Monday, October 24th, 2022

THE

DAILY

BDH/BOP fall 2022 poll: Majority of students are happy

More than 1,000 undergraduate students surveyed on happiness, romance, grade inflation, voting plans and more

BY PETER SWOPE AND CALEB LAZAR SPORTS EDITOR AND UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR

Welcome to The Herald’s fall 2022 poll, conducted in an inaugural partnership with the Brown Opin ion Project. Through dozens of in teractive graphs created from the responses of over 1,000 undergrad uates, we’ve gathered data revealing myriad identities, experiences and opinions present on campus. Much of the data we’ve collected — from students’ self-evaluated happiness to their opinions on grade inflation — is impossible to find elsewhere.

Along with our findings, you can explore the demographic information of our undergraduate respondents. The Herald’s poll is held twice per year to assess student experiences and opinions regarding trends on and off campus. The questions for this poll were developed by The Herald’s editorial staff and the Brown Opinion Project’s members.

This semester’s survey touched on topics including relationship status,

happiness level, plans to vote in the midterm elections and experiences with Counseling and Psychological Services and the Undergraduate Council of Students. The Herald will also investigate poll results in more depth through a follow-up series of articles.

Methodology

In previous years, The Herald’s poll data was not weighted. With the exception of demographic informa tion, all data for this year’s poll has

Women’s soccer waltzes past Cornell 2-0

Win keeps Bears on track for Ivy League championship with 2 games to play

BY NICHOLAS MILLER SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Women’s soccer (10-2-2, 4-0-1 Ivy League) retained first place in the Ivy League after defeating Cor nell (2-7-5, 0-3-2) 2-0 at Steven son-Pincince Field Saturday, restor ing the Bears’ two-point advantage over rival Harvard in the conference with two more games to play.

Brown briefly fell behind Harvard in the standings before their game, as Harvard defeated Princeton 3-2.

In Providence, with goals from forward Ava Seelenfreund ’23.5 and midfielder Lucinda Anderson ’24, Brown outclassed Cornell in all ar eas, recording 62% of possession and topping the Big Red 19-3 in shots and 8-1 in shots on goal.

The Bruno press was active and disruptive, particularly in the first half,

in which Cornell struggled to get the ball out of their own zone and relied on aimless long balls to attack.

“I think that’s part of the identity of our team — pressing, trying to put the team under in their half, turn them over and try to go to goal,” Head Coach Kia McNeill said. “It was hard because they put so many numbers behind the ball and I think we had some unforced errors, giving the ball away a couple of times.”

In the early stages, the Bears cre ated chances from crosses into the 18-yard box for forward Brittany Ra phino ’23, who twice arrived just too late for a tap-in.

But it was a cross from Raphino that led to the Brown opener in the 24th minute. Raphino, Brown’s leading scorer entering the game, drove to the end line and sent in a hard, low cross.

Cornell’s defense only cleared the ball as far as Seelenfreund, who, from the penalty spot, took a touch and rifled a half-volley into the roof of the net.

“Brittany and I are connecting a lot from up top and you can see (that) from the scores. When we’re both on, it

been weighted. All comparisons to previous polls use this year’s weight ed data as well as unweighted data from previous polls.

Demographic Information

How would you describe your gender identity?

A majority of poll respondents — 52% — identified as female, while 44% identified as male. Female re spondents similarly represented a plurality in the spring 2022 poll, but not a majority as they did in this se

mester’s poll.

According to The Brookings Insti tute, young women are more likely than men to have graduated college in every U.S. state. In Rhode Island, women aged 25 to 34 are 25% more likely than men to have a bachelor’s degree. Increased female enrollment in higher education has occurred alongside the “growing labor force participation as well as structural changes in the economy,” accord ing to the Pew Research Center, and financial considerations were a ma

SCIENCE & RESEARCH

New grocery store

Rory’s is lone operator in downtown Providence

jor reason why many don’t complete their degree.

Results were otherwise similar to our previous poll. About 5% of respondents identified as nonbinary. In the 2020-21 academic year, the University reported that 52.73% of its undergraduates were women, while 47.27% were men. The University re ports this information according to a gender binary per federal require ments, meaning we cannot precisely compare the demographics of survey respondents to University data.

How would you describe your race and ethnicity?

A slight majority — 53% — of re spondents identified as white, similar to the 55% of white respondents in the spring 2022 poll. About one third of respondents identified as Asian, which similarly mirrored last semester’s poll. Close to 13% of respondents identi fied as Black, almost 12% identified as Hispanic and roughly 3% identified as Middle Eastern or North African. Fewer than 1% of respondents identified as Native American/Alaska Native and

Venkatasubramanian tackles AI Bill of Rights during White House appointment

Doulas@Brown discuss reproductive justice, upcoming doula class

BY JAKOBI HASKELL CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Suresh Venkatasubramanian, professor of computer science and data science and deputy director of the Data Science Initiative, recently ended a 15-month appointment as advisor to the White House Office of Science and Technol ogy Policy, during which he helped formulate policies to ensure ethical use of artificial intelligence.

At the White House, Venkatasu bramanian, whose research focuses on algorithmic fairness, or correcting biases in machine learning, and auto mated decision-making, coordinated federal government activities and con sistent policy guidelines surrounding technology.

His team conducted extensive out reach to different stakeholders, includ ing panels with representatives from government, industry, civil society and

News

Triple concentrators, students in ScB-AB programs reflect on plans

6

community groups, Venkatasubramani an said. The team also obtained input from the public on government policies under review.

During his appointment, Venkata subramanian advised the White House on the nation’s first blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights, which was released on Oct. 4. The document outlines a plan for the future development of au

Arts & Culture

The 1975’s new album offers a window into 2010s, millennial views

tomated systems through “concrete expectations and technical expertise,” Venkatasubramanian said.

