SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2022
VOLUME CLVII, ISSUE 9
UNIVERSITY NEWS
361 students test positive for COVID Departments can resume group meals, recruiting activities in person
BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM
METRO
Valentine’s Day flea market highlights artisans Several businesses that began in quarantine sell goods at community market
BY TEVAH GEVELBER STAFF WRITER
BY HALEY SANDLOW SENIOR STAFF WRITER During the week of Feb. 3 to 9, 361 students and 10 employees reported positive COVID-19 test results, according to a Feb. 11 Today@Brown announcement. “The increase week over week is certainly something we’re monitoring very carefully,” said Executive Vice President for Planning and Policy Russell Carey ’91 MA’06. “What we expect and hope for is to see a decline, which is exactly what’s happened on the employee side.” Individuals who are testing positive for COVID-19 continue to report mild or no symptoms and there have been no reported hospitalization or
A woman in a cow onesie with large angel wings walked down a long hall lined with pop-up stands full of homemade jewelry, candles, pastries, vintage clothing, chocolates and records. She weaved between the families, couples and college students gathered to peruse the Providence Flea Valentine’s Market. The “holy cow” was Laura Burkett, promoting her partner Sue Fracker’s card game called “Cowbell.” Fracker was one of several vendors who founded their business during the pandemic. On the evening of Feb. 11, local vendors and Providence community members gathered at Farm Fresh RI’s facility on 10 Sims St. for the Providence Flea’s first night market of 2022. In addition to its quirky charm, the market offered local craftspeople a chance to sell their products during
TEVAH GEVELBER / HERALD
Traci Chandler, owner and founder of Casted by T, launched her resin arts business during the pandemic. Her pieces include coasters, pendants, ashtrays and paint palettes. the pandemic. Three vendors at the event told The Herald they got their start during the pandemic, and saw the Providence
Flea as an opportunity to grow their business. The flea market’s founder, Maria Tocco, estimated 150 new vendors began participating in the market
during the pandemic. Fracker was one such vendor. She said the “Cowbell” card game, a match-
SEE COVID PAGE 3
SEE VALENTINE PAGE 5
ARTS & CULTURE
UNIVERSITY NEWS
Academy Award nominations: Surprises, snubs, disappointments
Brown Science Olympiad hosts virtual invitational Hundreds of high school students across country invited to participate in events BY HALEY SANDLOW SENIOR STAFF WRITER
MARLOWE PODY / HERALD
Academy’s selections for prestigious awards include excellent picks, head-scratchers
BY FINN KIRKPATRICK SENIOR STAFF WRITER The announcement of the 94th Academy Award nominations, a time-honored
tradition, took place Feb. 8. The art of predicting Oscar nominations has become a hard-tuned science, but this year, things were a bit more unpredictable.
Brown Science Olympiad gathered volunteers, event supervisors and Executive Board members Feb. 12 to run an invitational tournament they had been planning since September. BSO’s invitational is an opportunity for Division C teams — students from ninth to 12th grade — to get practice competing in events without the stress and pressure of a state or national tournament, said BSO Co-Director Nick Sawicki ’23. The club invited 40 to 50 teams from Rhode Island and other states in New England and beyond to participate virtually in the tournament, Sawicki said, which allowed students to compete in various events covering a range of scientific subjects. While BSO usually invites teams to compete in-person — occupying classroom spaces around campus
to host up to 500 students — the virtual nature of this year’s tournament allowed more students to participate, including those from states farther away. “I think there’s so much value in starting students’ interest in science pretty early,” BSO Volunteer Director Kevin Nguyen ’23 said. “We’re really hoping to just get students excited about” science. BSO recruits event supervisors and volunteers throughout the year, Nguyen said. Event supervisors begin working in November, writing tests and coordinating events based on guidelines released by the national Science Olympiad organization. Volunteers are recruited throughout the school year and help with grading and running the event. There were approximately 60 student volunteers this year, including about 15 from other schools such as Cornell and Tufts University. The invitational usually consists of 23 Science Olympiad events, ranging from designing and building bottle rockets to anatomy and biology tests. This year, the Executive Board cut a few events due to the “virtual nature
SEE OSCARS PAGE 3
Metro
Commentary
Providence Art Club exhibition displays college student artwork Page 4
Gaber ’23 reflects on love and connection during study abroad in Paris Page 6
Arts & Culture “The Sex Lives of College Girls” offers messy coming-of-age stories Page 7
Sports Women’s basketball falls 68-61 to Cornell after unsuccessful comeback Page 8
SEE OLYMPIAD PAGE 2
TODAY TOMORROW
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ANNA RYU ’25 DESIGNER
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2022
SPORTS
