SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2022
VOLUME CLVII, ISSUE 26
UNIVERSITY NEWS
U. admits record-low 5% to class of 2026 3.6% of regular decision applicants admitted from largestever applicant pool
BY JACK TAJMAJER SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The University extended offers of admission to 1,651 applicants March 31, resulting in an overall acceptance rate of 5% this year, Dean of Admission Logan Powell wrote in an email to The Herald. The acceptance rate for the class of 2026 sets another record low for admission, following a 5.4% acceptance rate for the class of 2025. In 2020, the University accepted 6.9% of applicants to the class of 2024.
In the regular decision pool, applicants had an acceptance rate of 3.6%, roughly the same as last year’s rate of 3.5%. During early decision in December, the University admitted 896 students for an acceptance rate of 14.6%. “We’re in a truly fortunate position to have so many talented students considering Brown, and this year’s admitted
SEE ADMISSION PAGE 7
JED FOX / HERALD
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UNIVERSITY NEWS
COVID-19 cases remain level over spring break University will monitor cases “really carefully” as students return from spring break BY HALEY SANDLOW SENIOR STAFF WRITER Twenty-six students and 11 employees reported positive test results for COVID-19 from March 24 through March 30, according to an April 1 Today@Brown announcement from Executive Vice President for Planning and Policy Russell Carey ’91 MA’06. The update also reported that three students were in designated isolation housing. “Every time we’ve had a break, we’ve tended to have an uptick” in positive COVID-19 cases, Carey said. “We’re going to be watching really carefully this week and … we’ll continue to monitor really closely in the weeks ahead, but we feel good about where we are,” he added.
The University is also monitoring the spread of Omicron sublineage BA.2 — a new subvariant of Omicron — in the United States and Europe, according to Carey. Community members who have traveled during the spring recess are expected to take two rapid antigen tests on the first and third day they return to campus, according to the announcement. The University has not seen any “adverse consequences” following the changes to masking and testing in March, Carey said. These changes included a shift to optional masking for fully-vaccinated community members in most locations on campus and optional testing for fully-vaccinated undergraduate students, The Herald previously reported. Distribution of antigen tests will continue to take place at Alumnae Hall Monday through Friday, with an additional location at South Street Landing open Tuesday and Thursday, “primarily for staff, faculty and
SEE COVID-19 PAGE 5
SPORTS
ARTS & CULTURE
Men’s lacrosse falls to No. 6 Princeton
Oscars show Academy is out of touch
Darian Cook ’22 reaches 100 career points as Bears extend losing streak to three BY LINUS LAWRENCE STAFF WRITER The men’s lacrosse team (5-4, 0-2 Ivy League) fell to the No. 6 Princeton Tigers (6-2, 2-1 Ivy) by a score of 17-9 on Saturday afternoon at Stevenson-Pincince Field. The result marked the Bears’ third consecutive loss after opening the season 5-1 and their second consecutive loss against an Ivy League opponent. Despite the lopsided final score, the Bears fought to keep pace with the Tigers early on, never falling more than three goals behind in the first half, with a score of 7-5 at halftime. But at the start of the third quarter, Princeton went on a devastating 6-0 run, at one point scoring four goals in the span of two minutes, while Bruno went four and a half minutes without clean possession of the ball. The barrage was led by Princeton’s
attacker Alex Slusher, the Ivy League’s current leader in average goals per game with 3.63. Slusher continued his strong season with a stellar six goal performance, four of which came during the Tigers’ third-quarter surge. By the end of the game, eight different Princeton players were on the scoresheet. “They got to the middle of the field and just shot the ball really well,” said attacker Darian Cook ’22. “They shot at a very high percentage and put the ball in good spots, and that definitely served them well.” Brown struggled to take advantage of opportunities to respond. After a Princeton broken stick gave the Bears possession of the ball in the third period, a wide pass quickly forced a turnover. Later in the quarter, a battle for the ball behind the net that could have resulted in fouls for both teams ultimately gave Brown a 60-second man-up — one of several calls which elicited a reaction from the Princeton bench — but Bruno failed to score. Princeton “move(d) the ball well, got some good looks and (they) were
SEE LACROSSE PAGE 2
COURTESY OF ABC MEDIA
The awards show included two fan-voted categories, “Most Cheer-Worthy Moment” and “Favorite Movie of 2021,” which were lackluster attempts by the Academy to attract more viewers.