The goal of the AI Bill of Rights “is to start the recognition that while we’ve seen a lot of the benefits, … won ders and potential that comes along with various forms of automation, da

U. professor concludes 15-month White House appointment, returns to College Hill

The class of 2023 — current seniors — reported the highest percentage of students who identified as unhappy in The Herald and the Brown Opinion Project’s fall 2022 poll.

COURTESY OF SURESH VENKATASUBRAMANIAN

Professor Suresh Venkatasubramanian plans to establish the Center for Technology Responsibility, Re-Imagination and Re-Design.

METRO

Rory’s opens as only grocery store in downtown Providence

BY LILIANA GREYF CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Rory’s Market and Kitchen opened in downtown Providence Sept. 23, bring ing fresh produce to the heart of the city and expanding food accessibil ity as the sole grocery store located downtown.

Spanning more than 6,000 square feet on the ground floor of Washington Street’s Nightingale building, the gro cery store serves “a variety of natural and specialty grocery staples” as well as “made-to-order and grab-and-go breakfasts, lunches and dinners,” ac cording to a press release from Ro ry’s. Shoppers can make purchases in person or order online for pick-up or delivery any day, with both the store and kitchen open seven days a week.

“The reception we’ve gotten, just based on the amount of produce and fresh food we have, has been really wel coming, and people are really excited to get what they need,” said Rory Eames, CEO and store owner.

While the lack of grocery stores highlights issues surrounding food ac cessibility in downtown Providence, it is not possible to determine whether the area officially qualifies as a “food desert” due to limitations on available census data, said Thea Upham, director of programs and operations at Farm Fresh Rhode Island.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines a food desert as an area with low access to fresh produce. To qualify as a desert, the neighborhood must be low income and have no grocery stores within a one-mile radius. According to 2019 USDA data, downtown Providence is a low-income area with relatively low food access, though this is a disputed

designation.

According to WPRI-12, the opening of Rory’s — as well as plans for a Trader Joe’s store to open in Fox Point later this year — means downtown Providence no longer qualifies as a food desert.

But data about access is difficult to collect and interpret, according to Upham. While Rory’s is the first grocery store to open in the area, the median income of a household in downtown Providence is just under $100,000, mak ing it a higher-earning area of the city, which has a median income of under $50,000.

Though the opening of Rory’s will create access to fresh food in an

area with few options, the factor of affordability must be taken into con sideration when determining food access, said Dawn King, director of undergraduate studies at the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society. “There is a lot of critique for places like Rory’s who are making claims of increasing access when there is no way that somebody on low income could afford a single thing in that market,” she said.

Eames, who additionally owns the other two Rory’s stores on Cape Cod, hopes to cater the store to “as big of a group as possible, anyone from students to young families to single professionals

to retirees,” she said. “The way we look at it is that there is a lot of opportunity to serve people here.”

Cape Cod, like downtown Provi dence, is an area that houses predom inantly higher-income families, and Rory’s aesthetics and products are designed to serve those populations, King said.

The stores’ landlord in Massachu setts also owns their new property in Providence, so their established work ing relationship allowed for an easy transition out of state. “When we were looking to branch out into a more yearround community, because the Cape is really seasonal, this opportunity came

up,” Eames said.

Even with best intentions, food access is difficult for businesses to ca ter toward, King said. “They do their research, and sometimes they realize … how difficult it is to make a profit if you’re not in a really high income neighborhood if you can’t charge sev en dollars for a dozen eggs,” King ex plained. “The real estate prices are high downtown.”

Nevertheless, the opening of Rory’s — or any grocery store, in any neighbor hood — will most likely benefit overall access in the city, Upham said. “Food systems are really complex … but more is always better.”

really works,” Seelenfreund said.

For the rest of the half, Brown con tinued to create chances, many of them sparked by substitute forward Claire Myers ’22.5.

In the 42nd minute, Myers made a run in behind the defense and was found by defender Kayla Duran ’22.5 on a chipped through ball. With the ball coming over her shoulder, Myers whipped a header on target, forcing the Cornell goalkeeper to make a div ing save.

Minutes later, Myers picked up the ball in the midfield and sent an inch-perfect through ball to forward Miya Grant-Clavijo ’25. After a scramble in the box, the ball landed for forward Kira Maguire ’24, whose shot hit the outside of the net.

Cornell began the second half stron ger, gaining more possession in the offensive zone. In the 66th minute, a Cornell corner bounced around the box before it was poked toward the net by forward Laken Gallman, but her shot went just wide of the post.

In the final 20 minutes, Brown re gained their dominance, punctuated by Anderson’s goal, which again came from a Raphino cross. A long ball from defender Naya Cardoza ’26 found Ra phino wide-open on the side of the box

near the endline. Raphino chipped in a cross that was headed down by Myers and then slammed in by Anderson.

With Anderson’s goal all but ensur ing the victory, Duran almost added a third in jaw-dropping fashion, unleash ing a missile from 20 yards out that bounced down off the crossbar, up off the turf and back out. Replay showed that the shot had crossed the goal line, but the referee did not give the goal, denying a dazzling cap to the victory.

“I never get shots on goal so I guess I was just pretty excited to get a shot for once,” Duran said. “But I guess, bad luck.”

Still, with the win, the Bears remain in the driver’s seat for a third-straight Ivy League title with games remaining against Penn — the only conference opponent Harvard has dropped points against — and Yale.

Penn “is another team that puts a lot of numbers behind the ball. They really sit in and play for those one-goal games or 0-0 games,” McNeill said. “We (have to) execute on crosses, on set pieces more — be a little more dangerous in the box.”

The Bears could potentially clinch the Ivy League as early as next weekend with a win against the Quakers in Phil adelphia on Sunday — if Harvard draws or loses against Dartmouth on Saturday.

Market introduces new venue for produce, goods to community downtown

MATHIEU GRECO / HERALD

The grocery store, which opened on Sept. 23, is the only food seller currently operating downtown. Rory’s Market and Kitchen also has two store locations on Cape Cod. Providence store owner Rory Eames said the store hopes to cater to “as big of a group as possible.”

