SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2019
VOLUME CLIII, ISSUE 8
WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM
Formula racing team prepares for annual Michigan race Bears defeat
Big Green, fall to Crimson
After top 30 finish at last year’s FSAE event, formula racing team more confident, experienced
Men’s basketball captures first Ivy League win with late comeback against Dartmouth
By PEDER SCHAEFER SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The first year Coby Benheim ’19 and Gabe Weedon ’19 went to Michigan to race their car, it blew up. “Our freshman year was a rough time,” said Weedon, a lead on the Brown Formula Racing Team. “The car was super late, and then it blew up and all the seniors were really angry about it.” “We handled the car exploding pretty well,” said Benheim, one of the two team captains alongside Kayli Sarpu ’19. “But they were certainly upset.” Now, with more experienced members, a top 30 finish at last year’s Formula Society of Automotive Engineers event in Michigan and a redesigned car named Rhododendron, the team is more confident. “We kind of just got confident over the past two years doing pretty well, and so we’re now trying to apply that confidence and see where we can take it,” Weedon said.
By RYAN HANDEL SENIOR STAFF WRITER
COURTESY OF BROWN FORMULA RACING
On the formula racing team, students design and manufacture almost every component of their car, from the chassis to the suspension, in preparation for the FSAE racing event in Michigan. The formula racing team at Brown races under FSAE, an international body that organizes formula racing events for college student groups all over the world. Students are tasked with designing a car under specific engineering specifications over the
U. researchers link EHRs, physician stress Electronic health record use causes lower productivity, efficiency for physicians By LAVANYA SATHYAMURTHY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Over the past few years, burnout among physicians has garnered more attention from researchers; and recently, a University study confirmed that stress related to electronic health records is common among doctors. According to the study’s lead author, Associate Professor of Medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School Rebekah Gardner, “the prevalence of stress related to technology was 70 percent among those who responded to the survey.” Today, ninety-one percent of physicians who participated in the study use EHRs, which they use to document their patient interactions digitally. Before this study, the relationship between EHRs and physician burnout had not yet been measured. In an attempt to quantify the correlation, Gardner and her team of researchers added questions about
INSIDE
EHR-related stress to a biannual technology survey that has been administered in Rhode Island for the past ten years. The research, which included responses from a large sample of practicing physicians in the state, was funded by the Rhode Island Department of Health. Gardner’s study involved a much larger sample than previous studies. While past research has focused solely on primary care doctors, this survey went out to every doctor in the state, including medical specialists. After analyzing both doctors who responded and those who did not, the research team concluded that the groups were relatively similar and the results of this study could be generalized beyond Rhode Island. Each of the questions in the study’s survey targeted a different type of technology-related stress; for example, the doctors were asked whether or not the EHR added to the frustration of their day, if they had enough time to document their records and how much time they spent on their EHR at home to take care of work-related tasks. If they answered yes to any one of the three » See STRESS, page 3
course of the school year, and at the end of the year come together to race at tracks all over the country. Brown’s team competes every May at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan, where over 2,500 students competed last year.
Before the Michigan event, the team spends the year designing and building the car. “Little of what we do is taught directly in class,” Benheim said. “One thing that’s very important to us is » See RACING, page 2
The men’s basketball team split their back-to-back this weekend against Dartmouth and Harvard, overcoming a seven-point deficit in the final four minutes to defeat the Big Green, but faltering in a blowout loss to the Crimson. The win over Dartmouth was Brown’s first Ivy League victory of the season after an 0-2 conference start. Obi Okolie ’19 poured in 27 points over the two matchups to lead the Bears (13-7, 1-3 Ivy), while Tamenang Choh ’21 added 15 total rebounds. Choh also hit a crucial layup with under a minute left in the game against Dartmouth (1010, 1-3) to give the Bears a lead that they would not surrender. With some of Brown’s other top players struggling, George Mawanda-Kalema ’21 came off » See M. BBALL, page 3
UCS organizes harm prevention trainings
USHA BHALLA / HERALD
Category III student groups required to attend trainings under Campus of Consent bill By KAYLA GUO SENIOR STAFF WRITER
After passing the Campus of Consent Bill two years ago and making several revisions since, the Undergraduate Council of Students offered pilot trainings this fall that address harm prevention for representatives of Category III student groups. Under the most recent version of the bill, all Category III student groups must send one representative to two trainings per year who then becomes that group’s UCS liaison, The Herald previously reported. Category III student groups are groups that can
receive funding over $200 from the Undergraduate Finance Board. Representatives from 61 student groups attended the fall trainings, led by the Sexual Assault Peer Education program, the Masculinity Peer Education program and Project LETS, and over 180 groups have yet to attend a training. UCS offered three pilot trainings in the fall, and hopes to offer six additional trainings this semester, according to UCS Chair of Student Activities Alex Song ’20. Groups that fail to send a liaison to two trainings by November, a year from the bill’s most recent amendment, will receive a warning from the UCS Student Activities Committee and enter a one-year warning period. After another year, the group’s Category III status will be revoked and they will be forced to reapply, according to UCS Vice President Camila
