SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD MONDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2018
VOLUME CLII, ISSUE 85
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Family Weekend gives ‘a taste of life on campus’ Over 1,700 families flock to U. for academic forums, student performances By DANIEL GOLDBERG CONTRIBUTING WRITER
This past weekend, families traveled to College Hill for the University’s annual Family Weekend to visit their students, tour the campus and attend a multitude of events addressing different aspects of campus life. “It’s really the feel-good event of the year,” said Mikele St-Germain, assistant director of University Event and Conference Services. With over 1,700 families in attendance, the coordinating committee tried to keep the weekend stress-free and fun while allowing families to experience “a taste of life on campus,” St-Germain added. Throughout the weekend, faculty members hosted academic forums covering a variety of issues such as human-computer interactions, the problems surrounding treatment for neurodegeneration and the effects of bias on medical treatment and judicial decisions. The weekend also included a screening of the documentary film “RBG,” which was followed by a conversation with its director, Betsy West ’73 P’17, and President Christina Paxson P’19. At the same time, a number of faculty-run events covered academics and campus life. Family Weekend also featured a large number of student performances, including a concert from the Brown University Orchestra and a production of “Antony and Cleopatra” staged by Shakespeare on the Green. In addition, several student identity and resource centers, such as the Brown Center for Students of Color and the Office of International Programs, held open houses. The University also hosted several sporting events, including football and field hockey games against Cornell. During the weekend, families attended a welcome speech from Paxson, who spoke about the “tremendous growth in maturity, intellectual sophistication and sense of purpose” that students develop during their time on campus. “We need people who can work across divides,” Paxson said, adding that the University’s open curriculum promotes academic study and understanding across different fields of knowledge. She also spoke about the University’s efforts to remove financial barriers through its launch of the Brown Promise campaign, which eliminates loans in University financial aid with grants for undergraduate
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students, as The Herald previously reported. Maria Hinojosa P’19, an Emmy award-winning journalist and anchor at National Public Radio, delivered the weekend’s keynote address. Hinojosa said she appreciates the University for welcoming new ideas and challenging old standards. “Ultimately, there is nothing to fear about change except our resistance to change,” she said. Hinojosa also spoke about the dehumanization and mistreatment of undocumented immigrants in the United States as well as the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. To advance progress and accomplish personal goals, Hinojosa said that people cannot be afraid to speak up. “We have to eat that fear,” she said. While planning the weekend, St-Germain said maintaining communication with parents was deeply important so that families “know what to expect when they get here and how to find information” on the weekend’s activities. The University intends to upload videos of larger events, like Paxson’s welcome speech and Hinojosa’s keynote address, to YouTube for parents who could not come to campus, she added.
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After spending weeks apart from their children, parents said they enjoyed having the opportunity to spend time together. Mark Niles P’22 said he liked that his son was “challenged academically without being too overly stressed,” and added that it was great to see him happy at Brown. When Jim Dayton P’21 and Maria Dayton P’21 were asked for their favorite part of Family Weekend, they both smiled and said in unison, “seeing our daughter.”