COURTESY OF CHIP DELORENZO / BROWN ATHLETICS

The Bears remain in the driver’s seat for a third-straight Ivy League title, with a two-point advantage over rival Harvard in the conference standings and games remaining against Penn and Yale.

SOCCER

Doulas@Brown hosts conversation on reproductive justice

added that she began taking a doula class taught by Mama Glow during a particularly challenging time in her life, and “it was honestly just such a great space.”

BY SARAH ONDERDONK SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Latham Thomas, founder of mater nity lifestyle brand Mama Glow, and Sarah Williams, visiting assistant professor of anthropology and gen der studies, discussed their journeys with reproductive justice in a con versation hosted by Doulas@Brown in the Multipurpose Room of the Health & Wellness Center Friday.

At the event, entitled “Reproductive Justice: Reimagining What’s Possi ble,” the speakers discussed birth eq uity, knowledge transfer and a doula class slated to be hosted on campus this spring.

Doulas@Brown is a “BIPOC-cen tered reproductive justice doula collec tive that provides birth and postpartum support to the Providence community and engages in activism and education on Brown’s campus,” according to a flyer distributed during the event.

The flyer defines a doula as a “per son who provides emotional and phys ical support to you during major life transitions.” There are different types of doulas, but the flyer focused on birth and postpartum doulas, who provide support during and after birth.

Thomas noted that Mama Glow — which has an ongoing partnership with Doulas@Brown — trains a com munity of doulas, helping them find work, develop professionally and forge mentorships. The company also works to support families by matching them with doulas.

Leona Hariharan ’23, the president of Doulas@Brown and the event’s or ganizer, said that she became involved with the doula community through her supervisor Tanya Purdy, director of BWell Health Promotion. Hariharan

Hariharan said that the class helped her realize she could “create healing experiences for other people.” She then approached Thomas about introducing her peers on campus to doula work, and Thomas sponsored scholarships for five students to enroll in doula training courses.

According to her introduction at the event, Williams has studied and worked with doula and midwife communities in Texas, Canada and the Yucatán Penin sula, and taught a course called GNSS 1510A: “Reproductive In/Justice” in the fall 2021 semester.

At the event, Thomas and Williams spoke about their life paths and how they became involved with reproductive justice. Both said that they felt they are on course to pursue their life’s callings, having demonstrated interest in the birth process from a young age.

Thomas and Williams also described their definitions of “reproductive jus tice,” which Williams said includes “the right to have a child or to not have a child, and the right to parent your chil dren with dignity and safety.”

Reproductive justice also includes “embracing and creating partnerships with communities” and “unlocking knowledge and making it accessible,” Thomas said.

“I think a lot about knowledge transfer,” she added, “and how we push aside people like our elders and others who have so much wisdom.”

Thomas and Williams discussed both historical and contemporary re productive issues, including high Black maternal mortality rates in the United States, the disconnect between aca demia and local communities and the extractive nature of anthropological studies.

They also spoke about current flaws in OB/GYN undergraduate education, medical school training and post-grad

uate education. “The system is not built for those it is for,” Williams said.

Williams focused on the lack of di versity among medical professionals and the lack of exposure they have to the practices of midwives and dou las. “They very rarely see non-violent birth,” she said, adding that OB/GYNs should be required to do rotations with midwives when training.

When most people go to the hospital to give birth, “we get into this frame work that is grounded in efficiency and urgency,” Thomas said.

“You’re on a time frame,” she added. “It’s a business … and you are delivering in captivity, in a place not designed for your safety and dignity and sense of belonging and community.”

Thomas also discussed ways that the medical system, through “racist propaganda,” has closed off intergen erational knowledge systems within certain cultures. “Think about stories we carry and information we get from our family … we have to defend a path way of knowledge we shouldn’t have to fight for,” she said.

“Our goal is to not scare you away

from medicine,” Hariharan said to the students attending the event. “I would like to say it’s an invitation … the time before medical school is the time when we should learn to care for people.”

At the end of the event, Thomas and Williams announced that they will be teaching a class that will be called “Theorizing Reproductive In/ Justice” together in the spring semes ter, which will be cross-listed in gender and sexuality studies and anthropol ogy. Students who complete the class will receive birth doula certification, they said.

The motivation for this course largely comes from student interest, Williams explained. While teaching her course on reproductive justice, she was approached by students who wanted to know how they could become doulas.

Thomas will teach the lab por tion of the class, while Williams will teach the seminar portion. The course will have 20 seats reserved for Brown students and five seats reserved for members of the Provi dence community.

According to Williams, “universities

have so much going on” that events like the Friday discussion that are “stu dent-organized and student-run expose people to opportunities they might not have come across” otherwise, she said.

“I think students on campus are cre ating a pathway for the future of what education can look like,” Thomas said. “What I have seen from Brown students is that there’s tenacity and a sense of vision around not only what’s possible, but what they would like to create while they’re still here.”

“I think it’s important for us as com munity members and organizations to … empower students with resources,” she added.

Junnie Kim ’26, who attended the event, has been interested in reproduc tive justice for a long time, and found the discussion engaging. “It was super fun,” she said. “I could hear (the speak ers) talk for days.”

Regarding the reproductive justice class slated for spring 2023, Kim added that she is already “in the queue for the class.”

Latham Thomas, Sarah Williams say doula class will come to campus this spring

SARAH ONDERDONK / HERALD

Reproductive justice includes “embracing and creating partnerships with communities” and “unlocking knowledge and making it accessible,” said Latham Thomas, founder of maternity brand Mama Glow.

fewer than 1% identified as Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander. The Middle Eastern or North African option was a new addition to this semester’s poll.

For comparison, according to the University’s 2021-22 Common Data Set — which does not track the racial or ethnic identities of international stu dents — just over 41% of degree-seek ing undergraduates were white, 18.2% were Asian, 11.3% were Hispanic or Latino and 7.6% were Black or African American. The CDS counts those who identify as two or more races in a sep arate category.