Pelsinger ’20. “The goal was to have a person in each student group that people could go to when problems arose around any of these issues of consent, or mental health issues,” Pelsinger said. That person “could be someone that could point people to resources if issues came up in a student group,” she added. The overall aim of the trainings is to introduce student representatives to the resources that are available on campus, including those from BWell Health, she added, “but also to start conversations around supporting each other in terms of mental health issues, around creating a culture of consent and just starting dialogue about a lot of issues that groups have told us are important to them and have come up.” When UCS first passed the bill » See UCS, page 8
WEATHER
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2019
NEWS Archaeology students unearth local history, present ongoing excavation, research projects
SPORTS Men’s hockey defeated by Yale, looks ahead to games against Princeton, Quinnipiac
COMMENTARY Grundy ‘20: Transgender military ban is counterproductive to safety, detrimental to national values
COMMENTARY Thomas ‘21: Celebrity obsession, social media activism distract from enduring social justice
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NEWS
PAGE 2 • MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2019
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Archaeology students showcase history of Providence Students collaborate to examine history of city through excavation, archival research By LI GOLDSTEIN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Students from two archaeology courses — ARCH 0317: “Heritage in the Metropolis” and ARCH 1900: “The Archaeology of College Hill” — came together in Rhode Island Hall Friday to present the culmination of their semester-long collaboration to unearth hidden histories of Providence, both tangible and intangible. The event, entitled “Providence’s Heritage: Above and Below Ground,” was hosted by the Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World. It was a “hybrid between formal presentations and a heritage fair,” said Alex Marko GS, a doctoral student who teaches ARCH 1900. Each student explored an excavation site or research topic. The presentations were the first in a year-long series of events hosted by the University, called “The Year of the City: The Providence Project,” which “brings together more than 50 public programs over the course of the year that explore the history, life and culture of Providence’s 25 neighborhoods through exhibitions, performances, walks, lectures and conferences,” according to the John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities & Cultural Heritage website. For his final project, Sam
» RACING, from page 1 teaching people.” The students “design everything, manufacture everything,” said Chris Bolt, senior lecturer and director of the Brown Design Workshop. “I just run interference.” Students learn how to use Computer Numeric Control lathes and mills to manufacture 3D parts with precision. They weld the chassis and design the car online using an industry standard program, SolidWorks. The team splits time between two locations, the Brown Design Workshop in the engineering building and Tockwotton Studios, an off-campus workshop where the final assembly of the car takes place. Different groups of students take the lead on different systems within the car. Some work on steering, others work on the body, wheels, suspension, powertrain or cooling. Even first-years with little experience working on cars get involved. Keshav Persaud ’22 has been tasked with helping to build a chain guard and push bar. The chain guard restrains the chain in case it breaks, and the push bar allows the team to move the car without turning on the engine. “Groups of (first-years) as well as upperclassman are here to assist (and) to teach us how to weld and to mill,” Persaud said. “It’s one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had at Brown so far.” After a year of preparing and testing, the highlight of every season for the group is the trip to Michigan — a 14-hour drive where they bring the
LI GOLDSTEIN / HERALD
Archaeology students presented on the diverse history of Providence. Topics included bone analysis, the history of Chinese food in the city, the excavation of the site of a demolished mansion and the history of drag culture in Providence. Wertheimer ’21 set out to create a geodatabase for an excavation site in order to pinpoint key areas of the dig more precisely. In his poster presentation, Wertheimer detailed how he compiled data from a comprehensive list of sources, including drone photos of the site and a 1908 atlas of the area from the Rhode Island Historical Society. Maura Curry ’19 used various bones discovered at the site as the basis of her final project. She was able to take the excavated bones to Visiting Assistant Professor of Biomolecular Archaeology Katherine Brunson, who had pieces finished car with them in a trailer along with enough parts to weather any malfunctions over the week. “We all drive together,” Weedon said. “We get motel rooms at the Super 8 and stay there five nights. It’s super stressful and fun. It’s early mornings and late nights. If things go well, it’s great. If things start going poorly it can turn into a super crazy mess, but it’s always great, no matter what.” The competition is split into four different events. There is a drag race component that tests acceleration on a straight stretch of track — Brown’s car tops out in competition at speeds of around 60 miles per hour, but could top 90 according to Benheim. The skid pad event tests turning ability, and the slalom portion tests full-car control. The final event, endurance, calls for 13 laps at Michigan International with a driver change halfway through. Aside from designing, assembling and racing a formula car, the team is also a hub for students from different concentrations and departments across campus. Being an engineer is by no means a prerequisite for joining the team, Benheim said. “When I started freshman year I had absolutely no experience,” Weedon said. “We’ll teach you how to do anything. Most people think you need to know how cars work, but you really don’t at all.” “I don’t even know how a car works,” Benheim added. “It’s a labor of love, it’s a passion you have to make a sacrifice for,” Persaud said. “I love the people on the team.”