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WEATHER
MONDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2018
SPORTS Rosen ’22, Carchio ’20 score as women’s soccer team defeats Cornell 3-1 Sunday
COMMENTARY Aman ’20: Sen. Warren’s DNA test legitimizes unproven link between genetics, race
COMMENTARY Schapiro ’19: Star-studded World Series should be enjoyed for performances on field
COMMENTARY August ’19, Kent-Daggett ’19, Taswell ’19: U. should concentrate sports funding on basketball teams
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Bruno outclasses Big Red in 3-1 comeback victory Big Red score 11 minutes into game, Carchio ’20 scores on two penalty kicks in second half By ALEX SMOLAR SENIOR STAFF WRITER
On a windy and cold autumn afternoon, the women’s soccer team warmed up the home crowd’s spirits with a 3-1 victory against Cornell. The Bears fell behind early but battled back to tie the game before halftime and take a commanding lead in the second half. With the victory, Bruno moves into sole possession of sixth place in the Ivy League standings. “Our team has showed a lot of resiliency this season,” said Head Coach Kia McNeill. “We just had to be patient in the final third and wait for the opportunities to come to us.” From kickoff, the Bears played aggressively and pushed the ball back into Cornell’s zone. In the opening minutes, though the Big Red could not sustain possession in the face of Brown’s tenacious offensive effort, the Bears were unable to generate promising scoring opportunities. Eight minutes into the game, midfielder Abby Carchio ’20 launched a curling rocket from just outside of the goal box, but the shot landed directly in the arms of Cornell netminder Meghan Kennedy. The tide quickly shifted for the Bears as the Big Red earned possession and threatened with free kicks. Brown headed the ball out of bounds and gave Cornell a corner kick in the 11th minute. The Big Red capitalized on the opportunity and scored on a header by Evanthia Spyredes off of the corner kick to give Cornell its first goal since its 2-1 loss against Columbia Sept. 22. Despite the early hole, the Bears began to regain momentum and returned
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Midfielder Abby Carchio ’20 celebrated with the Bears in a 2-1 overtime victory against Holy Cross Sept. 9. Carchio had a major impact on all three of Brown’s goals against Cornell Sunday, recording an assist to Rebecca Rosen ’22 in the first half and knocking in two penalty shots in the second. to dominating possession of the ball. In the 19th minute, forward Jennifer Caruso ’19 passed the ball into Cornell’s goal box and came inches away from connecting with forward Claire Myers ’22. Moments later, forward Star White ’21 shrugged off a Big Red defender in the goal box and launched a shot, but Kennedy made an impressive leaping save to preserve Cornell’s lead. Midfielder Megan Grant ’19 almost earned her first goal of the season for the Bears, but once again, Kennedy stifled Bruno with a lunging save in the top left corner of the net. In the 36th minute, defender Maesyn G’Bye ’22 sent a powerful shot, but Kennedy dove for the save.
Just before halftime, the Bears struck gold on a free kick from Carchio. Carchio launched the ball from outside of the goal box, and it glanced the head of forward Rebecca Rosen ’22 and snuck behind Kennedy to tie the game. At halftime, the score was knotted at one. The Bears had dominated in all other aspects of the game, outpacing Cornell 12-1 in shots and 7-1 in shots on goal. To start the second half, the Bears continued to keep their feet on the gas against the Big Red. G’Bye was fouled in the goal box in the 52nd minute, and Carchio took the penalty shot and placed the ball into the bottom right
corner of the net to give the Bears a 2-1 lead. “I knew I had to put those ones away,” Carchio said. “I have a great team behind me. People drew the fouls for me, and I just stepped up.” As the half wore on, both squads traded possession and Cornell tried to capture momentum, but neither team could find the back of the net. In the 75th minute, Caruso had some space in the goal box, but her shot roamed just wide of the goalposts. To ice the game, White was fouled in the 89th minute, and Carchio had another chance at a penalty shot. This time, she masterfully placed the ball in the bottom left corner to give the Bears
an insurmountable 3-1 lead. When the final whistle sounded, Brown’s impressive performance was evident in its stats. Bruno outshot the Big Red 22-4 and led in corner kicks 5-4. “We have to get back to the drawing board a little bit and go over a couple of things that I think we can clean up in this game,” McNeill said. But this was “certainly a game to build off of. Anytime you score three goals in the Ivy League, that’s good momentum to feed off of, so I’m just really proud of the result.” The Bears will travel to Philadelphia this weekend to take on first-placed Penn Saturday at 4 p.m.
