Monday, November 21st, 2022

W. soccer exits NCAA Tournament

Students learn Indigenous languages in group study

interested students. News of the project spread through student group Natives at Brown, Kushi said, and the project quickly grew to include 20 students for the fall 2021 semester.

BY PETER SWOPE SPORTS EDITOR

The women’s soccer team (13-2-3, 5-01 Ivy League) fell in penalty kicks to the University of California, Irvine (11-6-7, 3-2-5 Big West) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Friday. The Bears and the Anteaters battled to a 1-1 tie in regulation and overtime, but UC Irvine outscored Brown 4-2 in penalty kicks to advance in the tour nament.

Though Bruno’s season ended with the tournament loss, the Bears contin ued a historic stretch. The team has not lost a regular season game against an Ivy League opponent since October 2018 and since then has secured a trio of consecutive Ivy League Cham pionships, three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and a pair of first-round tournament victories.

Despite having a high-powered offense all season long — Brown av eraged three goals a game entering the

tournament — the Bears were barely able to break through a firm Anteaters defense. Over the course of 90 minutes of regulation play and 20 minutes of overtime, Bruno’s offense only man aged a single score. Brown also strug gled to score in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Rutgers University (13-5-2, 5-3-2 Big Ten), but a late goal by Ava Seelenfreund ’23.5 was enough to lift the Bears over the Scarlet Knights.

Despite only scoring a single goal in their second-round matchup, the Bears held a clear advantage in a num

Swifties across campus scramble for tour tickets

years ago now, (and) will be five years next year when she’s on tour,” said Michael Yeh ’23, co-president of Lov ing Him Was Brown, the University’s Taylor Swift fan club. “I didn’t go to the Reputation Stadium Tour, so I’ve been waiting, you could say, for years.”

ber of offensive categories against UC Irvine. Bruno outshot the Anteaters 24 to nine, and had an advantage in shots on goal and corner kicks. But UC Irvine’s defense managed to hold firm behind goalkeeper Glo Hinojosa, who recorded six saves.

The contest was deadlocked headed into halftime until, with under one minute remaining until the break, the Anteaters defense cleared the ball out and found Alyssa Moore streaking down the field. Moore beat the Bears

BY SAM LEVINE SENIOR STAFF WRITER

This semester, six students are partic ipating in a group independent study project to learn the Indigenous languag es of their communities. Led by Nitana Hicks Greendeer ’03, visiting assistant professor of American Studies, the students have spent the semester on individual journeys to learn several In digenous languages that are not offered as courses at Brown, such as Western Abenaki, Navajo and Yucatec Maya.

The origins of this semester’s GISP can be traced back to last fall, when three Native students expressed interest in launching an independent study to learn the Hawaiian, Western Abenaki and Yu catec Maya languages. They brought the idea to Makana Kushi GS, a PhD student in American Studies, who agreed to over see the project and teach Hawaiian to

Kushi agreed to oversee the project because she believed it was “worth while” to give students the opportunity to receive credit for the time and effort they put into studying Indigenous lan guages. Kushi herself studied Hawaiian in college, and she recalled it being “a really big part of (her) undergraduate experience.”

The project was initially offered as a departmental independent study project within the Native and Indigenous Studies Initiative, Kushi said. Due to logistical constraints, the project transitioned to a GISP after one semester as a DISP and has run as such for two semesters, Kushi noted.

The six students, all of whom iden tify as Indigenous, meet twice a week to discuss the language learning process and its broader history, including the “difficulties and baggage” that come with “learning a language that didn't

UNIVERSITY NEWS

SEE launches site with financial aid info

BY MAX ROBINSON CONTRIBUTING WRITER

When presale tickets for Taylor Swift’s 2023 Eras Tour went live on Ticket master last Tuesday, fans across the University flocked online to buy tick ets at their desired venue. But many were left disappointed when, due to technical difficulties and a lack of in ventory, presale tickets were difficult to obtain — and Ticketmaster canceled its Nov. 18 general sale altogether.

The Nov. 1 announcement of the Eras Tour came just 11 days after the release of Swift’s latest album “Mid nights” and was met with consider able anticipation. When Midnights released on Oct. 21, it became the album most streamed in a single day on Spotify.

“The last time she toured was four

Ticketmaster offered access to the tour’s ticket presale in different waves, which included a lottery that granted codes for presale to indi viduals registered on the platform as verified fans of Taylor Swift. The platform’s fan verification seeks to ensure individuals “who intend to go to the show” can purchase tickets, not automated “ticket bots,” according to Ticketmaster’s website.

“I, of course, signed up for ver ified fan when they came out with the lottery,” said Caroline O’Daly ’23, co-president of Loving Him was Brown. “I had all my immediate family members, my grandma, my aunt and my friends who aren’t really Taylor Swift fans sign up for codes in the lot tery. The day when the lottery codes were coming out, I did not get a code,

BY ANISHA KUMAR CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Earlier this month, Students for Edu cational Equity, an on-campus student organization which aims to promote educational equity in Providence, un veiled their “Financial Aid Resource” website, which is aims to help pro spective Brown applicants navigate the financial aid application process.

“Brown’s financial aid website, although it’s helpful in a lot of ways, isn’t really dedicated to helping stu dents who are filing for financial aid on their own, without outside help,” said Niyanta Nepal ’25, co-leader of the Admissions and Access Committee, which led the website’s creation. “We thought it would be valuable to have a resource created by students, catering to that student population.”

The Financial Aid Resource website provides an overview of the various components of a financial aid appli

cation, especially the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and the Col lege Scholarship Service profile. The site outlines the differences between the FAFSA form and the CSS profile, the various forms and documents required, which assets to document, important dates and deadlines and any additional expenses. In addition, the site offers an overview of the appeals process including tips on how to po tentially increase financial aid awards.

Sydney Stovall ’25 said that she hopes increased awareness of the Fi nancial Aid Resource site will also mo tivate the University to reevaluate the resources they provide to prospective

financial aid applicants.

“I hope Brown as an institution will recognize that students are actively trying to hold them accountable and make sure that the work they’re doing is more equitable and more accessi ble,” Stovall said.