Sports roundup: Bruno sees mixed results over Super Bowl weekend Comeback by men’s basketball tops exciting slate of matches featuring Bears BY PETER SWOPE SPORTS EDITOR Brown Athletics had a busy Super Bowl weekend, with 11 teams in action from Friday to Sunday. The weekend’s highlights included a pair of 7-0 wins by the men’s tennis team and a last-minute 81-80 victory by the men’s basketball team over Cornell. Men’s basketball (12-13, 4-6 Ivy) triumphed over Cornell (13-8, 5-5) in Ithaca on Saturday, with Jaylan Gainey ’22’s putback slam with under four seconds to go leading the Bears to an 81-80 victory. Gainey went for a team-high 16 points and nine rebounds, while Tamenang Choh GS double-doubled with 11 points and 15 boards. Women’s tennis (3-4) lost in a close 4-2 matchup to Penn (4-3) in the first round of the ECAC Championships Friday but rebounded on Saturday and Sunday, beating Dartmouth (4-4) 4-2 on Saturday and rounding out the weekend with a 4-1 win against Yale (3-4) on Sunday. Ali Benedetto ’24 went 3-0 at singles No. 2 on the weekend. Gymnastics fell to the Universi-
OLYMPIAD FROM PAGE 1 of the tournament, to ensure that students have equal access to materials,” Ngyuen said. Still, some events required students to get creative to accomplish certain tasks — one event had participants build a Wi-Fi router. “Kids can come up with the craziest contraptions,” Nguyen added. Dawen Cheng, a high school junior from Rhode Island, competed this year in three events called “Bridge,” “Gravity Vehicle” and “Green Generation.”
ty of New Hampshire by a score of 195.875-191.625, despite posting its second-highest point total of the season so far. Women’s fencing hosted the Ivy League Round Robins at the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center. The squad was unable to secure any team victories, but Sofia Yee-Wadsworth ’24 won eight individual matches to place eighth in the epee. Wrestling (3-8, 2-6) split a pair of weekend matches in New York, falling 37-0 to Columbia (4-8, 2-3) on Friday but rebounding with a 22-12 victory over Long Island University (0-13) on Saturday. Women’s basketball (6-16, 1-9) hosted Cornell (8-12, 3-6) Saturday afternoon but failed to complete a second-half comeback, falling 68-61. Isabella Mauricio ’25 put up 25 points, her fifth game this season of 20 or more points. Men’s tennis (7-2) recorded a pair of impressive victories at home, defeating Boston University (0-4) on Saturday and Fordham University (3-2) on Sunday. The Bears won each match with a pristine 7-0 score. Men’s hockey (6-16-1, 6-10-1 ECAC) traveled to Hanover on Friday to defeat Dartmouth (3-17-3, 2-12-2) by a score of 3-2, their second win over the Big Green. Michael Maloney ’22, James Crossman ’23 and Jake Harris ’22 accounted for the Bears’ trio of goals.
In “Bridge,” teams build the lightest structures possible to hold the most amount of weight — up to 15 kg. “Gravity Vehicle” requires teams to build vehicles powered solely by gravitational potential energy that must travel a specific distance only revealed on the day of the competition. Finally, “Green Generation’’ is an exam that tests knowledge about various ecological issues and sustainability concepts. “I’ve learned a lot about eutrophication, algal blooms, trawling, overfishing issues and nuclear pollution,”
COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS
Men’s basketball, wrestling, tennis and hockey all had victories this week. Men’s and women’s track and field teams won a handful of events at two invitationals at Yale and Boston University. Women’s hockey (5-18-4, 5-12-3) eked out a tie against St. Lawrence University (14-10-6, 10-5-3) following a goal by Anna Hurd ’25 with under a minute to go in regulation on Friday. The Bears had a tougher showing on Saturday, falling 8-1 to Clarkson Uni-
versity (22-7-3, 13-6-1). The men’s and women’s track and field teams participated in a pair of meets — the Giegengack Invitational at Yale and the David Hemery Valentine Invitational at Boston University. On the men’s side, Zach Love ’23 won
the long jump and finished second in the triple jump at Yale. On the women’s side, Jada Joseph ’25 won the high jump and long jump while Chiamaka Odenigbo ’24 won the triple jump and took second in the 60m hurdles.
Cheng said. “It’s a lot of stuff that’s really relevant to the climate change problem in modern society.” Nguyen, who grew up 40 minutes away from Brown, attended BSO’s invitational in high school. It was exciting to be on campus in such an “encouraging, collaborative environment,” he said. Sawicki also participated in Science Olympiad invitational tournaments at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Penn while in high school. “Competing in Science Olympiad invitationals was a really formative
part of my childhood experience,” Sawicki said. “It has really informed a lot of decisions that I decided to make, like what I want to do in college (and) what I want to be professionally. It’s been very inspiring being involved from such a young age.” The club is looking to implement a mentorship program, Sawicki said, modeled after other colleges that have initiatives to mentor high school Science Olympiad teams. “We’re hoping that maybe next year we could sort of adopt Hope High School,” Sawicki said. The club also
hopes to provide resources for schools with under-resourced Science Olympiad programs. Cheng said he cherishes the experience of competing at tournaments and collaborating with other people while pursuing his passion for science. “I’m hoping to one day go into something (related to) aerospace or robotics, or maybe even something like environmental engineering,” Cheng said. “I’m going to build off of the things I’ve learned in Science Olympiad and hopefully go from there.”