Racial diversity at Brown has in creased only slightly in recent years. According to the University’s Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, the percent age of undergraduates from historically underrepresented groups — defined as African American/Black, Hispanic/ Latinx, American Indian/Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Is lander — has increased from 20.8% in the 2014-15 academic year to 22% in the 2020-21 academic year.

How would you describe your sexual ori entation?

About 62% of respondents identified as straight. Close to a fifth of respon dents — 18.7% — identified as bisexual, 7% identified as queer, 6% identified as gay, 6% identified as questioning or unsure, just under 3% identified as pansexual, just under 3% identified as lesbian and roughly 2% identified as asexual. Brown’s Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, however, reported that about a quarter of under graduates identify as LGBTQ+.

The Princeton Review has ranked Brown as the fourth most “LGBTQ-friendly” college campus in the United States. Brown’s LGBTQ Cen ter will soon move to a newly renovated space near Keeney Quadrangle in order to more easily host speakers and events. In June, Rhode Islanders also celebrated their first in-person Pride month since the pandemic.

What is your current graduation year?

The class of 2025 was most repre sented in this semester’s poll, mak ing up 29% of respondents, followed closely by the class of 2026 at 28% and the class of 2024 at 24%. Only 14% of respondents were members of the class of 2023. Close to 5% of respondents were mid-year graduates — or members of the classes of 2022.5, 2023.5, 2024.5 and 2025.5. This poll has been weighted by graduation year.

In previous years, The Herald did not collect specific data on mid-year graduates. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, different graduating classes have had vastly different Brown experi ences, complicating the process of build ing community across grades. The class of 2023 will be the last graduating class to have been in college when COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March 2020.

What is your (intended) concentration area(s)?

Physical science including math and computer science was the most popular intended concentration area among re spondents, accounting for roughly 42% of them. Social sciences followed at 30%, then humanities and arts at roughly 27% and life sciences at nearly 24%. Just over 5% of respondents reported being unsure of their intended concentration.

Pre-professionalism is on the rise at Brown. Courses offered by departments such as computer science, economics and engineering have increased over the past decade — computer science courses have almost doubled since the 2012-13 academic year — while hu manities departments such as history, English and anthropology have dropped in the number of courses offered, ac cording to Brown’s Office of Institu tional Research. Computer science, economics, biology and history were the top baccalaureate completions in 2021.

Respondents were permitted to se lect more than one concentration field, which is why total percentages exceed 100. In recent semesters, University departments have added new concen trations, certificates and curricular des ignations, all of which aim to expand the role of equity and diversity in the Brown curriculum.

Do you have a parent, grandparent or sibling who attended Brown?

About 20% of poll respondents had a relative attend Brown. Of those who did have a relative attend, 11% had a parent attend, roughly 7% had a sibling attend and just over 2% had a grand parent attend. Previous Herald polls did not distinguish between whether a respondent had a parent, grandparent or sibling attend, instead grouping all legacy students together.

In fall 2021, some students called for an end to the consideration of legacy status in admissions, with the Under graduate Council of Students calling for the end of legacy admissions. Dean of Admission Logan Powell has refuted criticisms of legacy admissions and the University has not announced plans to stop considering legacy status in admissions.

Survey Questions

How concerned are you about the spread of COVID-19 on campus?

More than two and a half years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a majority of poll respondents expressed limited concern about the spread of COVID-19 on campus. Over two-thirds of respondents — 68% — expressed that they were “not” or “slightly” concerned about the spread of COVID-19 on cam pus, while fewer than 7% of respon dents indicated that they are “very” or “extremely” concerned. Students are slightly less concerned about COVID-19 now than they were in The Herald’s spring 2022 poll. Last spring, 61% of respondents indicated that they were “not” or “slightly” concerned about the spread of COVID-19, and just over 10% indicated being “very” or “extremely” concerned. While testing and masking remain optional for members of the Brown community, students — partic ularly first-years — have experienced difficulties with a lack of isolation hous ing and limited access to masks and test kits. The University has held bivalent COVID-19 booster clinics this month.

Have you ever had a fake ID?

Roughly one-third of respondents

indicated ever having had a fake ID, while about two-thirds indicated never having had one.

Members of the class of 2026 were by far the least likely to have ever had a fake ID: Fewer than one-fifth indicated ever having had one. Otherwise, fake ID ownership was largely consistent across the classes of 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Concentrators in the physical sci ences, including math and computer science, were the least likely to have owned a fake ID across areas of studies. Only 26% of physical science students indicated they had owned a fake ID, compared to more than 30% in every other concentration area.

Do you approve or disapprove of the way President Christina Paxson is handling her job?

A majority of respondents — 53% — did not have positive or negative feelings about how President Chris tina Paxson P’19 is handling her role at the University. About a fifth of poll respondents expressed either approval or disapproval. These results showed a substantial shift from the spring, when about 45% of respondents ex pressed disapproval, roughly one-third expressed approval and only 22% ex pressed having no opinion.

Students in the classes of 2025 and 2026 were the most likely to have neu tral opinions: 57% of the class of 2025 and 66% of the class of 2026 expressed neither approval nor disapproval. Pax son celebrated her 10th anniversary as University president in the spring, citing greater support and access for a diverse student body as one of her proudest achievements. During her tenure, the University has expanded financial aid offerings, becoming tu ition-free for families earning under $125,000.

Are you generally happy?

A majority of poll respondents in dicated that, as a whole, they are gen erally happy — 25% indicated that they are very happy and 56% indicated that they are somewhat happy. Fewer than 10% of respondents indicated that they were either somewhat or very unhappy.

Cross-tabulating our findings re vealed notable insights about our stu dent population and what groups report greater levels of happiness. Those who responded they were very concerned with COVID also reported higher levels of happiness. 87% and 88% of those in long-term and casual relationships, respectively, reported feeling either very happy or somewhat happy, com pared to 76% of respondents hooking up with multiple people and 73% of respondents who are single and not looking for anything. Notably, 37% of respondents hooking up with multi ple people responded feeling generally “very happy,” the highest percentage of that response.