94th Academy Awards seemed to care more about views than movies themselves BY FINN KIRKPATRICK SENIOR STAFF WRITER
It was the slap heard around the world. Following the March 27 show, Will Smith’s slap has completely taken over the popular news cycle. Celebrities from Jim Carrey to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar came out to condemn the slap and the producer of the whole ceremony, Will Packer, went on a mini media tour to express his disagreement with the
U. News
Arts & Culture
Arts & Culture
Commentary
Professor Oded Galor releases book on origins of inequality Page 2
Review: Harry Styles’s “As It Was” previews artist’s new album Page 3
Review: “X” gives new twist on slasher horror tropes Page 4
Simon ’25: College admissions wrongly value exclusivity Page 6
action. But deep down, a cynic could argue this event is exactly what the Academy wanted. Maybe not a slap per se, but something that would get people talking — not about how out of touch the awards have become, but just some good old-fashioned drama.
SEE OSCARS PAGE 5
TODAY TOMORROW
DESIGNED BY ANNA RYU ’25 DESIGN EDITOR
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2022
LACROSSE FROM PAGE 1
COURTESY OF DAVID SILVERMAN PHOTOGRAPHY VIA BROWN ATHLETICS
Men’s lacrosse will play four of their final five games against Ivy League opponents, with hopes of qualifying for the Ivy League playoffs.
able to execute,” said attacker Devon McLane ’23. “They’re a solid team, but we made some mistakes.” Brown attempted to fight back, scoring three straight goals by the end of the third period, but Princeton’s lead proved insurmountable. The Bears were led by attackers McLane, Cook and Brian Antonelli ’22, each of whom finished the game with a pair of goals. Cook’s first goal, scored in the opening minutes, marked his 100th career point, the most of any active Brown player. Cook reflected on the milestone as an important achievement but vowed to remain focused on what’s ahead. “That’s a great accomplishment. I’m really stoked on breaking 100 points,”
he said. “But it’s not good enough, and I definitely still need to do more for my team.” Head Coach Mike Daly similarly emphasized the importance of maintaining a focus on the team’s goals. “Darian’s been a starter since he got here,” he said. Those achievements are “a good reflection of certainly him and staying in the lineup and all of that, but it’s a team game, and he needs all of his teammates to achieve those.” The Bears will play four of their final five games against Ivy League opponents. Brown will look to break its three-game losing streak and keep its postseason hopes alive — in order to have a shot at qualifying for the Ivy League playoffs, the team will most likely have to win the rest of its games
in the season, according to McLane. The team has “got to win out, win the next game and beat our next opponent, so that’s what we’re looking to do,” he said. The team’s next matchup is at Penn on Saturday. “(We’ve) just got to find those combinations and that consistency you need to play a 60-minute game,” Daly said. “We didn’t do that today, and that’s what we’re looking to improve upon.” The team is hoping to keep a positive mentality going into its final games, according to Cook. “No matter how it’s going for Brown Lacrosse, we’re going to keep fighting,” Cook said. “That’s absolutely (the) team that we pride ourselves on being. We’ll keep fighting to 60 minutes.”
UNIVERSITY NEWS
U. economics professor releases book on origins of inequality
“Journey of Humanity: The Origins of Wealth and Inequality,” Professor of Economics Oded Galor’s second book and his first written for a general audience, was released March 22 in 30 languages. The book tells a narrative of how growth and inequality emerged over the course of human history and discusses the forces that set them in motion, thus explaining Unified Growth Theory, which Galor created. During a crowded book launch in Salomon Auditorium on release day, students — including those taking Galor’s course “ECON 1850: Theory of Economic Growth” — professors and others sat in to hear Galor describe the book’s key arguments, propose strategies to target inequality and address questions on the theory. Galor first pointed to the relatively recent developments of growth and inequality in nations in the context of the whole of human history. Over the past two centuries, there has been a dramatic transformation in the living standard of societies, with a 14-fold increase in global income per capita, longer life expectancy, as well as a divergence in income per capita across countries, he said.
