U.evacuates buildings due to bomb threat
All buildings declared safe by police, threat similar to incidents at Yale, Cornell, Columbia
BY NOBLE BRIGHAM AND PETER SWOPE CONTRIBUTING WRITER AND SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Multiple campus buildings were evacuated due to a bomb threat Sunday afternoon. Cornell and Columbia also received bomb threats Sunday, while Yale received a similar threat Friday, according to The Yale Daily News .
All buildings evacuated for the bomb threat have been cleared, according to a University alert sent to students at 5:45 p.m.
“Officers found no evidence of a credible threat,” University Spokesperson Brian Clark wrote in an email to The Herald. “Buildings that had been evacuated are now reopened, and University operations have resumed as normal.”
At 6:10 p.m., the University announced that a concurrent suspicious package incident had been resolved in
UNIVERSITY NEWS
another alert sent to students. “The suspicious package incident has been cleared,” it read. “No suspicious packages were found. Thank you for your cooperation.”
Brown and Providence police were responding to “an anonymous phone call of a bomb threat,” wrote Tom Verdi, deputy chief of the Providence Police Department, in an email to The Herald. Students in Hope College were evacuated beginning around 3 p.m. Hope residents heard a fire alarm and, upon exiting, were told by University police
Dear Blueno confessions page unpublished by Facebook
Page administrators suspect page taken down in Facebook antihate-speech effort
BY JACK WALKER UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR
Dear Blueno was unpublished by Facebook last week, according to a Nov. 2 post on the Blueno Bears Admirers Facebook page. Dear Blueno, a Facebook page that allowed Brown students to share anonymous questions and comments with one another, served as a forum for campus discourse since its 2018 creation.
According to the post, Dear Blueno moderators are “currently working on recovering the Dear Blueno page or setting up an alternative one.” No Dear Blueno moderators could be reached for comment on this story.
The Herald spoke with a BBA moderator who has been in recent contact with the Dear Blueno moderators regarding the status of the page and what its recovery process might look like. BBA, created in 2017, is a sepa-
rate Facebook page where students anonymously post compliments and positive messages. The moderator spoke to The Herald on the condition of anonymity, as BBA requires its moderators to remain anonymous to the campus community in order to uphold user privacy.
Based on their conversation with the Dear Blueno moderators, the BBA moderator suggested that the page was unpublished “indefinitely” by Facebook without any prior notice.
The moderator suspects that the page was flagged and unpublished for hate speech or misinformation automatically by the app.
Isabella Steidley ’23 MPH ’24, a Dear Blueno top fan, has used the page since her freshman year as “a resource for navigating Brown and a place for connection, especially during the pandemic,” she wrote in an email to The Herald. “At times, it has definitely helped me navigate being at Brown when I was too embarrassed to ask a question I felt everyone knew the answer to.”
Despite this, Steidley noted that Dear Blueno has a “negative side” where students air “frustrations,
officers to stand away from the building. Other Main Green buildings were evacuated shortly after Hope College, and the Rockefeller Library was evacuated roughly 45 minutes later.
At 3:50 p.m., Brown’s automated security alert system sent all students a message that read, “Brown and Providence Police are investigating multiple buildings on campus involving a bomb threat. All Main Green buildings, Rock/ Hay, List, Lyman.”
Another alert sent less than 10
SPORTS
Bears clinch NCAA Tournament bid with 3-0 win over Penn, beating out rival Yale
BY RYAN HANDEL SPORTS EDITOR
The women’s volleyball team (18-4, 11-1 Ivy) captured its first Ivy League title in 20 years Saturday night at the Pizzitola Sports Center with a dominant 3-0 win over Penn (6-15, 3-9 Ivy). Moments later, Yale (15-6, 8-4 Ivy), the only other Ivy team still alive for a share of the title, dropped a straight-sets match to Princeton (14-6, 8-4 Ivy), ensuring that Brown would earn the Ivy League’s automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Tournament.
“This is the storybook ending,” said Head Coach Ahen Kim. “This is what this group has been working toward, this is why the recruits have come here, this is why our seniors persevered and dealt with so much to work through adversity with losing (the 2020 season) … You couldn’t ask for a better ending.”
Bruno’s title-winning victory over Penn came on the Bears’ Senior Night. With Brown up two sets to zero and
Deer trapped in Morris Lounge released into wild
UNIVERSITY NEWS Deer tranquilized by environmental police after breaking through window
BY NEIL MEHTA CONTRIBUTING WRITER
A deer was trapped in the vestibule of the Morriss Hall lounge on Pembroke campus Sunday afternoon, leading to a prompt student evacuation. The University’s Department of Public Safety and Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management officials arrived shortly after. No students were reported injured.
At 5:30 p.m., environmental police officials tranquilized the deer inside the entrance of Morriss lounge. At 5:56 p.m., an environmental police vehicle arrived outside the entrance to Morriss lounge to collect the deer. The deer was loaded onto the truck and transported by four officers.
According to student eyewitnesses, the deer broke through a glass win-
dow to enter the lounge.
“One antler snapped off, and the other stayed on its head,” said Morriss resident Luke Esposito ’25.
“We heard glass breaking,” said Morriss resident Nora Starhill ’25. “We thought someone threw a rock.”
The deer then entered and was trapped inside the lounge’s vestibule, the space between the lounge’s main entrance and the doors leading to the study space.
Following the deer’s arrival, students “just ran out through the fire door,” said Morriss resident Katie Clerkin ’25. Soon after, any students still in the building were evacuated by an area coordinator, who declined to comment on the situation.
Students gathered outside the parking lot in front of Champlin Hall as DPS officials arrived. DPS could not immediately be reached for comment on the situation.
Following the incident, “Facilities Management assisted on site to fix damage at the entryway,” University Spokesperson Brian Clark wrote in an
Women’s volleyball wins Ivy League title
22-12 in the third set, Kim substituted all three of his seniors — defensive specialist Ashley Oelrich ’22, outside hitter Catherine Mihm ’22 and setter Kristin Sellers ’22 — into the game, much to the excitement of the Pizzitola crowd. Mihm delivered with a kill to set up match point for the Bears, and right-side hitter Kate Sheire ’24 struck another kill to finish off the Brown win.
“I had every confidence” in the seniors, Kim said. “They’re on the other side, battling our starters and making them better. No, you don’t see them on the court a lot, but I believe that they could play and be significant contributors at any other team in our
Hocus Pocus 2 began filming in late October a few blocks away
conference and around the country. I’m really proud that they got the opportunity to go in there and execute the way they did.”
Brown’s straight-sets win capped a dominating weekend that also included a 3-0 victory over Princeton Friday. “We just are sticking to what our coaches told us,” outside hitter Sophia Miller ’23 said. “We just work for every ball. We don’t let anything drop.”
“We all connected, we learned from our past mistakes and from there we are going up,” added defensive specialist Victoria Vo ’25.
Brown dictated Saturday night’s
NOBLE BRIGHAM / HERALD
Buildings that were evacuated, such as Hope College and the Rockefeller Library, were re-opened by late Sunday afternoon.
COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS
The title-winning victory over Penn occured on the Bears’ senior night with Coach Ahen Kim substituting all three seniors in the final set.
Brown adapts testing program, moves towards self-administered model
Self-administered testing at One Davol Square to function as test run for expansion
BY GABRIELLA VULAKH SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Brown transitioned to self-administered COVID-19 testing at One Davol Square today, according to a Nov. 4 email announcement. The new method of testing allows students and faculty to conduct their own PCR test with staff on site to facilitate the process.
“We’re continuing to adapt and look for ways to make (testing) effective but easy for participants, and use less resources because testing is expensive,” said Executive Vice President for Planning and Policy Russell Carey ’91 MA’06. “(Cost) is not the first or controlling driver, but if we can continue to reduce those costs and still meet our public health expectations, then we’re going to continue to look for ways to do that.”
The One Davol Square location
was chosen as the site for the pilot program since there is a smaller volume of people who use the location for testing. Currently about 25% of students and faculty are participating in optional testing. The University will monitor how this new testing process goes before expanding the model to other testing locations.
Self-administered testing is also being used at other universities such as Harvard and Tufts, as well as in
rants, complaints and general negativity,” which raised concerns over the page’s use as a tool for supporting the Brown community.
All posts submitted to Dear Blueno must fit within its established community guidelines to be published by the page’s moderators. Still, in the past, Dear Blueno has garnered attention for posts engaging in controversial discussions, which some critics have said promote hate in the campus community.
Nick Young ’23, a Dear Blueno top fan, noted that he is not surprised that the page may have been unpublished due to hate speech concerns. He said that, despite the efforts of the page’s moderators, some “really questionable, really problematic” posts “slip through the cracks” and ultimately harm the community. As a teaching assistant, Young said that he has witnessed a level of criticism toward courses and course staff that can be harmful for student workers simply trying to do their jobs.
The BBA moderator noted Dear Blueno serves as an important community resource for student communication and communal support. They said they hope the page will be recovered to ensure students have access to the resources it can provide.
“From what we’ve communicated, the Dear Blueno mods are trying to appeal this and get the page back up. There is a chance they might not be successful and they might have to start a new version of Dear Blueno,” the moderator said.
But the process of recreating Dear Blueno is not as simple as publishing a new Facebook page. For years, Dear Blueno has played a role in shaping campus culture and reflecting campus discourse, building a community of thousands who follow and interact with the page. Recreating Dear Blueno would require rebuilding this community and regaining the support and following of Brown’s student body, the moderator noted.
In addition, many years worth of posts on Dear Blueno have created a database of frequently asked questions and community dialogue for
other countries around the world. At Harvard, “you pick up a kit, do everything yourself and drop it in a box,” Carey said. Tufts has created their own software program where people are able to scan their phone and print a label. The label is then attached to the self-administered COVID-19 test and then dropped in a box for processing, according to Carey.
Brown is continuing to work with the Broad Institute of MIT and Har-
future generations of Brown students to refer to. If the page cannot be recovered, its archived content might remain somewhere on the servers of Facebook, but all of the anonymous posts made since the page’s origin will be rendered inaccessible to the Brown community.
The BBA moderator emphasized that this affects student academics, too, since questions about courses, professors and grading metrics have become commonplace on the page. If a student has a question about a class, they will often search “it up to see if someone has already asked that without starting a new dialogue.”
Noting that BBA serves a different, more “interpersonal” purpose than Dear Blueno, the moderator added that, without Dear Blueno, the campus community is missing something that has become central to the student experience at Brown.
Since the closure of the page, the moderator said that some students have started to submit content more suited for Dear Blueno in BBA’s anonymous comment form, at times even explicitly mentioning it was meant to be submitted as a Dear Blueno post. But the moderator said BBA has no intention of changing the restrictions it places on the content of posts accepted by the page, and does not want to replace Dear Blueno’s role in the campus community.
“Dear Blueno is, in a lot of ways, the only kind of anonymous message board the community has,” the moderator said. “People are very much feeling the loss of that space and that resource.”
“The page being unpublished is a real loss in terms of being probably the largest peer resource created by students, but maybe we can move beyond the negativity it sometimes fostered and focus on the connections it created,” Steidley wrote.
Young noted that, without Dear Blueno, he will be able to use the time he typically spends commenting on posts on more productive things.
“I’m not super mad that it’s taken down,” he said. “There’s a void, but given enough time, the void will be filled by other things.”
vard to process COVID-19 tests. The Broad Institute’s testing is categorized and approved under the Food and Drug Administration’s Emergency Use Authorization mechanism. Previously, their EUA was specifically for monitored or supervised COVID-19 tests, but recently they were approved to offer self-administered testing. This is why the University has decided to try this new model, according to Carey.
During the week of Oct. 31 to Nov. 6, four people tested positive for COVID-19 through the optional asymptomatic testing program, according to the Healthy Brown COVID-19 Dashboard. This continues to be a “very consistent, low level of positivity … (expected) in a highly vaccinated population,” Carey said.
The public health conditions on campus, “are extraordinarily good and reflective of the high vaccination levels that Brown community members have attained, and that allows for loosening of restrictions in a safe manner,” he added.
The University will reopen the Andrews House testing site the week after
Thanksgiving, when undergraduate students will be required to test on the first and fifth day after their return to campus. During this period, supervised testing will resume to facilitate the large amount of tests that will need to be conducted, according to Carey.
Many students and faculty are also eligible to get COVID-19 booster shots. The eligibility for boosters is not as strict as the initial vaccine roll out was in the spring, according to Carey. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises individuals to wait at least two months after their initial Johnson & Johnson shot or at least six months after their initial Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccination series to recieve a booster.
Carey added that it is too early to know if boosters will be added to University vaccination requirements, or if an on-campus booster clinic will be offered in the future.
The next “logical” restriction to be lifted is the indoor masking mandate for vaccinated individuals. “It’s an ongoing conversation and discussion, but there’s no plan or timeline at this point,” Carey said.
NAY HARDY / HERALD
About 25% of students and faculty participate in optional COVID-19 testing since the university ended weekly testing requirements.
DEAR BLUENO FROM PAGE 1
SPORTS
Men’s ice hockey loses against Princeton 6-3
Bears struggle to regain momentum after Princeton Tigers’ second period breakout
BY GABRIELLA SARTORI SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The men’s ice hockey team (1-2, 1-2 ECAC) lost to Princeton (2-1, 2-0 ECAC) in a 6-3 battle Friday night. The Bears started the game with a spark of momentum in the first period, before a second period surge by the Tigers pulled the game out of reach.
Brown jumped to an early lead as Brett Bliss ’25 scored his first career goal on a power play just 52 seconds after the opening faceoff. Assisted by Michael Maloney ’22 with a secondary assist from Samuli Niinisaari ’23, Bliss struck a shot from the top of the right circle that made its way through traffic and beat Princeton’s defense and goaltender. Bliss’ goal gave the Bears an early 1-0 advantage, which would be their only lead of the game.