Happiness was largely level across concentration level, though those studying social sciences reported slight ly greater levels of happiness than those studying physical sciences.

The class of 2026 reported greater levels of happiness overall, though the class of 2023 reported the greatest level of feeling “very happy” at almost 30%. Just above 90% of those who had a par ent go to Brown reported feeling either very or somewhat happy, compared to about 80% of those who did not have legacy status.

Are you planning to vote in the November elections?

Rhode Island’s midterms have re ceived widespread attention, especially for Republicans hoping to take back the House of Representatives — former Cranston Mayor Allan Fung and current state Treasurer Seth Magaziner ’06 are vying for Rhode Island’s 2nd Congres sional District. Close to three-fourths of respondents are planning to vote in the November election — 60% are voting in a state other than Rhode Island, 8% are non-Rhode Island residents voting in Rhode Island and 5% are Rhode Island residents voting in Rhode Island.

Respondents who intend to con centrate in the physical sciences were slightly less likely to indicate that they are planning to vote, but the likelihood of voting did not change significantly across other concentrations. The Herald recently chronicled plans to vote among

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Brown students.

Agree or disagree: Brown should reduce grade inflation.

Roughly half of respondents overall indicated they don’t want Brown to reduce grade inflation, while a quarter indicated that they were neutral about the issue. Only 17% of respondents indi cated that they “somewhat” or “strong ly” agree that the University should take action to reduce grade inflation.

The Herald reported in the spring that grade inflation at Brown has con tinued to rise in recent semesters, which has sparked discourse on the role of grades and Brown’s reputation for grade inflation on campus. Members of the class of 2023 were most likely to agree with the statement, followed by the classes of 2024, 2025 and 2026, in that order.

Legacy students were slightly more likely to agree with the statement than non-legacy students.

Have you attended a protest in your time at Brown?

Nearly two-thirds of students said they have not attended a protest in their time at Brown, while about a fifth of respondents each have either attended a protest on campus or in Providence.

Physical science concentrators were the least likely to have attended a pro test. Students who are registered to vote were significantly more likely to have attended a protest than students who are not registered.

of COVID-19 concern were most likely to have attended a protest, while students

who are not concerned about COVID-19 were least likely to have attended a pro test. Students and organizations, in cluding Sunrise Movement Brown and the Graduate Labor Organization, have recently organized campaigns against recruitment by fossil fuel companies and the removal of grad students from their programs, respectively.

Which of the following best describes your current relationship status?

Relationship status was fairly split amongst poll respondents. One-quarter of students reported being in a longterm relationship, while a slight major ity of students are single. Among single students, around two-fifths are looking for a relationship, one-fifth are looking for something casual and the remaining two-fifths aren’t looking for anything.

Gay men poll respondents were least likely to be in a relationship. Relation ship status was relatively stable across concentrations. Students in higher grade levels were more likely to be in a long-term relationship or be hooking up with multiple people, while members of the class of 2026 were most likely to be single and not looking for anything.

Relationship status did not signifi cantly differ by concentration, with about a quarter of respondents study ing humanities, social sciences, life science or physical sciences being in a relationship.

reported having cheated on a significant other — significantly lower than the 17% of students who have been in a relationship who said they have been cheated on. Male respondents more often indicated that they have cheated on a partner.

Have you had an appointment at Coun seling and Psychological Services (CAPS) this semester?

Around 70% of students said that they have not tried making a CAPS appointment this semester. Of the 30% that did, about half weren’t able to schedule an appointment within a week. Upperclassmen were more likely to try making a CAPS appointment — members of the class of 2023 were most likely to have made one, followed by members of the classes of 2024, 2025 and 2026.

Respondents who intend to concen trate in the area of humanities or the arts were most likely to have requested a CAPS appointment compared to other areas of study.

Have you benefited from a program or service provided by the Undergraduate Council of Students (UCS) in your time at Brown?

As UCS faces constitutional contro versy and a petition for a presidential recall, a plurality of students — 43% — said they were unsure if they have benefited from a UCS program or ser

efited from a UCS program or service.

Additional Information

Have you been in a romantic relationship before?

A significant majority of respon dents — 70% — indicated that they have been in a relationship based on responses to Question 9 (“Have you ever cheated on/been cheated on by your sig nificant other?”). Older students were generally more likely to have been in a relationship. Whether or not a respon dent had been in a relationship did not vary significantly across concentrations.

Methodology

The Brown Opinion Project and

The Herald conducted this joint Oc tober 2022 poll from October 11 to 13. BOP and BDH solicited responses from Brown undergraduate students near the Stephen Robert ‘62 Campus Center, the “Circle Dance” sculptures near Waterman Street and on Brook Street near Barus and Holley. BOP and BDH representatives asked every person who passed their location if they were interested in taking a quick anonymous poll. Responses were anon ymously collected using Google Forms. Over the course of the polling process, we collected 1,091 total responses from Brown undergraduate students. The margin of error is 3.02% with 95% confidence.

Health Services will be hosing its final COVID-19 booster clinics at the following times this week:

Tuesday, Oct. 25 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Registration is required and students must bring a copy of their student insurance card as well as a form of identification such as a driver’s license or passport.

The clinics only offer boosters and not initial vaccinations. They will be hosted in the Multipurpose Room of the Health & Wellness Center at 450 Brook St.

Interact with this story’s data on The Herald’s website, accessible through the QR code above.

Students reflect on triple concentrations, combined degree program

BY SARAH ONDERDONK SENIOR STAFF WRITER

University students can take their undergraduate education beyond the scope of single or double con centrations with the Combined De gree Program or a triple concentra tion.

An unconventional course plan

Undergraduate students have two options if they want to complete more than one concentration — receiving a single degree or a single combined five-year degree, according to the University’s website.

The website states that “approxi mately 20 percent of Brown students complete their Baccalaureate degrees with more than one concentration within the standard eight semesters of full-time study.” These students receive either a bachelor of arts or a bachelor of science.