Dean of Admission Logan Powell said that he is “impressed by the ini tiative taken by SEE” and appreciates “their interest in making the financial aid application process more relatable to prospective students and families.”

“We must also be sure that the in formation they convey is accurate and

Loss to University of California, Irvine in penalty kicks ends Bears’ season

UNIVERSITY NEWS Project began in fall 2021, will be offered as full course next semester

COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS

The game between women's soccer and the University of California, Irvine was tied after overtime, but the Bears lost on penalties.

Students wait hours, struggle amid high demand for Taylor Swift’s tour

Webpage looks to help demistify financial aid processes, forms for prospective students

ASHLEY CHOI / HERALD

‘Falling for Christmas’ flops as just another mediocre holiday rom-com

Film starring Lindsay Lohan, Chord

Overstreet is cliche but heartwarming

BY LIVIA GIMENES STAFF WRITER

As November withers away, Netflix is already celebrating the Christmas season with the release of “Falling For Christmas,” a film starring Lindsay Lohan and former “Glee” star Chord Overstreet. A lackluster addition to the canon of Christmas movies, “Falling for Christmas” leans heavily on cliches, ultimately failing to distinguish itself.

Lohan plays Sierra Belmont, a re cently-engaged and spoiled heiress to a luxury ski hotel. When Sierra gets into a skiing accident and experienc es amnesia in the days leading up to Christmas, she finds herself in the care of the handsome rival ski lodge owner Jack Russell, played by Overstreet.

The movie, unsurprsingly, is the textbook definition of a Christmas rom-com. It is ripe with tropes: the spoiled rich girl who lost hope in love; amnesia as part of the plotline; a little girl who loves Christmas; and even

an elderly Santa figure sprinkled in.

Lacking an innovative plot, it’s difficult for a viewer to maintain interest. The film’s excessive dependence on cliche is most evident early on when we learn more about Sierra, her fiance and her luxury hotel life.

Lohan, in her acting comeback, plays a convincing stuck up heiress. Still, that does not make up for the fact that all of the supporting characters are unbearable. While Sierra’s dad is not as irritating, her fiance — Tad Fair child (George Young) — and the other hotel workers are failed attempts at comic relief.

Tad is especially infuriating to watch — he has more screen time than the other supporting charac ters yet does not add anything to the movie. As an audience member, one cannot understand why Sierra wants to be with Tad and what the two even have in common besides their exces sive wealth. Although he is supposed to stand in as a caricature of social media culture and self-obsession, the commentary linked to his character is poorly developed.

The saving grace of the movie is Chord Overstreet’s character and his chemistry with Lindsay Lohan. Jack is a charming love interest who, at his

core, is a good guy audiences can re late to and swoon over. Sure, he lacks dimension and adds nothing new to the rom-com genre, but he makes the mov ie more endearing. His relationship with his daughter and commitment to his family-owned lodge is authentic and sweet. Plus, Overstreet does an excellent job delivering a charismatic performance as a classic romantic lead.

Overstreet’s

and his chemistry

Lohan are not enough to save the

The film does noth ing to set itself apart from others in the rom-com holiday genre — it is essentially just a higher-profile version of the hundreds of Hallmark movies that came before.

That is not to say that the movie is unwatchable. If you are in desperate

need of a new film to get you excited for the

season, “Falling for You” is definitely a viable option — that is, if you enjoy a simple plot set in front of a snowy background. Still, if you are looking for anything more original and with its own charm, you’re almost guaranteed to be better off with holiday classics such as “Love Actually” or “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

defense and fired a shot past goalkeeper Bella Schopp ’26 to give UC Irvine a 1-0 advantage at the half.

But Brown responded in the sec ond half when forward Brittany Ra phino ’23 scored on a penalty kick to draw the game even at one in the 66th minute. Neither team was able to find the back of the net for the re mainder of the 90 minutes or in over time, bringing the contest to decisive penalty kicks.

"Our motto all season has been about 'handle hard better,' " said Head Coach Kia McNeill in a statement to Brown Athletics. "I think after going down one-nothing in the latter half of the first half, we had to refocus and

the game away in the end there, but credit to UCI's goalkeeper,” she added. “I thought she played really well and really kept them in the game.”

Bruno made a change in goal for the penalty kick period, replacing Schopp with Clare Gagne ’24. While shots by Seelenfreund and Raphino — the Bears’ top two scorers this season — were saved by Hinojosa, the Ant eaters managed to get their first two shots past Gagne. Forward Courtney Cummings ’26 and forward/midfielder Kira Maguire ’24 made Brown’s next two penalty kicks to keep Bruno’s sea

group," McNeill told Brown Athletics. "They've been extremely successful as a senior class. They haven't lost a conference game in their four years here, which is an incredible feat. Their leadership, their determination, their commitment to this program has been tremendous. They're the reason we're here.”

"Nothing can take away from the season that we had this year,” McNeill said. “I thought the team had a tre mendous season from start to finish. Even tonight, they left everything on the field and I couldn't be more proud

the best decision I could have made for my athletic and academic career.”

“This team is truly special and no words can completely encapsulate what this team means to me and how grateful I am for each player and coach at this program,” she added.

Forward/midfielder Sheyenne Allen ’23 wrote in a message to The Herald that this year’s team was “by far my favorite team out of my whole career. From top to bottom, … the en tire team was committed and bought in to the goals we discussed during preseason.”

Though Duran will not be returning to the team next year, she has high en’s soccer. “I am so excited for the team next year. I think there is a great group coming back and the culture has never been better,” she wrote. “I can’t wait to see them go for a #4peat next year,” referring to the team’s quest for a fourth consecutive Ivy League Championship.

Allen, who noted she will be return ing next fall, is similarly excited about the team’s future. “This team should be so proud of the work we put in; the future is bright,” she wrote. “The team is only going to get stronger in the coming years and I’m excited to be coming back next fall to make more history with this group.”

But

charm

with

movie.

holiday

COURTESY OF NETFLIX MEDIA / TUDUM Characters such as Tad Fairchild (George Young), the fiance of Sierra Belmont (Lindsay Lohan), fall short of providing their intended comic relief, instead coming off as Christmas movie cliches.

