTA / HERALD
FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2022
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | COMMENTARY
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Dill ’24: U. must better support students with chronic illnesses Living with chronic illness is no easy task, but living with chronic illness in college sometimes feels impossible. Last year, I learned that my medications meant to treat my illness were not working. I relapsed. While I am no longer in clinical remission, I am on a new medication that has the
medications with unsavory side effects. Chronic illnesses are by nature unpredictable, so the stringent applications for accommodation requests pose another barrier to education for students who live with these diseases. While the Americans with Disabilities Act mandates that accommodations in
no concrete definition and is harmful because the marker for determining “reasonability” is unclear. The accommodations are supposed to help me enjoy equal access to a Brown education, but because the key word is “reasonable,” the extent of these accommodations is ultimately left up to the professor. I understand
professionals like nurse advocates and social workers. At Brown, I am away from my advocates. Thus, a person with a chronic illness in college is not only dealing with the stress of fighting for accommodations, but also with navigating doctor communication and insurance bureaucracy on their own. Administra-
potential to alleviate my symptoms and place me back into clinical remission, when my symptoms are minimized so that they don’t interfere substantially with daily life. Time is of the essence, and the way I handle this period is important for my lifelong health. I am still learning how to navigate college life, but it has been a challenge to stay in remission at Brown. The nature of chronic illness is unpredictable, and the discretion often used when granting “reasonable” accommodations does not always factor in the nuances of chronic illness. Furthermore, even with access to resources through Brown Student Accessibility Services, students living with chronic illnesses must navigate the bureaucracy of securing accommodations largely alone, posing a unique challenge to obtaining an equitable education. The only way for me to stay in school is to take a preventative approach to my illness. I must avoid relapses that could send me back to the Mayo Clinic and interrupt my semester. Early intervention, therefore, is key. Only through acting swiftly can I prevent a disease flare-up from turning into a full-blown relapse. In general, relapses pose a barrier to education for students with chronic illnesses — not only for health reasons but also because paying for unfinished semesters over and over again can get prohibitively expensive. I often hear professors tell students who are struggling with illness to “take a semester off” or to “just drop the course” because “you can always take it next fall.” Although good-natured, these statements neglect the reality that students with chronic illnesses cannot come back when they are “healed.” Students with chronic illnesses do not magically get better. While we can have periods of remission, always assuming things will improve next semester is not sustainable because chronic illness is, by definition, chronic. Even in my best periods of remission, I still experience pain episodes and must take
education must be “reasonable,” this vagueness, I believe, often causes problems for stu-
that Brown is just following the terminology of the ADA, but I hope that there is an under-
tors at SAS are supposed to serve as advocates, but the level of support they provide is not always sufficient to meet the needs of students with chronic illnesses. To be clear, I meet with my officer occasionally, and the folks at the SAS office are wonderful people. But their primary focus is on the routine collection of documentation and prescription of accommodations, rather than the day-to-day personal help that an advocate would provide. My advisor has offered support in some scenarios, but other than that I feel mostly alone in navigating day-to-day living with my illness. As frustrated as I am with the way Brown deals with accommodations, in no way do I wish to malign individuals. I love the people I am surrounded by. I have built so many wonderful relationships with professors, coaches and administrators. I am appreciative to be able to attend college and have so many people who support and advocate for me. But I am also aware of the privilege I have and realize that not everyone at Brown has these same resources and experiences. I am not trying to speak for everyone with disabilities, but rather about my own experience navigating my condition. This is a systemic issue, one that is not easily solved. There is so much more that can be said, but I believe this conversation — about accommodations, the problems with the “reasonable” standard and the burdens students with disabilities face — is exactly the place we must start. Students with chronic illnesses face barriers to an equitable education here at Brown, and it is the institution’s responsibility to listen to us and make changes accordingly.
“Students living with chronic illnesses must navigate the bureaucracy of securing accommodations largely alone, posing a unique challenge to obtaining an equitable education.”
dents with unpredictable symptoms. Missing class due to doctor’s appointments and other expected medical concerns are considered reasonable, but who gets to define what other accommodations are reasonable for a student living with a chronic health condition? Often, it is professors, who are not always experts on the details of students’ illnesses or disability accommodations. Accommodations should account for unexpected episodes and flare-ups. I have woken up in pain and asked for an extension on an assignment due later in the day, but had a professor deem my request “unreasonable” because it was too close to a deadline. And ironically, the stress that comes from requesting accommodations and fearing they might not be granted can itself lead to a flare-up — the very thing the accommodations are supposed to help prevent. Placing all of the burden on the student to continually remind their professors of their accommodations creates another barrier to education for students with disabilities. I understand I can resend the letter requesting accommodations, but the term “reasonable” has
standing of the burden this places on some students with disabilities. If Brown wanted to, it could go beyond the barebones “reasonability” standard of the ADA and adopt a “full inclusion” model, which would involve providing more than just accommodations for students with disabilities. In a full inclusion model, these students would not face as many obstacles in trying to get an equitable education. Some might think that students living with chronic illnesses are not fit for college, but that is deeply untrue. The problem is that college is currently catered toward students without disabilities and fails to ensure that those who experience different circumstances have an equitable experience. Students with chronic illnesses come from all walks of life. I am a student-athlete at Brown, and I am deeply committed to and passionate about my studies like most people here. Outside of college, when a person has a chronic illness, there is typically an advocate who helps them navigate stress and bureaucracy so that the person can focus on healing and return to clinical remission. These people are often family, but they can also be
Delaney Dill ’24 can be reached at delaney_ dill@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.