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Sports Roundup BY ALEXANDRA RUSSELL, SPORTS EDITOR AND JACKSON WELLS, SCIENCE & RESEARCH EDITOR Women’s Hockey The women’s hockey team opened its season with a series sweep over College of the Holy Cross, earning a 3-1 win Friday and 4-0 shutout victory Saturday. The weekend was highlighted by clutch performances from goaltender Calla Isaac ’20, who recorded 32 saves for her firstcareer shutout, and forward Lizzy Gross ’22, who notched a hat trick to eclipse the Crusaders (0-5-2) Saturday. Friday night, the Bears (2-0) brought their home rink to life as they made their 2018-19 debut at Meehan Auditorium. Fourteen minutes into the first period, forward Bridget Carey ’19 finished a rebound to give Bruno an early lead. Reilly Maeve scored for the Crusaders early in the second, but Jacquie Tam ’22 responded with her first career goal three minutes later. Sena Hanson ’20 cemented the victory late in the third by launching a shot top shelf past the shoulder of Holy Cross netminder Jada Brenon. In the crease, Isaac made 24 saves. The Bears were clean on the penalty kill and fended off the Crusaders for the win. Bruno outshot Holy Cross 28-25. The following day, the team travelled to Worcester, Mass., to complete the home-and-home series. Gross put the Bears on the board with a power play goal halfway through the first stanza. Carey followed six minutes later and found the back of the net straight after winning a faceoff. The following two periods saw goals from Gross, which included an unassisted tally in the third, to secure the sweep for Bruno. Forward Shay Maloney ’22 posted three assists for the evening, and the Bears killed off a total of seven penalties to preserve their clean slate. Bruno will take the ice against the University of Connecticut at Meehan Auditorium Tuesday before opening conference play at Quinnipiac University Friday. Men’s Water Polo The No. 16 men’s water polo team (15-10, 4-2 NWPC) finished competition at the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament Oct. 21 with an 11-3 win over No. 19 San Jose State University (6-12). The Bears completed the weekend with victories over San Jose State, Fresno Pacific University and No. 18 Loyola Marymount University and a single loss from No. 15 California Baptist University. Travis Bouscaren ’19 led the team in points with three goals, and Riad Hallal ’21 led defensive efforts and made 12 saves in net. Hudson Rawlings ’20 and Aidan Reilly ’21 also notched a pair of goals each to fuel the Bears to victory over the Spartans. Brown will reopen conference play against Iona College and St. Francis College Brooklyn Oct. 28 at the Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center. Men’s and Women’s Crew The men’s crew team finished the 54th Head of Charles Regatta in third place in the men’s championship four with a time of 17:25.418 and championship eight events with a time of 15:07.230. In the same competition, the women’s crew team finished seventh in the women’s championship four race with a time of 20:22.866. The squad posted an 11th place effort in the women’s championship eight with a time of 17:39.070. Men’s crew will close out the fall season Nov. 10 at the Foot of the Charles after the women’s squad wraps up competition at the Princeton Chase Oct. 28.
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NEWS
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Elizabeth Warren’s DNA test misses the mark REBECCA AMAN staff columnist Last week, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (DMA) released a series of videos discussing her Native American heritage, as well a DNA test that concluded she had a Native American ancestor six to ten generations back. Though Warren took this DNA test in response to racist taunts from President Trump and others on the right, using a DNA test as proof of identity ultimately reinforces harmful ideas that ground race in biological differences. The fraught relationship between genetics and race is not new: Genetics has been used to justify racist ideologies essentially since it has existed as a field. Though scientists and anthropologists now agree that race is a social, rather than biological, construct, the rising popularity of genetic testing services is bringing old ideas about race and biology back to the forefront. To be clear, genetic tests cannot tell anyone that their genome is a specific percent of any race or ethnicity, because there aren’t any genes that all black people share, for example. Rather, some genetic markers are significantly more common in some races and ethnicities than others, which genetic testing com-
panies use to make estimates. Unfortunately, this nuance has been lost in translation. For instance, one man recently sued the federal government, claiming his small business should be classified as minority-owned because a DNA test esti-
for example, a group of white supremacists posted a video of members chugging milk, highlighting the gene that allows adults to digest lactose, which is more common in white people. By submitting to a DNA test,
ancestors, that didn’t stop the Boston Globe and the Republican National Committee from attempting to calculate percentages. As Masha Gessen argued in an opinion for the New Yorker, by releasing a DNA test, Warren is “reinforcing
Using a DNA test as proof of identity ultimately reinforces harmful ideas that ground race in biological differences.
mated his ancestry was four percent sub-Saharan African and six percent indigenous American. More worryingly, white supremacists are using the language of genetics to further their cause. In 2017,
Warren legitimized this discourse connecting race and genetics. Though she did not claim to have any particular percentage of Native American “blood,” and DNA isn’t passed down equally from all
one of the most insidious ways in which Americans talk about race: as though it were a measurable biological category, one that, in some cases, can be determined by a single drop of blood.”