ping point in technological progress was reached — around the 1750s and onwards — when human capital, or knowledge primarily in the form of education, “became essential to cope with the changing environment,” he said. Investment in human capital led to a lower fertility rate and decline in population growth that, combined with technological progress, allowed a new phenomenon of sustained economic growth to emerge, he explained. Along with this explanation of economic growth, Galor proposes in “Journey of Humanity” what the main factors that have influenced the rise in inequality among nations are. The book finds that geographic characteristics, such as climate and disease, as well as regional cultural traits, like gender bias or a future-oriented mindset, are two of several key factors that can largely account for cross-country inequality in income per capita. One audience member asked if inequality will inevitably persist as a few countries get ahead with huge economies due to earlier timing of economic growth, leaving other countries lagging behind. The answer Galor offered, and emphasized in the book’s policy takeaways, is that humanity can learn from history to mitigate inequality. “If we understand our roots, we can participate in the design of our future,” he said. The book proposes that so far, devastating events like the World Wars and the COVID-19 pandemic have not been able to derail the course of humanity, run by technological acceleration and economic growth. It takes the hopeful
In order to find answers to the mysteries of growth and inequality, Galor turned to the past, beginning with the genesis of humankind. He aimed to discover the fundamental forces that caused societies to transition from a period of stagnation to growth as well as understand what caused the different timings of this transition around the world that have developed into present-day inequality among countries. The book finds that the primary underlying force that spurred these transitions in human history is technological progress, which has grown faster and faster over time. For most of history, technological progress had a negligible impact on living standards because it was balanced out by population growth, Galor said. This cycle proceeded until a tip-
outlook that the potentially existential issue of climate change today will be no different. Though technological acceleration has caused climate change through industrialization, it has also spurred innovation through education and a decline in population growth that can mitigate the pace of environmental damage while technological solutions arise, Galor said. “Journey of Humanity” covers research “spanning my entire career,” Galor said in an interview with The Herald. Growing up in Jerusalem, “history is part of the upbringing of each individual,” he said, which led him to a “desperation to understand how history and how initial conditions affect behavior, and affect contemporary inequality across individuals … and societies.” Over the course of around
“Journey of Humanity” covers Oded Galor’s work developing Unified Growth Theory BY CLAIRE LIU SENIOR RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR
COURTESY OF ODED GALOR
Professor of Economics Oded Galor’s new book explains Unified Growth Theory, which he created, and covers research spanning his career. three decades, he has worked to develop and test the building blocks of Unified Growth Theory. “The theory was initially very difficult to penetrate (and) was very sophisticated mathematically,” he said. After developing theoretical assumptions, he spent years collecting historical data and testing empirically so that each element that is critical for the theory is valid. He was first approached 15 years ago to write a popular science book, but felt his understanding of the theory at the time was not mature enough to communicate to the public. He instead wrote and published his first book “Unified Growth Theory” for academics. Galor said he has gradually simplified the theory to capture the essence of the human journey as a narrative for non-specialists, a process which he said was helped by teaching undergraduate students at the University. The book launch also featured Mark Blyth, director of the Rhodes Center for International Economics and professor of international economics, and Glenn Loury, professor of the social sciences and economics, in a conversation with Galor on the book. Unlike previous books used to
teach economic growth, Blyth noted the significance of Galor’s work as not just a “collection of theories” but the joining of them. Unified Growth Theory is a “proper general theory,” which can explain all of these special theories within the field, and can also make predictions about the future, he said. One challenge to the book which Blyth posed to Galor was on this second aspect — its ability to withstand the test of time. The book is a “very convincing story of a very long theory of human history; can we be confident that (the story) will continue?” he asked. For instance, will education remain the primary means of gaining human capital, he added. Galor responded with a prediction that the importance of education will persist but will shift “even more dramatically towards general education” and away from vocational education. As long as technological progress continues to accelerate over time, the economic landscape — including occupations — will further adjust to this rapidly changing world. “The nature of education will be such that it will train us primarily to learn how to think and … navigate the rapidly changing
environment,” he said. Both Blyth and Loury praised Galor for the “audacity” of the scope and ambition of the book. “We should pause for a moment and see what economic science, taken seriously and applied assiduously, can achieve, and I think we do see that … in this text,” Loury said. We could “give the book to anyone who is feeling down and skeptical at the moment” because of its ultimately optimistic perspective on the journey of humanity, Blyth added. Some of the strategies Galor used to make the book more accessible and interesting to the public includes using the metaphor of a time machine to transport the reader to different points in human history and providing real world solutions to mitigate inequality. Galor’s newest research grant allows him to look ahead, with plans to spend the next two years trying to better understand the future trajectory of humanity. He hopes to use the mathematical tools behind Unified Growth Theory to develop better projections on population growth, fertility rates, human capital and whether technological progress will continue in space.
MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2022
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
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ARTS & CULTURE
Harry Styles’s single ‘As It Was’ is immediate hit Upbeat tempo contrasts emotional lyrics in stunning preview of artist’s new album BY REBECCA CARCIERI ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR After almost two and a half years, music sensation Harry Styles has released a new song — “As It Was” — and an accompanying music video Thursday night. This is the lead single off of his new album “Harry’s House” that is set for release on May 20. The album and “As It Was” was written during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, a time when Styles was forced into a period of self-reflection, he told Capital FM radio. Styles views this song as a “metamorphosis and embracing change, and former self and perspective shift,” he said in an interview with Audacy Friday morning. Styles takes a stab at an 80s pop melody with the inclusion of a steady backbeat, cymbals, bells and a synthesizer — a change from the 70s influence of his first album “Harry Styles” and the cohesive mix of modernity in “Fine Line.” Though the tempo is upbeat, it is contrasted by deeply personal lyrics, even starting with an adorable old voice message from his godchild, director Ben Winston’s daughter Ruby, saying she wants to say goodnight to Styles. This immediately adds a sentimental and personal aspect to the song, similar to his inclusion of his ex-girlfriend’s voicemail in the end of his second album’s “Cherry.” The lyrics There are certain lines in this song that particularly glisten as elusive sentiments and give the listener further in-
sight into Styles’ mind. In the first verse, “I want you to hold out the palm of your hand / Why don’t we leave it at that?” shines as an indescribably relatable sentiment — Styles is seeking comfort, asking to hold another person’s hand, but doesn’t want to explain what he’s truly feeling. The second verse — “Answer the phone / ‘Harry you’re no good alone / Why are you sitting at home on the floor? What kind of pills are you on?’” — showcases a common theme in Styles’ writing — his loneliness, which can be heard most notably in “Fine Line” and “To Be So Lonely.” Although this is a common theme, it’s still surprising to hear Styles continue to talk about his loneliness, especially alluding to times when he is at his lowest and seems to retreat from others to sit with those feelings. In the media, Styles appears to have it all together — he’s physically attractive, extremely talented, has had a fruitful career and has been spotted with multiple beautiful women throughout his time in the spotlight. Styles is frequently placed on a pedestal of luxury, but it’s comforting to know that behind his public persona, he still has his own struggles. The music video The video for the song is a masterpiece — it artfully captures a relationship in its decline. Styles walks into a large, empty room with a round spinning stage in the middle. There, he meets a woman and they walk in opposite directions, occasionally embracing, until eventually, she rolls off of the stage. Styles is then seen stripping down to his underwear while she remains fully clothed and the two are pulled apart on different floors. When they appear back on the stage, Styles chases after her but can’t quite catch up. At the end, he seems to break free from his desire and performs an ener-
COURTESY OF SONY MUSIC
The music video for Harry Styles’s new single “As It Was” captures a declining relationship as Styles and a love interest circle each other, occasionally embracing, in a large, empty room. getic, contemporary dance without a care in the world. This is a notable transition for Styles — dating back to even his days in the worldwide boyband sensation One Direction — a singular, identifiable love interest is rarely found in his music videos. Styles knows his fanbase is predominantly women, many of whom fantasize about being in a relationship with him. This addition seems to signify an unspoken understanding between Styles and his fans: He’s ready for them to realize he has his own personal, private romantic life and thinks his followers can now
handle the reality that they won’t be the one he ends up with. Styles stripping down to a pair of underwear while his partner remains fully clothed appears to allude to his open and vulnerable nature in his past relationships, which he frequently mentions in his past work such as in songs “From the Dining Table” and “Meet Me in the Hallway.” The world was shocked to see Styles’ abilities in his 2020 music video for “Treat People with Kindness” after he spoke for years about how he wasn’t a dancer. This video is the second time we’ve seen Styles perform a dance rou-
tine in a music video, and it’s arguably even better than the first. Though his previous routine was fantastic, this time, we’re able to see Styles truly emote through his movements. This ultimately ties the whole video together and signifies his ability to become independent after a relationship’s end. Styles will perform “As It Was” for the first time at the Coachella Valley music festival in mid-April. Following the release of “Harry’s House” in May, he will start the second half of his “Love on Tour” in June, and he has two films — “My Policeman” and “Don’t Worry Darling” — set to release in fall 2022.