against which Curry could compare her own. The most notable discoveries included bones with metal in them, an astragalus bone and bones of sheep and rodents, Curry said. Speaking to the larger impact of the course on students, Curry said that “a lot of the classes focused on archaeological techniques and being able to bring those into different contexts, making it easier for archaeological students to get jobs in the field.” Rachel Gold ’19, a former Herald senior staff writer, took a more creative approach to her final project, which
entailed documenting the excavation process throughout the semester by taking on-site footage and conducting interviews with fellow students. Gold chose the medium of film for her project because she wanted to convey that “archaeology is a five-senses type of activity,” she said. “We are feeling the mud and smelling and listening to each other and the sound of the sieving to recover artifacts,” she added. She wanted to capture the sensory and collaborative nature of archaeology in her work. The locality of archaeology often goes unrecognized, and the field is
frequently associated with ancient ruins in foreign countries, Gold said. “Everywhere we are leaving stuff in the ground, and there are so many stories to be learned from that,” Gold said. “I wanted to show how this site is sort of unexceptional — it’s just a house, but it’s really fun to see what has been left behind and piece together what we can learn from there.” Quinton Huang ’19 said that students in the ARCH 0317 class were prompted to “find a research topic » See UNEARTHED, page 4
NEWS
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2019 • PAGE 3
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS
The Bears’ win against Dartmouth was their first Ivy League victory of the season. The squad was previously defeated twice by the Yale Bulldogs, who beat them 70-67 and 79-71 in Providence and New Haven, respectively. The men’s basketball team will next host Penn and Princeton at the Pizzitola Sports Center in a double header.
» M. BBALL, from page 1
suit with a layup. Dartmouth’s Brendan Barry, who entered the game leading the nation in three-point field goal percentage, hit a trey to put his team ahead by six, but Chris Sullivan ’19 answered with a three of his own. Brown whittled Dartmouth’s lead down to two, but another Bruno scoreless spell of almost four minutes allowed the Big Green to retake control. Mawanda-Kalema then brought the Bears within one by scoring seven unanswered points, and Desmond Cambridge ’21 and Sullivan both hit three-pointers to help the Bears take a 27-23 advantage into the break. The teams continued to exchange leads in the second stanza, with Dartmouth’s Aaryn Rai scoring eight points
» STRESS, from page 1
how the medical world needs more doctors as a result of the aging U.S. population. This research has a wide range of applications. For example, Gardner suggests that EHR design could be improved. “EHR vendors, the companies that put together and sell EHR systems … should make a more intuitive user-interface,” Gardner said. The system is currently used for both billing and clinical purposes, but Gardner suggested that it should only be used for clinical reasons. Toll added that removing the connection between how much a doctor writes and how much they get paid, as well as organizing visits around the patient rather than the computer, are potential solutions to physician burnout as well. Gardner says that healthcare organizations should administer their own surveys and decide what interventions to put into place. Toll also suggested that scribes should be used for documentation and young physicians should be trained to be more patient-oriented
the bench and put up 21 points on the weekend, including a single-game career high of 14 points against Harvard (10-7, 3-1). “It’s not a surprise, it’s not a fluke that (Mawanda-Kalema) played well, because he’s in the gym all the time. He works really hard, he’s got an incredible attitude and energy about him, even when he wasn’t necessarily getting the minutes that he maybe deserved,” said Head Coach Mike Martin. Brown got off to a slow start against Dartmouth, going down 7-0 into the first media timeout. Choh finally got the Bears started with a jumper five minutes into the game, and Okolie followed
questions, Gardner said, then they were approximately twice as likely to have burnout. In addition, Gardner’s team found that the prevalence of stress varied depending on the specialty of the doctor. Physician burnout can have several implications. Patients who are cared for by burnt-out physicians have less satisfaction with their care and can be subject to more unnecessary tests and consoles, Gardner said. According to Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine Elizabeth Toll, patient-physician interaction is very important for successful healthcare. Primary care doctors spend twice as much time on the computer as they do with their patients, and, as a result, patients do not feel very cared for, she added. As for the physicians, the use of EHRs causes a drop in productivity and a decrease in efficiency. Physicians also make more errors and are more likely to leave their job. Toll, who has been practicing medicine since 1992, discussed
