Friday, September 10th

SINCE 1891

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

VOLUME CLVI, ISSUE XII

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Pembroke Center endowed with $5 million

BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM

UNIVERSITY NEWS

RUE students discuss U. dispersal of federal funds Some concerned about initial CARES Act award, optimistic after recent adjustment

BY CAELYN PENDER UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR

DAVID DECKEY / HERALD

After receiving a $5 million donation, the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women will welcome a new director, fund new initiatives.

New Pembroke Director names enhancing diversity initiatives, scholarship as priorities

BY AKSHAY AMESUR STAFF WRITER Home to a vibrant community of feminist scholarship and dynamic interdisciplinary research, the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on

Women received a $5 million gift this summer — its largest donation to date — from alum Shauna McKee Stark ’76 P’10 . The gift will work to permanently fund the center’s director position and help support the center’s programming.

The inaugural Shauna McKee Stark ’76 P’10 Director, Professor of Humanities and English Leela Gandhi, will begin her tenure this fall, which also marks the center’s 40th anniversary.

Gandhi began her transition into the role soon after her appointment this July, noting that throughout the process she has felt “extremely honored” to

METRO

Geena Pham runs for State Senate District 3 Senate District 3 candidate Geena Pham pushes progressive platform

BY ASHLEY GUO SENIOR STAFF WRITER Known for her progressive platform, public school teacher Geena Pham is a candidate in the Democratic primary for Rhode Island State Senate District 3, which includes the College Hill, East Side and Fox Point neighborhoods.

If elected, Pham would be the first Asian American to serve in the Rhode Island General Assembly. As a first-generation college graduate and the daughter of an immigrant single mother, Pham is passionate about reducing disparities in public education both within classrooms and between districts.

“I’ve always wanted to help people, and I’m able to see what happens to struggling families if they can’t have

affordable housing, if they don’t have safe neighborhoods or if they don’t know where their next meal is coming from,” Pham said. “I’m able to see that every day, and I think that’s the perspective I bring.”

Pham’s platform covers public school quality, racial justice, a Green New Deal, safer neighborhoods and wider access to reproductive healthcare. Pham is endorsed by organizations and individuals including BLM RI PAC, Sunrise RI, State Senator Tiara Mack, State Senator Cynthia Mendes, State Senator Sam Bell and State Representative David Morales. Pham also volunteers on the board of Cozy Rhody Litter Clean-up, an organization that brings the community together to clean parks and neighborhoods.

As a public school teacher, improving the quality of public schools in Providence is one of Pham’s biggest priorities. “Every day I go into the classroom, and I can see the disparities between students in one classroom. This

SEE PHAM PAGE 3

follow in the footsteps of the prolific female scholars who have served as Pembroke Center directors before her.

Drawing inspiration from her pioneering predecessors in feminist theory, Professor Gandhi described her own vision for the center’s growth: diversifying the center’s work and scholarship while forming it into an increasingly congenial space for intellectual exchange.

“I hope that I may be able to take Pembroke in a transnational direction,”

In Spring 2021, Telijah Patterson ’23 completed her remote schoolwork on the mat that doubles as both her bed and her workspace. She cannot afford to buy a desk or a bed, and because of the COVID-19 pandemic, she has been attending her classes remotely from Texas.

As a Resumed Undergraduate Education student, she and her peers have faced unique challenges on top of those faced by traditional undergraduate students. Many of these RUE students faced increased financial difficulties exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, from having to support spouses or children to working to pay the bills.

The University received federal COVID-19 funding in April 2020 through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, and it was awarded a second round of funding in early 2021 through the Coronavirus

Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act. These funds were disbursed to students in March 2021 after students in the U-FLi community expressed concerns about the delay in distribution.

In order to determinehow to best disburse these awards, the University convened a committee of students, faculty and staff, wrote University Spokesperson Brian Clark in an email to The Herald, which conl. “The consensus of that group was to base distributions on student financial aid profiles,” Clark wrote.

These awards ranged from $3,000 “for students with a $0 parent contribution (those with the greatest demonstrated need)” to a minimum of $500, Provost Richard Locke P’18 wrote in a Feb. 26 email to students.

With a $0 family contribution, Patterson anticipated receiving the maximum award of $3,000. When she received her award in March, it was for $1,500 — as was the award for all other RUE students, regardless of their financial need.

“Because many of us are low-income students, we were really looking forward to that (funding) ... ,” Patterson said. “We didn’t find out that we were going to be cut short until we

SEE PEMBROKE PAGE 4

SEE RUE PAGE 7

SPORTS

Men’s soccer drops home opener 4-2

COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS

Men’s soccer team lead 2-0 at half against Bryant University, but end game in 4-2 loss

Bears jump to 2-0 lead in first half before allowing four straight Bryant goals

BY LOKI OLIN SENIOR STAFF WRITER The men’s soccer team (1-1) suffered a disappointing loss to Bryant University (1-3) in their season home

News

Arts & Culture

Commentary

Commentary

RI Give Vax challenge inoculated 2,500, raised funds for non-profits.

Page 2

‘Dear Evan Hansen’ seamlessly adapts the musical to film.

Page 6

McGrath ’24: Buzzfeed’s ‘woke’ corporate culture is part of a larger troubling trend. Page 5

Marcus ’82: Three pieces of advice for freshman from alum of the class of 1982.

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opener at the newly renovated Stevenson-Pincince Field Wednesday.

The Bears, who were playing without midfielder Derek Waleffe ’22 and goal-

SEE M.SOCCER PAGE 3

TODAY

TOMORROW

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

METRO

$750,000 donated and more than 25,000 vaccinated after RI Gives Vax State program counters falling vaccination rates by offering donations to local nonprofits

BY OLIVER KNEEN SENIOR STAFF WRITER The RI Gives Vax Challenge met its goal of inoculating 25,000 Rhode Islanders this summer while giving $750,000 to local nonprofits on the frontlines of COVID-19 pandemic response.