SOCCER

Four alums who founded companies share their Brown journeys

BY GRACE HOLLEB SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The Open Curriculum enables students to personalize their degrees and begin pursuing their career interests. For some, following their interests has led to the development of companies that solve complex consumer issues.

From women’s maternity health sup plement brand Premama to Perkies, a sticky bra with reusable adhesives, The Herald spoke to Brown alum founders of four companies about finding inspiration and support at the University.

Luna Pharmaceuticals Inc., Premama Wellness

Premama Wellness, a subsidiary of Luna Pharmaceuticals Inc., currently sells supplements for “each stage of motherhood,” according to their website.

Dan Aziz ’11, who was a Business, Entrepreneurship and Organization con centrator, started his entrepreneurial journey shortly after coming to Brown.

During a class project with three other students for ENGN 0090 "Man agement of Industrial and Nonprofit Organizations," taught by Executive Di rector of the Jonathan M. Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship and Professor of the Practice on the entrepreneurship faculty Danny Warshay ’87, Aziz came up with the idea for Premama.

During a trip to Whole Foods, Aziz came across a pregnant woman who mentioned there was no alternative to the large, chalky “horse” prenatal pills, as she called them. Aziz wondered why the prenatal supplements were “only being sold in pill format,” when he knew that other supplements were sold in different formats.

During a winter break, Aziz’s team interviewed 300 pregnant women, 96% of whom said they took prenatal pills but wished there was an alternative option.

From there, Aziz and his partners began developing a product to solve this problem for expectant mothers, eventu ally clinching a win at the Rhode Island Business Plan Competition during his senior year.

After graduation, Aziz began pur suing Premama full time, which has since raised over eight figures in capi

tal. Premama products are sold at major retailers such as CVS, Walgreens and Target.

Aziz believes that Premama’s focus on prenatal care has allowed the compa ny to build trust with expecting mothers, opening up avenues to diversify their product line.

“If we can build their trust at this core time when they're changing (and) their shopping habits are starting to be much more attuned to what's going into their body … then we can expand,” to overall women’s health beyond prenatal care, Aziz said.

ShapeUp

ShapeUp, a software platform that provides competition and wellness ini tiatives in a structured and accountable way, was started in 2006 by Rajiv Kumar ’05 MD’11 and Brad Weinberg ’03 MD’11, Kumar wrote in an email to The Herald.

As students at the Warren Alpert Medical School, Kumar and Weinberg “realized that so many of the patients (they) were seeing in the clinic were struggling with obesity, diabetes and heart disease, yet there were so few re sources available to help them change their lifestyle,” Kumar wrote.

Inspired by Brown alum-founded startups like Nantucket Nectars, Andera, Turner Broadcasting and The Motley Fool, Kumar and Weinberg decided to create ShapeUp with the encouragement of Barrett Hazeltine, professor emer itus of engineering, and the late Josef

Mittlemann, adjunct professor at the University.

ShapeUp was designed to provide “social support, accountability and a structured, digital program to help (users) eat healthily, exercise more and manage their weight,” Kumar wrote.

ShapeUp was acquired by Richard Branson’s Virgin Pulse in 2016. Since the acquisition, Virgin Pulse has grown rapidly, reaching $300 million in reve nue and employing over 1,500 people, Kumar wrote.

After gaining significant support from the Brown community, Kumar co-founded Brown Angel Group with Mathew Farkash ’03 in 2019 and has “been focused on supporting and fi nancing the next generation of Brown alumni-founded startups,” Kumar wrote.

There are nearly 1,000 alums around the world who provide $300,000 in fund ing on average, according to the BAG website. They have invested over $8 million in 26 different Brown start-ups, including Premama.

Intus Care

Intus Care, a health care analytics platform, was created by Robbie Felton ’21.5, Evan Jackson ’21.5, Samuel Prado ’22 and Alexander Rothenberg ’22 in 2019, The Herald previously reported. The company uses data analytics to pre dict elderly patients who are at high risk for hospitalization or readmission in order to improve the geriatric care process, according to their website.

As of Nov. 2, Intus Care raised $14.1 million in Series A financing led by Deer field Management. They will use the money to build out Intus Care’s infra structure, including hiring software and data engineers and business profession als and launching an internship program, founders said.

According to Jackson, Intus Care owes much of its success to the support and flexibility they received at Brown.

“The Brown Venture Prize, … classes, Professor Hazeltine, Professor Chaltas and the flexibility of the curriculum are what allowed us to do this,” Jackson said.

The founders decided to pursue growing the business full time. Since graduating, they have been able to de vote a larger portion of their time to understanding the nuances of geriatric care.

In the next several years, Jackson wants to serve high-risk patients nation wide, providing care to lower-income seniors. On top of helping patients, Intus Care also aims to expand their services for providers.

“It's hard enough to be a provider with staffing issues. It's really a tough job, and we want to be able to help providers everywhere to do their job as effectively and efficiently as possible,” Jackson said.

Perkies

Perkies, the only sticky bra on the market with replaceable adhesives, was created by Rose Mangiarotti ’18 in the spring of 2017.

up to date with Brown policies while also not duplicating the already robust information that can be found on our website,” he added. “To that end, we will continue to try to work together on our shared values of accessibility and affordability."

The site also includes dedicated pages of information and advice for international students, Deferred Ac tion for Childhood Arrivals recipi ents or undocumented students and students with special family circum stances. The circumstances covered on the website include students with separated parents, students whose families financially support individ uals outside of the household, eman cipated students and students with noncitizen parents.

“It was a lot of looking for the

holes in Brown’s financial aid web site and cross-referencing that with all the little details and technicalities on the FAFSA and CSS websites,” said Allison Stein ’25, who contributed to the website.

The bottom of every page on the website also features a video recorded by a committee member reiterating the contents of the page.

“We want to ensure that we are being as accessible as possible, down to the varying ways people receive and digest information,” Stovall said, noting that the videos, rather than pages of text, may appeal to auditory learners.

Though the Financial Aid Resource caters to the University’s financial aid application, the committee hopes it will be more widely applicable in demystifying the process for college in general.

“The Ivy League name is known to come with a certain caliber and a certain price tag,” said Nick Lee ’26, who worked on the website. “Our goal is creating a process that's very acces sible and very visible to everyone.”