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2022
ARTS & CULTURE
A24’s ‘X’ brings dark hilarity on ride of crazed desire Slasher horror revels in genre tropes with beautifully shot, wellpaced delivery BY IRENE CHOU ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Elderly people get a bad rep in horror flicks. Wrinkles are enhanced through color contrast, bodies become intensely stooped, crooked malformations and wisened figures grow impossibly intimidating and grotesque as they stand afar in the frame and ominously stare or wave. In A24’s newest slasher horror “X,” Director Ti West gives the trope of a snarly, cannibalistic, white-shift-wearing old lady — which has been featured in films such as “Paranormal Activity,” “Legion,” “It Follows” and “The Visit” — a new spin. It will do well to not spoil the film, but what can be said is that the almost primal urge for sex is added to the amalgam of fear-inspiring elements. The film is set in rural Texas in 1979: Preachers rail against sexual deviance with marked vehemence, cows wander onto the roads to be smashed by vehicles into gory smithereens and the county sheriff contemplates whether retirement benefits are worth his while in the face of confounding, grisly crimes. A ragtag entourage led by adult film producer Wayne (Martin Henderson) and comprised of his girlfriend Maxine (Mia Goth), stripper Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow), Bobby-Lynne’s boyfriend Jackson (Scott Mescudi, better known
as Kid Cudi) and production crew members RJ (Owen Campbell) and Lorraine (Jenna Ortega) have rented a derelict bunkhouse for a day to shoot “The Farmer’s Daughters,” the eponymous “X”-rated film. In the equally dilapidated main house one field away lives the aged, childless couple that owns the filming location — an old man named Howard (Stephen Ure) and his sinister-looking wife Pearl. Despite the foreboding atmosphere and ominous-looking homeowners, the cast and crew begin filming, with RJ insisting on making the porno “avant-garde,” a meta-comment on West’s career in independent filmmaking. Bathed in the lazy afternoon sun, the filming commences, and “X” gives an unabashed display of sex and skin as well as sleazy entertainment with a dash of self-referential wit. Voyeurs appear both on and off screen, as filmgoers witness the unbridled sex, nudity and explicit pleasure more often reserved for private spaces. This is also where the film shines in its deliciously dark originality. Trashy outtakes of the adult film are spliced with a suspenseful interplay between predator and prey. Overhead shots of the adult film cast and crew show them at their utmost vulnerability, innocent from the knowledge of their impending doom despite the seemingly corrupt, amoral premise. But West doesn’t deny the promised wicked fun. Soon, things start to go horribly awry. Allusions to the horror film’s predecessors — “Psycho,” “Jaws,” “The Shining,” “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” — are stylishly dished out. And people begin to die, in
COURTESY OF CHRISTOPHER MOSS VIA A24
Behind its slasher-horror exterior, Ti West’s “X” examines the common fear of aging by challenging the viewer with visual comparisons of young and old. the most fantastically hilarious ways: shotgun backblast, car driving over someone’s head and, of course, a dip in crocodile-infested waters. The sinister villainess behind all of this? You guessed it, a senior renegade tired of condescending young’uns. In all seriousness, the film’s epic hilarity is a bold confrontation of the visceral fear of aging, of physical incompetence not just in one’s performance in bed but also in the daily activities in life, such as doing the dishes after a home-cooked meal (to mark this point, the camera pans slowly across Howard and Pearl’s decrepit kitchen cluttered with unwashed utensils). It’s also a fear inspired by how younger generations treat the elderly differently — sometimes with deference, but more often with contemptuous disdain. The female body bears the brunt of
CA L E N DA R
the process of aging in the film — the viewers see both the 20-year-old glitzy beauty and the neglected shriveled 70-year-old. The film operates almost interrogatively, challenging the audience with visual inquiries on this apparent dichotomy. A topless Mia Goth gives viewers a sensual cinematic experience, as they find themselves mesmerized by the flawless skin, alluring gaze and parted lips. But when the elderly Pearl clad in a parted shift inches invitingly toward her long-time partner, Howard, the audience cringes involuntarily. In the modern era of cinema, moviegoers have generally internalized the male gaze on the female object, especially in a horror with a porno setting. So, when the desirable female body is turned on its head, sex is no longer an enjoyable watch — it’s revolting. In the screening attended by this reviewer,
some audience members walked out at a quite literal climactic moment between Howard and Pearl. Sometimes it feels that the female body is designated for deterioration, a tragic arc from glamorous to repulsive. West is well aware of this, and the startling shift between sexually active youths and the elderly in the film is intended to give audiences whiplash. But it’s also purposed to interrogate the viewer through one’s reactions: What does growing old mean? What can desire become when you’re old? How can we make sense of our hyper-anxieties against aging? And finally, do we still deserve to feel loved and desired in our twilight years? “X” doesn’t take itself too seriously. It is, after all, a slasher set in hardcore pornography. Yet the questions presented by West are worth mulling over.
COVID -19 AT BROWN MARCH 24 TO 30
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*APPROXIMATE
MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2022
OSCARS FROM PAGE 1 Because ultimately, one of the dire consequences of this slap was that its media frenzy let the rest of this year’s Academy Awards — an Academy Awards that spat in the face of everything that is great about film — completely off the hook. Much like the overblown discourse that came from the slap, the show did not adequately respect the movies or the talented people that had a part in making them; it cared only about the number of eyes that would view them. After a performance by Beyoncé to open the show, the three hosts, Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall, came out on stage following an introduction by DJ Khaled. The fact that the Academy deemed DJ Khaled as the appropriate opening note to this ceremony should tell you just about everything you need to know about the trajectory of the show — it’s all about out-of-touch pop-culture over the art of film. The opening monologue was your standard cringe-inducing non-humor that seems to have become the Oscars brand over the past decade or so. The poorly written traditional jokes about how every movie nominated this year was boring and how no one watched them were back in full force. As per usual, they did not land.