Governor Dan McKee introduced the statewide vaccination incentive challenge July 6, promising to give a round of $10,000 grants to a variety of nonprofits each time another 5,000 citizens received a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, Lexi Kriss, the governor’s deputy director of communications, wrote in an email to The Herald. The program was conducted in association with the Rhode Island Foundation, the Rhode Island Department of Health and the Rhode Island Commerce Department.

Neil D. Steinberg ’75, president and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation, wrote in an email to The Herald that the program was prompted by declining vaccination rates in June. The attention garnered by the program’s launch, he added, was effective at reversing this trend.

“Getting vaccinated was an easy way for (people) to give back to the nonprofits that have provided food, housing, health care and so much more throughout the pandemic,” he wrote.

Although the Rhode Island Department of Health projected that the five-round goal of 25,000 vaccinations would not be met until the fall, they reached their goal Aug. 6, just four weeks after the program’s initial launch, according to Kriss.

Steinberg wrote that the organizations who were awarded grants through the challenge were selected from an applicant pool of nonprofits with “annual operating budgets of less than $3,000,000” relevant to issues relating to and resulting from the pandemic.

Eligibility rested on whether a nonprofit was “on the frontlines of helping RI’ers most in need get through the crisis,” he added.

Among the first to receive a grant was the Rhode Island Free Clinic, which provided free healthcare — including vaccinations, testing and follow-up care — to uninsured, low-income adults, among whom were “the hardest hit and most at risk for COVID-19,” said RIFC Senior Staff member Marvin Ronning.

Ronning referred to the pandemic as

TALIA MERMIN / HERALD

“the clinic’s biggest challenge” in its 22 years of existence, due to the twofold increase in the clinic’s patient base. Considering the effects of the pandemic and the fact that RIFC is funded entirely through donations, the clinic is “particularly grateful” for the grant they received to support their increased post-pandemic coverage.

The Refugee Dream Center, an organization dedicated to supporting refugees through various resettlement challenges, also received a grant for providing financial assistance, food, housing, health information and other services to a network of over 1,500 refugees and immigrants during the pandemic. This network is four times the population served by the organization prior to the pandemic, RDC Executive Director Dr. Omar Bah wrote in an email to The Herald.

As refugees in Rhode Island reel from job loss due to the pandemic and related mental health issues, Bah wrote that the RDC plans to use the grant money to continue providing food and housing security, education programs and COVID-19 information to the community in order to promote self-sufficiency and public health in the long-term.

Another grant recipient was Adoption Rhode Island, a nonprofit that supports foster and adopted children and adolescents. Jennifer Foster, ARI’s Director of Development and Community Relations, said that the organization’s mental health and family support services were “really critical” during the pandemic to ensure that kids with a history of trauma didn’t feel “alone and disconnected” on the path to adoption or independent living.

Given that approximately 40 to 45 percent of the organization is funded by private donations, Foster said that ARI was “very, very happy to have received the grant,” adding that much of the new money will likely go to emergency assistance and providing supplies to students, which might include new materials like technology or PPE. Ultimately, Foster said the money will go to “helping families cope and be able to manage going forward, whether that’s a basic or emergency need or to help kids succeed.”

As of now, Rhode Island houses the fifth highest percentage of fully vaccinated citizens in the country. But while incentives such as the RI Gives Vax Challenge have contributed to this high vaccination rate, according to Kriss, around 160,000 people in the state remain unvaccinated.

Ronning also said that the pandemic’s lasting impact­— whether it be through new variants, vaccine hesitancy or the related economic and social turmoil — continues to affect vulnerable populations including the uninsured and people of color.

“We’re going to be serving folks for pandemic-related issues for a long time,” he said.

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

3

PHAM FROM PAGE 1 could be disparities in terms of wealth, socioeconomics, racial disparities, anything like that,” Pham said. “I’ve worked in Boston inner (cities) to really wealthy suburbs, and just seeing the lack of equity between these districts … that’s what drove me to want to run.”

Another primary focus of Pham is launching a Green New Deal to combat climate change. “I definitely think that we should have 100 percent renewables, ASAP,” Pham said. Pham has plans to reduce emissions through creating new infrastructure for biking and walking as well as retrofitting houses or equipping them with features that reduce their overall carbon emissions. “By doing all these things, not only does it help the environment, (but) it helps with our goals with climate change, it creates jobs,” Pham said. “Good paying jobs, quality public schools, affordable housing — those are the keys to safer neighborhoods.”

Pham believes that, although District 3 is generally liberal and progressive, the true meaning of racial justice can be lost in the community. To create actionable changes that promote racial justice, she intends on repealing the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights within the district, a bill that protects law enforcement officers from prosecution for certain aspects of their work performance and affords them increased privileges based on due process, including limiting police officer suspensions to two days. The law is currently under fire, with state legislators and activist groups calling for it to be repealed on the grounds that it shields officers from discipline for unjust actions.

“A lot of people just think, ‘Oh, it’s all about diversity and inclusion, and we

M. SOCCER FROM PAGE 1 keeper James Swomley ’22, jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first half before allowing four unanswered Bryant goals.

Brown and Bryant each took 13 shots in the match, with Bryant putting six on goal compared to Brown’s three.

After scoring just two goals across their first three matchups, Bryant’s final goal tally of four made it their highest-scoring game of the season.

In the 22nd minute, Brown opened the scoring action with a scrappy goal off a deflected corner kick by captain Will Crain ’22. Crain’s cross entered the middle of the six-yard box and, assisted by Malcolm Johnson ’22, rolled to Taha Kina ’24, who leapt forward and struck the ball toward the net with his right foot. Bryant’s goalkeeper dove and deflected the ball, but not until after it had crossed the goal line.

Due to the cancellation of the 2020 season, Kina’s goal came in the first home game of his Bears career. “It was a great feeling to get on the field after a long wait and the fan turnout was even better than we had hoped for,” Kina said.