Though the website also uses the term “double concentration,” there is no stated limit on the number of concentrations students are allowed to pursue, making a triple concentra tion possible.

More than 100 students in the past 10 years have received a combined bachelor of arts-bachelor of science degree, wrote Oludurotimi Adetun ji, associate dean for undergradu ate research and inclusive science, in an email to The Herald. Adetunji currently oversees combined degree programs on campus.

“In a given academic year, 15 to 25 students express interest in the combined degree program, and eight to 10 students receive initial or full approval for candidacy in the pro gram,” he added.

A double concentration requires a minimum of 30 course credits and the completion of the requirements for each of the declared concentrations, which is different from the combined degree, Adetunji wrote.

“The combined degree requires a minimum of 38 course credits and completion of both the bachelor of science requirement for a standard concentration program in life sci ences or physical science as well as completion of the bachelor of arts re quirement for a standard or indepen dent concentration in the humanities or social studies,” Adetunji wrote.

Students who wish to join the combined degree program must get approval from Adetunji, according to the website. Students that gradu ate will receive a “single, combined bachelor of arts-bachelor of science degree.”

Although technically feasible to complete in eight semesters, the University requires that combined

degree students enroll in at least 10 semesters at Brown. This requirement is put in place so students do not get overwhelmed with an intense course load, wrote Adetunji.

“Some students struggle to bal ance coursework with other priorities when they enroll in five courses (per semester), which may lead them to fall behind on the requirements for satisfactory academic progress,” Ade tunji wrote. In addition, the program is “already demanding in terms of breadth and depth,” he added.

Despite the 10-term requirement, students may be able to complete the combined degree program in nine semesters with permission from the Committee on Academic Standing, who “review the student’s petition, supporting letter(s) and overall course plan to ensure they are in line with the combined degree pol icies and graduation requirements,” Adetunji wrote.

The program allows students to deeply explore two disciplines and “the breadth of the Open Curriculum” more than a four-year degree could offer, wrote Adetunji. It also allows students on financial aid to “continue their studies at Brown with financial support.”

On the other hand, Adetunji add ed, students must make important considerations when deciding to pur sue a combined degree program. For one, they must commit to being at Brown for five years and they can not receive a certificate. In addition, “for most students, there are finan

cial costs associated with attending Brown for a fifth year,” he wrote.

The Herald spoke with four com munity members on their experiences triple concentrating or pursuing a combined degree.

The combined bachelor of sci ence-bachelor of arts program

Alyscia Batista ’24 is getting her bachelor of science in biology and her bachelor of arts in public health. “I definitely wanted to double con centrate,” she said. But since her two concentrations would have added up to 32 credits, this would have left her little time to explore other depart ments she was interested in.

With the combined degree, “I can explore the things I want to explore” and “I can also study abroad,” she said.

Still, Batista found the combined degree process to be “ambiguous.” She applied at the end of her soph omore year, but did not realize that they “prioritize people who are within two concentration requirements of finishing one of their concentra tions,” she recalled.

Since Batista had been splitting her coursework between the two con centrations equally, she “had to fight to get approved.”

“It was an odd process,” she added. “They don’t try to make it popular.”

Tim Zhao ’23 is doing the com bined degree program with three concentrations. He is getting his bachelor of science in physics and applied mathematics and his bachelor

of arts in history.

“I transferred to Brown after freshman year,” Zhao said. “I chose physics at the beginning, then during COVID I discovered a new interest in applied math.” At some point last year, he also realized he was halfway done with a history degree.

“I feel like the process is quite straightforward as long as you can show that you’re on track to finish both (degrees) and you’ve been in terested in both,” Zhao said.

Zhao also said that the five-year program allows him to remain on the rowing team for an additional year. “I love Brown and I really want to race for four years,” he said.

Triple concentrating

Connie Liu ’23.5 is a triple concen trator who is slated to graduate after eight semesters. They will receive a bachelor of arts in computer science, visual arts and literary arts.

“I came in the first two years thinking I would major in computer science and visual arts,” they said. “I was also taking a lot of classes for fun and at some point I realized I was halfway towards a literary arts concentration.”

Liu also said that an advantage of triple concentrating is that “declaring a concentration gives you priority in registering for those classes which can be difficult to get.”

When asked if they thought they had enough support while navigating three concentrations, Liu said they “never really discussed having three

RHEA RASQUINHA / HERALD

concentrations with people.” They added that they do not know many people who have chosen to do this.

Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit ‘21, a former op-ed contributor for The Herald, graduated with an A.B in an thropology, French and Francophone studies and Latin American and Ca ribbean Studies.

“I didn’t initially think about con centrating in three different areas,” he said. “I ended up declaring my third concentration in the second half of my junior year because I really loved all three areas of study.”

“I don’t think that three concen trations caused me to be noticeably busier in terms of my academic work compared to my peers,” Pipatjarasgit added. “However, it certainly limited what I could do in terms of exploring the Open Curriculum.”

Pipatjarasgit was a peer advisor during his time at Brown, which made him very conscientious about the classes he chose to enroll in. “I promised to myself that even if there was one (required) class I didn’t want to take, I would drop one of my con centrations,” he said. “I just thought it wouldn’t be worth it.”

Having three concentrations can both “show dedication to three dif ferent fields of study or show inde cisiveness” in terms of post-graduate plans, according to Pipatjarasgit.

“I think it’s more about what you make of the concentrations and the classes that you take than what you put on your resume as your academic title,” he added.

Students discuss decision-making process of unique undergraduate courses

Sender ’25: Cities should have constitutional autonomy

When the United States became its own nation it was chiefly an agrarian one, dominated by farmers and designed to appease their pastoral mindsets. Just one in 20 citizens lived in cities. In today’s America, the demographics of the Constitutional Era have entirely shifted. The emergence of the industrial and post-industrial American economies has spawned an enormous change, culminating today in cities housing 80% of the population. However, the structure of the nation has not changed to reflect this shift, so our cities remain a legal afterthought in the American system. This has led to count less urban crises, and unless the Constitution is amended to protect cities and give them auton omy, they will continue to suffer.