Members of the committee drew on their own experiences when re searching and creating content for the site. Léo Corzo-Clark ’25, co-leader of the Admissions and Access Commit tee, said that appealing his financial aid decision from the University mo tivated his work on that section of the website.

“You can appeal for financial aid if you don't get enough, and that was the difference, in my case, between being able to come to Brown or not,” Cor zo-Clark said. “A lot of people don’t know they can do that.”

The website offers tips and tricks also drawn from students’ personal

experiences, including how to avoid getting scammed by false FAFSA web sites, advice for international students to apply early to avoid logistical diffi culties and how to transfer assets to help make a CSS profile more com pelling.

“We wanted this resource to read like a student is writing it,” Nepal said. “We wanted to share what we realized upon going through the pro cess ourselves.”

Nepal recalled learning how to uti lize the “additional comments” sec tions of financial aid applications to describe how her family was support ing her grandparents and how that complicated her financial situation.

“This is information that we wish we had when we were going through the process,” Nepal said. “The site is a living document, and we’re going to edit it based on what students want

SIMONE STRAUS / HERALD

Mangiarotti, a lacrosse student-ath lete, started working on her business in Warshay’s ENGN 1010: “The Entrepre neurial Process” in her senior spring, she said. Prompted to come up with an idea to solve a customer pain point, Mangia rotti developed Perkies to remedy her own negative experiences with stick-on adhesive bras, she said. Perkies would offer sticky bras with removable and replaceable adhesives, she said.

Shortly after coming up with the idea, others suggested Mangiarotti enter pitch competitions, including the Brown Venture Prize, Mangiarotti said.

After graduating in 2018, Mangiorot ti was accepted into Breakthrough-Lab, Brown’s eight-week summer intensive accelerating program for Brown and RISD student ventures that allowed her to further develop and expand the product line.

While Perkies has always been about making women feel confident, the com pany now centers a larger part of their mission around breast cancer, as they do nate 5% of proceeds to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Mangiarotti said.

Today, Perkies products can be found on Amazon and Amazon UK, and the company has been written about in Forbes and Brides, Mangiarotti said.

Regarding the future, Mangiarotti looks up to Sarah Blakely, the founder of Spanx, who continued to grow her company for 20 years before selling.

“Growing organically is my goal,” Mangiarotti said.

to see.”

The committee welcomes feed back from visitors to the site through a Google Form. They plan to spread and advertise the site on social media platforms like Instagram and Side chat. SEE also intends to share the tool with the group’s connections in Providence high schools and to mem bers’ personal networks, including admissions officers they may have been in contact with during their own college application processes.

The website is part of SEE’s goal of ensuring that students from un derprivileged backgrounds “have the same level of awareness” as students from “prestigious high schools,” said Ava Cloonan ’25, a contributor to the website. “We want applicants to know that people come into schools like Brown and other Ivy Leagues from a variety of high school backgrounds.”

University classes, opportunities helped shape companies in health care, fashion

Welcoming The Herald’s 133rd Editorial Board

The Herald is proud to announce the mem bers of our 133rd Editorial Board, which will oversee the publication through its 132nd year. Hailing from Washington, D.C., Will Kub zansky ’24 will lead The Herald in the coming year as editor-in-chief and president. Kub zansky is an international and public affairs concentrator who currently oversees staff and student labor, admissions and financial aid as a University News editor.

In his coverage as a writer, Kubzansky has diligently balanced a wide range of issues, including hard-hitting stories examining the University’s admission process and engaging features on topics such as student-athlete electric scooter culture. Kubzansky has spent his time at The Herald delving into the in tricacies of student life on College Hill, from the moment Brunonians set foot on campus to their final steps through the Van Wickle Gates.

Chicago native Katy Pickens ’24 will be The Herald’s next vice president and man aging editor of the newsroom, transitioning from her roles as Metro and Bruno Brief edi tor. Pickens is concentrating in urban studies and environmental studies and oversees The Herald’s coverage of housing, activism and local neighborhoods — specifically College Hill, Fox Point and the Jewelry District.

Pickens steps into her new role with an extensive background in multimedia. She has led two impressive Bruno Brief sea sons that have looked into gentrification on College Hill and sexual politics on campus. From her first story on how community or ganizations celebrated Black History Month during the pandemic to her most recent cov erage of a proposed hotel on Angell Street, Pickens has kept her finger on the pulse of Providence and brought The Herald coverage that is equal parts important and engaging.

Alex Nadirashvili ’24, an English and American studies concentrator from Haw thorne, N.J., will join them as managing edi tor of multimedia and social media. As a Uni versity News editor, Nadirashvili has led The Herald in its coverage of faculty, higher edu

cation, undergraduate student life and inter national student experiences.

With stories looking into how global is sues have affected members of the Brown community and beyond, Nadirashvili has brought The Herald’s coverage to places as far as Iran, Ukraine and Myanmar, ensuring that our paper highlights experiences that reach beyond College Hill. Nadirashvili, who has led our newsroom’s TikTok account for the past year, will bring important creativity in a mo ment when The Herald looks to expand its social media presence. (Not to mention, he can recite the pilot episode of “Gilmore Girls” by heart.)

After spending nearly two years as an integral member of The Herald’s Opinions section, Augustus Bayard ’24 will begin a new role as senior editor of opinions this spring. A resident of Anna Maria, Fla., Bayard is cur rently concentrating in political science and economics.

Between his experience writing opinions pieces on American politics and serving as head opinions editor, Bayard brings The Her ald a unique and valuable perspective that will serve his editorial board well. Sporting collared shirts and dress shoes even during the late hours of production, Bayard is known for dressing to impress — and, since starting

Lazar has been integral to The Herald’s coverage of the Graduate School, covering important topics ranging from the experi ences of graduate student parents to grad student workers filing unfair labor practice charges against the University. Lazar’s im pressive technical background made him an excellent fit to help lead our polls this year, deftly analyzing data and producing compel ling data visualizations for our spring and fall surveys. With diverse experiences ranging from the sciences to multimedia design, La zar is a multifaceted editor who will helm The Herald’s data journalism and digital innova tions next year.