In the 25th minute, Bryant’s Abdel Talabi was called for a foul after tackling Alex Mina ’22, giving Brown a free kick from 40 yards out. Crain played the role of facilitator once again, teeing off with his left foot and delivering a swift, looping pass toward the right side of the box. Owen Schwartz ’23 flew past Bryant defenders and jumped, directing a header into the bottom right corner of the net for a spectacular goal.

“Owen and I have a pretty good connection from playing center back together,” Crain said. “So I just hit it

COURTESY OF GEENA PHAM

Pham — whose platform focuses on reprsentation, racial justice and resiliency in the face of climate change — would be the first Asian American to serve in the Rhode Island General Assembly if elected. just have to get along,’” Pham said. “But state, 12%, according to Pham. a decision that is “anti-establishment,” Above all, Pham emphasized the it really goes down to police brutality, Representation and racial justice are according to Enrique Sanchez, BLM RI importance of her firsthand experience looking at what that means and recogvalues that Pham’s supporters share. PAC political director. “Once you take of the struggles and disparities in her nizing that racial injustice absolutely Senator Mack sees Pham as a first step that step of not voting for leadership, community. exists on the East Side.” toward a future with more diverse voic- you’re punished because you’re not “I’m a public servant. I work with There has never been an Asian es in office. “No more firsts of people chosen to be on certain committees real people every day … and I’m doing American elected to serve in the Gener- who make up a lot of the fabric of our or be with the politicians who get to this to serve the community, to serve al Assembly. “We have been an unheard country like queer folks, Black folks, decide what policies pass,” Sanchez people like my students that don’t need voice for as long as this country has brown folks, Asian American folks, said. “She is that progressive voice, the to be suffering,” Pham said. “I’m doing existed,” Pham said. “We’re seen as for- first-generation folks,” Mack said. “We most progressive leftist candidate for this to help people and because I care eigners, even if we’ve been born here.” definitely need more real people with Senate District 3.” about people.”

She sees the election as an opportunity real stories in office.”

“I think Geena, being the only proto represent previously unheard voicAs a member of the Rhode Island gressive Democrat in the race of six es in District 3, which has the highest Political Cooperative, Pham is commit- people now, is the voice that we need percentage of Asian Americans in the ted to not voting for Senate leadership, out of that field of folks,” Mack agreed.

pretty well, and he was in the right spot.

It was good for us to get that goal.”

Bryant answered quickly with a goal

by Ben Williams in the 28th minute, who received a cross from Aaron Madison in the middle of the six-yard box and snuck a shot past goalkeeper Max Waldau ’22. Two minutes later, Bryant scored again with a left-side attack leading to a shot by Nick Awada. Bryant would score one more time in the first half when Williams, continuing to act as a key piece in Bryant’s offense, assisted Barney Brandon on a goal to put Bryant up 3-2 in the 43rd minute.

In the second half, Brown strung together multiple sequences of attacks and Bruno’s nine shots surpassed Bryant’s tally of three. But while none of Bruno’s attempts connected, one of Bryant’s did: Ben Williams’ second goal, scored in the 63rd minute, secured Bryant’s 4-2 victory.

After a rough stretch of play to open the second half, Bruno’s offense was rejuvenated and threatened Bryant on multiple occasions as the clock ran down. “The last ten minutes, I think you saw our team fight because we knew our backs (were) against the wall,” Crain said. “That was a good ten minutes of fighting, getting shots, getting crosses.”

Many of Bryant’s quality scoring chances came within the box as a result of set pieces, which occur after the stoppage of play due to a foul. “We did a decent job defensively on set pieces, but not as good as we can,” said Head Coach Patrick Laughlin. “When we get some more work in, we can get better at that.”

“We have to communicate more, we have to get set, mark our men and

know where our positions are on the defensive set pieces,” Crain added. “It comes from all of us having to talk and figure out who’s got who.”

Brown was short-handed in the matchup due to the absence of goalkeeper Swomley and midfielder Waleffe. Waleffe scored both of Brown’s goals in their recent victory against the University of Hartford before missing Wednesday’s game against Bryant.

Swomley, Brown’s usual starter in goal, was replaced by Max Waldau shortly before the game. “We had a tough situation having to change goalkeepers last minute,” Laughlin said. “It’s difficult to have to come in to play in this situation.”

“The eleven players on the field can change from day to day,” Crain added, “so it can be a little hard to get that connection going.”

With a large roster of 31 players, Brown will continue to experiment with a variety of lineup combinations to find a winning formula. “I think we saw a lot of guys tonight and we’re gonna keep trying to get better,” Laughlin said. “We’re gonna get back at it tomorrow and do a better job.”

This Saturday, Brown will face Niagara University at home for their third game of the season. “They’re a really good team,” Crain said. “(They’ll be) tougher than both of these games. The next two days, we just have to get into practice and work even harder.”

“We learned a lot from this game,” Kina said. “We fought hard in the second half and came up short, which happens. We know we need to prepare more on the defensive side of things and we look forward to the game at home versus Niagara this weekend..

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

4

PEMBROKE FROM PAGE 1 she said, adding her staunch belief that the center’s work should be “intensely local” in its focus on Brown’s community, while simultaneously incorporating voices from varied backgrounds across the globe.

In order to accomplish this, Gandhi pointed to several diversity initiatives that she hopes to augment during her tenure, one of which is the Black Feminist Theory Project.

Established in 2016 with the stated mission of enhancing “the visibility and accessibility of Black feminist discourse on campus as a resource for faculty, students and the surrounding community,” the program sheds light on activism by Black feminists at the intersections of race, gender and other issues.

The project “helps to ensure intergenerational remembering (to combat) willful ignorance and forgetting of our historical pasts,” while working against “stereotypes that denigrate Black women and deny our … cultural richness,” wrote Melaine Ferdinand-King GS, the project’s graduate proctor and a fourth-year PhD candidate in Africana Studies, in an email to The Herald. The BFTP’s main work is to maintain and expand an archive on Black feminist theory and to help facilitate ongoing work by Black feminist scholars, she wrote.