ELSA CHOI-HAUSMAN / HERALD
More than 40 teams were invited from Rhode Island and beyond to attend competitions in a range of scientific subjects. While the invitational is typically held in person, the virtual format this year allowed more high schoolers to participate than an in-person event would have, members of the BSO Executive Board said.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2022
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
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OSCARS FROM PAGE 1
Surprises Best Picture frontrunner “The Power of the Dog” overperformed in the acting categories, landing four nominations for Benedict Cumberbatch (Actor in a Leading Role), Kirsten Dunst (Actress in a Supporting Role), Kodi Smit-McPhee (Actor in a Supporting Role) and Jesse Plemons (Actor in a Supporting Role). The film’s director, Jane Campion, also received a nod in the Directing category — among the 12 nominations the film received. While the film ultimately failed as a complete narrative piece, Campion’s direction and construction of atmosphere is nothing short of masterful and deserves praise. Another surprise hit, “Being the Ricardos,” got left out of Best Picture, Directing and screenplay nominations, but managed to snag an impressive three acting nods for Nicole Kidman (Actress in a Leading Role), Javier Bardem (Actor in a Leading Role) and J.K. Simmons (Actor in a Supporting Role). With three nominations for “Licorice Pizza,” Paul Thomas Anderson now has received 11 nominations
in various categories over the years with no wins. While there may not be a filmmaker with a portfolio of work more worthy, with past nominees including “Boogie Nights,” “Magnolia” and “There Will Be Blood,” “Licorice Pizza” should not be the film that lands him the prize. Even as the frontrunner in the Writing (Original Screenplay) category, “Licorice Pizza” is a shell of what Anderson has shown he can make. While him finally getting the recognition he deserves would feel good, it would simultaneously feel a little off. Well-deserved “Drive My Car” director Ryusuke Hamaguchi received a nod for Directing along with a nomination for adapted screenplay. With Hamaguchi, the Academy continued its now fouryear streak of nominating a foreign language filmmaker in the Directing category, joining predecessors Thomas Vinterberg (“Another Round”), Bong Joon-ho (“Parasite”), Alfonso Cuaron (“Roma”) and Paweł Pawlikowski (“Cold War”). Hamaguchi is now the second Japanese filmmaker to be nominated for the prize, joining
the company of legendary cinematic master Akira Kurosawa with “Ran” in 1985. But Hamaguchi was able to do something that Kurosawa was never able to do: landing a Best Picture nomination, in what is the most deserved nomination of the entire bunch, and though far fetched, it would be even more deserved if lead actor Hidetoshi Nishijima had been recognized as well. Along with “Drive My Car,” “The Worst Person in the World” is another foreign film getting a little extra love. Joachim Trier’s excellent script got the attention it deserved with its nomination in the Writing (Original Screenplay) category, though if the film could only get one nomination outside of International Feature Film, lead actress Renate Reinsve should have been the one to take the honor. Her candor and sincerity in delivering this performance is something to marvel at and deserved official recognition in the form of the film world’s highest honor. Another positive to come out of these nominations is recognition for Kristen Stewart. Though she was at one point the front runner for the Actress in a Leading Role award, her status faltered when she was snubbed
in many preceding awards, including the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the British Academy Film Awards. It was up in the air if she would land the nomination, but in the end she got her well-deserved nod for her performance as Princess Diana in “Spencer.” Disappointments But, of course, with all this good also comes some bad. “Don’t Look Up” may just be the most annoying film of the year, with its shallow preachiness that is clearly coming from the brain of a man, writer and director Adam McKay, who thinks he is saving the world with this underdeveloped and overdone slog of a social satire. The film received nominations for both Best Picture and Writing (Original Screenplay). Then there is “The Lost Daughter,” one of the most incoherent films to grace the silver screen in a long time. Its now-Oscar-nominated screenplay is a mess of poor plotting, underdeveloped characters and frankly terrible dialogue. Olivia Colman, one of the best actresses working today, delivers a phoned-in and substanceless performance.