Princeton tied the game with just over two and a half minutes left in the first period, sending the puck past Brown goaltender Luke Kania GS. Despite the goal, Kania remained poised for the Bears, ending the game with 22 saves. The Tigers outshot the Bears 4716, making it difficult for the defense and Kania to keep Bruno in the game.
Head Coach Brendan Whittet noted that he was proud of Kania’s goaltending efforts, especially considering the shot differential.
“Kania was not our problem,” Whittet said. “We had to play a lot better
in terms of effort and tenacity. It was something that stemmed little from (our defensive) systems … As a team, we weren’t playing (to the standard of) Brown hockey.”
The Tigers dominated the Bears in the second period, scoring four goals to stun Brown’s defense. After a scoreless second period by Brown, defenseman Luke Krys ’23 turned things around in the third period and cut into Princeton’s lead with Brown’s second power play goal of the night. Justin Jallen ’23 passed to Tristan Crozier ’23 who sent the puck to Krys at the top of the slot for the goal.
Krys explained that there were positives to take from Brown’s defeat. “It’s a huge learning opportunity for the team to understand we have to be ready to play any other team just as much when we play a top five team in the country,” Krys said. “It starts with the leaders needing to push the pace and for us to play as (a) unit.”
Cole Quisenberry ’23 echoed a similar sentiment, saying the Bears are
ready for a clean start. “This is a game we want to put behind us quickly and move on from,” Quisenberry said. “It will be a good test for us to see how we respond bouncing back from this game. We’ll need to show up to the rink much more prepared and ready to go against the rest of our opponents.”
Brown’s final goal of the game came with 35 seconds remaining as Nathan Plessis ’23 scored his second goal in two games, scoring a one-timer from the right dot off a feed from Jake Harris ’22.
Brown had a quick turnaround to complete the weekend, as the Bears played Saturday against No. 6 Quinnipiac University (7-1-2, 2-0 ECAC). Brown shored up its defense against Quinnipiac but fell to the Bobcats 1-0 after letting up a third period goal.
The Bears are off next weekend before a Nov. 19 game at Cornell (3-1, 1-1 ECAC) and a Nov. 20 game at Colgate University (5-6, 0-2 ECAC). Both games are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
THREAT FROM PAGE 1
minutes later read, “The Department of Public Safety and the Providence Police are investigating a suspicious package on Meeting Street near the Life Sciences Building.” Around an hour later, another alert sent stated, “The Life Sciences Building and Meeting Street area are not involved in this incident. These buildings should not be evacuated.”
A follow-up alert sent at 4:49 p.m. advised students to avoid the Rock, the Hay, List Art Center and the buildings around the Main Green.
Campus Police Officer John Carchia, who was standing in front of Sayles Hall before the buildings were cleared, said officers had been instructed to ensure that no students were in buildings on the Main Green but did not receive further information. Other police officers on the Main Green and outside the Rockefeller Library declined to comment, as did a member of the bomb squad from The Office of the State Fire Marshal.
Vice President of Campus Life Eric Estes arrived at Hope College after being contacted by Rodney Chatman, vice president for campus safety. Because Hope is a residential building, Estes said he wanted to “show up and be supportive of students.” He added that, to his knowledge at the time, no other residential buildings had to be evacuated.
Hope College students were allowed back into the building at 4:25 p.m., according to Hope College resident Heidi Schaefer ’24.
According to The Boston Globe, “the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives may be involved in an investigation connecting the incidents at each of the Ivy League campuses over the weekend.” The University did not coordinate directly with any federal agencies during the investigation, Clark wrote, but would work with them “cooperatively” on any investigations into connections between the incidents on different campuses.
At Columbia, threats posted on Twitter by a later-suspended account, as reported by the Columbia Daily Spectator, claimed that bombs had been planted and that the author of the tweet along with others were armed with automatic weapons and would shoot police officers. Columbia officials evacuated three buildings around 2:30 p.m. for just over two hours until the New York Police Department deemed the threats “not credible.”
The New Haven Police Dispatch informed Yale about a threat from someone who claimed to have placed 40 bombs across campus, according to The Yale Daily News. The Yale Police Department found the threat to not be credible.
At Cornell, officials evacuated four campus buildings in response to bomb threats Sunday afternoon. After more than five hours, law enforcement cleared the threats.
Students who were in Hope College and the Rock at the time of the evacuation expressed shock and worry.
Hope College resident Champ Turner ’24 was initially unaware of the severity of the situation. “I thought it was the fire alarm. I just got my jacket, phone (and) wallet. I did not get my backpack (because) I thought I’d be going back in pretty soon,” he said. “Then I saw a SWAT team and realized something was going on.”
Jon Zhang ’24 and Pedro Camacho-Leon ’23 were preparing for a tutoring session on the fourth floor of the Rock when the building was evacuated. “All of a sudden the alarm started blaring. Sometimes it just goes off in the library when I come here super late at night,” Zhang said. “Then I got the text on my phone. I was like, ‘Oh sh*t, this is actually something serious.’”
The process of leaving the library was chaotic, according to Zhang. “There was this huge shuffle of people (going) down the stairs to the ground floor,” he said.
Camacho-Leon was aware of the threats other institutions had received over the previous few days. When Brown received a similar threat, “it was sadly not very surprising,” he said.
Megan Donohue ’22, a community assistant for Hope College, said she had noticed officers outside the building before the alarm went off. Because it was cold, she said students dispersed across campus.
The extent to which students were affected by the bomb threat differed, but both Zhang and Schaefer see the value of increased caution. “I personally still feel safe (on campus), but maybe (I’ll) just be a little bit more careful,” Zhang said.
Despite receiving clearance to reenter the building, Schaefer remained apprehensive about the situation. “I don’t really want to be in Hope for now in case they missed something,” she said. “How do they know for sure? Especially with all those buildings, it does make me a bit nervous.”
DEER FROM PAGE 1
email to The Herald.
Deer will occasionally break through windows and enter buildings, according to Scott Birdman, environmental police officer for the RIDEM, who was present at the scene.
“We have to tranquilize several deer a year,” he said.
Although the deer was likely native to the area, it could react dan-
gerously if released into an urban environment, posing a danger to itself and students, Birdman explained.
The deer was released into the wild later in the evening following a health inspection, according to Birdman.
“We moved it to a wooded area in the northwest part of the state,” he said. “It should live a healthy life.”
COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS
Brett Bliss ’25 scored his first career goal just 52 seconds into the game, but four goals in the second period let the Tigers break away.
Testing center employees brace for reduced site hours, operations
U. lowers testing operations in response to low positivity rate, financial constraints
BY EMILY FAULHABER AND CANQI LI SENIOR STAFF WRITER AND STAFF WRITER
When Brown announced Nov. 4 that the hours and operations of on-campus COVID-19 testing sites would be reduced, testing center employees were left questioning what the transition would mean for their positions. The change follows the University’s Oct. 25 transition to optional testing for fully vaccinated community members on campus, The Herald previously reported.