Ferdinand-King and her team announced that they had received two major donations earlier this summer from Hazel Carby and Paula Giddings that will help expand the project’s reach. Brown community members can get involved with the BFTP’s work through Pembroke Center announcements about future opportunities, attending BFTP-hosted lectures and generally supporting and amplifying the contributions of Black women theorists, Ferdinand-King wrote.

In addition to nurturing the BFTP’s growth, Gandhi and her administrative team are working to launch two new initiatives.

The first is an LGBTQ+-based project that the team hopes will include a flagship course in gender and sexuality studies, a film screening and social events that will aim to grow and support scholarship in the space.

Secondly, Gandhi’s team is working to form the Public Health Initiative, a project that will build upon previous Pembroke research seed grants to host scholars in the medical and public health fields. For instance, the initiative may examine COVID-19’s differential social impacts, specifically in the realms of domestic violence and violence against female-identifying individuals. Both the Public Health Initiative and LGBTQ+-based project will maintain a strong focus on community outreach and empowering local voices.

In addition to these efforts, Gandhi noted her desire to help bring a “greater diversity of critical theory” to the Pembroke Center, aiming to incorporate more Asian American and South Asian American voices into its work.

Gandhi seeks to provide scholars from a broad range of disciplines the opportunity to present several endowed lectures on questions of gender in their research. Through endeahvors like this, she hopes to build the Pembroke Center into a world-renowned “research destination” that hosts global scholars.

Beyond these central undertakings, Gandhi’s new responsibilities also include overseeing the Pembroke Seminar, which she personally taught in 2017.

The seminar is “an interdisciplinary gathering of faculty, undergraduate and graduate students” who jointly explore the profound implications of a seemingly simple topic, such as debt or nature, said Leslie Bostrom, professor and chair of visual art, who co-teaches the seminar with Evelyn Lincoln, professor and chair of history of art and architecture.

This year’s seminar, called “Color,” begins by delving into the neuroscience behind our perception of color before moving into the myriad ways that color permeates our society. This includes the

impact of color on race, gender, environmental justice and law. The seminar topic is at the crux of the Pembroke Center’s women’s studies, with ideas of gender, sexuality and femininity so deeply infused into color and its connotations that Bostrom and Lincoln find it nearly impossible to separate them.

The two professors pointed to the example of “yellow.” Though it may seem like a simple color, the Pembroke Seminar leaders see much more.

Lincoln and Bostrom recall the dazzling array of contexts in which the color appears, not just in the artistic lens of Proust’s yellow wall and Van Gogh’s wheat fields, but also its position as a social construct in yellow journalism, yellow books and Nazism’s infamous yellow star.

But yellow is often seen as signifying deception, historically associated with the potential falseness of outward appearances.

The social importance of color continues in current socioculturalevents.

The seminar leaders pointed to the recent Texas abortion law; by deputizing citizens to turn others in, it asks people to work, as Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor called it, “under the color of law.” This modern phrase is derived from the legal allegiances displayed in medieval European heraldry, and it is one of the modern contexts that the seminar leaders put up for discussion, Lincoln said.

“Color itself has layers and layers of meaning in human discourse, and that’s what we’re looking for,” Bostrom said.

Besides her focus on specific initiatives and programminglike the Pembroke Seminar, Gandhi hopes to make organic contributions to the Pembroke Center as a whole. Stating her strong belief that “goals emerge when you work together with people,” Gandhi expressed her ultimate objective as the inaugural Shauna McKee Stark ’76 P’10 Director: to learn from others’ experiences and see the community’s goals emerge as she works to make them a reality.

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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | COMMENTARY

5

McGrath ’24: The “Why I Left Buzzfeed” phenomenon

BY SARAH MCGRATH STAFF COLUMNIST

“Buzzfeed, at the end of the day, is a company,” former Buzzfeed Video Producer Steph Frosch told her audience in a 2016 YouTube video.

“And just like any other company, they don’t always put moral values first. They put getting money first.”

Frosch is one of over a dozen ex-Buzzfeed employees that has posted a “Why I Left Buzzfeed” video to YouTube over the past five years.

Many of these ex-Buzzfeed stars, including Safiya Nygaard (9.2 million subscribers), the Try Guys (7.7 million subscribers), Michelle Khare (2.4 million subscribers), Kelsey Impicciche (674k subscribers), Just Between Us (671k subscribers) and The Kitchen and Jorn Show (495k subscribers), who each published their own farewells, have since found incredible success as independent creators.

These ex-Buzzfeed producers paint a less than flattering image of their former employer, asserting that the company not only failed to provide basic job security, but that higher-ups fostered a distinctively toxic corporate culture.

This makes Buzzfeed the latest addition to a long list of seemingly liberal-leaning companies that have been accused of poor labor practices. Sophia Amoruso, originator of the term #GirlBoss, has been accused of fostering a culture of bullying and harassment at her fashion company Nasty Gal, and former Thinx CEO Miki Agrawal was accused of sexually harrassing her employees despite branding herself as a feminist icon.

What makes Buzzfeed and the rest of these companies remarkable is not necessarily their particular cruelty — there are certainly worse corporations out there — but rather their distinctive fall from grace. Buzzfeed, with its uniquely millennial corporate culture, imag-

ined a world where social justice was profitable.

However, as the “Why I Left Buzzfeed” trend demonstrates, workers and activism alike tend to quickly become pawns in a much larger contest for financial and social capital. Despite admirable intentions, any “woke” corporation such as Buzzfeed that relies on activism to draw revenue can never actually live up to the progressive values it claims to hold.

Having come of age on the Internet like the rest of Gen Z, much of my early adolescence was spent idolizing the very same group of Buzzfeed Video creators that would later leave the company in droves. As I watched, learning terms like “patriarchy” and “rape culture,” I was

er that be feminism or another form of social justice advocacy — without sacrificing the SoulCycle rides, custom coffee mugs or green juices. In fact, those material emblems of success wouldn’t just be perks of a bustling career, but were inherently virtuous. After all, according to the #GirlBoss theory of politics, the financial and professional success of any woman is in itself a contribution to the feminist cause.