COVID FROM PAGE 1
The University is “not concerned” about capacity with one third of isolation housing currently occupied, Executive Vice President for Planning and Policy Russell Carey ’91 MA’06 said.
cases of severe illness, according to the announcement. The University will continue to make two rapid antigen tests available to community members each week until the week of March 28. Gov. Dan McKee announced Feb. 9 plans to lift the statewide school mask mandate on March 4, allowing local school districts to make individual decisions about masking, The Herald previously reported. McKee also said the state executive order mandating indoor masking in schools, businesses and other public spaces would be lifted Feb. 11. But at the University, mask wearing requirements will continue to remain in effect in classrooms and indoor spaces, Carey said. Approximately 196 students are currently isolating in designated onor off-campus housing, including the Courtyard by Marriott Providence Downtown hotel. Other students are isolating on-campus or in off-campus residences. Between the designated locations, about a third of isolation housing is filled and the University is “not concerned” about capacity, Carey said. The Division of Campus Life and Health Services “feel confident about
Snubs In what might be the biggest snub of this year, Denis Villeneuve did not receive the Directing nomination for his work on “Dune.” The film itself did quite well with a solid ten nominations, but much like with “The Worst Person in the World,” The Academy missed the best part of the whole movie: the direction. Villeneuve didn’t just direct a strong sci-fi action movie; he completely elevated the genre into something that went beyond spaceships and bad guys. “Dune” balanced epic storytelling with political intrigue and intimate character dynamics, a nearly impossible feat that Villenueve conquered with flying colors. The 94th Academy Awards will air Mar. 27 on ABC. The awards have been gradually losing viewership over the past few years and criticism has been made about a seeming disconnect between the awarding body and the interests of general moviegoers. Whether or not these criticisms are based in truth is up to each individual viewer to decide, but it will be interesting to see how the Academy addresses some of these concerns in this year’s ceremony.
their abilities to support students who are in isolation,” Carey said. As of right now, the University is not contemplating any further restrictions in dining, student gatherings or mask wearing. “There are a lot of things we look at really carefully every week and on a constant basis,” Carey said. “We really feel that we’re doing well and … there’s nothing that we are recommending to make any changes to.” According to the Today@Brown announcement, the University is also allowing faculty departments to resume events such as group meals with job candidates in recruiting activities — which require participants to be unmasked for long periods of time. Many receptions, events and faculty meetings take place at the beginning of the semester, which is a “prime time” for recruiting, Carey said. As a result, the previous restriction on these events aimed to encourage people to exercise caution and avoid potential transmission of COVID-19, he added. “We felt comfortable with the department resuming those types of activities while still using common sense and caution,” given the low number of positive cases among faculty and staff, Carey said.
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THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2022
ARTS & CULTURE
Providence Art Club displays works from Rhode Island College Students Artwork from 28 R.I. student-artists will be displayed through March 4 BY AALIA JAGWANI SENIOR STAFF WRITER On Sunday, Feb. 13, Providence Art Club opened its College Scholarship Exhibition at the Club’s Dodge House Gallery. The exhibition, on display through March 4, features work made by students from colleges across Rhode Island. The exhibition accepted submissions from any college sophomores and juniors in Rhode Island. After receiving nearly 50 submissions, the gallery chose 28 to display, said Gallery Manager Michael Rose, who was responsible for selecting the works. “We’re looking for things that are kind of novel and interesting and different, and with students, you get a lot of that,” Rose said. Equally important
in determining which pieces were displayed was whether “you can see in the work that the artist achieved what they were aiming for,” he said. He also considered how well a work would fit in with the larger collection. Apart from the selection process, which was “pretty hard because everything that was submitted was really excellent,” planning the exhibition took place without much challenge, Rose said. “All the schools were really supportive … and a lot of faculty were encouraging their students to apply.” The 2022 exhibition is the second College Scholarship Exhibition hosted by the Club; the first was held in 2019. “The main goal is really to do a better job of engaging with students at local colleges,” Rose said. “We often find that students, especially at Brown and (the Rhode Island School of Design), will spend four years here and maybe never step foot in the art club.” The exhibition also aims to provide students with a platform to display their work. “Last time we did it, a number of the students who were
in the show said that it was their first time (having artwork) in a professional gallery exhibition,” he added. “So to give artists that first opportunity is really cool.” Student artist Jaden Bleier ’23 is among the students displaying their work in a gallery for the first time. Her piece, “The Kissing of Powdered Asses at a Picnic,” features friends on a picnic blanket and comprises a collage of make-up, ink, brown paper bags and images from The College Hill Independent. In particular, Bleier was excited about the exposure to other student artists in Rhode Island and “to see the variety of not only different mediums and themes but also perspectives,” she said. Guatemalan-American student artist Dominick Cocozza, a RISD sophomore, showcased a piece called “Beholder,” an oil painting that portrays Indigenous themes of empowerment. The portrait focuses on the expression of an Indigenous girl during a moment of uncertainty. The painting ties into
his broader work, Cocozza said, which shows cultural celebration through portraiture. In addition to featuring artwork in the exhibit, the Club provides the first-place award winner of the show the opportunity to display their work in a solo exhibition next year, along with a $1,000 award. As announced on Sunday, the winner was Crickett Fisher, a Rhode Island College student. Second place went to Onaje Grant-Simmonds ’24, who won $500 in cash prizes. RISD student Regina Gutierrez earned the third-place award. Grant-Simmonds’ award-winning work, “The first tribe: Primordial Origins,” was a part of his ongoing surrealist series called “Fauna.” The piece, which used oils, acrylic and colored pencil mounted on wood, was inspired by Sigmund Freud. “He had this really kooky origin story of human society, which I found problems in, but in a funny way I almost found that to be an interesting myth in itself — even though he was against myths and religion, he created one (despite) claiming to be
a scientist,” Grant-Simmonds said. His work is a commentary on Freud’s “myth,” but is “filled with (his) own characters and motifs.” “Especially considering how great the rest of the art (in the exhibition) was, I’m really honored,” Grant-Simmonds wrote in a message to The Herald about winning the second-place award. “It feels like a great start to my professional career.” The entire collection of student work met a positive reception with some audience members: “The whole show is very impressive (with) the variety and the talent,” remarked Providence Art Club member Cynthia Spencer. The success of the exhibit was evident from both the curation of a diverse range of works and the large turnout on the opening day. Among other shows, the Club also plans to host an additional “community invitational exhibition” in August featuring several Rhode Island artists who are not members of the club.