Although the change to testing sites represents a step toward a return to normal for the campus community, some testing center employees felt hesitant about the decision and worried about its implications for the future of their work at the University.
Testing center employees were notified of the changes to the sites’ hours and operations “just about 24 hours” before the student body was notified, according to Adam Hutchins, a testing center employee and teaching assistant in the Department of Visual Art. Multiple employees said they were told the testing centers would begin offering employees 11- to 12-hour shifts, in addition to shorter morning and afternoon shifts that have been offered throughout the semester.
The University’s testing program is staffed and operated by Advanced Clinical, an external company, with the contract for testing overseen by Verily, another separate company. As a result, Executive Vice President for Planning and Policy Russell Carey ’91 MA’06 told The Herald, any changes affecting testing center staff would be overseen externally by Advanced Clinical and Verily, rather than by the University itself.
“I’m expecting no support from the University, as I’m not employed by the University,” Thomas O’Neill ’24, a testing center employee, said.
O’Neill said testing site employees received an email from Advanced Clinical detailing how employees would be affected by the University changes. O’Neill said that he is “personally disappointed” by the University’s switch to reduced testing because it is likely to decrease the number of hours he can work.
The email “stated that they are going to be cutting the number of employees that are present at the testing locations, and that’s based on seniority … and their availability as well,” he said.
But O’Neill noted that given the decrease in shifts, “it doesn’t seem that it’s going to be likely” he will receive consistent work. He added that 12-hour shifts are more frequently available than shorter shifts because of demand, but that these longer shifts are harder for student employees to pick up due to class schedule conflicts.
As the testing sites continue to
NOVEMBER
reduce operations, employees are now having to look for other avenues of work. Even bearing in mind the temporary nature of the University’s testing centers, employees noted that the abrupt announcement left them feeling blindsided and unprepared for finding new work.
“I have to figure out something else for a job,” O’Neill said.
Since testing site work is many of the employees’ sole source of income, they will have to scramble to find other work and keep up with responsibilities such as “rent, mortgage and families,” Hutchins added. According to Hutchins, some employees became emotional upon learning that there would be new scheduling requirements.
The University scaled back its testing operations due to a continued low COVID-19 positivity rate within its asymptomatic testing program as well as the overall cost for operating the program. Presi-
dent Christina Paxson P’19 noted in an Oct. 4 faculty meeting that the testing program cost the University nearly $1 million per week, The Herald previously reported.
Following the transition, the rate of employee participation in optional testing dropped to 25%, and the rate of student participation dropped to just 20%, according to Carey. “We’re really trying to align ourselves with (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidance which is that people who are vaccinated don’t need to be in asymptomatic testing,” Carey said. “We wanted to make this change as soon as we could, but waited until we had data supporting that it would be prudent to do so.”
“This is a sign that testing is tapering. It is a good sign for everyone that we are moving in the right direction, and it is a return to normalcy we were all used to,” said Allison Spain, a testing center site lead. The
University administrators are “making the best decisions they can with the information they have.”
Spain understood that her contract at the testing center was temporary and had the attitude that it “could end at any time.” She added that she feels lucky she was able to hold the position for such an extended period of time.
“Case rates are driving the decisions, and unfortunately, there is not a lot of lead time on that,” Spain said.
O’Neill said he was happy to learn about the lowered infection rates on campus and in Providence. “It really makes me feel like (the pandemic) is nearing an end, which is exciting,” he said.
But Hutchins cautioned that there could still be a spike in cases, and said he hopes the University is aware of that possibility.
“I feel like we’re not out of the woods yet,” Hutchins said.
COVID-19 AT BROWN
2,546 LAST 7 DAYS* SINCE AUGUST 24, 2020*
2,378 Completed Tests
People Tested
GUS REED / HERALD Staff at on-campus testing centers received an email from Advanced Clinical about how University policy changes would affect employment.
SPORTS
Women’s soccer completes perfect Ivy League season with 3-2 win over Yale
Raphino’s hat trick in New Haven the difference in Bears’ Ivyclinching win
BY NICHOLAS MILLER STAFF WRITER
The women’s soccer team (12-3, 7-0 Ivy) defeated Yale (3-14, 1-6 Ivy) Saturday in New Haven in a five-goal thriller to conclude the regular season. The Bears topped the Bulldogs 3-2 to secure the first 7-0 Ivy League record in the history of the women’s soccer team, while also ensuring Brown would hold sole possession of the Ivy League title.
Forward Brittany Raphino ’23 scored all three Bruno goals, including the winner, a well-placed header that broke a 2-2 tie with 15 minutes remaining.
“I knew I was going to get chances,” Raphino said. “I just needed to capitalize.”
The Bears got off to a slow start, with Yale dictating possession in the attacking third for the first few minutes, culminating in a seventh-minute Bulldog goal. Yale’s Ellie Rappole dribbled into the 18-yard box near the goal line and fired a low cross across the face of goal to find teammate Chloe Laureano at the back post for a tap-in.
“It was definitely a wake up call for all of us when that happened,” goalkeeper Kayla Thompson ’21.5 wrote in an email to The Herald. “It forced us to come together, reset and work hard to come back.”
After the goal, Brown ramped up the pressure on Yale’s pass-heavy offense and sent repeated long passes behind
SPORTS
the Bulldog defense for Raphino and forward Ava Seelenfreund ’23.5 to run onto.
In the 10th minute, after a Brown corner kick was flicked towards the opposite sideline, midfielder Zoe Maxwell ’22.5 recovered the ball, drove into the box and was tripped by her defender, leading to a penalty kick.
Raphino took the kick, confidently rifling the ball into the top right corner to level the game.
The goal gave the Bears momentum, according to Raphino. “We took that energy (from the penalty kick) and ran with it,” she said.
In the 14th minute, midfielder Mae-
syn G’Bye ’22 picked up the ball near midfield on the left sideline and lobbed a through ball over the Yale defense. Raphino, battling against a Yale centerback, sprinted onto the pass, dribbled past the onrushing goalkeeper and slotted the ball inside the left post for a 2-1 Bruno lead.
Trailing for the first time in the game, Yale regained their dominance of possession and struck back in the 22nd minute. Off of a corner kick, Nana Yang’s commanding header rocketed past Thompson.
Brown mostly controlled the rest of the half, creating a number of chances on goal, including powerful shots from
Seelenfreund, Raphino and midfielder/ forward Kayla Duran ’23 — but the Bears were unable to find the back of the net.
After a four-goal first half, the second half began more cautiously. The ball remained trapped inside the Yale zone for long periods, but Brown was unable to create many clear-cut chances. Seelenfreund again failed to get on the scoresheet, scorching a shot right at the keeper and having another powerful effort blocked.