This theory of social justice is hollow. In terms of feminism specifically, while women certainly do face discrimination in the workplace — and adequate representation will likely be key to mitigating these challenges — simply appointing mostly white and privileged women

yond the rise of #GirlBoss. Whether it be posting statements in support of Black Lives Matter or selling LGBTQ+ pride merchandise for profit, corporate America routinely co-opts the language of activism to appeal to liberal consumers while only paying lip service to corporate social responsibility. Buzzfeed, with its simultaneous liberal branding and less than pristine labor practices, has mastered these hollow marketing tactics. Just as #GirlBoss feminism prioritizes the performance of activism at the expense of actual equality, Buzzfeed used the aesthetics of diversity and “wokeness” to build their online dynasty at the direct expense of their workers.

Corporate America routinely co-opts the language of activism to appeal to liberal consumers while only paying lip service to corporate social responsibility.

finally being given language to describe the injustices I could sense in the world around me.

I was utterly convinced by Buzzfeed’s progressive branding and its promise of a future where social justice gains could be achieved through a series of five-minute videos. Soon enough, I was telling my friends and family that I wanted to work at Buzzfeed.

My Buzzfeed obsession was synonymous with a growing infatuation that I had with millennial office culture more generally. Complete with Sweetgreen salads, standing desks and “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun(damental rights)” graphic tees, a career at Buzzfeed or any other liberal-leaning corporation promised the ability to work on a truly meaningful project — wheth-

to positions of authority within existing male power structures fails to address the underlying inequalities these systems perpetuate. From a lack of access to affordable child care to Texas’s most recent draconian abortion ban, the injustices American women face demand systemic and intersectional policy solutions that simply hoisting a few female CEOs into the top 1% can’t deliver. In a similar way, Buzzfeed videos like “We Painted With Our Period Blood” or a pair of $34 Thinx leak-proof period underwear may theoretically be empowering to a small subset of well-to-do women, but do little to aid the millions of homeless women who are forced to go without sanitary products every month.

This type of woke-washing extends far be-

Ultimately, when social justice is being bought and sold, it will inevitably mold itself to corporate financial incentives rather than the needs of those it’s claiming to serve. In order to move toward true political and social equality, we should look beyond these hollow displays of corporate benevolence and recognize the social, political and economic realities these businesses are actually cultivating for their workers and consumers alike.

Sarah McGrath ’24 can be reached at sarah_v_mcgrath@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and op-eds to opinions@ browndailyherald.com.

Marcus ’82: Three tips for 18-year-old me

BY DAVID L. MARCUS ’82 OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR Driving on I-95 in the late summer, I feel something tugging me back to College Hill. As I stroll past University Hall, the Rock and the Ratty, I get wistful. Why didn’t I make the most of those undergrad years? What if I knew then what I know now?

More than four decades have passed, but I keep wishing someone had cornered the 18-year-old me and shared wisdom. As classes start for thousands of students at Brown and across the country, I want to offer several bits of advice.

1. Rethink the boundaries of “campus.”

Brown University is your campus, but so is Providence. So is Boston, New York … even Pawtucket. Yes, Pawtucket: I walked through American history one weekend while wandering around the Slater Mill, which flailed in the late 1700s until an immigrant fixed its textile machines. I developed an appreciation for neoclassical architecture by taking off a couple of afternoons to explore the Rhode Island State House (“fourth largest self-supported marble dome in the world!”). And okay, my non-credit music classes came at 2 a.m., watching bands play on the beer-stained floors of Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel.

2. Talk less, listen more. This is my take on Aaron Burr’s quip in “Hamilton”: “Talk less, smile more.” The bigger the difference in your backgrounds, the more you should listen to the other person: 99% of the time, this person can teach you something about society. Or life. Or love.

A corollary: Get to know not just the faculty but the workers who surround you. Listen ac-

tively, listen acutely. You’ll be surprised by their experiences and pick up something you’d never be able to find in a classroom.

3. Remember that your education doesn’t stop when you earn a degree. This should take some pressure off students who, like me, feel they need to cram in every class, every club, every opportunity in four years. It took me a while

I’m not asking you to hear my advice alone.

As I struggled to decide what I would tell the shy, gawky 18-year-old me and as the deadline for this piece neared, I did what any writer does when thinking Really Big Thoughts: I sent my buddies a slew of texts, emails and WhatsApp messages (this is formally known as “intensive research”).

even if you are a music major.” — José Estabil ’84 ScB., ’88 ScM, who helps entrepreneurs improve society through Latinos in Bio, MIT Deshpande Center and Harvard Business School Field X. “For any decision that does not involve your personal safety, say “yes” to the offers you are initially inclined to say “no” to.” — Jonathan Eig

“More than four decades have passed, but I keep wishing someone had cornered the 18-year-old me and shared wisdom. As classes start for thousands of students at Brown and across the country, I want to offer several bits of advice.”

to understand that one goal of a college education is to cultivate lifelong curiosity. Long after that bachelor’s or master’s or Ph.D., you’ll dabble in provocative classes.

A few words about that third pointer: Yes, I loved Brown; I even enjoyed a fellowship at (ugh!) Harvard. But the pinnacle of my education came in South Florida at a cinder block community college, now called Palm Beach State College. After working dayshifts as a newspaper reporter, I studied Spanish at night alongside electricians, plumbers and long-haul truck drivers.

Those language lessons — more than anything I learned on two Ivy League campuses — let me realize my dream. Soon after, I became a foreign correspondent. I spent a decade living in Mexico, Colombia and Brazil.

What, I asked, didn’t we know back when we should’ve known it? The responses flooded in.

Brown alums are hardly reserved when it comes to proffering opinions. Once again, I realized that four years on College Hill gave me a gift: A dazzling array of friends, colleagues and empathic strangers who share a connection to Brown.

Here are three pieces of their wisdom, along with their brief biographies: “Failing a class for the first time in your life may be the best thing that ever happens to you; it will teach you resilience.” — Chris Rebholz ’82, earned an electrical engineering undergrad degree from Brown plus a doctorate in clinical psychology. She now works as a clinical and forensic psychologist.