Because cities are not referenced once in the Constitution, a patchwork of state and feder al statutes has grown up over the centuries to govern their administration, infrastructure and rights in the legal system. Notable among these is Dillon’s Rule, a common descriptor for the legal principle that the nation’s cities are sub servient to their states and have only as much power as their states give them. This means cit ies can have extraordinarily limited authorities, and that municipal actions that provoke their states can lead to devastating consequences.

One of the most infamous municipal cri ses in American history, the Flint water crisis, was born of this dilemma. In 2011, Flint, Michi gan, struggled through the Great Recession and failed to balance its budget, leading the state to step in and strip the city of its power. The state removed the city government structure, absolved the mayor’s office of the majority of its power and established a state-appointed city manager. This manager, embracing the state’s fiscally conservative agenda, was charged with fixing Flint’s budget and ultimately developed a solution that replaced the city’s water infra structure with a cheaper alternative, leading to the poisoning of thousands. Had Flint been able to go it alone, it may have escaped the Great Recession without giving thousands of children

permanent learning disabilities.

Even when the consequences are less dire, subordinate cities suffer petty political squab bles which still have major consequences. One such example can be found in New York City, where for nearly a decade, a personal conflict between the Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo led to countless projects being

ies should have the right to raise taxes on their residents and provide transformational services while being free from the unreasonable and chauvinistic oversight of their states.

Ultimately, the governing structure of our states is stuck in the past, when the nation’s biggest cities were not more than 35,000 peo ple. When cities played a lesser role in the

granted explicitly to the states could be granted to the cities, letting the constitutional principle of local administration shrine through.

The effect this would have on city develop ment would be nothing short of revolutionary. With this newfound freedom, a city’s action would only be limited by the desires of its vot ers and its budget to provide for them. Without undue constraints, de Blasio could have built his 11,000 units of affordable housing without the concern that they’d be rejected for politi cal reasons. Flint could have found locally pre ferred measures to balance its budget rather than poisoning its children. Cities across the country could react swiftly and consistently in response to their voters’ needs without concern that the state government would intercede in their efforts.

delayed or outright canceled because the gover nor simply did not like the mayor. Since the city did not have autonomy in most matters, de Bla sio often had no choice but to endure Cuomo’s barrages. For example, a proposal by de Blasio to provide more than 11,000 units of afford able housing was vetoed by Cuomo because the latter felt slighted at not having been notified of the project far enough in advance. In anoth er incident, when de Blasio wanted to provide universal pre-kindergarten in the city, he in tended to pay for it by increasing taxes on mil lionaires. Cuomo rejected this proposal, instead pioneering his own funding scheme, which also dumped millions into charter schools over the objections of de Blasio.

Control over municipal operations should be the city’s alone — mayors should not have to kiss their governors’ rings to be given the au thority to work within their own borders. Cit

country, there was no need to have major legal recognition of them, but this is no longer the case. It is clear that cities suffer from the anti quated governing structure with which states rule them. If the Constitution seeks at all to allocate power proportionately across the coun try’s population, then it must provide specific protections and powers to the nation’s cities.

Under federalism, the balance in America of state and federal powers, states are guaranteed independence from federal meddling, the power to draft budgets as they see fit and the ability to pursue social policy as long as it is not in vio lation of the Constitution. Cities ought to have the same rights states do: A state should ulti mately exist to provide funding for certain city projects, set the constitutional limits for city action and be a body to which the city must de fer. But it should not attack, meddle or interfere with regular urban governance. All powers not

Constitutional originalists will be quick to point out that the Constitution was designed to place checks on the control of overbearing ma jorities. But this fear reflects a different politi cal reality. New York City, multiple times larger in population than 39 states, does not control its own budget. The lack of local control in cit ies is downright immoral.

In today’s America, cities are the most im portant political unit. They possess within their borders the vast majority of America’s popula tion and are the centers for political thought, economic development and cultural production. However, the governing structure of America’s cities does not reflect their political importance. They are greatly limited by the restrictions their states place upon them and suffer for it. Provid ing constitutional protections for cities would allow them to be far more prosperous and re sponsive than they ever have been.

Gabe Sender ’25 can be reached at gabriel_ sender@brown.edu. Please send responses to this opinion to letters@browndailyherald. com and other op-eds to opinions@brown dailyherald.com.

machandran said.

ta-driven technologies, AI and machine learning, there hasn’t really been an accounting for at the highest levels of government of the ways in which these technologies have harmed people,” he said.

The document outlines five core principles to protect people against the misuse of automated systems, such as algorithmic discrimination protections and data privacy.

When designing the blueprint, one of the challenges Venkatasubramanian and his colleagues faced was consid ering how often the document would need to be updated as AI advances.

One of the team’s deliberate choices was to not define specific technological terms in the blueprint. “We know that technology changes,” Venkatasubrama nian said. “What someone might call linear regression, someone else might call machine learning and someone else might call AI.”

Instead, Venkatasubramanian said that their focus was on the technolo gy’s impact.

Overall, Venkatasubramanian sees the tone of the blueprint as “optimis tic.” Although it outlines the harms that technology has caused in the past, “it’s powerful because it gives us an opportunity to dream of a better fu ture,” he said.

While Venkatasubramanian’s po sition at the White House officially concluded Aug. 15, he is continuing his work on ethics and technology on campus.

In the spring semester, Venkata subramanian plans to teach a new computer science course on algorithmic fairness, which will focus on addressing societal concerns around the impact of algorithmic decision-making in com puter science.

Additionally, within the DSI, Ven katasubramanian plans to spearhead a new Center for Technology Responsi bility, Re-imagination and Re-Design.

“The goal of the center is to push out new research, new ways of teaching curriculum … and also do outreach work with our partners in the commu nity and civil society,” he said.