Finally, in the 75th minute, a shot from forward Claire Myers ’22 forced a save from the Yale goalkeeper, earning Brown a corner kick. Sheyenne Allen ’23 delivered the corner to the near post,
third
the
came
the
a corner kick from
separating the Bears from the Bulldogs for the rest of the match.
where Raphino, a step in front of her marker, flicked the ball over the head of the keeper into the net.
The goal was Raphino’s 11th of the season, and eighth in the Ivy League.
“(Raphino) puts the team on her back all the time without a question,” Allen said. “That’s what drives her to be one of the best players in this country.”
For the rest of the game, Yale controlled most of the possession but couldn’t create significant opportunities against Brown’s defense. A crucial interception from Duran took away Yale’s most dangerous late chance, and Brown was able to emerge with a 3-2 win, delivering the Ivy League championship solely to the Bears.
“After all of our hard work this season and knowing what this team is capable of, we weren’t looking to share the title with anyone,” Thompson said.
Brown’s perfect record in Ivy League play was particularly special after 2019’s team came up just short, finishing 6-01, and the team’s 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19.
“We wanted the perfect Ivy League season so badly,” Allen said.
“It’s amazing,” Raphino said. “Coming back from the year off because of Covid … (and) to be able to do the same thing but better … I’m just so proud of all of us.”
The Bears now move on to the NCAA Tournament. Their opponent will be announced during the NCAA Selection Show today at 4:30 p.m.
Brown’s players are confident they can make a deep run, no matter who they face. “We want to see how far we can take things this year,” Allen said. “We can be a big problem.”
Football falls 63-38 to Yale despite strong offensive showing
Wes Rockett’s three touchdowns, Allen Smith’s 145 yards not enough to overcome Bulldogs
BY LOKI OLIN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The Brown football team (2-6, 1-4 Ivy) came up short in a 63-38 shootout loss to Yale (5-3, 4-1 Ivy) at Brown Stadium Saturday. Despite the loss, the Bears’ offense continued to produce against high-caliber defensive opponents, scoring the most points against the Bulldogs in a game by any opponent this year.
Quarterback EJ Perry ’22 and running back Allen Smith ’22 led the offense against Yale. Perry contributed over 300 yards of offense, a feat he has accomplished in every game this season. Smith racked up 87 rushing yards and 45 receiving yards for a season-high 132 total yards of offense.
Wide receiver Wes Rockett ’23 caught three touchdowns, giving him eight receiving touchdowns for the season, the most in the Ivy League.
Brown ended the first half trailing by just seven points before Yale pulled away to secure the victory. “I think we threw some punches at them in the first half, and they handled it like the championship team that we’re aspiring to be,” said Head Coach James
Perry ’00. “Our guys played and fought hard. I’m proud of them for that.”
Yale jumped out to an early lead by forcing a three-and-out on Brown’s first drive and scoring a touchdown in just two plays on the following possession. After giving up the early touchdown, Brown took back the momentum with two touchdown catches from Rockett to take a 14-7 lead.
Rockett credited play calling for his scoring success throughout the season. “It’s just (Coach Perry) putting us in good positions,” Rockett said. “We could put (any receiver) out there for me, and I think they come away with three to four touchdowns. That just shows a lot about our depth in the receiver room — no matter who you put out there, we’re gonna make plays.”
After Yale tied the game with a touchdown, the Bears appeared poised to take back possession when the defense stripped the ball from Yale quarterback Nolan Grooms to force a fumble. In a stroke of luck for the Bulldogs, the ball bounced into the waiting hands of a wide receiver who took it to the endzone for a goahead touchdown.
To respond, Coach Perry drew up a trick play that saw EJ Perry line up next to the sideline at wide receiver.
Smith took the snap and shoveled the ball to backup quarterback Michael McGovern ’22, who delivered a perfect pass to EJ Perry downfield. EJ Perry, who made his defender fall on the route, had an open lane to the end
A back-and-forth first half became a blowout in the second half as a slew of touchdowns let the Bulldogs break away from the Bears.
zone and scored the first receiving touchdown of his career to tie the game at 21-21.
“It’s fun for me to coach him,” Coach Perry said of EJ Perry. “As great a player as he is — and it’s extraordinary what he does on the field — he’ll be ready to work tomorrow … that’s a heck of a worker.”
Yale added an offensive touchdown and a pick-six on a deflected pass to take a 14-point lead in the second quarter. Brown responded with a rushing touchdown from Smith, narrowing its deficit to 35-28 going into halftime.
“We’re playing a really good D-line on defense,” Coach Perry said. “The
guys up front fought and battled. And then Allen’s yards after contact today are going to be exceptional. Whatever yards he was gaining, they were very hard earned. Credit to Yale and credit to Allen. He’s a captain and he plays like a captain.”
Yale’s offense produced a slew of touchdowns in the second half, pushing its lead out of Brown’s reach. The Brown offense continued to produce, but a few key calls — including on a would-be touchdown by wide receiver Graham Walker ’24 that was called out of bounds — kept the Bears from narrowing the deficit. “That’s just the ebbs and flows of football,” Rockett said. “It’s about how you respond,
how you get back in the game and play the next down and finish that drive off.”
Yale capped off their offensive showcase with a final touchdown in the fourth quarter, taking the 63-38 victory and improving to 5-3 on the season.
Brown already faced off against the Bulldogs earlier this year in a scrimmage over the summer, which Yale won in a blowout. According to Smith, the Bears’ improvement since that matchup was on display in Saturday’s game. “We were much more physical (today),” Smith said. “We’ve been building for the last eight weeks, so I think we were a lot better. We saw eight weeks of improvement, but there’s still a lot of stuff we got to work on.”
Coach Perry said that the Bears’ energy had also improved between the two matchups. “Early in the season, as hard as we practiced, we weren’t always as enthusiastic as I’d like to (be) on the sidelines,” Coach Perry said. “That was not true today. Today, we matched their enthusiasm. We were playing extremely hard and extremely well for a huge period of that game.”
Brown will face off against Columbia on the road next Saturday in its penultimate conference game of the season. “It’s a hard sport, so this week we’re gonna get healthy,” Smith said. “We’re gonna make the corrections and then come out on Tuesday and practice real hard.”
COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS
Raphino’s
goal of
game
in
75th minute on
Sheyene Allen ’23,
COURTESY OF BROWN ATHLETICS
Students react to testing changes, new masking guidelines
Community members express concerns over optional testing, some say they feel less safe
BY JACK TAJMAJER STAFF WRITER
Following recently announced changes to the University’s masking and testing policies, students who spoke to The Herald expressed concern and surprise.
Members of the Brown community have faced a variety of University policy changes throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. These changes are communicated through email, often with little warning or time for adjustment, students say.
In Oct. 25 and Oct. 28 emails to the Brown community, the University announced that testing would be optional for fully vaccinated undergraduate students, faculty and staff, but that unvaccinated employees and students would still be required to get tested twice per week, The Herald previously reported.
Indoor mask-wearing is now also optional for lecturers while speaking in class, performers during shows and anyone engaged in indoor athletic and recreation activities. Students will have to get tested twice in the week after returning from Thanksgiving break regardless of vaccination status.