in the first six minutes of the half to put the Big Green in front of the Bears. Bruno was knotted up with Dartmouth at 40 with under 10 minutes left, but the Big Green began to seize control of the game, taking a seven point lead on an Rai free throw with 4:10 left. Threes by Okolie and Zach Hunsaker ’20 helped the Bears claw back within two, and Choh’s layup gave the Bears a 55-54 advantage. Solid defense and game management down the stretch allowed Brown to hold on for the 60-58 win. “The layup came off (Cambridge’s) assist, and that’s just how we play, we always use each other,” Choh said of his winning shot. “We kind of struggled all game
offensively but our defense kept us in it. We finished key possessions with defensive rebounds and then towards the end of the game guys made good plays,” Mawanda-Kalema said. Against Harvard the next night, the Bears again got off to a slow start, but this time they were unable to recover. The Crimson jumped out to a 13-7 lead as Henry Welsh came off the bench to score eight early points. A long jumper, contested layup and made free throw by Mawanda-Kalema drew the Bears within three, but the Crimson proceeded to go on a 9-0 run. Despite Harvard dominating most of the half, Bruno managed to add five points in the final minute to go to the locker room down
by just six. The close score didn’t last long, as Harvard powered their way to a 19-point lead with 10 minutes remaining in the game. Brown seemed to have no answer for the Crimson’s dominant defense in a 68-47 loss. “We’ve been struggling offensively a bit. And (Harvard is) tough,” MawandaKalema said. “Defending them inside, in terms of in the post was tough for us.” Next week, Brown will return home for another back-to-back, taking on two of the Ancient Eight’s elite teams, Penn and Princeton. Bruno will battle Penn Friday at 7 p.m. and Princeton Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Pizzitola Sports Center.
LAVANYA SATHYAMURTHY / HERALD
— similar suggestions to those that recently appeared in a New Yorker article on the subject. Gardner’s study could not conclude whether
scribes lower physician burn-out rate, but previous research has identified such a relationship. “We need to work toward a world
in which the computer is supporting care … rather than interfering with it,” Toll added in an email to The Herald.
NEWS
PAGE 4 • MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2019
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Men’s hockey falls to Yale 4-3 in close contest on the road Brink ’19, Schoo ’19, Marchin ’19 score as offense gains momentum in second, third periods By ALEXANDRA RUSSELL SPORTS EDITOR
Following a pair of victories over Rensselaer and No. 18 Union last weekend, the men’s hockey team was edged by Ivy rival Yale 4-3 in a close contest on the road Saturday. A trio of seniors, Alex Brink ’19, Brady Schoo ’19 and Tommy Marchin ’19, scored to bring the Bears (8-10-3, 5-6-3 ECAC) within one goal of the Bulldogs (11-7-3, 9-4-1). Brink and Schoo also recorded assists for two points each. Yale pressured the Brown net in the first period, earning an early lead when Mitchell Smith scored off of a faceoff in the Bears’ zone. Joe Snively added a goal on a breakaway midway through the stanza to give Yale a 2-0 lead as the teams entered the locker rooms. “We were having trouble in the first period … because we weren’t maintaining any pressure in the offensive zone,” Marchin said. “We’d get (the puck) in and it would come right back out, so we tried getting more bodies to the net and making sure our forecheck was good so that we couldn’t get beat back up the ice. … Once we started doing that, we saw a little bit more success.” Bruno began to fight back in the second period, outshooting the Bulldogs 10-8 in the frame. Seven minutes into the stanza, Brink scored to put the Bears on the board and bring the team within one. Brent Beaudoin ’20 skated around the Yale net and sent the puck to Brink, who collected the pass in the
COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS
The Bears enter the final month of regular season competition with visits to Princeton and No. 5 Quinnipiac this weekend. Bruno is currently tied with No. 18 Union for seventh place in the ECAC, and seeks to secure home ice advantage for the playoffs in March. left circle and sent a shot past Bulldogs netminder Corbin Kaczperski. Late in the period, Snively tacked on his second goal of the game for Yale after a pass from Bulldogs forward Tyler Welsh deflected off of his skate and into the net. Jack St. Ivany extended the lead a minute and a half into the final frame, sending a shot from the right circle past Brown goalkeeper Luke Kania ’21. But the Bears answered back, peppering the Yale net with pucks and outshooting the Bulldogs 18-14 in the final stanza. The team began to mount a comeback as Schoo fired a shot past Kaczperski with three minutes
remaining. Bruno continued to maintain pressure in Yale’s zone, pulling Kania for an extra skater half a minute later. Marchin added an extra-attacker goal in the final 10 seconds to narrow the deficit. “There was more urgency in our game once we saw time starting to run down, and we knew that we had to really start putting pucks on net and challenging their team in ways that we weren’t at the beginning of the game,” Brink said. “Once we got into the flow of the game and actually took control of that, it really changed for us, and that’s why we could put up a really solid second half.”