Leah Rosenbloom GS, a PhD candi date in the computer science depart ment, is working with Venkatasubra manian to establish the center. She is most excited about its potential to shift the focus of technology studies to communities and people.

“Right now a lot of technology is being designed specifically for the purposes of making money and help ing state governments exert control over the population,” Rosenbloom said. “I see the goal of the center as a resistance to that and also a refram ing of the way that we engage with technology.”

Lizzie Kumar GS, a PhD candidate in the computer science department, appreciates the expertise that Ven katasubramanian brings from his ex perience at the White House. “These

connections are rare in academia. … Just his experience alone now gives us a blueprint for how to make our research high-impact,” Kumar said.

“He really has boundless energy and curiosity,” said Sohini Ramach andran, professor of biology and com puter science and director of the DSI.

Currently, Ramachandran has plans to integrate the Center for Computational Molecular Biology, of which she is also the director, with the Data Science Initiative. Together with Venkatasubramanian’s plans to establish the Center for Technology Responsibility, this combined pro posal would expand the Data Science Initiative to an institute, putting it on the same level as other institutes on campus like the Carney Institute for Brain Science and the Cogut Institute for the Humanities.

As an interdisciplinary center, one of the key goals of the initiative is to foster the development of departments that might not naturally connect, Ra

With data driving an increasing number of decisions in society, the initiative could help bring togeth er various disciplines to help solve problems in data science, Ramach andran said. “I think that together we’re going to see great things hap pening in data science on campus,” she added.

For Venkatasubramanian, the most important ability that “computer sci entists have is to design and imagine differently.” In the past, this has been used for a “narrow set of concerns, such as how to make things run faster or … be more efficient.” Now, he said he is asking computer scientists to design for societal benefit.

But Venkatasubramanian believes this task of thinking broadly is too am bitious to take on with only a handful of minds. “This is not going to happen with one person or 10 or 15,” he said. It “is going to happen as a movement, and I want people to join.”

“Mayors should not have to kiss their governors’ rings to be given the authority to work within their own borders.”

ARTS

CULTURE

The 1975’s new album provides perfect mid-2010s indie time capsule

has been confirmed by frontman Mat ty Healy to expand on the story of the toxic lovers from “Robbers” — a song that arguably put The 1975 on the map.

BY LIVIA GIMENES STAFF WRITER

The 1975 are champions of a particular niche of the internet. With quotable lyrics and dreamy synths, the four-man band provides the perfect soundtrack to an indie aesthetic characterized by angst and grunge popular on Tumblr during the mid-2010s.

Today, the generation who grew up on their music is entering adult hood, and The 1975 has returned with their fifth studio album, “Being Fun ny in a Foreign Language,” aiding the “2014-Tumblr” era’s infamous 2022 resurgence on social media and in the fashion scene. The album features pro ducing from Jack Antonoff, lead singer of the band Bleachers.

While The 1975 ventured into a more experimental and existential sound with its 2020 release “Notes on a Conditional Form,” “Being Funny in a Foreign Lan guage” embraces the essence of what made the band popular in the first place.

The album feels like it is in constant conversation with the band’s previous records. “I’m in Love With You,” a catchy and sincere pop-rock tune, is sonically similar to the band’s signature upbeat tracks, such as “It’s Not Living (If It’s Not with You).” Plus, the song’s music video — which features a cameo from Phoebe Bridgers — is a continuation of the story of the clown featured in the band’s “Change of Heart” music video. “About You,” the album’s sadder tune,

That’s not to say that these qualities make the album unoriginal. Sure, The 1975 might be leaving behind some of the grand “magnum opus” qualities that Healy proudly champions in the band’s other work, but they still deliver a simple and great record.

Familiar synths and catchy hooks blend masterfully with the nostalgia of the album, capturing the familiar ethe real sound that sets the band apart. The album also explores themes of love and heartbreak in a way that’s fantastical and bittersweet, allowing the band to reso nate more effectively with the late-mil lennial and early-Gen-Z fans who have followed the band from their start.

The addition of Jack Antonoff — the mastermind behind some of pop’s ac claimed records — perfectly advances the band’s unique sound and adds a newfound charm. Antonoff, in his first collaboration with the band, is credited as a producer in every song in the album.

It’s undeniable that Antonoff knows how to produce a masterful record that draws in audiences from the first listen. His touch on The 1975’s sound brings a certain optimism to the record’s overall landscape. His influence is clearly seen in songs like “Oh Caroline,” which heavi ly rely on a chorus of guitars reminiscent of Antonoff’s own work in his bands, Bleachers and fun.

Lyrically, the album still carries the same extravagant, nonsensical, explicit ly sexual and unsettling lyrics that have long been a hallmark of the band’s aes thetic. The same traditionally millennial views on the shallow nature of internet relationships and counterculture are certainly still there. Lead singer Heally

critiques these sentiments with lyrics like “I know some Vaccinista tote bag chic baristas / Setting east of their com munista keisters” in “Part of a Band.”

Still, what saves “Being Funny in a Foreign Language” from turning into a painful agglomeration of shallow cri tiques of internet culture and phallic references is that the album does not

take itself too seriously. Obnoxious lyrics like “Fuck you, Muppet” or “I like my men how like my coffee / Full of soy milk and so sweet, it won’t of fend anyone” are delivered in a chipper non-serious tone.

It might come across as a surprise, but “Being Funny in a Foreign Language” does not have many flaws. It delivers in

die pop at its best with a hint of nostalgia that strikes an even bigger chord with those that grew up in the era marked by their music. Now, the question remains whether The 1975 will be able to use the nostalgia factor to their benefit, return to a more experimental sound or con tinue to pull from their own material for content.

CORRECTION

The above illustration by Simone Straus appeared in print on Friday, Oct. 21 with an incorrect attribution next to the article “Students report damaged, missing items stored with Campus Storage.” The Herald regrets the error.

“Being Funny in a Foreign Language” reflects on millenial love, heartbreak

ASHLEY CHOI / HERALD

SIMONE STRAUS / HERALD