A Nov. 4 email also announced that testing site hours would be reduced and that the University would begin
VOLLEYBALL FROM PAGE 1
match from the outset. The Quakers never led during the first set, which the Bears steadily took control of. A no-look kill by setter Cierra Jenkins ’24 gave Bruno a 19-16 advantage, and a block by middle blocker Gabby Derrick ’25 led to set point. Sheire converted
piloting self-administered PCR COVID testing at the One Davol Square testing location, The Herald previously reported.
Student reaction to the changes has been mixed. In regards to the mandatory testing changes, Kevin Cox ’24 said he felt “both pleased and concerned” because he felt “like Brown has been handling COVID safety quite well in general” but also that “the testing was an essential benchmark for determining future changes in COVID policies.”
Sarah Tenyer MA’22 said she was “surprised to hear that Brown made this change, especially because it’s so close to our semester breaks (when) a lot of students travel.”
Referencing concerns over the changes being implemented so close to Thanksgiving break, Russell Carey ’91 MA’06, executive vice president for planning and policy, told The Herald that “everything’s a balance … Re -
a kill on set point as the Bears won the set 25-19.
The second set had a similar story. Penn and Brown remained tight early on and were tied 11-11. But Bruno reeled off seven straight points, capped by a kill by middle blocker Beau Vanderlaan ’25, to take complete control of the set. Brown would go on to take the second set by a commanding
quiring testing twice (in) the week after (students return) is a significant mitigation to that risk. I think we feel very comfortable with that.”
Carey said he understood that “people have concerns and people may make different choices,” but highlighted that “testing is optional and available to everybody … The overall public health conditions on campus are extraordinarily good and reflective of the high vaccination levels that Brown community members have attained.”
Ashley Cai ’25, said she was “pretty surprised and honestly uncomfortable with the decision.”
“Mandatory testing was the only way I felt safe on campus, and without it, I don’t have as much of a sense of that anymore,” she said.
After receiving the email, Cai said she feels “less safe if I think about it, but it honestly hasn’t changed my daily routine and actions that much.
25-15 margin.
The Bears once again pulled ahead in the third set, as a kill from outside hitter Jilienne Widener ’24 put Bruno up 19-10. Shortly thereafter, Brown’s seniors took to the court and finished off the third set 25-15. They were immediately swarmed by their teammates as they secured the Ivy League title.
“Our seniors are such leaders of this
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I stay masked in large groups, unmasked in small ones that I feel safe in and try to eat outside or away from other people when that’s not possible.” Cox said that he feels “pretty safe on campus” and that the announcement hasn’t made him “too concerned.”
“Brown is doing an okay job handling what they can in terms of access to testing and masking policies,” Tenyer said, “but it’s hard to realistically control everything.” She said she also feels safe “considering that masks are still required in classrooms” but is interested to “know if Brown plans to change that mask policy in the next few weeks.”
Students also gave mixed responses when asked about their future testing plans. Cai said she plans to maintain the frequency of her tests but “forgets about testing more now that it isn’t required.” Tenyer said she still gets tested once per week.
Cox, on the other hand, said he plans to decrease the number of tests he gets because “when observing the base rate of cases, it seems pretty unlikely that I would have COVID.” He added that he “did get tested after (Halloween weekend) ... because there was a lot more exposure than normal.”
Carey said that about a quarter of students are continuing to test now that it’s optional. Addressing student concerns, he said the University was aligning itself with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and emphasized that the University had no cases of severe ill-
team,” Miller said. “It’s only fitting that we earned the title on Senior Night.”
As Brown celebrated its Ivy League title and hoisted the championship trophy, Princeton finished off its win over Yale, sending the Bears to the NCAA Tournament.
Bruno still has two regular season matchups remaining: Brown will take on Harvard (10-11, 7-5 Ivy) and Dart-
ness and no hospitalizations over the last several months.
Tenyer thinks that “getting weekly tests and requiring masks is important just out of an abundance of caution, especially now that the weather is getting colder and more people are going to be inside for longer periods of time.”
Both Cai and Cox questioned whether the University’s testing policy change was financially motivated. Cai said that “testing is so expensive for the school,” while Cox said he knows that “financially, it makes much more sense to impose the restriction of wearing masks than to sponsor the testing.”
When asked about the financial motivations behind the University’s changes, Carey said that “it’s certainly a consideration. What I would be very clear about is that it’s not the first or controlling driver … We want to manage those resources effectively, and if there are ways to reduce those costs while staying consistent with our driving values of health and safety, we’ll do that.”
Carey expressed confidence in the University’s ability to continue monitoring the COVID situation and the need for future policy changes without mandatory testing. When asked about any future plans to further reduce restrictions, Carey said that “the masking mandate indoors would be the most logical next step” and that “it’s an ongoing conversation and discussion, but there’s no plan or timeline at this point.”
mouth (14-7, 6-6 Ivy) on the road next weekend. The Bears will then have two weeks off until the NCAA Selection Show Nov. 28, when they will learn their spot in the NCAA Tournament bracket.
“If we keep winning, we get to keep our seniors on the court with us,” Vo said. “That’s our motivation.”
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SOPHIA HOPKINS / HERALD
Han ’23: My complicated sense of belonging on Brown’s campus
BY BLISS HAN STAFF COLUMNIST
I can’t remember the last time I looked forward to something the way that I looked forward to coming back to campus this semester. Like most Brown students, I spent about two and a half semesters taking classes remotely. For me, at least, Zoom University was awful — for many reasons, but especially because it left me feeling disconnected from a campus that I had grown to love so much. When I was physically separated from Brown, I disengaged from my classes, my professors and my peers. Being back on campus and back to in-person classes has made me appreciate the simple act of being here more than I ever would have otherwise. But it has also led me to question what it means to be a Brown student on this campus, as my fond memories of this place rub up against its unsavory history.
When I moved into Room 315 in Metcalf Hall just over two years ago, this unfamiliar landscape became my home. But as a first-year, I felt like I was trying to fit into someone else’s skin. Part of me seemed to have stayed behind in Ann Arbor, the only home I had ever known, and I felt a sense of unbelonging that was only reinforced every time someone asked me where I was from. I would never have dared to answer Brown or Providence. At the time, this place did not belong to me, and I did not belong to it.