Despite the loss, Saturday’s contest further demonstrated the consistency and depth of production across the team’s lines, which has been a positive, Marchin said. “You have guys backing each other up, so when one line’s not having a night producing, … you get three more that are just as capable and have been playing just as well,” Marchin said. “When you’re able to rotate through those four lines and keep applying pressure line after line, it gets really hard to play against, for Yale or for other teams.” As the final month of regular season competition approaches, the Bears
maintain a confident mindset and seek to build on the year’s successes, which have included a series of victories over the winter break highlighted by a first place effort at the Three Rivers Classic tournament. “The biggest positive is showing that when we decide to play, we can play with any team,” Brink said. “Yale is ranked. … If we can come out and put up the second and third periods we did on a team like that, it shows that we have the work ethic and the ability to be in those games.” The Bears continue conference play with a pair of visits to Princeton and No. 5 Quinnipiac this weekend.
» UNEARTHED, from page 2 about an aspect of heritage in Providence (they) thought would be interesting and find a way to present it (creatively) that would get more people aware of that heritage” for their final project. In his project entitled “Chinese American ‘Food Heritage’: Restaurants and Grocery Stores in ‘Greater Providence,’” Huang explored the lesserknown history of Chinese food in Providence. Huang “reconstructed the history of Providence’s Chinatown, which existed in some fashion between 1880 and 1970,” by interviewing four owners of Chinese restaurants or Chinese grocery stores. His research, which pulled from the geographic history of the Providence Chinese food scene as well as oral histories from business owners, culminated in an interactive digital exhibition. Mikey Abela ’21 explored the history of drag culture in Providence and Rhode Island, largely drawing inspiration from the documentary “Paris is Burning.” Abela also touched upon the cultural influence of RuPaul’s Drag Race on drag culture, both locally and nationally. Abela ended his presentation by proposing a re-creation of the marquee of the demolished Emery theater as a monument to drag in Providence, as well as creating an outdoor venue for local drag queens to use.
Are you a student in recovery or struggling with an addiction? Want to connect with other students in recovery from a substance use disorder? Contact: Dean Shannon O'Neill shannon_oneill1@brown.edu or 401-863-1367
Bruce E. Donovan '59 Dean for Recovery and Substance-Free Initiatives
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TODAY
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2019 • PAGE 5
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
menu
way l a n d a r c h a g a i n s t a d r e a r y w i n t e r s k y
SATELLITE DINING ANDREWS COMMONS
BBQ Chicken Ranch Pizza, Caprese Pizza, Pulled Pork Sandwich, Pho, Wok with Chili Basil Pork JOSIAH’S
BLUE ROOM
Salad Bar, Grilled Portobello Mushroom, Hamburger
BYO Grain Bowl, Chicken Noodle Soup, Tom’s Bao Bao
DINING HALLS SHARPE REFECTORY LUNCH
DINNER
Jerk Chicken, Muffaletta Sandwich, Breakfast for Lunch, Basil Pesto Alfredo
Sweet Chili Beef, Grilled Italian Herb Chicken, Red Rice Sauté, Italian Antipasto Salad Bar
VERNEY-WOOLLEY LUNCH
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Chicken Pasta Carbonara, Black Bean Louisiana, Italian Salad Bar, Maple Root Vegetable Stir Fry
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sudoku
VICTORIA YIN / HERALD
Wayland Arch was named after University president Francis Wayland, whose 28-year administration lasted from 1827 to 1855. The arch is known for its location as a frequent venue for a capella groups.