“Set a goal of being able to craft a good essay, write code and author a business plan,

’84, who was about to go to law school when he realized he could not stay awake long enough to get through the readings. So instead, he taught film in Washington, D.C. before retiring to pursue his own writing projects.

Now that I write this, I fear that my pointers will seem pointless. My own kids scoff when I utter what I am certain are incredibly savvy insights. So, a final bit of advice: As you go to your classes, your clubs, your workouts … look into the future to imagine what guidance you should get from an older version of you.

David L. Marcus, traveled the world as a journalist and wrote two books about education, Acceptance and What it Takes to Pull Me Through. He is now senior editorial manager of the Aspen Institute College Ex-

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6

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

ARTS & CULTURE

‘Dear Evan Hansen’ translates seamlessly to big screen

COURTESY OF ERIKA DOSS

The cinematic adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical fluidly adapts the complex relationships of Connor Murphy, his family and the titular Evan Hansen, giving space to develop side characters not given much bandwidth on stage. The film featured pre-recorded songs as opposed to the musical’s traditional live performances.

Ben Platt brings iconic Broadway musical back to life with emotion, conviction

BY REBECCA CARCIERI SENIOR STAFF WRITER The “Dear Evan Hansen” film adaptation, to be released in theaters Sept. 24, proves that some musicals can shine both on and off stage. The six-time Tony Award winning coming-of-age musical originally captivated audiences at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. in July 2015, before transitioning to Broadway at the Music Box Theatre Dec. 2016.

Like the musical, the film adaptation follows Evan Hansen (Ben Platt), a socially anxious high school student who writes letters to himself as an exercise assigned by his therapist. On the

first day of school, fellow classmate but relative stranger Connor Murphy (Colton Ryan) steals one of these personal letters. Connor, like Evan, is a lonely social outcast struggling with mental health issues. Anxious about Connor sharing the note with others, Evan scours the internet looking for him, but soon finds out that Connor took his own life. Connor’s parents, Larry (Danny Pino) and Cynthia (Amy Adams) ask to meet with Evan after finding his note among their son’s belongings. Because the letter begins with “Dear Evan Hansen,” Connor’s parents are under the impression that Connor wrote the letter to Evan. Evan, unsure of how to explain the letter, creates a fake story exaggerating their friendship that leads to a world of lies and emotional turmoil.

Platt originated the role of Evan Hansen six years ago on Broadway, which is evident in his performance

throughout the film. His portrayal of Evan through his mannerisms, speech patterns and general body language is so effortless that it is hard to imagine anyone else playing the titular role.

Platt masterfully instills in the viewer empathy for Evan’s personal struggles, even as Evan continues to lie and make frustrating mistakes. Starring in a role 10 years his junior, Platt seamlessly blends into the high school setting.

In regard to the music of the film, the actors pre-recorded their songs and sang them live during filming, according to a “Dear Evan Hansen” press release from NBC Universal. The musical talent among all of the actors shined through during these performances, even those who, unlike Platt, are not Broadway-trained performers.

The Murphy family’s principal song, “Requiem” demonstrated not only exceptional emotion that lets viewers into the family’s grief, but also the beauti-

ful musical talents of actors who are not typically known for their singing skillsets.

While the film is a fairly faithful adaptation of the stage production, there are a few minor additions that are certain to be appreciated by old and new audiences alike.

For instance, the film expanded on the character of Alana Beck (Amandla Stenberg), an overachieving teen who represses her mental health struggles for the sake of academic success. Alana’s high-functioning depression provides a contrast to Evan and adds nuance to the film’s portrayal of mental health. Characters like Alana — incredibly intelligent andcapable yet plagued with feelings of loneliness and inadequacy — feel rare on the silver screen.

Unlike the stage musical, the film takes the time to demonstrate the aftermath of Evan’s lie about his friendship with Connor. In the stage production,

CA L E N DA R

the show ends with Evan admitting to his lie and then abruptly transitions to Evan reuniting with Zoe a year later.

In the film, however, viewers can see a more coherent and believable portrayal of Evan’s remorse when he admits to his community that he had been lying the whole time. Through this brilliant addition, audience members can clearly see Evan’s rise and fall from grace, which only adds to viewer sympathy, as well as closure surrounding the frustrating mistakes he makes throughout the film.

While audience members can enjoy “Dear Evan Hansen” for its laudable score and acting, they are also introducedto a refreshing depiction of mental helath and suicide among adolescents that encourages more conversations around these taboo subjects.

COVID -19 AT BROWN LAST 7 DAYS*

SEPTEMBER S

5

M

6

Tu

7

Completed Tests

People Tested

W

Th

F

S

10,792

9,602

1

2

3

4

Confirmed Positives

Positivity Rates

39

0.4 %

8

9

10

11 SINCE AUGUST 24, 2020*

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

Completed Tests

People Tested

475,024

16,731

Total Cases

Prevalence

658

3.9 %

*AS OF SEP 9.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

7

COURTESY OF TELIJAH PATTERSON / HERALD

Telijah Patterson ’23, a RUE student studying remotely in Texas, is unable to afford a bed or a desk. She said she was “really looking forward to” receiving funding, but was surprised to receive half of what she expected.

RUE FROM PAGE 1 got the email.”

Other students similarly felt “surprised and disappointed,” said Norbesida Bagabila ’21. “That funding would have helped me a great deal.” Though the University has since adjusted its funding structure for RUE students in the third round to address their concerns, many felt that the University should have proactively accounted for such concerns when distributing CARES and CRRSAA funding.

Basing student awards on their financial aid profiles was the “case for all students, RUE included,” Clark wrote.

But RUE student financial aid profiles are different from those of traditional undergraduates because they are “independent students and therefore do not have parent contribution levels like dependent undergraduate students.”