Kaitlyn Torres ’24, an archaeology concen trator from Carmel, N.Y., will take on the role of senior editor of community and post- mag azine at The Herald in the coming year. Tor res currently leads The Herald’s coverage in the diversity beat and serves as a University News editor.

Throughout her time as an editor and writer, Torres has been instrumental in ex panding The Herald’s coverage to ensure underrepresented communities do not go overlooked. Between documenting the re turn of the Alpha Kappa Alpha, Incorporat ed sorority on campus to profiling storied Professor of Hispanic Studies Julio Ortega, Torres’s work has highlighted the variety of experiences and perspectives that make up the Brown community. With stories on campus TikTok stars and the Black Student Union’s annual Black Excellence Showcase, Torres has also made sure to enliven The Herald’s pages with articles that document joy on campus and resonate with our student readers.

Rounding out The Herald’s 133rd Editorial Board, history concentrator Peter Swope ’24 will soon step into the role of senior editor of digital engagement. Swope hails from Morris Plains, N.J., and has tirelessly led The Herald’s coverage of athletics as a Sports editor.

In addition to his frequent coverage of varsity athletics games, Swope has expand ed the Sports section with adept features on how athletics shape our campus culture. From his inaugural story on Brown’s first Black student athletes to more recent stories on student olympian Vincent Zhou ’26 and the Super Bowl victory of Michael Hoecht ’20, Swope has covered the intricacies of athletics on and off College Hill. Swope worked with Lazar to run The Herald’s polls this year, diligently coordinating everything from polling shifts to the final website. With recent stories expanding into University News and Arts & Culture, Swope continues to go above and beyond as a writer and edi tor at The Herald.

To the staff members who will soon lead The Herald through another year: We have full confidence in you and are so excited to see everything that you will accomplish.

Editors’ notes are written by The Herald’s 132nd Editorial Board: Ben Glickman ’23, Benjamin Pollard ’23, Caelyn Pender ’23, Katie Chen ’23, Gaya Gupta ’23 and Jack Walker ’23 MA’23.

Submissions: The Brown Daily Herald publishes submissions in the form of op-eds and letters to the editor. Op-eds are typically between 750 and 1000 words, though we will consider submissions between 500 and 1200 words. Letters to the editor should be around 250 words. While letters to the editor respond to an article or column that has appeared in The Herald, op-eds usually prompt new discussions on campus or frame new arguments about current discourse.

All submissions to The Herald cannot have been previously published elsewhere (in print or online — including personal blogs and social media), and they must be exclusive to The Herald.

Submissions must include no more than two individual authors. If there are more than two original authors, The Herald can acknowledge the authors in a statement at the end of the letter or oped, but the byline can only include up to two names. The Herald will not publish submissions authored by groups. The Herald does not publish anonymous submissions. If you feel your circumstances prevent you from submitting an op-ed or letter with your name, please email herald@ browndailyherald.com to explain your situation.

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Please send in submissions at least 24 hours in advance

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at The Herald, impress he certainly has. Studying computational biology and in ternational and public affairs, Caleb Lazar ’24 of Newton, Mass., will serve as a senior editor of Data Desk for The Herald. Lazar currently oversees the University Hall and Graduate La bor Organization beats as a University News editor.

CAELYN PENDER / HERALD

unfortunately.”

Yeh did receive a presale code. He and O’Daly planned to purchase tick ets together for Swift’s May 20 show in Foxborough, Mass., despite the fact that Yeh had a midterm thirty minutes after the presale went live. “I ended up staying to pick the tickets, ended up leaving a little late, and was a minute late to the midterm,” he said.

Others were less fortunate in the ticket selection process. “I was sitting in the queue for like five hours,” said Caroline Hwang ’25, who wanted to purchase tickets to the May 21 Foxbor ough, Mass. show. “I finally got through and there were only nosebleeds left and they were like $150, … so I ended up not getting any tickets on my own account.” Hwang eventually obtained tickets through friends with more pre sale success.

“Walking around campus, (seeing) people with their laptops out, I knew they were all trying to get Taylor Swift tickets,” O’Daly said. “My heart went

out to them.”

Many Taylor Swift fans expressed dissatisfaction with Ticketmaster’s pre sale organization. On Wednesday, Loving Him Was Brown shared an Instagram story asking those who went through the presale process what issues they encoun tered on the platform. Several respon dents reported that they were kicked off the ticket selection page at checkout. One reported that they purchased 100-level tickets for just $300 before discovering that they were listed as nosebleed seats. Another reported being “in and out of the queue for seven hours.”

“This is just so disappointing on Ticketmaster, on a business level,” Yeh said at a Thursday Loving Him Was Brown meeting.

O’Daly said there were aspects of the process that could have likely been handled better. “Why couldn’t people have put in the verified fan code before they entered the wait room and the queue?,” she added. “A lot of people just joined, including bots who didn't have verified fan codes.”

On Nov. 19, Ticketmaster issued a

public apology to Swift and her fans for the presale difficulties. In its explana tion of the difficulties, Ticketmaster noted that “the demand for tickets to Taylor’s tour broke records,” with “un precedented traffic on (the) site result ing in 3.5 billion total system requests — (four times its) previous peak.”

“Overall, we estimate about 15% of interactions across the site experi enced issues, and that’s 15% too many,” Ticketmaster’s explanation continued. “While it’s impossible for everyone to get tickets to these shows, we know we can do more to improve the experience and that’s what we’re focused on.”

Many campus Taylor Swift fans did not blame the popstar specifically for the difficulties in her tour’s presale.

“She’s kind of between a rock and a hard place,” O’Daly said. “Ticketmaster has a deal with most of the stadiums, these massive stadiums that she has to play. If she played smaller venues, nobody would get to see her either, so she has to use Ticketmaster for a lot of these venues.”

In a statement she shared in an In

stagram story, Swift said that she is “trying to figure out how this situation can be improved moving forward.” She added that she and her team asked Tick etmaster several times if they could handle the ticket demand and were “assured that they could.”

“I don’t know Taylor personally and … I don’t know what goes on behind closed doors,” O’Daly said. “I trust Tay lor, I trust that she always wants to do what’s best for the fans,” she added.

work better with the resources I had,” Crawford said.