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
The Academy made two attempts to attract more viewers by including the fan-voted categories, “Most Cheer-Worthy Moment” and “Favorite Movie of 2021.” The most cheer-worthy moment went to a scene from Zack Snyder’s “Justice League,” rehashing the toxicity of the online “release the Snyder Cut” movement that lasted for far too long in 2020 and 2021. The top three films to come in the favorite movie category were once again reflections of this toxicity. Number three was “Minamata,” a movie starring Johnny Depp that only received this notoriety because it became a symbol for the undying supporters of Depp during his ongoing domestic violence lawsuit with ex-wife Amber Heard. The movie to come in second was “Cinderella,” a film that made the list out of sheer irony and a general cultural disdain for James Corden. Finally, number one went to “Army of the Dead,” another Zack Snyder movie that made this list as part of the same aforementioned Snyder Cut movement. These two fan awards demonstrate the complete desperation and lack of self-respect The Academy had when putting together this show. They gave Twitter trolls more live screen-time than the winners of the eight creative awards. This move, which rightfully
became one of the most criticized aspects of the ceremony, was supposedly included with the intention of lowering the runtime, but this didn’t even occur: they simply replaced the many parts of the show that actually honor the people who make movies with vapid pleas for attention. While only barely including a passing mention of this year’s four lifetime achievement award winners, Samuel L. Jackson, Liv Ullman, Elaine May and Danny Glover — some of the most influential and groundbreaking icons of film history — there was plenty of time for Amy Schumer to make a joke mistaking nominated actress Kirsten Dunst for a seat-filler. In the same vein, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, whose “Drive My Car” won the award for Best International Film, was played off three times during his acceptance speech. But The Academy allotted Regina Hall enough time to list off all the single actors in the audience she wants to have sex with backstage, a long bit ending off with her very uncomfortably “patting down” Josh Brolin. But this shouldn’t be a surprise. “Drive My Car” was subtle, expertly thought out and artistically important, traits the Academy Awards hasn’t valued for years now. Much of the In Memoriam section was overshadowed by a strange-
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ly exuberant dance performance in the foreground. It’s perfectly fine to honor those who have passed in a celebratory manner, but the staging of this section made it so that the people who were supposed to be remembered were placed in the background with the dancing doing nothing to direct the viewer to them. There were also a couple of film anniversaries spread throughout the show, in another desperate attempt by the Academy to say “see, we really do care about movies!” Some of these were completely justified, like the celebration of the 50th anniversary of “The Godfather” where Francis Ford Coppola came out and said some remarks on creating one of the most important films in cinema history. But on top of that, they celebrated the 28th anniversary of “Pulp Fiction.” While not an unimportant film by any stretch, choosing to celebrate an anniversary as insignificant as its 28th suggests they don’t really care about the movie’s significance, but more that they just know that it’s a crowd pleaser and maybe they can get some more views as a result. The entire reaction of the show has been focused on Will Smith and Chris Rock, a story that while maybe entertaining, is ultimately not worth the copious amount of time it has
been given. What should be talked about is how in a ceremony that is supposed to be the ultimate celebration of the art of cinema as a whole turned into a series of uninspired jokes and desperate pleas for views. What the Academy was able to pull off this year was not just boring or hard to watch, it was disrespectful. The talented artists who won and were nominated in the categories of Documentary Short, Film Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling, Original Score, Production Design, Animated Short, Live-Action Short and Sound were all told their work doesn’t matter by being sidelined, with only brief clips being inserted during transitions of the show. The Academy Awards are obviously no longer a celebration of film or a gathering of people sharing a love of movies. They are a self-indulgent commendation of the superficial world of Hollywood celebrities. Film as a whole isn’t dead — movies will continue to be made and people will continue to see them. But film as art is slowly losing the battle to an industry that every year cares more about marketing and image than it does about content. The Academy is firmly standing behind, loading the cannons that will be fired against an army that stands no chance.
Brown University Literary Arts presents
Caroline Bergvall Listening heare
followed by a conversation with
John Cayley
In this performative talk Caroline Bergvall will read and present pieces from a range of her poetic and interdisciplinary projects. These will include excerpts and videos from her current Sonic: Atlas cycle of texts, site-specific performances and ongoing research into voicing, field-recordings, language migration.
Monday, 4 April 2022 at 7 p.m.
McCormack Family Theater, 70 Brown Street (enter on Fones Alley)
TRACY PAN / HERALD
COVID-19 tests will remain available at Alumnae Hall for community members to pick up through the end of the semester.