AALIA JAGWANI / HERALD
Student artist Jaden Bleier ’23 was excited about the exposure to other student artists in Rhode Island and “to see the variety of not only different mediums and themes but also perspectives.” Artwork at the exhibit included collages, oil paintings and mixed media pieces on a variety of subjects.
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VALENTINE FROM PAGE 1
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
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ing game with the goal of discarding one’s hand, was a way of showcasing her illustration skill. “I was looking for a vehicle for my artwork and the Cowbell idea came to me because the cowbell is such a popular symbol,” Fracker said. “Everybody wants more cowbell.” Fracker designed and illustrated the cards, which feature cows in different settings. “I just started drawing these characters,” she said. “I thought that would make kind of a fun card.” She has been surprised by the game’s popularity. “People have been so supportive and really love playing it,” Fracker said. “So that’s a joy for me, I don’t know why I didn’t expect that.”
Chandler explained that resin is a two-part liquid base that forms a durable, hard plastic. She mixes the two liquids together and pours it into molds. After 24 hours, the resin cures and hardens, becoming extremely tough. Chandler’s resin pieces include coasters, pendants, small human body sculptures, ashtrays and paint palettes. Recently, Chandler started making Valentine’s Day themed products by adding rose and gold flakes to the resin. “They’re (some) of my personal favorites,” Chandler said. “It looks very elegant and classy.” Chandler taught herself to make art with resin during the pandemic. “I came across a resin video one day and decided to give it a shot,” she said.
has an online store and sells at markets in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. “I wish I did it sooner,” Chandler said. Roses N Dragon Designs is another resin business born during COVID-19. Melanie Steinbrecher’s business in resin jewelry highlights natural and mystical elements. A graphic designer and recent graduate of Roger Williams University, Steinbrecher collects flowers, mushrooms, tree bark and moss to put into her resin necklaces, earrings and rings. Steinbrecher taught herself the resin process during the pandemic. “I’ve always loved nature and picking up little pieces of it,” she said. “This gave me something to do with it.” She is transitioning to making the business her full-time job and comes to the mar-
dragon scales in her designs. “I actually make things with my pet bearded dragon scales,” she said. During the summer, Steinbrecher brought her bearded dragon, Alduin, to the market. “He’s like a little mascot for the business,” she said. “If it’s warm and sunny, he’ll just sit on my shoulder and bask in the sun.” COVID-19 has not phased vendors at the Providence Flea Market, as indicated by the “Spread Love not Covid” slogan on the market’s Valentine’s Day flyer. “I think we were one of the only markets that was running regularly during COVID,” Tocco said. Tocco closed the market because of the pandemic for five months, but reopened as soon as possible in the
stay open, Tocco said. “People told us how safe they felt here,” she added. Tocco emphasized that the market has stayed active despite obstacles created by the pandemic, and has seen a lot of business and foot traffic these past few weeks. “Last weekend was gangbusters,” she said. She added that she views the market as a central part of the community. “The Sunday market is the mainstay … (it’s) what people know us for,” Tocco said. While COVID-19 created some challenges for small vendors, it also gave others like Chandler the chance to pursue a new hobby, or even a new career. “It started off as a hobby in the quarantine, and I didn’t expect to own
Traci Chandler, owner and founder of Casted by T, is a chef-turned-resin artist who also launched a creative business during the pandemic.
After becoming injured, Chandler decided to leave the culinary field and pursue her resin business full time. Almost two years later, Chandler now
ket every other Sunday. True to the name of the business — a reference to Dungeons & Dragons — Steinbrecher incorporates bearded
Farm Fresh RI market hall. Fans and a high-end air filtration system, along with one-way traffic rules and capacity enforcement, have helped the market
a business at all,” Chandler said. “I would not believe anyone if they told me I’d be here two years ago.”