For many fans, Swift has played a role in their life for a long time, beyond music alone. “She’s allowed me to bond with other people that love her music,” Yeh said.

“Taylor’s always been someone I’ve listened to, always been a part of my life,” he added. “I have just really ap preciated seeing Taylor grow up as a person and an artist. Seeing her mature … I think in a lot of ways we’ve gotten the chance to grow up with her.”

just disappear on its own (but) was ac tually actively suppressed,” Kushi said.

One of the main challenges students face has been access to language learn ing resources, Hicks Greendeer said. In many cases, resources such as textbooks or native speakers are either not avail able or are concentrated in a specific geographical region far from Rhode Island, she added.

This was the case for Roslyn Coriz ’22.5, a Herald photographer, who is a member of the Kawaika’a people and has been studying the Keres language since the project’s inception last fall. Keres is not a written language, and therefore Coriz struggled to find written resources that she could use for study ing, prompting her to develop her own.

At first, Coriz hesitated to record Keres in the Latin script used by English and other colonizing languages. But her grandparents, who are native Keres speakers, encouraged her to “use what is available” to her when studying the language, so she began writing it down.

Having her grandparents as mentors has been a “really, really great resource in learning the language,” Coriz said. By speaking with her grandparents, Coriz has not only learned the Keres language,

but also the history and stories of her community.

Chandlee Crawford ’24, a member of the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, has studied the Western Abenaki language since the project’s inception. The main challenge, he said, has been finding ways to practice speaking the language.

To study Western Abenaki, Crawford has had to rely on linguistic texts writ ten in the early 19th century that he accesses through Brown’s libraries.

But according to Crawford, the writ ten portions of the language are the “least important” in Western Abenaki.

“I can't practice with anyone face to face,” Crawford said, which is difficult “considering that (Western Abenaki) is a spoken language.”

Many of the students in the project have also had to design their own sylla bi, which Crawford said was a “learning experience.” Crawford had previously taken French at Brown, so he started by designing his syllabus like a French course. He quickly discovered that this format “does not work for (Western) Abenaki” and the resources available to him for studying.

“As I went along, I learned how to

Coriz and Crawford said that meet ing as a group has helped them in their language learning journeys. Students in the project have been able to discuss the challenges they face and share resourc es and tips with one another, such as transcription services or templates for self-assessments, Coriz said.

“Every time that I've met with a group, I've always walked away with (more) motivation” to learn Keres, Coriz said. “There's a lot of inspiration that is found in talking with other people about their experiences.”

“I think the students appreciated learning so much from each other, even if they spoke different languages,” Kushi said. “They were surprised about how useful it was to be in community (and to have) a support structure” of students on similar learning journeys.

Kushi also noted that the project has hired Indigenous speakers to meet with students, allowing them the op portunity to practice speaking their languages and ask questions. But it can be difficult to find mentors for each lan guage, Kushi added, and most of these meetings take place virtually.

Both Hicks Greendeer and Kushi emphasized that student commitment

has made the project successful. “It was really the students who created this and continue to sustain it,” Kushi said. “The energy that they have for (the project) is what makes it happen.”

Due to limitations on the number of times a GISP can run, Hicks Greendeer said that she will be teaching the project next semester as an official course at the University. Though the details of the course are forthcoming, Hicks Greendeer noted that the format will allow students to gather as a group while continuing to study their languages independently.

Crawford and Coriz said they are grateful for their experiences in the project. While Crawford noted that “there is zero obligation for any Na tive person to learn their language,” he believes that the project provides a unique opportunity for Native students and he hopes others can take advantage of it in the future.

Coriz emphasized that “any effort, no matter how small, that's put into your language is valuable.” Coriz es pecially appreciated that the project created a space for students to “be vul nerable in the learning process.”

“Being in community has created a very, very valuable space” for Native students learning their languages, she said.

RHEA RASQUINHA / HERALD

SAM LEVINE / HERALD

The students in the GISP meet twice a week to discuss the language learning process and its broader history.

‘The Wonder’ makes for compelling surprise despite narrative missteps

BY FINN KIRKPATRICK SENIOR STAFF WRITER

From its start, the new Netflix film “The Wonder” evokes confusion and excitement when it opens on a plywood house in a barren sound stage — decidedly removed from the breathtaking, 19th-century hills of Ireland where it supposedly takes place in. The camera slowly pans to an open warehouse filled with set pieces before an unknown woman informs us: “This is the beginning of a film called ‘The Wonder.’ ”

She continues, “We are nothing without stories. And so, we invite you to believe in this one.” The camera then pans to a full set — the interior of a ship — bringing the viewer to 1862 and the world of Lib Wright (Florence Pugh), a nurse on a voyage from her native England to a remote Irish village still recovering from a famine that occurred a decade prior. From there, the strange, omniscient narrator is no longer there to guide the viewer through the plot — it is now incumbent upon the viewer to do as she says — to believe.

“The Wonder” sets itself up to be something daring and original. While the actual product turns out to be a good movie, it achieves this sta

UNIVERSITY NEWS

tus through less compelling means. The opening scene of the film could have paved the way for some kind of meta-narrative that rips the artifi cial construction of its own film to shreds. But these fourth-wall-break ing narrations are too inconsistent to be impactful. Rather, they are oc casional reminders that stories can be just as full of wonder as they can be of deceit.

For most of its runtime, the film explores this idea. Wright’s objective in this village is to monitor a young girl named Anna O’Donnell (Kíla Lord Cassidy), whose family claims that she has not eaten in four months. But she seems perfectly healthy, a fact that O’Donnell claims (and believes) is due to her consuming “manna from heaven.” Wright is not convinced. As the observation continues, the world of the film opens up to a larger cast of characters. This includes the rest of the O’Donnell family, who are deeply religious and still mourning the loss of their son. Then there’s Will Byrne (Tom Burke), a journalist reporting on the story who believes it to be a hoax. And finally, there’s the town council, another deeply religious institution keeping an eye on Wright.