COVID-19 FROM PAGE 1 graduate students who are in the Jewelry District,” Carey said. Rapid antigen tests are also expected to be made available through the end of the semester. It is “not a bad idea” for community members to take rapid COVID-19 tests even if they did not
travel over spring break, Carey said, especially as individuals who have traveled return to campus and residence halls. The University is “(confident) about the remainder of the semester,” Carey said. “If it’s necessary, we will adjust (University guidelines), but I don’t anticipate that being the case in April or May.”
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | COMMENTARY
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MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2022
Simon ’25: Admissions selectivity should not be a point of pride Spring is here, and with it, crocus buds, blustering winds and college decisions from schools across the country. Brown offered admission to a mere 3.6% of its regular decision applicants and 5% of applicants overall for the class of 2026. Applications were at an all-time high this year, breaking the record set the year before. Thinking back to my own application process, I’m reminded of the one phrase I saw again and again, in rejection and acceptance letters alike: “This was the most competitive year ever.” It was meant to soothe me when I did not gain entry to a particular school or to boost my ego when I did. But there’s something deeper, and more concerning, about the sentiment. This kind of language, and the language we use to talk about college admissions and success in college more broadly, centers on competition and exclusivity. The value of enrolling at a school like Brown isn’t just based on tangible academic, social and professional opportunities, but also on how many others do not have access to those same resources. Comparing percentages and rankings turns education into a competition, leading us to revel in creating hierarchies and commodifying what is meant to be an experience. Selectivity should not be a point of pride but rather a sign of failure — the failure of a culture of higher education that prioritizes prestige over what a school can offer. In recent years, there has been much talk about a so-called crisis in higher education. There are a swelling number of college applications — an increase of over 150% over the past two decades — and a slowly growing number of seats at selective institutions across the country. COVID-19 exacerbated this trend dramatically: With college tours canceled and standardized tests made optional, applicant pools increased across the board. There were 9% more applications to Brown this year than in 2020, which saw 27% more applications than 2019. Applying to college seems increasingly like playing a game of musical chairs with more and more players vying for the same spots when
the music stops. But this perception could not be further from the truth. As Professor of Practice at Arizona State University Jeffrey Selingo notes, “selectivity is something of an illusion.” It’s true that applications to the “most selective colleges” in the U.S. have increased by 25% in the past two years and freshman classes have seldom expanded to accommodate them. But there are not five or fifty, but hundreds of col-
is that schools may tend to embrace this mindset. Inside Higher Ed’s Jim Jump says, “At some point low admit rates changed from being a by-product of success to a metric of success and ultimately became the goal of the admissions process itself.” Like many other selective colleges, Brown’s admissions have become steadily more competitive over time. In just 10 years, the University’s
“Selectivity should not be a point of pride but rather a sign of failure — the failure of a culture of higher education that prioritizes prestige over what a school can offer.”
leges across the country that, like Brown, boast high quality academics, an abundance of community resources and dedicated faculty. Yet, these schools are seen by many applicants as less desirable. What sets so-called “elite” colleges apart in the cultural imagination is eliteness itself. Prestige has less to do with the college experience or a student’s personal fit and more to do with selective admissions and post-graduation status — and its importance is only growing. The proportion of students who perceive a college’s reputation as “very important” when choosing a school has reached record highs in the past few years, according to surveys from UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute. But selectivity and prestige have little relation to any given school’s opportunities for learning and self-actualization. Rather, they speak to an image of success based on hierarchy and exclusion of others. And what’s worrying
overall acceptance rate dropped from 13.71% in 2012 to the 5% we saw this spring. In an interview with The Herald, Dean of Admission Logan Powell noted that, “the difficult position of having to share bad news … gets more and more difficult each year.” Admissions officers, at Brown and elsewhere, may lament the difficulty of rejecting exceptional applicants, but by highlighting low acceptance rates in their own promotional material, they continue to reinforce their importance. I know that after confirming my enrollment I was happy to never have to worry about personal statements or Common App activity descriptions ever again. And yet, a year later, I’ve come to realize that reflecting on admissions is important. The admissions process is where Brown practices its institutional values most meaningfully by actually creating its student body. In choosing not only who to accept but
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how to advertise and conduct its admissions, the school sends a message about its vision for how knowledge and power should be built, informed and exchanged. Brown’s commitment to academic exploration and “service to the public good” feels incompatible with a world where people believe the school on your degree determines your potential and overpowers the substance of your education. Of course, despite all the issues that exist with the current system, college admissions cannot and should not not be a free-for-all. There will always simply be more applicants than spaces at Brown and there has to be some process to discern which students are a good fit for the school. Likewise, certain schools will always draw in more applications than others. But if we name extreme selectivity in admissions as a problem rather than a triumph, we can begin to conceptualize how to make the system feel more like an affirming choice for students rather than a scramble for the limited seats at top schools. The reframing of “highly selective” schools as “highly rejective” is one simple but powerful way of calling out the elitism in low acceptance rates as we work toward remedying it. The issue of rejectivity is deep, long-standing and will require measures such as expanding class sizes or reallocating resources to colleges that are looking to increase enrollment. But many of these conversations must also happen at the level of the individual university. At Brown, groups like Students for Educational Equity and new initiatives like the Student Admissions Oversight Committee can play a crucial role in influencing admissions policy and connecting administrative practices to the voices and values of the student body, rather than having admissions be built solely on competition.