Q U O T E O F T H E D AY
“Archaeology is a five-senses type of activity. We are crossword
feeling the mud and smelling and listening to each other
”
and the sound of the sieving to recover artifacts.
— Rachel Gold ‘19
See unearthed on page 2. C L A R I F I C AT I O N An earlier version of the article about fishermen and Vineyard Wind, published Jan. 28, ran with the headline “Government shutdown delays meetings between fishermen, Vineyard Wind.” While the shutdown did delay public hearings — which allowed for comments by all members of the public, including fishermen — fishermen and Vineyard Winds were permitted to meet independently in that window. Therefore, the headline, “Government shutdown delays public hearings on Vineyard Wind project” is more accurate. The Herald regrets the error.
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Music Now with Charteuse 12:00 P.M. Orwig Music Building
English Language Workshop 12:00 P.M. Sciences Library
Colloquium - Cory Dean (Columbia) 4:00 P.M. Barus and Holley
Engaged Archaeology Presentations 5:30 P.M. Rhode Island Hall
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Marijuana and Adolescents 7:30 A.M. Thundermist Health Center
Wellness At Brown!: Relaxation 12:30 P.M. South Street Landing
Dean in the Commons 5:00 P.M. Engineering Research Center
Telescope Observing Night 7:00 P.M. Ladd Observatory
COMMENTARY PAGE 6 • MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2019
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD
Transgender military ban is unnecessary and bigoted MIRANDA GRUNDY staff columnist Last month in a 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration’s ban on the participation of most transgender individuals in the military to take effect — another unfortunate and harsh blow to transgender people in the United States. While current military members who are openly transgender can continue to serve under an Obamaera policy, the Trump administration’s stance makes it largely impossible for transgender individuals to enlist or come out as transgender after joining the military. The policy also states that any servicemember who is in the process of transitioning and in need of medically provided hormones will be disqualified from the military. This new Supreme Court decision enables an unnecessary policy that is counterproductive to our safety and, most importantly, detrimental to our national values of respect and inclusion. As a campus and community constantly striving for inclusivity and equal opportunity, we should speak out against the Trump administration’s divisive, outdated and harmful actions. The Trump administration justifies this pol-
icy by arguing that it is too expensive to provide servicemembers with transitional operations and hormones through defense spending, but this concern is unwarranted. According to CNBC, Trump authorized a federal defense budget of $674 billion for 2019, more than the next seven countries combined. This is certainly enough to provide medical care for the estimated 9,000 transgender military personnel, many
pecially when fewer citizens are willing to dedicate their time and lives to serving our country, and fewer current military members intend to re-enlist. As the wealthiest nation in the world with the largest defense spending budget, there is no excuse for this type of discrimination. Further, people who are willing and capable to work hard, train hard and protect our country should be allowed to serve. When lives are
This new Supreme Court decision enables an unnecessary policy
that is counterproductive to our safety and, most importantly, detrimental to our national values of respect and inclusion.
of whom do not choose to undergo gender affirmation surgery at all. A 2015 study published by the New England Journal of Medicine estimated that the cost of providing transition-related care for military personnel would be around $5.6 million — a small fraction of the Department of Defense’s healthcare budget, which was $43 billion in 2017. The benefit of these individuals’ service greatly outweighs the cost — es-
on the line, the gender identity, sexual orientation and race of military personnel should not matter. The American military should not be constrained by racism, sexism, homophobia or transphobia. Not only is this policy unnecessary and counterproductive, it is also simply bigoted. President Trump has repeatedly shared hateful rhetoric, claiming that the presence of perfectly
capable transgender troops would severely hinder the capabilities and productivity of the military complex as a whole. For instance, in 2017 he tweeted that, “our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that (transgender people) in the military would entail.” While far-right conservatives — the same people who claim to value our troops — overwhelmingly approved of Trump’s policy, LGBTQ activists and many others have criticized his policy as “cruel and irrational.” In 2019, it’s both saddening and infuriating to see a community who must work so hard to achieve the same access to opportunities yet again be told that their identity makes them unequal and unworthy of American belonging. Hopefully, vocal objection from the American people can sway the newly elected Democratic House of Representatives to advocate in opposition of this policy and propel America further down a path toward political and social inclusivity. It’s a new and changing America, and our Department of Defense needs to keep up.