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | COMMENTARY
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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2022
Gaber ’23: Embracing vulnerability in the city of love One of the first ads I saw on the Paris metro when I arrived as an exchange student was for a French dating app called Fruitz. The app asks you to choose between four fruit icons to indicate what sort of relationship you are looking for. Although new to me, this concept seems to be quite popular in France, as other competitors, including Feels, use a similar model with emojis. Some of my fellow exchange students caught on to these apps and were swiping left and right before the jet lag wore off. I, however, have spent most of my time trying to acclimate myself to a culture with which I was already quite familiar, but evidently, not familiar enough. My friends and I were in the throes of the same fundamental experience: embracing vulnerability in the search for something new. Not unlike falling in love, living abroad means honestly accepting the flaws of yourself and others, and leaning into the unknown. One hindrance to embracing vulnerability in both living abroad and falling in love is the ever-so-seductive honeymoon phase. With our new homes and new partners, we refuse to perceive their flaws, instead seeing them in idealized, often unrealistic ways. The honeymoon phase highlights the difference between infatuation and love — , and that between a tourist and a resident. Expanding an experience beyond the honeymoon phase comes with time — so a short relationship or a brief trip abroad often won’t last long enough to evolve into anything beyond pure ecstasy. After all, it’s easy to say that you love Paris if you haven’t spent enough time here to be confronted with rampant anti-vax protests or the city’s ongoing housing and homelessness crises. Thus, moving
past the honeymoon phase can be difficult: It takes courage to recognize the imperfections in something that has become so important to you in such a short period of time. What often follows the honeymoon phase is frustration, which also pushes you toward vulnerability. Just like all those annoying tics, habits and idiosyncrasies that become apparent
ships, as everyone wants to appear easygoing. But to resolve and move past conflict with your partner, you have to be vulnerable enough to name the issue and confront it with them. A fear of imperfection is another hurdle to integrating into a new society and developing interpersonal intimacy. Parisians have a reputation for switching to English the second they
“Not unlike falling in love, living abroad means honestly accepting the flaws of yourself and others, and leaning into the unknown.”
in a partner after a while, a picturesque paradise abroad quickly becomes a hassle and a half. Anyone who has ever had to deal with French bureaucracy in the government or in university systems — some annoying idiosyncrasies to be sure — can identify with this feeling viscerally. Despite our desire as students abroad to be self-reliant and not look clueless, this bubbling frustration can make it hard to blend in. In order to fix a critical visa registration issue, you have to admit that you don’t know how to fix it on your own. The same is true early in relation-
hear your accent, but the French as a whole are quite different. Unlike in American culture, it’s not always considered rude in France to correct an interlocutor’s grammar while they are talking. As a result, French people tend to be tentative about exercising their skills in a foreign language for fear of making mistakes. And because of Americans’ reputation for being monolingual, if the French hear you speaking English, they’ll assume you don’t speak French. What a quick route to a missed connection. Of course, I understand their apprehension.
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Yasmeen Gaber ’23 can be reached at yasmeen_gaber@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and other op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
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Even as a French concentrator who has previously spent significant time in France, I wince at every interaction where I make an obvious grammatical mistake or where my accent slips. But our shared timidity shouldn’t stop any of us from trying. Courtship is similar: Choosing to remain guarded out of fear of making “mistakes” makes for shallower and less meaningful connections and hinders emotional intimacy. In her 2010 TED talk, Brené Brown named vulnerability as the key to connection and belonging. It can be scary to share your imperfections with others, especially as a student in a foreign country, but it can be the most rewarding step in the acclimation process. Only through opening up to your partner about your needs and expectations can you create new trust and intimacy in the relationship. And in a foreign country, by swallowing your pride and asking a local classmate for help understanding a difficult assignment, you might grow your fluency in the language and make a new French friend. As a local relative reminded me, the French tend to be shy, so you might need to be the one to put yourself out there first. Of course, having the courage to admit uncertainty or imperfection is often easier said than done. I can think of no better place than the city of love to do that hard and joyful work.