Many Native Americans are angry about Warren’s actions, and the Cherokee Nation publicly condemned her use of the DNA test, explaining that by emphasizing ancestry rather than tribal membership, DNA testing is “privileging nonindigenous definitions of being indigenous.” Some might argue that Warren is not at fault, as she was simply responding to Trump, who called her racist names and promised to donate $1 million to charity if she got a DNA test (a promise he abandoned) . And to be clear, we should absolutely criticize Trump for this despicable, racist behavior. Yet Warren amplified the situation by releasing the genetic test; the fact that Trump “started it” doesn’t excuse her actions. Ultimately, taking a DNA test as “proof ” of Native American heritage is bad for Americans’ understanding of both race and genetics. By giving racial discrimination a basis in “science,” this misunderstanding has tangible and sometimes tragic consequences.
Rebecca Aman ’20 can be reached at rebecca_aman@ brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald. com and op-eds to opinions@ browndailyherald.com.
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“Ultimately, there is nothing to fear about change except our resistance to change.” — Maria Hinojosa P ‘19
See Family on page 1. CORRECTION An earlier version of the Oct. 16 article, “Ratty to receive A/C by summer 2019,” misattributed the line “High usage of the Ratty during Summer@Brown prompted complaints by dining staff that working conditions were not safe without air conditioning” to Brian Clark, director of news and editorial development. In fact, the line should be attributed to previous Herald coverage. The Herald regrets the error.
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COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • MONDAY, OCTOBER 22 , 2018
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Keep your eye on the ball — literally JAMES SCHAPIRO sports editor As of late Saturday night, it’s that time of year again: the World Series is upon us. The Boston Red Sox, possessors of an MLB-best 108 regularseason wins, will take on the Los Angeles Dodgers, back-to-back National League champions with a star-studded lineup and a Hollywood shine. But as the series begins and inevitably produces its share of great moments, it’s important to remember where baseball happens. It doesn’t happen in the clubhouse or on the streets of its teams’ cities or in the broadcast booth. Rather, baseball is played the same way it always has been: on the field. It’s critical to remember this because media coverage of the World Series will inevitably devolve into narrative journalism and focus not on the games themselves but on what they mean and why. There are so many different narratives we might see that it’s hard to know where to start, but I’ll give it a shot. We might see “East Coast/West Coast,” with the old-fashioned, 13-colonies era Red Sox taking on the newfangled, Brooklyn-transplant Dodgers. If this becomes the predominant narrative, it will quickly take over all facets of the game: The Red Sox will play “old-school” baseball, the commentators will assure us, while the Dodgers are high-tech and fancy. Who will triumph, the old guard or the upstarts? The narrative quickly mutates from a true yet inconsequential fact about the two teams to an overarching theme that, in baseball media’s collective mind, comes to define every moment of the series.
Or we might see a variant on the geographical narrative, the oft-described “working-class” Red Sox versus the Hollywood Dodgers. Fenway Park, the World Series broadcast will assure us, was built by hardscrabble Boston construction workers, maybe part-time sailors or dockworkers, the
doesn’t mean anything. We’ve seen this in the past: In fact, we see it every year. In 2017, it was the Astros, those heartland Astros, living out the prophecy that Sports Illustrated set out for them in 2014 (June 2014: Sports Illustrated calls the Astros “Your 2017 World
The fact that the Red Sox play in Boston doesn’t mean they’re the metaphorical descendants of Paul Revere and company, just as the fact that the Dodgers play in Los Angeles doesn’t mean they take after Marilyn Monroe.