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MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2022
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ADMISSION FROM PAGE 1 class is an exceptional group,” Powell wrote. “This is always a competitive process, and the numbers this year highlight this in a particularly striking way.” The University is “in the difficult position of having to share bad news to an amazingly accomplished group, and this gets more and more difficult each year,” he added. A combined 50,649 students applied to the class of 2026 through regular and early decision, an almost 9% increase from last year’s pool, approximately 4,100 students more than the previous record of 46,568 applicants set by the class of 2025. The total is slightly larger than The Herald initially reported due to a small number of applicants who applied late for various extenuating circumstances, Powell wrote. Eighty-four of the 3,827 applicants to the Program in Liberal Medical Education were admitted for an acceptance rate of roughly 2%, Powell wrote. The University also admitted 19 of 838 applicants to the Brown-RISD dual degree program, also an acceptance rate of roughly 2%.
Powell wrote that the incoming class has a “sense of intellectual vitality” and “optimism and joy in the face of continued uncertainty.” He highlighted their community engagement and stressed their unique experiences having attended both in-person and online school. “Our admitted students have excelled in the face of uncertainty and upheaval, with an inspiring ability to focus not only on academic commitments but also on engaging in their communities and uplifting others,” Powell wrote. The University declined to share what portion of admitted students self-identified as students of color or applied for financial aid. According to Powell, 17% of admitted students identified as first-generation college students, roughly the same as in the class of 2025. Admitted students come from all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. California is the most represented state in the admitted class, followed by New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas, Florida, Connecticut, Illinois, Georgia and Pennsylvania, according to Powell. Two percent of
accepted students come from Rhode Island, while 5% of admitted students are from rural areas. The Herald previously reported that applications from rural and small-town students rose by 5% this year. While Powell stressed the University’s work to increase the representation of “moderate-income” students, he told The Herald in an interview that the effects of expanded financial aid upon the “composition of the applicant pool” were unclear given that the University only announced the increase in aid for middle and low-income students last fall. The University announced a number of improvements to its available financial aid in October, including covering the cost of tuition for most current and future students from families earning under $125,000 a year, The Herald previously reported. Still, Powell said he expected the increased aid to have a “significant impact on matriculation results” for low and middle-income students who may have received compelling financial aid offers from other universities. The University also announced last
fall that it would move towards going need-blind for international students over the next four years — which Powell said could lead to an “incremental increase” in international student matriculation. Outside of the United States, the top countries represented in the accepted class include China, the United Kingdom, Canada, India, Singapore and Ukraine. The number of admitted Ukrainian students, is “far more than prior years,” Powell wrote. Those students received “advanced likelihood of admission” — and the University will work with each student to organize visas, summer housing, financial aid and “connections with current Brown students from Ukraine,” he said. “These are amazing students, some of whom are experiencing indescribable hardship,” Powell wrote. The application itself looked slightly different for all students this year, as the University updated its supplement to include two new essays, Powell said. Students were asked to share their “response to a time they were confronted by a different perspective” and “tell us about something that brings them joy,”
Powell noted. “From enacting change in their communities to forging deep connections with classmates and taking pleasure in small moments and daily routines,” Powell wrote, “we found that a consistent theme was the ability to find, make and share joy even when confronting great challenges.” Powell added that while the University “continued to be moved by the many ways that our applicants were impacted by the pandemic … this year’s process felt like a normal year” for the Office of College Admission. The University will bring back its ‘A Day on College Hill’ program for admitted students to visit campus for the first time since 2019 — but it will also continue virtual programming such as the “Bruniverse,” an online platform through which admitted students can interact and attend events that inform them about different aspects of Brown. Accepted students are required to inform the University of their decisions by May 2. With a target enrollment of 1,700, the University expects between 1,000 and 1,500 students on its active waitlist.
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