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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2022
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
7
ARTS & CULTURE
‘The Sex Lives of College Girls’ offers witty take on college life Despite some of its outdated storylines, SLCG has a lot to bring to the table BY LIVIA GIMENES STAFF WRITER Recently, audiences have argued that some of the most popular young adult TV shows like Euphoria should not be set in high school due to their mature nature. Instead, they contend that for a more realistic take on teen sexuality, more shows of the genre should take place in an older setting. “The Sex Lives of College Girls” on HBO Max not only caters to these audiences, but also provides an entertaining and compelling portrayal of the first year of college. Throughout the show, we watch as roommates Bela Malhotra (Amir Kaur), Kimberly Finkle (Pauline Chalamet), Leighton Murray (Renee Rapp) and Whitney Chase (Alyah Chanelle Scott) navigate their first year at the elite and fictional Essex College. We see them deal with everything from romantic to academic issues, all with the witty and charming humor that Mindy Kaling — the show’s creator and writer — is known for. The best thing that the show has going for it is its realistic depiction of the messiness of coming of age in a new and stressful environment. That’s definitely not a bad thing, considering how well the show is able to capture the essence of college. Everything from the clubs to the beginning of classes to the obnoxious parties feels very realistic and grounded. The extracurriculars seem like they could easily be located at the Stephen Robert ’82 Campus Center, and it feels like the four roommates could have easily been living in Keeney Quad. This shouldn’t come as a surprise considering that Kaling attended Dartmouth College and her co-creator and writer, Justin Noble, attended Yale University. Although not completely based on their own college experiences, both
COURTESY OF WARNER MEDIA
The show features roommates Bela Malhotra (Amir Kaur), Kimberly Finkle (Pauline Chalamet), Leighton Murray (Renee Rapp) and Whitney Chase (Alyah Chanelle Scott) as they navigate their first year at the elite and fictional Essex College. Noble and Kaling have said that many of the show’s plots and scenes are based on the fellow Ivy League schools. In fact, one of the show’s best moments — the naked party — was pulled straight from something that happened at Noble’s alma mater. This allows the show to maintain a perfect balance between being realistic and having an absurd, witty sense of
the show, it’s difficult not to feel some warmth in your heart when you see that they came from practically ignoring each other’s existence to trusting each other with some of their most vulnerable insecurities. Despite all of the compelling storylines and representation, some of the plot points are presented in a way that feels outdated and out of place.
main characteristic,” Leighton argues amidst an emotional fight with her secret girlfriend Alicia in episode nine of the series. While Leighton’s not wrong, this unfortunately happens to her own story arc in the show. She hooks up with girl after girl and spends all of her screen time either trying to hide her hookups or feeling guilty about them. That’s pretty much all of her storyline.
is that in a show that centers around sex in college, an LGBTQ+ storyline has so much potential. The show could have opted to take a more nuanced approach and have one of the characters explore bisexuality or have one of the main characters be a confident lesbian. Instead, they choose an option that feels reminiscent of the first one-dimensional LGBTQ+ characters on teen TV, and
humor that provides an excellent watch. It’s especially fun and satisfying for those that are in college and are experiencing the same formative events. Moreover, the show strongly displays the dynamics between its main characters. While it’s fun for each of the characters to navigate their journey through Essex College, one of the best parts of the show is watching the relationship between the four roommates develop. The girls have excellent chemistry and are able to stand out with their unique personalities. By the end of
Leighton’s character arc is a prime example of this. The privileged Manhattan 18-year-old is a stereotypical mean girl that could belong in any CW show. But the twist here is that despite her wealth and seemingly old-fashioned demeanor, Leighton is actually a closeted lesbian. While it may seem like an original take on the stereotypical portrayal of lesbians on TV, it is actually the opposite of that. “If you google a gay person the first thing that autopopulates after their name is gay. It becomes their new
We see her excel at a math class in the early episodes and act spitefully against her high school friends but we don’t get much beyond that. Meanwhile, we see all the other girls have additional problems with school and extracurriculars that are tied together with their sex lives. This is not only hypocritical, but also bad in terms of representation, especially if you consider that the other LGBTQ+ characters in the show fall almost too perfectly into stereotypes. The worst part about this portrayal
it isn’t as interesting and compelling as the other girls’ storylines. Still, this is not something that dooms the quality of the show. The show stands out as an entertaining watch despite some of its more evident flaws. With the series being renewed for a second season by HBO Max, it has the potential to fix Leighton’s storyline by expanding her character. Plus, it also has the room and time to explore sexuality in “The Sex Lives of College Girls” and provide audiences with more nuanced storylines.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2022
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD | NEWS
8
SPORTS
Women’s basketball falls after comeback attempt vs. Cornell Bears give up secondchance opportunities as Mauricio scores careerhigh 25 points BY ADAM REMELS SENIOR STAFF WRITER The women’s basketball team (6-16, 1-9 Ivy) fell to Cornell (8-12, 3-6) by a score of 68-61 in Saturday afternoon’s game at the Pizzitola Sports Center. The Bears made a second-half run to stay in the game but could not complete the comeback. Although Brown lost its first eight games of conference play, it came into the match against Cornell riding high off its first Ivy League win of the season against Dartmouth (2-20, 1-9) last Tuesday. Cornell took an early 6-0 lead as the Bears missed their first four shots of the game. After a layup by guard Kyla Jones ’24, back-to-back baskets by the Big Red gave Cornell an eight-point advantage.