RUE students are among the student groups who receive the most financial support from the University, Clark wrote, including an average of $4,600 more in financial aid than dependent undergraduate students with a $0 parent contribution. Many RUE students also received direct federal stimulus payments, he added. The $1,500 provided to all RUE students “was slightly more than the average amount allocated to all eligible students.”

Because RUE students have different circumstances than traditional undergraduate students, many felt they still needed the federal funding despite other support they received.

“We weren’t considered in the same category as undergraduates, and so as a result, a lot of us were not able to receive the full $3,000 that we would have otherwise received if we were just a few years younger,” Patterson said.

After the announcement, RUE students began discussing the funding in their Facebook group. Students planned a meeting with the RUE program administration. During that meeting, which only those students in the Facebook group were notified about, the administration “opted for damage control,” Patterson said.

When RUE students brought up con-

cerns during the meeting, some felt that administrators “were just trying to brush it off,” Bagabila said, adding that he perceived the conditions of the funding to be vague and inconsistenly communicated.

Patterson added that when she asked that the meeting be recorded and minutes be taken in order to ensure accessibility, neither request was fulfilled.

Patterson submitted an appeal to the University asking for a reconsideration of funding on the grounds that “excluding RUE students from receiving the full amount given to other highneed undergraduate students feels discriminatory,” in an email that was reviewed by The Herald.

Students who attended the meeting found it “vague and unsatisfactory” and felt that the University “wrongly assumed they needed less money than was allocated,” Patterson wrote in the email.

In response to the appeal, the University told RUE students that they could apply for E-Gap funding if they need more support to mitigate the effects of the pandemic.

“We don’t want to apply for E-Gap funding because this was a decision that was made for everyone as a group,” Patterson said. “We shouldn’t have to individually try to advocate and fight for more funding through a different fund.”

The University “shared full details on the funding model decisions with RUE students who inquired both in writing and in meetings,” Clark wrote.

RUE students also received direct notification of their monetary awards.

Clark added that the University provided support through E-Gap funding to meet the needs of RUE students, including “curricular and co-curricular expenses, dependent care, unexpected medical and travel expenses and technology needs including computers and Wi-Fi access.”

RUE students “have far more responsibilities” than traditional undergraduate students, Patterson explained.

Some students care for their children or older parents, while others simultaneously work to support their families and take classes. Other students do not

qualify for federal stimulus funding because of their immigration status or have lost their jobs due to the pandemic.

Some additional students were unable to access their usual sources of child care, such as family or friends, because of concerns over COVID-19 and had to take out loans to pay for child care.

“We’ve got a lot more moving parts, and it literally makes no sense as to why they would determine that we need less money than someone that is a dependent and that’s living at home with their parents,” Patterson said.

It is also difficult for RUE students to organize as a group because, unlike other student boards like the Undergraduate Council of Students, the Resumed Undergraduate Student Association board does not have access to a full list of RUE student emails. Any emails sent must go through administration to be sent to the full RUE student body.

Four months after the initial round of funding, administration invited RUSA President and Herald business team member Amit Levi ’24 to attend a meeting to represent RUE student interests for the third round of federal funding, which the University received under the American Rescue Plan that Congress passed in March. The University “proactively reached out to several student communities” to create an “expanded” advisory group, Clark wrote.

During this meeting, Levi gathered with student stakeholders from other communities to discuss the best way to allocate $6.29 million in student funding.

“The discussions were very much based on what each community’s needs are,” Levi said. “Because the RUE and RUE-like community is a relatively small community with (a) pretty nontraditional set of backgrounds compared to the other students, what I focused on when speaking with this committee was what our backgrounds entail.”

Many RUE students are completely financially independent, while others have an expected family contribution of $0, Levi explained.

Levi was also given the opportunity to speak with administrators one-onone. After a few meetings, the committee of student stakeholders reached a consensus on how the funding should be distributed, which included the full $3,000 award for all RUE students.

The administration was “very receptive, they wanted to hear our circumstances, they were actually listening actively and answering questions that we had while also taking feedback into consideration,” Levi said. “It was a positive experience.”

Instead of focusing on a specific dollar amount, Levi found that the meetings focused more on how COVID-19 has affected the participating communities. He used this opportunity to talk about the challenges RUE students face.

“They really carefully looked at all the data, all of our viewpoints, and it felt like they took all that into consideration when making the decision,” Levi said.

As a result of this meeting, the University increased support for RUE students, veteran students, independent transfer students and medical and master’s students with demonstrated need, Clark wrote.

Levi is satisfied with the award RUE students received in the third round of federal funding, he said, as are many other RUE students. He is also “very grateful” that the University included RUE students in these meetings.

“From the (RUE students) I was able to speak with, it seems like … the outcomes are reflective of our needs,” Levi added. “We feel like we were heard, and we feel like administration really made an effort to listen to the concerns that we raised and to make decisions accordingly.”

Levi also hopes to use this inclusion as a jumping-off point to continue working with the University to ensure support for RUE students into the coming year.

“I definitely want to continue that strong relationship with administration.”

Patterson similarly feels relieved that the University listened to the RUE community, though she also feels “exhausted” because of the work it took

to get to this point. “We were relieved, of course, to have more funding, but I don’t think that there is the sentiment of celebration,” Patterson said.

“I would like it to be that, but we know that there’s still more work to do to make sure that our needs are met in the future.”

She would have been “impressed” if the University had used some of the institutional portion of its funding to directly support students. “I understand that the University has had to cover unexpected expenses, … but I also feel like from an equity perspective, the funding that Brown got would have been more impactful for certain students than it is for the University.”

She also hopes the collaboration between the University and RUE students continues into the future. “I just hope that going forward, should something like this happen again, Brown doesn’t forget all the feedback that we’ve given them and that they keep listening to students.”

Levi is ultimately glad that the RUE community was included in conversations around funding that impacts their experiences.

“We’re a small community on campus and our backgrounds are … non traditional,” Levi said. “There’s a lot of importance in just having the platform to voice our community’s needs.”

Patterson feels like she has been “heard but not necessarily understood,” she said. “I believe that the root of the problem is communication.”