METRO
‘Hocus
It was in these uncertain moments that the words of anthropologist Dolores Hayden — “Place makes memories cohere in complex ways” — found me. Those seven words rang true as I made fond memories at Brown that intertwined with and informed my sense of self. The sophomore year I spent trapped in a box on a screen only heightened the
tercolor trees while watching passersby going their respective ways. The fact that I was able to become more engaged with classes and extracurriculars simply by setting foot on campus illustrates how powerful this place is to me. There is something inexplicable about the campus’s ability to provoke a sense of belonging.
and Justice Report found that approximately 30 members of Brown’s governing Corporation owned or led slave ships, and donors sometimes contributed slave labor to help in the campus’s construction. Today, many argue the presence of Brown students like me has contributed to encroaching gentrification that has displaced work-
“Perhaps this can be my place, but I am not the only one with a right to be here, and my presence is not the only one that matters.”
feelings of joy and belonging that I felt upon returning this fall. The first time that I was able to sit in a classroom and partake in an enriching discussion with people who were in the same place as I was, rather than simply in the same Zoom meeting, brought me so much happiness that I couldn’t keep the smile off my face for the rest of the day. For me, just walking around campus aimlessly is a comforting exercise — taking in the blue sky and the wa -
But despite the way that it looks and feels to me as a Brown student, this place is not so romantic. The land on which this campus was built was once inhabited by the Narragansett and Wampanoag Peoples until it was stolen from them through violence, disease and trickery. In addition, Brown University was literally built by the practice of slavery — the University’s founders owned slaves and made part of their fortune off of the slave trade. Brown’s Slavery
ing-class, immigrant communities in Providence. This place that I have grown to love was forcibly taken from Indigenous peoples and built by the labor of enslaved Black people. In the present, it continues to favor me, a transient college student, over those who have probably developed a sense of belonging in Providence over a longer period of time than my two years. Coming back to campus after a year away, I was forced to confront the ques -
tion: Do I have the right to feel like I belong here when so many others have endured the trauma of losing this very same place? Whereas I was kicked off of campus for two and a half semesters but was immediately welcomed back with open arms, many others have been permanently displaced.
I still don’t know how to feel about my sense of belonging at Brown. In the short time that I have been on this campus, I have felt uncertainty, understanding, belonging and guilt. When I first read Dolores Hayden’s writing, I understood it as a vow to create my sense of belonging here by making new memories in these new places. But as I continue to learn about the memories that have cohered in this home I now inhabit, I feel as though I should concentrate on the latter three of those seven words that stick with me to this day: “in complex ways.” Perhaps this can be my place, but I am not the only one with a right to be here, and my presence is not the only one that matters. To exist on this campus as a Brown student is to accept the burden of its complexity — and this means that the way one conceives of Brown and reminisces on their experiences here will, necessarily, incorporate its unsavory history,
Bliss Han ’23 can be reached at bliss_han@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald.com and op-eds to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
Pocus’ sequel films on East Side of Providence
“Hocus Pocus 2” changed filming locations after change in director
BY REBECCA CARCIERI SENIOR STAFF WRITER
During gusty fall nights, residents of Providence’s East Side might be feeling especially spooked. This could be because of the colder weather and darker nights, or perhaps it is because witches Winifred, Sarah and Mary Sanderson, have been spending an extended amount of time in Rhode Island. A sequel to Disney’s film “Hocus Pocus” is currently being filmed in locations across the Ocean State.
The original “Hocus Pocus” was released in the United States in 1993. In recent years, the film has become a cult classic among Americans born in the 1980s and ’90s due to its annual airings on Disney Channel and Freeform throughout the Halloween season.
The original film follows the Sandersons: Winifred (Bette Midler), Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Mary (Kathy Najimy), three witches in 1693 who are resurrected three centuries later by teen Max Dennison, his younger sister Dani and his crush Allison.
“Hocus Pocus 2” features the original Sanderson sisters and takes
place 29 years after the events of the first movie, where three high school students must work together to stop the witch sisters who have returned to present-day Salem. The film will be released on streaming service Disney+ in 2022.
The movie was originally scheduled to begin filming this past summer in Salem, Mass., the real life location of the film. But after a change in directors, the location managers opted to film in Rhode Island instead, according to cinematographer Elliot Davis. The film began shooting Oct. 18 in Providence under the direction of Anne Fletcher, who is known for films such as “27 Dresses,” “Step Up” and “The Proposal.”
Filming has taken place around the greater Providence area, including at La Salle Academy, the Moses Brown School, Benevolent Street and Cooke Street, all on the East Side. Sets have also been built at Chase Farms, located in Lincoln, and in Newport.
The colonial style of Providence buildings has been a central focus in filming, as the crew has worked to create a quintessential “New England environment,” Davis said. Providence was an ideal location, he added, because “the director loves Providence, she shot here a couple times … and Disney loves the city.”
Filming in the Ocean State has just begun, Davis said, so most of the shoot’s challenges have yet to come. Among the more involved set pieces in
the film are a concert set-up in Newport and an artificial forest.
Since “Hocus Pocus 2” is filming so close to campus, many students have come across the set while walking the streets of Providence.
Victoria Rose ’23 lives near Benevolent and Cook streets, where filming took place. She told The Herald that street signs around the area of the set were changed to Crucible Street and Goody Street. She interacted with the film crew because some of their equipment was blocking Fulton Hall where the Brown Band, of which she is the vice president, was supposed to load their bus in preparation for a trip.
“I was put in touch with the location manager and they sent us one of their police details to direct traffic,” Rose said, “so (that) we didn’t have to park in the street and to make it safer for us to load up.”
While working a 9 to 11 p.m. shift with Safewalk, a program where students walk peers home at night, Mahira Khan ’23 and her walking partner came across the “Hocus Pocus 2” set Oct. 21. They were walking their usual routes when they came across the crew filming in a building behind Barus and Holley.
Stumbling upon the set made her more interested in seeing the film once it’s released, Khan said. “I would want to see if I could recognize the places where it’s filming and stuff like that… I would for sure see it,”
she said.
Naveen Abraham ’23 noticed many police cars blocking off access to Hope Street while walking with a friend to Barbour Hall the same night. He noticed mist and spotlights around the area as well as a white screen and numerous cameramen.
Abraham’s view of Providence has been changed after his encounter
with the set.
“It was pretty unforgettable (with) all the lights ... and the fog and mist. I feel like I can’t go back to Cooke Street without thinking about the one time it was a movie set and was actually super magical,” Abraham said. “So I feel like Cooke Street has been changed for me permanently, in a good way.”
SOPHIA HOPKINS / HERALD
Class of ’24 shares experiences of extreme burnout, lack of time off
Sophomores have been on campus since spring with limited breaks, leading to exhaustion
BY KATY PICKENS
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The class of 2024 has been on campus since January with brief breaks between semesters, causing many sophomores to feel the strain of burnout after an isolated and socially-distanced start to their college careers.
In an effort to reduce density on campus because of COVID-19, the University implemented a tri-semester plan, The Herald previously reported. Many sophomores struggled to find community this past spring, and as the pandemic has begun to subside, some have found the return to normalcy rewarding, but also exhausting.
Transition to in-person, trimester schedule: sophomores share struggles
“Transitioning back to in-person everything has been a lot,” Riley Schornak ’24 said. “I’ve been really struggling mental health-wise.”
Balancing academics, work, mental health and a social life has been difficult, according to Schornak.
Schornak said she first went to Counseling and Psychological Services in the spring, and was eventually diagnosed with depression and OCD. She was assigned a general practitioner at the University. “They recommended I go on medication, but the medication didn’t end up working out,” she said. “So I started transitioning off of medication this summer and basically have not been able to get more than one CAPS appointment since.”