“Something we talked about in the locker room was needing to come out and play really strong from the beginning,” said guard Isabella Mauricio ’25. Coming out of a time-out, Mauricio made a three-point shot, but Brown could not convert after forcing a turnover and a missed shot. Cornell grabbed an offensive rebound leading to a three-pointer right as the shot clock expired. Cornell’s rebounding advantage, especially on the offensive end, hurt the Bears throughout the game — Cornell out-rebounded Brown 4527 overall and 19-5 on the offensive boards. “The biggest thing that really held us back at the end was rebounding,” said Head Coach Monique LeBlanc. “That’s been our Achilles’ heel all year.” Guard Maddie Mullin ’23 responded to Cornell’s buzzer beater with her own three-point shot. After a layup from Cornell, Mullin came back with another three to cut Brown’s deficit to four, but the Big Red answered with a three-pointer. Neither team could score in the quarter’s final two minutes,
leaving Cornell with an 18-11 lead at the end of the first period. The Bears and the Big Red traded two-point baskets to start the second quarter. After Mullin hit another threepoint shot, Brown failed to score for three minutes. Mullin made yet another three-pointer, but the Bears did not score for the remaining five and a half minutes in the half. Cornell finished the quarter on a 9-0 run to take a 31-19 halftime lead. Although the Bears turned it over below their average rate in the first half, the Big Red converted Brown’s eight turnovers into 15 points. LeBlanc said the Bears “had a little bit of a tough time getting (their) rhythm back” after Cornell switched from zone to manto-man defense in the second quarter. Mullin’s three-point shooting proved the only consistent source of offense in the first half, with 12 of Brown’s 19 first-half points coming from her deep shooting. Mullin finished the game as the Bears’ second-highest scorer after putting up 15 points and converting 50% of her shots from beyond the arc.
“My teammates did a great job of finding me,” Mullin said. “I knew that the other team was going to play a lot of zone, so I knew to come out ready and take my time with my shot.” Cornell made a three-pointer following an offensive rebound at the beginning of the third quarter to take a 15-point lead. Jones drove inside for a layup, but the Big Red made good passes to respond with their own two-point shot. Guard Grace Kirk ’24 drew a foul to shoot Brown’s first free throws of the game. After the Bears’ defense forced a shot clock violation, forward Mya Murray ’24 drew another foul, splitting the pair of free throws. Cornell went on a brief 3-0 run, but Mauricio kicked off the Brown comeback when she sank a contested three-pointer. On the next trip down the floor, Mauricio dropped her defender and nailed a midrange jumper. Following a timeout, Mauricio made a quick three-point shot, and forward Ashley Ducharme ’22 hit two free throws to bring the Bears within single digits. Mauricio stole the ball on the defensive
COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS
The only consistent source of offense in the first half was due to three-point shooting by guard Maddie Mullin ’23. Isabella Mauricio ’25 led the team with 25 points over the entire game, a career high.
end and converted a fast break layup. After a Cornell turnover, she kept up her momentum with another three-pointer to bring Brown within three points of the Big Red. After Cornell answered with a three-pointer and a layup, Mauricio knocked down her fourth three-pointer of the quarter. The Bears were down 46-41 at the end of the third quarter, with Mauricio scoring 16 of the team’s 22 points and bringing Brown back into the game. Mauricio led the team with 25 points in the game, her career high. Brown went seven of 13 from the field and four of five from deep, resulting in an efficient third quarter. “I just hate losing,” Mauricio said. “People made some great passes and great plays, and (shots) just went in.” Early in the fourth, the Big Red made a long two-point shot, but Mullin hit her fifth three-pointer of the game to cut the Bears’ deficit to four. Four straight points by Jones tied the game at 48 with under seven minutes left. Jones made a free throw and layup to cap off her seventh unanswered point, but subsequent Brown turnovers and fouls allowed Cornell to go on a 6-0 run. Jones was able to cut the run with a successful free throw, but a Cornell three-pointer gave the Big Red a five point lead. “It’s great to see our team patiently chip away at a lead, as opposed to crumbling after halftime,” LeBlanc said. “But it’s hard to constantly play so hard from behind like we did.” Brown and Cornell went back and forth for a few possessions, but the Bears could not take advantage of good looks to reclaim a lead. The Big Red missed two free throws during a trip to the line, but again grabbed the offensive rebound to score two points and take a six-point lead with just over a minute left. Both teams traded free throw attempts, but Brown was down seven points with 30 seconds remaining. A missed shot forced the Bears to foul again, and Cornell sank both free throws to hold off a Brown comeback as the Bears lost 68-61. “The team (has) really bought into the idea of focusing on our improvement and our growth,” LeBlanc said. “I think that everybody’s on the same page with wanting to just play great basketball down the stretch.” With less than two weeks left in the season, Brown will continue conference play with a game at Princeton (17-4, 9-0) Feb. 18.