cream of the working class. Dodger Stadium, meanwhile, has palm trees! Movie stars! Los Angeles, the city of stars, versus Boston, in many ways the heart of old-time America… It’s easy to see how this narrative could take over, even though in practice, when two teams take the baseball field, it
Series Champs”). In 2016, it was the Cubs breaking the Curse of the Billy Goat — a more salient narrative than most, to give baseball media credit. And in 2015, it was the Royals, suddenly “America’s team,” darlings of the media, taking on the no-good New York Mets. The Royals were
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with villains and subplots and everything. And of course, it’s all utter nonsense. The fact that the Red Sox play in Boston doesn’t mean they’re the metaphorical descendants of Paul Revere and company, just as the fact that the Dodgers play in Los Angeles doesn’t
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working harder, being “relentless” (whatever that means), hustling so hard that it was practically impossible for the Mets to do anything but bend the knee in surrender. Every year, something new comes up: The World Series goes from two teams playing baseball games to a full-fledged story,
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mean they take after Marilyn Monroe. The Red Sox and the Dodgers are two baseball teams — two of the best baseball teams in MLB, but all the same, just two baseball teams — and there’s no need to add more to the story than that, besides for gratuitous reasons. If Andrew Benintendi gets a key hit in game one, it won’t be because he’s showing “Boston grit” or some variant thereof; it’ll be because he’s a good baseball player. And likewise, if Justin Turner makes a play to win a game for the Dodgers, he won’t be “embracing the Hollywood spotlight,” or however else FOX’s announcers decide to put it; he’s just another good baseball player doing his job. I don’t know which narrative will take over this year’s Fall Classic; maybe it will be one I’ve mentioned, or maybe it’ll be the Dodgers’ return to the World Series for a second straight year. More than likely, it’ll be something I haven’t even come up with yet, or maybe we’ll get lucky and get nothing more than straightforward baseball. I certainly hope that’s the case: Narrative sports journalism, when wrongly applied, takes the fun out of the World Series. It takes a series that two teams are fighting very hard to win and says to fans who may be undecided about the outcome, “Root for this team for these ridiculous reasons.” Just let the Sox and the Dodgers play out the series. A hardfought, competitive series is the best story there is, and there’s no need to enhance it with hastily constructed issues that, in the grand scheme of baseball, matter not one bit.
James Schapiro ’19 can be reached at james_schapiro@ brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald. com and op-eds to opinions@ browndailyherald.com.
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COMMENTARY MONDAY, OCTOBER 22 , 2018 • PAGE 7
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
In support of individual ProJo subscriptions for U. community To the Editor: The Oct. 9 Herald editorial urging the University to provide individual Providence Journal subscriptions to the Brown community is powerful in its description of the problems facing the Providence Journal and other American newspapers. These difficulties have adverse impacts on the cohesion and health of the American municipalities that the newspapers have served. As a career journalist who got his start at The Herald, I appreciate your call for the University “to play its part in the defense of local news — and, by extension, the well-being of the Providence community” by buying individual subscriptions to this endangered local newspaper. As explained in a follow-up Herald clarification, the Brown community does have access to the Journal through intermediary companies but not the more convenient and comprehensive coverage that the University provides in the case of the New York Times and Wall Street
Journal. The editorial’s advocacy for an upgrade of the Journal arrangement to those for the NYT and WSJ should be studied carefully by the University. Providence and Rhode Island represent the real world surrounding College Hill. The city and state will become home to multitudes of Brown graduates. These entities matter. Newspapers appear to be transitioning to a business model that emphasizes digital subscriptions over advertising as their main source of revenues that finance newsgathering. The New York Times now has nearly 3 million digital-only subscribers. The University should consider seriously further support to its hometown newspaper, the Providence Journal, as a means of helping students learn about what goes on outside the academy and strengthening the community that is its home.