“It’s been really stressful and frustrating to not have that resource accessible,” Schornak added.
“ Students who are engaged in treatment with a therapist or psychiatrist at CAPS should be able to schedule additional appointments with that provider,” wrote Erin Lane-Aaronian, Hercilia Corona and Kelly Holder, assistant directors for Counseling and Psychological Services, in an email to The Herald.
“CAPS is committed to helping students access mental health supports,” they wrote. “Although we are in a moment where there is exceptionally high demand for mental health services both on and off campus, for the majority of the fall 2021 semester students have been able to schedule a routine appointment within two to five business days, and we always have same day urgent appointments available as needed.”
Schornak was finally able to schedule a CAPS appointment in late October, and has since been able to have a telehealth visit through HealthiestYou, a telehealth organization the University has partnered with to increase student access to mental healthcare, The Herald previously reported.
“We have definitely provided support for the current sophomore cohort and have been monitoring the impact of what being on campus since January 2021 has felt like,” wrote Lane-Aaronian, Corona and Holder.
Schornak said that her experi -
ence with mental health wasn’t made easier by being on campus for three consecutive semesters. Depression and burnout “kind of go hand in hand,” Schornak said. “I think one exacerbates the other.”
“The pressure’s cumulative,” said Caziah Mayers ’24 about sophomores taking courses for three semesters in a row. “We have had basically no break, especially if you’re an athlete and or a (Residential Peer Leader).”
Mayers took classes remotely while working in the spring and has been on campus in the semesters since. He explained that, despite making close friends and enjoying going back to in-person classes, “three (consecutive) semesters of college is ridiculous.”
Mayers also said that he was experiencing a lot of burnout as a Black student. “Beyond the near-continuous year of school, the missed milestones, the social isolation, the financial struggles and so much more, Black students particularly have continued to endure all of that and daily micro/macro aggressions,” Mayers wrote in an email to The Herald.
“We’re tired of masks and masking ourselves. At least for me, that’s where a lot of my exhaustion is coming from, which is to say nothing of what happens outside of campus both in my life and in the wider world,” Mayers wrote. “It’s a lot. I know many BIPOC students feel this way; It’s a frustrating line to walk.”
Mayers said he’s noticed some sophomores feeling distant from other class years and faculty because of their unusual first year. “There’s a sense of disconnect,” he said.
“This semester we are definitely hearing from students that they are experiencing moments or longer stretches of feeling fatigued or overwhelmed,” wrote the assistant directors for CAPS. “We also are hearing from some students that they thought it would be worse than it is, and the excitement of being back on campus with more freedom is helping with the overall experience.”
They also shared that for the
current semester, sophomores have comprised 24.3% of students seeking care from CAPS. Seniors tend to seek out CAPS most frequently, making up 27.5% of the total, indicating that struggles with mental health extend beyond the sophomore class. The assistant directors for CAPS declined to share data comparing demand for CAPS appointments from 2019 to now when asked by The Herald, writing that “the data from fall 2019 (our last in person semester) and fall 2020 (CAPS was fully remote that semester) are not easily compared to the current semester for a number of reasons.”
A pandemic year at Brown: class of 2024 s rocky start to college
Last April, The Herald spoke to three members of the class of 2024 who had switched from in-person to remote study part way through the semester for mental health reasons.
Melody Trautner ’24 left early last spring after struggling with her mental health and feeling extreme-ly isolated. This semester, Trautner said that she is taking two courses and working — a more wellbalanced schedule that has been great for her mental health.
“We encourage students to take time to notice how their bodies and brains are feeling, and find space to do something that is not achievement-oriented,” Lane-Aaronian, Corona and Holder wrote. “Connection with others is especially helpful in combating burnout, and we love hearing from students that they are finding more opportunities for connection on campus this semester.”
Trautner said that while she's doing better, she has noticed her friends and peers struggling under the strain of being in school for three consecutive semesters.
The University “should be able to provide more ... therapists for their thousands of students with the amount of resources that they have,” Trautner added.
“CAPS is actively working to hire additional staff, as the CAPS team
has experienced some attrition (retirements, out of state moves, etc) since the beginning of the pandemic,” Lane-Aaronian, Corona and Holder wrote.
“Mindful of the atypical experience current sophomores would have after starting their first semester in January and continuing through the summer, departments from the Division of Campus Life, the College, Class Coordinating Board and others planned a variety of in-person events and programs to welcome, engage and support sophomores at the start of fall semester,” wrote Koren Bakkegard, associate vice president for campus life and dean wof students, in an email to The Herald.
“Many resources are available to students throughout their time at Brown, including Student Support Services,” she added. “The deans in Student Support Services assist students with a wide range of issues and concerns that might arise. The deans reach out to students who they know have experienced a variety of challenges, and they are available for students to reach out to as well.”
“CAPS simply doesn’t have the resources from this university to meet with students on a regular basis longterm, which is quite honestly what a lot of students need,” Trautner said.
“CAPS works with students individually to make collaborative plans (between student and therapist) for treatment,” the assistant directors of CAPS wrote. “CAPS offers a range of treatment options that can include long-term care for a student, particularly if there is a financial or insurance need that makes it hard for that student to access care off campus.”
Although Zachary Boston ’24 has started to “get into the groove of things” since going remote his first semester, he is “definitely feeling burnt out. I’m looking forward to the winter break,” he said.
While Trautner and Boston remained at Brown and said they were enjoying life on campus more with easing COVID-19 restrictions, Mason
Thompson decided the best choice for her health was to transfer. Thompson had attended Brown as a first-year last spring and struggled with her mental health during that semester. While COVID-19 restrictions made it difficult to meet people, “a lot of it was personal issues that have come up in my life and struggles with anxiety,” Thompson said. “I was having a really hard time with that, and it just was progressively getting worse instead of getting better over time.”
Thompson ultimately decided to transfer to Brescia University in Kentucky, where she is from. “My mental health is so much better,” she said. “It’s the best it’s been in a long time.”
She said that last spring at Brown, she appreciated the health precautions but felt that mental health was not discussed as much as it could have been. “I feel like they didn’t factor in student mental health enough, because I saw so many students struggle with that,” she said.
Looking ahead: what to expect in spring
Schornak said she “really hopes” that winter break will be enough time for the class of 2024 to recuperate after a year of classes. “I would love it if a month were enough, but the three weeks in the summer went by quickly enough that I have a feeling it probably won’t be.”
Mayers agreed that while winter break will be a much needed rest, he was worried that burnout would resume when the class returns to campus. “We’re just going to see this continue,” he said. “I feel like there’s going to be this level of (tiredness) and exhaustion that might just permeate our class.”
He emphasized the importance of sophomores taking care of themselves and recognizing that the pandemic created unusual and stressful circumstances.
“Don’t be afraid to breathe,” Mayers said. “People need to hear it again, and then tomorrow and then the day after that. It’s okay.”
MINDY JI / HERALD