This cast of characters is perfectly constructed to explore concepts of truth and artificial sto rytelling articulated at the beginning of the film. The main conflict of the story stems from Wright and Byrne’s empirical ideologies clashing with the village’s long-held, unwavering faith. While this is not a novel idea

in storytelling, it can still be compel ling when explored artfully. For the most part, “The Wonder” executes this plot well. The dialogue is very stoic, but this choice is an effective one. There is no sensationalism, and no sense of a larger force casting down some grand moral judgment on the contents of the film. It feels authentic, which is ironic when the film literally begins by telling the viewer that everything is fake.

While the movie’s opening pro vides a perfect blueprint for how to explore its key ideas, it can be frus trating when it falls short of its own plan. At some crucial moments, the film opts for the easy way out, de volving into a standard cookie-cutter

psychological mystery that is not all that interesting. The meta conflict of the film is far more compelling than the actual one.

But even if you escape from the ideas that the film presents and in stead look at just what’s presented on the screen, there’s plenty to enjoy. It turns out that — when celebrity gossip is not surrounding her — Pugh can act like her life depends on it. She is perfectly subtle in a way that makes each minor shift in her fa cial expression tell a whole story.

Cinematographer Ari Wegner knows exactly what is needed to frame and highlight that emotion. Sometimes it can seem like cheating when the film has a backdrop as stunning as

rural Ireland, but Wegner finds the full potential of these striking land scapes. If the film was just two hours of Pugh wandering through foothills and sprawling plains, it would be flawless.

“The Wonder” has all the pieces needed to make an incredible film, but it just sometimes does not know the best way to put them all together. The film oscillates between being compelling and original and some thing that is worn out and predict able. The ending is a little too cute and precious considering the film as a whole, but “The Wonder” is so good at what it does that its downsides are more unfortunate disappointments than they are sources of ruin.

International Education Week celebrates international communities

Campus centers, student groups organize events surrounding international education

BY KATHY WANG SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The University’s annual celebration of International Education Week showed “two sides of the same coin” about Brown and the globe, according to An drew Heald, program director at the Global Brown Center.

The two weeks of events, part of a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education to promote America’s role in education domestically and interna tionally, focused on the “world at Brown” and “Brown in the world,” Heald said.

The national celebration and “long standing tradition” typically happens in the third week of November, according to Natalia Román Alicea, program coor dinator at the Global Brown Center for International Students. But this year, the University has extended its IEW programming to span two weeks from Nov. 7 to 18, Román Alicea said.

IEW aims to “promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environ ment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn and exchange experiences,” according to IEW’s of ficial website.

“Especially nowadays, when the world is at our fingertips, … (it’s im portant to) globalize our conversations

on college campuses so that (they) ar en’t just rooted in American cultural perspectives,” Román Alicea said.

Heald said that IEW is even more important now “considering how diffi cult the last three years have really been for international communities around the world,” and the program serves to center that reality.

“It’s our responsibility (to) interro gate what space we take up in (those) conversations” as a globally recognized Ivy League college,” Heald said.

Sally Zhang ’23, one of the GBC’s cultural program coordinators who helped plan and organize IEW, said that last year they had “around 15 to 20” events within one week.

“I really liked this year’s setup, be cause I think having it spread out be tween two weeks means that students don't have to choose between certain events,” she said.

The first week focused on global ized research and offered activities and events run by international communities at Brown, while the second week show cased study abroad and research abroad opportunities in addition to discussing Brown’s global impact, Heald said.

Activities in week one included a Ukrainian Music Night hosted by the Ukrainian House, a “Powerpoint Night” hosted by the GBC and a Polish Indepen dence Day celebration hosted by the Pol ish American Society. The second week featured “Study Abroad 101” hosted by Study Abroad Advising, Transatlantic Research Opportunities for PhD and Post docs hosted by the GBC and the Office of the Vice President for Research and a movie screening of “The Man Who Sold

“I learned that Mexico has the big gest Spanish speaking population in the world. … I didn't expect that,” said Mar co Villamizar ’26, who participated in week two’s Study Abroad International Trivia hosted by Study Abroad Advising.

The program is designed for “the entire campus community as a whole,” Heald said.

“Regardless of whether a student is (domestic or international), in the process of developing the competen cies that we need to be a global citi zen, International Education Week can provide a lot of opportunities,” said Román Alicea.

“It's great, (as a domestic student) to be able to have those experiences and learn more about cultures different from (our) own,” said Laura Romig ’25,

a CLS language ambassador who helped facilitate CLS events.

Heald also encouraged international students to take advantage of studying abroad, even if they might think they are “already studying abroad,” he said.

“When else in your life can you have a focused four to five month pe riod (to) immerse yourself in another culture, and have the support (system) in place?” Study Abroad Advisor Kelly Sachleben said.

Meiyi Song ’25 attended “Study Abroad 101” even though she is already an international student at Brown. “There’s a chance to go — so why not take the opportunity to experience oth er colleges?” she said.

The Global Brown Center serves as a facilitator of IEW while the Center for Language Studies, Study Abroad Ad vising and student organizations have

consistently participated in hosting events each year, Heald said.

Román Alicea said that at other institutions, there might be a larger focus on study and research abroad. The University’s IEW Week also focuses on those topics, but space is also made for “students to celebrate their communi ties, their identities and experiences,” she added.

She noted that the GBC made a gen eral call for events in October and an organization could choose to request additional support or sponsorship if needed from the GBC.

Brown University Dining Services also celebrated IEW last week by host ing international cuisines — including Armenian, French and Dominican food — at the Sharpe Refectory, Andrews and Verney-Woolley Dining Hall, according to Román Alicea.

New Netflix film combines stellar performances with complex ideas

COURTESY OF NETFLIX MEDIA / TUDUM

Florence Pugh's stellar acting as Lib Wright, who is sent to a remote part of Ireland to investigate a strange supernatural occurance, in "The Wonder" conveys complex emotions through subtle facial expressions.

His Skin” hosted by the Center for Lan guage Studies, according to IEW posters.

COURTESY OF SALLY ZHANG

A joint initiative between the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education, International Education Week seeks to foster a more global perspective among students.