Jim Furlong ’58
SPORTS THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
MONDAY, OCTOBER 22 , 2018
A slam dunk proposal for Brown athletics HARRY AUGUST, COLIN KENTDAGGETT, ETHAN TASWELL op-ed contributors Brown sports teams are bad. So bad. Almost no one attends the games. They are no fun to watch. And not in a funny “ha-ha” way, but in a “well, there goes another $17.7 million” kind of way. And yet, every year, we recruit more fencers, build turf baseball stadiums, replace dead equestrian horses and lose, lose, lose. The same thing over and over again, expecting things to change. You might expect us to say, “Abolish sports!”, but no, there is a sensible middle ground. We say, “Abolish every sport but one!” Specifically, we propose retaining our men’s and women’s basketball teams — the sport that is most socially conscious and fastest-growing, with the highest profile women’s league in the United States. We admit this might sound radical to athletic centrists, but even a special committee convened by President Emeritus Ruth Simmons in 2011 suggested Brown cut its more auxiliary sports teams such as women’s skiing and both fencing programs — sports that still remain in our budget. The numbers check out. If we allocate nearly $9 million to both the men’s and women’s basketball teams, we would have, by far, the best-endowed women’s program and a top-15 men’s program. With a budget of this
size, we could hire top-notch coaches, criss-cross the world recruiting the best high school players and develop the Pizzitola into an arena suitable for elite talent. To pay for a renovation of the Pizzitola and other upfront costs, we simply sell the land we no longer need, namely the Brown Stadium, Meehan Auditorium and the riverfront boathouse property, which together will go for tens of millions of dollars. Add to that the profit from the sales of our incredible variety of nowunnecessary athletic equipment (hel-
why should the school even bother building a top-ranked team, regardless of sport? Why not scrap all athletics and add $17.7 million to the University’s annual Payment In Lieu of Taxes to the City of Providence? Because the Brown Athletics mission statement is correct in its claim that sports can unite a community, bring pride to campus and teach teamwork, perseverance and sacrifice. Basketball is Brown’s best option to achieve these goals. Given the small size of a basket-
The alternative sports are easily dismissed. Football? Concussions. Lacrosse? Can’t see the ball. Hockey? Too cold. Swimming? Underwater. Ski team? Global warming. Golf? Not a sport. But hoops? Fast, indoors, slam dunks, jumbotrons. The seats are close to the field of play, players aren’t hidden behind pads or helmets and the school is not complicit in the destruction of its students’ brains. Plus, with only one sports game per week, a true fan base could amass in support of Brown teams, fostering community
You might expect us to say, “Abolish sports!”, but no, there is a sensible middle ground. We say, “Abolish every sport but one!” Specifically, we propose retaining our men’s and women’s basketball teams.
mets, pads, cupping therapy equipment, horses, sailboats, skate sharpeners, fencing foils and golf tees, to name a few), which could all be sold to other schools or melted down for ore. In all seriousness, we believe that concentrating the school’s athletic budget and energy into two top-notch basketball programs would provide a more fun and rewarding experience for athletes and fans. Women’s and men’s basketball are Brown’s best bet in terms of high-profile success in a Big-4 sport (basketball, football, ice hockey and baseball/softball). But
ball roster, a basketball-only strategy would do away with the vast majority of athletic admissions. A 2014 Herald poll found that a majority of undergraduate students were against the University designating acceptance spots for athletes. This small team size also means that a few big-name recruits could carry the team deep into the March Madness tournament, garnering significant media attention and revenue. There would also be more room on one half of the VernonWoolley Dining Hall and more housing available on Lloyd Street.
and spirit. We can foresee this idea receiving pushback from those who contribute to some of our more successful sports. For example, our women’s crew and men’s lacrosse teams are quite good. Congrats, but these wins bring little, if any, value to the broader Brown community. Others may argue that a wide variety of athletic disciplines provides opportunities to gain lessons in teamwork and perseverance. But so do 18 years of pre-college athletics, club sports, intramurals, school newspapers, theatre performances and most
other things in life. Or what about the fact that sports are fun to play? We agree. Catch us repping the College Hill Independent at intramural volleyball Thursdays in the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center. Likewise, some will point to studies that athletes donate more money to their universities. While we can find no evidence that this is true at Brown, a strong basketball culture might provide similar effects, if they do occur. And finally, some may claim that we cannot build a basketball program overnight that can compete on the national level. But given the low bar in the Ivy League, even a decent team can consistently win its guaranteed NCAA tournament spot. That spot, combined with national attention, campus-wide renovations, celebrity status for the ten athletes on campus, Brown’s general reputation of academic excellence and Providence’s exemplary food culture would attract many top recruits. Sure, it might be tough to convince top high school athletes to come to Brown initially, but we would only need a few. Go Bears.
Harry August ’19, Colin KentDaggett ’19 and Ethan Taswell ’19 have collectively played 34 seasons of intramural sports at Brown and are three-time intramural champions (Low-Level Soccer 2016, Mid-Level Basketball 2017, and Low-Level Softball 2017). They can be reached at colin_kent-daggett@brown.edu, harry_august@brown.edu, and ethan_taswell@brown.edu.