Miranda Grundy ’20 can be reached at miranda_grundy@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, FEBRUARY 4, 2019 • PAGE 7
The siren’s call of the online celebrity QUENTIN THOMAS staff columnist
On a foundational level, we all have an understanding of right and wrong and are able to identify these behaviors in others. This rings particularly true when it comes to celebrities or public figures. Though it’s often hard to believe, they’re people just like us — the major difference being that they’re constantly in the spotlight and under our watchful eyes as a society. These people are more like us than we sometimes remember; they are humans, prone to making mistakes, which conflicts with our idealized perception of them. And so it follows that we go about holding these people accountable for their actions. My previous column went in-depth into the phenomena of “cancelling” as a form of penance for celebrity transgression, and called for more imagination in how we proceed in public moments that are incongruent with social justice ideals. I want to extend this analysis: while holding celebrities accountable is important, fixating on individuals with considerable influence and impact can distract us from similar forms of harm present in our more immediate surroundings. There’s something to be said about fame and celebrities as a whole. There’s an interesting dynamic at play where we, as consumers, have a certain amount of control over who bombards our newsfeeds and airwaves. Our interest largely determines the relevance of celebrities. In this algorithmic age, our demands from the famous have increased; surely, we think, our unending attention necessitates some form of reciprocal obligation in this parasocial relationship. As was already stated, celebrities are people just like us, and far too often we see what happens to them when this demand for more and more access becomes too much
to handle. We now return to the conversation around accountability. When it comes to holding celebrities responsible for their actions, the objectives behind doing so can be obscured by this weird dynamic between society and celebrities. Because celebrity narratives inherently become our own, legislating true accountability loses its gravity; the motivation behind naming harm done by a celebrity can be as weak as wanting to seem “woke” in front of peers. We deter-
this discussion is the site, pun intended, where most of these conversations take place: online. As people of the 21st century, it makes sense that social media and technology intersect with our existence in ways that have never occurred before. Unfortunately, the fight for social justice that occurs online can sometimes fail to break through computer and iPhone screens and manifest itself in proportional ways. Our virtual obsession with celebrities — the idols in these online proxy wars — imbues them
following the revelations of R. Kelly’s insidious and sustained campaign of sexual predation and assault. So if R. Kelly were to be arrested and put in jail, many people would say “job well done.” And this would be a warranted response given the harm the singer has caused, but it’s also necessary to think beyond bringing one individual to justice. As is stipulated on the movement’s website, #MuteRKelly isn’t just about the singer, it’s about black women. When we zoom out to consider macro-level trends — such
We determine whether or not a celebrity stays relevant, we can call for the “cancelling” of anybody, we can administer mob justice within minutes — what on the surface might seem like a tool for social justice is really just a demonstration of power.
mine whether or not a celebrity stays relevant, we can call for the “cancelling” of anybody, we can administer mob justice within minutes — what on the surface might seem like a tool for social justice is really just a demonstration of power. An important element to add to
with outsized power; distributing Online Celebrity Justice becomes wrongfully equated with achieving societal change. For example, the #MuteRKelly movement transformed an issue of national importance into a conversation around a single celebrity. The movement erupted on social media
as the fact that 60 percent of black women are sexually abused as children — shifting the focus away from R. Kelly seems appropriate. While the hashtag is not just a “flash in the pan” moment with temporary goals — it’s calling for a cultural break — many who interact with the social media
campaign run the risk of displacing justice for a group onto a single person. While Kelly’s visibility means the implications of his individual fate are disproportionately large, achieving justice for all survivors of sexual assault still requires an entire movement behind it. Social media, on its own, is not likely to bring about the social change we seek. Seventy-one percent of Americans agree that social media activism can make people feel as if they’re having a larger impact than is truly the case . But such feelings of accomplishment in spite of contrary evidence are not limited to the realm of social media activism. Thinking back to the election of President Obama, many thought America entered into an era of post-racialism. However, more than 60 percent of Americans believe racism is still a major problem. This is to say that neither social media activism nor a more traditional way of enacting change — voting — is infallible. So, I think it’s useful to think outside of the box of social media and consider ways in which 21st century notions of justice can be actualized through means of the past. This could mean opting to volunteer at a local organization that does work around sexual assault prevention in addition to disseminating information on Twitter. In doing this, we can point out the harmfulness of people like R. Kelly, while also producing a more tangible effect when it comes to creating a culture that supports survivors. We must find a way to mediate our reflexive pull toward social media and try to engage in meaningful modes of activism to bring about a more enduring social justice.