Fang '26: This Black Friday, let's put sustainability first

With Thanksgiving this week and the holiday season rapidly approaching, my email inbox and social media feeds have been flooded with one thing: Black Friday promotions. The big gest shopping event of the year comes with hefty discounts, crowded stores and late-night Amazon impulse buys. At the same time, the flashy sales are responsible for hundreds of thousands of tons of greenhouse gas emis sions, mountains of packaging waste and heaps of stress on retail workers. The unre strained frenzy that defines the holiday shop ping season is unsustainable. Black Friday and holiday shopping sales push consumerism to the extremes, promoting a culture of over consumption that harms both people and the planet.

In the past several years, Black Friday has largely shifted online as businesses and con sumers adapted to COVID-19 guidelines. But this form of spending has come at a cost. Was teManaged, a trash collection agency based in the United Kingdom, estimates that this year’s Black Friday will produce 429,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, the equivalent of 435 round-trip flights between London and New York. The group also reports that only 29% of Black Friday electronic waste is recy cled, meaning that piles of computers, LED bulbs and monitors will sit in landfills after being thrown out in favor of newer electronics. Electronic waste is especially harmful as it can release compounds such as lead, mercury and arsenic into the environment, which can cause physical and cognitive damage to people and animals.

Black Friday’s screaming deals and con stant reminders to spend money also en

courage mindless consumerism by telling us that we need to buy more unnecessary, cheap goods. These purchases can be self-gratify ing at first, but the discounted products sel dom live up to expectations. “You’re going to buy things on sale because they’re on sale and you’ll see that you didn’t like them,” said Robert Schindler, a professor of marketing at Rutgers University and longtime researcher of

tests and gone on strike against exploitative working conditions and poor treatment of staff on Black Friday. Worse, workers often do not receive extra compensation for their efforts on the holiday.

Still, for some, Black Friday is one of the only opportunities to buy essential items at a fair price. A single parent, for example, may take advantage of a sale to buy their child a

of Black Friday include supporting local busi nesses and participating in “Giving Tuesday,” a global movement to promote charitable acts of giving. Those who can afford to dedicate time and money to giving are often happier and more fulfilled when helping others than when spending for themselves.

consumer trends. “The deals distorted your de cision process.” Often, these unwanted prod ucts are subsequently tossed out or returned, further contributing to a system of waste that is unsustainable in the long term. Retail thera py, Schindler argues, doesn’t really work.

Black Friday’s sales also carry a social im pact. Large hordes of shoppers competing for goods and a surge of consumer demand can become major sources of stress and anxiety for retail workers, who must work extra long hours to package and ship products during the shop ping holiday. In the past, Amazon workers in the United States and Europe have staged pro

computer for school. Not everyone can afford the steep prices of electronics and house fur niture without a markdown. Thus, criticizing Black Friday shoppers altogether isn’t helpful or productive. A better solution lies in prac ticing self-reflection about our roles as con sumers and being mindful of what we actually need. For example, Paco de Leon, a financial planner, creates a list of things she plans to buy and frequently revisits it to remove items and add others. If something is on her list for an extended period, she knows it is something she should consider buying. Other approach es to mitigate the socio-environmental costs

In addition, businesses should be held ac countable for the consumerist and environ mentally damaging behaviors they may pro mote. Fortunately, many brands have rallied against traditional Black Friday trends in re cent years by promoting sustainable initia tives. REI, the American outdoor recreation retailer, has closed its doors during Black Fri day since 2015. It instead encourages employ ees and customers to #OptOutside and spend the shopping holiday enjoying the outdoors. In 2020, the shoe company Allbirds raised the prices of its sustainable shoes by $1 on Black Friday and donated the money earned to or ganizations fighting climate change. Similar moves by other larger companies could draw additional awareness to the damaging social and environmental impact of Black Friday and help counteract its consumerist culture.

Buy what you need and what makes you happy, but don’t forget about the far-reaching impact of our consumer decisions. Let’s make this holiday season a mindful one — not one filled with things we don’t need.

Juliet Fang ’26 can be reached at juliet_ fang@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald. com and other op-eds to opinions@brown dailyherald.com.

“Let’s make this holiday season a mindful one — not one filled with impulse buys and useless items.”

Sensory overload

BY LILY COFFMAN

Overload

ACROSS 1 Elegant water fowl 6 True: Fr.

Little piggy

With meenie, miney and moe, a classic idiom 14 McKellen and McEwan

"Close friend" of Ernie

* Some things to notice in a big city

Online location

Popular brand of fluffy boots

Expr. for someone with an unwelcoming look 22 Thought 24 Surname of TV's Meredith 26 Timber with a very dark hue 29 A Haitian island or a Spanish reptile 31 Leaders within Brown's clubs 33 Significant anger 34 One from the state of Utah 35 Such: Sp. 36 The latter half of an Austen novel... preceded by a clue to each part of the starred clues 40 Colony member 42 Common definite article 43 Beloved cookbook author Garten 44 Just some person 47 Action that can be done by a professor, but not by Gandalf 51 Like a brother in a frat, but religious? 52 Nickname for Brown's locale 54 Main character from "Call Me By Your Name," often said three times

55 Snowden's former employer 56 Acronym for a 2020 NY Times Best Seller about the demise of the universe 57 Region that includes WA and OR 58 * A smelly kind of sticker 64 Film cylinder 65 Pleasant 66 To declare invalid 67 Medical device found in most buildings 68 Like a certain deciduous tree, or the city of Pompeii 69 Able to be unwrapped like a fruit

18 Yummy cookie sandwich 23 When you just can't choose one winner 25 Himalayan ape, supposedly 27 You might have to sign one if you're on a TV show 28 French fashion co. 30 Like a vase, but somber 32 "She ________, he lied" from a popular Tumblr fad in the 2010s 34 Purple yam 36 Spill some cabernet 37 Multinational breakfast corporation 38 Global, abbr. 39 It comes in masking and painter's varieties 40 Extremely so, slangily PUZZLE CONTRIBUTOR

41 A more pretentious member of the family of 8 Down 45 Having to do with the nose 46 Expression of mild annoyance 47 A kind of tunes 48 High in the mountains 49 Far from holy 50 What you might call a very stylish female pig? 53 Grab for 58 Spanish missus, for short 59 ___Lo Green of R&B 60 Role at the bottom of the health care hierarchy 61 One half of many wedding gifts 62 Sweet tree byproduct 63 Providence to Boston dir.