RUE students do feel “a real sense of relief because these funds will really, really, really help with the challenges that we’re still facing and that we’re probably still going to face for months, possibly even years to come,” Patterson added.

8

THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

METRO

RI legislators, activist groups call for repeal of LEOBoR

ELISE RYAN / HERALD

Activist groups like Black Lives Matter Rhode Island PAC and legislators push for repeal of the Law Enforcement Bill of Rights following violent arrests by Rhode Island Police.

Rhode Island remains last New England state with LEOBoR intact, one of 14 nationwide

BY ISHITAA GUPTA CONTRIBUTING WRITER After recent violent arrests by Rhode Island police, state legislators and several activist groups are increasing efforts to push for the abolition of the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights.

LEOBoR was created to protect law enforcement officers from prosecution while performing their duties, but today many believe that its provisions shield officers from being disciplined for their unjust actions through legal processes. Rhode Island is one of only fourteen states in the country, and the only state in New England, to still honor LEOBoR. On Aug. 20, a rally was held outside the Providence Public Safety Complex in support of Senate Bill 773. Aiming to repeal LEOBoR in its entirety, the bill was introduced April 2021 and sponsored by Rhode Island State Senators Tiara Mack ’16 (Democrat, D-6), Jonathan Acosta (Democrat, D-16) and Samuel Bell (Democrat, D-5). Mack was in attendance at the rally to advocate for her bill, especially in light of recent body camera footage that revealed the recent violent arrests of three juveniles .

Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza backed the bill following its introduction. In response to Elorza’s support, the Providence Fraternal Order

of Police Lodge wrote that they were ‘“disappointed and disheartened.”

The Providence Police Department did not respond to requests for comment.

Although various LEOBoR repeal and reform bills were discussed in the past legislative session, no consensus was reached. But despite the stall, those advocating for repeal will continue to push legislation in the next session.

“One of the things (the bill) would do is remove some of the protections against officers that prevent them from testifying in non-governmental structures … like the public,” Mack said.

She added that the bill would ensure that officers don’t have unfair access to information about their complaints before the investigation and would lead to more authentic and transparent interrogation events.

Maryland’s historic overturn of their LEOBoR in April 2021 bolstered efforts to repeal LEOBoR in Rhode Island, with several activist organizations voicing their support for Senate Bill 773.

Harrison Tuttle, executive director of Black Lives Matter Rhode Island Political Action Commitee and a strong supporter of and advocate for the bill, was also in attendence at the Aug. 20 rally.

“It’s a bill that completely gets rid of unnecessary due process for police officers,” Tuttle said. LEOBoR also limits the efforts of police chiefs trying to hold officers accountable for misconduct, according to Tuttle.

“If George Floyd was murdered in Providence or anywhere in Rhode Is-

land, the most the police chief could hold that officer accountable is two days suspension with pay opposed to an immediate firing,” Tuttle said.

Officers accused of misconduct and protected by LEOBoR are also allowed to pick one of the three panel members who oversee their trial.

LEOBoR was made to function in a different policing atmosphere than the current one. “50 years ago, you had weak police unions and you had chiefs that pretty much punished officers for frivolous things, so there was a need to step in to protect the officers,” said Jim Vincent, president of the Providence branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

“Now this is 2021. You have different kinds of professional chiefs now that wouldn’t dare do some of the things that were done 50 years ago … plus police unions now are a lot stronger than they were then,” Vincent said.

Repeal support for the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights heightened following the rise in national conversations around police brutality last summer. “Rhode Island, during that same time, had two or three incidents of police brutality, one with Jhamal Gonsalves, who was riding his motorbike downtown and was struck by a police officer … (and) another instance with a young Black man who was helping a friend (start her car) and was assaulted by police officers for being out late during the pandemic,” Mack said.

Critics of LEOBoR believe that the bill contributes to an unwelcoming environment for people of color and minority groups. “Through Black and

brown experiences alone I can attest to that,” Tuttle said. “There has always been a sense that the police could get away with everything, and that they always had the system on their side.”

While several legislators and activist groups continue to push for repeal through legislation, protests and discourse, others believe that LEOBoR should be reformed and not abolished.

Reform bills introduced in the Senate this session recommended that the maximum suspension be increased from two to 14 days, the number of parties on the hearing panel be increased from three to five and the “gag order” on police chiefs be partially removed, allowing them to make limited public statements. But the bills stalled in the House and Senate, and no consensus was reached by the end of the session.

For Mack, these reforms are insufficient to hold accused officers accountable. “Increasing the number of officers on the panel that serves them from three to five fundamentally does not change the conflict of interest. If you are allowed to pick the people who are allowed to sit on a panel for the investigation of your misconduct case, having five people who are your friends versus three people doesn’t change the outcome … and inherent bias.”

Mack also critiqued reforms increasing suspension time, stating that they do not promote accountability and provide pay for officers while under investigation for misconduct, which could span months. “These are government employees who are paid through our taxes. If we can’t hold them accountable to making sure our communities are safe in a realistic way,

then they’re not using our dollars wisely,” she said.

Repeal supporters hope that with time, their efforts will steer legislative attitudes away from reform toward repeal. “It’s almost hard to get rid of something that you have in place that makes it easier to protect a group of people, and in this case that group of people are the rank and file police officers,” Vincent said.

Activism efforts led by Black Lives Matter Rhode Island PAC, NAACP and other groups continue to grow. “The push for LEOBoR really came at the tail end of the General Assembly … we continue to gain support and testimony. We received over 75 people who testified at the Judiciary hearing alone,” Tuttle said. “The base support isn’t just in Providence, it’s all across the state.”

While activism increases awareness, individual legislators need to vote to turn their efforts into legislation, according to Vincent. “That’s where the rubber meets the road.”

Mack and other LEOBoR repeal supporters remain hopeful about the future of proposed Bill 773 in the Senate and House, and hopes to reintroduce the bill again this year early in the session, with aligned House and Senate sponors.