Quentin Thomas ’21 can be reached at quentin_thomas@ brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
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» UCS, from page 1 in January 2017, SAPE was the only designated campus partner, and all Category III student groups were required to have one member of their executive boards trained by SAPE by spring 2018. These trainings were never offered because SAPE was not equipped to accommodate all Category III student groups, The Herald previously reported. In the two years since, MPEs and Project LETS have been added as partners. UCS compensated Project LETS student facilitators with funding from the Undergraduate Finance Board for last semester’s pilot trainings, and BWell compensated those from SAPE and MPE, Pelsinger said. “One of the main principles of a lot of these (partner groups) is that their trainings are attended consensually,” which would only be possible if student groups were offered a number of options, Pelsinger said. Project LETS aimed to “address this main point of interpersonal harm that manifests because of lack of mental health education” in their pilot training said Yema Yang ’19, Project LETS chapter co-coordinator. “A lot of these pieces have been in prior Project LETS workshops, but it was strung together and connected in a specific, streamlined way for a general audience who has no background in mental health to understand.” In building content for their Campus of Consent workshop, Peer Mental Health Advocates at Project LETS compiled “the essential or the foundational aspects of the trainings,” PMHA Coordinator Judith Lao ’19 said. “We wanted to make a training that was universal and directly applicable for folks,” she added. Beyond raising awareness about resources available on campus through the Campus of Consent trainings, the Project LETS workshop aimed to bring this understanding of mental health issues back to student groups. “If student groups just knew more about how to handle mental health crises or more generally just
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2019
how to support folks, if more people had that knowledge, not only would less trauma happen, but … more mentally ill people would feel safe in different communities,” Yang said. SAPE also offered a two-hour pilot workshop last semester that was facilitated by students and based on SAPE’s curriculum, wrote Alana Sacks, the staff advisor for SAPE, in an email to The Herald. When SAPE educators hold trainings, they aim to work with participants “to identify and disrupt behaviors that normalize sexual and relational violence and to foster conversations that will reduce trauma for everyone,” among other objectives, according to language provided by Sacks. MPE’s pilot workshop was based on an introductory module on how individuals learn gender and are socialized, said Herald Staff Columnist Quentin Thomas ’21, an MPE cocoordinator. “Student groups represent more than just individuals,” Thomas added. “If you’re a student group, you’re representing a bunch of people, and what you represent should be something positive and … celebratory of diversity, and … education in masculinity is an important part of that.” Once a student group representative has attended two trainings, additional responsibilities as a UCS liaison are up to the discretion of their group, Pelsinger said. “We’re hoping (that) the things that we included in our presentation are things that they bring back to their communities and talk about,” Lao said. After attending the SAPE training last semester, UCS liaison for the Jabberwocks Sam Grady ’19 plans to “recreate our living list,” a set of terms they first developed after participating in an MPE training unrelated to the Campus of Consent Bill. Grady said they have rethought their role as a group morale officer in the Jabberwocks this year “to be more about rethinking tradition, confronting and interrogating our
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own culture of toxicity (and) thinking through the ways that traditions have been harmful and violent, and I think going to this training was just one way for me to be more educated and equipped to bring those lessons to the Jabberwocks.” Grady noted their appreciation of the bookmarks and handouts SAPE distributed at the workshop, which Grady gave to members of the Jabberwocks after attending the workshop. After attending an MPE workshop as an entire student group in the past, Grady said they wished “that more people had access to (the Campus of Consent trainings) than one representative. … I felt like the workshop (the Jabberwocks) did with (the) Masculinity Peer Education program just with our group and the facilitators was really effective.” Talking more about restorative justice and community accountability would also improve the workshop, Grady added. Senior Class Coordinating Board Co-President Doug Shea ’19 went to the pilot MPE workshop last semester. On every agenda he writes for CCB meetings, “we have a workshop debrief sort of thing, so if someone goes to a workshop, there will always be space in our meetings to talk about that and facilitate that discussion,” he said. In terms of the Campus of Consent Bill in general, Shea mentioned the notion of privilege as a driving factor in the importance of such trainings. “Privilege is a very tough concept, and if you don’t have the background and if you aren’t raised in a sort of culture that’s very aware of political correctness … it’s very difficult to grasp,” Shea said. The Campus of Consent Bill trainings are a “great resource for people to learn more about this stuff,” he added. In the future, UCS plans to work with more peer education groups, depending on “what develops in the future, where there’s need, where conflict is arising in different student groups” and what issues people want to address, Pelsinger said.
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